MMA Fighting - BTL | Jake Paul vs. Mike Perry, Nate Diaz Lawsuit, UFC Vegas 94

Episode Date: July 18, 2024

Mike Perry finally gets his chance to face Jake Paul in the boxing ring this Saturday in Tampa. While it seems as if the BKFC star is in a great situation, what happens if he beats Paul — and how bad would it be for the YouTube star if he loses? On an all-new edition of Between the Links, the panel answers your questions about the Paul vs. Perry matchup, the stakes involved, and if Paul is putting the Mike Tyson fight in jeopardy. Additionally, topics include Nate Diaz filing a lawsuit against Fanmio stemming from his boxing win over Jorge Masvidal, Rose Namajunas' victory against Tracy Cortez at UFC Denver, Dana White providing an update on UFC 306 and Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler, this weekend's UFC event at the APEX, and more. MMA Fighting's Mike Heck and Jed Meshew discuss those topics and more on a special Q&A edition of the program. Follow Mike Heck: @MikeHeck_JR Follow Jed Meshew: @JedKMeshew Subscribe to MMA Fighting Check out our full video catalog Like MMA Fighting on Facebook Follow on Twitter Read More: http://www.mmafighting.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Okay, only 10 more presents to wrap. You're almost at the finish line. But first, there, the last one. Enjoy a Coca-Cola for a pause that refreshes. You're listening to the Vox Media Podcast Network. The iconic voice of Esther Lynn welcomes you to a brand new edition of BTL. Thank you for joining us on another Thursday. Hope you're all doing spectacular.

As always, tons to talk about. We got Jake Paul versus Mike Perry coming up this weekend. The UFC is back at the world's most famous apex this weekend. UFC Denver happened last weekend. Dana White has said some things. Connor McGregor has said some things. A lot has been happening. So we're here for a special Q&A edition of the program.

And who better to join us this week than a man who is actually in Tampa, Florida, right now. now. He is the big booper himself, the hot take kid. And there he is dancing around with a pretty blurry camera right now. But he's here and we're happy to have him. Jed Bishu. How are you, my friend? Like Tampa, I'm technically in Clearwater, not Tampa at the moment. And you know, it's a little behind the times. It's quaint. Doesn't quite have the same high speed internet as the wonderful Atlanta, Georgia does. But it has other things. It's got a pool. There's a pool right here, Mike. And it also has Jake Paul and Mike Perry. They are somewhere in this city with me. And on Saturday night, they're going to fistfight each other. I'm going to be there to watch.

You're going. Sure am. Excellent. It's going to be terrific. The wonderful E. Casey Leiden, also on location. I get to see the goat, Esther Lynn. It's going to be a good time, you know, see what happens in the arena. Well, that's what we like to see. I'm glad you are there.

I'm glad you'll be boots on the ground. But I guess you're there for a reason. Would it be fair to assume that you were very excited for this fight? Because, I don't know, it seems that Jake Paul fights. People are kind of lukewarm. It builds up a little bit. Sometimes there's trash shock and weirdness. But I don't think this one really needs it.

I think this one's just really fun. And I think I'm more excited for this Jake Paul fight than any other one that he's had. Is that the same for you? Yeah. So this will now be my second Jake Paul event that I've attended. I was boots on the ground for the Ben Ascran thing, which remains one of the most electric sporting events I've ever been to live. There was a concert in it. It was super weird.

A whole lot of stuff happened, but it was fun. This is obviously much further in the Jake Paul experiment, right? Like we're much deeper in than kind of the groundbreaking that was. and it's the best fight he's had, you know. I had some interest in Tyron Woodley, certainly had some interest in Anderson Silva, didn't care at all about Nate Diaz or the boxing matches against real boxers or whatever,

but this is, I mean, this is the fight that makes total sense. Mike Perry is already doing his best to sell it. And yeah, like, I'm pretty interested in it, and mostly my best friend lives here, so I was going to come down and visit him anyway. It's kind of just worked out really nicely for timing. And I'm excited. to see this frankly i'm more excited about the co-main event because you know everyone does expect

to manage sarano to win but this will be my real my first real boxing match i've ever been to live and so like counting that one as a totally real no influence or nothing like that's just legitimate boxing so i'm pretty pumped to to see that in the event overall we are going to be covering it obviously you in case it will be there we'll be doing a watch party myself in new york rick so if you haven't heard that news, it is happening. 10 p.m. Eastern, you can join us if you don't want to spend the money. We gotcha. And we're going to have a damn good time watching it.

So let's take your questions, of course, as you are all aware with most of this programming, the VIP line, you get to skip right over it with the super chat feature. So get right in there and let's answer as many questions as we can

until we can answer no more. So let's go to Joseph Boza. If Valentina doesn't want to a fight at the sphere is that the only way rose gets a title shot or is man in fioro still in the cat bird seat should something happen to alexa or valentina your thoughts on the flyweight division rose domi unis gets a victory over tracy cortez it was pretty much a lopsided win but i don't think this is a performance that blew anybody away jed and you probably avoided this card it all together. And if you did, I don't really blame you. It was what it was. But did Rose in that

performance? Is she the first phone call? The UFC makes it Valentina Can't go. I didn't avoid it altogether. I was on vacation. We talked about this in BTL last week. I did exactly what I said. I pulled out the phone and I watched my boy, John Silva, just, man, what an electric fist fight and totally worth, you know, being at the party, hanging out my friends and just having my phone on the side didn't watch any other fight other than that one uh i have since watched the main event just because it felt significant to do and my takeaways are align large with what you're saying right mike like that's not the performance it seals a title shot except it's 2024 and the rules are different now mike like we're we're just not living

in the same world i know you might want to cover your ears and and just go blah blah blah i know you don't want to hear this, we're living in a world where I'm in Saruki and Mike get passed over for a title shot for Michael Chandler. Meritocracy just, it's not the name of the game. And so in any rational world, Manofiore would have the catbird seat front row tickets. She would be the first call if this Valentina thing keeps happening. It seems

real weird. We can talk about that a little later. I'm not 100%. I would say it's more likely that it is Furo that she is the one who will get the first call, but it's not a hundred percent that that happens because for as good as Manor has been, for the fact that she has a win over Rose, Rosnam Yunus is still Rosamunis, she's got two wins in a row. She's a former champion and a big star, and that is just a much more sellable fight to the masses at large. And that's kind of the name of the game right now.

So I don't think it will happen. I am not willing to say it definitely won't. And there's absolutely a possibility where Valentina is out, somehow Rose gets a title fight coming off of that win over Tracy Cortez, which is speaks a lot to where we are in, in the UFC of this year. I will say no. Only because, in the biggest reason why is they don't need her. Because this isn't going to be the main event. This isn't a fight night card. This is an ESPN plus exclusive card like Nocha UFC was last year.

another question about what we're calling this card coming up in a moment. But if Alexa was in the main event, Rose would probably be the first phone call. She probably doesn't deserve it over Manifioro who beat Rose and has looked great. And, you know, a lot of us at MMA fighting thought Aaron Blanchfield was, I don't know if the uncrowned champion, but someone who was right next in line to fight for the belt. And she thumped her around. That fight was not competitive at all. So she absolutely deserves it.

but I think Valentin is going to end up fighting because you don't want to piss the UFC off that much. You can certainly ask for something, but if you outright defy it and say no, they're not going to go back to you. They're just, they're going to skip over you. Like you don't exist at this point. UFC has done this for a long time. So if this is the main event, I think Rose might be, but it seems like all signs, at least as of right now, are pointing towards Sean O'Malley versus Marabduallis-Willey, headlining this card. Alexa Grasso is obviously the co-made event for the theme, and that's great.

And at that point, it doesn't really matter who she fights as long as she's on the card and fight somebody viable. I think it's going to be fine. I think Rose is going to have to fight somebody else. Just rebook the Macy Barber fight. I think that makes all the sense in the world. Go ahead and do that. And I think everyone's going to be happy. So there you have it.

We do have a super chat from Chase. Let's skip over this poo-poo apex card and get to UFC 304, which is happening next Saturday in Manchester. What are you guys? What are your favorite fights on 304? also is Patty the biggest star in the card despite there being two champions on the lineup so we'll start with you jed what's your favorite three fights of ufc 304 had to pull the card just to check it out um let's go to the pat i'm going to do the patty answer first just because it's the shortest one

and the answer is yes he is the biggest star on this card um every time patty pimble has fought in England, both in and outside of the U.C, especially in the UFC, to steal his phrase, he has blown the roof off the gaff. When he hits the arena, yes, they are lit and live from all I'm a can, but the energy in the building when Patty Pimbled is there, I mean, it is superstar stuff. And we all, like, God knows, we all love Tommy Aspinall. Leon Edwards has an immense amount of respect. But Patty Pimbleau is the star of this fight.

card. So as far as top three fights go, I'm going to say Muhammad Mikhail versus Minnell Cop, even though that fight probably won't happen because it's Mano Cop. And so somehow that fight will just, he will miss weight. He will do something like the U.S. has been trying to spoon feed this man a title fight for like 18 full months. And he just keeps finding the line to not get there.

So knock on wood, hopefully this is the time he gets over the hump. because I think Manel Coppersal 100 Pantosia, the rematch is an exceptional fight for a belt. That's a fight to help Pantosia really get over and kind of make a star. But, you know, Makayev's Makayev. So maybe Makayev just gets him. And if so, the Makayev gets the fight for the belt. No questions asked.

Easy does it. Potentially our first champion born in the 2000s. So that fight has a lot of stakes, and I just really like the matchup. Should it happen? obviously a huge caveat. And then the other ones, I love Arnold Allen,

so I'll always say Arnold Allen versus Gigi Chikaze, which is very interested in how that fight goes. Giga, people were really high on Giga, and then he kind of dropped off of the catered thing, and it's sort of tough to know, and Arn Allen, I thought for sure I was going to fight for a belt,

had a couple of poorly timed losses, and now interested to see where he's at. And then I'm going to defend it, Mike, because I've called this fight many things I've called this fight leafy vegetables. It is that. But I love broccoli. Broccoli is delicious, Mike.

It is always a, it's not what you want to be the main event of the dish. You know, I am not a vegan. I don't want cauliflower to be the centerpiece. But it's still exceptional. Nonetheless, your vegetables are important. Fiber is great for you. And so Leon Edwards versus Belal Muhammad, all other parts of this fight aside,

it's two of the 15 best fighters in the world. facing off for the highest stakes possible. It is a good fight. It might not blow your doors off. It might not be the most exciting fight of all time. But I am legitimately interested in this matchup and what happens. I think Leon has a very good chance to upset the apple cart and really just make everything weird. So I'll go with that as my third, despite the fact that my boy in the co-main event.

I'll leave that to you, Mike. I don't want to take all the good ones from you. So you can have the co-main event. I'll have my leafy vegetables. and I will be right. It'll be like eating a brand muffin in the morning. I will be regular and steady and healthy because we all need to be that.

You want to know, number one for me is Patty Pimba versus Bobby Green. That's the number one for me. Yep. I'm very intrigued. There's a lot to this. Bobby Green's going to talk all the cucka right back to Patty Pimblit.

Bobby Green's a wily veteran. Bobby Green is the toughest test. Patty Pimble is face thus far as JFC career. probably not the fight I would have booked. I would have looked at Moikano. I think that would have answered a lot more questions, but Bobby Green is a very tough test. It's a fight.

Patty can win. If he gets his fight to the ground, he's got a very good chance of winning. If he doesn't, Bobby Green might thump him up something proper. But he also has 15 minutes. He's very durable guy. Not to mention that Patty Pimblet

has revealed that this is the last fight on his current contract. So he's taking a little bit of a risk here, potentially going into free agency. So that just is the cherry on top of the Sunday. day. I'm very, very much looking forward to this fight. Also, Max Rabkin in the comments correctly points out, there is no Bobby Green. Oh, King Green, excuse me.

It's just wondering. King, don't call me Bobby Green. That's what I have to do to keep this going on. King, don't call me Bobby Green. That's number one. Remember the name in the main event. We've got a lot of fun things going on in the nicknames now. I know. And that'll probably go. Is he a nickname like, let's two titles? Yeah, that was his nickname. Bobby King Green. No, but like, is it still?

Is he now King, King, Green? I hope so. I hope so. That would be terrific. I don't know where we go when you do this. We're going to find out. It's going to be very exciting. That's a great pick.

Maybe Bobby will be the nickname. Oh, my God. He'll still be King Bobby Green, but Bobby's the nickname. I love that. That's the fight. And then the two title fights are, I don't know, 2A and 2B. there's just so much on the line for in both of those fights, especially for the co-main event.

I think you can make a compelling case that that fight has more on the line than the main event does. Because certainly, Bala Muhammad, it's do or die for him. If he doesn't win the belt next Saturday, he's never, ever, ever, ever getting another title shot. It's never going to happen. Leon, at least, they go to the UK a lot. If the Welterway title is to be defended, there is a very real chance because of what Leon has done to help sell out these arenas. They could just give him an immediate rematch,

although I don't want to see that. I'd like to see Shafkat Rakhmanov get what he deserves, which is a warranted title shot. I don't think you match. You don't think there would be? I just don't think they want to do this fight twice. So, I think that he could get there. Shavka beats Ball

and then they want to do it. I think he absolutely is not out of getting a title fight now that he is champion, but I've said this before. He's in exactly the spot. Leon was he's got one shot and leon almost burned his and then won it in the most incredible way possible this is it it's all or nothing for blow because he'll never get back the all his chips are in the table right now yep and on the co-main event it's all or nothing for curtis blades he'll never

get another title shot and for tom asman all everything that he's built i'm not saying he's done it's not do or die for tom assinall but if he ever wants to fight john jones and i don't think this fight's gonna happen. But if he ever, ever wants that fight to happen, if he ever wants to fight Alex Pereira, if he ever wants these big fights or these big stars, he has to win. He has to win, and he has to do it incredibly impressively. That's it. Like, there's a lot at stake in both of these fights. They may not be, you know, the biggest stars on the planet, but there's a lot on the line here. And I like stakes, both, you know, from the food perspective and in the fight perspective. There's a lot to like there.

So I think it's a great main card overall. There's a lot to like about the main card. It's excellent. It's a really good card. I can't like the co-main because I'm too invested. Because I have a ton of respect for Curtis Blades. I would love to see him ascend. It would be terrific, right? Like just what he's been through kind of for years, I thought he might really be like the uncrown champ and sort of took some tough losses. like I got a ton of respect for Curtis Blades.

I have never wanted a fighter I have liked. I've never wanted so much for a fighter I have liked to lose as I have because I just, I don't want to deal with Twitter. I do not want to deal with John Jones if Curtis Blades beats Tom Aspenall. Like that's, that's it. It is purely a self-preservation of the shit-eatingest things that will come out of that Twitter account

and all the people who stand it. It will just be a horrible day, and so I have, like, I need Tom to win this fight, and I'm too invested if he loses, which he certainly can, because Curtis is very good at fist fighting. It'll just be a hard day. So I can't enjoy that fight

because I very clearly need a specific outcome in it. That's fair. And as far as Patty being the biggest star on the card, You could certainly make that case. I think it's probably Leon Edwards. Just in that building, I think it's probably Leon. He's the man on the marquee. I think it's hard to argue that.

But I think overall interests, what's going to make headlines during fight week, it's going to be mostly things that involve Patty Pimblood. There's just no doubt about it. So that's what he does. Particularly because, like you said, he's got King Green with him, you know? Like Leon and Ballol have been talking a lot, but they're not going to generate the same pre-fight headlines that Patty and King Green are going to.

No, not a chance. Thank you for the question. The other chase. The other chase is the interim chase. I'm the undisputed champ of chase. Jokes aside, I'm very excited for Jake versus Perry, who wins and how, and then the other chase are responded.

I'm treating the other chase how John treats Tom. Fair enough. You're terrified? Back to... That's a weird thing, but hey, credit to you. with 2024, let's be more honest about our feelings, you know. We don't have to hide them anymore.

So good on you interim, Chase, for admitting your fears. Well, who wins? Do you have a prediction? I mean, I know I think you're going to be on the preview show. I'm not 100% sure. I'm going to be on preview show. Okay. So because of the super chat feature, you get to make your prediction now.

I'm leaning towards Mike Perry. I'm not 100% confident and I'm leaving myself opportunities to kind of step back and forth. The biggest thing in favor of Jake Paul to me is that he accepted this fight, and Jake Paul has been very good about managing his career. You know, you just, you know that he can win this fight because if he couldn't, he wouldn't take it. Like, that's just sort of how Jake has managed his career. Very smart prize fighting. I do think that this is, I mean, this is easily the toughest test of his career. I would say even more difficult than Tommy Fury just because Mike Perry is also young and physical,

but he will not let Jake Paul have moments to breathe. He will not be like, okay, we can do this weird, bad jab boxing thing. He's just going to get in his face and rough him up if all else fails. I do think Jake has the tools to win, but I am very interested to see how he competes against a guy. Because no one has really pressed the issue that much on him. When Anderson did press the issue, Anderson was beating the hell out of him. No one has really gotten in his face consistently with volume.

And I'm interested to see how he can navigate that. And I think that that gives me a slight lean towards Mike Perry, though not a huge amount of confidence there. So my prediction is going to be very similar to the Nate Diaz fight. It's going to look, obviously, aesthetically different than the Nate fight did. But I think it's going to go pretty similar in the aftermath of it, where Jake's going to win a decision. But Mike Perry is going to have a lot of moments.

and by the time the fight is over, the momentum will have swung in his direction. So he may lose the fight on the cards, but he might win the fight in the court of public opinion. And I think that's sort of what Mike brings to the table. And he's going to thump up Jake in this fight. There's no doubt he's going to hit Jake. Jake's going to hit him a bunch,

and he's just kind of laughing his face. And I'm very curious to see how Jake handles that. And I think Jake's aware of that. But I just think he's bigger. He's a little more, he's just the bigger guy. he's just got to be able to very smartly fight Mike. I don't, I think down the stretch, the last three rounds are going to be real fun. But there's a real chance the first five rounds are tough, like real tough.

Like Mike tries to get inside. Jake clinches him, just keeps jabbing to try to keep Perry away. And anytime Mike comes in close, he's just going to clinch him and try to get a separation. I could very real, like in a very real way, I could see that's how that fight can go down, at least early. but I think he might get a little tired, maybe a little annoyed that he can't put Mike away, and then Mike comes on strong, maybe wins two of the last three rounds,

and looks real good. This is a win-win for Mike either way. As long as he doesn't get knocked out in the first round, like real bad, he's fine. Like, he's in great position. So, yeah, Jake's going to set himself up nicely for Mike Tyson, and then Mike Perry is going to come out looking like a star.

Everybody wins. It's going to be one of those types of situations. So I can't wait to watch it. It's going to be fun. Lazy bed has donated $2 towards some SPF 50 for Jed. You can upgrade to Copperton, buddy. I got a hat. I have a hat.

I have a can't have more do I need. Yeah, I could have used a hat. I wet my hair a lot before we start on my head a lot. Left it out in the sun a little too long. We're in peeling. We're in peeling mode right now, which is never fun. Tough scenes. When I got a great deal on a great gift at winners,

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Moss than ever now. Ilya versus Max seems like the most obvious fight ever trouble making it or just not announced yet. I think it's more the latter. I mean, certainly. It doesn't seem like there would be any issues

making it. And this kind of circles back to the Noche thing. The U.S. has just been doing this a lot and like maybe you have more insight here. I don't understand why like very obvious cards are being booked short. like short-sided of stuff.

Like, hey, we know No-Chay's happening in September. In most years, we'd have Alexa Grosso versus whoever, and we'd just settle this. And it's still, like, dragging on. I mean, hell, the UFC 304, like, everyone in their mother knew who was headlining this. And they still kind of delayed announcing it for until whenever the fight official, those fights officially got now, it's like, you know, six, eight weeks ago. Like, it is, they aren't doing that, hey, this fight's happening.

three and a half months anymore. And I don't really know why when everyone kind of knows what the lay of the land is. Ilya is fighting max. It's still a little odd because it seemed like they were just going to do the Volk rematch, but now all the momentum is firmly in the max camp.

That seems to be the fight that's happening. Just announce these things, man. Let people get hype early for stuff. But that doesn't seem to be the course of business for the UFC, at least not this year. Yeah, I agree with that. It seems like, I mean, everything that I've heard is basically what Ariel has been talking about.

October, there's going to be another pay-per-view. It's 100% what's happening. Yeah, that's what's going to happen. We're going to get a million max Salt Lake City. Yeah. We don't even, yeah, they haven't officially announced anything, which is, which is pretty great. They haven't officially announced, I don't think any of the fights on this card. No.

They haven't officially like, everyone is aware of what's happening at Noche and they just haven't announced it. Like, it's in two months. come on, just do it. Like, what are we waiting for? Yeah. Fight's going to happen. It's going to be awesome. It's going to be electric.

Should be a really, really good one. Yeah, I can't wait for it. Cliff Booth, 54 retired vet, trucker, BTL gets me through those cold nights on the highway where it's just me and a good old bottle of whiskey. God bless you all. Appreciate that. Cliff, I love your work with Rick Dalton.

Don't drink and drive. Yes, don't do that. I assume you're not doing that, which is good. Also, don't watch BTL while you're driving. If you're listening to it in podcast form, A, okay. But stay focused on the work. It's a great podcast network. Someone had asked earlier, I can't find it.

Ooh, this is a great question, too. Are we calling it UFC 306 or we're calling it Noce UFC? Now, according to the UFC and their announcement, both of those are incorrect because UFC 306 is wrong. Noce UFC is wrong. It's called Read Season Noce UFC because of the sponsorship and the partnership there. So we're calling it UFC 306.

That's what we're going to call it. At least as of right now. Could we revert to Noce UFC? Maybe. But as of right now, we're calling it UFC 306 because we're certainly not going to use Read season Noce UFC because that is the longest title for an event I've ever seen.

It is. I disagree. with this editorial decision by us. I know that there is the decision we're going. I think pretty clearly it should be called Nocha UFC, but it's whatever. It doesn't matter. Yeah.

We may get there. Jody, will Phoenix ever return to defend the real BTL championship? I hope so. I have to reach back out to her. She's been very busy lately. Also, so we're clear.

I'm not the BTL champion. I have never once claimed this is not an Al Jermaine Sterling situation. I have never once been like, I'm the champ. I'm here everyday grinding, but I absolutely give her credit. This is not me doing any John Jones shenanigans with fake belts. She's the champ. That's how it is.

This is another fantastic question. How much do I need to super chat into watch a belly flop into the pool? Oh, I don't. What's a number? What's a number? If the forces combine, 100 bucks? Is that enough? I mean, so here's the, and I'm sorry to kind of break K-Fabe here, Mike.

Problem is that money's not going to come to me. So, oh, I'm not really sure that there's a price because I'm not getting any of it. But it's great. It's great for the channel. Sure, but I, you know, I don't want to do that. So it's a bit of an issue in that regard. When I was a younger man, I used to like specialize in the little belly flop because why not? Just commit to it.

It's been a long time since I've wanted to willingly suffer for no reason. So what about I don't know what about like a flip front flip? Can you do a front flip? I don't try to front flip in a long time. Oh, that could be something. Because one of two things is going to happen. You're either going to land it, maybe three things or you're just going to look awkward as hell doing it. Backbreaker.

Or the backslap. Or the backslap, which would be tremendous content. Both of those don't sound ideal right now. If we get to $100, Jed will do a front flip. I think that's a fair tradeoff, right? You don't have to do belly flop. I'm not willing to commit to this. If I'm getting the $100, sure, because I'm not getting any of it.

This is all you. This is all you and your Dunkin' Donuts coffee. I'm just out here. Hank is asking for a cannon. Hank's asking for a cannonball. That's easy. Cannon balls are easy. Cannon balls are easy.

I don't have great shorts for this, but we could maybe make a cannonball happen. I'll have to remember how to open that gate. But we've got some time there. Drop. Days I love and respect you. I don't have a Zelle. I guess I actually do a banquet thing that hasn't.

I don't figure out. But then that also opens. and another can of worms that I don't really want to get into. I'm not confident how much our superiors would enjoy if I was just like, here's my Venmo. It might not be the spires thing either. I don't think it would be. I feel like we already kind of saw this one goes, talking about the main event next Saturday.

Belaw was kind of getting his ass handed to him before the eye poke. I mean, so there's absolutely a world where that's true. I saw this kind of when it came up, and I'm glad you pulled it up. There's a world where that's true. It's also, one, that fight was many, many years ago at this point in time. Both of them are just fundamentally different fighters since then. I would say Ballal has improved pretty dramatically since then. And two, there was one round.

Like, yeah, he was losing that round. Like, he lost that round for sure. It is not like, oh, for 20 minutes he was getting whooped on. And then also, by the way, not saying this would happen. Leon got whooped on by Kamaru for 20 minutes, then head kicked him. And then the rematch just kind of had his way. Like, fights are just very different every time out, particularly with as much time has been between them. And I think Leon should be the favorite.

I just think Ballal does have a real shot at pulling this thing off. Because Leon is so slow. Like, he does, it's so, not slow, slow, so low output. Like, he is really, really paris. his game down to not a lot. The ball can maybe just win rounds by simply doing stuff. It's going to be interesting, the longer that fight goes, for sure. A bunch of people asking, where's no-bets barred?

I don't even know the answer to this question. There is, there was going to be a no-bets bard, and then it didn't happen because I failed you all. And that's to hand up. Connor told me last week that he couldn't do it this week, and I totally forgot because I went on vacation. And when I got back, I was like, poop. I didn't make arrangement.

for this. So there are none. Connor gave out his bets on, on the May hour yesterday. You can also go to his Twitter feed and check them out. He's pretty light, just four of them. I have no action down on this card at this point in time.

I may lay one or two because I know we're not going to get a lot of questions. It's not the worst, you know, Apex card I've ever seen. There's some stuff here that's worthwhile. So, but we'll be back next week for 304 and we'll do something big to make up for being gone.

Ray is predicting Jake by K.O. minus 115. I'm overthinking it. I'll be pretty surprised if that happens. I would agree. Again, won't be surprised if he wins a fight. Like, in no way surprised he wins a fight. Let me pull up old Mike Perry. Make sure I'm not about to totally speak out of my ass.

So Mike Perry did get knocked out in his lone boxing match in the fourth round by the esteemed Kenneth McNeil. and he's been knocked out like two days notice by the way yeah and he's been knocked out once in his in May career when he got a head kicked by Jeff Neal um dude shoe leather tough

and they're in 10 ounce 12 ounce clubs Jake Paul hits very hard I'm not here to say he doesn't I'll be pretty if he knocks out Mike Perry I'll be very impressed I agree

I just I don't see him knocking Mike out could he drop him perhaps but he didn't drop on 8 Diaz yeah he dropped in eight but couldn't get him out of there. This could be very similar. If the Chicago Parlay caches and Blades and Muhammad both win,

does the UFC return to, he did correct, Shytown in 2025? No chance. No chance. They should, but, I mean,

the UFC couldn't never went to Cleveland with, they went to Cleveland once when Steepa was champion for like three years or whatever. They're bad about this, about doing that sort of thing in general. unless it's London, unless it's England of the country. And because they're just going to go whoever's going to pay them. Who are the places that are, where are the places they're going to pay them to go? Chicago has plenty of other things.

They don't have to pay to draw interest. And also, so we're super clear. This isn't me saying. This is me just being honest. If both Belal and Curtis wins, I think the UFC might cry. Like the organization might just come together and have an all-hands crying meeting where they're just very sad that these are the champions they have because they super don't want that to be the outcome, guys.

That's true. This person is just spam it away. It'd be dope if they did they did the bear. But like this is, the UFC doesn't care anymore promotionally. And that's fine. Like they don't have to, but like they don't take layups anymore because they,

they don't have to. It is just who's going to pay us money to go. That's where we'll go. So like today is going to pay us every year. We'll go. We'll go. every year because they're going to pay us a whole bunch of money to do it. Like in any normal world, UFC 305 would be taking place in Miami.

It's not because they don't care anymore. Like they aren't going to take those layups. Yeah, because Perth is paying him a whole bunch of money and that's where it's happening. Yeah. It amazes me how much Mike and my chiropractor look alike. The question is, have you ever seen us in the same room together? Double agent, bro. No, that's, I didn't see that comment coming today.

Do do, do, where are we? Holy shit, a lot of questions. I got a twin out there, Mike. Maybe. Was Nate scammed to fight Jorge Mazadol? Thoughts on the lawsuit, Nate filed? I think this is an appropriate question for you, Jed. Your thoughts on this whole situation?

Did he file a lawsuit? Unknown at this point. Nate just denying that he's suing anybody was real weird. No. But you see how he said it, though? No. The way he said it, actually, yeah, the way he actually tweeted it out.

Let me just pull up the actual tweet. The way he actually like laid it out from like an English language perspective, he actually was basically saying, I ain't suing nobody, which basically says like I am suing somebody, but in a different, different round of both ways and not. Yes, if he's parsing that out, I'm not certain that he's making that distinction. I don't, I mean, there's still a lot. to kind of unpack here as it.

And there's also a physical lawsuit actually filed that we have the paper. Yeah, that's the part that's weird to me is like, you can't just say you're not doing it when it's there. I mean, this is why athletic commissions exist functionally. And seems super shady, you know, not making any determinations barring more evidence coming out, but I am deeply unsurprised and I am operating from the assumption that Nate Diaz is all the way correct and that this semi unheard of organization is, uh, is incorrect. Well, because they've also kind of corroborated it with being like some of their statements and stuff. So, uh, yeah, this kids is why

you get paid upfront or you make sure that money is an escrow somewhere because otherwise, then you have to go to the courts and like hopefully Nate Diaz gets everything he is owed that is at this point I would say seems unlikely but uh you know I hope the best for him because he goddamn deserves it completely agree and I have no idea what's going on the Mazadal side I have reached out to his team a couple of times and have heard nothing back so perhaps they may be dealing with something similar and they can't comment on it but I don't know it's this is the issue bad and fake paychecks. Like,

Yes. The reason athletic commissions exist is to ensure payment for fighters. And so even in place like California, who does a here's disclosed pay, the undisclosed pay part is an issue. Because if Nate just got $9 million up front or whatever that number is, that money is in escrow and the C-SAC is like, yep, money's here.

Here it is distributed to Nathan Diaz afterwards for services rendered. Instead, $500K was in escrow. And then, at least apparent, apparently Nate returned that per the wishes of them to get paid his X amount of dollars thing. Like there's a very real world where the outcome here is that Nate makes 500 grand and then some other money, but doesn't get the full, you know, the full bend of what he is owed. And so, uh, again, kids make sure you get paid what you're worth. Make sure that money is an escrow.

Yeah. Apparently the gate was like 1.5 or something like that. Something to that effect. Kevin I only put it out there. And based on reports that we have seen, Dave Meltzer specifically, who used to be with us part-time, is sort of the ratings guru when it comes to combat sports and pro wrestling and stuff, saying this did awful on pay-per-view. Saying that is, for the non-pro wrestling fans out there, he's saying these are TNA numbers. And TNA is a wrestling promotion that has just gone to caca. It's trying to get its way back.

but their pay-per-views do at best like 50,000, and some have done as low as like 5,000. So he's saying this is TNA numbers. Like that, you think that's too many? I think that would be far, far too many. If this sold, if this sold five figures, I'll be a little bit impressed.

I just, I don't know a single person who was buying this. I know people who are interested, certainly, and obviously a ton of people came to and may find a comrade website. At this price point, I just don't, this reeks to me of, you know, hey, remember when Bellator did a pay-per-view and that didn't work out? Like this, this should be PFL pay-per-view numbers, like four, like four pay-per-view sold.

So, yeah, which is, which is, again, why, you know, If Nate's getting a cut of the door, which I assume that's negotiated, look, that's not something he can kind of get set aside ahead of time. That's an after-the-fact thing. Cut of the pay-per-views, I just don't think anyone should have expected there to be a big cut of the pay-per-view. So however, this is structured. I don't think Nate and his team kind of did this optimally, and that's why they are now going to have to go through this. And the legal process sucks.

So if you can ever avoid it, it's usually better. Uh, Spencer, Izzy versus DDP press conference and Stairdown fired me up. If Izzy wins and defends against Sean, does Pereira Izzy 3 need to happen before Poetan moves up? Uh, so on the last part, I don't know. If Izzy beats DDP and then rematches Sean Strickland and does defeat him, at that point, the only fight that will really make sense for Izzy, unless Hamzot gets his shit together and gets a win or whatever, like, Like at that point, it really is just, okay, we're doing Izzy Poetan 3, all steam ahead. I'm not sure about how the timeline works because God knows I don't want Alex Pereer to move up to heavyweight at this moment in time. But the rest of the universe seems to really be on the F-Lay heavyweight man, go just fight anybody at heavyweight.

It doesn't matter. Fight anybody, fight whoever, just to fight a heavyweight. So I'm not sure that that's restrictive. If he goes up and fights Tom Aspinall, you know, he gets the John. Jones fight. You can do that afterwards. Like the Izzy, Izzy Pereira is a back pocket fight.

You can pull that out at any point in time, and it will never, never be stale, never be passes expiration date. So a little bit of equivalent with the timeline, but yes, functionally, this is absolutely correct.

It's possible. That was a good, that was a good little presser. DDP got Izzy a little bit, which I loved. I've been telling you all for almost two goddamn years. this is the fight it's the only fight i've wanted for like two years oh it's going to be so good uh good thing you take up golf old retired ass it's your retirement sport uh bk if mike perry mess

up jake paul this weekend does it hurt the paul tyson netflix thingy that is a big selling point based on the promotion from jake paul in particular he was on pat mackafee and said that if he loses the Mike Tyson fights not happening. I don't think you agree with this. I disagree with it. I really hope it doesn't. I really, really truly do not want Mike Tyson and Jake Paul to fight each other. If you gave me the option of getting that outcome to not happen or getting DDPAZ,

I think I even go like, just don't have that happen. Because 60-year-old dudes shouldn't be fistfighting. 27-year-old men. It's just not a thing that should happen. And there are a lot of fraught potential problems that could occur there. That would make us all feel real, real, real bad. That being said, I don't think losing to Mike Perry takes that off the table despite what has been said. I, in fact, think it might even make it more likely.

If he goes out there and knocks out Mike Perry, I think the momentum for Mike Tyson is going to fall. Not with the broader casual fans who don't know anything. But, like, people who at least know who Mike Perry are be like, dude, if he knocked out Mike Perry, he's going to kill that old man. We should not do this for health and safety concerns. Whereas if he goes up there and loses, okay, suddenly, like, even me, who still super doesn't want this fight to happen, it has to be like, okay, this fight is more competitive. I still don't think it should happen. Still don't think it is competitive. But if I watch Jake Paul get knocked out by Mike Perry, yeah, Mike Tyson can land one on him.

you know, there's always a chance. So I don't think this will prevent it from occurring if should that come to pass. Completely agree. I think it's honestly more interesting. Like it's just a more interesting fight. It gives Mike more of a chance in the eyes of people. And plus they're not going to ruin this. This is going to be the most watched fight of all time.

And it's on Netflix. There's just too much at stake here to not do it. The Netflix is the key part there. because this is pretty clue. To me, this entire thing has read very clearly of Netflix is getting into live sports. Netflix is going to make a bid for the UFC live product. And this is to some extent a dry or a trial run of combat sports. But they also want to do it in the biggest, grandest way possible.

And this fight will be the most viewed fist fight of this century on Netflix. And there's not another replacement that kind of fits that bill. Like what else could Netflix offer up to be like, hey, this will get broad casual appeal the likes of which we are after? This is kind of a perfect matchup for that. And so the check isn't going to go down from Netflix for this. And if the money's right, if it makes dollars, it makes sense. Like, they're still going to do this thing. Yep.

I agree. Senor Pepe asks how much for a solo no bets barred. I might do it because I was talking to Shaheen last night about it. There might just be like 20 minutes of a. Here are the four bets, and I'll recap what Connor did. So I'll see if I can get that done before tomorrow for you. There you go. Simons is here to make your holiday season magic.

We've got thousands of gift ideas and festive decorations to help you turn your home into a winter wonderland with green boxes piled under the tree. So slip on a cozy pair of Christmas pajamas and hang up some new ornaments. The most wonderful time of the year starts at Simons. Hi, I'm Sophia Loprecaro, host of the Before the Chorus podcast. We dive into the life experiences behind the music we love. Artists of all genres are welcome. And I've been joined by some pretty amazing folks, like glass animals. I guess that was the idea was to try something personal and see what happened.

And Japanese breakfast. I thought that the most surprising thing I could offer was an album about joy. You can listen wherever you get your podcasts. Oh, and remember, so much happens before the chorus. Speaking of Connor, another Connor. Do you see the UFC broadening their horizons in 2025, like going to Spain and new arenas or playing it safe like this year, especially? What do you think, Mike?

I think I have a thought, but I only hear your side of this. I think it's more column B than column A, because why would they broaden them? their horizons when they can get paid tens of millions of dollars to go to Salt Lake City or Houston or Perth or whoever is willing to pay them. Having said that, if Iliate Tuporia fights Bax Holloway in October and beats the soul out of that man, he is on a rocket ship. I mean, I think he's already kind of there now. He's kind of gone back to Earth a little bit because of how he sort of handled being champion.

it's sort of rubbed people the wrong way. So I haven't necessarily really agreed with how he's handled, at least his social media game, especially on Twitter since winning the belt. But if he goes out there and thumps up Max Holloway, if he becomes the guy that finishes Max Holloway, I mean, you give this man whatever he wants. If he wants to go to Spain,

we saw the type of crowd that influencer boxing brought into Spain. They filled a whole friggin soccer stadium with it. What do you think the UFC's going to do? They've done that two or three times this year. Yeah. What do you think the UFC is going to do? And the amount that they could charge for tickets, these people are going to pay it. They're just going to. So I think a lot is going to have to, is going to depend on who's champion. I think Ily Tepore is a big part of them going to Spain. But I think for the most part, they haven't been in a while just because why not? But I think for the most part, they're going to go where the money is. And we're going to see them going to a lot of places that they typically go to. We know MSG is a, a done deal. They're not not going there. They're going to go to Abu Dhabi at least once. They're definitely going to Saudi Arabia next year.

They're going where the money is. And could Spain happen? Sure. But Ilya winning is going to be a big part of that. If I had a guess, and I agree mostly what you said there, I'll just add on a little bit. Because I do think the primary drivers who's going to pay them. I think it's a non-zero chance if Ilya beats Max that they go there to a paper. review with Ilya versus Volk, too.

I think that could happen. I think the more likely outcome, and this is just going to be to the UFC's sort of operating procedure broadly, is that the pay-per-views are going to go to the same seven locations. Vegas is going to get a couple, certainly in the international fight week, and like one or two more thrown in there.

MSG gets one, Perth or somewhere in Australia, we'll get one. They'll go to London. They'll go to London. They'll go to Salt Lake City. it's going to be those unless someone comes and says, here's a $20 million site fee. Saudi wants one. Abu Dhabi gets one.

Those same locations will just be the sort of, think of it like an F1 schedule, right? Like it goes to the same tracks every year, and it might add a new track because they're expanding, but mostly it's just going to be the same spots every year. Fight nights is where they will open it up. And so if Drixieupleasy beats Israel Dissinia, I think there's actually a decent,

likelihood that the UFC does do like a fight night card in Africa, maybe in South Africa, where they don't have to try and do a pay-per-view and navigate the difference in the time zone versus their primary pay-per-view audience. But they can get Drick is there. They can say, hey, look, we did our first event in South Africa and it sold $80 billion worth of tickets and they can get, you know, some EFC guys on and do that. I think that's there. I think Spain is very likely next year if Ilya will.

ends. But again, maybe just not as a pay-per-view. Maybe the first they want to go do something a little smaller, do a fight night, and then, okay, how does the fight night go? All right, now we'll get in there. Because, you know, when they usually, when they break new ground, it is not with a pay-per-view. It's, hey, we went to Saudi and did a fight-night card, and it was a big fight-night card. Now next time, we kind of know what to expect. Maybe we can do a pay-per-view here. But they want to dip their toe in before diving in. So I think Spain is pretty likely next year, but with something smaller than people are imagining, not with Iliate the head of the card.

Interesting. I mean, they missed out on Africa. PFL is going to go there before them, but. Yeah, they 100% should do this, by the way.

Like, they absolutely should, but they're, but they're just not, that's not what they're going to do. Yeah, they don't need to do it. The fact that we never got UFC Africa

when they had three African champions is borderline criminal. Like, it's actually insane that they couldn't spend something up there. But it's, look, these are not the primary drivers for their business. And so I think just kind of look at everything through that lens. So I saw a few of these, and I think we need to, I think this needs to be cleared up. How is the innate didn't get paid when the UFC backed this?

So when you say backed this, I don't think you necessarily understand. Like the UFC had no financial interest in this card at all. Like they didn't put up their money to help promote it. Yeah, they said, and Nate can do whatever the hell he wants. So Nate didn't need the UFC's blessing to do anything. Mazadol does because he, yes, he did retire, but he is still under UFC contract. So in order for Mazadol to compete anywhere, he would need the blessing from the UFC. So that's where that comes from.

This fight doesn't happen without the UFC only because of Mazadol needing permission to compete. The UFC had no interest in this fight from a financial perspective. I'm sure they were watching just to see how they performed. but and that's it. It was available on PITpass. So, you know, somebody, they, this is, they gave it the blessing. They said, you can marry my daughter, but I'm not financing this wedding. And so, yeah.

Yeah. They just, they gave them the platform, but just the, the Fight Pass platform is an option to purchase it. But it's like the UFC was like, here's $10 million. Please allow your pay-per-view to come on our network. And I, no. And I guarantee you that when the UFC did do that platform a deal, they got whatever, money they owed from it. Whatever the, however many

pay-per-views they sold on the Fight Pass platform, they got their $1 cut from each of those because they're very good at this. They know how to keep themselves protected. For sure. Jednan and Mike Paddy has said on numerous occasions he would love to do a season of Tough with

Moikano. Would you like to see that? I answer this on Hack of a Morning. Tough is just a dead product, man. Conn't freaking McGrath. was on it last year and nobody watched it. Do you think these two guys are going to get people to watch? Maybe a couple. But then they're going to realize,

oh, this is the same freaking show I've been doing for 20 years. Like, this is it. This is silly. It's very silly. There are a number of ways to save tough. They're never going to do them because they're all silly, but they'd be fun. I will say that this is the tough casting I enjoy.

Connor Chandler, I thought, was like literally, Because it's two dudes who aren't holding up anything. I guess Conner's out for the recovery. Chandler, you know, he's not going to fight until Connor comes back. So that's not putting a delay on something. The fact that Alexa Grasso did not fight at all this year and is now going to do her Noche is insane because she's actually captaining a weight class that has viable, fun, interesting contenders. And they're like immediately, she's not going to fight until September. Let's put her in tough.

Like we should have had Alexa Grasso Valentina Shepchenko already. And you have seen Noce, particularly if they're going to be the coach. main. They're not even going to be the main should be if Grasso is still champion, Grasso versus Manon or, you know, Rose, whatever. Like, we should just be getting the one weight class, the one female weight class with like genuine momentum just got shut the down this year because they're like, hey, Alexa is going to sit on the sideline for 12 months or however long it's been. So I hate it when they do that. But something like this, Patty and Wicano, they're not slowing up the works. They're not grinding the gears to a halt. So that would be a.

absolutely fine. And, you know, if people are into it, cool. I haven't watched Tough since the Strawweight, Tough 20, the Straw Wades. The last season I watched, and it was the first one I watched in forever, was when it was, hey, we're introducing the Strawweight Division. Okay. I'll watch that because those are, they're real fighters who are, like, meaningful and good. Yeah, it's, the show's terrible.

It's awful. Like, it's awful. I would watch a tough where they, they're introducing the Adam weight division because okay like the winner of this will be crowned champion these are now meaningful fights beyond that i'm not going to watch a tough if you want to have at it um but unless they do something dramatic to the format or it is something super significant like crowning a champion and i don't care uh jed you're not betting the mo who's been over one and a half free money yeah but the price last i checked was um it's probably up there as one can imagine

Over two and a half is minus two. Yeah, so it was like there. I agree. Look, Moesman has been a card carrying member of a heavyweight over nation, but, you know, sometimes you got to draw a line.

I'm trying to pull up my draft kings, but it's taking a moment. So I don't know what the over one and a half is. But great parlay piece. If you want a little nonviolent parlay, that is where I would start, building. It's not up.

Alternate lines are not up on for that fight just yet. Yeah. Or maybe so many people took the over one and a half. They're like, we're pulling this. This is ridiculous. We can't. We can't take it anymore. I don't think that's true.

Unlike me of a possible. I don't think it is either. I'll take a few more. We do have the Perry Paul Presser coming up at the top of the hour. so we want to make sure we have enough time to get you all ready for that. Lazy-Bad always asked these crazy-ass questions, and I dig it. Someone travels back to the 90s and disrupts the timeline. The unified rules of MMA never occur, and the sports says stays NHB.

Which modern fighter is the most successful under the old no rules banner? So this isn't the answer you want, and I'll give you the answer you want. If the rules stay in HB, then MMA never gets big. there's just absolutely no way in hell that the rules that they operated with at like UFC 3 are what broadly acceptable for the masses like it's just not a chance in hell that being said uh one there always were some rules like even at UFC 1 like you couldn't bite um so it was never no rules or just a marketing gimmick but uh pretty clearly like the to my mind at least.

The biggest advantages that would be gleaned from those and certainly how the sport has transitioned is fence grabbing was legal. And while fence grabbing is a terrifically useful tool to prevent yourself from getting taken down, buddy, go watch some of the fights where you can use fence grabbing offensively. Because, for instance, let's say you get someone down and suddenly you have a leverage point of the fence to keep them down

and you can ram your head as a headbutting battering ram into their face using the leverage of the cage. And they can't go anywhere. Like, I think Tank Abbott did that once. Though maybe he actually just used it as a leverage point and then pounded right hands. But I want to say that he used it for head butts. Head butts and tank and fence grabs offensively. Mark Kerr's entire game was functionally taking people down and headbutting them, those would be massive advantages.

So think of your best grapplers. They get way better if they're allowed to headbut on the floor and use the cage proactively. So who does that mean right now then? Trying to think of who that translate to in the current MMA landscape. Would Alexander Romanov become heavyweight champion? I feel like he'd be great with the NHB rules. He'd be way better. He'd be way better.

Curtis Blades probably would be heavyweight champion at that point. in time. Yeah, he'd be a good one. Probably, there's that. It's just like, those, those are just wildly significant,

uh, changes that they don't allow you to do. Headbutts on the ground are huge. Needs to the head of grounded opponents would also be, and would be massive. Um, for anti-w wrestlers. But yes,

that should be a rule. I'm actually, I get why headbutts aren't allowed. I do think standing headbutt should be legal. um like lethway rules but i know this is not going to happen um but yeah i i think it would be even as mma is currently the metagame is shifting away from grapplers more and more uh i do think if you brought those rules back it would be harder to shift away from grappling to the extent that it has now for some really exciting stuff marching tibor sergey spivak to headline at the

world's most famous apex pretty bad that's that's a tough one that's a tough one that's a tough one pretty bad pretty bad can't remember if so can somebody cliff booth just put this in there uh i can't remember if i pokes were actually legal in like the first five or whatever or if that was one of those things that they like lied about because like biting was never really legal groin shots were illegal which is terrific for like a very small period if i pokes weren't illegal and they might not have been because like particularly in karate that's like a thing um I just can't remember if that was fair. If I broke's word, then John Jones is 100% the correct answer.

Easily his best weapon is suddenly allowed. He'd be terrific. That's another question. We kind of ripped up a little bit. How do you feel about the contender series? Do you like that show? This one, this one just makes me sad, man.

It makes me so sad because when the UFC introduced this concept, I actually thought it was the most brilliant thing they had done in years. I loved, absolutely loved the first two seasons of the Contender series. I would not miss it. I would schedule my week around watching the Ultimate Fighter, not the Contender Series. It was the best dudes, the best women fighters around the world. Most of us heard of all of them and they would battle it out in like dream regional matchups. Like we got Matt Bissette and Kurt Hollabo

headlining the first contender series card. And to me, I was like, holy shit. This is a fight. This is a great fight. Like, both these guys probably deserve to be in the UFC after what they had been doing on the regional scene. And it was just a great series, those first two seasons, because winning wasn't enough. You could go out there flatline a dude in two and a half minutes, but that doesn't necessarily

guarantee you a contract. Like, you have a to be the elite of the elite. And now we understand what the show has become now. All you have to do is get on and win. And you know what? You don't even have to win now to get a freaking contract. All you have to do is just have like a decently fun fight or compete in a non-fund fight where Dana thought you won when you were on the wrong end of a bad decision.

Then you just get a contract. And if you appear on the show more than once and you win more than once, no matter what the performances are, you get a contract. And it is a, because of this schedule, the contender series is just a way for them to save a whole bunch of money and fill up 43 fight cards a year. Because you got to fill the apex cards. You have to fill the prelims of paper views. You have to fill the prelims of the roadshow fight night cards. And that essentially is what this show has become, not to mention the fighters who lose. If they're in Vegas, they're able to make wait for a short notice opportunity. These are the

first fighters that are going to get called because they already have the medicals and everything they need on these fighters anyways. They have everything they need to do ready to go. So it is a cost-saving measure now as opposed to bringing in the best fighters to compete for their organization. And once in a while, we get Bo-Nichol to drive ratings. They made Icram Al-Ascara fight on the contender series, which is one of the most ridiculous things I've ever seen because that dude was probably one of the 10 best middleweights in the world even before appearing on that show. So the show has lost its luster. It's broken my heart that it's become what it's become.

We know what it is now. And it is no longer must watch viewing for me unless I have to watch it. And it sucks that I have to say that because I never thought within the first two seasons that I would ever utter those words in consecutive order like that. But this is what the show has become and it sucks ass. I agree with a lot of what you said, it's fine. I there are gems and that's that is the part of it that's good. I do wish they would just be more discerning. I wish being a contender series signing meant something

because that would just be cool like when they have their board of hey, here's a guy from tough, here's a contender. They're all just CS guys now. It would be cooler if that meant like, oh, he's awesome because there's still top talent that comes through there. John Silva came through there. Payton Talbot came through there. Like these are people who are going to be,

top 10, top 15 fighters for years to come. And they were noticeable then. I wrote a column about like, hey, here are the best prospects off it. And it ended up being like, you know, 60 people or whatever. Like I think they're like 50 sign-eys from this most recent season of it, either because they won or they got signed short notice, etc. They lost competitive, like you said. But in that, it was pretty easy like, hey, here are the best ones.

Like these are the people that should be getting contracts. They're very evident. If you just watch fighting enough, you can see the hallmarks of somebody being good here. But then there's also like, yeah, Shemu Ghazi have got a contract because he won. And then he even got the main event something because it's heavy weight. And it's just like, yeah, it'd be cooler. But at the same time, it's such a low barrier to entry that I'm okay with it just because, like, yeah, it doesn't cost you anything.

It's Tuesday. It's Tuesday night when nothing else is going on. It's five fights, which is a tidy number. you get in, you get out, you got something, there's a way to watch Tuesday, and maybe every once in while you will get, or Jean Silva, you will get a patent towel of it, and then that's pretty electric. My bigger issue is the issue I had with it from day one in which you kind of alluded to. It is, it's a scab workforce, for lack of a better term.

Like, this is, this is labor. Like, this is cost-controlled labor. And so there's a reason that, like, mid-level UFC fighters are leaving in, larger swaths because the UFC is not willing to sign somebody. Like the fact that René de Ritter signed with UAE Warriors, like the former double champ for one FC, one of the 15 best middleweights in the world by our rankings and by like most people with eyeballs, went to UA Warriors. Like he's a free agent.

Went to UAE Warriors. Maybe he does end up coming to UFC, but the UFC's just not going to pay him a market rate. Like, yeah, come fight on contender series and start your ass at 10 and 10. because you're replaceable labor. And so I really dislike that portion of it. But is what it is. So, you know. Yeah.

I'll do a ride on this upcoming season again. Yeah. Roberto Soldeach got offer from the UFC, turn it down, went to one. And the fact that he didn't go to KSW tells me that one paid him a lot of money, like a floppy-dillion dollars. Because from what I understood, KSW offered him like a ridiculous contract,

something the UFC had no chance of matching or getting anywhere near. So the fact that he signed with one tells me that they are just paying him ridiculous amount of money. We've seen guys like Paul Hughes sign with PFL because they're willing to spend the money because they can get it from Saudi and just chuck it at these dudes.

But then at that point, like, these guys are getting that money. And yeah, if Brennan Lockney was on the contender series and didn't get a contract, And didn't seem like the, and he looked damn good in his fight. Austin Vanderford never got a contract. And there's like a whole bunch of like other, like I thought Anthony Romero and his fight probably should have gotten one.

I unfortunately think that kind of like stymied his career in a lot of ways because he was one of the best prospects in the sport. And unfortunately, it's just kind of tough right now. So yeah, there's, I'm trying to remember like the like outright free agent signies that they've had. There's like a couple. like to fill the bandway winning band of weight division

yeah Minel Cop was like a legit bring him over and sign them but that's just where we're at right now like free agents like go to the UFC it's a good opportunity it's a good time to be a fighter

because like I know with the whole Bellator thing being sort of absorbed by PFL a lot of people are saying well this kind of sucks it gives fighters less opportunity and there is some truth to that but now PFL because of how Don Davis is and because of how he's sort of handling everything.

He's just saying he's using this as an opportunity to pay these fighters more money to come to their organization for very little exposure. And then for the exposure they get, once they get to the end of their deals, if they become stars, once they become free agents again, the UFC could just lop them up if they want. Like, look at Kayla Harrison. If Paul Hughes becomes a star, they're just going to lop him right up. They're going to take them. They're going to take him.

You think Dakota DeCeva is going to be staying at PFL for like more than the next two years? She's going to be in the UFC and PFL is going to set her up perfectly. They're just going to keep giving her these fights. She's going to get over like a star. And then when she is no longer up for re-upping or anything like that, the UFC is just going to take her if they want her. Like that's, PFL is actually going to become a breeding ground for the UFC in a lot of respects. Like they can brag about getting all the free air.

agents. Sorry. Yeah. They can brag about getting all the free agents. But as soon as they peak, they're not going to want to stay there. They're going to want to go to the UFC. So, yeah. It's a new strategy now.

Kids, this is what monopoly looks like. It just is. It's a very clear monopoly. And you could be okay with monopolies. Like, that is an opinion you are allowed to have. It's pretty clearly. Like, this is how. monopolies work, their market dominance is substantially more than is normally allowed in this country.

Yeah. And so they can, they, they can kill their own middle class. And hey, you're old. We don't really want to pay anymore. Yeah, feel free. Go get more money from PFL or Bellator. We'll replace you with 10 and 10 talent because it doesn't matter. Everywhere we go, we break records everywhere we don't even need to kill PFL.

Yeah, PFL is like your. partner now. Just like let them breathe. Say nice things about them. Like be honest, but you know, don't completely dump on them because they are going to be so valuable to you because they're going to rise through the ranks and they're going to become quasi stars and get way more money than you would have paid them. And then when they're at their peak of their powers, you could just take them. And then they're on your roster. And it's great. And you get them at the very end. Never going to compete with you. never because the UFC is a monopoly yep BKFC is the co-leader I guess maybe a monopsony it's either way it's the same thing well there you have it everybody uh like I said earlier there is a Jake Paul Mike Perry press conference

coming up at the top of the hour you can watch it on there is one MMA fighting dot com it's a terrific website and it's starting at 2 p.m. Eastern I assume the robot will be there all the main card fighters are going to be there Jake Paul Mike Perry fighters the robot. That would be incredible. Amanda Serrano will be there. Uriah Hall will be there. Julio Cesar Sajavis Jr. will be there.

All of the main card fighters will be there. I can't read your name commenter because I do not have that in me, but PFL is worth a billion is a terrific comment. Yes. Company valuation is really fun. It stinks.

You say, man. God, it sucks that they're so bad. We need them to be good. But more good times to be had tomorrow. Heck of a morning. We'll have a Paul Perry UFC preview show coming up tomorrow and then on to the weekend. Lots of fun.

For Jed, I am Mike Heck. Normal show next week. Good night, everybody. You're the best. Love y'all. Maybe we'll do a cannonball for the preview show tomorrow, Mike. Oh. I'm not feeling here right now. I have to watch a preview show. Fair enough.

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