Gilbert Burns rues Conor McGregor firing Justin Gaethje-like fighter from the TUF house
Conor McGregor's return to action against Michael Chandler will be prefaced by a coaching stint in the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter.
McGregor will coach a team of fighters opposite Chandler before facing off against him at the finale, marking his second time as a coach on the show. As filming for TUF kicks off, controversy has emerged regarding McGregor's undue influence over the selection of the participating fighters.
The Irishman has been accused of promoting his own teammates in favor of other participants, and also removing some fighters to make way for them. UFC welterweight Gilbert Burns complained about that and made a case for his teammate, Loik Radzhabov, in an interview on Submission Radio.
Burns compared Radzhabov's fighting style to Justin Gaethje's, saying:
“And the day that they start filming, Conor McGregor got in, brought two or three of his own guys. I don’t know exactly what happened but he just put his guys in, took couple guys out. And Loik was one of the guys that went out. And I don’t know everyone in there but I know Loik is a two-time PFL finalist. The guy fights like - he’s not that famous - but he fights like Justin Gaethje. The guy is a highlight reel, he’s crazy. I like his trainer, the guy just comes forward, throws bombs. Just like Justin Gaethje. Crazy striking and he has a background in wrestling but he doesn’t use it so he just like Justin Goethe. The guy trained so hard, he’s in Tajikistan.”
Check out Burns' interview below:
Gilbert Burns also took to Twitter in support of his teammate.
Check out his tweet below:
This guy is my teammate!
Loik Radzhabov 2x PFL finalist 155! Work so hard and was ready to finally get his shot in the UFC on TUF was in Vegas everything good to go! This freaking Conor bring his own guys and they kick him out! 🤦🏾♂️🤦🏾♂️ Not Fear! https://t.co/qQ0JXspn75
Chael Sonnen infers humility from Conor McGregor's recent comments about his return
Conor McGregor responded to the allegations surrounding his involvement in choosing The Ultimate Fighter participants on Twitter. In his reply to UFC middleweight Chris Curtis, McGregor made a statement that was analyzed by former UFC middleweight Chael Sonnen.
Sonnen believes the statement signals a change in McGregor's mentality and is a more grounded version of him:
"And Conor said, 'I’m just trying to get my own name back out there.' So there’s a lot of truth to that, there’s a humility that comes with that. But it’s not anything that Conor has ever said before or that he would say. Now we have our answer of does Conor understand that being out with an injury, returning after that, that you’re not a shoo-in."
Check out Chael Sonnen's comments on YouTube: