The full lineup of The Ultimate Fighter 31 for coaches Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler got revealed with some familiar faces.
Former UFC two-division champion McGregor has been on the sidelines from a horrific leg break injury he suffered in his last showing against Dustin Poirier in Jul. 2021 at UFC 264. As he completed recovery, McGregor got the chance to make his Hollywood debut and expand his business empire. He’s slowly inching his way back to competition.
Last month, company president Dana White confirmed McGregor would return as a coach in the next season of TUF.
The Ultimate Fighter 31 roster revealed for coaches Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler
In a recent tweet posted earlier today, Club De Las MMA revealed the full lineup for the next season of TUF.
There will be eight contestants in both lightweight and bantamweight classes who will compete for the UFC contracts on the show. Former UFC fighter Kris Moutinho is also on the list. He. Made his way to the promotion in 2021 and faced bantamweight top contender Sean O’Malley in his debut. O’Malley handily dispatched Moutinho in the third round by TKO. Moutinho’s second and final appearance so far came against Guido Cannetti last March. He got finished in the first round and did not return after dropping two in a row.
🚨| According to @ClubDeLasMMA, these are the contestants for #TUF31.#TUF #UFC #MMA pic.twitter.com/umuL2vGln6
— MMA Orbit (@mma_orbit) February 17, 2023
Reports suggest there might be a change in some contestants
Daniel Rubenstein of Ruby Sports & Entertainment weighed in on the news claiming three contestants were replaced with McGregor’s allies.
“Ken Cross, Mitch Ramirez and Brandon Jenkins all got pulled off to make room for 3 of Conor’s guy to be on the show.”
TUF 31 is set to premiere on May 30 and will run till August. There is a lot of anticipation for the comeback of Conor McGregor, who’s scheduled to face Michael Chandler inside the octagon following the season sometime later this year. ‘The Notorious’ will need to re-enter the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) drug testing pool, remain in it for at least six months, and provide two negative tests before he’ll be eligible to compete in the UFC. If McGregor manages to get back in the testing pool by the end of March, the showdown could happen as soon as October.
