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Things didn’t go as planned for Conor McGregor’s fighter Nate Jennerman as he was knocked out in nine seconds in the inaugural episode of The Ultimate Fighter season 31. The former two-division UFC champion is coaching against Michael Chandler on the UFC reality show ahead of their fight slated later this year. However, Nate Jennerman was stopped in the first 10 seconds of the fight against Roosevelt Roberts.
At the beginning of the episode, the former UFC champion picked the group of fighters he wanted to coach with a ‘coin toss’. Conor chose to coach the ‘prospects’ at bantamweight and lightweight rather than experienced veterans. Notably, experienced veterans are a group of fighters who have fought in the UFC before and consist of names such as Jason Knight and Brad Katona.
Jannerman, who is the number two seed for McGregor’s group of lightweights, was picked to fight against Roberts, who is Chandler’s number three seed. Jannerman wanted to end the fight on a winning note, but a big right hand in three seconds of the fight left him blooded, leading to the fight’s end.
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McGregor was left frustrated with how things turned out and said, "We were all upset for Nate, he didn't get to show much of what he has. It's a big stage and sometimes we can rise, sometimes it can go against you. Essentially in this one, that's what happened."
Meanwhile, Chandler was ecstatic and said, "Roosevelt went out and did exactly what I knew he could do and what I wanted him to do. He got his range and before you knew it, hit Jennerman with a big right hand. It was picture-perfect and he should be very proud of that performance." On the other hand, Jannerman was left dejected by the fight and apologised to the Irishman. However, Conor asked him to not worry and assured him they will get better.
