MMA Fighting - BTL | Tony Ferguson Speaks, UFC Vegas 80, Bellator 300 | Fan Q&A Edition

Episode Date: October 5, 2023

Tony Ferguson joined Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour this week to discuss his upcoming fight with Paddy Pimblett at UFC 296 in December, and the interview created a lot of buzz due to the fact that Ferguson was quite reflective on the matchmaking, and where he is at in his career.  On an all-new edition of Between the Links, the panel is turning the programming over to the live viewers with a Q&A edition of the show. Viewers can ask questions about Ferguson's conversation on The MMA Hour, UFC Vegas 80 coming up this weekend headlined by a lightweight bout between Grant Dawson and Bobby Green, Bellator 300, featuring three world title fights, including Usman Nurmagomedov vs. Brent Primus for the lightweight title in the main event, the future of Bellator, and whatever else is on your mind in the world of combat sports. This week, the panel consists of MMA Fighting's Mike Heck and Jed Meshew. 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

Support for this show comes from the Audible Original, the downloaded two. Ghosts in the Machine. The Earth only has a few days left. Rosco Cudulian and the rest of the Phoenix colony have to re-upload their minds into the quantum computer, but a new threat has arisen that could destroy their stored consciousness forever. Listen to Oscar winner Brendan Fraser reprised his role as Rosco Cudulian in this follow-up to the Audible Original Blockbuster. The Downloaded, it's a thought-provoking sci-fi journey where identity, memory, and morality collide. Robert J. Sawyer does it again with this much-anticipated sequel that leaves you asking,

What are you willing to lose to save the ones you love? The Downloaded 2. Ghosts in the Machine. Available now, only from Audible. Support for this show comes from the Audible original The Downloaded 2. Ghosts in the Machine. The Earth only has a few days left. Rosco Cudullian and the rest of the Phoenix colony have to re-upload their minds into the quantum computer, but a new threat has arisen that could destroy their stored consciousness forever.

Listen to Oscar winner Brendan Fraser reprised his role as Rosco Cudulian in this follow-up to the Audible original blockbuster, the downloaded. It's a thought-provoking sci-fi journey where identity, memory, and morality collide. Robert J. Sawyer does it again with this much-anticipated sequel that leaves you asking, what are you willing to lose to save the ones you love? The downloaded two, Ghosts in the Machine, available now only from Audible. We're listening to the Vox Media Podcast Network. From M.A. Fighting Studios, this is Between the Links.

And now, your host, my... The iconic voice of Esther Lynn welcomes you to a... a brand new edition of Between the Links. Happy Thursday to us all. We are back live on the M.A. Fighting YouTube channel. So thank you all for joining us live. And if you're listening after the fact,

kind of shame on you, but we appreciate you listening nonetheless. As Esther said, I am Mike Heck. Today, it's our monthly Q&A edition of BTL. Well, we're just going to answer your questions all show long. And joining me to do this is Mr. No Gray area, Mr. No Hot Take, the man who produced arguably the greatest episode of Damn They Were Good in the history of the M.A. Fighting Podcasting Network. Isn't that right, Jedmishu?

Look, I don't know if it's the greatest, I think it is, but it's certainly the longest. So that dropped this morning. If you are listening to this on the wonderful M.A. Fighting Radio Network, you already know. But, you know, just click the download button. You can't do it on data. You're going to have to wait until you have Wi-Fi. two and almost three hours worth of Habib Nomagamatov content in your earhole. We had a lot of fun. It's a great episode. You should check it out. You should check it out. It's a good time. And also here with us on the ones and twos, producer extraordinaire in San Diego, getting

ready for Bellator 300. There he is. Are you behind a fence? Oh, no, I'm just, I'm just, are you in a cage? I'm in a wonder. It looks like you're a cage. Why is? All right.

I'll fix that. I'll fix that. I want to play tick-tac-toe so bad right now. You start in the middle, right? Hollywood squares, babe. Fancy is the middle in our Hollywood square. You're our Joan Rivers. Is that what it is?

Yeah, that's what he is. Yes. We need a Jim J. Bullock and all the other outstanding personalities. Can we do M.M.A. Hollywood Squares? Is that a thing we can do? Should we say? This million dollar idea for all fair?

Yes. I mean, we have lots of ideas going on right now. That's for sure. We have the combine. We got this. There's so many things we can do. Oh, the combine. Someday.

Someday we'll make it happen. So, yes, this is your show, everybody. We are just going to banter about based on the topics you bring up to us. So get the questions in the chat. Casey will bring them up and we will discuss. So do we have anything? Joseph Boza will Patty be fast-tracked to a title eliminator at lightweight if he beats Tony Ferguson? So I think we've kind of reacted to the fight.

We've somewhat touched on the stakes involved here. Like Dana White said if Tony loses probably Dunzo with the UFC, although Tony said on the MA hour with Ariahawani, he's nowhere near Dunn fighting. He's got a long way to go. we've also talked about, and I know fighters have talked about this. I've talked about this a lot on heck of a morning. What happens to Patty Pimbleau here? Because a loss is really, really bad.

A win? It kind of depends on how he treats this fight, in my opinion. But I don't know if he gets really the credit he deserves beating a guy who has lost six fights in a row in pretty dominant fashion. So let's say Patty goes out, Jed Mishu, and he treats this very respectful. He's very respectful to Jared Gordon in the building. to the fight, said nice things about him. Let's say he treats Tony with the same kind of gloves.

He's very respectful, very nice, puts over Tony in his resume, goes out, has a fun fight with Tony and wins it. What does this do for him? And do you think the UFC could fast track him in this loaded 155 pound division if he beats Tony? It's a great question. Great question, Joe. I think they may try. I don't know that they're going to be able to.

some of this will probably be how the performance looks like let's be honest he goes out there and he runs over tony ferguson because tony is washed but you know uh still there's probably still some cachet to just dominating tony ferguson and if you can go out there and you know pull a a bini dairy use something like that then maybe that gets enough enough gumption in him to be like all right let's take a run at the top 15 let's see what the mat frivolos of the world are doing So they probably try, but I think that they would try regardless of who he beats. This is just the name. We've run out of real estate for Patty Pimbley to not fight a real person now.

Like Jared Gordon was the last dude. Shouldn't have even beaten Jared Gordon. You can't keep having him fight absolute nobodies without at least taking a shot at something. and so Tony Ferguson is just kind of the easiest springboard to get him into an opportunity where maybe instead of saying, hey, Patty beats this guy, now he's going to fight the top 15 guy.

Maybe Tony Ferguson has least enough name value and Patty Pimbleau himself is a big enough star that can springboard him into attracting the eyes of a top 10 guy, you know, a Dan Hooker, somebody like that who is a top 10 opponent who isn't probably really close to a title, shot and might be looking for a big name, big opportunity. Hell, it wouldn't make a ton of sense, but like, you could sell me on Dustin Porre

fighting Patty Pembleau because he's interested in big fights, etc. Like, he's not trying to fight real up-and-comers. So Patty goes here, beats Tony Ferguson. Maybe Porre can even sell himself on the idea of, hey, this dude at least is very popular. That fight is more meaningful to me than fighting. you know, Armand Sarukian or whatever in that regard. So I think we're going to, if he wins and if he wins cleanly, yeah, they're probably going to try and bump him up to shortcut as much of the lightweight,

you know, shark tank as he can. So I have two other questions for you in regards to this fight. One, we saw Tony Ferguson on the M.A. Our Therio, Hwani, great show. It was an interview that's gotten a lot of attention because people were wondering what kind of attitude Tony was going to have. Was he going to be just kind of the nutty to say crazy things, Tony Ferguson, or is he going to be more of a reflective, what the hell have I been doing with myself, Tony Ferguson? I feel like we got more of the latter than the former, although there were some of the former sprinkled in, but it was just a little more laid back. What are

your biggest takeaways from Tony on the MMA hour? I hated it. I honestly have not been super plugged into the rest of the MMA sphere as much. Not to derail this or make this kind of thing because this will upset some people. Twitter just is really not fun anymore. It's just been, so I'm on MMA Twitter a whole lot less because the engagement is just so different now. And it's, you know, I'm not making a moral judgment on that, if that's your thing, whatever.

It's just not for me anymore. which is a shame, but it does mean that I'm like way less plugged into some of the stuff that's happened this week, Tony Among it. So I don't know how everyone else, you know, vibe that, but I didn't like it. I like that he appears to be in a good place mentally. I'm really happy for him that. I don't think he's reckoning with the truth of anything at all. And that is the part that is far more concerning to me.

some of the stuff he said like you want to believe it and you want to feel good yeah I feel great blah blah blah like you know I was not with the right people and now I am all of that is you know you hope that it's true because you hope for the best for these guys but I it was one of the clearest examples to me of the difference between fighters and quote unquote regular people like and and the mental gymnastics you have to be able to do to put yourself into the position that they're in, to be convinced that you can win a fist fight against anybody and that you are the best in the world. And this is the sort of dark side of it. Yeah, I know I've lost six in a row, but that's not really who I am.

I have plenty of tread left on the tires. It's just not real. I would have hoped that six in a row would be the, time. I don't know how many in a row it takes for somebody to reckon with their own mortality in this way, but it really doesn't appear to me that Tony is. He keeps grasping at straws of it, you know, I was with the wrong people, is with the wrong camp. And I'm not saying that that had no part, but I think the obvious and clear answer is something very different that he's not prepared to have that conversation with himself about. So hope for the best, but I did not leave

that interview feeling great about his prospects to succeed and felt really bad that he seems very intent on trying to continue. My other question, let's just say you were hired by Patty Pimbled and his team to manage the image of Patty Pimbleau. This is how you should handle yourself heading into this fight. Are you telling Patty Pimbleau, hey, treat this man with respect. he's a former interim lightweight champion has been some big fights,

one of the longest winning streets in the history of the division, one of the top 10 lightweights of all time, or do you have Patty go in there and just go after Tony? Because look, after the Jared Gordon fight,

and I know absence makes the heart go fonder, right? Like, we can't miss you if you don't leave, and I kind of feel like the break is going to put Patty on this fork in the road where he can either put Tony over and be really cool,

and not celebrate a finish or anything like that, just kind of take it in stride, or he could just go full-fledged heel here and just let everybody outside of the UK just hate the man. And hatred creates dollars too. So if you are managing Patty, and Patty's like, hey, Jed, how should I handle myself heading into this fight?

What would you tell him? Would you tell him to go full heel or try to put Tony over as best you can? I think there are two options. That's a really, really good question, Mike. One that I would have honestly liked you have to ask me before this, so I could have really weighted out in my head, not just fire from the hip. Because I think there probably is a right answer.

So I think there are two ways, and you kind of outlined there, but I'll dig into it a little more specifically. I don't think you put Tony over if you're going to go that route. I think that that's a very viable route, and I suspect that that's the route we'll see, where you don't try and blow smoke or sell wolf tickets. It's not a Tony's still dangerous. It's, you know, this guy's a legend of the game. It's an honor to fight him.

And, you know, he's still showing something. He's not at his best, but it doesn't matter because I know come Saturday night, he is going to be the best that he possibly can be. And that's, you know, for 10 years plus, the best Tony Ferguson was an absolute handful. And you can go that route. And, you know, not like fully K-Fabit that he's like seriously danger. But you can give him enough props so that when you beat him, we all know the transaction that has occurred,

and you don't have to lie to anybody. I suspect that that's what Patty's going to do. As I'm talking through it, I think if I was Patty's management, I would just tell them to go full heel because you're not going to make any fans off this one. Realistically, you're not going to accomplish much off this one other than some ephemeral idea of having the name Tony Ferguson

on your resume. What that means off a six-fight losing streak is, who knows? I think the most maybe it's not the most honest but I think the most straightforward and sound way to approach this would just straight up being like

I'm a kill this old dude like I don't know what the hell is going on this is promotional malpractice I cannot believe you guys see me I'm on a six fight winning streak I'm young I'm vibrant I'm not fat I put down the pizza so I could come

and smash this Joker like he's lost six in a row he's talking about Ninja Turtles and being weird and wearing sunglasses inside. I'm going to absolutely annihilate him. And hopefully, I think what the UFC is trying to do here is they're trying to make me beat this man into retirement.

And I will absolutely relish the opportunity to do my job in this regard. I think that's probably a better way to play. You're going to make a lot of people really upset. Some people will like it because that's, you know, how this sort of game works. And at the end, you're going to, if you're going for the most cachet, I think that That's the way to play it with one major caveat being, buddy, if you go plan B, you better deliver. If you Jared Gordon your ass in here after talking all that greasiness

and then can't be washed Ferguson, you're going to catch it in the teeth forever. So I think I'd go plan B, but man, you got to make sure you fulfill your obligations on plan B as well. But you know, if he goes plan A as well and loses a Tony, he's going to catch it in the teeth too. So I don't think he can really... He's going to catch him the teeth if he loses.

But at least if it's playing A, it's less... You know, I told you, he's still good. And, you know, you could... That's more forgettable. It will be the first... Patty will get the 13 seconds treatment for the rest of his career if he comes and it's like,

this is about to be an execution and then gets got. I guess it's just it. I kind of feel like the heal way is the way to go. It could be like the... It's definitely good. He could be like the Brett the hitman heart of the late 90s where Brett was a major heel in America, but in Canada he was a freaking hero.

Like he got cheered. He was the big baby face. But in America, he was booed out of the building. And Patty could be like booed out of the building in America. But he goes to the UK, he's celebrated like a hero. Like you could do the same thing. You could still have that. You could still be loved.

But you could be hated too and both make a lot of money. And you can make a pretty compelling argument that being hated is more. more profitable than being loved in some respects. So we'll see what happens. I've grown more okay with this one. Don't love it, but I'm not as staunchly against it as I once was. I'll say that. I still hate it.

I don't. I mean, the silver lining is I don't know what I would like for Tony Ferguson. If he has insisted, I mean, what I would like is for the UFC to say, we're not going to book you because that's what I would choose to. Like if you would like to be released from your contract, I can't stop you, but I'm out. So if they're, you know, that's never the UFC's prerogative anymore. I don't, I honestly don't know who. Who did, did you guys matchmake for him on Otno after his last loss?

Did anyone wildcard him? Joe Lozahn was the fight I've always, that's the one I kept going back to. I could live with that. I could live with that. and I could live with, even though he probably loses at this point in time. We live with that or Jim Miller at UFC 300. That would be about the only thing I would accept. So anything else I'm just going to hate.

Don't you think Jim Miller is better than Patty Pembert? Maybe. He might be better. He's much older as the problem. Like I'm way, once you get to that realm, even if you are better and maybe Jim Miller beats Patti Pumbet, it's just like let old dudes fight old dudes, because that's at least sits better on the palette. Yeah.

Miller's been clubbing dudes too. Like he's been like knocking people. He's been beating people up with his mitts as opposed to just subbing everybody lately. So I don't know. Yeah, but I'm just never going to be that upset with a man, an old washed guy fighting a 40 year old dude. Like that's at least a pal.

Even if Jim Miller's been fine, like he's also been fine against a bunch of dudes who don't have wiki pages or whatever. So like some of that's there. That just makes more sense from a, you know, Legends tour or whatever than this Patty Pimbley does. I still hate this fight. I'm still kind of confused why people hate this fight because

is Patty Pemnick good? Is he top 15? It's not top 15, but it does not. Top 15 is not the barrier to entry for Tony Ferguson at this point in time. He's probably top 30. You just don't want Tony Ferguson to fight. anybody right anybody real no i don't want him to fight a real human unless it's a legend of the game and then i will accept it yeah because i think jim miller put a put a much bigger hurt on tony

than patty would maybe but brain damage maybe yeah but i'm just like way more cooler with those two dudes at that stage of their careers facing off with each other like otherwise yeah patty like have tony ferguson fight me or whatever. Like, I don't, I don't know. I actually do honestly think the UFC should, as a rule, a hard and fast rule, never book someone on a six-fight losing streak. That's just like, anathema to everything for them. You should be like, hey, man, you're a legend.

We'd like you to retire. If you're not going to, we'll be done with your services. Yeah, this kind of fight is just such a rarity because there's a guy on a big winning streak. against a guy and I'm big losing streak like the same number. I honestly don't know that this has happened since like pride. Yeah. So it's weird

to look at like the wikis and the tapology pages like right next to each other. A whole bunch of green against a whole bunch of red. I could do Clay Guida. I could do Clay Guida for Tony Ferguson. Another old guy.

Yeah. I'm looking through topology rankings. I'm currently in the 70s trying to find some dude that would be a responsible match. There ain't a lot of them guys. Because there is so much freaking conversation on this fight. It's fine.

It's a promotionally fine fight to make. Promotionally, it seems like a perfect fight, but yeah, I'm just kind of always shocked how much people care about this fight. But yeah, here we are. I wouldn't say it's perfect just because

most of the conversation's negative. And while no publicity is bad publicity. At some point, like, I just don't think they're getting as much juice as they could for, for like all of the negativity that comes their way. But it's fine matchup in that regard. And if the idea is maybe if Tony just gets killed by this dude that most people think isn't good, maybe he'll quit, then I'm fully on board. But I'm pretty sure that that's not the idea behind this matchup. Yeah. I think it's kind of twofold. One is if you're trying to use Tony to get Patty over,

I don't know if this is going to do it, unless Patty does go full heel and just puts this guy away and get him out of the UFC. Like, he can live off the fact that I'm the guy who retired Tony Ferguson. You could do like Logan Paul. I'm the guy who beat Floyd Mayweather. Like, you could do that.

Like, you can be that guy. What? I've got it. I've got the matchup for Tony Ferguson. What is it? It's Chase, Hooper, because he could beat Chase Hooper. He could beat Chase Hooper.

That's the matchup that I would have accepted as well. Huh. Interesting. Hooper's a 45-or, right? Now he's 55 now. Yeah, he bumped. Okay. Interesting. I mean, it's not a good fight, but he could be.

I'm strictly at this point trying to find to fight Tony Ferguson can win in the context of the UFC. That's the fight Joe Lozahn wanted at UFC. too. He's like, book me against Chase Hooper in Boston. Yeah, because he could win it in Boston. That'd be a heck of a swan song for. What's, is Anthony Petty still under contract with PFL? Can we bring him back?

Why would he want to come back? He just made like a floppy trillion dollars to box Roy Jones Jr. Why would he ever want to come back to the UFC? That's a great point. He wants to fight Cedric Dumbe. I mean, that seems like a bad. But okay, you know, however you want to live your life, I guess. There is, I am in the 160s and I've come up with two names that are like reasonable

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Let's go to Michael. Good name. Given the lack of tape evidence in MMA based on vibes, how good is Cedric Dumebe? Jed Mishu. Now, most people in America did not get to watch, actually, nobody in America, unless you were a media member, got to watch this fight live, or if you had a good VPN. But this to me, like, I know they build it. Listen, I crap on the PFL more than probably anybody, because they make so many mistakes.

They could be really good, but they just aren't good. But the matchmaking here was absolutely brilliant because this was a squash match to be on paper by watching tape. Everything I saw, this was a squash match. This was the Cedric Dume Bay squash match special, even though they were both four and O as pro-MMA fighters. So this is picture perfect. Doom Bay delivered in a big way. This was absolutely perfect. Too bad nobody really got to see it.

but the social media clip went viral and that's great. How do you view him? Like how higher are you on him at this place? Like is this the dude? What do you think? So we're clear. The social clip going out is the fight. The clip is the full fight.

The fight was not in second. So it's fine. Yes, it was very dumb that the PFL would ever put on. And I just truly need someone to explain to me why they couldn't broadcast it somewhere. Like I genuinely don't understand how that. can't be on YouTube. There's no reasonable explanation that I will accept for why, like,

dude, you can watch like Ares shit on YouTube. You can watch like Bumble Frick organization in the Caucus Mountains on YouTube. I can't watch PFL and like one of your main attractions. The hell is that. But yeah, he's the truth. that's that this plain simple he wakes up every day and it's excellence uh dude he's dope like he's dope i'm trying really hard to not get this censored on on the pod network i've had to censor myself like five times so yeah uh i don't know if you've ever watched him kickbox is pretty sick and

if you've watched him murder admittedly bad people in m mb. It's still pretty sick um and hey i don't know if you guys know this but Mike, I think, I feel like there have been some relatively successful glory kickboxing champions in MMA of late. Is that right? Has there been a couple of very successful glory champions making the move to MMA? I'm not crazy. I think you might be on to something here. Like one guy's middleweight champion, one guy was middleweight champion is about to fight for the light heavyweight title.

yeah I mean it's it's pretty good look it's not being combat sambo world champion but being glory kickboxing champion appears to be an excellent base for mMA so yeah the vibes are immaculate the man's a star you hear talk you hear him coming with the absolute thunder uh in his post-fight presser firing shots um and some like pretty heavy accusations this man uh is is the truth New York Rick has been a big proponent of him since day one. I've been right there with them. And I think everybody who knows what's up is right there on Doom Bay. This guy, I mean, hell, what, he's 30, 32, somewhere in that, like, early 30s range.

And at a really good weight class, so you might have hard time, but weight class isn't a little transition. I mean, if the PFL is going to be probably pretty easy money for him to run through that run at this point. So he's going to be great. And in the not too distant future, he's going to be a top 10 guy for us. Wish the UFC hadn't fumbled the bag. I would have loved to see Dubei and what he could do. I think it's some of the top welterweights in the sport. But say Lavi.

Would you put him in the season? Or did you just special attraction and pay-per-view type fights? It's a really good question. I think you just special attract. him because who really cares about PFL seasons. And I think that that's going to be progressively the case with PFL, which is going to entirely undermine their entire structure. But, you know, whatever. The problem is what are the special attractions for him?

Like, PFL's Walterweight division is poop. Just book him in the same kind of fight here. Find him a guy. Because the guy he fought, I don't remember his name. I just remember watching TV. He's like a three and three amy. And then he just got a bunch of Greenpuff fights as a pro. And this is like, yeah, you just give him smashes.

Yeah, but at some point, at some point you want to do something bigger with him. And I just don't know what that is because, I mean, if the PFL does buy Bellator, then that's way more fun. Eventually a Cedric Dume Bay, you know, versus our boy. It's pretty good, pretty good. I mean, actually, their Walterweight division is getting a little bit old. but it's still much better than Sada Buci or whatever. So, yeah, if they do end up buying Bellator, which fingers crossed, knock on wood,

hope that goes through, be better. An eventual Dumbay versus Amosov, Dumbay versus MVP. I was just got to say. I don't know if he's, you know, what's going on there. Dunebe versus Koreshkov, like these are cool things. thing. So hopefully they pick up Bellator for no other reason. Then they need people for Dubei to fight after one more year of him smashing cans and then obliterating,

Abliterating Sada Bucie. I think that's what you do, is you give, you give Dubei a couple cream puffs and then you build end of 2024. MVP's a free agent. I don't know what the whole, I'm sure there's matching rights and all that stuff, but even if PFL just wants to go get him on his own, like on their own, just sign up. him and if MVP wants to fight on a card great but I think the whole thing is to build to that fight because that'd be huge

that'd be just a fun special attraction kind of a fight you don't book it now but sometime the end of 2024 I think that would be a nice little build yeah so I'm I'm in

yeah and show his fights in the US for God's sake such a low bar such a low bar to show fights and yet god they're so good at making graphics if cats if cat's gonna becomes the bellator featherweight champion

will bellator still be around for them to capitalize on set upset Joe I gotta pick your brain here man what do you mean capitalize what is it to If Chris Cyborg loses, they're just going to fold the division because they don't care about Katzenkano being a champion.

No one does. Why should they? They shouldn't. It's a fraudulent weight class anyway. The only thing that's giving it a patina of realism is Chris Cyborg being there. And if she loses, I mean, I guess they won't fold if they buy PFL because like PFL essentially has it. But no, there's nothing to happen if Katzangano wins. Katzangana wins and Chris Cyborg fights.

They'll do a rematch in PFL because Belator won't exist by the time that would happen. And then the winner of that rematch gets to go get absolutely annihilated by Larissa Pacheco, who might be the best female fighter on the planet right now. So, yeah, no, this is, there's nothing to capitalize on. It will be nothing but sadness. And admittedly, incredibly funny, which means it might happen because this year has been just a hysterically funny year. So, but no, there's nothing to capitalize on here.

It's so funny you say that because I went on the pod with Santiago and Marcel, the Belichor zone, we were talking about this. If there's one fight on this card that I had those like Stricklandy O'Malley vibes to, it's this one. For some weird reason, I can't put my finger on it, but it's this fight. It would undeniably be the funniest outcome. of all the funny outcomes that could happen, that would be the funniest thing for Katzingano

to like semi openly duck Chris Cyborg for well over a year, finally fight her and then beat her, despite the fact that Katzangano is not even very good, would be objectively hilarious. Yes. I'm not picking this to happen, but I don't know, I feel kind of,

I have those weird feelings about this one. But look, from some reports and some conversation. I think Chris Cyborg to lose to a lot of people right now. I think she is primed to lose to people because she's been fighting for 20 years. It hasn't really looked all that good in MMA lately. But not that Katzangano. And look, even if the PFL does absorb Bellator,

there's a lot of rumblings that they're just going to keep them separate for a little while. So I actually think that's the best. No, you don't like that? You can't do that. Why? Look, I think that idea works if they don't purchase Bellator. And if, as we have previously discussed, they do it once a year's Super Bowl where they just do a Super Bowl event. And it's PFL versus Bellator than the rest of them.

If you are PFL and you acquire Bellator and you let Bellator run as its own thing, that's malpractice. Because I got to tell you, Mike, PFL's roster is just awful. It is just calamitously bad in several weight classes. And they desperately need the only reason to buy Bellator realistically. Because Bellator will co-promote. You could just co-promote with them if you wanted to. They've been open to that. The only reason to buy them is to buy their roster,

which is the second best in MMA behind the UFC. They have a bunch of very quality fighters. And if you are the PFL trying to build your brand as the new TV rights deal comes up, your brand does not need to be. We have a bunch of C&D level fighters in this tournament structure that is really yet to take hold as something that is meaningful for this fan base.

and we also own the rights to these good people over here who are doing an entirely separate thing. If you're going to buy it, you bring them all under one roof to make a big event, like to make a bigger, better product. So when your TV rights deal renews, you can come to ESPN with a tangible real product and a depth of event structure there. So I think it would be really bad. If they want to run them separately for the rest of the year, so Bellator can finish their Grand Prix,

and then 2024, PFL, you know, does, they finish their season and 2024 is all new, okay. But if it's for the next year plus, we're going to run these as separate entities, light that idea on fire and kick it out the door. We do not need that. Yeah, I don't know, man. It's going to be interesting because even though Bellator has the second best roster in the sport right now, there aren't any stars there. There's guys who could be stars, but they don't have any stars. Like, and if you're going to run pay-per-views and all that, like, you just don't run enough events. Don't run paper views.

Don't run pay-views. Just don't do it. No one should run it. The UFC shouldn't run it, really, but they at least can get away with it. Just don't. Just build a promotion and recognize that, you know who doesn't run pay-per-views? The NF-F-Fucking L. Do they hurt for money?

No, because they have a way longer, though. Yeah, okay, they still make a billion dollars a day because of their TV deal rights with eight different things. I'm not saying you're going to be the NFL or make that much money, but pay-per-view is just an insane thought for anything that is not the UFC, and even the UFC were probably past it. Doesn't, didn't WWE stop doing pay-per-views? Don't they just have like your TV subscription or whatever to Paramount? Like it's just, just do a TV. You can't make a TV rights deal be good. You can't broadcast fucking live fights for one of your best fighters to America.

Why the fuck are you trying to put on pay-per-views? Do your freaking job, buy this company, bring in their good fighters to your roster, and make a real product that people can get behind. So in a year and a half, you can go to ESPN and get upfront cash in hand to continue building a viable alternative to the UFC. This shouldn't be that hard. Amazing. Well said. I was hoping to get that out of you at some point.

And we got it. I don't want to be mean to the BFL because I like in general what they're trying to do. I don't love that they got, you know, $100 million. of Saudi financing, but there are no heroes in this sport. But just like, focus on the battles you can win, my man. Making an extra $400 from the six people who buy your championship pay-per-view is just not worth it. It's just not.

Yeah, it's got to be a tough one. This is going to be a tough one to buy this one in November. It's awful. It's like, one, like half of it's just the same as last year. which is freaking terrible. It's just like, yeah, man, you can't, you don't do it. If you are insisting on doing pay-per-views, here's what you do. You do them come as they may.

Like you play them by year. It's not a, we're going to make this. It's, hey, okay, well, now Jake Paul is actually going to fight in an MMA fight. You know what? We'll make a pay-per-view for that. But you don't just be like, we got to make a pay-per-view in November because that's when we do them. and we're going to try and chop to basket this up with the four items that are trash

to make an edible meal. No, it's not it. You sell a product you have, not a product you wish you had. And that's what the PFL is going to be doing with the championship this year. It's like, okay, you're going to make an extra 40 bucks. You're going to lose out the opportunity

to make a broader fan base by making this free for people to consume on a platform that most people in your demographic, male's 18 to 34, own ESPN Plus. Like you should just stop this. Your focus should be on growth. You are not a money-making enterprise and no one is believing that you are.

Your focus is on growth. And growth is not behind a paywall. It never has been, never will be. All right. Next question. I love this so much. BFL definitely needs to have a look in the mirror moment. If you could only pick three Bellator fighters to bring over,

who are they? I'm assuming that means to PFL or do we think this means to bring over to the UFC? I assume UFC because if... I think UFC? Okay. Yeah, let's go UFC because the PFL answer will be pretty, I don't know, 300 fighters to bring over. But yeah. I mean, fair.

That's a fair, fair point. I bet we would have the same. I mean, so the two of these are incredible. obvious and then I think the third one is obvious enough. But I mean, Eblen and Nirmie, that's one and two. There's no question in my mind. Because Johnny Eblen may well be the best metalweight alive. Narmor Gometov, there's an argument, I guess, not to bring him just because of Islam and

those two won't fight. But I think that Islam probably doesn't have many years left atop the sport, either from loss, from loss or he probably will take a quicker exit a la Habib and given how young Usman is, let me check this. How old is he's like 25, some I am I? 24, yeah.

Yeah, he's 25 years old. He's 25 years old. That man is going to be the best lightweight in the world someday. I mean, at this point, like, he's younger than Armand Sarukian. you know, like bring him over because we can get Sarukian versus Nirmar Gametov. We can have a lot of fun fights with him. I already think he's probably one of the 10 best high weights in the world. And he's 25.

Like he's three or four years at least away from his prime, his peak. So that would be number two for me behind Eblen. And my number three, I think that there are two answers that I guess there are more than two answers actually. Because there are a lot. Like the top of the list for Bellator is great. But I had one really convincingly, and then I remembered Yaroslav Amosov, and now I'm like, shit. There's this is tougher than you think. It actually is.

It actually is. Can I readjust the question? Three non-champions. How about that? Because obviously all the champions can come over. Maybe for the exception. No, I think it's more fun because if you have to, you have to choose the champions you want to come over, though. It's only three.

I mean. I know, but you got to choose them because I would want like. six of them to come over. Yeah. Non-champions, I don't think I even care. Who comes? Aaron Pico?

Like, I mean, it's Pico, AJ McKee, and does Pitbull have a belt right now? Yeah, he's the featherweight champion. Is Pitbolt the featherweight champion? Yeah, he's the champion right now.

Apache? Capuchy's not texting me to the champion. He's an interim champion. If we're allowing, if we're allowing Apache in this modified rule set, absolutely. But other than that, I don't know, Fabian Edwards is actually a good fighter.

I'd be happy to see him over. I'll be Adam Borch. I love Adam Borch. Yeah. I love him. Probably not. I don't think he's a must have, though. I think he's really good.

But yeah. Like if you get to bring him 15 guys, I'd probably bring Borch in. Orch is that, okay, whatever. Kioji doesn't have a bell. Give me Kioji. For sure. That's good one. If it's belt, I want, I definitely want Nirm.

I definitely want Eblen. And I think my third answer, I'm going to go back to it. I'm going to stick with it. The one I originally had, it's, it's bad. Give me patchy. I think that there's a very, I think there's a very real chance. He's the best band of weight in the world. And so I think all three of those people either could be or are.

the best fighter in their way class. And so even though I'd love Vadim Nimkov, I'd love Jarlsla of Amasov. I'm less interested in seeing those journeys than I am, those three I picked. It's tough. Eblins number one, for sure. Because there's just so many interesting fights there.

The Romagna Madoff is definitely on the list, but kind of in the same frame of mind you have. I kind of want to get them he's 27 or 28 than 25 like let him just carve out his niche and just crush everybody he fights there and then when his contract expires and he's 28 about to hit his athletic peak then bring him over when Islam is out then he could just hand it on over to usman mckee's a good one i'd love to see mix at 135 but i like i wonder if we would run into some issues though because i know Aljo trains with him.

I know Marab trains with him. I don't know if we'd have any issues of like those guys fighting each other because that's the last thing this friggin division needs right now. I'd be fine because neither Aljo nor Marab are fighting for the title anytime soon.

So it's fine. Well, Patchy probably isn't either. So which is as long as Sean O'Malley's the champion. It's true. Yeah. It's a good list. Pico, I'd probably bring Pico over. I'd probably bring Pico over.

honestly over patchy there's just a whole ton of them that are dope MVP theoretically still there which goes to my previous point if you're PFL and we just gave you a list of fighters who would be dope to have in the UFC and you look at yours and we're like

well I'm about to give Saddivu see another million dollars we should definitely keep these brands separate that's good for our long term development no you idiots get real people into your organization now.

How can they possibly absorb all these contracts, though? Like how? How is this possible? What that Saudi money is for, baby? It's $100 million. It seems like a lot, but when you're bringing over a hundred guys that you'd want on your roster, that's a lot of money,

especially for some of these champions, it's a lot of frigging money, man. It's a lot of money. This is why you buy them, though. You're buying these contracts and not giving, you know each of them 750 grand a rip you're just paying them whatever their existing contract structure is probably isn't a ton i don't you still have to pay that pays yeah you still have to pay yeah you got to pay them that but look if at any point in time they run out of money they can go back to

daddy arabia and be like hey i need more money doesn't mean anything to you it's fictional you already gave me a hundred million what's an extra 100 it's the same let's go i one of these days We're going to sell this product to ESPN for a half million dollars. I'm super curious about how this is going to play out for the fighters. Like, will they have the option to stick around at the money they're making and stay? Or you have the choice. You could just leave and test free agency. You may not take the risk.

You may not get the money. We're going to give you. But if you want to try it out, go ahead. Like, I wonder if this deal happens, if these champions and some of these big name fighters have to stay or if they're given the option to explore free agency. I assume that they have to stay to fulfill the contract obligations they have with Bellator, whatever those are. In the same way that like when the UFC brought pride in several of those contracts,

like Mark Hunt famously was given an option to leave and declined it, I think PFL could choose to say if ex-fighter, if you would like to decline or like we would be happy for you to leave. and they may do some of that from a number standpoint in fluxing 150 people into your promotion is probably pretty tough. But I would strongly doubt. If so, like if there is a buyout option

or whatever for these fighters, then I will need someone to sit me down and explain it to me like I'm a Labrador retriever what the PFL purchased. Because if they're not buying the contracts of the fighters in Bellator, I truly do not know what they are buying. But you also have to think, too, that the UFC is not going to pay most of these guys what Bellator did.

So these fighters should be taking a risk. Maybe. I actually don't know how much Bellator contracts are. You could convince me, I'm sure that some high-in people are doing well, but you could also convince me that, like, some of the Bellator contract pay is tied up in the idea that they have individual sponsors and that, hey, we might pay you a little bit less, but the UFC is restrictive in your sponsorships, and you can make, you know,

per Ryan Bader at one point time, 100 grand per fight based on your own sponsorship acquisition. So I, we don't, I don't at least know enough about what Bellator contracts are like to have a great idea about that. Like if Ebblin's making like 125 and 125 right now, the UFC's not going to pay him that.

No chance. Probably not. But also, I mean, at that point, you get into the game theory of it. Is it worth it to risk losing potentially the best middle weight in the world to save 25 grand contract or whatever? Like a fight for him or whatever? Like, then you have to game theory and figure out what the UFC would pay and you're releasing him to the open market. When instead you can just say, this money doesn't really mean that much to me. I'll pay him the extra scratch and make sure that we have him under roster and we can continue to build.

because that should be, again, their focus, their priority should be on growth, should be on putting out and creating the best product possible. And to do that, they need the best fighters possible. And this just ain't where you save a nickel, you know, in my opinion. Yeah, you got to go all in now and you need it to work. You need it to work. It's going to be real interesting next 18 months for the PFL. That's for sure.

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was awesome. Stamp is Can't Miss TV. Stamp Fairtext gets an A plus plus plus plus plus for me. She proved me wrong. Not saying that I didn't think she could win, but I just didn't think she had the like the MMA experience, some of the big fight experience that Ham had. But man, stamp is, Stamps a star man. She is a friggin star. And one need to just boost her and get her out everywhere and just treat her like a star. She's A plus plus plus plus plus for sure.

I did not watch a second of this so I will not comment on this. I saw, you know, I saw the Angela Lee News and sort of how it broke out afterwards but didn't watch this at all. I watched it

and it was the last three fights which was a no. The last four? Grappling Moitai. Yeah, it was a weird, it was basically a boxing match between MMA fighter and Moitai fighter.

That was a super fun match. There was a straight up, I think Moitai fight. That was freaking awesome. I can't remember the lady's names. Then there was a really good grappling match between Daniel Kelly and another American lady, which was freaking really good.

And then the main event was just super duper in Stam Fairtex. should be a top top five biggest MMA, female MMA stars in the world. She has everything going for. And the win was incredible, too, because she just didn't knock out Zoe Ham, who I thought was going to beat her. She outgrapled her too and almost armoured her,

I think in their first round, and one of the most vicious body shot KOs we're going to see all year. So, that was nasty, dude. It was so nasty. so nasty, so, oh, it was just so, oh, it was beautiful. It was like, and you couldn't really see on the original broadcast angle, because the angle, you couldn't see the body shots once they get the reverse of it. And then you saw like how she just dug in. She had the same spot right under

the rib three times in a row. She is so good. And I was so impressed by, with St. Perr-text, her walkout, post-fight, in-ring, her actual fighting. skills, everything. Like, like, man, like one, like one has their Ronda Rousey or whatever, you know, whatever you want to call it. But she is, she's the real deal. It was, it was spectacular. So I'll try that was the only funny. That was the only main event. The, the only fight I watched. Oh, the gravity matches was awesome and the Moytime match was super violent, awesome too. Yeah. I like what one's doing, man. I like what they're doing. They're trying. I like what they're doing until they talk about what they're doing.

And then it's like, oh, we're, we're just as good as the UFC and all this. You're not the UFC. Like you're, what's, what's breaking you out in 2023 to American fans more than ever is that you're the alternative to the UFC. Stop comparing yourself to the UFC. Your product is, yeah, there are mixed martial arts boats, but the formula in which you build your power. They are non-animated motion. No. they're not. So stop comparing

yourselves to the UFC. Stop saying you're the number two MMA promotion. You are your own thing. You need to be your own thing. We're the number one, one. Right? Like, we're different. There are martial arts promotion who happens to have this martial arts part of it. And that's, yeah, you're right. You're absolutely right. Anytime they

they shouldn't, they should completely what they're, they've, I don't know if it was accidental or what but like they have become, I, I used to kind of, one was like PFL to me for a long time. I just didn't like watching it. But it has grown on me and I do think they have their product has gotten much better. And while I still don't like moitai in a cage, I still think that's gross. I've accepted it.

Yeah. But they also do moitai in rings too. Yeah. Yeah. I love, I wish it did rings more to even differentiate them more. But yeah, I. They honestly should just be, and I hate rings. I think rings are not a good thing for M.A.

They should just be a ring promotion. There's no real reason. I love rings, but even for MMA. And I think the Amazon deal, man, at least for me, I'm only talking from my experience. It is really easy to watch one now, be it through Amazon Prime video. It's really easy, even easier than YouTube, honestly. So they got a good thing. And I don't know the money parts of it.

I don't know if that's working out for them. But just from my viewing experience, I actually, I hate, and I don't know, I hate saying about I'm admittingly like I'm becoming a one fan until they start talking. Then it becomes, yeah. Yeah, if Chachar just didn't say anything, they would be perfect. They'd be in a great place right now. I know that Bloody Elbow released some of the contract information. So there's been a whole bunch of weirdness.

Tough. I know what that. Very tough. A lot of language in that is rough. I know Alex Davis came out and defended the Adrian-Marias contract, and there's probably some truth to what Alex is saying, that he made more money than that contract they showed. I'm sure there's more to be made,

but it's just like the disclosed pay when the UFC goes to an event where the commission's... So tax fraud? So we're tax frauding it? Is that what? I made more money than was reported. Good to know. Well, I mean, you know how to think. I mean, yeah, it's...

They're not going to disclose everything. If you're looking for heroes in promoters, not just in boxing anywhere, there are none. Zero. It's a career that almost exclusively caters to some of the worst people you've ever met. It's unfortunate, but like, historically, that's incredibly accurate. Yeah, you got to... I guess the best... Yeah, for sure.

And I guess the best advice I can give to fans is just watch. watch fights and like the fights because the more you dive deep into this industry, the more worms you're going to find and they ain't pretty to look at. Yeah. My fandom died a lot when I got more invested in learning. And I still love the sport and I love my job, but there are no heroes here. And that's true of other parts of the world as well. I just wanted to say this on one

I totally respect what they're doing I think you guys are absolutely right they shouldn't brand themselves as a no major promotion they're not they're combat sports promotion and you know I think that it would be incorrect to say but they could at least claim

with some credibility that the number one combat sports promotion in the world I think it's really easy like Casey said to watch it's always like on the banner I have a fired TV and like I load it up

it's like hey here's this going on super easy I can't get there. I think a lot of it is, for whatever reason, I enjoy grappling, and I enjoy moitai, and I enjoy kickboxing, I enjoy MMA, and it being all like sort of pell-mell into one rollout, that's funny for me with Fight Circus, which is an absurdist thing, unless it is less engaging to me to watch a one and be like, and now we have a grappling match, and now we're going to MMA, and now it's going to be a moitai, now it's going to be a random custom rules

match. It's just that part is off-putting. And so I understand it. I'm not saying they should change the thing. Totally respect what they're doing as a business, but I'm not where you got to, Casey. It's still not an enjoyable product for me to watch a lot of what is. I was with you, honestly, that too, like switching rule sets. But I'm just going to assume the Asian market has accepted this because Risen does this. I know other Japanese promotions have kickboxing the MMA but one kind of takes it a step further we're having with just everything but uh yeah i get it i get how it's it's off putting sometimes but um but it is different and yeah yeah and they put it totally it's hasn't connected with me in that way it's not for

everybody and they found a way to put stakes on things that no longer seem random on these cards which I like too. Like, like Daniel Kelly, like she was everywhere promoting this grappling match. She did interviews with everybody, which is super freaking smart.

Super freaking smart. Made it seem like that grappling match is a very big deal. So they're doing things right. You know, you're right. I thought it was just a grappling match,

but the way they built it up with the big belt and everything, I was like, all of a sudden, it's like, oh, am I watching like the 80-CC finals right here? You know, it fell big. I think it felt.

Yeah. Oh, the belt's too big. It's comic-a-big. It's comically big. It's comically. It's the thing is it is cartoonishly large and it's incredibly apparent when you're talking about like women's Adam weight fighters or the flightman. It's like actually the size of DJs or so. Like you can maybe get away with it like in a Tony Malikin or whatever who's a large person. But it's just like tiny human. who could like hide behind that if they needed to as a shield.

It is way too big. It's not a belt. It's a shield. That's what they should just call it. You win the one championship shield. Dude. Right now, if they get a shield instead, I'm in. I change everything.

You put in your arm. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That makes me different. Every promotion gives out belts. We give out shields. Yeah.

Dude. And look at like the old belts like boxing, like boxing championship belts, used to be like belts. There were ribbons. Like slightly bigger belts, you know, than like an actual belt you could wear. And it is just like cartoonishly expanding. And now we're at one, which is like the apex of all of them. And it's bigger, is it better?

Please change that. One more question about one. I'll do them. Okay. Is Angela Lee a women's Emmy pioneer for Southeast Asia and Singapore? or what is her legacy? What do you think, Casey? How would you define Angel Lee's legacy?

Definitely a... I don't think you can call her a pioneer. Not pioneer. That because she came in too late in the game. She started by 2015. Yeah, that's his past pioneer. I'm trying to think of a comparison, though. But I do feel like Angela Lee was the first,

maybe their first crossover start. in the sense that she was a star in Asia and becoming a star in the States. And I think her, I forget her opponent's name, but she, did you, her angelides, I think her two matches of the Chinese and a May fighter, I think, were just incredible matches.

Yeah, incredible matches. It was three of them, by the way. Oh, three of them, sorry. Yeah, it was, it was, there was just incredible matches. I think that was their, that was their Chandler Alvarez, kind of, you know, kind of, I guess that, I think it's a comparison. That was their Chandler Alvers.

That's just these just incredible matches that kind of just became, those matches became bigger than the organization. Just like Chandler Alvarez at the time was bigger than Belator. I think that's what Angela Lee's kind of her legacy is. And, yeah, I mean, we don't need to go into why she retired. But just unfortunate and sad. But I think in the end, she will leave. the sport with a very highly regarded legacy.

But pioneers are low, too. I won't go pioneer just because it just came too late in the game. There were other partners before. Yeah. Yeah. She just can't be a pioneer at this. Like when you started in 2016, you're not a pioneer by just about any definition. But yeah, I also, you know, a heart goes out to her, totally understand.

We'll say this. I would not say her legacy is written. She's still like 27. Yeah. She could take a five-year hiatus from the sport to deal with the thing she is dealing with and still be a very young woman to return and come back in like a substantive way. So wish the best for her. I would not say she's not getting a damn at the moment, you know?

Yeah. The face of that organization in a lot of respects, for sure. Especially before they started signing before the trade and, you know, before they started signing a lot of the ex-UFC talent. I want to say we did a pitch her once. Was she their first homegrown star? I'm sorry. Probably. Yeah, I would say so.

I can't. I can't think of another one. I mean, yeah, probably. I don't know. Ben Aspen doesn't really count as homegrown. No, no. It's a camera, but yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. You know, she's deaf probably all the first one I can think of because, you know, when she was 20, we knew who she was. Like, all right. She's going to be something. And every fight in her career is one. Every one. Every, well, every pro fight. All them.

She was, yeah. They're AJ McKee. They're, you know. Almost Kayla Harrison-esque in a lot of her. Maybe not with the Olympic pedigree, but with just homegrown star being a face of the organization. And then eventually you lose, but you're still over in a certain respect. There's still an intrigue and a mystique that's around you. I think Angela kind of always had that.

So yeah, hopefully she can get everything in her personal life squared away. And who knows? Maybe she does come back for one more or more. I don't know. Cool. I'll take one more I'll take one more if you go on yeah something

One more Anything spicy I'm not really disappointed in our viewers Why Are you still hyped about Francis versus Tyson Jed with the bold prediction lap I don't know that I was ever hyped about it

But I'm standing by it I'm committed I'm committed to the bit My great regret this year If I had one do over It wouldn't be losing my entire bankroll in Valentina Shepchenko. It wouldn't be any number of other poor personal choices.

It would be that I didn't sack up and pick Sean Strickland to beat Israel Dyssinia for the bit, which I should have done. I said for a month that I was talking myself into it and I backed away like a coward. I won't let this happen for this very stupid thing that's about to happen. I've drawn my line in the stand. It's very, very dumb. I understand that it's very dumb. It's probably not going to happen, but I'm committed.

I am committed. Let's go, Francis and Ghanu. Yeah, I don't know if I was ever... I think I'll get more into it after... Look, we have to deal with this... We have to walk before we run. We have to deal with this KSI, Tommy Fury, Logan Paul, Dylan Danis shenanigans first.

and then once well we're going to have to and then once that ends then we can start looking ahead at another weird boxing stuff plus Tyson Fury and Alexander Usik are going to fight maybe in December maybe in January like two months after this

Ngano fight's going to happen which I think is friggin' brilliance by the way because then it calls attention to oh Tyson's overlooking him maybe Ingano can win and we're going to have all these theorists that come out and say like Oh, see, maybe this will happen. I respect Jed for sticking to his guns here.

He's going to be incredibly wrong, more than likely. But boy, if he's right, it's got to be incredible. Now, that would be the funniest thing that has happened all year, especially with this other nightbook. I want to be clear. If I'm right, I'm doing the rest of the BTLs this year, shirtless and hammered. Like, I'm just,

you'd be on here and just put a bandana on and just live my life. life to the max. I'm so excited. Jen's doing the show from a motorcycle. I might. I might buy a motorcycle. You won't ride. You just got to put it into studio and just sit on and

and rev it up. The leather vest and just going. Yeah. What's that like? I can't hear you. Couldn't hear you. I couldn't hear you. The sound of my awesome.

What? Judea Paine is going to be Nunez. It'll be the best bit that's ever happened. I want to be clear. I'm going to celebrate if Inganu just like drops him. I don't care if he loses because, you know, whatever. But if he even drops him, like he gets the Deonté while they're dropping him, it's got to be sick. It's going to be the best.

Oh, my God. If he lambs. Is it really. Oh, my God. He's the funniest thing. I think if he loves him. I think if he. lands one punch that makes

Fury even take a step backwards or his knees just kind of wobble. I think that's a win. Almost like when Connor hit that one uppercut kind of Mayweather. And everyone was like, oh my God.

Oh my God. Oh my God. It was like Michael Johnson hitting Habib in the first round. Oh, he's his legs aren't under him. His legs aren't under him. And then Habib 10 aided him in the first round. That is,

we talked about him. about this on damn Mike. That's just one of the best unsung moments of like, oh my God, he's hurt. And within two minutes, the commentary team is like, they could stop this fight. Habit might be dead. Actually, you guys say, like his corner, Big John's taking a deep look into this fire. Oh, my gosh. Oh, great.

Incredible. All right. I don't know if we can get any better than that. We can't. As we leave, I'd like to say, really, guys, I did watch one because it was Friday and I was off. But the event of the month happened on Saturday, fight circus eight, running man. It was everything you think it was going to be. Shout out to Ben Folks who, actually, maybe it was Chad Dundas, who said this on their podcast this week.

Fight Circus is the cocaine bear of MMA, and I've never heard a more apt description of anything, frankly. It was delightful. Charles Felony Bennett, but I'll always call him Crazy Horse Bennett in the main event against banking no money a two-on-one-one fight. The hockey fight, the new addition to fight circus. They're always coming up with new things, and the hockey fight was brilliant. you know for those who didn't watch one go watch and two

they made two dudes fight on a slip and slide basically it was hilarious and incredible two big dudes two big gentlemen yeah two very large men blind moitai was just incredible we got to bin the Bain Davis cameo

just it's everything you want from fight circus and you know what the best part of it was Mike the very best part of the whole thing you could watch the motherfucker. They put it on YouTube. PFL can't do it. Fight circus can make their product

viewable for everybody. Come on, PFL. Get your shit together. John Nutt is a legend. Support a big BTL fan from what I understand. So shout out John Nott. Keep doing what you're doing, buddy.

Keep doing what you're doing. Keep living it on. Also, the left way fight was legitimately sick. They always have a left way because they're like plugged into the actual like World Lethway stuff over there. So they always have like one or two actual real life leftway fights. And this

one was insane. So it's fun as hell, man. Oh, go watch. Were there, where their headbutts actually landed? So there was one headbutt that was like really nasty. One dude was doing Lethway who wasn't a left way fighter. He was just like a

Muay guy. And so he was not like going for the torpedo dive head. Um, But yeah, I mean, it was just, it was easily the sickest, like sickest real fight that happened. The rest of it's all just hilarious and great. And they had a regular old, boring-ass MMA fight, too. Yeah. I like that.

That fight was over in like 20 seconds. The fight was over very quickly. And then we went right from that into blind Muay Thai, which is exactly what it sounds like. And it's incredible. Bless you, fight, circus, for giving us the alternative. Hit the music. Yes. There you go. Big weekend, everybody.

They're my babies. White Circus is my baby. I got to shout them out whenever I can. And they deserve it. Every bit of it. Big weekend, everybody. UFC Vegas 80. We got Bellator 300. Casey's in San Diego right now. It's going to be a fun weekend. So thank you very much for watching and or listening. For Jed, for Casey. I am Mike Heck, the iconic voice of Esther,

then takes you home back then. week. Good night. Love you! This has been an MMA fighting production. I'm Estherlyn. Thanks a lot.

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