All eyes (and cameras) are on Conor McGregor as the 31st season of The Ultimate Fighter started shooting at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada yesterday.
The 31st season of The Ultimate Fighter has just started filming and already it’s generating more interest than the past several seasons combined.
That’d be because of its high profile coaches: “The Notorious” Conor McGregor and “Iron” Michael Chandler, who are set to duke it out sometime around September (if McGregor ever re-enters the USADA drug testing pool, that is).
Filming began on the latest season of TUF yesterday (February 16, 2023) and the UFC has been splashing clips of Conor McGregor’s arrival at the APEX all over social media. Take a look:
Coach Conor has arrived in Vegas!
[ @TheNotoriousMMA | #TUF31 premieres Tuesday, May 30th | Live on @ESPN & @ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/uOdAarzCTa
— The Ultimate Fighter (@UltimateFighter) February 17, 2023
McGregor arrives in a sharp purple suit and looking bigger than ever. It’s still an open question as to whether he’ll be fighting Michael Chandler at 170 or 155 pounds. Chandler assumes 170. Various sources have said 170. But Dana White has claimed the fight will go down at 155. We’ll have to wait and see what happens.
A new Team McGregor jersey will be added to that wall soon
[ @TheNotoriousMMA | #TUF31 premieres Tuesday, May 30th | Live on @ESPN & @ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/NjAPi7h7lL
— The Ultimate Fighter (@UltimateFighter) February 17, 2023
The filming of TUF has already begun. pic.twitter.com/MFWmY6dqpC
— FullCombat (@FullCombat_) February 17, 2023
While Michael Chandler wasn’t featured by UFC socials, he did share his own thoughts on how the first day of filming went.
“Day one of TUF 31 in the books…couldn’t have gone better,” he wrote on Twitter. “Team Chandler is right where we need to be.”
As for McGregor, he hasn’t shared any words on social media since he posted a photo with his kids on a private jet flying to America.
“On my way to Vegas to coach a few kids to a UFC contract,” he wrote. “A blessing. A privilege. An honor. My pleasure. Welcome to ‘UFC with the Mac.’”
The Ultimate Fighter: Team McGregor vs. Team Chandler will premiere Tuesday May 30th on ESPN and ESPN+. What say you, Maniacs? Are you excited for this coming season and Conor McGregor’s antics? Or are you going to pass on watching and just wait for the actual fight?