After being away from the octagon for almost two years, Conor McGregor is back in the business and is currently a coach on the 31st season of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF). The Irishman is competing against UFC lightweight fighter Michael Chandler’s team.
Episode 11 of TUF 31 featured a challenge between the two coaches where both of them had to answer some questions about the history of the UFC while being submerged in ice plunges. Chandler for sure was not too amused by the challenge, as he said, “I could not think of a worse coach’s challenge for me.” He explained himself by saying that he loves the sport and also watches it, but he is not the one who is good with the information. McGregor, on the other hand, was fully confident.
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Buffer then began with the questions that were based on UFC and TUF trivia. Fans lost it when Buffer asked a question to Chandler, which would have probably angered Conor as it was related to his biggest defeat.
The UFC announcer asked Chandler, “In which round did Conor submit to Khabib at UFC 229?” The lightweight answered rightly that it was round 4 of their fight but fans thought it was kind of disrespectful to ask that in front of ‘The Notorious’.
A fan wrote, “Naah man submit to khabib sounds like such a violation”. Another fan commented, “Bruce buffer is a savage and he knows it”. An Instagram user appreciated McGregor’s reaction, “He handled that well lmao I was expecting him to flip out.” McGregor won the contest and got his team $10,000.
Conor McGregor-starrer TUF 31 viewership continues to drop
Some fans also pointed out the question by Bruce Buffer and argued that it might be a deliberate attempt by the UFC to get their viewership for TUF 31 to go up. The ratings for this season have been disappointing for the promotion, despite starring the biggest name in the sport.
#TUF31 Episode 1 on ESPN averaged 294K viewers (0.14 in the 18-49 demo)
The last season on FS1:
TUF 28 Episode 1: 186K (0.07)
The last time Conor McGregor coached (also on FS1)
TUF 22 Episode 1: 622K (0.31)
— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) June 5, 2023
As per a report by MMA Fighting, the show is averaging 294k views, which makes it the 11th-ranked show as per the Nielsen ratings system. The show is aired on Tuesday nights, so it does not receive a lot of competition, but still, the viewership is certainly not what Dana White would have expected.
The low rating affects a lot when it comes to advertising on television. To add some perspective, McGregor’s previous appearance in the show was at TUF 22, which received 622k views on the first episode. So what are your thoughts on the declining ratings for The Ultimate Fighter? Let us know in the comments down below.