Conor McGregor as TUF coach: 'I didn't want to do it'

The latest series of 'The Ultimate Fighter' airs on September 9th and will feature Conor McGregor and Urijah Faber as head coaches. Unlike previous shows, McGregor and Faber will not fight each other after the show has concluded; instead, the Irishman will challenge Jose Aldo for the featherweight title at UFC 194.

'The Notorious' was originally set to face Aldo at UFC 189 but the reigning champ pulled out at the last minute citing a rib injury. Chad Mendes stepped in as a replacement on two weeks' notice and Conor McGregor TKO'd the American in the second round to capture the interim featherweight title.

The original plan, according to McGregor, was to coach TUF opposite Chad Mendes if he beat 'Scarface' at UFC 189. So when the UFC asked the Dubliner to go head to head as a coach with Mendes' team mate Urijah Faber, McGregor almost turned the opportunity down.

"Before the fight I was excited. A few weeks before hand there was a few different options. Potentially it should have been, Jose (Aldo) should have showed up and it should be me coaching against Chad (Mendes) for the next fight. That was the original plan," McGregor explained when speaking to FOX Sports in Las Vegas.

"Then obviously what happened, Jose pulled (out) and it just threw the plans up into the air. Then, they give me Urijah (Faber) as the coach, they won't let me fight him, so my energy was gone from it. I did not want to do it. It did not mean anything to me."

The 27-year-old eventually came round to the idea and explained how he relished the opportunity to teach the contestants everything he could. Despite the change of heart, McGregor is still disappointed he won't be able to lock horns with Faber at the end of the show; the interim champion feels he would 'make light work' of his rival coach inside one round.

"I could go in and make light work of Urijah. I could maul him inside of one, y'know, and be fresh and then we could do the Jose fight towards the end of the year."

Although McGregor won't be fighting former WEC champion Uriah Faber, the #1 ranked featherweight contender will engage Jose Aldo in a title unification bout on December 12th at UFC 194.