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Conor McGregor was publicly criticized after news broke that he had cut a number of fighters from 'The Ultimate Fighter' (TUF) cast list to make room for his own hand-picked few, and the Irishman has finally offered his response to the situation.
'The Notorious' will compete against Michael Chandler as both are coaches of the upcoming season of TUF, and the pair will meet in the octagon following the season's conclusion. Although some details still need to be hashed out, the two natural lightweights will likely meet at 170lbs later on in the year.
In a post on social media, Conor McGregor addressed in typical fashion rumors of him removing numerous fighters, claiming that if he had the chance to cut more, he would have:
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"Good practice, team! Ok, it's time for the easiest part of any coach's job.. the cuts. Now, while I wasn't able to cut everyone I wanted to, I have cut a lot of you. Wendell is cut. Rudy is cut. Janey, you’re gone. Stephen, I like your hustle. That’s why it was so hard to cut you. Congratulations! The rest of you made the team! Except you, you and you."
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It remains unclear as to who will step in to replace the fighters who were sent home, but it will most likely be a number of athletes currently working under John Kavanagh at SBG Ireland.
The 31st season of TUF will be available to watch exclusively on ESPN starting on Tuesday, May 30. Viewers will be able to watch weekly episodes all the way through till August 15.
Conor McGregor's history with The Ultimate Fighter
Conor McGregor is preparing to put his coaching cap on and potentially guide a rising star to a UFC contract as he opposes Team Chandler when TUF 31 starts later this year. But what is the Irishman's history with the reality TV show?
Back on July 12, 2015, the UFC announced that McGregor would be coaching the 22nd season of TUF alongside MMA veteran and bantamweight pioneer, Urijah Faber.
McGregor did a great job in helping his fighters reach the latter stages of the tournament. It looked like he was en route to having two from his team in the final, but Saul Rogers was forced out due to visa issues. Artem Lobov would compete in the finale but fell short to Ryan Hall from the opposition team.
