The Ultimate Fighter 31: Team McGregor vs. Team Chandler aired its second episode this weekend, with some medical drama and another explosive knockout to end the show.

Read our recap of The Ultimate Fighter 31: Team McGregor vs. Team Chandler Episode 3 here.

Fight Day

The episode began in a weird fashion on fight day, with expected combatants Trevor Wells and Timur Valiev walking into the UFC APEX. Both men were extremely confident, with Wells highlighting Valiev’s Dagestani wrestling pedigree. However, the two men never ended up stepping into the cage.

Nevada State Athletic Commission Executive Jeff Mullen was shown speaking to Michael Chandler, revealing that Wells had not been medically cleared to compete. Chandler was then seen speaking to his Assistance Coach, Bellator Heavyweight World Champion and former TUF winner Ryan Bader.

Wells revealed the injury to be a cold sore on his face, that had appeared that morning, with the Commission not able to medically clear him for competition due to any potential contagiousness. Chandler informed Valiev, who took the news well but did raise the issue of having to cut weight again. UFC President Dana White and McGregor were open to potentially allowing a catchweight should the bout go ahead at a later date.

In their place, the next Bantamweight bout between #4 ranked veteran Cody Gibson and #1 ranked prospect Mando Gutierrez was set to go ahead. Gibson (19-8-0) was ranked the lowest Bantamweight veteran despite a very experienced record, that includes a win over UFC veteran John Dodson and four UFC bouts from 2014-2015 against the likes of Aljamain Sterling and Manny Gamburyan.

Gutierrez (8-2-0) entered the TUF house off the back of a TKO victory in October. Previous to that, Gutierrez fought on Dana White’s Contender Series, losing a decision to Raul Rosas Jr., who went on to become the youngest-ever fighter in UFC history.

Everything You Need to Know About The Ultimate Fighter 31: Team McGregor vs. Team Chandler

The Ultimate Fighter House

We got the first real interactions inside the TUF House, with prospect Landon Quinones getting into a verbal spat with veteran Roosevelt Roberts, who scored a stunning 8-second knockout on Episode 1 of TUF 31. The two men went back and forth, with Roberts using the classic line “Let’s fight right here”.

Quinones smartly did not bite, but if they do come against each other later in the season, we could see some fireworks. Notably, Quinones’ only career loss was a split decision loss in 2019 to Muhammad Naimov, who made an impressive UFC debut this past weekend with a TKO of Jamie Mullarkey.

We then saw a beautiful moment between Chandler and Gibson, who connected over their experiences with adoption, with Chandler having two adopted children and Gibson having been adopted at the age of 2. These are the beautiful moments that TUF shines a light on and gives fans a chance to connect with these fighters.

On the other side, McGregor spent some time in the TUF House, getting a haircut from Gutierrez and sharing some drinks with the competitors. He even had some Team Chandler fighters having a good time with him and his team.

Read our recap of The Ultimate Fighter 31: Team McGregor vs. Team Chandler Episode 3 here.

The Fight

The two men both made weight, with Gibson’s size being a notable advantage. With no further issues, the fight went ahead.

Gutierrez and Gibson both looked solid inside the Octagon trading blows. Gibson was using his size advantage perfectly, shooting straight shots and teep kicks from the outside and then grinding Gutierrez along the cage. Gutierrez showed some fight, getting his back off the cage and landing some good leg kicks.

But once again, the veteran Gibson looked too experienced and too skilled for the prospect. Out of nowhere, Gibson landed a brutal flying knee which landed flush sending Gutierrez down and finishing the fight with some ground and pound. This takes the score to 2-0 for Team Chandler’s veterans.

Up next week is a Lightweight bout between the #2 ranked veteran Austin Hubbard (15-6-0, 3-4-0 UFC) and #3 ranked prospect Aaron McKenzie (11-2-1).

Read our recap of The Ultimate Fighter 31: Team McGregor vs. Team Chandler, Episode 1 here.