MMA Fighting - Fighter vs. Writer: Matt Brown and Laura Sanko Breakdown the Biggest Storylines at UFC 300

Episode Date: April 9, 2024

With UFC 300 just days away, UFC legend Matt Brown and UFC color commentator and analyst Laura Sanko join MMA Fighting senior reporter Damon Martin to discuss the biggest storylines on the card. We’ll discuss our favorite fights on the historic card as well as give our picks for the fighters with the most to win on Saturday as well as who has the most to lose. We’ll also talk about the underrated fights that aren’t getting quite as much buzz at UFC 300. All this and more on the latest episode of The Fighter vs. The Writer! Subscribe to MMA Fighting Check out our full video catalog Like MMA Fighting on Facebook Follow on Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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It feels like we've been building until this moment for like two years now. But it is finally here. UFC 300 Week is here. Of course, my regular co-host, Matt Brown, will be with us shortly. He's running a little bit late. But for such a big event, such a monumental event, I could not just go with just me and Matt. I had to bring in a very special guest to help me talk about some of the biggest storylines, some of the biggest moments at UFC 300.

She is one of the top commentators in the game, one of the top analysts in the game. And as Alan Joband famously said on this podcast a couple weeks ago, she is the unicorn of the UFC, because she does it all. It is my pleasure to welcome in, Laura Sanko. Laura, how are you? Thank you so much, Damon. I appreciate it. I'm good.

And did Matt, like, did Matt rash out that intro song? Because that's awesome. Yeah, that was actually, so Matt actually has his own intro song, but I don't play it on the show because I'm afraid we're going to get copyright strikes. Oh. Yeah, he actually has Jamie Jastor from Habrie made his own song for him, but I'm always afraid we're going to get like copyright strikes. So I don't play it on the show. That's awesome. That's awesome.

Well, thank you for having me. I mean, I can't think of a. a bigger week. I mean, it is, it's overwhelming already, but overwhelming in a good way. We're going to get through this, and it's going to be incredible. It's such an, I mean, I mean,

it's a ridiculous card. I mean, it's an absolutely ridiculous card. Like, I knew, we all kind of knew U.S.C. 300 was going to be big. And, you know, I know, listen, I know some people maybe not loving the main event. I get it. It's not the fight that everyone thought it was going to be.

But I've joked and I've said, unless they announced, Kabim Nabat-Bet off against George St. Pierre, no one was going to be sad. But Cody Garbrand and Deveson figure eight are opening the prelims. That is ridiculous. Yeah. I mean, when you have two former champions opening the prelimbs, I think that tells you

everything you need to know about a card like this, you know, 12 former or current belt holders on this card, seven people listed in the pound for pound rankings. You've got 10% of the people who have ever held a UFC. belt 10% of UFC champions ever are on this card. That is an insane statistic. When Michael Carroll put that out there, I was like, that the math ain't math on that, but I'm sure it's true and I love it. That's so crazy.

Yeah. So I'm curious, Laura, before we get into anything else, because I mentioned it at the top. And I don't want to restate the conversation because I had Michael Bissing on last week talking about this card. And, you know, listen, I think the main event's fine. I like Alex Pereira and Jamal Hill. it's a great fight. But as I said, unless they announced like a triple threat match where they were going to bring back the ghost of Bruce Lee or something, people were going to find a way to complain about something.

Because that's just, this is such a built-up card. We get it. But I'm fine with the main event. And I think when you look at this card top to bottom, like, how can you actually complain about this? Seriously. Like, this is, there's not a single bad fight on this car. There's not a single fight that you can look at and say, you know what? This is where I'm going to go grab a drink, gets a popcorn.

There's no breaks in this card whatsoever. 100%. 100%. The, in totality, this is the best card that has ever been. And people just need to recognize that and give it its due. In terms of the main event, have there been bigger main events? Absolutely. You know, I think a lot of people got their hopes up for a Connor or a John or some rabbit trick, like you mentioned, whether it would be Khabi versus GSP or whatever.

But listen, still, this main event still has a lot of really important implications. The man is here. We've got to recognize him. I made it finally. What's up, Matt? I'm still wiping the sweat off from training. As you should. That's commitment right there when you come in sweating for the podcast.

Exactly. Well, you guys are a short time. We just got into it, Matt. Obviously, we're talking. We just started things off. I know we've talked about a little bit about the main event and, you know, how, you know, I think in a way there were almost unrealistic expectations for this main event. But I think ultimately, listen, you know, this is just, this is a card that,

as Laura said, in totality, it's so ridiculous. How could you complain about anything? Like, they could literally make, uh, just a Gagee, Max Holloway, the main event. They could make Charles Oliver, Arm and Saruki in the main event. Like, there's like nine different main events on this card. And I'll think you could really complain. Yeah, I love it, man.

It's all main events all night and better than any apex main event we've had in the last couple months. So, you know, these could all be pay-per-view. So, you know, we complain about the price of pay-per-views. but damn, bro, like, you're getting like 10 and 1 here. Absolutely, absolutely. So, listen, it would be impossible in the time we have to break down every fight in this card. This would be a five-hour-long podcast to actually break down all 13 fights in this card.

So we're going to kind of dig into some storyline, some of the biggest moments we're looking forward to. And let me ask the biggest softball question ever to start this podcast for you, Laura, since you are coming in and join us. I know, maybe it's not a softball question because this is probably going to be tough because there are 13 fights. but what is, is there one fight on this card you're most looking forward to? Maybe I almost say under the radar. Just obviously we all know the title fights, the BMF fight, but is there one fight particularly you're just like super excited about for this card?

There are, I mean, yeah, there are a lot of fights that I'm super excited about in this card. I actually think that the Uri Pajska versus Alexander Rockich fight is really going under the radar. I've been a huge fan of Rockich in particular for a very long time. And I'm excited to see him coming back finally from that injury. injects a whole new dimension into the light heavyweight division. But for me, and it's not that it's going under the radar, but I think in a card this stacked lots of things feel like maybe they're not getting all the attention they're due. And it's just, that's the story of Kayla Harrison coming to the UFC. And I cannot overstate how big of a fan I am of her in terms of not just her finding,

but her as a human being. She's just an awesome person. And listen, the band and weight division needs someone like Kayla Harrison to come in here and shake it up. And quite frankly, women's MMA in the UFC right now needs a little bit of a breath of fresh air. And hopefully she could come out here, make that insanely difficult cut and not have it affect her too much in the fight and make good on, I think, the idea that a lot of people have for her what she can do in the UFC. Matt, I know you, so we talked about the weight cut. And obviously you said, you know, no matter what you do for a weight cut, it's never going to be easy. but we can't really figure things out until Saturday because when Jose Aldo weighed in for the first time of Bant to wait,

I was like, man, this was a really bad idea. And then he goes out and has a brilliant performance the next night. So, I mean, I guess we can't really tell anything about how she's going to look until she gets in the octagon with Holly Holm. Yeah, has she ever made that way before? No, she hasn't. Yeah, that's the question, right? Like, it's probably been since she was in high school since she weighed that much.

So does she even know what she feels like it that way? You know, and that's not a good feeling walking into a fight, especially on UFC 300, you know, against another killer, you know. She's not fighting, she's not getting a tuna fight for her first UFC fight. She's getting Holly freaking home. Yeah. And that's a tough matchup for her all around, even in, you know, even without the weight cut involved.

So this is going to be, that's, That's a very interesting one. One thing I always like to inject in this particular instance with her is, you know, we've seen the amazing thing she did at the PFL at 155. Obviously, the cut is its own thing. It's its own monster, its own war. What I'm excited to see, because I saw it one time, when she popped over to Invicta, I called that fight.

And she had one fight at 145 in Invicta where she was allowed to use elbows. And Matt, you can appreciate this. She can't use elbows in PFL. And I'm telling you what, what she did to that poor woman in Invicta, when she was finally able to use elbows when she got on top, she looked like she took a hatchet to the face. I'm excited to see Kayla Harrison with elbows. You mentioned it. She can get on top of Hollyholm is going to be the question, right? 100%.

I mean, that's the story of the fight, right? You know, it's almost a grappler versus striker, old school matchup. You know, everybody these days is good, but we know where they're best. We know where Kayla's best. We know her Holly's best. and who has the best chance of winning in a different position. And that's what makes the fight so exciting. Yeah.

And can she find Holly, right, in that big, in that big, you know, pay-per-view size octagon with Holly's incredible footwork and ability to, you know, stay elusive. That could be a real problem for Caleb. Yeah, that's an interesting point. What's the size of the PFL octagon versus? You know, I don't know. It is smaller.

I don't know how much smaller, but it is smaller than the UFC octagon. I'm not sure by how much, though. Yeah, because that's an interesting point. like when I fight at the apex, I remember I only fought there once and I was, I was shocked at how small the octagon was. I was like, there's gyms that have bigger octagons than this that I train in. And I personally, I like it. You know, I'm like, hell yeah, like stand, put me in a phone booth. Let's go.

But for some people like Holly, home, that's a huge disadvantage. But obviously, you know, she's fighting in the pay-per-view octagon. So, yeah, that could be a huge advantage for it. That's an unspoken little piece, or not talked about a lot, piece of this puzzle. It's interesting because I said this to Holly. I talked to Holly right after the fight was made. I asked her, you know, she didn't buy into my conspiracy theory, but I said it is interesting that it got Holly versus Kayla,

and Holly is the one who sent Rhonda in her first loss, judo background. I think, I think Rhonda and Kayla are different fighters, of course. But I was just at Rhonda's Q&A last night here in Ohio. during her book tour and you mentioned this division and listen I like Raquel Pennington I do I think she's awesome but I think Kayla brings a level of star power that this division is sorely

missed kind of since Rhonda and I get you obviously I don't want to disrespect Amanda Nunes Amanda was the star in her own right but Rhonda was you know she's on another atmosphere another planet all to herself but I feel like Kayla someone need but listen that's the thing with the UFC you know just like you know I know like MVP came in

and got Kevin Holland day one and I pick Kevin Holland to win that fight there's no easy fights in the UFC and Holly Holm is incredibly tough. She's hard to hold down and, you know, she knocked out another bra, another medalist in judo. So they're not giving Kayla Harrison a fight that she's just guaranteed to win. Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. That's, you know, Matt said it best. I mean, this is, this is a very tough test right out of the gate for her to be facing a former champion and someone who has the footwork, you know, that could really give her, that could really give her some problems. And I love that because that's what the UFC is supposed to be is

Lions against bucket lions. It's not supposed to be tune up fights. You know, that's boxing. You know, that's other organizations. Like when you're in the UFC, you know, and I've told Sean, tell me that from day one for me. I mean, I'm 43 years old and, you know, like, yeah, we get someone that works for you or whatever.

And I said, bro, I don't want someone that works for me. Put a fucking killer in there with me. If I can't hang with them, they knock me out. You know, but that's what the UFC is supposed to be, in my opinion. And that's what one thing I love about it, to what I love about this matchup. They're not giving her a pushover. They're not building her up to be a star.

They're saying, if you want to be at the top, you've got to fight at the top right away. And, Laura, you've been around, obviously, championing women's MMA for many years. Of course, you're a fighting yourself. Sorry, Jamie Varner, you got that one wrong. You are incredible in your own right. I'm curious, though, like, and again,

I mean, absolutely, Holly's been around forever. Again, you could argue that, you know, Holly may be the bigger known quantity coming into this because Kayla is still a bit of an understanding. unknown because as we've seen with all the fighters who came over and I know PFL guys and other organizations are giving back when I say this but the UFC is another level and it is another level of start them you know Michael Vennepage talked about that Michael Chandler's talked about that Kayla's coming into this situation here but it feels like

this is kind of what this division needs now again there's no guarantee she's going to win but you know Kayla goes out there and if she can put away Holly home I mean this just injects a whole new life because I mentioned this on Saturday when Norman Dumont got a win over Jermaine Durandami I said yeah, you know, good win. Maybe it was the most exciting fight in the world. Everyone said, well, you know, Giuliana Paine is just going to kind of slide in the title fight. I said, Julianna Paine's been out for almost two years now.

Like, if Kayla goes out there and wrecks Hollyholm, beats Hollyholm, dominantly finishes her, I love your point about the elbows. I agree 100%. I think Kayla can slide right in that title fight, and you've got a star on your hands. Yeah, absolutely. And I think, you know, I was working the desk last weekend. And before the fights, you know, that was the point that we were all thinking about. right like this could this germane durandumie norma dumont fight the winner here could be a real

injection of of life especially germane noramie right like having her come back former champion only had ever lost to amina nunez and it just didn't it just didn't quite play out you know in in those terms so now we look to keila harrison and what i love about kela is not only is she you know capable of going out there running through people like we've seen her do she's excellent on the mic and there's not there's a lack of that in women's MMA. You know, I'm not a big fan of like the vile level of shit talk that we've seen become popular lately. I hate that. But I do think that, you know, you have to be able to seize the moment when you have a microphone.

And it's part of the business now. And a lot of times the female fighters tend to be, you know, really respectful, which is awesome. But it doesn't always build the biggest fight. So, I mean, you put Giuliana Pena and Kayla Harrison. And we're already seeing it on Twitter. those two are going to build a fight if that's what's in the stars for them. Yeah, absolutely.

Let me shift gears because there's just so many storylines going into this one. I know this is kind of an odd question to answer because I think every fight there's something big to win and something big to lose, but I kind of pose two different questions here for this card. Who has the most to win and who has the most to lose? And I want to start with who has the most to lose.

And I'm going to kick things off and say this and I'll turn it over to Matt for you next. The most to lose. I mean, listen, everyone has something to lose in this card again. Let me be clear about that. But I look at the landscape of what these fights mean to their particular divisions in every single fight that we have in this card. And I think the person that I identify most at UFC 300 who has the biggest to lose in this card is Justin Gagey. Because Justin, hypothetically, he should be in a title fight. I mean, he knocks out Dustin Porre last year.

I thought he was going to slide right in. Of course, disaster strikes. Olivera gets the cut. End up being Volcanowski on short notice. Not ideal. But I still thought, okay, there's going to slide Justin. in the title fight, and then he gets announced for Max Holloway at 300. Now, that's a spoil by answer for later in the show.

This is my favorite fight on the card. Like, I love Gachi versus Holloway. This is an incredible fight. I am so excited for this one. But you got Oliva and Sarukian fighting on the same card, and like it or not, Justin Gachie's fighting a featherweight coming up to lightweight. If he loses to Max Holloway, it all kind of goes away. I mean, he's not going to be the number one contender, and you've got to imagine the winner

Olivera Seruque is immediately going to slot in there. You got Dustin Porre, potentially maybe fighting Islam first. To me, the guy with the most to lose at UFC 300 is Justin Gagchi. Matt, what about you? Is it just, you see anyone else on this card that has more to lose in terms of like the stakes of their fight? Yeah, I think Bo Nicol has the most to lose, like easily. I mean, he's, you know, projected to be the next big star.

He's opening the main card above former champions and guys that, you know, would have been a main event on most of his cards. You know, he has high expectations on him. I think he'll probably meet those expectations. I don't think he's going to lose. But if he does go out there and lose to Cody Brundage, I think that's a really bad way to kick off this card. And I think that's a really bad turn in his career.

Laura, what about for you? Who do you believe has the most to lose at UFC 300? Yeah, I think those are both really strong points. And I don't want to just continue on the same note. I think Kayla Harrison actually has a lot to lose. If she comes out here and performs poorly, like, where do you go? If you don't look good at 135 or if she misses weight, there is no 145. So that's, you know, certainly high stakes for her.

But another one I would say would be Charles Oliva. You know, he's in a position where a big win here puts him right back into that conversation where we know he wants to be in terms of facing Islam, again, getting that rematch. But I don't know. I tend to agree with Gaetia. I just didn't want to steal your idea. No, it's so interesting that they put these two fights on the same card because, you know, Gachi was the number one contender.

And then they announced Sarukin and Olivares, the new number one contenders fight. I think like anything else, I get it. It's hyperbole. We like to hype up fights. I understand that. But also, I think it comes down to who looks best. Who has the most impressive performance? If Armin can go out there and wreck Charles Olivera,

considering what he did to Islam on short notice in his debut. and took him three rounds, very hard three rounds. Who wouldn't say that could slot right in for a main event? Or if Charles can go out there and absolutely demolish Sarukin, same kind of thing. And the weird thing is another reason why I said Justin Gachi, Max Holloway's never been finished by strikes. I'm not saying it's impossible. Anyone can be finished by strikes.

But like notoriously he's a tough guy to get out of there. So you've got to imagine when Gachi and Holloway are done, it's going to look like they went through a car crash. So, you know, no matter how you cut it, like he's probably not going to be ready to fight again right away. and, you know, that's a five-round war with a guy again, like it or not, he's a featherweight, all those kind of things. I mean, Gatia, like I said, there's just a lot online, and even when you look at Saruket and Ola Verra, same kind of thing, like, I think style points count, and I think the style of

those two fights are how we're going to kind of determine who's next. Well, they definitely count this time in particular because you've got Islam already talking about Dustin Porre. So if Islam has any saying it, it's Dustin. So all of these guys need to stick out in terms of really making a case that they're next. Matt, you have built a style in your career where you're a know of going out and put it on all-action fights. When you look at Geishi and Holloway, like, is that, do you just have to, like, I know Geishi's been a little bit more analytical and technical in his last couple of fights, but do you just have to put all that other stuff out of your mind, like Islam title? Because this is such a, this is such a difficult fight to figure out how it's going to play out.

And if you're gaughey, like, you can't think, like, if I win, I could maybe fight in June or if I win, I can maybe fight in July. Like, do you just have to go out there and just kind of go balls to the wall and just fight your style and just kind of see where the chips fall where they may? Or do you have to think ahead? Like, how do you deal with that? Because this is a difficult situation for him. No, I think Justin Gage has definitely got the right mindset. I don't think he's going to look ahead of Max Holloway at all. And I don't think that would be a good mindset at all.

You definitely cannot look ahead of Max Holloway, but you definitely can't look ahead of any fight. I made that mistake before. I think a lot of fighters have probably made that mistake before. You're thinking I'm in front of the guy that is staying in front of you. That's what matters. And you've got to be in the moment. You've got to be present. And there's going to be a lot of distractions this week, a lot of media, you know,

a lot of hype around his car. He's going to have a lot on his plate to deal with this week. But the biggest thing on his plate is going to be a lot of volume coming from Max Holloway's fist. And that's going to be a major problem if you don't focus on that 100%. Laura, do you, I mean, listen, I, you know, I heard a lot of people saying, like, this is going to be a great fight. Max is super tough, but I generally feel like the consensus has been Justin wins. How does Max Holloway win this fight? How do you see Max Holloway finding a way to give Justin Gagchi the kind of problems that can help him win this fight?

Well, I mean, Max just has to be Max and find his flow, because we've seen Max, when he finds his flow state, I don't know if anybody could beat him. I don't care what way class you are. that moment when he was punching Calvin Cater started talking to the commentary team, no look right hand, and then dodge the three punches that he wasn't even looking at. That version of Max Holloway definitely has a fantastic chance against Justin Gachie. And it's always going to be a volume game with Max Holloway, you know, death by a thousand paper cuts. So while Justin's going to be playing, you know, a game where he's kicking and looking to land bigger shots,

Max just has to stay busy, you know, definitely check or avoid those leg games. That's a big part of any time you step in there with Justin Gachie, but keep the jab in his face, keep the volume on him, keep the pace high and make this a longer fight. You know, Justin is not a guy who fades, but no one lasts like Max Holloway does. No one does. We talk about the most to lose,

and I know Justin has been very open and said, like he's got one more run, one more run at the title. He wants to make one more run at the title. He knows he can't fight forever. Laura, I'm curious, like, we talk about most to lose. Is this like, you know, is there, Is there any scenario where this is kind of do or die for, not saying like retirement, but a loss to Max Holloway knocks him way back because not only do you have Poria potentially getting a title shot,

which I've said on this show I'm fine with. Like, I have no problem if Dustin would slot in and fight Islam in June because nobody else is going to be available. And then you got Olivaara and Saruki in the winner of that's going to be in line. And again, this is a highly evolving sport. Hapiel Fiziv comes back with Huch Gammaros out there. I mean, there's all kinds of other things that can happen. is this kind of a do-or-die moment for justly he can't afford a loss here i mean while i while i agree that he does have the most to lose in terms of it the reason he has the most to lose is because he's on

the precipice of of having that opportunity yet again i don't know that this is a full shoots and ladders type of situation where you know you you lose to this guy and you just you just completely fall off the face of the earth i mean he just had kicked knockout justin gaichie you know not all that long ago so we can't erase history, you know, too quickly here for Justin. I don't know. I think with his fight style, he's the type of guy where even if, and I favor him in this matcha, but even if he were to lose to Max,

and even if he were, you know, to then get a win and then another loss, he's just a guy that is going to always find a way to be relevant at the top of this division, in my opinion, until he's not. Like, he's fought who's who, and he's proven time and time again that he's still at that level. So even if he doesn't get another run at the title, I think he's going to stay at the top of this division, be entertaining and be making money

and be a factor for a long time. What about you, Matt? What do you think? What's on the line here for Justice Gage? Is it do or die, or am I overselling that a little bit? Man, every fight's do or die. It don't matter, right? Every time you step in there,

it feels like he's do or die, and it's still be your last time. I differ a little bit. I actually favor Max Holloway a little bit in this fight, like just barely. mainly because I think like Holloway is probably the better boxer

it's just a matter of whether he can deal with those big shots of Justin Gagey because that's the way I see this fight happening I don't know how it's going to turn out you never know with these fights right but I see Max Pepper and Pepper and Pepper and punching them up Justin probably doing this

you know covering up a little bit putting his head down and then he's going to wing some shots and but that has to knock out Max Holloway that's kind of what I see is like he's got to land that shot that really hurts Max Holloway, slows him down, earns that respect. And I think Max is probably just too good for that. So I guess that wasn't the question, but that's my opinion on the fight. There's no wrong answer.

There's no wrong answer. Now, I mentioned who has the most to lose, and I know this is kind of weird reverse of that, which is who has the most to win, because everyone, again, has something to win here. But I think, you know, I look at some of the fights that are a little under the radar. I think, you know, I think the answer probably is what Laura already said. I think Kayla Harrison has the most to win because obviously she wins here. She may slide right into a title fight and kind of live out her dream and becoming a UFC champion. But I'm going to go a little further down the card and kind of a weird off-the-cuff answer here in terms of who I think has the most to win here.

And to me, it's the guy opening the card. It's Cody Garbrandt. Cody Garbrand coming off his last win. Cody Garbrant, I know we all talk about this. I was there that night. When he beat Dominic Cruz, that might be one of the three greatest title fight performances of all time. the way he just absolutely styled on Dominic Cruz and did it so beautifully. It was a shocking, stunning, beautiful performance.

Unfortunately, he got caught up in those T.J. Dillershaw fights. And then, so our question, does he still have a chin, had some tough losses, tried flyweight. That didn't work out for him. Kind of had some ups and downs. Comes back and it has a couple of good wins in a row, and now we're kind of back on the Cody Garbramp train a little bit. Deveson Figuero, me and you, Matt, we both pick Rob Fon.

That did not work out well for us. Devinson Figueroeroero, went out there to beat Rob Fon. but I think if Cody Garbrandt can find a way to beat Devis and Figurato, doesn't mean who's the title contender immediately, and this to me, the Banterweight division is so incredibly deep. I'm not saying he's going to be fighting for a belt anytime soon, nor should he fight for a belt anytime soon.

But talk about a career resurrection to go out there and beat a guy that I think, again, a lot of people are picking against him. I think this is a great moment for Cody to kind of remind people. He's still one of the best guys in the world. So, Laura, I'll throw it to you. Who has the most to win at UFC 300? And again, you can say, Kayla, because you're not wrong. there because that is like a huge like she really does have that i've talked about kail enough um yeah

for me it's actually jemal hill and i i say that because partly you know for whatever reason the public is not uh in the in the wind in his sales quite yet and you know facing a guy who has quickly become one of the biggest stars in the ufc in alex perera and i say that as someone who has witnessed like some of his fan meet and greets. I can't get over how a guy who speaks very little English who has only been in the UFC for seven fights has garnered the level of stardom that he has. I mean, I know why, because he's beaten four former current champions in that seven fight run. That's a ridiculous run. So my point is that Jamal Hill is an opportunity to knock off an all-time great here if he's able to do it. And I think win over a lot of

fans in in the meantime you know coming off of a devastating injury stepping up here and really being uh i don't know the behind the scene stuff but it seems like jamal was the one who kind of made all this happen because they were getting desperate for a main event and jamaal stepping up coming off of you know a long injury layoff the achilles tear all that stuff it's a big spot for him to be taking on a lot a lot of pressure on jama and if he can go out there have a good showing possibly put Alex Pereira away, that would be a massive win for him, not only in terms of just getting the belt back that he never lost in the first place, but I think in terms of his own stardom and his own, you know, goodwill with the fans.

Matt, what about you? So as you were framing that question, Damon, I was first thinking, Jamal Hill, but now I can't use that. And then I thought, well, maybe Cody Garbrandt, and then you stole that. So I said, now I got to find someone. else and i would say justin gaugie right we we'd already talked about it i mean right he wins this fight especially in a good fashion he probably gets a title shot and um yeah that's it i mean he gets the title shot like it like you said he has a lot on the line if you got a lot to lose you that

means you got a lot to win um and justin gaugie was the obvious answer for all those but i totally agree i think jamaul hill by far has the most to win here especially on ufc 300 main fucking event Yeah. You know, and people were kind of hating on the main event, you know, saying it wasn't worthy of the UFC 300. He's got a lot to prove on that. You know, talking about Alex's stardom and, you know, he seems like the invincible guy out there right now. I mean, you can't stress how much Jamal Hill has to win in this fight. You know, it's funny.

On paper, Jamal Hill, you know, should be pretty, you know, dead even with Alex, considering he's a legit light heavyweight. you know, the fight he had against Glover to share was unbelievable. And, of course, that is Alex's mentor and trainer. And Alex, listen, Alex has turned into a legit light heavyweight, but we can't ignore that he was a middleweight. I mean, he is coming up in weight. And so, like, in theory, like, Jamal Hill has advantages in this fight. But Laura is, am I wrong in thinking it's almost like people are kind of forgetting about

Jamal Hill? Like, it's almost like he's the underdog and he's facing like this in these insurmountable odds against. And listen, don't get me wrong. Alex Pereer is a monster absolutely is. but like I don't think he's that much of an underdog. Like I'll be honest, when this fight got made, and again, when I originally heard about it, I thought it was going to be 301,

maybe that extra month of time on the Achilles maybe would have made me feel a little bit better about this. But when this fight first got made, I leaned in Jamal Hill pick in this fight. He has real power in his hands. He's a legit, big, light heavy weights. Size-wise, he's going to match up really well with Alex. And we've seen Alex's chin get touched.

You know, Israel knocked him out, can't deny that. But it feels like it's almost like an afterthought. Like we're just waiting. Like we're going to crown Alex champion and just kind of like, what's his next defense going to be? Yeah, I think people have yet to really fully respect the skill set of Jamal Hill. And it's kind of a shame because the man is more than proven what he's capable of doing in there. You know, I will say there's a there's a rawness and an edge to the way that he strikes in comparison to Alex Pereira.

But that doesn't make it any less effective. In fact, I think, you know, in facing a guy like Pereira, sometimes if you've got a little bit of that edge, it can be an edge in a fight like that. You know, Pereira has shown that he can take down the greatest technicians, the Izzy's of the world. But when you get a guy like Jamal Hill, who's an absolute dog, who has real power, who fights well out of both stances, and like I said, does not get enough credit for the finer pieces of his technique,

like his footwork, like his fight IQ. The reads that he was making on Glover to share were pretty impressive, honestly. And, you know, the way that he was able to get, the chaotic striking style of Uri Pajasca knocked him out, you know, I think, I don't know, I just, I think, I think Jamal, Jamal brings a lot, a lot to the table, a lot to the table.

Yeah, it's, that was Pereira that knocked, not, not, yeah, Parahasca, that's my bad. Yeah, no, but it is, it is interesting. And like, I know Jamal seems like, and I know some guys operate better than this, and maybe Matt, you can speak to this because you know, like, you're obviously, fighting at this level in the UFC

you've been around for a while. It seems like Jamal always fights with a chip on his shoulder. Even though he's been champion, he's been a top guy. Seems like he always fights with a bit of a chip on his shoulder. Like people keep doubting him and it almost like that fuels him. Does that, can't help or hurt him in a fight like this where he kind of has that almost like a something to prove and every time he fights?

Yeah, you have to live and train like that. If you don't have that chip on his shoulder, you're probably, you know, you're on your way out, right? But, you know, to kind of add what Laura was saying there, you know, it's kind of interesting the way Jamal Hill is, we don't see those finer intricacies of his, we don't respect the intricacies of his style because he's so athletic and he's got so much power. And, you know, he has these things that we see that are obvious and clear, but a lot of finer things kind of get missed. And I think it's actually a tough matchup for Pereira because, like, Pereira is also not really technical. like people way overhype how technical Alex Brer is. He's a gigantic human being.

He is a big 205er. Like you ever go stand next to the son of a bitch? Like he is huge. I mean, he's bigger than most 205ers that I know. And that goes a long way. And he has like enough technique. And he has techniques that work for him. I actually, excuse me,

I actually watched part of his striking instructional. on dynamic striking. And I was like, dude, this stuff is ridiculous. Like, he looks terrible doing this. And there's no, like, like breakdown. It's just like, no, hit like this and kick like this. And it's like, dude, you do that, not us. Anyway, you know, the point is, like, he's rough around the edges,

but it works great for him. And I think someone like Jamal Hill can go exploit that because he's a little rough around the edges too. These guys aren't, you know, technical strikers. You know, that doesn't mean they're not great strikers. You know, there's untechnical guys like Felix Trinidad, right, or Ricardo Majorna, right? Guys, you know, that get to a very, very high level, get championship belts without technical

striking. They just don't reach like the, you know, the Floyd Mayweather status, things like that. But that plays well into Jamal's game. And Alex isn't going up against a small guy now. He's not going or undersized guy. So I think it's going to play pretty well into Jamal's game. Yeah, and I think also, like you mentioned, like the untechnical thing, like I think that's kind of what backfired against Yuri Parashka,

because Yuri's a guy who kind of operates on the fly, doesn't do everything technically great, but he's just so wild that he catches you. I mean, look at, I mean, again, up until, you know, when he won the title, like he didn't win every second of his fight with Dominic Reyes, he knocked him out, but he didn't win every second, same with Vulcan Osdemeur. Like, Yuri has that style where he kind of puts himself in danger,

it backfired against a dangerous, nasty guy like Alex, you just wonder, like the one fight Jamal had where he lost, it was on the ground. He lost to Paul Craig, he got his arm broken. Outside of that, he's looked incredible. And so, yeah, like, I, again, I do have a little worry about the, the Achilles because, you know, it's typically, you know, typically an injury you have to do, you know, six to nine months of recovery. And I did the math, and he's right about nine months right now.

And so, like, is he coming back a little early? Is it too soon? I don't know. I mean, Aaron Rogers was hopper. around a football field trying to come back after five months or whatever. So who knows? But I don't know. Just in this sport like this,

it always worries me when guys try to come back too early from like that kind of an injury. But, you know, maybe he's not worried about grappling and trying to, you know, use the leg for that kind of stuff. I don't know. It's a fascinating fight. I don't care what people say about the main event. It's a fascinating fight all the way around. So, yeah, I'm really looking forward to it.

You do have to worry about the leg kicks, though. That's the one thing that I think probably sticks out the most to me for Jamal in terms of, like the health of his his calf in particular. I mean, I wouldn't want to be facing one of the best calf kickers, although it's not his lead leg because he's predominantly south paw, but still, I mean, he switches a lot. So it's going to get tagged up, although you know,

you have to assume that he wouldn't be taking this opportunity on if he didn't feel good about it. Yeah. Well, that's going to say that would be my question. Like, is he taking it because he feels ready or it's fucking UFC 300? Exactly. Like, you know, care if you're ready or not.

Like you're getting to fight on UFC 300 Main event against Alex Pereira. Like they could call you the night before with a tour and Achilles and you're like, dude, I'm in, let's go. Yeah. Well, it's a real thing. Like I said,

I mean, they were going to fight at 301, which is, you know, it's three weeks later. It's not a huge amount of time. But time is time. I mean, that's the difference between, you know, making weight or not making weight or a lot of things in three weeks. So it is intriguing.

But I still kind of, I don't know. Maybe I'm just, I've lived and died on the Jamal Hill hype train, even after, you know, he was injured. out and I was like, man, I still think this guy is like the best in the world. I still had him rank number one for me light heavyweight wise and maybe I'm just living and dying on that hill until it's too late

but I think this is going to be a really interesting fight for him. Race the runners. Raise the sails. Raise the sales. Captain, an unidentified ship is approaching. Over. Roger. Wait. Is that an enterprise sales solution? Reach sales professionals, not professional sailors. With LinkedIn ads, you can target the right people by industry, job title, and more. Start converting your

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Deposit and credit card products provided by JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. member FDIC. Terms, conditions, restrictions, and limitations apply. One storyline we had, and again, there's so many storylines in this card, it's impossible to touch on everyone. So I'm trying to get around to some of the ones that maybe people aren't buzzing about quite as much off the main card. but Al Jermaine Sterling is making his featherweight debut in this card, and they did not give him an easy test. Calvin Cater is incredibly tough. He's a big featherweight.

Of course, he's coming back from an ACL tear in his own right. But Al Jermaine, you know, Algeman, you could argue, is the greatest bantamweight of all time. He did lose to Sean O'Malley. Of course, it's a tough loss. But I kind of found it weird that the UFC kind of decided to put him in there against Cater and not, and it's not a knock on Calvin Cater. I like Calvin Cater very much, but they didn't try to give him Ortega or Yair or Yair or,

one of the other top three or four guys. Like I thought Al Jermaine and Max Holloway would have been interesting until, you know, they announced Max's fight. Because typically a long-reaning champion changed his weight classes. They get a little bit of consideration. He didn't really get that.

I mean, Calvin's the top 10 guy, no mistake about it. But, like, he didn't really get that. So Laura, I'm curious, like, I'm not going to stick on this who has the most to win or lose, but, like, Al Jermaine Sterling's got a lot riding on this fight because I don't think he can really just slide right back in a bantam with Marab getting a title shot. And he's not getting,

Ortega or Volcanowski. He's not getting one of the top three or four guys. This is the guy who's like on the fringe like 9, 10, 8, somewhere else to get it for Calvin Gator, I think. Yeah, yeah, for sure. And those other names you mentioned would be sort of like forgivable losses, right? You know, okay, so maybe he loses to Ortega, you know, by submission, you know, of course, you know, he got caught, whatever.

But, you know, this, like you say, this is the type of fight that's hard enough where he's really, really going to be pushed and challenged and yet not glamorous enough in terms of, you know, this is not a top three guys. So it's a very tough spot to be. And Calvin Cater's got phenomenal boxing, phenomenal pace. I think we're going to see Aljo really look to, you know, use the grappling, get the backpack going. I'm excited to see him at 145, though. I'm trying to remember when it was, but I did a, I did like a fan Q&A with him.

And I've seen him in person many times. But it was like the first time I'd seen him in person when he was in that mentality of like, I'm going to 45. this is a big dude. He's a big, big dude. He's one of those guys like, when I see Michael Kiesa, like I don't know how you ever made 150, 155. Like you're 6-2 and you're not skinny. I think that about Alger.

Like, I don't know how you ever made Bannonweight so consistently. I think he's going to find a really good home here at 145. Matt, you obviously come from the striking background. That's kind of Calvin Cater's background. But we saw when Al Jermaine fought, who I think is one of the best strikers in the world of Bandsweight, Corey Sanhagen, took him down, choked him out in three minutes or whatever.

What is the key of, I mean, I guess we say the key is don't get taken down, but I mean, Calvin Cater is a big physically strong featherway. Like they did not give, even though they didn't give him one of the top three guys of the world, they did give him a pretty tough matchup here. Yeah, the key for Calvin, I think, is to be patient because Al Jermaine has very awkward striking. You know, it seems to be like okay, but it's very awkward and he makes mistakes on the feet. So if Calvin tries to push him.

a pace or tries to reach for something that isn't there and exposes himself to a potential take down, obviously that's going to be a tough night for him. You know how hard it is to get up against Al Jermaine, how much of a backpack he is. And, you know, it could potentially turn into a very boring fight, which is unfortunate for this card, because I think every fight has the potential to be exciting. But if you're Al Jermaine Sterling, you want this to be a boring fight because Calvin's going to sit there and try to peck away at you for about 15 minutes out of those 15 minutes. So you better be, you know, really patient and allow things to happen and wait for Al Jermaine to make that mistake where he has to get a take down, even if you're kind

of being more defensive. And, you know, it's just that it's going to be a patience game, you know, you can't get too excited with Al Jermaine. Yeah, I think Al Jermaine, I mean, I think Al Jermaine, you know, we saw the mistake he made against Sean. Sean O'Malley, again, no shame now. But I think a lot of people at the time were a little surprised because Algebra may have been so dominant at that point. You can't make that mistake against Calvin Cater either. Because, again, when you go up and wait, guys hit harder.

I mean, you know, Matt, I know you said, like, you could fight a middleweight, but you know, you're better sooner for well-term, but you could fight a little bit of weight. And I know you said, Laura, during your fighting career, like if UFC had a hundred and five-pound division, you would have fought in the UFC, but fighting well, like, even for you fighting 115, like, that wasn't your natural weight, but that's where you had to fight because that's the only fight you can

get like that you deal with different power different strengths so again i agree i think aljubane's a very big guy but again gets hit one time by featherweight that is different power at featherweights yeah it is it's definitely you know especially when you're talking about like percentage of body weight i think that is one of the it's one of the bigger jumps you know that you make in terms of where guys carry you know how guys carry their power i should say so yeah aljo's going to need to be very careful and i think though that a lot of times fighters that we see have those really tough losses where it was an obvious lapse in judgment. There's so much better after that because they shore up that hole so well.

It's like after Sean Strickland got knocked out by Pereira, his defense got even more proficient because it's like, you know, fuck, I'm, or excuse me, I don't ever want that to happen again, right? So you go back, you double down your efforts in terms of that. So he's an even more dangerous guy having suffered that loss to Sean. We do not, we do not bleep on this show, Laurie. You can bleak. I didn't know.

I should have asked the rules before we start. I do the podcast with Matt Brown. Do you really think we censor this show, Laura? Come on. I mean, I just do. I didn't want to be the only one dropping the F-bomb. Have I not dropped to the F-bomb yet? Not yet.

I'm growing up a little bit, I think. I want to shift back to Matt's answer from earlier because one thing we really haven't talked about is Bo Neckle. I know there were some claims about him being on the main card. I don't think it's a problem. I think it's perfectly fine. and, you know, Bo Nichols is a star on the rise, and when you do a card to the size,

I think you'd almost do a disservice by having Boe on the prelims or on the early prelims. You put them on the main card because you want people to watch Boe Nickel, people who maybe don't know Bill Nichol, although it seems like he's becoming a pretty big star. And let's be honest, he's a massive favorite. I don't know the odds, but I have to imagine they're like astronomically in his favor.

And I talked to Cody Brundage last week, and Cody said, I know the narrative. Like, I understand. Like, they're setting this up. He's like, I don't even know if the UFC thinks this is going to be a competitive. fight. Laura, I'm curious because there's, and listen, I'm the guy who said very famously, like two

fights into his career. I was like, I think he could beat Israel out of Sonia right now. I was speaking a little crazy. I understand that. But like, I have a lot of faith in Boe Nickel. I have a lot of faith of Boe nickel. But how big is this showcase for Bo to go out there? Because like, to me, he has basically five and a half minutes of total cage time in his entire

MMA career. Like, he can't just go out and beat Cody Brundage, right? Like he has to go out there and demolish this guy and kind of do what he's done in his first couple of fights. So he can't slip through a three-round decision or, you know, he can't just have a normal fight. He's got to go out there and just blow this guy out of the water. Yeah, you nailed it. I mean, the expectations are completely different in terms of this is not just about winning a fight. It's you have to win in a very particular way because of the opponent because of the odds, right?

And anybody who's watched Cody Brunage fight knows that this is, this is the odds on this are kind of ridiculous. Frankly, these odds shouldn't exist in MMA period because of the nature of the sport. I mean, it's literally, you know, a sport that's fought on a razor's edge. Anyone could get knocked out at any time by about anyone. And we all know that. So the odds are kind of crazy. But, you know, this is, in fact, a fight where Beau has to go out and he has to deliver it. Because he has a different, you know, he's got a different lens.

He's got a different microscope on him in terms of everything he does. like, you know, we're going to dissect. I'm trying to remember what it was. I think he was trying to set up a dars and it was or it had an arm. I couldn't remember what it was. But there were things that people felt like he wasn't doing properly or quickly enough or, you know, literally down to the, you know, the minutiae of, oh, is he checking the list in terms of how he sets up his submissions? You know, they dissect everything he does because he has had the marketing machine at his back from day one. Now, I don't have a problem at all with him being on the main card because the reality is that the UFC uses very easy metrics to figure out where to put people on cards.

Other than the champions at the top, it has to do with whether you move the needle. And a lot of that is social media, its views. It's when we put up a video about you, you know, what type of interaction does it get? What type of viewership does it get? So he's earned his spot on the main event. and the kid has a very high bar to live up to. It's a tough spot to be in, but he's the ultimate competitor, and he's been competing his entire life,

so I think it's kind of where he shines, but he's got a live, a live fighter across from him and Cody Brundage, who, by the way, is a pretty damn good wrestler himself. Wait, what are the odds in this fight? I need to look him up, but they're stupid, whatever they are. They're way, like, it's insane. And yeah, Cody came from wrestling.

He was, I think, a high school wrestling champion and went to college. Like he's not a bum in wrestling. He's a good wrestler. And what, listen, what Cody told me is true because I asked him about this. And he said, the reason why I think they made this fight is because I'm so wildly inconsistent. On my best night, I look great. On my worst night, I look terrible. And I was like, I appreciate that level of honesty.

He's like, I understand that. He's like, on my best, on my worst nights, I've had really bad losses. So, Matt, you, you, what you said, like, Laura, you said, like, this is, what's the, what's the odds? This is so crazy. He's currently, currently he is listed. as the minus two, sorry, I can't even read this number properly in terms of odds, minus 2,499. Nice, nice.

Favorite over Brundage, who is the plus 1,128 underdog. Normally, I would say, like, it's MMA, I'm putting some money on that shit because you're going to 2,000 times plus your money, however that works, right? 100%. But I also, I train with a guy named Colin Moore. who wrestled Bo Nickel twice and lost a Bo Nickel twice. We all know how technical and good that Bo Nickel is, but Colin is equally technical and good.

And I said, you know, and I talked to him one day, and I said, man, you know, what happened? Like, why, you know, why did Bo be, when Beau Beech, when Bo first started getting in May, because I've been trying to convince Colin getting in May forever, but he's just not going to. And I said, bro, get your your avenge on him. Like, I'll teach you how to elbow him, you know, and you can beat Bo Neckle, right? But he's not going. Anyway. And he said that he out-muscled him.

And Colin is one of the strongest guys I've ever met. He's well known in the Ohio State room as being one of the stronger guys. When we go lift weights, I mean, half of the workout is taking the plates off so that I can do myself. So, I mean, this guy is an absolute brute machine. And Bo Nicol doesn't look like a strong guy. I was so surprised when he said that because Bo Neckle isn't built like, you know, a machine, like a strong looking, like we know the strong wrestlers, like the Ferraris and, you know, the guys like that who, you know,

they look strong. Bo doesn't look that way, but he has all the technical skills. I think he's going to destroy Cody Brundage, and I think those are proper odds is what I'm getting at. And for those who don't know or don't follow college wrestling, Colin Moore wrestled 197 pounds at Ohio State. He was a national finalist, a couple tests. So, and to be clear, and Bo is fighting at 185.

Colin is a natural 197-pound wrestler. To out muscle, Colin Moore at 197 tells you how strong Bo Nicol must be. So I'm, listen, I'm with you. I think everyone here is being, I mean, Laura, I'm not going to sit there and make you pick a fight, but I mean, I think we're all understand why Bo Nichol is favored to win this fight. I think we all probably imagine he's going to win this fight. But as I said, he can't just win this fight. He's got to go out there and do what the odds say he should do.

He needs to go out there and have another two-minute knockout submission. He needs to mall Cody Bryant. He can't win a 30-27 decision. that's going to do well for him. Yeah, yeah. Like I said, the expectations are very high. He's got to go out there. He's got to do it and he's got to do it impressively.

And I think that, you know, what we're all excited about is the next, the next step up for Bo. Like when he gets a guy that as soon as we read the name, we go, oh, that's going to be a tough one, right? Like, I think that's what the audience is looking forward to and maybe why a few people are like, why is this on the main card? It's, you know, it does have to do with the odds and the matchup. But I don't know. He's got a bright future, that's for sure. I remember seeing him on the contender series, and I was like, oh, shit. I'm still putting 10 bucks on Cody Brown.

I'll put 10 bucks on. I said, you weren't here, Matt. We opened the interview, and I said, I gave Laura her intro, and I said, Alan Jobein called her the unicorn. You really are. You did the contender series. Do the interviews over there. You do commentary now.

Good Lord. Like, slow down. Some need jobs, Laura. Come on. I'm just trying to stay busy. At some point, at some point it's too much, though. All right. Before we get out of here, listen, to be honest, again,

there's no fight that's really, truly slipping under the radar because every single fight on this card matters ranked former champions. Weirdly, I think you could argue that Yan, Zhao, Nan, and Zhang Wei is like the most underrated fight on this card, and it's a freaking co-main event because no one's really buzzing about it. But, Laura, I'll throw it to you first. what is the one fight at UFC 300 that maybe you're excited about that that isn't one of these main marquee fights and again I think we've talked about a lot in this card but there's always again even on a card like this

like just got and dros marina rodriguez we're not really talking about great fight we're not really talking about it so is there one fight in this card like you're excited about that maybe people aren't like it's not one of the big headline fights yeah i mean Diego lopez versus sidic usip is going to be sick it's going to be so good i mean Diego lopez Lopez, both of those guys are nonstop action. Diego Lopez's jiu-jitsu is insane. Siddique Yusuf can knock about anybody out. That's a really, really fun matchup.

I hope I'm not overstepping in saying this, but one of my biggest disappointments in UFC 300 is that we did not get Jim Miller versus Matt Brown. I said the same thing. And I don't know why it didn't happen. And you don't have to say why, but I just, I really wish that that would have happened. and I just wanted to tip my cap because that would have been fucking awesome.

Well, Laura, you are closer to Dana than me, so give him a call and be like, what the fuck? I'll still go. I'll still go up there and fight this weekend. Stay ready. Stay ready. I'm ready. I'll jump on a fight right now.

I matched made the hell out of that fight because I had Jim on before. He mentioned Matt. Obviously, I do a podcast with Matt. I was like matchmaking the hell out of that match. And then he called him out. It was right there. It was right there. It was the most.

obvious. Don't get me started. I was, I just, I got excited because I just assumed because it was so obvious that it was going to happen. But we don't, we don't have to land on a down. I was actually, I was actually training for that fight. I thought it was that set. I was actually, you know, I was watching video of Jim Miller, like, okay, you know, I started working with Southpaws. Like, I was ready. But, yeah, you know, I'm not the king of this hill. So. And it's funny, too, because when I talked to Jim after the match got made, this is the fourth time he's been matched with Bobby Green and Bobby has dropped out of three other fights.

All the way back to like 2014, they've been matched up like three different times. And he said for the first time in his career, when they called him, Jim asked, I can remember it was Sean Shelby or Mick Maynard. It was Dana was also in the line. They said Bobby Green 300. And he goes, really?

Really? Because he got paranoid because Bobby's dropped out of three fights with them in the past. I was like, yeah, Matt Brown. Matt Brown's going to drag there with one leg if he needs to to fight you in the U.S. So yeah, that's my, that's my biggest disappointment. Not that I am when I end on a negative note. We could talk about something else, but I had to get in there.

Well, the positive note is that you didn't steal my fight that I was going to say, going under the radar. I don't know why no one's really mentioned it much, but this Jalen Turner, Hanato McCoyno fight, Kano, however you know, you say this, where's name? There you go. That is a fucking war. I'm telling you right now.

Like all these fights are probably going to be wars, right? There's a lot of them that are going to be knocked down bloodbaths, and that's what we all like to see. But that one, I got a feeling that's going to be just a bloodbath, you know? I mean, goddamn, that one just gets my dick hard. It gets my thing hurt too, Matt. I told you you're allowed to curse on here. It's, that's such a wild fight, too,

because what Jalen did to Bobby Green, Like, that was one of the scariest knockouts I've seen. And, like, outside of maybe Josh Emmett and Bryce Mitchell, that was one of the scariest knockouts in recent history. And who doesn't love Money Moycana? Who doesn't love that guy? Like, yes, we all love him. Like, come on now.

Who doesn't just wait for his post-fight interviews now? 100%. That guy, give that man a microphone more. I mean, now that he's finally learned how to speak English, it's like, holy cow, what have we been missing this entire time? This gets crazy. Yeah, because we know the translator was saying some bullshit every time. Right.

I thought I was saying something awesome. And the translator is like, oh, yeah, he said, thank Jesus and, you know, take Brazil and whatever. It's, so for me, I'm going to throw it out there because I, listen, just because I got to get the guy's flowers. Jim Miller, I mean, UFC 100, UFC 200, UFC 300, U. I'm a little biased because I've known Jim since literally the day he got into UFC. What a dude. What a great guy. Like, he is the epitome of what this sport represents.

Like, he's like the nicest guy in the world. savage in the cage. 40 years old look better than ever in his last, he's like five and one in his last six, which is ridiculous. Bobby Green's no joke,

but man, like I like Bobby Green. Let me be clear about that. I've known Bobby for a while, interviewed him a bunch of times, but like, is there a better feel good story that we're all kind of quietly rooting for

than Jim Miller to get a win at 300? Like, he's got a cap off the three cards. Like, he's the only one to do it, but he's also the only one to win on all three. That's a great point. Yeah, I think we all, are hoping that Jim has a good night. I love Bobby Green, but you got to pull for Jim in the spot, for sure.

Yeah, but I'm with you, Laura. I'm biased. I wanted him Jim Miller versus Matt Bronte. And I told both of them, I said, it breaks my heart because I love Jim. I do a podcast with Matt, one of my closest friends, and I'm like, it's going to break my heart that you're going to fight each other, but I want to see it. And then they messed it up. I was like, come on, guys.

We just gave it. We literally handed you the fight. And you didn't do it. I thought that was what was beautiful about it. Because I like Jim Miller, too. I literally met him. like a, I don't know, a month or two before that we started talking about fighting each other. And like, he's cool as shit.

I mean, of course we all knew he was cool as shit. But, you know, I'm like sizing him up a little bit. He's sizing me up. And, you know, I think we'd be great buzz. I think we'd probably have a beer after or whiskey. You know, we'd do some stupid shit or something. But like, he's like the kind of dude I would hang out with for sure, you know. And, you know, we would probably love each other more because I think we'd be.

pretty bloody together too. I think, you know, they would take a beating from each other. So, you know, as long as he didn't chuck me out, you know, he's pretty good at that. Well, that might be the only disappointment because otherwise this car is ridiculous.

Laura, before you get you out here, you're going to be, you're doing the weighing show this week. What all you got going? Yeah, I'm doing the wayne show and some stuff backstage on a fight night. So a little lighter lifting this weekend. I got my next commentary gig will be St. Louis. So getting geared up for that.

I say this because we've said, on the show. I'm not saying this because, like, you know, this is nothing we've said publicly, but I think you've become one of the absolute best commentators in the game, Lauren. I mean, I've watched you and evicted and other things you've done, but, and I hear this, and I know I had this conversation with Matt. I've had this conversation with Alan Japan on the show. Like, you have become one of the best commentators in the game, and I look forward to every time you're calling fights. And listen, I think the UFC has a tremendous commentary team. I love Joe, I love Daniel, I love Bisping, like all the guys, but you really have become a pro, and I really do,

and I sincerely mean this, I hope you get to call more fights, because I think you, You are fantastic at it. And your breakdowns and your analysis are incredible. I just like, I think you are absolutely one of the best in the game. And I just, I'm so glad. I was,

I mean, I know I messaged you like right after it happened. I was like so happy when you got your first gig. I was like, oh, yes, about time. Well, I appreciate that.

That's, that's incredibly kind of you to say. And Matt has been incredibly kind for a long time about it too. So I, it means a lot to hear you guys say that. And I, yeah, I just,

I love this sport and I work really freaking, really fucking hard. to represent the athletes the best that I can when they're out there fighting. It just, that means the most to me. So thank you guys. I appreciate you. Yeah, I would agree. I got to say, too, like, you do a great job and keep it up.

Thank you. Thank you. You can say it. Thank you. We got your back, Laura. Laura, thank you for doing the show. We appreciate it. Enjoy Vegas this weekend.

Weirdly, like I said, you're not doing quite as much, but I'm sure you'll find plenty to be. busy with. So thanks for, thanks for doing the show with us. And come back and see us anytime. We'd love to have you on again. Would love to. I would absolutely would love that. Thank you, Matt. Thank you, Damon. Appreciate you guys. We'll talk to soon. Bye. Matt, that is our show. We will be back next week with another edition of the fighter versus the writer. Thanks for everyone tuning in and we will see you then.

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