Dana White was far from pleased with the recent coaches’ challenge showcased during the ongoing 31st season of The Ultimate Fighter. The challenge involved Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler immersing themselves in an ice bath with water at a bone-chilling 39 degrees Fahrenheit, all while answering random UFC trivia questions.
White’s frustration, however, was primarily directed at the UFC’s production team rather than the two participants who willingly undertook the challenge. Although White was present during the coaches’ challenge, he only addressed the matter in an interview with Mac Life after the event had taken place.
In the interview, White openly criticized the UFC’s production team for their handling of the situation. He stated, “I’mma tell you this: it was a huge, huge f—ng clusterf—k by the production team that shot this thing. Completely f—ng irresponsible. Completely a shitshow and both of them could’ve been hurt during this. It was f—ng ridiculous what happened during the coaches’ challenge.”
White went on to share his own experience with an ice bath during a recent trip to New York City, using it to emphasize his concern about the potential injuries McGregor or Chandler could have sustained. He promised that such an incident wouldn’t be repeated, saying, “I did 37 degrees in New York for seven minutes. We did two days of six minutes, we did the last day at seven minutes. These guys did this thing for almost 30 minutes. Dangerous, stupid, irresponsible, and just completely f—ng ridiculous on the part of the production crew that handled the coaches’ challenge. I was literally f—ng pissed off about… disgusting. It won’t happen again.”