Tony Ferguson says he has been offered to coach The Ultimate Fighter alongside Conor McGregor.
McGregor hasn’t fought since a doctor’s stoppage loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 264. He’s been recovering from a leg injury ever since but seems to remain intent on a return to the Octagon this year.
An exact timeline for McGregor’s return is uncertain and he still remains absent from the USADA testing pool. He’ll have to be signed up for the pool for six months before being eligible to fight.
Amidst this expected 2023 wait, McGregor seems to have a gig lined up ahead of his highly anticipated return to the Octagon.
In a recent Instagram post, McGregor alleged the UFC has offered him another go-around coaching The Ultimate Fighter.
“This is a snap from the original ultimate fighter house. Where I coached vs urijah faber,” McGregor posted. “This photo was just before the show tho. It was right before I won my first world title beating urijah team mate chad mendes around. I then went on to coach the famous fight show straight after the fight. With a big black eye and a gash, my tricolor, and my new and first ever ufc gold belt, I waltzed into the notorious fight gym in Las Vegas. The slickest suits and shouts the show had ever seen before. On top of the silverware. And I coached my team to victory. Crazy. Some journey.
“I have just been offered to coach this role again. I like it. It is full immersion which is needed. I see fighters lining up. I know whats ahead I been ready motherfuckers.”
Tony Ferguson Says He’s Been Offered TUF Role With Conor McGregor
One day after McGregor’s revelation, Tony Ferguson released the following tweet.
“I’ve Been Asked To Coach On TUF Against Ol’e Fathead, or Anyone Of My Choosing If That Cake-Eatin’ Sum’Bish’ Wouldn’t Show *mack* What A Vagina Always Ready Anytime Anywhere,.. I Choose You McKnacker @TheNotoriousMMA See Ewe Soon- Thee Champ”
Tony Ferguson is a former winner of The Ultimate Fighter, winning the 13th season against Ramsey Nijem at welterweight. Although McGregor and Ferguson were both in the UFC’s lightweight division together, if the two were booke against one another it could be at welterweight.
Ferguson last competed at welterweight for the first time since winning TUF when he took on McGregor rival Nate Diaz in a losing effort at UFC 279. And McGregor has also insisted that he would be making his Octagon return as a welterweight.
McGregor coached opposite Urijah Faber during his first stint as a TUF coach in 2015. Later that year, McGregor won the interim featherweight title against Chad Mendes before knocking out José Aldo in a unification bout.
McGregor is in some legal trouble outside of the Octagon. He’s in a heated dispute with his former teammate Artem Lobov in court and was recently accused of assaulting a woman last summer.
In addition to Tony Ferguson, Michael Chandler has also expressed interest this week in coaching TUF opposite McGregor. However, if Ferguson’s claims are true, he is much closer to having his hopes become a reality.
The next season of TUF is expected to kick off later this year, so it is only a matter of time before the coaches are officially revealed.
Would you watch a season of The Ultimate Fighter starring Conor McGregor and Tony Ferguson?