Why Faber – not Aldo or Edgar – vs. McGregor as 'TUF 22' coaches? Backstage confrontation helped

LAS VEGAS – Why were UFC interim featherweight champion Conor McGregor and vet Urijah Faber – rivals who won’t even fight at season’s end – chosen to coach “The Ultimate Fighter 22?? You can thank that backstage confrontation for setting the wheels in motion.

During Sunday’s FOX Sports 1 broadcast of The Ultimate Fighter 21 Finale, UFC President Dana White confirmed Faber (32-8 MMA, 8-4 UFC) and McGregor (18-2 MMA, 6-0 UFC) will coach the upcoming season 22nd season of the long-running reality series, which will feature a U.S. vs. Europe format, later this year.

Why them? According to UFC Vice President of Public Relations Dave Sholler, the organization was considering a few options. But when McGregor, who won the title in Saturday’s UFC 189 pay-per-view headliner with a second-round TKO victory over Chad Mendes, had a preflight clash with Faber (Mendes’ teammate) backstage during UFC 189 weigh-ins, officials opted to capitalize.

“Conor’s can’t-miss TV right now, and I think there’s a lot of buzz for Conor not only here, but also in Europe and the rest of the world,” Sholler told MMAjunkie after Sunday’s event. “The way we formatted this show to be Europe vs. the United States – let’s be honest, Faber and McGregor don’t get along, so it made a lot of sense for us from a production standpoint.”

“At the end of the day, it’s going to be can’t-miss TV. We’re really excited about the format and really excited about the coaches.”

After the encounter with McGregor, Faber said the Irishman looked like “a crackhead” while they briefly clashed. The confrontation quickly went viral. However, Sholler insisted the dustup was genuine.

“There was no fake drama,” he said. “Urijah ran into McGregor backstage. I think if you look at that video, Conor gave Urijah a little pat on the head. I’m used to getting those. Urijah didn’t react well, but fortunately, Urijah didn’t turn that into anything more than it could be.

“But that wasn’t premeditated. That wasn’t manufactured. These guys just don’t like each other.”

“TUF 22? premiers Sept. 9 on FOX Sports 1 with a two-hour season debut. White said 16 lightweights will be on the show, with eight from the U.S., and eight from Europe.

Faber lost a unanimous decision to former lightweight champ Frankie Edgar (19-4-1 MMA, 13-4-1 UFC) in May in his return to featherweight. According to Sholler, Edgar, who seems to be a lot more likely opponent for McGregor, was also under consideration for the coaching slot, but officials ultimately wanted to capitalize on the rivalry with McGregor. As Sholler said, Faber also “thrives” in the “TUF” coaching and training environment.

McGregor was scheduled to fight featherweight champ Jose Aldo (25-1 MMA, 7-0 UFC) at UFC 189, but the Brazilian pulled out the week before the fight with a rib injury. McGregor then beat Mendes, and a title-unification bout with Aldo is expected next. After UFC 189, White said that fight is likely to take place in Las Vegas, despite the UFC having a card set for McGregor’s home city of Dublin on Oct. 24.

For more on UFC 189, check out the UFC Events section of the site.