Meet Lightweight Nate Jennerman | The Ultimate Fighter: Team McGregor vs Team Chandler

What does it feel like to be a part of The Ultimate Fighter season 31?

This means the world. I’ve been doing this a long time; I’ve been training since I was 16, I had my first fight at 17, I’ve had 13 years of fighting. Went pro at 20 and have had 21 pro fights. It’s time to make that next jump. I’ve been waiting for this. It kinda sucks that I have to leave my family for the time that I do, but we’re going to make this happen.

How would you describe your fighting style for someone who hasn’t seen you compete?

My style is nasty. Like the nickname [Nasty Nate] says, it’s nasty all the time. I made a shirt a couple years ago that says ‘Nasty By Nature’, a play on ‘Naughty By Nature’. That’s just how it is; I'm going to throw everything and the kitchen sink at you. At any point, if somebody leaves their neck out, I'm snatching it. I'm taking it home. I got 16 Ws and 13 submissions, and they’re all chokes.

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What was your reaction when you heard Michael Chandler and Conor McGregor were going to be the coaches this season?

Lit. That’s the biggest thing it could have been. Conor is still the biggest name in the sport, so that’s a win-win for everybody on the season. Chandler just brings another energy, like a different type of energy. He’s that family guy, that everyday guy that everybody can kinda relate to. The eyes are going to be huge, I'm super excited, this is going to be the biggest season of TUF yet.

What would you learn from Michael Chandler?

I'm going to take everything in. No matter who my coaches are, I'm going to take everything they have to say. At this point, you kind of have to take everything with a grain of salt, too, though. Like, I'm not going to change my fight style in three weeks. I'm excited for all that and there’s different things we’re going to learn. Wrestling’s not really my thing; he’s a good wrestler, so we could take some of that. Wverything he does, I'm going to take parts of it. Great martial artists steal things and make it their own. I’ll take what he does and make it my own. 

What would you learn from Conor McGregor?

Take everything in. The way Conor carries himself and promotes himself is something that would be really cool to learn from him. Not everything he does is my style, but he does things really, really well. His striking, the way he always sets up counters, and he’s just on the ball. Me and my coach, Duke Roufus, were working and we were watching his fight against Eddie Alvarez. His Eddie Alvarez fight was so beautiful. Everything he did was perfect to counter everything Eddie did. He was set up all the time and his left was just looking so good that night.

Who inspired you to start MMA? Any former or current fighters that helped develop your passion?

My first favorite fighter was BJ Penn; he was the first fighter I really watched. Then Anderson Silva, too; that was the era I first really started watching. There have been some really good fighters. Aldo was one of my favorites for a long time. I was a ‘45er for a long time, so watching him be the king in the WEC and then when he first came over to the UFC, it was good. After that, the Diaz brothers. If there’s anybody that I’ve been an actual fan of, it’s the Diaz brothers. I love the way they work, their cardio, the way they carry themselves, true to themselves all the time. It’s basically teammates after that, and I rock with my team. Gerald Meerschaert has been a huge influence on my grappling style and my game. He thinks he taught me the guillotine, but I really taught it to him! Training with Paul Felder was so dope when he was with us, as well.

Before The Ultimate Fighter: Team McGregor vs Team Chandler Preview Show

What do you think is going to be your toughest challenge in making it to the end?

Keeping the mindset while in that house, especially while you’re around a bunch of people that you necessarily don’t like, I guess. You might fight these guys, so going in, I just don’t like fraternizing with people I'm going to fight anyway. I'm here with all these guys and it’s like we’re just getting to know each other. It just helps you get ready for everything in the UFC. Once you’re on those big pay-per-views you’re travelling with the guy that you’re fighting, you’re going to be across from each other all the time. This is just getting you ready for that kind of thing.

Why are you going to be the winner of The Ultimate Fighter season 31?

It’s going to be me because I'm the best all-around fighter here. I'm all around. I'm a great striker, I got really good submission game, I'm ready to go. Fighting really fast is my thing. As a professional, I think I’ve had a couple times where I turned around and fought just a couple weeks later. As an amateur, three different times, I fought twice in the same month. One time I was scheduled to fight twice in a night, and it just ended up not happening. I love that. I like to stay active and be ready to go. Finish the fight, generally take a week off, and then I want to be right back. I just want to fight and make a living. I kept telling people, ‘When I meet Dana White, I'm going to be like ‘Hey, I'm the new Cowboy Cerrone.’ If you need a short notice fight 55-70, call me up, I'm ready to go all the time.