When Conor McGregor hit back at Chris Curtis after being accused of removing contestants on TUF

Conor McGregor once retaliated against Chris Curtis following allegations that he replaced three initially chosen contestants on 'The Ultimate Fighter' (TUF) season 31 with his own teammates.

'The Notorious' served as the rival coach against Michael Chandler in the American reality TV series last year. In February 2023, during the filming of TUF 31, McGregor faced allegations from MMA manager Daniel Rubenstein, accusing him of leveraging his influence to replace three fighters initially slated for the cast with his own affiliates.

Gilbert Burns reiterated the allegations, while 'Action-Man' also called the rumor "definitely true."

Check out Burns' X post, where he said:

"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!"

However, 'The Notorious' turned to X and confronted Curtis head-on while vehemently denying the accusations:

"@Actionman513 not true. I only know one guy on this show, and he put himself forward for it. And he is now, after today, set to fight the No. 1 seed! I didn’t ask nor request nothing! And I certainly didn’t have people removed. I’m just tryna get back in the mix myself, so f**k off."

Check out Conor McGregor's post (deleted) below:

Posts from the ufc community on Reddit

With his coaching stint, McGregor made his return to the UFC after sustaining a significant leg injury during his trilogy bout with Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in July 2021. Rumors began circulating about his potential matchup against Chandler. However, an official date for the fight is yet to be confirmed.

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Why did Chris Curtis agree to rematch with Brendan Allen on short notice at UFC Vegas 90?

Chris Curtis is set to fill in for Marvin Vettori in a rematch against Brendan Allen, headlining UFC Vegas 90 this Saturday. However, this wasn't the original plan.

During his media day interview ahead of the fight, 'Action-Man' stated that he had intended to take a break after his victory over Marc-André Barriault at UFC 297 in January to spend time with his family, particularly his newborn son. However, when the UFC extended the opportunity, he found it irresistible to decline:

"We were not supposed to fight. We had an agreement with the coaches. Like my strength coaches and everything else like, 'OK, we’re going to stay at 185. We’re going to put on some weight.' I’m walking around at 200 pounds and wanted to get to 210, put on muscle and be 210, be a little bit bigger. Then this happened. So I was like, 'OK, we’re abandoning that plan, and we have a new plan.' Here we are."

He added:

"I deeply enjoy money. I will do awful, awful things for money when you offer to pay me, and I love to fight. I love to fight more than anything else."

Check out Chris Curtis' comments below (0:30):

Curtis and Allen previously squared off at UFC on ESPN 31 in December 2021, where 'Action-Man' claimed a second-round TKO upset victory, earning him the Performance of the Night award. Since their initial meeting, Curtis has amassed a record of 3-2 and one no-contest. In contrast, Allen has embarked on a streak of six consecutive wins.