The Ultimate Fighter 31: Conor McGregor Vs. Michael Chandler Episode 5 Results

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Michael Chandler has already won The Ultimate Fighter 31 season series, now it’s just a question of whether he can sweep Conor McGregor.

Team Chandler improved to 5-0 on the show this week with Chandler’s No. 2-ranked fighter Brad Katona (12-2) earning a unanimous decision over McGregor’s No. 3 Carlos Vera (11-3).

The bout was a competitive one, with the crafty Vera giving Katona problems on the feet, but struggling to stop Katona from bullying his way in and taking the fight to the mat. Katona remained heavy in top position for much of the two-round fight, sneaking in ground strikes as both fighters worked hard in the grappling duel. Though Vera had his moments, including a couple of slick reversals, he couldn’t overcome Katona’s smothering control.

This is now the third win for Katona on TUF as he also won a pair of fights on the 27th season of the show before going on to capture a tournament crown in the TUF 27 finals back in July 2018. Katona was at the center of some drama this episode as he has trained for years with McGregor and his coaches at SBG Ireland in Dublin, but that didn’t appear to factor into the fight at all.

More drama came later when a frustrated McGregor marched into the cage after the fight to complain about TUF bouts only being two-round affairs. This is the second episode in a row that a Team McGregor fighter has lost a competitive decision.

Now, McGregor can only hope to avoid going winless in the competition with three fights remaining. His team’s best chance to score a victory may come next episode as undefeated SBG Ireland prospect Lee Hammond (5-0) faces the season’s oldest cast member, 36-year-old Kurt Holobaugh (19-7, 1 NC) of Team Chandler in a lightweight bout.

The Ultimate Fighter 31 airs live every Tuesday at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN and ESPN+.

Following the season finale, Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler are expected to face off in a welterweight bout at a date still to be determined. However, the matchup is yet to be made official and recent sexual assault accusations against McGregor have left his future competitive status unclear.

The finalists of the TUF 31 lightweight and bantamweight tournaments will also compete for a six-figure UFC contract at the show’s live finale. A date for that event is yet to be announced.

Here is the TUF 31 roster divided by team:

Team McGregor (prospects)

Lightweight