'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) is coming back after a long lay-off of two years. There is a long history of notable seasons, like Team McGregor vs. Team Faber, Garbrandt vs. Dillashaw, and many more.
This time around, featherweights Brian Ortega and Alex Volkanovski will be leading a group of bantamweights and middleweights in the 29th edition of TUF.
One of the most-watched editions of the tournament involved Conor McGregor and Urijah Faber coaching their respective teams. Not only was the Irishman at his peak, but he was also pitted against popular bantamweight Faber. The latter took all of McGregor's jokes without responding. This led to several hilarious exchanges and clipped moments.
However, the competition witnessed a lot of controversies. Team McGregor took the edge in the season after winning six of the nine matches. Hence, the quarter-finals featured just three fighters from Team Faber. Two of them lost in the quarters, and in the end, Julian Erosa was the only one left from Faber's team.
Erosa fought Artem Lobov in the semi-finals and was knocked out in the first round. The other semi-final between Saul Rodgers and Marcin Wrzosek was won by the former via a second-round submission. This led to two Team McGregor fighters fighting in the finale of the Ultimate Fighter. However, it wasn't meant to be.
Team McGregor loses a finalist as Saul Rodgers was pulled from the tournament.
Things changed when the UFC removed Rodgers from the final due to some visa-related issues. It was discovered that he had falsified information on his visa application, restricting his travel to the United States.
Hence, the fight couldn't go forward, and the UFC decided to replace the Team McGregor fighter with the man he beat in the quarter-finals, Ryan Hall.
Hall was a member of Team Faber and it was his chance to redeem his team. He didn't disappoint as he beat Artem Lobov after a dominant display. Hall won all three rounds of the fight and two judges gave him a 10-8 round as well. He crushed the dreams of Team McGregor and won the entire tournament for Team Faber.
Hall is still competing in the UFC at a high level at lightweight. He is on an eight-fight winning streak and is set to fight Ilia Topuria on July 10, 2021 at UFC 264. Incidentally, Conor McGregor is headlining the event alongside Dustin Poirier in the final fight of the trilogy between the two.
