MMA Fighting - Fighter vs. Writer: Matt Brown Gives His Picks for the Biggest Threats to Every Champion in the UFC in 2023

Episode Date: January 3, 2023

To kick off 2023, The Fighter vs. The Writer will look ahead and preview every division in the UFC and who sits as the biggest threat to the reigning champion. UFC welterweight Matt Brown will give his thoughts on every current champion including the chances that Francis Ngannou will return to the promotion and if his biggest obstacle at staying champion will be Jon Jones moving to heavyweight. Brown will also detail why he believes Henry Cejudo is the most dangerous threat to current UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling or any other contender coming up at 135 pounds. What about lightweight where Islam Makhachev appears poised to make a long run as champion? Can anyone challenge him in 2023? Check out the full episode preview looking ahead at the UFC in 2023 on the latest episode of The Fighter vs. The Writer! Subscribe: Apple Podcasts Subscribe: Spotify Read More: MMA Fighting 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 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 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. To the Vox Media Podcast Network. It is a new year. It is 2023. I'm Damon Martin. He is Matt the Immortal Brown. Matt, how is your new year? How is your holiday? We took a week off from the podcast to kind of celebrate the holidays and take a break

from this crazy MMA game and just kind of relax. How was your holiday? It was amazing, man. Went snowboarding. The kids went skiing. I was snowboarding and just, yeah, what a great time, man. So it's amazing going out there. Just getting out on the mountains and not thinking about nothing,

hanging with the kids for a few days. And had a great one myself, man. What about you? Good, relaxing. That was the main thing, relaxing. Took some days off, didn't have to do much work, and just kind of took some time off, which was nice because you don't get a lot of break during the year, you know,

you don't get a lot of breaks from everything else going on in the world. So it was kind of nice taking some time. And now, how is Matt Brown the snowboarder? I'm trying to envision you on a snowboard right now. Like, how is Matt Brown the snowboarder? So I've, I always snowboard with my kids. So, you know, I just chill, man. Now my boys, they're getting older.

So they're starting to do, like, jumps and they hit the train park and things like that. So they're getting pretty savage and they fly down the mountains like nothing, you know. But my daughter, now she's seven. So this was the first time she went skiing. So even though I went out to go snowboard and go relax and hang out on the mountains, it was not relaxing at all, man. What I ended up doing, you know, teaching her out of ski, you know, so we're on the bunny hill and I'm walking up and down the bunny hill 30 times, you know,

like trying to run with her and help her not fall down and picking her up when she does and trying to teach her the whole time. so there was no relaxation whatsoever until finally the third day she picked it up and we're going down some green trails and we were relaxing and having a great time and i'd tell you what man it's for me having kids it's one of the most amazing things ever watching them do something that they were her person like she was scared to do it you know very nervous about going out there and then watching her overcome that and just go hit something that she was just so scared to do, man, like it's such a fulfilling thing and end up for being a great time. Yeah, I don't know.

I'm like snowboarding and skiing is like one of those activities where I'm like, I guarantee I'd hit a tree. Like I know my luck. Like I would 100% hit a tree or something. Like I would want to, yeah, 100%. I would crash, break something. Like there's no way I'm walking away from that activity on skated. Like there's just no way. Well, the first like couple days anyone does it.

They don't come away and skate. It's a fucking painful process learning. I remember the first day I was snowboarding and just you fall every like five feet. And it's so hard to get up. You know, your feet are both attached to this thing. And, you know, you're hitting your butt. You're hitting your wrist. Like, dude, it's just miserable, man.

But once you get it down, it's freaking amazing, bro. Yeah. I used to love to go sledding as a kid. That was fun. But I don't know. Standing on a sled, standing on a snowboard just does not sound like fun to me. But you can come out with this and get tube it. Yeah, I'll do that. I would do that for sure. That would be fun. I would 100% do that. I don't know if you're ever going to get me on a pair of skis, though. Like I said, I guarantee I'd go into a tree. So, Matt, we are looking ahead now. It is officially 2023. It is officially the new year. And last year we did this podcast. It was a blast. What we're doing today is we're going to look ahead and do a preview of the entire 2023 calendar. But what we're going to do is we're going to look at every division in the UFC, talking about the current champion who is in that particular division.

Who is the biggest threat to that champion and who we believe is going to be championed at the end of the year and just kind of have a discussion, division by division, in the UFC, because obviously some title fights are already made. We know that we've got Devis and Figurato and Brandon Moreno coming up here in January. We've got Glover Tashara and Jamal Hill fighting in January. We've got Islam Makachev fighting Alexander Volcanowski coming up in February. They're going to crown an interim featherweight champion

with Josh Emmett taking on Yaya Rodriguez. We've got a lot of rumors going on with March with, you know, potential fights with Al Jamein Sterling and Henry Sehudo, of course, Leon Edwards potentially doing his trilogy with Kamar Usman. So some title fights are kind of already out there. But we're going to talk about each division and kind of get into what we think about the division, the champion, who's the biggest threat and all those kind of questions. And I don't feel there's a better way to kick it off, Matt, than kind of talk about the division that in a weird way kind of got forgotten a lot in 2022, and that's the heavyweight division.

because the current champion Francis Inganu fought in January, unfortunately blew his knee out. And so he got his surgery in March. He's still been out of action. We know he hasn't, you know, inked a new contract with the UFC, or at least we haven't heard about him making a new contract for the UFC. So right now we're going to kind of pretend that Francis is coming back. We have to hope that that's going to happen. But otherwise, that was the end of the heavyweight division was last January.

It's basically been a year since that title's been defended. We haven't really heard much about it. And I don't know, it's a weird one, right? Like it's the biggest division, both, you know, in reality, but also like everyone cares about heavyweight, but it's kind of been forgotten for the past year. Yeah. And now with the, I think the only talk in the last year

that was really made it a large conversation or a mainstream conversation was John Jones doing up there. They weren't even talking about anybody else fighting in Ghana, really. You know, and I think everybody's excited to see what John can do up there. right absolutely well let me because i said let's assume francis reissons let's actually let's not assume that because you know we're dealing with the situation now where the guy is at free agency he's you know in contract negotiations and listen it to me it's in the ufc's best interest to keep francis and gano i you know i think this guy has huge star potential incredible story

have you ever met franzi or talked to francis before no i he's like the nicest guy ever literally the nicest guy ever, really engaging. He's a guy you build around. Like, you know, he's got all the right intangibles. Nice guy, you know, doesn't get in trouble. You know, he's not the kind of guy who's going to go out and get in headlines for all the wrong reasons. He doesn't say things just to make headlines. Again, this is the guy you build it.

And, you know, he's got the kind of power that will knock people into the third row when he hits him. So he's like the perfect, you know, amalgamation of what you want in a champion. But listen, he's had legitimate gripes with the UFC about his pay. about the freedom he has to go out and pursue other interests like, you know, potentially a boxing match. You know, I think the Tyson Fury thing has kind of gone away because Tyson seems focused on getting the fight with Usik, which is a monstrous fight for boxing. That seems to be his goal now. He's kind of put the whole Francis of Gondon thing to decide he's no longer retired.

So maybe that goes away and it cuts down on Francis's options in terms of what he can do outside the UFC. But I get his point about wanting to have that ability to have more freedom and also, to have more money because, again, he is one of the biggest champions in the sport. So do you think he's going to re-sign? I think he's going to resign. I just don't know what the terms of that signing are going to be. I think it's going to be a short-term deal. I think it's going to be maybe three or four fights most. He's not going to sign for a six-or-eight-fight deal. And I don't know how they're going to work in the whole freedoms and do it other things.

But the problem Francis runs into is I don't think he'll get paid as much by anyone else outside of boxing. I don't think like the PFL or, you know, Belator, is going to offer him more money than he can make in the UFC. And if the Tyson Fury thing's gone away, I don't really know that there's going to be that big option for him in boxing. So I think he will ultimately resign. I just don't know what the terms of that are going to be. Yeah, that's the thing, right?

When he gets pay-per-view points with the UFC, like there's no other option, right? That's his kind of sticky situation that he's in other than boxing. Like, where else do you go? PFL, Belto. There's no way they're going to offer him or be able to. offer him the same amount of money that he could get in the UFC with the paper viewpoints. That may not be, you know, the actual flat rate salary contracted amount.

You know, maybe they could meet that in Bellator, PFL or, you know, whatever other promotion. But when you're talking about paper viewpoints, the UFC is the monster. There's not even a second place, really. They're all second place, right? So, yeah, I think Dana White is very, very good at getting. and these kind of the deal is done. If he wants you in the UFC, he'll figure out a way to get it done. And I think they're going to want it gone out, and I think they're going to get it done.

And I think it's probably pretty soon. Yeah. So in terms of the biggest threat, I mean, listen, I think the heavyweight division is actually in a really good spot now. There's some really good fighters. We talked about on this podcast a couple times. Sergei Pavlovich, a guy that you're a big fan of. I'm a big fan of. I still think Curtis Blaze is out there.

I always think he's a threat. you know, Cyril Gaon is getting better. I think he's still always going to be a threat. But listen, the biggest threat, in reality of my mind, you know, whether he wins or not, I don't know. But the biggest threat remains John Jones. And I know that, you know, John is, you know, is he finally going to fight this year? It's been three years since he's fought, all these things going on. And I don't think that John's been out purely because he's just been sitting.

I think the whole Francis of Ganu thing kind of threw a wrench in the works because I think if France has been healthy, coming out of the surreal gone fight. I think we probably would have seen him fight John Jones last June or July. It would have been a monstrous, you know, pay-per-view. I don't think John's just sitting out for the fun of it. I think he's earned the right to fight for a title. He's the greatest light heavyweight of all time.

I have zero problem with him going up and getting a title shot. Francis being out in this whole contract dispute has kind of thrown a wrench into the works. But John is the biggest threat because he's probably going to be next. And listen, I don't know what John Jones is going to look like at heavyweight, but I'm going based purely on talent. And based purely on talent, John Jones may be the most talented fighter I've ever witnessed compete inside of a cage.

And again, there is different level of power at heavyweight. So him getting tagged one time by Francis and Ghanu versus one time by Dominic Reyes may answer all the questions about how far John Jones will go. But in terms of talent, I think he is the biggest threat because John has all those pieces. He's an incredible wrestler, incredible grappler.

you know, solid striking. The range and the distance are still going to translate. He had a massive reach at heavyway, you know what I mean, 80 inch reach, whatever the crazy reach he has is. So all those intangibles work for John Jones. Now, will he beat Francis Agonu? I will talk about that in a second. But in terms of the biggest threat, it is John Jones in my mind because not only is he potentially next, but again, I'm basing it on talent. And based on talent, John Jones is the most talented guy that could fight Francis and Gano.

What about you, Matt? Yeah, you know, I kind of agree with that in terms of talent. Yeah, John Jones is probably the biggest threat in a lot of ways. But we haven't seen him a heavyweight. And you alluded to it a little bit. You talked about a little bit. We haven't seen him a heavy weight. We don't know how he's going to take those shots.

John has been hitable in the past. And you know how it is with Francis. You can't get hit by Francis. You just can't. It just doesn't take too many shots. If you can take more than one, then you're a lucky guy. So, you know, I think that's going to be his biggest problem going up to heavy weight. But, yes, but I agree with you, you know, in terms of biggest threat, John Jones.

And, you know, we, like you talked about it too. I mean, we got Sergey Papalich over there. But, you know, I disagree that John Jones is the most. talented guy we've ever seen. I think Demetrius Johnson is the most talented we've ever seen. That's the only thing I would disagree on with what you said them.

Yeah. Here's the one thing I throw in as like a, you know, kind of a caveat to this is that John, like it's kind of scary. John going up on day one of fighting Francis is interesting because, you know, and you know this, Matt, you go in sparring and you and you spar hard, you get ready. But again, when you're in sparring and yes, people do

get knocked out and sparring, but you're not going out they're trying to kill your training partners. That's not what training is supposed to be about. And I know that John has trained with heavyweights. He's trained with Overeem. He's trained with Arlovsky. He's trained with good heavy weights. But I wonder, like, what it's going to be like when he actually does get hit for the first time.

You know what I mean? Like, it's different. When you're sparring versus getting hit by Francis and Ghana with four-ounce gloves. Like, I'm wondering, like, that's, like, I'm not saying John needs a warm-up fight. I'm not, like, proposing that. But I'm just wondering, like, what happens the first time he gets hit? by a Francis Naganu overhand right. And maybe he eats it,

but it immediately changes everything about to fight. Like, you know what I mean? Like he doesn't come forward. He's tentative about engaging. That's a real thing, right? Like, that's a real problem because heavy weights hit hard. Francis Nganu hits harder. You know what I mean?

Like that's a whole other level getting hit hard. So, yeah, like I was going to say that exact same thing, right? Like when he gets hit, it's going to be a problem. But I think even more so what about when he goes for his first take? if he can't get it. Right? Like we all know what's going to happen if he gets hits by Francis and Gano. If anybody gets hit by him cleanly, the game's over, right?

Your night's over. You're waking up in the hospital a few hours later and, you know, wondering what just happened. And that's just the game you're playing with Francis Zangano. You just can't get hit by him. But I wonder what's going to happen. Because when you're wrestling, weight matters a lot. like a lot lot

you know and and Francis is a gigantic heavyweight can John take him down John has a lot of tricky takedowns John is can off balance guys very well so I can see it happening but he's got a

but I think that's his best path to victory with Francis and gun him he has to figure out a way to take him down and without getting hit in the process now if he can't get him down or you know Francis stops one of those shots if Francis makes it harder gets back up after the takedown

you know something along these lines that's where I wonder where John's mind is going to be and John is a totally uber confident person so I don't you know and his mind is as strong as they get so I don't think it would necessarily break him but but when he realizes

you know if it happens that way and he ends up where he has to strike with Francis that is where I would be real nervous about John being able to win. Yeah, no, you're absolutely right. I mean, I'd be nervous for anyone standing on the outside wing and punches with Francis and Ghana. That's just like playing with dynamite. You know, you're just asking for trouble.

Yeah, if you can get the takedown, great. You know, now you have a path to victory that's a, you know, and I think if John gets him down and you can keep him down, I mean, I think John will dominate thoroughly on the ground. And I mean, he's got some of the best ground. and pound we've ever seen. He just demolishes guys when he gets him down. It's amazing to see.

But what if Francis gets back up? What if he can't get him down? Now you're stuck in a shootout with Francis in Gano. That is a scary thing to think about. Yeah. So in terms of who's going to be the champion at the end of the year, because listen, I always play the odds that a champion is going to defend their title twice in a year. Now, of course, that doesn't always happen.

a lot of times champions only fight once a year. If we get Francis and John Jones, he may not fight again. But I'm playing the game that, you know, let's say they fight March April, hypothetically, you know, maybe one more time this year. And, you know, listen,

I'm a big believer in Sergei Pavlovich. We've talked about him. I know you love him. Again, I don't discount Curtis Blades. One guy we haven't talked about, and it's kind of unfortunate, Steepi Miochich, you know, Steve, of course, the Ohio guy, the legend.

Matt, I'm being honest, I'm getting off a little bit here, being I'm being honestly, I feel like we may have seen Steepi already fight for the last time. Like I don't know that Steepi is going to come back. And so I'm taking them out of the conversation because I'll be honest. Like I don't know. I think we may have seen Steepi already for the last time.

Like I think that Francis Ganu fight, the time off and him not getting the immediate rematch and then France is being hurt. We might be talking about Stebe the firefighter now and not Steepa to fighter. Like I just feel like we may be done seeing him as a fighter. And I, because I don't think Steve is going to really, and not saying that Steve is not passionate because I know he is. But, like, he's got other things going on. Like, I don't think he's ever, you know, just been, like, I'm only a fighter,

and that's all I'll ever do. Am I wrong in thinking we may have already seen Steepa for the last time? Yeah, I don't know. I don't know, Steve A, close enough to say, to really say. But when you, yeah, when you look at it, realistically, I mean, look, he's achieved more than any other heavy weight has, right? He has the most title defenses. Well, he doesn't have anything to prove.

he comes back if he's not fighting for a title why would he come back you know he's set for life he loves being a firefighter he has a great life so um i don't see any reason for him to come back if he's not fighting for a title i mean i would love to see him come back i love watching him fight i think he's an amazing fighter and i would love to see him even if he doesn't get a title fight come back and um you know fight uh contender match and you know hopefully get another title fight i'm a huge Stebe fan. I know him pretty well and, you know, I really hope that he comes back and fights, but I can see his position. Like, look, if I'm not getting the rematch, you know, and he deserves it, right? And he's like, if I'm not getting the rematch, what am I coming back for? Yeah. So at the end of

2023, who are we talking about his heavyweight champion? Because in my mind, in my opinion, Matt, I'm sticking with Francis in Ghana because I'm a big believer in Francis. I think he's only getting better. I think he showed some wrinkles in his game against Cyril Gone when he wasn't 100% when his knee was already hurt and he was able to get some takedowns. He didn't have just the flashy one-punch knockout. He was able to go out there and deal with a guy like Cyril Gone for five rounds. And again, Seril Gone's not a world-class wrestler. And again, I think John Jones, in my opinion, may be the greatest fighter in history. But it still scares me when he gets hit because John does get hit.

And you can't get hit by Francis Agano. And again, I'm just a big believer in heavyweight powers a different animal. So I think Francis, if Francis comes back and he signs and all those kind of things happen, even with the John Jones fight right now, if I'm a betting man, I'm going to bet on Francis still being champ at the end of the year. Now, that may end up being because he only fights once this year. And he doesn't have to face him Sergei Pavlovich or other guys out there. But right now I'd have to lean towards Francis.

What about you? Well, I think the only other guy would kind of have. haven't really brought up in this conversation that I think has a maybe should be brought up is Tom Aspinon. Whether he can take out John or Francis, I'm not totally sure, but I think he's a wild card, a dark horse in this whole conversation. But to be honest, I'm going with Sergei Pavillage. If Francis fights, you know, two or three times, I doubt he fights three times, that's for sure. But, you know, whoever wins between John and Francis, if this fight happens, and there's still enough time and Sergey can get in there, I'm a huge Sergey fan.

I think he's going to, I think he can beat both of those guys. It's interesting. We talk about the biggest threat. You know, we talk about the biggest threat because John is the guy who's probably going to get the next shot. Sergei's, again, he's the guy. He could be the guy to beat both of them. You know what I mean? Like, whoever comes out of that, Sergey, if he gets a title shot, he may beat both of them.

That's what I'm calling. I think he could beat either one of them. And I think it's kind of a, that's a big call. I understand that. So, you know, I would also like to see how Francis and John look, how much they've improved. I mean, it's been a long time since seeing what I'm fought. So I would like to see how much they both improve, see where their levels are at these days. You know, see how John handles heavy weight.

That's, I think, the big thing we just don't know. We don't know how he's going to handle the extra weight. How his cardio is going to hold up. How he's going to take the punches? If he can take these guys down at the bigger weight. and I think that's going to be the big thing, the big question mark here. But with that said, I'm more impressed with Sergey than any of these guys. I mean, this guy just impresses the hell out of me.

So that's who I'm calling. And I realize that that's a long shot call. But I think Sergey, man, if he, again, we don't know how John's going to fight at heavyweight. but I think if he fights Francis, I think he can beat Francis. Yeah, I mean, I could say it. I mean, I don't discount it. Like I said, I mean, if John fights his game and he adapts well to heavyweight, I think John can beat anybody.

You know what I mean? Like, I don't think there's anybody in the world he can't beat. It just scares me because the heavyweight thing. Like I said, you get tagged one time at heavyweight. It's different. And this is not a knock of Dominic Reyes. I'm just saying, like, it's different getting hit by Francis and Ghana than it is getting hit by Dominic Reyes.

You know what I mean? So it'll be interesting. Let's talk about light heavyweight, which is kind of a mess right now, because we just had the fight. We broke it down in the podcast, the whole mess between Magamette Ankalayev and Jan Blahovic. They're out of the picture right now. Now we're getting the title fight between Glover Tishara and Jamal Hill coming up in a matter of days at this point. We'll break that fight down further when we get to that week of the podcast. It's coming up on January 21st.

I remember the date correctly. Of course, Yiri Pajaska seems like he's going to be out. You know, I know he said I'll be back in seven months. Listen, I'm not a doctor. I'm not professing to be a doctor, but when you rip your shoulder apart, you have to undergo shoulder surgery. I have a hard time believing he's going to be back, you know, in this year. I just, I don't, again, I'm playing the odds here.

I know what T.J. Dillishaw has gone through his shoulder injuries. I know what other guys have gone through. Shoulder injuries, when you have to go through that much surgery, you do not come back quickly. And I hope he doesn't come back quickly because then you're just setting yourself up for failure. So I'm taking me personally, and feel free to disagree, Matt. I'm taking Yeri out of this because if Yeri comes back, of course I'm going to probably say he's going to be the threat and maybe even retain his reclaim his championship. But I don't know if he's going to come back in 2023 if I'm being honest.

I just don't know. He's an X factor that I can't deal with. When it comes to Glover and Jamal, I mean, I like the fight and I'm a big believer in Jamal Hill. I think he's a super talented guy. But I've learned to stop betting against Glover Tashira. I mean, this dude is just like he's like the ageless wonder who just. finds a way to win. He's nasty. He's a good ground fighter. I mean, again, he was he was minutes away from beating Yuri Pahashka. Let's not forget that. He got caught and got submitted in the fifth

round, but he was minutes away from winning that fight. And then outside of that, the problem is, is then you're talking about, is it going to be Anthony Smith? Is it going to be Yon again? Is it going to be Magamette? I mean, listen, hypothetically, Magamad would be, but I just, the way the UFC was like not happy with that fight the way Dana White was not happy about that fight. I think they're going to make Magamad and Yon fight somebody else or maybe they rematch and the winner of that gets it. So if I'm a betting

man right now, Matt, like, who's the biggest threat? I would say Magamad's the biggest threat if he gets the title shot, but I don't know if he's going to get it. Like, Dana White did not seem happy about either one of those guys being champion. Got it. I mean, you said it perfectly, bro. I'm right there with

you. Now, with, in terms of Yuri, like, you know, I've had shoulder problems in the past, and, I mean, I felt it for a good six, seven months before, it was my left shoulder, before I was able to throw jabs well. I fought before that, but I kind of wish I didn't. And I was not prepared to be fighting when it happened. And I had, and mine was not nearly as bad as T.J. or Yerries and, you know, a lot of these other guys dealing with.

So him coming back this year is probably not a good idea for him. Even if he does, he's not going to be 100% in that shoulder, most likely. And if he's able to, then props to him and I want to learn his tricks. Even though, you know, year he's kind of a, I don't know if I want to learn his tricks. Kind of do though. But I'm right there with you, man. Magimed I think should be the champion. I thought he won that fight.

You know, we talked about it before. you know, fair decision. But yeah, I think he's the best guy in that division. I think that's all there is too. I think he beats all those guys. I think Glover's going to beat Jamal Hill. And I think if Magamette is able to get back in there and fight, I think Magamette's going to win.

So I couldn't agree with you more. I think Magamette is easily the best in the division and everybody else has got to catch up to him somehow. Yeah, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's kind of a crappy situation too because if glover beats jemal hill in january you know hypothetically you should be looking at him fighting again in you know july august again you got to see how the fight plays out does he break a hand all those kind of weird things can happen but you know magameds the guy and i feel and i feel for yon too like i said like yon you know he came out on the on the end of a

split draw like you know in theory yon and magamish is rematch and then the winner gets you know glover I think that, and again, that way they're not sitting out for the better part of a year just waiting. Well, they get Glover or for Jamal Hill. We can't. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Whoever wins that. Like, I think that, but I kind of, but again, biggest threat, it's Magamann. I still think he's the guy. Like, I didn't lose faith in him. It was a close fight. I didn't lose faith in him. And does he have a few areas he needs to clean up? Sure.

I mean, there's nothing wrong with that. You know, could he defend those leg kicks better? Absolutely. But again, you're talking about him fighting one of the other. best light heavyweights in the world, Jan Blahovitch. So, yeah, I think it's Magamette. And if you're asking who's going to be the champ at the end of 2023, again, I'm eliminating Yuri from the conversation.

If I'm a betting, man, I'm betting on Magamette and Goliath. I just think if he gets another shot, I have a hard time believing he's not going to clean up those mistakes. And I think he's a bad matchup for everybody in that division. I really truly believe that. Yep, I couldn't agree more. That's exactly right. And then the wild card there, the one guy we haven't talked about yet, Ryan Spann.

This guy, wow, right? That's all you say, Ryan Span. Assuming he's telling the truth that he hadn't really trained before and now he's training, if that's really the case, that's a scary, scary guy. And he might be the one. Yeah, he's got a big fight coming up with Nikita Krilov. It's a headline in February if he beats him. and Nikita's a fun fighter to watch.

Nikita's always, Nikita's like the perfect measuring stick. If you can beat Nikita, you're probably a contender. If you can't beat Nikita, you're probably on the outside looking in. That's kind of where I see him. That's not an easy fight,

but if he goes out there and beats Nikita Krilov, then I'm like, okay, like Ryan Span, you got my attention. Like, dude, if you really weren't training and you were just kind of like half-assing your way through a career and now you're taking it seriously, okay, I'm watching. Yeah, it's an interesting one.

Interesting one. Let's move down and talk about some of the women's divisions in the UFC because I'm not going to group them all together because we're going to talk about all three real quickly here, but they're weird in a way because while I feel like there's been talent added in straw weight and and flyweight, it feels like the Bantamade division has just fallen off a cliff. You got Amanda Nunes, the greatest women's fighter of all time in my opinion. She beats Juliana Pena. She reclaims her title, showed that the first fight was a bit of an anomaly. I don't want to take that away from

Juliana, but the rematch went as one-sided and the other way as you could possibly go. The problem is now, Amanda has no one to fight. I mean, Ketland-Vier, who has a fight of her own coming up, Ketland-Vierre, I guess, is the number one contender if she can get another win, but like, is that a fight anyone's screaming for? You got, you know, Yonakuna Kuna Kuna, Skaia fighting Holly home. Holly's coming off a lot. So I like Irene Aldon.

I think Irene Aldaon is a really fun fighter. think she might be, in my opinion, the most deserving fighter to get a title shot this year, but do I see her beating Amanda Nunes? I've always said, and I've said this about the Giuliana Pena fight too, Matt, and it's not a knock on Julianna Pena. I think Amanda Nunes' worst enemy is herself, complacency. I think she got complacent. She got overconfident in that first Giuliana Pena fight, and it cost her.

That might be the one wake-up call you get. Like, you don't get that Amanda Nunes again, unless Amanda just lose. his interest in fighting, which could happen. No one, I don't see anyone beating her. And I'm saying that in this regard, Matt, when we talk about the biggest threat, I don't see one. I don't see a legitimate threat to Amanda Nunes in her division right now. And I don't mean that as disrespect to Juliana Paine.

I don't mean that as disrespect to Irene Aldon. I don't mean that as disrespect to Ketland Vieira. But I don't see any of them. I see Amanda like here and like 10. And I see everyone else. like six and it's just hard to see anyone chat so I'm just being honest like I don't see a threat

to Amanda Nunes right now yeah I don't know we're gonna have to find some things we disagree about so I'm just agreeing with everything you're saying right now I mean you're yeah you're spot on I mean there's not a lot of it when I just I'm looking over here on my computer at the top 15 I'm not seeing like any

young killers that just you know they maybe they just need a few more fights to get a little more experience and they're going to come up and give her a challenge or or you know girls coming off the contender or something or you know I'm just not seeing anything like that there no one getting built up and um yeah I don't know there's there's really not I mean you know Amanda when she's on top of her game is hard enough to be you know regardless if how good you are um but I'm not seeing any you know crazy talent out of this top 15 here

Yeah, it's kind of a bummer because the women's band-to-way division was kind of like, you know, the best division for a while. And now, like, there's just not, you're right. Like, there's no young, because when you go down to Flyway, and we'll talk about that now, like, flyweight, like Valentina Shepchenko, in my opinion, is the number one pound-for-pound women's fighter in the planet. And I know she's lost to Amanda, but she's also on a better streak right now. She didn't have the Giuliana Pena fight where she got upset and dominated. Now, you could say she had a very, very close fight with Tyler Santos. and credit to Tyler Santos.

I also think, and this is not me making excuses, as just being honest. After the fight, Valentina talked about she had a really bad foot injury, and I noticed in the fight, Valentina was not moving like she normally moves against Tyler Santos. She did not have that quick footwork. She was not resisting the takedowns the way she normally did. When she said she had a foot injury,

I was like, okay, now it all makes sense. And listen, you all take risks every time you step in there and you fought with injuries. I just like when she said that afterwards like a man what a risk to take knowing you didn't have like one of your primary weapons and it almost cost her. But listen, Valentina Shepchenko to me is, you know, number one in the world. And, you know, eventually time runs out on everybody. We know that. I don't know what that expiration date is on Valentina Shepchinko.

So when I look at the biggest threat in that division, in my opinion, it's Aaron Blanchfield who is coming up. She looks like a monster. here's the problem. She's got a fight coming up in February at Tyler Santos. I think that's a winnable fight for Aaron Blanchfield. I think she's got a great chance of winning that fight. My worry is

I would love to see Aaron Blanchfield get a couple more fights before getting to Valentina because the problem is you get rushed into that title fight. To me it's going to look a little bit like George St. Pierre getting Matt Hughes that first time. He wasn't quite there yet. Now when they fought

years later, George washed him two times in a row, okay? And I'm not saying Aaron's going to be GSP. I'm saying that like GSP needed that seasoning to get back and actually beat Matt Hughes. I think Aaron Blanchfield may be the future of this division. But she's 23 years old. You know, she just had her, you know, a big winner for Molly McCann, who, let me be honest, Molly McCann is not a great measuring stick.

I mean, Molly McCann is, you know, barely top 15. Tyler Santos is a good measuring stick because Tyler Santos just went. went to a split decision with Valentina. She could win that fight. But I'm not sure that Aaron's ready for Valentina right now. A year from now, a year and a half from now, maybe. That kind of worries me. So I don't know.

I don't know where I'm right, where I'm wrong on this one. I'll tell you what. Again, I'm in perfect agreement with you there. I don't know. This is the first time I think in me and you ever do a podcast. I'm just agreeing with everything you say. I'm like, I don't even have to say anything, bro. saying it perfectly. Look, that's exactly what Blanchefield needs. She needs, like you said,

she's 23 years old. She's young, but she has looked tremendous. Molly McCann was an easy fight for, you know, no sweat at all for her. But she needs to fight some of these top 10 girls. And we need to see where she really is. From all, everything we've seen so far, it looks like she's the future and she's going to do a great, amazing things. But we need to see her against some of these top 10 girls. And yeah, like I said, I'm right there with you, bro. I think she's the one that's got the best chance. She seems like she's the most athletic, fights very disciplined, very intelligent,

which is where Valentina Shepchinka really shines. Like she is disciplined, smart, educated fighter, fights with a high fight IQ, does what she needs to do, is strong. And you're going to have to have someone with a lot of those qualities to be able to take her out and it seems like Aaron Blanchfield is the one that would at least have a shot. I'm not saying that she would or wouldn't, who knows, but it looks like she would have a shot, especially with her grappling. Her grappling looks tremendous.

So that's what we're seeing. And yeah, so she's got, she shouldn't be going up to fight number two when she's number 10 right now, though, which is kind of strange if you ask me, but she needs to go, you know, she's a fight number eight, number seven, something like that. Yeah, so I actually, I'm going to say Aaron Blanchfield is the biggest threat, but I'm also going to stick with my GSP Matt Hughes thing where I say the Valentina beats her right now. Now, again, a year from now, year and a half from now, maybe not. So, Valentina champ, Aaron Blanchfield is the biggest threat, but I still think Valentina is the champ at the end of the year. Now, maybe that changes because if Aaron loses to Valentina hypothetically, she gets that experience, she comes back, she beats an Alexa Grasso, she beats a, you know, a man Ophiore.

or whoever, and then she gets back there, then maybe the rematch she gets her. But I just, and listen, I know Jessica Androja is out there. She's fought, you know, obviously she's fighting Lauren Murphy. That's a good fight. I really like that one. That's a good matchup. You know, Jessica, but again, Jessica got worked by Valentina. Valentina ran over her like a dump truck over a, over a raccoon on the road.

I mean, it was bad. So I consider Aaron Blanchfield the biggest threat, but I just, again, I said the same. same thing last year. I'm saying again now. I just don't think anybody beats Valentina right now. Right now, I don't think anybody beats Valentina. I think the only other person is stylistically, it actually creates some threat for her is Caitlin Chukagian. She seems to be improving all the time. Like she's getting better all the time and she's got that sort of point style. You know, she's not going to knock her out. She's not going to go out and run her over anything like that. but I could see her getting in there.

You know, if she's able to get to that title shot, get in there, and make some ways to make it a hard fight for Valentino. I mean, they fought before and Valentino ran over her too, so I think it's going to be difficult. You know, I mean, getting back in there. I just, I think Blanchfield's the one. I just think, I just, I kind of hope that even though she beats Tyler Santos, they don't run her directly into the title fight.

Like, I know that's going to be what everyone's going to call for. And hypothetically, she would earn it. I just, I would love to see her get one more, at least, before getting in there with Valentina. Because again, Valentina is a buzzsaw. And if you're not ready, man, she's going to chew you up and spit you out again. The other women's division, let's talk about, is the Strawway Division where Zhang Wei Lee is once again championed after she dominated and beat Carlos Sparsie. You called that fight perfectly when we talked about on the podcast. Of course, you know, the hypothetical rematch, the trilogy, of course, is the fight with Rosenomi Yunus.

I've said this many times, Matt. I hope they don't just give it to Rose. You know, Rose lost a very ugly fight to Carlos Spars. I would like to see Rose get a win before she gets another title shot. Amanda Lee motion is out there. She just came off a big win. I think Amanda Lee motion, Rose, would be a natural number one contenders fight, and the winner of that gets Jang.

So right now, I'm leaning toward Zhang staying champion. only because I'm not sure who's going to end up fighting her because I think Zhang beats Amanda Limos. I don't know that she'll beat Rose Namibunis. I guess my biggest hope, but I know I'm kind of dodging the question with this one, Matt, but I just, I want to see Rose fight someone else. I just, I don't want them to run back that Zhang Wei Lee Rose Namunis thing

for a third time when Rose is coming off one of the ugliest title fights in history and then just throwing her back in there. Like my interest would be next thing. to nothing. Like, I don't, I don't really have, like, I don't want to see that fight right now. Yeah, I guess when it kind of depends on, you know, on the topic of the conversation here is, what is the biggest threat? The biggest threat without a question is Rose, right?

Yeah. We know Rose can beat her. So that is the biggest threat. And I'm right there with you. Rose needs to have a win to get to a title fight. You can't be getting a title fight coming off a loss. It's just unrealistic, right? It just doesn't make sense and isn't cool, really.

I don't know what Marina Rodriguez has coming up, but I would also consider her a happy threat. Yeah, I mean, she's really good. She had to fight with Limos. I mean, that's, you know, that was a good one. I mean, I think Limosch is ahead of her right now, obviously, because they fought and everything else. So I think Limos is the one.

But, yeah, I just, I want to see some new blood in there as long I'm getting at. Like, you know, I'm with you. is the biggest threat. But give Limos a title show. Let's just see something different. Like, I think that's the problem we're running into in all these women's divisions is that we're looking at rematches

and rehashing things. Like, could you see Giuliana Pena fight Amanda Nunes for a third time? Technically, they are split-1-1 right now. But do I have a lot of interest in seeing that third fight? Not really. You know, Valentina, you could argue that the biggest contend, the toughest challenge

in that division might be Jeskandrash. Just Gondra is a monster. or Jessica Androsch might beat everybody else. But we already saw that fight. Valentina ran over her. And then the straw white's same thing. Like, yes, Rose Nambunis has two wins over Zhang Waley. Hypothetically, she should be the one in line.

But, God, can we see some new fights? Can we see some new matchups? You know what I mean? Like, I want to see some different people. Right. And I think Limos beat Rodriguez, right? Yeah. And she beat her, right?

So I guess I'm just talking about when you say threat specifically to Zhang Wiley Rodriguez is a threat to her stylistically. Yeah. And whether she can get there or not. And you know, you can go down pretty far down the ranks

and find people that are going to be threats, you know. But a lot of times just getting to that title fight is harder than actually winning the title fight, right? Like there's just stylistically bad matchups. And so I guess that's kind of where I'm looking at here. There's, if she can get there to that title fight, I think Rodriguez poses a lot of challenges for Zay.

Yeah, it's interesting. The women's divisions are in a weird place right now where I think Flyweight is kind of the one with the most interest because there actually is some young up-and-coming talent with Blanchfield, Casey O'Neill's coming back, you get Mano Fior out there. But you also have the most dominant champion being Valentina Shuchinko.

It's kind of a weird one. But I don't, like I said, Bansway and Straw Wait, I'll be honest. Like, I don't have a lot of interest right now because there's just not those compelling matchups that are drawing me in and say, man, I can't wait to see that. I don't have that interest right now. I know one of those divisions. You know, just being honest. Boarding for flight 246 to Toronto is delayed 50 minutes.

What? Sounds like Ojo time. Play Ojo. Great idea. Feel the fun with all the latest slots in live casino games and with no wagering requirements. What you win is yours to keep. Ruby. Hey, I won! Feel the fun.

Morning will begin when passenger Fisher is done celebrating. 19 plus Ontario only. Please play responsibly. Concerned by your gambling or that if someone close you, call 1-8665-3-1-2-60 or visit Connexonterio.ca. Unwrap holiday magic at Holtrenfrew with gifts that say I know you. From festive and cozy fashion to luxe beauty and fragrance sets. Our special selection has something for every style and price point.

Visit our Holtz holiday shop and store or online at Holtrenfrew.com. Going from, I'm saying this, going from divisions where I don't have a ton of interest outside of flyweight to a division that I'm highly intrigued by, let's talk about the middleweight division where Alex Pereira pulls off one of the craziest runs in UFC history to have, you know, basically three fights, gets a title shot, comes back, knocks out Israel out of Sonia, becomes champion. Now, obviously, all signs are pointing towards a rematch sometime in 2023. of course you got Robert Whitaker out there unfortunately he won't be fighting in February he's fight Apollo Costa got nixed so that's kind of out there of course you got guys like Marvin Vittori out there you got

Roman DeLizze who's coming off a big win he's fighting Marvin Vittory coming up that's a dark horse that division you know you got young guys coming up like Bo Nickel of course he hasn't fought in the UFC at him saying down the road you know in a year or two down the road but right now we know it's going to be

Pereira and it's going to be Adasania but it's Is Israel on Asana the biggest threat to Alex Pereira right now in your mind? Boy, that's a tough one. I was, you know, I would certainly say Israel is always a threat, even to Pereira. It's a matter of whether he can mentally be there for another fight with him, right? Like, you know, he's lost three times now, you know, knocked out twice. like that's that's tough man and especially with it just to happen in the way it did and the last one

you know winning the fight doing great everything's looking good and then about just you know it's got to feel like some sort of fate to Israel out of sanya right now that he's just not ever going to beat Alex Breyer like that's just his fucking arch nemesis that he's just not going to beat and it was really suck but If there's a guy that could mentally come back from it, I think it's his Rod Asai. So I absolutely consider him a threat. But I'll tell you who I think is probably a bigger threat and probably the biggest threat. I think Derek Brunson, I think he's fighting pretty soon, right?

Is he fighting Dracus? Yeah, Dracus Duplicea in March, yep. Yeah, yeah, I think he's going to win that fight. Again, it's a matter of getting to the title fight. And I don't know. I think Jared Cannonier is probably next in line, if I'm wrong, you know, after Audasania, of course. I think it depends on who wins.

Because if Adasanya wins, it kind of shakes up everything because he's already beaten Cannonier, he's already beaten Martin Vittori, he's already beating Derek Bronson. And, you know, I think of that, and listen, if as Adasanya beats Pereira, they may just run it back for a third time because technically at M.A, they be split down the middle. If Pereira wins, then, you know, you got to look at, I think Robert Whitaker is probably the natural fit because Robert, you know, is the other guy. And he hasn't fought Pereira yet. I think he would probably be the guy. Let me throw a monkey.

Let me throw a little bit of a sideways shot in here because I want to talk about after this. I want to talk about the Welterweight division, your division, Matt. Am I wrong in thinking the biggest threat if he stays, if he goes to middleweight is Hamza Chamaev? because if Hamzaa Chamae fights a middleweight, I think he absolutely beats Alex Pereira tomorrow. That's not a knock on Alex Prairah. I think Alex Prair is incredible. But Alex Prair got taken down and controlled on the ground

by Israel out of Sonia. Can you imagine Hamzat Shamaa getting his hands on Alex Pereira and putting him on the ground? He ain't getting up again. That's it. It fights over. Like that's how confident I am in that. Like, if that happened, it's over.

The reason I'm segueing into this conversation, Matt, because Hamzot, to me, is kind of the X factor. Does he want to fight a welterweight? Does he want to fight a middleweight? Me personally, I want to see him in middleweight because he's already shown he has a bit of a struggle to make weight. We know that's an issue. I mean, he completely blew his last weight cut

and completely almost ruined an event because of it. He is a big dude. Now, I've never met Hamzaa, but we've seen him stand next to people. He is a big dude. When he fought, when he wrestled Jack Hermanson in a grappling, in a wrestling match, he looked like two weight classes bigger than Jack. Hamzaa Chamaev is a dude, man.

That guy is a monster. And I think to me, there's an easier path for him at middleweight because Adasania is beating everybody else. And Pereira is kind of this unicorn right now where he has two quality wins in the division over Strickland and over Adasania. I still think Pereira beats Adasania. Like, I think if they rematch, I think Pereira beats him again. I just, I'm with you.

I think that's a matchup that Israel's going to. always struggle to win. Like it's just, I can't think of a good example of that, but I can't, like, I'm thinking like, a guy who just has another guy's number.

You know what I mean? Like, he may not be the greatest fighter ever, but he just has that dude's number. And I think Pereira has Israel's number. Yeah, it's like if I, if I,

if Ad sundae could only just make it a three-round fight. Yeah. But Hamzot, Hamzot, middleweight, dude. I mean, I was saying he was a threat to Adasanya, I think he's a bigger threat

to Pereira. Because Pereira hasn't had time to develop those ground skills yet, and Chameh is a freaking monster. So I'm going to say Israel, I'm going to say if he fights at middleweight, Hamzaa Chamaev is the biggest

threat in that division, and again, I'm going way out on a limb here. Hamzat gets a title fight in 2023 by the end of the year Hamzaa Chamaev is champion. That's my prediction. I'm right there with you.

If he gets the title shot, is he deserving of a title shot at 185 though? You're right? He's got to beat, you know, a few guys to get up there. He does. But in terms of matchups and everyone loves him,

you know, Dana loves him. They love, you know, again, they love this dude. If he gets it, he's the dude. Like, I think he can beat anybody. And I, like, I just, like, stylistically,

he is a nightmare matchup for every, because when you look at that division at the top, it's a lot of strikers. It's Adasania. It's Pereira. Now, Whitaker's a little more well-rounded, but Whitaker. Mortonatories, obviously. I love to see him fight Whitaker. That's the one I like to see. Let's give Humzot the real test. Give him Whitaker. I mean, Whitaker's just a savage man. Like this guy, you know, Yo Romero couldn't get him down and keep him down, you know. So I'd love to see that fight, and I think it would be the realist test at middle way for Humza.

and he wins that fight, then give him Pereira, you know, give him the title shot. So who is the, who is the biggest threat and who's championed

at the end of the year, in your opinion? Yes, we don't know what's going on with Hamzat, so I kind of excluded him from the conversation. I see it,

you know, he was, I kind of just figured he's a welterweight, you know, so I kind of excluded him for the conversation. But if we put him

at 185, I mean, he's certainly a huge threat. But again, I think Derek Brunson beat strikes, and I think he's a gigantic threat if he can get to the title shot. I think he's going to have a hard time with the Whittaker if he ends up having to fight him

or, you know, again, getting through the title shot is tough. But I think Brunce is a very bad matchup for Pereira. Do you think, do you think out of Sonia B's prayer in the rematch? Because I just don't, I think it's one of those matches. I'm not saying he can't. I know he can. I'm saying, like, will he? And I don't think he will.

I give it like to 70, 30, you know, like, like Izzy's got 30. 30% chance, you know. But again, if there's a guy that can do it, that can come back mentally and after three losses and come back and still end up winning a fight, make a few adjustments and add to his game a little bit, I could see is he doing it? Like, I wouldn't be surprised if he did it. I would certainly lean towards Pereira, though, and that's, I mean, how could you not? He won three times now, right?

He won two times now, right? Yeah. once in Mets vicing kickboxing. Yeah, so shifting gears down to Walter Wade. Leon Edwards is the champion. All signs were pointed to him fighting Kumar Usman in a trilogy, hopefully in March and the London card. I know

it's not a done deal yet, but he's out there. Of course, you get guys like Bilal Muhammad on an incredible run right now. You never forget about guys like Gilbert Burns. He's got a fight coming over with Neil Magny. That's going to be interesting. Of course, Colby Covington is out there somewhere. We're not sure where he's at. I know the UFC has talked about

booking him against Hamzot. So I'm just going to say right now, Matt, the biggest threat to Leon Edwards is Kamar Usman. And if you're asking me to pick that fight right now, I'm still going to pick Kamar Usman. Kumar Usman was winning that fight. He was two minutes away from retaining the title and he got caught with a head kick credit to Leon Edwards for pulling off an incredible comeback. But if Usman is healthy and he's ready and maybe they're not fighting at altitude like they were in Salt Lake City, I think Kumar Usman wins that rematch, that trilogy, every want to say it.

So I think that, yeah, Kamar Usman's the biggest threat. Now, the question I'll throw in there, though, is who's championed at the end of the year? And that's where you go back to the Hamzok question. Is Hamzok going to be a welterweight? Because Hamzat could realistically fight. If they can get him booked against Colby Covington, that's a winnable fight for Hamzot. Now, it's not a sure thing because Colby Covington's toughest nails. And I know everyone likes to hate on the dude, and he does say some really dumb, stupid things.

But he's a hell of a good fighter and a conditioning machine. And you wonder, could Hamzok go five rounds? of Colby, if you can't put him away early, can he go five rounds? But again, the Hamzaid factor. Like, he is the X factor. If he fights a Welchweight, I think he's a big threat. If he fights a middleweight, he's a big threat. Just got to figure out where this dude's going. First off, let me start with Welchway, Matt. I assume you probably have Uspen is the biggest threat as well just because he's probably next. And I don't know. I just, I love Leon Edwards, man. I do. Leon is such a good dude. And I couldn't have been happier to see that guy

after everything he went through with the pandemic and missing out on fights and having fights to fall apart, he took Hamzot. He accepted the Hamzaa fight three different times. It never happened. So that's not on Leon Edwards. So I was happy to see him do it. Can he do it again?

I just have a hard time seeing him do it, man. Usman is a monster, and I just, I have a hard time seeing him beat Usman again. Yeah, I'm trying to find some things to disagree with you on here. But I'm with you on everything, man. I think Hamzat beats Kobe. I think Usman beats Leon. I think they probably end up fighting by the end of the year,

which is why I was excluding Hamza up from the middleweight conversation unless Hamzaa can't keep making the weight, which it seems to be a real issue for him. So I'm not sure if he can keep making this weight. I mean, he missed last time by a pretty big margin. And I think that's going to be his biggest enemy is his weight. He's probably going to end up having to move up to 170. But with that said,

I think Usman beats both those guys. I think that now if you want to talk about biggest threats to Usman, I'm going with Bilal Muhammad. And I think Bilal Muhammad is probably the biggest threat to all of these guys. But I think Usman beats Leon and the champ at the end of the year is either Bilal or Hamza. I mean, Bilal or Usman. Wow. Interesting.

I love Balau. I think we're probably like, Bilal needs the opportunity. Like, I think that's what's hurting him. Like, he just needs the chance. You know what I mean? Like, they're not giving him the chance. Like, he should, after he beat Vicente Lucke, he should have gotten Colby or he should have got one of those guys and they gave him Sean Brady.

And I like Sean Brady very much, but Sean Brady was so far behind him in the rankings. It did make a ton of sense. And Below went out there and proved. Knocked him out. You know what I mean? Knocked out a really good fighter in Sean Brady. They got to give Bilal somebody big right now. Like, they got to give him, like, he's not getting Gilbert Burns.

they like I they should like if colby's not coming back and like we don't know because the whole thing going on Mazadol and the court case and all that that just if you're not if he's not going to take the fight you can't get it done do Bilal against Hamzaa Chamaev make that fight and I'm telling you right now that is not a guaranteed win for Hamzaa Chamaev that is 100% not a guarantee win belal Muhammad is is a monster people do not give him enough credit yeah I'm right there with you and I think the biggest thing is belal's pace you know he can keep a pace like nobody else in the division except for colby um and which is really the fight that i would love to see the most is belal and colby i would

love to see because those guys both just keep such a high pace and you know very different stylistically high paces which i think would make just an amazing fight yeah i agree i agree so who is so who are you ultimately so i think we both agree usman yeah i'll end with usman being champion but I think Belal is the biggest threat to Usman. And I don't think anybody's going to disagree that Usman is probably going to beat Leon, barring, you know, another fifth round knockout, you know, kind of, you know, home run hit or something. You know what I mean?

Something like that. Stylistically, you know, we knew it before the first fight. Stalistically, Ousman is a bad matchup for Leon. And, you know, but boy, you know, Leon really proved a lot of his wrong, too, taking down Eusevan in the first round, you know. But those second, third, and fourth round and most of the fifth round, I think we've seen, you know, what we'll probably end up seeing in most of the next time they fight. Yeah, I do like that.

See, there's one you're throwing a wrench into it because as much as, like I said, I think Hamzot is the X factor. I like that you're saying, Bola is the biggest threat. and I don't disagree with you necessarily. I just think it's about him getting the opportunities because I've said for a long time and I stand by this, I think Bilau can beat Hamzot.

I really do. Like, to pace that dude keeps and the way he fights, like, and he's only getting better, I know people are going to say I'm crazy. I think that's a winnable fight for him. And, yeah, I agree. And, I mean, any fight's a winnable fight for Bilal, that's for sure, right?

Him fighting Usma is what I would love to see. and I'm not sure who I'm like I'm 50-50 on that fight like I'm not totally convinced Usman beats Bala Muhammad that that gets a tough fight for him um you know just again it's just that pace man like Bala keeps such a pace has a great chin keeps coming forward keeps throwing punches hits hard um you know he's not like a Colby where he's keeping a high pace but it's kind of soft punches kind of meaningless stuff that you can kind of disregard and you know, not really worry about. You know, Colby will do, you know,

so many different shots until he finally gets it. And res ball is like, he's a high-paced workhorse, man, you know, and he's a truck. So he's coming hard the whole time. So I think he poses a lot of threats for every single person in this division. And I want to see him fight his spot.

I love that you say that. I love you say that because Below does not get enough credit. I've been on the Belal bandwagon for a long time. And I didn't mention him only because he just, they keep not giving him the opportunities. It's a horrible. Like, they're obsessed with making Colby and Homzaat. Well, clearly the fight hasn't been made. So make Hamzat and Bilau.

Make that fight. Or make Colby and Bilow. Make one of those fights. Give him one of those fights to give him the chance to become a champion. You know what I mean? Like they keep kind of discounting him. It's a huge mistake. Huge.

Everyone was picking Sean Brady to beat him. What are you doing? Knocked around in the second round. Stop, stop doubting Bilal Mohammed. And to be honest, before Hamzaat fought Gilbert Burns, I probably would have picked Hamzaat to beat Bilal at this point.

I'd be like 60, 40 for Bilal. Like, Balal and Gilbert are very similar, like body types and the kind of way they throw punches and stuff. But Bilal keeps a much higher pace and stays a little bit more discipline in his approach. So I think Bilal would beat Tom Zat. And I'm 50-50 with him beating Usman.

I think that's a really close fight that I think goes to a decision and is probably a really, really tough call for the judges. Yeah, I like it. So biggest threat, Bilal Muhammad. I love that call. That's amazing. I dig that call a lot. I'm saying Usman only because, again,

I think he's going to beat Leon in the rematch. And then if a motivated, Camaro is there, I still think he's the best well to wait in the world. I'm going to stick with my pick of Usman, but yeah, I love it. I love the ball. I'm right there with him. Ousman is a champion at the end of the year. Ballal, biggest threat to Ousman.

And, you know, but I'm actually, I'm cheering for Leon, man. I hope he can pull it out. I hope he can beat Oosman and, you know, get some more exciting fights out of him. I love the way he fights, man. He is just a masterful fighter. And I think he's a beautiful striking. And taking down Newsom was one of the most surprising things I've ever seen. I think he's the first guy to take down Musumont, if I'm not wrong.

First guy. Brilliant take down. Brilliant timing. Brilliant way to do it. When you're doing things like that and there, nobody can discount what you're doing. Yeah, absolutely. Only a couple divisions left to talk about, Matt. Let's talk about lightweight.

Where Islam Makachev is champion. Of course, we already know he's got his next fight booked in February against federalweight champion, Alexander Volkanowski. I said this when the fight first got made. I think Alexander Volcanovsky is a monster, and I think he may, he has the potential to become the greatest featherweight of all time. Like, that's how good I think Alexander Volcanowski is. That being said, I don't know there's a lightweight on the planet right now that beats Islam

Makachev. Like, I, like, I think Volcanovsky is probably the biggest threat to that because Volcanowski is an incredibly good striker and has shown good take down defense in the past and he's really good at scrambling and things like that. but I love Justin Gaichi. I love Dustin Porre. But ultimately, here's my prediction, Matt. Islam Makachev is still the champion at the end of 2023.

But the biggest threat to Islam Makachev, in my opinion, is not Alexander Volkanowski just because he's next. The biggest threat in my mind is Benil Darius, the guy that everyone forgets about, the guy that doesn't go out there and say crazy things on the microphone to get attention. He doesn't call people out. He doesn't say stupid things to make you pay you, make you give him headlines.

But this dude is a freaking, the way he dismantled Matush Gamrott was unbelievably impressive. The way he's gone out there and done it time and time again, I'm picking Makachem to stay champion. But if there's one guy I could see giving him a bigger challenge, and I'm saying this honestly, Matt, gives him a tougher fight than Gachie, gives him a tougher fight than Porier, gives him a tougher fight than Chandler, Connor, down the list. It's Benile Daryush.

What about you? And I thought that I was going to pull out Benile Dary Eusch, and he's got that, oh, yeah, I'm agreeing with you again. I think Binaldaryush is by far the biggest challenge for him. And then the only other Dark Horse that I would add to that, but I don't think he'll get a title shot this year is Michael Chandler. Like, I think he's a tough matchup for Islam.

I just don't think he'll get the title shot. So it's kind of irrelevant anyway. But I think Chandler is probably one of the tougher matchups for Makachev. He's just got to, you know, somehow get a title shot, which is, you know, he's a type of guy where he's, it's possible, right? Like, he's one fight away from getting a title shot, it seems like, all the time. So, but yeah, I'm right there with you, man. But he'll dare you should by far. I mean, stylistically, you know, his ability to grapple and great strike.

and just, you know, like you said, he's not an outspoken guy. So, but I'm with you. I'm picking Islam to beat Volcanovsky. And hopefully Danil gets to fight. But, yeah, I think Islam still is a champion at the end of the year. Yeah, I think, I think Islam, if he gets past Benil, if they fight and he beats Benil, it's going to be, like, who out, like, I just, listen, this is not a knock on on Gaichi or Porre or any of the young guys coming up.

But as long as Islam is motivated and he wants to be champion, if he gets past Benile Derrish, I don't know anybody beats him. Like I know, listen, I understand it's a sport. Weird things happen up. So I get all that. I'm saying like on paper, I don't see anyone to be. Like I think Benil is the only guy left that really gives him a true challenge for the guys we have in that division right now.

Right now. Now that can change. You know what I mean? You get guys coming up, new guys. I understand all that. But right now, if I'm speaking right now, I think Benile's the biggest threat, he may be the only threat in my mind. Like, I just don't see anybody else. Because, again, the way the Gachie fights, the way that the Porre fights, they're going to end up on their backs, eating punches and, you know, having a freaking brick wall on top of them named Islam Makachev.

I like the Chandler pick, but I don't think Chandler gets a title shot. I don't think he's ever going to, I don't think Chandler's ever going to get outside of himself to do what, you know, we ran the article on M. fighting this weekend from the past podcast where he said he fights like Artur Gaddi and he could be Floyd Mayweather I hundreds and agree and I don't think he's ever going to change that so I don't think he's ever going to get there like I just don't like I love Michael Chandler I adore that dude but he can't if he can't beat pori and he can't be gaughey and he can't beat olivera hypothetically holovar as he fought him that that's just a wall too much like I don't think there's enough I don't think there's enough other fights for him to get and win that would get him to Islam

Mark a chap. I just don't. Yeah, that's exactly. That was my point. But I do think stylistically, he's one of the tougher fights for Islam if he ever is to be able to get a title shot. And like I say, he's kind of with that guy that's always one fight away. Like, you kind of never know. Like, he might just

beat somebody and get a title shot, you know, which is kind of crazy to think. But yeah, and you know, just going down the list, I'm not seeing anyone that really, you know, the problem is Islam just has such dominating grappling. that it's like you don't see

all these guys could beat him but who can grapple with them? No one. So it's like, how do you pick anybody? No one, none of these guys can grapple at the level that he's grappling at. You know, if anybody can stop his takedown, there's a lot of guys on this,

on the top 15 that I picked to beat him. They're just not stopping his takedown though. Yeah, like he is his own guy, but he is, I mean, a lot of he is, Kabib 2.0. Like nobody could stop Kabib, Islam is very much the same kind of guy, you know what I mean? And, you know, and it's just, I just

again, I just don't see anyone doing that right now. Maybe it'll change down the road, but right now I just don't. And again, Benil to me is the only guy. I think Benil's like the biggest threat and the guy who could beat him. I think Benil could beat Islam Makachev. Right now I would still pick Islam, but he could beat him. I would, that's like 60-40. Like that's a, but

everyone else, it's like 80-20. You know, everyone else is like 90-10. Like, I'm 100% on on Makachev, yeah, you know, Porre's got a puncher's chance. Yeah, Gajee's got a puncher's chance. That's it. Like, I don't see them beating, but De Niel? Benil?

Benil? Binal? He's got a shot. Yeah, he's got a shot. Like, he can grapple and grapple very, very well. Can he grapple with Islam? Well, that's what we have to watch when they fight, right? I don't think he can. That's why I'm with you. I'm 60-40, probably on Islam.

But, you know, it's just a tall order, man. when someone has that grappling, that's superior, just like Khabib, you know, it's just a tall order. But if you can survive there on the ground and, you know, wear the guy a little bit, the thing is, we know, you know, the thing with B'Neil and, you know, so many of these guys, like, where Islam and Khabib also where they, where we all see their weaknesses, they're striking, right? But it's like, how can you keep it in that striking game? And we know that if B'Neil can find a way to get into that striking game, that he has

a really good chance then and he probably wins that battle. It's just a matter of keeping it there. And that's a tall order. But I think we all say that because, you know, we think he can probably survive better than these other guys on the ground. Yeah, I agree. I agree. Two last divisions.

One, I think it'll take us real quick and we'll kind of get in the last one, which I'm going to leave save Bandsomew for last. Featherweight, Lokenovsky's the champion. Of course, we already know he's fighting involved. We already know he's fighting Islamakachev. And, of course, the interim champion is going to be Josh Emmett taking on Yaya Rodriguez. Max Holloway is still out there. Of course, Max isn't getting another shot against Volcanovsky.

We already know that. Arnold Allen is out there. Matt, I'm being honest here because we know Volcanovsky's probably only going to defend his title once this year because obviously he's got to fight with Makachev. I like Yair. I like Josh Emmett. I don't think either one of them beats Alexander Volcanowski. Arnold Allen's a fun guy. I don't think he beats Alexander Volkanowski.

Volcanowski remains champion in 20203 because A, he's only going to probably end up fighting for the title one time this year because he's going up to lightweight. So I still see Volcanovsky being the champion in the year. My biggest threat, though, it's not Emmett. It's not Rodriguez. I bet we're already on. Go ahead. I'm going to let you say. Yep, there you go.

We're on the same page on everything today. the first time ever. Yeah. Tuporia is a monster. Tuporia is the guy. Now, I just don't think he's going to get a title shot this year. Just because the way things are playing out, you know, Emmett or Rodriguez probably going to get the title shot. And I don't think either one of them beats Volcanovsky.

So Volcanovsky is still the champ. And again, I love Yair. I love Josh I bit. I don't see either one of them beating him. But Ilya is that dude. Yep. Right there with you. I think between those two, I think Emmett beats Yair and is a tougher fight for Volcanowski than Yaya.

But I'm right there with you. I don't think either one of them beats Volcanowski. It's just a tall little order for either of them stylistically. But Josh Emmett's got that puncher's chance, right? Like he's the guy that when he hits you, it freaking hurts every time. So, you know, I give him a shot. But I'm right there with you, man. Volcanowski champ at the end of the year.

year um ili tippora biggest threat yeah 2024 how are we agreeing on every fucking division i'm like what's going on today i know what is going on right now this is weird we never do that yeah i'm with you i think if we do the same podcast the year from now then we'll have a different conversation about to pori because then at that point i think he is going to get the title shot and he may be the guy you know what i mean i just don't think he's going to i just the way things are the way the cards are lining up he's not going to get that shot this year so he's just not going to have that chance. But long run,

Topori is the dude. All right. Last division, we'll get out of here on this one, Matt. It is the Bantan Wade division. This is to me, and the reason I saved this, it may be the most intriguing division of all,

because you get Al Jermaine Sterling currently as champion. It sure looks like he's going to fight Henry Suhudo in his next title defense. But then you got Sugar Sean O'Malley out there. You got Corey Sanhagen fighting Cheeto Vera. Holy crap, what an amazing fight. That's going to be.

This might be. The one division we finally disagree on. All right. So let's get into it. Who is the biggest threat to Al Jameen Sterling right now as Bantanway champion? I think he beats all those guys you just mentioned. I think the biggest threat, it might be a little surprising. It's either going to be number 10, Ricky Simon, or number 11, Umar, Nirmagamadev.

Wow, you're really going for the dark horse pick there. Yeah, I think both of those guys are very, very tough challenges for Al Jermaine. But just like we've been talking on this whole, you know, about every single division, it's about getting that title shot. And but I think either one of those guys is going to be champion in the next couple of years. I'm not sure between the two of them, which one is better. And maybe they end up fighting each other and we find out. And also one more that I didn't even think about also, Pedro Munoz.

But I think he's probably got tougher run to the title shot than either the other two. But I don't think any of those top five guys really give Al Jermaine a huge threat, to be honest. You know, it's funny. I think, honestly, I think the biggest threat to Al Jermaine in terms of weird stylistic matchups, honestly, is Chito Vera. because Chito Tito punches really hard and he's got that ability

to go down a couple rounds and just keep coming back and you see the fight with Rob Font he just keeps coming at dominant Cruz you know Cruz wins a round doesn't bother him doesn't phase him

he comes out knocks his head off in the fourth round third round whatever it was same thing with Rob Font just beats the ever-ele out of Rob Font

after Rob Fon kind of has a quick start I like Henry Sudo I think Henry Sudo is a legend he's incredible being off two years coming back

against a guy like Al Jermaine. I just don't think he beats Al Jamein. I just Suhudo had a weird bantamweight career where he beat Marlon Marias and he had that win over Dominic Cruz and I'm just not completely sold on him. I think Sean O'Malley is a really interesting matchup because if Sean can keep it on the feet, that's a fight Sean can win, but I just don't know if he can keep it on the feet because Al Jermaine is not going to sit there and play on the outside with Sean O'Malley. And I think on the ground, Al Jermaine's a better grappler. He already fought Corey and I love Corey. You will not find a bigger Cory Sanhagen fan in the world than this guy right here.

I love Corey Sanhagen. But I don't think Corey's going to get that rematch. You know what I mean? I don't think he's already lost to him once and Corey's lost to Peter, Peter Jan. I don't think he's going to get that rematch right away. So I kind of take him out of the equation a little bit. I think Cheeto could be the most interesting matchup.

But again, the grappling. I just, Al Jermaine's grappling is wrestling. But the one you mentioned, I'm not going to name him as my. biggest threat because I don't think he's going to get a title shot anytime soon, but I love the Umar to Marga Medov pick. That's an interesting one because I, Ricky Simone is good, but Ricky Simone has had some losses in there. I don't know that he's going to get there.

Umar though. Umar could be that guy. But I'm going to say, weirdly, I'm going to say Al Jermaine stays champion through Sehudo and O'Malley. So by that line, I got to say Al Jermaine's stage champion. because I think he beats Suhudo and I think he beats O'Malley. Is that the Hutto? I didn't think it was booked yet, right?

It's not done yet, but it looks like it's going to happen. Looks like it's going to happen. March, April is what they're talking about. So if it happens, I think Al Jermaine beats Suhudo. I think Alchamai beat Sean O'Malley. So I didn't take into account the Sissuo fight because I thought that that was kind of just, I don't know, they were just kind of talking.

You know, Sehudo likes to talk about it, right? I kind of keep himself in every conversation. So I kind of figured he was just, I didn't know that that was a real true chance of that happening. And I'm going to go opposite of you finally on the podcast. And I think Suhudo beats Al Jermaine pretty soundly. Really? Yeah. Interesting.

Yeah, I do. I think he's got tremendous boxing and really good. obviously the amazing wrestling. I don't think I don't think how Jermaine's going to be able to get him down. And I think he's just got better boxing, better staying up. I mean, he's very disciplined with stand-up

and stays tight and strong. And yeah, so I'm going to go to Suhudo on that. You think so, and you say soundly, you're not thinking it's going to be like a back-and-forth battle. You think Sehudo beats him pretty convincingly? Yeah, I think he beats him relatively easily. Wow. that's a strong statement right there i i love hinder sudo i think he's a monster he's an all-time

great and my problem is is the time off i just wonder like what because like he was retired he wasn't just out for injury and he wasn't just out because he couldn't get a fight he was retired how much has he been in the gym how much work was he putting in to keep himself sharp um you know again those are questions and i i i personally think al jamein beats him right now maybe that would be different if if henry had come back and gotten a win over a cheetah vera Corey Sanhagen and then we're getting the title five. Maybe we'd have a different conversation, but I think Al Jameen beats him right now.

But I like that pick because Henry Sudo, like I said, Suido, at his best man, Suna is one of the best pound for pound guys in the world. Like he beat Demetrius Johnson. Very close fight, I know, but he has a win over Demetre's Johnson. He beat Marlon Marius. He beat Dominant Cruz. I wish he had stuck around. It kills me.

He retired because I think if he had stuck around, he may be the number one pound for pound guy in the world right now. You know what I mean? I like that, though. You're convinced he's going to beat Al Jameen. Yeah, yeah. I just, I wasn't sure that that fight was going to happen, man. I really, because you hear Sehudo talking all the time, man.

He's always some shit about coming back or fighting this guy, you know, whatever. You know, he likes to talk. So I didn't think that fight was going to happen. So I would certainly put him down as the biggest threat. And if we're talking about champion at the end of the year, then I'm going to go to Sehudo. he's going to beat Al Jemaine and he destroys Sean O'Malley. Now, I like to say Houda to beat Sean O'Malley. I do like him to beat.

I do like him. I think Al Jamein's the biggest threat to Henry, weirdly. But I think Henry beats O'Malley. I think Henry beats Chito. I mean, I don't think anyone else really beats Henry. I think Aljo is the one guy who can give Henry a challenge, honestly, in this division right now, until you talk about like an U. Martin de Magamatoff coming up, you know, as like another grappler, you know, great intense grappler.

Yeah, I don't disagree with you. I think Al Jermaine is like the one guy who will give Henry a challenge because I don't know anyone else does. Like Henry is that good. Like Henry can beat Cheeto. Henry can beat Sanhagen. Henry can beat O'Malley. I like Sean.

I think Sean proved a lot of people, you know, wrong. And I know we're forgetting a little bit about Peoria out there because he has the loss. I mean, obviously, you're not going to forget about him for two. long when he books another fight but yeah so who does an interesting one i don't i don't think you're i just i go the other way i think aljim beats him but if aljame loses to so hudo i don't think anyone else is going to be so hudo yeah i'm with you that makes it tough then and then i think you are going down to the uh lower part of the division with the umar ricky simon pejor umunas guys um even said never mind of the matter of. I mean, you know, you're just, you're looking at pretty, there's so much

talent in this division. I mean, you could look at like the top 25 guys and, and there's guys that could come up and make a splash. And then the only other guy that I don't know if I'd say he's the biggest threat, but certainly a guy that is a threat is Marab, however you say his last name. DeWalshilly, yeah, of course. Yeah. Yeah. I think he's certainly a threat. I would, I would favor Al Jermaine, but I do think he is a threat. Maybe not the, biggest threat, but he is a threat for sure. Yeah, Marab and Al Jamin have said they'll never fight their teammates, their close

friends, and I respect that. Marab Oh, I didn't even know that. Yeah, Marab, I think Marab is an interesting one because I kind of take him out of the equation while Algeman's champion because they won't fight each other, and Al Jemian said, I'll eventually just go to featherweight and let Marab, you know, have Bantam weight, and that's fine.

Marab's the other dude, Marab's the other guy that could be a challenge for anybody. It's just a matter of, you know, what's he going to avoid or what's it going to take for him to not want to fight Al Jamein? If Hinnah Suhudo beats Al Jamban, Marab and his Suhudo is interesting. That's a real interesting matchup. You know, that's a really interesting fight.

Yep, I'm right there with you. So, you know, but I also, I think, like, I would love to see Marab and Ricky Simon. You know, there's a, man, what a great division. There's so many great matchups all the way down, just looking at these, just the top 15, man. I mean, there's just some, you know, even got guys like Chris Gutera's in there, and Adrian Yanez, who I'm a huge Adrian Yanez fan.

Oh, yeah. Completely amazing. You know, it's just a matter of him being able to deal with some of these wrestlers like Ricky or Al Jamein or Mrabb. And even Jack Shore, I mean, he's looked tremendous. God, you just got such a killer division here. Yeah, absolutely. But you're sticking with Suhudo. You're going to Sehudo pick.

Yeah, oh, yeah. Yeah, Sehudo, I'm picking very sound. to win that fight. Wow, I like it. I like it. Well, we'll see you. We agree on a lot of stuff. We'll have to come back this time next year and see who was right, who was wrong.

I do. If we're both wrong, it'll be interesting because we agreed on a lot of stuff in this podcast. So we'll be back next week. Of course, we kind of re-kick off the schedule for 2023 with the UFC next week. Of course, we got the fight with Calvin Gaslum taking on Nasredine M-Avob. That card's coming up. So we'll have to talk about that, of course. The Gloverton-Share-Gamal-Hill cards coming up.

So we'll have a lot to talk about with that. Matt, you want to give a shout out? What else you got going on out there? People that want to support you outside of the podcast. Man, you know how I roll bro on social media on the regular, bro. I am The Immortal on Instagram and Twitter. Facebook, Matt the Immortal Brown, The Immortal Coffee.com, best coffee you ever had and make coffee, not excuses.

Yeah, we're putting in some work, man. Love it, love it. We'll be back next week with another edition of the Fighter versus the Rider. enjoy the 2020 preview. We'll be back talking about current events next week. So thank you for that. I want to say big thank you to everyone tunes into the podcast each and every week. And we'll see you next week for another edition of the Fighter versus the Rider.

Thanks for shooting in. See you then. The Vox Media Podcast Network.