“The Ultimate Fighter 31” is underway with coaches Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler attracting more eyeballs back on the series.
This season, which features eight lightweights and eight bantamweights, debuted Tuesday on ESPN. McGregor’s team features eight fighters who have not competed in the UFC against Chandler’s team of eight UFC alumni.
Among those UFC alumni is Kurt Holobaugh, the lone fighter who had two previous stints with the promotion. Holobaugh went 0-4 over those stretches, but history shows a tough strength of schedule: Steven Siler, Raoni Barcelos, Shane Burgos, and Thiago Moises.
Now at lightweight rather than featherweight, Holobaugh devastated two opponents to get a third look from the UFC.
Each week here at MMA Junkie, Holobaugh will peel back the curtain and provide an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look and give insight into what may not have made the cut into the episode.
Check out what Holobaugh had to say about Episode 4 below.
Fair terms negotiated for Timur Valiev vs. Trevor Wells?
“When the fight first got canceled, we really didn’t know what was going on. We actually thought for a second that they were going to send Trevor home and bring in somebody else. Around that time, we already started getting close to all the guys in the house, so nobody wanted to see that happen. Once they pushed that fight to the next week, everybody said, ‘Oh, that’s cool.’ It gave time for Trevor to fight.
“The thing about the weight started coming up. Even throughout that week in the house, I don’t think anybody knew for sure what the weight was going to be. Then, I think a few days before the fight, they went 142, which I thought was fair.”
UFC Performance Institute access
“We weren’t able to go whenever we wanted. It was up to the coaches. Any time you wanted to do something, they’d always say, ‘Hey, your coach is the one who has that access. Your coach has the access to the pool. Get with your coach.’ Honestly, Chandler always came over to the house. We didn’t go over to the PI much. I know Conor’s team went to the PI quite a few times, especially to cut weight. The PI’s sauna was, man, 185 degrees in there. That’s hot. Maybe that’s why some of the guys liked going over there.
“I liked our sauna at the house. It maybe only got to 125 or 135 degrees. But to me, that’s all you need. Once your body gets sweating and you’re at 130 degrees, you can stay in there a lot longer and still sweat the same than you can being in a sauna that’s 180 degrees.”
Secret microphones
“One thing that I did was I mentally prepared myself for anything and everything, including cameras, including microphones. I didn’t really know much about the microphones at the time. Not only do you have a camera in your face 24/7, you have a microphone that you wear 24/7 and that’s the little octagon things you see around our necks. Everybody thinks it’s a necklace, I guess. But that’s a microphone. You wear it every day. If you walk out of the room and forget it, the first thing a producer will say is, ‘Hey, microphone.’ When you go to sleep, you take it off. There’s a little hook beside your bed. You hang it up, wake up the next morning, and put it on.”
'Guess what? Here come the cameras.'
“I want to say they had a little mother-in-law suite that all the camera crews stayed in. If there was activity going on, the cameras were there. They listen to everything, 24/7. If it’s two o’clock in the morning and a deep conversation breaks out in the bedroom, guess what? Here come the cameras. They listen to you 24/7 and if they want to shoot something, they’re running right in the room with you.”
Pretending no one is watching
“When the producers told us what to expect, they’re like, ‘Look, guys. If you’re having a conversation and our camera crew walks in, don’t stop talking. Keep talking. But I had already mentally prepared myself. Honestly, I got to where I wasn’t even thinking about cameras anymore. I wasn’t thinking about cameras. I wasn’t thinking about microphones. That just became my home for those five weeks, six weeks.”
Fight reaction: Timur Valiev def. Trevor Wells via unanimous decision
“When you look at Timur, he had a hell of a record and a good run in the UFC. Timur actually beat in the UFC a guy that I lost to in the UFC in Raoni Barcelos. I thought that was kind of cool, also, to have Timur there. Trevor isn’t quite as experienced as Timur, but he went out there and really showed he could fight at that level. I thought that was definitely a really good fight and I enjoyed it.”
Timur Valiev, the person and fighter
“Timur was one of the coolest guys in the world. Him and Khabib seem like they’re the exact same person, the way they talk, the way they carry themselves. It was almost identical to me. Timur is a super cool guy and actually really funny. We had a lot of cool moments with Timur. He was a great teammate. And yeah, the guy is really, really good. … He’s one of the best 135ers in the world. He can compete any day of the week.”
Buckle up
“I think things are going to start really heating up, especially once we get to where… you start getting all these guys that have already won. Then, you have four or five guys that have already lost and are not in the competition anymore. They’re getting a little more free and don’t have to really about things. That’s when things get a little bit interesting.”
More behind-the-scenes recaps
Go behind the scenes of previous episodes of “The Ultimate Fighter 31” with Kurt Holobaugh:
