TUF 31: "These judges are ruining livelihoods" - Michael Chandler and MMA fans fume after Timur Valiev is allegedly robbed against Brad Katona at TUF 31

The 31st season of The Ultimate Fighter is currently airing, and last night’s episode saw the first bantamweight semi-final between Timur Valiev and Brad Katona.

Both fighters initially represented Michael Chandler’s team on the reality show, but prior to last night’s fight, Katona, who was produced by the SBG Ireland gym, moved over to Conor McGregor’s team.

The bout was billed as the bloodiest fight on this season of TUF to date, and eventually ended in a split decision in favour of Katona.

The win for the TUF 27 winner was only the second on the series for Conor McGregor’s side. ‘The Notorious’ initially saw his fighters lose their first seven fights and only narrowly avoided a whitewash.

Despite Katona initially being a part of Chandler’s team, ‘Iron Mike’ did not agree with the decision, and took to Twitter to protest in favour of Timur Valiev.

It didn’t take long for a number of fans to agree with the former Bellator MMA champion, with plenty suggesting that the judges had gotten the decision wrong.

@MandGraster agreed with this, but also came out with a mild conspiracy theory to explain it.

@ShowInvestment quoted Dana White by stating that fighters should never leave it to the judges.

One user even went as far as claiming that the judges were biased against Russian fighters.

TUF 31 will continue next week, with Jason Knight facing Kurt Holobaugh in the second lightweight semi-final.

Timur Valiev vs. Brad Katona: How did these fighters fare in the UFC?

TUF 31 initially featured eight fighters who had already had experience in the UFC, and amongst them were Timur Valiev and Brad Katona.

It’s arguable that both men should never have been cut from the promotion’s roster in the first place, based on both their solid skills and their records in the octagon.

Katona debuted in the UFC after winning the 27th season of TUF in 2018. He defeated Jay Cucciniello and Matthew Lopez in the octagon before dropping back-to-back fights against Merab Dvalishvili and Hunter Azure.

Since leaving the UFC, the native of Canada put together four straight wins before joining the TUF 31 cast this year.

Timur Valiev, meanwhile, put together two impressive wins in the octagon, beating Martin Day and Raoni Barcelos after a loss to Trevin Jones was overturned due to a positive drug test.

The Russian then lost to the highly-rated Jack Shore before being cut from the roster last March. He had not fought on the regional circuit prior to his return on TUF 31.

About the author

Scott is a veteran MMA writer with over two decades of experience, including his ongoing tenure in Sportskeeda, which began seven years ago. He has written over 3000 pieces for the organization, while also covering football. Before joining Sportskeeda, Scott wrote articles for websites like The Oratory and Inside Pulse MMA.

Scott has a degree in history, which drives his research skills and helps him compile accurate information. His long stint in the field helps Scott provide a clear take on important topics, such as the criticism of promotions regarding fighter pay. While he feels fighters deserve a bigger revenue share, he doesn’t want MMA to suffer with purse-split issues.

Scott’s work has been previously reshared by the former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman. He uses credible sources, such as the UFC’s official website, during the writing process.

His dedication to MMA writing won him the Feature Writer of the Month award for Sportskeeda in November 2021.

Outside of work, Scott likes to go to the gym, walk his dog, and travel.

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