09 August 2023 , 12:03
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Conor McGregor took just his second major victory of The Ultimate Fighter season against Michael Chandler as he defeated his rival in the coaches' challenge of ice bath trivia.
The pair were submerged in freezing cold water for what promotional boss Dana White has said was around 30 minutes on set, where they were quizzed on different facts about the UFC. They were first asked general knowledge questions before being put to the test on their knowledge of their rival's career.
It was declared that the winner would take home $10,000 for themselves, while their fighters would each pocket an extra $1,500 in the case of a victory. Given that McGregor had gone 1-7 for the season, before his SBG Ireland teammate Brad Katona switched and became his sole finalist; it was a welcome gesture for the Irishman to make his team some extra cash.
McGregor took the lead with the general knowledge, after the pair both correctly picked Andre Gusmao as Jon Jones' debut fight he knew that Brock Lesnar's first UFC win was against Heath Herring, not Frank Mir. And the pair got into some banter, with McGregor claiming he's "in the UFC since Chandler is in nappies".
Chandler had insisted that he was going to struggle with both the ice bath and the trivia portion of the night, telling cameras beforehand: "Trivia? I could not think of a worse coaches' challenge for me. I watch the sport, I love the sport, I like to watch individual performances but I don't retain that kind of information.
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On the other hand, McGregor was more keen on the challenge - insisting that he himself made up a large portion of the the promotion's greatest accomplishments. "A Q&A about the UFC history? I am the UFC history," he joked. "I was confident I was going to get that one."
The American admitted that he was not a fan of the ice bath either, adding that "I actually do ice baths often, it was literally my biggest fear; cold water, up until about six months ago." He could then be seen telling McGregor "I shake like a mofo, dude." That added confidence for the Irishman, who claimed he was using the exercise to help recover from a training injury.
Conor McGregor defeated Michael Chandler and pocketed $10,000 in cash (ESPN)What did you make of Conor McGregor's performance in the challenge? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!
"He got into the ice bath and his jaw was going crazy," McGregor joked. "He was absolutely shaking in the thing. I thought we were going to have to call an ambulance or something like that. Now it was cold, in fairness. I was alright with it. I was a bit sore and banged up from the training so it actually helped me. When I got in it wasn't like 'ahh', it was actually like 'oh this is nice'."
A clear highlight of the event was the portion where Chandler was asked about McGregor's career; with one question being "in which round against Khabib Nurmagomedov was McGregor submitted?" This clearly agitated the Irishman, who was already irked by the cold, although he managed to power through for the victory.
He joked that he had already brought $10,000 in cash to the shoot, and added the sizeable sum to what was in his pocket. Meanwhile, his fighters were delighted to pocket an extra payout, given that competitors on the show are not paid particularly well for their time in the house.