Michael Chandler gets into 'weird' confrontation with Conor McGregor's SBG teammate; calm reaction from the Irishman
Michael Chandler certainly has his hands full as a coach in the ongoing season of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF). In the latest episode of the reality show, 'Iron' can be seen getting into a bizarre argument with Brad Katona, who is under Chandler's tutelage but trains at rival coach Conor McGregor's SBG Ireland facility.
On Episode 5, the previously canceled matchup between Katona and Carlos Vera finally took place, after heated negotiations between coaches from each team. However, there seemed to be friction between Katona and coach Chandler during the preparations phase before the Canadian native's fight.
The TUF Twitter handle recently posted footage of a conversation between the two. Michael Chandler and Brad Katona butted heads over the TUF contestant questioning why they hadn't studied film footage yet, considering how close they were to fight day. Katona stated:
"When are we going to sit down and watch film? Because the days are ticking by pretty fast."
Check out the clip below:
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While Michael Chandler was relatively quiet and seemed unsure how to answer Katona's questions, he tried to convince the fighter that the coaches knew what they were doing.
Meanwhile, Conor McGregor had a very relaxed reaction to his SBG Ireland gym mate competing against him in the show. In a piece-to-camera scene, 'The Notorious' calmly stated:
"It's a bit of a weird vibe, but it is what it is. Fighting for me is not personal."
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It’s the fight business, not show business. 👊
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TUF McGregor vs. Chandler: Team Michael Chandler goes 5-0 against team Conor McGregor
TUF 31 is now in its fifth week and team Conor McGregor is yet to register a win over team Michael Chandler. The team of UFC veterans, coached by the former Bellator lightweight champion have now gone 5-0 up against McGregor's team of prospects.
Not looking great for Team McGregor through 5 fights #TUF31 https://t.co/LEuhPUZjMr
In the latest episode, UFC veteran Brad Katona faced off against prospect Carlos Vera in a bantamweight contest. Katona used his superior ground game to control Vera and secured a unanimous decision victory. With the win, the Canadian UFC veteran moves on to the bantamweight semifinals.
As mentioned previously, Katona trains at the same gym as Conor McGregor, SBG Ireland. Interestingly, this isn't his first stint on TUF, he was the winner of The Ultimate Fighter 27 in 2017. He fought in the UFC from 2018-2019, where he racked up a less-than-impressive 2-2 record.
So far, the five winning fighters are lightweights Roosevelt Roberts and Austin Hubbard and bantamweights Timur Valiev, Cody Gibson, and Brad Katona. In the next episode, team Michael Chandler will trust Kurt Holobaugh to get their sixth consecutive win against team McGregor's Lee Hammond in a lightweight contest.