Conor McGregor Never Planned On ‘Being There’ For TUF Team
UFC interim featherweight champion Conor McGregor has had a full schedule of obligations to take care of in 2015, with two fights under his belt so far this year and an upcoming UFC 194 battle with Jose Aldo, ‘The Notorious’ one has also been working as coach on the latest season of TUF (The Ultimate Fighter). Such is the life of a modern MMA star, as the UFC has cameras everywhere for video blogs, mini documentaries and promo cutting purposes. Media pressers and countless interviews have made McGregor’s presence felt in a big way.
UFC bantaweight champion and Team Alpha Male stable mate of McGregor’s opposing coach on TUF, Urijah Faber, TJ Dillashaw said something pretty interesting yesterday, that ‘The Notorious’ hadn’t been there for his team of fighters during the reality TV show. Perhaps the added work proved just too much for McGregor to keep focus, or maybe he had a unique take on how these prospective UFC stars should be treated. Turns out, according to Damon Martin of FOX Sports, McGregor never planned on ‘being there’ as ‘The Viper’ puts it:
“I’m simply going to provide the platform for them,” McGregor explained. “I’m going to bring eyes to the screen for them. I’m going to provide coaches that I have come with, but really it’s a six-week run of fights, on and off.
“I’m not going to go in and teach them anything. I told them their training should already be done. You should already have your hard rounds done. Now it’s about keeping the body fresh because every fight you get knocks and bruises so it’s about maintaining those injuries and making it through those fights.”
This is certainly a first for the MMA reality TV series which has always seen a hands-on approach from pro active coaches in the past. The results of McGregor’s influence, or perhaps lack thereof, is yet to be seen, but with the TUF 22 season in the bag in terms of filming, it won’t be long before we get to see the impact.
“I’m not going to be at every training session if I’m going to be at any training session,” McGregor said. “I’m just going to be there picking the fights and doing that obligation and I’ll be at the fights. I have my team of coaches that will be preparing them and I trust they will give them the right training.”
“Forget teams, forget all of this other stuff,” McGregor said. “It means nothing.”
Of course when you break it down, the TUF show is essentially a group of fighters who are there to fight. The only difference is that they are stuck in a house together with a bunch of cameras on them, and the obvious need for dramatics brings a whole new tint to the sport.
Do you think McGregor should have had more of a hand in training, or will his stand-off style win the day as opposed to Dillashaw’s deeper involvement with the fighters?
