Conor McGregor explains decision to coach on 'The Ultimate Fighter'

UFC star Conor McGregor plans to re-immerse himself into fighting by coaching the upcoming season of "The Ultimate Fighter."

During an interview Thursday with The Mac Life, McGregor explained why he joined UFC’s reality TV show for a second time. He made his first appearance as a coach in 2015. 

“[I joined The Ultimate Fighter] to be immersed in the game, in the business, in the company and to be around these young, hungry fighters that are coming up," he said. "Put myself right in the mix and get back on the horse so that was my motivation and my reasoning for doing it. Also, to give back to the game. Give my wisdom and my knowledge to the next generation and then feed off that energy also.”

It’s a whole different chapter in McGregor’s career since his first season on "TUF." At the time, he was coming off an interim featherweight title fight win over Chad Mendes at UFC 189. 

McGregor is one of the most recognized names in combat sports. He is the first UFC fighter to hold two titles simultaneously in two different weight divisions. He has previous wins over José Aldo, Nate Diaz, Eddie Alvarez and Donald Cerrone. 

The Dublin-born star has headlined six of the highest grossing pay-per-view events in UFC history, according to BetMGM. 

It’s been a tough past few years for McGregor in the fight game. Aside from legal troubles, the 34-year-old has gone 1-3 in his past four UFC fights. He last competed in July 2021 at UFC 264, where he suffered a TKO loss to rival Dustin Poirier. He also suffered a broken tibia in the process. 

Now, McGregor will coach against UFC lightweight Michael Chandler during the 31st season of "The Ultimate Fighter." The duo will likely fight after the conclusion of the show, with the location and date not yet announced.

“I really like Michael [Chandler]...I think he’s a good fighter. Coaching against him, I’m interested to see his coaching style. He’s more of an athlete type of a guy than a technical martial artist,” McGregor said. “I know he’s got some skills in the wrestling department and he’s got some skills overall but as far as like the small, finer details…I’m not sure."

McGregor will try to get back to his winning ways and gain success on the show heading into his long-awaited return to the octagon later this year.