“The Ultimate Fighter 31” is underway with coaches Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler attracting loads of 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 2 below:
Trevor Wells' cold sore postponement
“When I got there, I saw Trevor walking up. Everybody was kind of confused. He said, ‘Oh, we’re not fighting today. They canceled my fight because of this cold sore on my face.’ Everybody was pretty bummed about it. Everybody was looking forward to that fight.”
“… I remember they had that one incident a while back. I can’t remember what female fighter it was. I think it was maybe Jessica Aguilar or something like that. This was a few years back. I think they pulled her fight for a cold sore, like, ‘This is the worst case of cold sores we’ve ever seen.’ Really, you can tell what Trevor had didn’t seem that bad. I understand the commission is how they are. But to me, it didn’t seem like enough to postpone or cancel a fight.”
Roosevelt Roberts and Landon Quinones' beef in the kitchen – and not the food kind
“I was right around the corner or maybe even downstairs, but I could hear what was going on. I might’ve walked up right afterward. Nobody was familiar with each other yet. Everybody was still kind of sizing everybody up, feeling everybody out.
“Landon (Quinones) turned out to be a hell of a cool guy. Roosevelt Roberts is a cool guy. There was a little bit of chatter back and forth. I know if Row hears you talk smack, he’s going to be right there talking smack back. At the beginning, there were a few things said back and forth and Row was always there to fire back.”
“… I think it would take a whole lot for those guys to actually go at it in the house. I think it was just a little bit of chatter just to feel each other out. Not for one second did I think we’d actually have to pull these guys apart. Now, if they had gotten too close or one of them put their hands on the other, it would’ve been a much different story.”
What it's like to hang out with Conor McGregor
“That was actually pretty cool and I can’t remember who said it best. It may have been Row said it on the TUF after show last week. Conor is just kind of bipolar. That time, Conor was cool as hell, man. When he came over to the house that night. He was just living life, having a good time, and chatting with everybody. Mando cut his hair up and Conor was just literally having 1-on-1 conversations with everybody, including myself.
“It’s crazy because there were other times in the season I was like, ‘That was a pretty sh*tty thing for Conor to do.’ But I like the way Roosevelt kind of put it out there that he was bipolar. One second he’s cool. The next second you’re like, ‘Man, forget this guy.’ … Every time he came over to the house, though, that was when he was cool. That was the cool Conor.”
Alcohol in the house?
“Everybody was pretty focused on what was going on. Of course, as guys lose and get out of the tournament, they’ll have a few drinks. I don’t remember anybody really getting slammed in the house. I know a few guys were having a few drinks every night. Maybe a little bit of Proper Twelve on ice, nothing to really get drunk or mess them up. I think it was just to relax them a little. The house was full of Proper Twelve, full of his Forged Irish Stout.”
Fight reaction: Cody Gibson def. Mando Gutierrez via TKO – Round 1
Cody Gibson’s flying knee TKO had Conor speechless 🫢 #TUF31 pic.twitter.com/dywLnlEXCH
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) June 7, 2023
“I thought Cody would have the advantage. The guy has been around for so long. If you look at his resume, he fought countless top contenders including title contenders and current champions now. He’s had very good fights with them and have been fighting for a long time. Mando, on the other side, I’ve actually known Mando for a while, too. We were part of another organization before we got to ‘The Ultimate Fighter.’ I’ve watched him fight before. I knew he had a lot of talent and I knew it was possible for him to win the fight.
“But I had to roll with the vet, knowing we’ve been there and done that and experienced the highest level fights. I knew Cody was just on a little bit of a higher level.”
Momentum after 2-0 start
“I think the confidence was definitely high. Mando and Nate, those guys never thought for one second they were going to lose. They believed in themselves and they were there to win. They expected to win those fights. Being that we shut them down with the performances that our team had, I kind of wondered myself what they were really thinking. Were they thinking that we were for real? We never really talked to them about it, but we knew that we’ve been there, done that, and we were trying to get back there.”
Conor's cowboy hat – and Mando Gutierrez, the person
“That was Mando’s cowboy hat. Man, Mando is such a cool dude. He was cutting everybody up in the house, man. Anybody who needed a cut in the house, he’d sit them down in the chair and take care of them. It didn’t matter what team you were on. Really, everybody got along well for the most part. There were small little things here and there, sure. But Mando was a really good guy who I consider a friend now. Of course that’s Mando’s tradition. With Conor being his coach, he wanted Conor to wear it.”
More
Go behind the scenes of previous episodes of “The Ultimate Fighter 31” with Kurt Holobaugh:
