Conor McGregor, a prominent figure in the world of MMA, always manages to attract attention and generate widespread interest with his involvement in the sport. Recent viewership numbers, however, suggest that McGregor's return as a coach on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF 31) has been met with slightly muted interest from spectators.According to Nielsen ratings, TUF 31 rated 11th overall on cable during its Tuesday night time slot, with an average of 294,000 viewers and a.14 share in the sought-after 18-to-49-year-old demographic, which is crucial for television advertising.MMAFighting.com@MMAFightingConor McGregor’s return for The Ultimate Fighter 31 produces 294k average viewers on ESPN (@DamonMartin) mmafighting.com/2023/6/5/23750…109447Conor McGregor’s return for The Ultimate Fighter 31 produces 294k average viewers on ESPN (@DamonMartin) mmafighting.com/2023/6/5/23750… https://t.co/EDXgp1vv9ITuesday's highest-rated program was The Real Housewives of New Jersey on Bravo, which did a staggering 1.176 million average viewers and a 0.34 share in the 18-to-49-year-old demographic. These numbers are considerably lower than McGregor's previous appearance on TUF season 22, which debuted with an average of 622,000 viewers on FOX Sports 1.In 2018, TUF 28's premiere on FOX Sports 1 with Robert Whittaker and Kelvin Gastelum attracted an average of only 186,000 viewers. Notably, TUF 29 and TUF 30 were available exclusively on ESPN+, a paid subscription service, rendering viewership statistics unavailable.Conor McGregor's involvement as a coach on the most recent season of The Ultimate Fighter was a major factor in deciding to bring the show back to ESPN instead of ESPN+. However, armed with the aforementioned statistics, fervent fight fans seized the opportunity to cast a critical eye on the viewership numbers of TUF 31.One fan wrote:"According to Dana White, [Power] Slap is doing better than TUF."undefined@nonProfitTrader@MMAFighting @DamonMartin According to Dana White, SLAP is doing better than TUF 81@MMAFighting @DamonMartin According to Dana White, SLAP is doing better than TUF 💀Another fight fan speculated:"That’s actually a pretty bad sign that the fight is not going to happen in any way shape or form."Triple B 🤵🏼‍♂️@TripleB_YSJ@MMAFighting @DamonMartin That’s actually a pretty bad sign that the fight is not going to happen in any way shape or form1@MMAFighting @DamonMartin That’s actually a pretty bad sign that the fight is not going to happen in any way shape or formYet another fan wrote:"I think most people already know the fight isn't happening. Probably the reason they aren't watching."That Guy@Whothefookisth3@TripleB_YSJ @MMAFighting @DamonMartin I think most people already know the fight isn't happening. Probably the reason they aren't watching2@TripleB_YSJ @MMAFighting @DamonMartin I think most people already know the fight isn't happening. Probably the reason they aren't watchingCheck out some of the reactions below:Mikey@metawoofer@MMAFighting @DamonMartin Was boring and @TheNotoriousMMA looks weird in his suit all the damn time. I wouldn’t be surprised if he fights in it.@MMAFighting @DamonMartin Was boring and @TheNotoriousMMA looks weird in his suit all the damn time. I wouldn’t be surprised if he fights in it.TheToraDigest@ToraDigest@MMAFighting @DamonMartin We reviewed the first episode (and will review all of them, for better or for worse) ... A lot of talking, a lot of tired cliches, and a single 8 second fight 47@MMAFighting @DamonMartin We reviewed the first episode (and will review all of them, for better or for worse) ... A lot of talking, a lot of tired cliches, and a single 8 second fight 😐Doctor MMA@FightDoctor_@MMAFighting @DamonMartin Cause nobody watches conor anymore 201@MMAFighting @DamonMartin Cause nobody watches conor anymore 😂Jesse Striper@Bjjesse@MMAFighting @DamonMartin I watched it on YouTube and that video had like 600k in a hour so.37@MMAFighting @DamonMartin I watched it on YouTube and that video had like 600k in a hour so.Kermit Jagger@mormon_mma@MMAFighting @DamonMartin Wow that's low@MMAFighting @DamonMartin Wow that's lowJesse@thisboijesse@MMAFighting @DamonMartin Tbh with only showing Conor & Michael for like 15mins that ain’t that bad 🤣@MMAFighting @DamonMartin Tbh with only showing Conor & Michael for like 15mins that ain’t that bad 🤣KMasterWon@kstar04@MMAFighting @DamonMartin I don't think that's low at all considering nobody cares about TUF for years.1@MMAFighting @DamonMartin I don't think that's low at all considering nobody cares about TUF for years.Erik Goatbranson@ceefry23@MMAFighting @DamonMartin Yeah they'll be lucky to get half that after how garbage episode 1 was@MMAFighting @DamonMartin Yeah they'll be lucky to get half that after how garbage episode 1 wasPat Pierre@loonatic1@MMAFighting @DamonMartin With this fight in limbo, I don’t think people are interested in watching this as much now@MMAFighting @DamonMartin With this fight in limbo, I don’t think people are interested in watching this as much nowgrunk@bapagrunk@MMAFighting @DamonMartin I expected it to be low tbh but not this low goddamn@MMAFighting @DamonMartin I expected it to be low tbh but not this low goddamnTUF 31 viewership: Reports suggest Conor McGregor is the most influential Irish athlete on InstagramAccording to a report by Irish Mirror, Conor McGregor, the former UFC two-division champion, who hasn't competed in nearly two years, is the most influential Irish athlete on Instagram. Bettingtop10 Ireland, a company that specializes in sports betting in Ireland, analyzed the impact of popular athletes on Instagram by evaluating how much money they made from sponsored posts.Conor McGregor tops the list with an incredible average of €111,495 per sponsored post, thanks to his staggering 46.4 million Instagram followers under the handle @thenotoriousmma.WWE star Becky Lynch, who has 5.7 million followers on her account @beckylynchwwe, comes in second, earning an average of €13,726 for each sponsored post. And in third place, with 567,000 followers, is Irish boxing star Katie Taylor, who earns an average of €1,931 with each sponsored post on her account @katie_t86.