‘The Ultimate Fighter 31: McGregor vs. Chandler’ Episode 3 recap: Action fight keeps momentum on one side
“The Ultimate Fighter 31: Team McGregor vs. Team Chandler” returned Tuesday for Episode 3 and featured an exciting fight to close things out.
Episode 3 also featured a pretty cool moment between Conor McGregor and a young UFC fan.
The season runs until Aug. 15 with the live finale expected later this year. The promotion also intends on coaches McGregor and Michael Chandler squaring off in the months that follow the conclusion of the season.
Scroll below for a recap of Episode 3 and make sure to check out an exclusive insider look from TUF 31 cast member Kurt Holobaugh, who will peel back the curtain on MMA Junkie the morning after each episode airs.
McKenzie's fight plan
To kick off the episode, McGregor is singing and in a good mood as they prepare for Aaron McKenzie’s fight with Austin Hubbard. McKenzie is focused on getting inside Hubbard’s punching range to take him down since Brazilian jiu-jitsu is his specialty. McKenzie is the current LFA lightweight champion, while Hubbard was the LFA 155-pound champ before him.
“He’s cold, he’s calm, he’s calculated,” McGregor says of McKenzie. “A lot of people talk about speed or power. People don’t talk about calmness enough.”
'Life's kicking my butt every corner'
Back at the house, Hubbard talks about the pressure of being successful because of his family. He gets emotional speaking about the recent death of his brother and how he and his wife lost a baby.
“It’s just been a constant crappy story, I’ll say,” Hubbard says. “Life’s kicking my butt every corner, it seems like, so to have this opportunity is huge.”
Hubbard talks about his job working for a restoration company and having a 13-year-old daughter. Hubbard went 3-4 in his previous UFC stint before he was cut in 2022. “This opportunity would be huge for me. It’s my chance at redemption,” he says.
Both Chandler and Hubbard speak confidently about the matchup against McKenzie.
“He’s bigger, he’s faster, he’s stronger, he’s more talented, he’s more well rounded, and he deserves it more,” Chandler says.
Hubbard adds: “I feel like I can do it all, and I can hold my own with the best in the world. I always have an advantage, in a sense, because I can mix it up so well. … I don’t foresee him bringing anything to the table that I haven’t already seen or experienced. I always come prepared, so he will need to bring his A-game to have any chance.”
$1,200 for toys?!?
UFC president Dana White explains how McGregor came across a young fan who makes his own action figures. McGregor saw them on social media and wanted to meet him. The boy’s name is Samuel Romero, who rode with his family from California to Las Vegas. Romero says he’s been making his own action figures from the parts of various figures and painting them for four years. McGregor loves them, so he takes a few of himself off Romero’s hands for his kids.
McGregor pulls out a fat wad of hundred-dollar bills and pays Romero $1,200 for the toys.
The boy’s mouth drops in disbelief.
Not bad, kid!
Hubbard vs. McKenzie weigh-in
The fight: Aaron McKenzie vs. Austin Hubbard
Next week's fight
On Episode 3, with the score 3-0 in favor of Team Chandler, bantamweights Trevor Wells (Team McGregor) and Timur Valiev (Team Chandler) square off in a quarterfinal matchup.
