Team McGregor practices canceled due to MIA Conor McGregor

It appears Conor McGregor wasn’t the most reliable of coaches on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) this season.

McGregor coached opposite Michael Chandler on the latest season of the TUF program, coaching bantamweights and lightweights. When all was said and done, McGregor’s team won the bantamweight tournament, while Team Chandler took home the victory for the lightweights.

However, according to Team Chandler member Kurt Holobaugh, who won the lightweight portion of the tournament, McGregor actually missed quite a bit of training sessions and activities on the show. Holobaugh explained during a recent appearance on BJPenn Radio.

“No, he definitely missed a lot,” Holobaugh said (via MMA Mania). “I don’t think he showed up to one weigh-in. I know there were several times where they may have canceled their practices.

“I remember sometimes the guys would get all the way to the Apex, our team in a sense enjoyed it when they would go because we loved the hours we had. We had 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. and they had 12 p.m. and 6 p.m., so by the time we would get back to the house just before six, that is when we had time to cook and shower, there weren’t many people in the house, chill in the hot tub.

“All of a sudden they came back in several times and we thought they were training and they said they canceled it. There were quite of few times Conor didn’t show and Conor canceled practices. I definitely think he could have been way more involved than he was.”

There certainly seems to be some validity to Holobaugh’s claims, as Team McGregor member Aaron McKenzie has even admitted that the former lightweight champion rarely appeared for morning training sessions. He did, however, maintain that assistant coaches were always there and ready to go.

As far as an eventual meeting between McGregor and Chandler inside the Octagon goes, Holobaugh believes his coach’s work ethic will make all the difference. If there’s an opportunity for either man to quit, Holobaugh is willing to bet the Irishman will take the way out.

“After spending a lot of time with Michael Chandler and seeing how Michael Chandler trains, and then knowing who Conor is and what Conor is doing and how Conor is training, I have to give the edge to my guy, Chandler,” Holobaugh said. “I think he’s going to want it so much more than Conor is going to want it.”

“Either one of them gets the chance to quit, Chandler’s not going to quit. But if Conor gets the chance to quit, he’s going to want to get out of there. And that is when Michael Chandler will finish him off.”