Conor McGregor is the biggest star mixed martial arts has produced, and his Ultimate Fighter coaching stint was pure chaos. The former two-division UFC champion coached against Urijah Faber on TUF season 22 in 2015, memorably dropping watermelons from a helicopter onto a desert target during a coach's challenge that Faber ultimately won, with the trash talk between them becoming some of the funniest content the show ever produced. McGregor returned to coach against Michael Chandler on TUF 31 in 2023, ahead of a fight that never materialized after injuries derailed the matchup. Known for explosive left-hand power and relentless banter, McGregor's ferocious wit as a coach remains one of combat sports' most entertaining reality TV runs.
Conor McGregor's two stints as a coach on The Ultimate Fighter stand as some of the most chaotic and entertaining television the UFC has ever produced, and they remain worth revisiting as a window into what makes the Irishman unlike anyone else in the sport.
McGregor, 38, carries a professional record of 22-7 and built his legend as a two-division UFC champion out of SBG Ireland. A southpaw with a 74-inch reach and one of the sharpest left hands the sport has seen, he averages 5.27 significant strikes landed per minute — a number that reflects just how relentlessly offensive his style has always been. His personality off the canvas has proven equally aggressive.
His first TUF appearance came in 2015 on season 22, where he coached opposite Urijah Faber. Faber, now 47 and retired with a career record of 35-11, is a former WEC featherweight and bantamweight champion who built Team Alpha Male into one of MMA's most recognizable gyms. The rivalry between the two coaches produced a steady stream of barbs and genuine animosity, and a coach's challenge involving watermelons dropped from a helicopter onto a desert target became one of the most absurd and memorable moments in the show's history — with Faber taking the win on that particular occasion.
McGregor returned to the coaching seat in 2023 for TUF 31, this time opposite Michael Chandler. Chandler, now 40 and fighting out of Kill Cliff FC, holds a record of 23-11 and brings a pressure-heavy orthodox style, averaging 4.04 significant strikes per minute with 49 percent accuracy. The season was filmed ahead of a planned bout between the two men, but injuries intervened and the fight never took place.
Why it matters
- McGregor's TUF appearances showed a side of him that pure fight coverage rarely captures — the theatrical, improvisational entertainer.
- His coaching run against Faber in 2015 remains the benchmark for coach-versus-coach tension on the show.
- The unresolved McGregor-Chandler matchup from TUF 31 left a storyline without a conclusion, keeping both men's names linked long after filming wrapped.
