Earlier this year, UFC president Dana White said The Ultimate Fighter would be making its return in the latter half of 2020. The reality show's revival had gotten as far as selecting the coaches, with the UFC's two most prominent names set to be opposite one another. But that will no longer be happening.
According to White, the coaches were set to be lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and former two-division world champion Conor McGregor. White claims Nurmagomedov was upset when McGregor revealed direct messages he exchanged with White nixing fight plans the Irishman had in mind for himself. Apparently, it upset the Dagestan native to the point that he would no longer do the show opposite his biggest rival.
"He was going to do it until Conor did all of this (expletive)," White said in an interview with Barstool Sports. "I almost had it. That's what I was saying: I felt like I was in a good place, and I was going to get that done. We were going to do 'The Ultimate Fighter' on ESPN and (expletive) do the rematch. But you know, Conor blew that. … Yeah, Khabib said (expletive) him."
Nurmagomedov and McGregor's rivalry runs deep, culminating with Nurmagomedov submitting McGregor in the fourth round at UFC 229 in October 2018. More people talk about the aftermath than the actual fight itself. After the bout's conclusion, the teams of Nurmagomedov and McGregor were involved in a melee that spilled into the crowd.
Since the brawl, McGregor and Nurmagomedov have fought once. Nurmagomedov submitted Dustin Poirier in the third round to retain his title at UFC 242 in September 2019. McGregor competed at January's UFC 246, scoring a 40-second TKO win over Donald Cerrone.