UFC boss Dana White has slammed his own TV production for an ice bath challenge on the latest episode of The Ultimate Fighter.
This latest instalment of the reality show has seen Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler go head to head as rival coaches mentoring a crop of rookies and veterans battling it out for a spot on the UFC roster.
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In this week’s episode, McGregor and Chandler hopped into freezing ice baths and answered trivia questions about UFC history read out by iconic announcer Bruce Buffer.
The pair stayed in their ice baths for nearly 30 minutes, shivering in the 3.8 degree water.
“We got into the ice bath, his jaw was rattling,” McGregor said afterwards.
“He was absolutely shaking in the thing. I thought we were going to have to call an ambulance or something.
“It was cold in fairness but I was all right with it. I was a bit sore and banged up from the training so it actually helped me. When I got in, it was like, ‘this is nice’.”
McGregor won the trivia challenge and celebrated in typical style.
“Got the W baby,” he chuckled.
“The rich get richer. I got a ten (thousand dollars) in this pocket that I’m after winning.”
But White, who watched on with the contestants, wasn’t impressed with the stunt and slammed the show’s production crew.
“I’m going to tell you this it was a huge clusterf*** by the production team that shot this thing,” the UFC president told The Mac Life.
“Completely f***ing irresponsible. Completely a s*** show and both of them could have been hurt doing this.
“It was ridiculous what happened during the coaching challenge.
“I did 37 degrees (fahrenheit) in New York for seven minutes, we did two days at six minutes and the last day at seven minutes.
“These guys did this thing for almost 30 minutes. Dangerous, stupid, irresponsible and just completely f***ing ridiculous on the part of the production team.
“I was literally f***ing pissed off about it. Disgusting. Won’t happen again.”
McGregor and Chandler’s appearances as team coaches on The Ultimate Fighter have fuelled speculation they could fight each other for real in the next few months.
McGregor hasn’t fought since he broke his leg in a brutal loss to Dustin Poirier in 2021 and it’s unclear when or if he will return to the Octagon.
The Irishman has set his sights on Justin Gaethje after his brutal knockout kick sent Poirier into another stratosphere at UFC 291.
But a fight against fellow veteran Chandler appears more likely for McGregor.
“Yes he’s fighting Chandler,” White said this week.
“He likes to f*** with everybody. You know what I mean? Especially his opponent, or possible opponents.”
Watch every episode of The Ultimate Fighter on Kayo Sports.