MMA Fighting - Fighter vs Writer UFC 307 Post Fight Reaction: Is Alex Pereira Now the No. 1 Pound-for-Pound Fighter in the Sport?

Episode Date: October 8, 2024

On the latest episode of The Fighter vs. The Writer, Alan Jouban joins the show and states his case why he believes Alex Pereira has now surpassed Islam Makhachev as the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the sport and how he wasn't all that impressed by Julianna Pena or Kayla Harrison on Saturday night Plus we discuss what's next for Pereira with this latest win and Jose Aldo's disappointing night against Mario Bautista and more 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

It was the night before the gathering and all through the house. The host rapid cozy cashmere throw from Home Sense for their spouse. Kids toys for $6.99 under the tree. And crystal glasses for just $14.99 for their brother Lee. A baking dish made in Portugal for Tom and Sue. And a nice $5.99 candle. Perfectly priced just for you. Happy holidays to all.

And to all a good price. Home Sense. Endless presents perfectly priced. You're listening to the Vox Media Podcast Network. Back to the fighter versus the writer. I am Damon Martin and I am joined this week. I am always happy to be joined this week as we talk UFC 307 in the fallout from Salt Lake City, Utah. It is always my great pleasure to welcome in.

Alan Joban. Alan, how are you? I'm good, brother. We were chatting before the show, man. I've been, you know, trying to rekindle my soccer career for my youthful days. And, you know, at 42 now, it's not the same, dude. It's not the same. I thought I was going to be that explosive UFC fighter style athlete in soccer at this age.

25 years has been, dude, since I've played. It's a slow start, man. And the body's feeling it today. But it's been fun, dude. But everything is good. Obviously, the fights over the weekend. Man, we're going to get into him. But, I mean, when you have a guy like Paheda on your roster, it's like you could throw him on the crappiest card.

When you know the last fight of night will always deliver, it's a guaranteed, it's a no-brainer, having a guy like him. So he delivered once again, man, I can't wait to get into this more. Absolutely, absolutely. Yeah, nothing is more humbling than when you hit 40 and you start doing athletics again, you're like, man, I am definitely not my 20s anymore. Big time, dude, even 30s, even 30s. My body felt way different five years ago. If you don't pull up a bicycle kick at some point, though, you know, knowing your athleticism, I feel like you got to do that at some point. I'm going for it.

I promise you. Every corner kick, I'm looking for an opportunity to do a bicycle kick, even if it hurts a lot the next day. Just make sure to stick the landing. That's the key right there. Stick the landing. Well, I'm going to stick it on my head probably, but as long as I hit the ball. Yeah, so UFC 307 this past weekend. I mean, how can we not start without talking about Alex Panetta?

What an incredible performance. And I actually said this on Saturday night and I said it again in my post-fight column. I think, and you can agree or disagree. me, Allen. I think this was arguably the most mature performance. We've seen that Alex because Khalil came out, guns blazing, showed no fear, which I thought was great. You know, a lot of guys in these situations, kind of deer in the headlights a little bit. None of that from Khalil. He came out

firing, looking for the knockout, had a couple of moments against Alex, and you could argue, you could argue Kalil maybe won the first round or two. But then just time passes, Alex was, you know, kind of chipping away, the calf kicks, the jab started landing, busted him open, and of course the fourth round he went for the kill. I think this is a much different Alex than we saw in that rematch with Israel

when he hurt Israel and just went kind of wild and then got caught and knocked out. I think we saw a real maturity from Alex in this fight where he knew there was danger there, so he had to bite his time, wait for the right opening, chip away, chip away, and then he put Khalil away in the fourth round. You certainly saw shades of that, right?

You bring up the Israel out of science. fight that backfired on him when he had is he hurt against the fence we saw similar moments of that where we had calil backed up against the fence and he was a little bit more cautious right and and even though peheda has a ton of kickboxing matches and at this point you can't really say he's green to mma anymore i mean the guy's doing everything but he's still learning on the job and we saw that i mean every fight there's something that you take with it it's not just the losses it's the wins the losses it's the moments and he took that moment and he took that moment there of seeing an opportunity to put Khalil away, but not putting himself fully in danger

right there. And it was just something that I know probably had a little flashback. Israel out of Sanja fight and he stayed patient. You remember when he was hitting Kalil and Khalil was almost kind of stumbling over? You know, Kalil was having a hard time staying upright. At any point right there, we thought this fight's over. But the fight continued for another minute or two. And that was a credit, I think, to what you're saying right now, the maturity, the growth that we're seeing in Alex, not to always rush in and think that that hands of stone knockout power

was going to put somebody to sleep. I had a feeling that Khalil in this fight was not going to go to sleep. It was going to be one of these slow fall to the mat TKOs because he was going to be too tough and too much heart. And he showed all that. But I agree, man. I think the maturity right there that we're seeing in Alex

is something that he's going to need, especially moving forward at a guy that with a guy that's, You know, for an airmate fighter, although he's at the top of the mountain, let's be honest. I mean, he's getting up there in age. He's a guy that is on the other side of 30. And he has to start being, and not that he wasn't smart before, but showing that maturity moving forward as his body might start to slightly slow down in these type of exchanges. I think people forget he's 37. Like that, you know, that's, what's, wild to think about when he's doing those adjustments, right?

in your style at that around that age. Yeah, but I mean, I said it on Saturday night, and I'll say it again now. I mean, three title defenses. And I, at the end of the year, people are going to say, man, he defended the title three times in 2024. That's impressive enough. But he did it in six months. Let's not forget. He fought in April, UFC 300.

He fought in June at UFC 303. And he just fought again in October at UFC. That's not three times in a year. That's three times in six months. 175 days. All knock. All knockouts. All knockouts.

Jamal Hill, Yuri Parashka, and now Killow. That has got to be one of the most remarkable runs that we've ever seen, especially, and I'm certainly not knocking the lower weight classes, but you know as well as I do. When you get to light heavyweight and heavyweight, it's just one mistake and your night is over. That's why I think we were all so unbelievably impressed by the run that John Jones was on and, again, continues to be honest, because there's just so much danger in that. We've seen it time and time and time again of just one little mistake in the run. those weight classes and you go to sleep, you get hurt, and it's over.

John did it for the longest time, and of course he is the greatest light heavyweight of all time. But to see what Alex did in a six-month span against three, you consider that Khalil wasn't the top-ranked guy, he's still lethal, he's still dangerous. Look what he just did Anthony Smith. We all know how good Anthony Smith is. He battered him and put him away. To do that, three times in a row over six months, this is one of the most remarkable runs. Like this is one of those all-time runs that you're going to remember when you look back on it.

You know, I want to get into Damon. I want to piggyback a little bit more about the maturity that we're seeing. Kalil came out guns blazing. Now, I'll admit, the energy that Khalil brought on the walkout had me nervous because I couldn't read it. I was having trouble reading it. I remember my son asking me, does he look nervous? I go, well, Khalil's kind of an emotional guy. He's not the type of guy that is pounding on his chest when he walks out.

He's a guy that's very kind of has his guard down and almost an innocent look, but a real look in his eyes. Like he know he's going to face. I mean, this is the baddest man on, you know, one of the scariest guys on earth that he's going to face. And this is a big jump up for Khalil. So I was having trouble reading him. But as soon as the bell rang, Damon, he was in his face. He was in that fire in that danger zone. And he was the one pushing the action.

And I would say that he won those first two rounds. I thought he did very good. And I think it caught Paheda off guard. It really did. But to the maturity level that we're talking about, it's the veteran quality that he possesses that was able to overcome those first two rounds and the adjustment that he made. What I was seeing early on, those first couple of exchanges, those first couple of punches

that Khalil threw on Pajeda, a couple of them missed. But they went two or three inches past Paedas face. And I go, oh my God, Khalil's already found the range. He's not quite hitting the tariff. target flush, but he's covering the distance within a couple of seconds. All he has to do is laying one or two of these punches, and it's going to take the power bar down of Pajeda or worse or put him out. And so Paheda needs to make an adjustment.

Paheda was so used to leaning back. He's always the taller guy with the longer reached and probably the more experienced kickboxer, obviously. He's always used to leaning back, but not having to get his footwork out of the way. He could lean back three inches and be out of the range of most guys. Kahlia was covering that distance. And the three inches of leaning back was not enough. Kala was landing the first two rounds.

It was in that third round that we started seeing Paheda make that adjustment. All right, I need to be out. I need to be six inches behind to not get hit in the face. Now I've got to start incorporating. I saw some pose, Damon, about look at the head movement of Alex Paheda. And I got to say, the head movement was not even there in the first two rounds. It was the adjustment in the third and fourth round that the head movement came. The change, the adjustment in the distance.

management and he figured all those things out throughout the course of the fight. If this would have been a three-rounder, he would have lost his fight. But over the course of a five-rounder, he was able to make those two adjustments, the range, the head movement. And then when he started chipping away, it became that invisible pressure. I wouldn't even say invisible. It was an obvious pressure. He was in Calillo's face, making Kalil go to full guard, right? Kaleo had his hands up against, literally on his face, trying to protect his head at that point. It was those three adjustments that he made in this. fight that took it over and that shows that he's made that transition from big gloves to small gloves from from a four-foot range to a six-foot range in m-ma i mean he's he's made it seamlessly

and he's able to make adjustments in fights where we don't see this often but that he's losing and make those adjustments and come back and win i also think one thing that alice you know doesn't get enough credit for even though we all know him as this lethal striker with huge knockout power one of the nastiest punches in the game was how smart he was with his approach in terms of what weapons he used on Saturday. They commented early in the commentary like, man, he's not using the leg kicks.

He did. He started using the leg kicks. He started chipping away, took away that power. And by the fourth round, you saw Khalil couldn't put as much into his punches because his leg was all chewed up. That jab. I said, I don't know if we've seen the jab that good since George St. Pierre was in the O.C. George St. Pierre won the nastiest jabs in the sport.

Alex was just stabbing him And we saw Khalil's face was an absolute mess I mean the blood flying that photo You saw that that gift or whatever you call it Of the blood his nose exploding from that jab Yeah the jab setting up the jab And again We all know Alex's power puncher

But you've seen there's a difference Between a power puncher and a great striker And I'm not saying this to knock the guy Like if you look at a guy like Derek Lewis Some of the nastiest knockout power we've ever seen in this sport. But I don't know that you'd ever look at Derek Lewis and say, man, this guy is an elite striker.

He's an elite knockout artist, but I don't know if we call him an elite striker. What we saw on Saturday night was an elite striker with huge knockout power because he didn't do that early. He didn't engage in those big things and just swing wild and just invite it because Kalil Roundtree, I mean, I always bring this up. I brought it up to his head coach John Wood before the fight. I'll bring it up again now. When Kalililhry knocked out Go Konsocki a couple years ago, my jaw was on the floor because I

I thought Go Konzaki was going to be Alex Paheda. I thought that dude, I was like, man, this guy's a light heavyweight. He is so good. He's so fast. He's such a good kickboxer. He was always fighting out of his weight class, fighting a heavyweight. He was a light heavyweight. He was a light heavyweight and still beat a lot of great guys at heavyweight.

I was like, this is the guy. You want me to put a bet on the new Mirko Kro cop. The guys who would come in and be a great kickboxer transitioning. I thought it was Gokon Sakhi. Kululow Roundtree ended up dramatically. So I knew Colo Roundtree could do it. But I loved that Alex recognized that and knew he had this, like it was almost like a slow burn. He had to like picket him a little bit, chip away at him, take out the leg, take out the face, the jab.

And then the ending sequence wasn't even what we typically see is Alex's best punch, the big hook. Two nasty body shots got Kalila drop, hits him with the apricot, and it's over. I just thought it was, to me, it was, as I said earlier, his most mature. and to me, even though I know Kaleel wasn't the number one ranked guy, I think that was his most complete performance because he just picked him up, he knew the danger,

and he just chipped away, chipped away, and then put him away. I just thought it was brilliant. I thought it was a brilliant performance. Khalil's stock just rose so much. I mean, we saw that, right? With somewhat loser stock still going up or still being appreciated by the fans.

How about this, Damon? How about all the people that were saying, why is this fight even happening? And then all the people that were on their feet while this fight was happening, right? I mean, it was just, sometimes you have to trust in the UFC. You know, it doesn't always mathematically make sense

when you look at rankings and this and that, or we're saying we're protecting guys and maybe there are worse or matchups out there. But we want to be entertained. And we got our money's worth in this fight. We were entertained. Absolutely. And like I said earlier,

this run that Alex is on is so remarkable. and, you know, I don't know if you heard after the fight. I'm talking about all the things he was dealing with, sickness, visa issues. The toe was still bugging him all the way back from UFC 300. I mean, and you would never know it. Like, again, like, I actually thought when he had the broken toe coming out of the Jamal Hill fight and then he jumped into the Erie Pahashka fight on very short notice. I was like, man, that's a dangerous game to play because Yeri is a tough.

He beat Yeri more dominantly the second time on short notice. He did the first time when he beat him to become champion. This guy is just, I mean, and, you know, listen, I'm a guy who comes from wrestling. I love wrestling. I'm always like, the wrestler is the kryptonite. I don't know there is a kryptonite to Alex Paheda at this point. Like, this guy is just so good, his improvement. And he gets better.

And as we said, I know he's 37. Typically, that is where guys start to, you know, lose a little bit. It's just, it's part of getting older. But remarkably, I think this guy's getting better. Like, he just keeps getting better and added new layers to his game. Now, here's the question. I got to throw out at you because during fight week, everyone was like Alex is going to want to call for middleweight or heavyweight. He said after the fight, my guy, Sean Strickland is going to get Dracus.

I don't want to mess with that. So I'm not doing that. And he kind of said, I could do heavyweight, but I want to stay here and defend my title. Now, you and I have talked about this before about how it drives us nuts that nobody wants to stay and defend their title. How refreshing was it to hear? Because Alex is said it. He's like, oh, middleweight and heavyweight. After the fight, even before the fight, he's like, I want to defend my title.

I want to be a light heavyweight. I was like, this is so refreshing. It was refreshing, and it was the right move. It was a smart decision. Look, Alex Baheda, and we can get into this later, but I think he should be number one pound for pound in the world right now, because of his activity and his performances. He's carrying the UFC single-handedly right now.

Alex Beater deserves, I think, to be up there at number one. But to go up to heavyweight, I don't think, I don't think, he does well. I really don't. You're talking about Tom Aspinall. Even if John Jones beats Depe and doesn't retire, and let's say that fight happened, John Jones, John Jones is older. He is slowing down. But he's a longer, taller Alex Paheda that could wrestle, right? I mean, he, Paheda has this advantage where he's an elite level striker, but he has this advantage, his body type, mixed with the power and the skill set, but his body type. Now he's going against a longer guy that can take.

him down. You go over and if he goes up against Tom Aspinall, you saw how fat, listen, Paeta has proven, he's checked every box, right? He looked great against a great striker, a great boxer like Hill. He's able to knock out unorthodox guys with knockout power, um, like Yuri Pajaca. He's proven to test time and time again. This was one of his toughest fights ever. You know why? Because of explosion. He had to go against him an explosive striker like Khalil who was able to cover the distance, had faster hands in him, and covered distance faster than he was normally used to see him. What do you think Tom and Aspinall is going to do?

Tom Aspinall is probably faster than Kalil Roundtree. Tom Aspinall covers distance like no other heavyweight, has faster hands like no other heavy weight and power. And Tom Aspinall has a solid chin. We've seen him take punches, yes. But are you telling me that Sergey Pavlovich and all these guys that put solid punches on Tom Aspinall and couldn't wobble him? Now, Alex Paheda is going to wobble him?

I don't think so. I think it's a very bad move, A, to go to. heavyweight and face those guys. But B, as you said, it's refreshing. Go and run this division, beat every single challenger. And then if a big fight presents itself, I think he needs at least one more. You know, if he's going to do it, I'm not against it completely. But let's see what happens with the Uncle I of, right? Let's see what happens with that matchup that they've been somewhat protecting him against. But if he goes and pass that test, and now he went against the grappler as well, the guy that they think is the guy that would knock him off, then he can have this

conversation about heavyweight. But to call for it right now, I think it's too dangerous. I say clean out the division some more, cement your legacy some more, because he has an opportunity to do that right now. And listen, I think we all know Megamette Ankelaev is the guy. Of course, he's got to get past Alexander Rackich in a couple of weeks at U.S. 308. But if Ankelyev wins, I think Alex knows. I think there's a reason why he acknowledged that and said, I'm going to stay at light of heavyweight and defend my title. I think he knows the idea

or the rumor, whatever you want to say is that he doesn't want to fight Magamette and Goliath. Now, you and I both know, Alan, the UFC makes the matches. You know what I mean? Like, we all like to say this guy has more power, that guy has more power. I guarantee you they called and said, hey, you want to fight Kululah Roundtree? And he said yes. They didn't say pick between

Kolo Routreau Routre and that's not how the UFC operates. They may give you a couple opponents, but ultimately they're going to make the fights they want to make. And especially as a champion, they knew the Kolo Roundtree fight was exciting. they knew that was an entertaining fight and guess what it was it was an incredible fight but i think alex knows that the narrative right now is that ankylaev is his kryptonite that's the guy he's not fought that's the guy i mean listen i've said i think ankylaev you know is maybe the best light heavy

in the sport up until you know alice kind of emerged he just didn't have the title and he's on like a 12 fight unbeaten streak whatever now of course he has to handle rackage that's no easy test but if he does Ankleyev and Alex is a massive, massive fight, and that to me is the one that will really submit his legacy because that is supposedly the guy. You know, forever we waited for it for John Jones. We waited, we finally got it with Gustafson. Happened one time.

Then we thought he was going to be Daniel Cormier. It didn't happen. John Jones just continued to dominate. And I'm not making excuses for John Jones, but I think after he beat D.C. the second time, and I know it got overturned or whatever. But once he got through that fight, I think he was just like, I've beaten everybody.

Like, what am I really gaining by beating up Tiago Silva? What am I really gaining by beating Anthony Smith? John had already done it all. I think Ankylaev is that last obstacle. He's the Daniel Cormier. He's the Alexander Gustafson. He's the guy that he's what John Jones needed back then. That's what Alex needs now.

And I think if he does beat Ankelyev, then we can start talking about those super fights because there really isn't much left for him at that point. You know, the one knock that Alex Paheda could have against him is exactly what you're saying. He hasn't fought that grappling heavy, well-rounded guy. He hadn't had to defend the takedown yet. And with the win over on Kalev, he has that feather in his cap. There's no more to be said about it. He's looked flawless in his UFC career.

He's done unimaginable things in a short period of time. But we all have this kind of like, well, is he the best pound for pound fight in the world? Because everything he does is basically a glorified kickboxing match with four ounce gloves on. So we haven't seen him have to defend off the takedowns over and over and over. And I think that's the one knock that people have on him. I still would put him, and you may disagree, but I still would put him above Islam for the number one pound for pound because of his activity. and the way that he's finishing fights. I mean, it's just his activity is so much he's carrying the UFC.

But the argument for me wouldn't be about has he done enough? It's just about has he showed that well-roundedness? Because he's had predominantly strikers in his career. And so a win over Ankaliaf, to me it's a no-brainer. This is the guy that's carrying the UFC right now, and now he has passed all tests. Excuse me, Damon. Watching him fight the other night

and watching the beautiful back and forth that Khalil presented for him. It made me kind of like ponder back in time to the golden era, which I call it the UFC, and that was the time when Chuck Liddell reigns supreme. And it made me dream about a super fight. That this won't happen, obviously. But a prime Chuck Lidale against a current prime Alex Paheda, to me that would be the fight of the century. Two guys like that that have gotten.

so good, not only knockouts, but they kind of sprawl and brawl. They just do whatever they can to keep it on the feet. They will go into danger. They trust in their power. That's the type of fight that, man, just watching it, it kind of reminded me of when Chuck Liddell ruled the world. When Chuck Liddell was the face of the UFC, that's what Alex Pahed is doing right now. Now, I will still disagree with you on the pound for pound.

I think I have Alex rank number two behind Islam. I still put Islam number one just because he's been doing it at this level for a little while longer. Because I think what Islam, the problem Islam had is kind of the same problem that Umar and Magamato's having right now. His guys just didn't fight him. And he just kind of had to keep rolling through guys. And so right now I think Islam is undefeated for, I don't know what the number is, 12, 13, 14 fights in a row. You know, doing what he did to Charles Olivaire at that time was super impressive. I know people say, well, he beat Alexander Mokanowski in a close fight.

I think people just like, we're so quick to move on from like how good Alex was at that point. And we say, well, he's just a fed away. Alex was, I mean, there's rare exceptions where guys are just pound for pound. They're just lethal. You know, just like Kamar Usman going up on 10 days notice and giving Hamzat Chamaa of a really hard time at middleweight. Hamzot was a natural middleweight at that point. He had been preparing for middleweight. Usman hadn't.

But Usman is one of the best pound for pound fighters in the world. And he still gave Hamzot Chimaya problems. At the time, Alexander Volkanowski was one of the best pound for pound. fighters in the world. I don't care what weight class. And yes, he gave Islam a tough time. Still Islam won. And then when they did the rematch, I know it's on short notice. But Islam didn't allow it to look close. Islam didn't say, oh, well, let's just do it again. No, he went out there, head kicked, knocked out Alexander Volcanowski and absolutely demolished him. I still have Islam number one also because I think, and this is, I know, if these guys hear me

say this, they're not going to like to hear me say it. I think Jamal Hill is an incredible fighter. I think Yuri Pahashka is an incredible fighter, but I think guys like Dustin Porre and Charles Olivaire are just more established in terms of what they've done. You know, Yiri's kind of more like in the last couple years being in the UFC. Jamal Hill, last couple years being in the UFC, we know the body

of work that Dustin Porier has. We know the body of work Charles Olivaire has. So I still put Islam number one until he loses. I think I'll have to put him number one. But I do have Alex at number two, and I think again, you're talking to a guy who constantly says John Jones is the greatest of all time. I disagree with Dana White.

Jones is not number one now he is the goat I still have him as a goat just not number one but I have it one Islam two Alex is my list all right I'm gonna argue with you on this we're gonna go back and forth on this pound for pound because Islam yes I think he beat the more established names as you mentioned when you talk about Volcanoski and that's some pourier but when you look at the the the two names right there Volcanowski as we just said I mean it's obvious but he was a 45 would come up and wait so he was one of the best pound for pound fighters in the world but he was a guy that was undersized fighting up and weight. Dustin Porre, as good as he is and as established his name, this was the easier fight for them. They handpicked Dustin Porre. Yes, he was

the guy available, but he was also the guy that they knew he doesn't defend takedowns as well, and he's lost all of his title fights by choke. So they took somewhat the easier path right here and handpicked Porier. And that's why I have to discredit some of it. I say discredit, but that's why I would put Paeta above them. And let me ask you this, Damon. When you look a pound for pound what's the number one thing that you rated on i'm asking you this i'm not i'm not trying to get an answer out of you but is it is it like what have you done lately is it in the last couple of fights is that how you look at things i i again there's no right or wrong answer you know this like power for pound is like everyone has a different opinion my opinion on pound per pound

is it's body of work i don't rate the whole how would this guy though i just say body of work i i don't I mean, listen, I don't, I don't go like 10 years ago and say like, because I understand like he lost to Lucas Martines or whatever that guy. I'm not going to count that against Islam now. Just like I don't necessarily count Alice getting knocked out by Adasanya as much against him because he did knock out Adasanya as well. I just say bodywork. I don't go by the whole. I really don't like the argument of like what if one guy was at one weight class. That's that's so like I think Demetrius Johnson is one of the most talented fighters in the world.

but we have no idea what a heavyweight DeVitris Johnson would look like. That's just an, that's your, you're making things up at that point. So to me, it's body of work. And I don't know that I put a time limit. I don't say like two years, three years. I don't know what the timeline is. I just think slightly. Now, again, if Alice goes out and knocks out Maga Man Ancolaab like he's done these other guys,

maybe my opinion will change because I have a really high opinion. I think with the win there. I think with a win there, we have to talk about him in number one, but here's my argument. You know, the argument that Dana White keeps talking about is John Jones is still number one, right? And we know he's the goat. But he hasn't done enough recently. And that's why a lot of people disagree with Dana because he hasn't been fighting.

He hasn't been active in the last couple of years. So how can you put up a number one? So if we're talking about recent success, the guy that just defended his belt, three knockouts in 175 days against top tier competition and carried events. I mean, it's, you know, it's like they needed Dustin, point. to fight Islam. They needed a name. They needed a B side as well as the A side with Islam. You don't need that with Alex Paheda. He's the A side. He'll fight anybody in the world and he continues to defend his belt and finish fights on the biggest cards that they could possibly make. And that's why my argument of look at the recent progress that he has had, I give him that one.

I know we're not going to agree upon this one. But that's why I look at it. You know, he's just, he's done so much lately. And it's just, he's done so much lately. So what have you done for me lately support? I mean, listen, I don't know that there's a wrong answer here because I think Alex is incredible. Like I said, my one and two is Islam and Alex. So you're not really, you're not, you know, and I know when this comes out,

the Islam fans are going to go crazy because he's got some passionate fans. But the reality is, like I said, I do have Islam number one and I have Alex number two. And I don't think what you're saying as far as, like, the recency of it. I don't think you're wrong at all because doing what he's done this year has been so remarkable.

Like I joked on Saturday. I didn't joke, I was serious. Like, fighter of the year's done. Like, 2024, it's over. It's done. The competition's done. Alex Paheda is your 2024 fighter of the year. No one is doing what he's doing this year.

Three title defenses, three knockouts, over three. Two former champions and obviously, you know, what he just did to KoloRoundtree, it's done. And I said the only guy I could say maybe would rival that is maybe, maybe Max Holloway. If he goes out and knocks out Ilya like he did Justin Gage, then I could say, okay, maybe you're in that conversation. because what he did at 300 was so impressive. But even then, it's still two fights to three. And, you know, so to me, Alex Prairie is D. Pepper, is he is the number one, 20, 24 fight of the year.

And I don't think you're wrong arguing that. I just personally still put Islam number one. Where do you have fight of the year right now? As it stands so far. Because I've been seeing rumors about that fight, Khalil Paheda, that we're talking about being the fight of the year. And I go back to obviously UFC 300, Max Hollow, and I can't have Justin. that I don't know it is an entirety of the fight of the year the entirety of the fight

of the year was it the knockout of the year probably so was it the moment of a lifetime probably yeah 100% I mean it was the biggest moment the UFC that well the way I look at it as an entirety of a fight you have to have a fight that that that that that that pivots left and right and goes back and forth and for kill a round tree to be up the first two rounds you see the adjustment maybe Alex Baheda, then he starts just beating up on Khalil. The resilience of Khalil to stand in the pocket with him and blood is flying out all over the octagon on the DC's phone right there and just not going down for him to survive and make it to the fourth round

and it to end that way. And we see a bloodied and battered Kalililil Roundtree that now fans just adore him for the heart that he showed and respect Alex for what he's done lately. It's in that conversation for me too right now, man. Might be a fight of your candidate. I think that was a better overall fight. because if you go back and watch it, Hollowayi wasn't that close. Gachie, after Gachie had that broken nose in the first round,

Holloway was winning pretty handily. I didn't think it was really that close to a fight. It's funny, I spoke to Feree Ziam after he had that crazy knee knockout over Matt for Volo, which was just an insane nasty knockout. And he joked with me, he didn't joke, but he was just like, he's like, I would love to get a knockout of the year, but that's Max Holloway. He's like, I'm just going to concede it. Like, everyone knows that's going to be a knockout of the year.

that's what Max Holloways was. It wasn't fight of the year. It was knockout of the year because that was such a crazy sequence. And to do what he did to Justin Gates. No one's ever going to forget that moment. I loved it. He said that he's like, I had a pretty great knockout, but let's be honest, it's going to be Max Holloway. I was like, I appreciate that level of honesty.

But I think, but I think in terms of fights, I agree with you. I think overall Khalil and Alex was a better overall fight because Khalil won. Kalil won a couple rounds in there. We still got some time to go there. I mean, listen, I'll hit Tepore is fighting Max. Hollow in a couple weeks. I am so freaking excited for that fight. So we still got some time for somebody else to come in here and steal the,

still the limelight. Yeah, yeah. And I love, I don't know. I love that that Khalil is, for lack of better words, getting his flowers right here because it felt like, I don't know if it felt like he was being sacrificed, but you could see that like Khalil, there was fear in him. But he was honest about it.

Like there was fear in his eyes at some points, but he's honest. Like he's willing to face his fear. And that's the biggest thing. Like it didn't ever feel like he was acting too big or too strong or too tough. He was very honest in the way that he carried himself in the approach leading up to this fight. And then the way that he performed and winning rounds and not dwindling, a lot of men would have fallen. A lot of men couldn't have take those shots.

And when your nose is destroyed and the skin of your eyes flapping open. And every time you're getting punched, there's just blood splattering. And he was basically down to one eye. His gas tank was gone. He was hurt. And there became a choice. Do I just fall down? Do I give up?

Or do I throw punches and go back into the fire? And the man went back into the fire. And so he deserves so much respect for making that fight what it was. and for him to then possibly the year's not over yet. But to be on that list with fight of the year with Alex Bejada, I think it's something that Khalil deserves so much credit for him. And we consider it and say, like, I remember going back to, like, Leota Machita and Shogun Hua and say,

did anyone come away better from a loss than that fight? And you would say, well, Shogun beat Machita, lost a bad decision, and, you know, had to go back and rerun it and ended up beating Machita in the second fight. But what I mean by has a guy ever come out looking better off a loss? Like, yes, Kaliloramstreet got knocked out. He did. That's how the fight ended.

There's no question. There was no controversy. But I think, as you said, he's getting his flowers right now and deservedly so because he went in there, showed absolutely no fear. Because you've seen it. I've seen them. I'm not going to name names. We have absolutely seen guys and girls step into title fights and they freeze. That is a big moment.

And then even more, and we saw it all the time. I know somebody compared Alex to Anderson Silva. At his peak, and you know Anderson, you train him with Anderson. At his peak, Anderson Silva was arguably the scariest guy in the sport. You guys would step in there and they would look like a deer in the headlights when Anderson was standing across from them. I think that's the aura that Alex has right now. And the fact that Khalil was just like, I'm going for it. I'm going to try.

I'm going to go out. Clipped him one time. Was it a legit knockdown? You know, maybe it was a slip, but he did catch him and he did drop for a moment. Colo Rountry lost, but he didn't lose much. Outside, yes, he lost, he didn't get the title, and he did lose by knockout. No one's ever going to say that's not a loss. But can you think of another scenario where a guy has walked away in a better scenario?

I think people are going to be way more excited. They're going to be saying, ooh, match him with this guy or that guy, or I can't wait to to the Kolo Roundtree fight again. He didn't have that coming in. He has it going out. And there was a moment in that fight where he kind of clipped Paheda. And I think it was Paheda threw a head kick and Kaleel ducked it and he kind of hit him in the back of the head. And Pahedahed kind of wobbled.

But there was an opportunity there where Kaleel could have just tackled him to the ground and got on top of him, an unleash him ground and pounder at least had an opportunity to see. What can I do? This guy hasn't really been exposed. If he's kind of hurt right now, maybe an opportunity to grapple, he didn't even hesitate about letting him back up. He gave the fans what they wanted to see. And I know Kale is not known for being a grappler.

But you have to be opportunistic in fighting. And if there's an opportunity to take out one of the best fighters in the world, one of the best strikers in the world, because he stumbled on the ground, man, you take him out. He said, no, no, no, let's get up. Let's handle this how we said we were going to handle it. Man, he did his thing. He looked great right there. And it's just my point is it takes two to tango.

And he had the perfect dance partner that night in Khalil versus Pahedo. Absolutely, absolutely. Alan, let me shift gears to the co-main event. Raquel Pennington and Juliana Pena. Juliana Pena is champion once again. But let me just state the obvious and open it right here. How did you score the fight? Is Giuliana, did Juliana slip one by?

Or did, I don't know if you saw on MMA decisions where they rank all the journalist scores. Not a single person. Everyone was Raquel Pendington. Not a single person scored for Giuliana Pena. I'm not saying all journalists are infallible. I'm not infallible. Have I done judging courses? Have I gone through judging classes with commissions?

Yes, I have. I do understand how to score or fight. I've gone through those things because I wanted to better understand it. How did you score? How did you feel it when it ended? Damon, I would have been one of the same guys on that list. It would have been 14 and 0 for Raquel Pannington. I mean, I had her winning. It just seemed like the fight was over and we're like, wow, okay, this isn't probably what the UFC wanted because more fun, somebody who's going to talk more, kind of get the division going would be a Julianna Pena. And really, that's kind of what I wanted to see happen for the division. but when the fight's over, you have to go with your gut. And my gut, your gut, it sounds like, and every other journalist watching had Raquel Pennington winning.

I was thrown off by that scorecard. I thought she did enough. I know it's not scored by just one knockdown or whatnot, but I had her winning more rounds. But then, like, some people might want to say, well, Juliana had more effective striking, maybe not by the numbers, but her punches landed heavy.

No, no, when I remember Raquel Pennington doing was dropping Panya. I mean, she almost ended the fight at one point. She hurt her badly. She won more rounds in my opinion. She outstruck her in my opinion. Look, it wasn't a highway robbery type of call, but it seemed to me like a three to two pretty easy,

and it seemed like the rest of the world agreed upon that. Yeah, I had it the same way. And I know a lot of people on Saturday, I had a couple of people push back and said, well, that first round was close. So I went back and rewatch the first round because I scored her for Raquel. And again, it wasn't a blowout. It wasn't like she had two knockdowns,

and they somehow gave the round to Juliana Pena. But when I rewatched it, you judge on the more, you know, who does more damage, who lands the more offensive moments, offensive striking, offensive grappling. And to me it was Raquel. I mean, it's not that I didn't think it was a close round.

It wasn't, but you could have a close round and still feel like definitively that somebody won, right? Like, you know, I'm not saying like, oh, well, it was, you know, it was totally up in the air. I rewatched it. I still feel like Raquel won the round. Was it a blowout round? No.

It wasn't a robbery round where somebody scored it for Giuliana. I was like, oh my God, what were you watching? But I thought Raquel did. And then the other rounds were pretty easy to score. Round two and three was where Raquel was on the takedown, had the back, pretty easy. And then obviously round four, you got the knockdown. Round five, once again, I think Raquel was kind of cruising at that point. And maybe you can criticize Raquel for that fourth round and not going harder for the kill and not putting her away.

But we all know Giuliana Pena is incredibly tough. But as you said, I'm not screaming highway robbery. but I am pretty confident in my scoring, and my scoring says Raquel Pennington should still be champion right now. You know the problem that I have with this one? Okay, first off, I think Pena winning is the best thing that can happen for the division. They need that. Raquel Pennington choosing not to do media, choosing not to be unembedded,

not talking any type of trash. And I'm not saying you have to go outside of yourself and just be some person that people hate a heel or somebody that's just insulting, throwing insults out there left and right. But you have to promote a fight, and her unwillingness to be able to do that, mixed with just her style alone. You look at her record. It's not an impressive record. It just doesn't scream best fighter in the world.

So Pinyin needed to win this because it sets up the most intriguing fight in a division right now, which is Kayla Harrison versus Juliana Pino. So everything worked out in a sense. My problem with it that I have is the Bannonweight Women's Champion of the World, the baddest woman on the planet in this division, Julianna Pena. And when you watch her fight, the technical aspects that she has,

they aren't very warranted. They aren't very strong. I mean, you look at her body language, her style. Just the way, there's not a high level of athleticism that I take. And I'm just taking, I'm speaking directly from X's and O's and style and technique. I'm not throwing a,

I'm not throwing pinion. under the bus on this or being negative towards her. But she's effective. But I mean, my goodness, when you're watching that fight, I can't tell you how many people online were saying, oh, time I think of piss, break this and that. And that was kind of a joke going into it. And I really tried to sell this fight.

That this is two women who have maybe been stopped, a total of three times total combined in their career. Two girls that are tough as nails. Two women that are champion and former champion have beat some of the best fighters in the world. This could be a hammer versus hammer. type of fight. But they just didn't deliver that. You saw two fighters and really more so in Pena, someone who doesn't just doesn't have a lot of tools in her bag. I mean, she kind of has this hunched

over approach where she kind of just walks forward into punches. She lands her punches when they're available and she has pop on her punch and she knows how to grapple. But it doesn't scream excitement. It doesn't scream high level. It doesn't scream finishability. It's, you know it's kind of what we thought dricus two plus c had at first but the more you watch trichikas two plus c you start to recognize god this guy's got actually underrated in certain areas just the way that he throws it but i just don't think that pinia has an arsenal of technique on her tool belt to be a champion for a long time or more so to be the face to be the best fighter in the world in the women's division but then when you watch her fight if somebody

from boxing, kickboxing, wrestling, a jujitsu who doesn't watch UFC was watching this, and they say, this is the baddest woman on the planet, they would all feel like they could go in there and take her out. You shouldn't have that feeling. It should strike fear into the hearts of people. But there's no way that a professional boxer

is going to watch Juliana Pena fight and say, they can't knock her out. There's nobody that's a really good grappler is going to say, you're trying to tell me I can't take her down? There just seems to be so many holes in her game, yet she gets a job done, so I applaud her for that, but there's just still, is so many holes in her game

that are exploitable. I don't know how long she would be able to stay on top. Yeah. And listen. We have to talk about this because it was such a perfect moment being set up. I talked to Kayla Harrison earlier today and I asked her about the UFC coming back and having the camera on her in that moment because clearly

they're setting up Giuliana to fight Kayla Harrison. And Kayla said they had the camera on it the entire time. It took her until a while to figure out what they were doing, what they were setting up because they just had a camera on her backstage she was watching the fight because she had just got done doing her post-wide media and everything. And, you know, listen, Joe Rogan said they teeted up perfectly. Kayla Harrison won.

That's your opponent. And then Giuliana just goes, I want Amanda Nunes. That's the fight. We're one in one. Daniel Cormier said after the event, he said, she dropped the ball. Listen, I understand you want the Amanda Nunes fight. We all understand that. Amanda Nunes is the goat.

You beat her once. People are going to get mad at me saying that you are living and dying on that win because that's the one. Then she came back and Amanda beat her from pillar to post in the rematch. I get it. You want the rematch. But the reality is Amanda Nunes is retired. She hasn't said with absolute definitive statements, I'm coming back. And even if she declared today, I'm coming back.

She's going to go through six months of drug testing before she can fight. how you blow that moment so badly and the crowd boot her like they had Kayla on screen and she's like did it she didn't say her name Amanda's not even going to come back for Pinia that's the thing like Amanda doesn't care Amanda's like like you said I beat you up for 25 minutes why would she come back for that fight that doesn't interest her I think that Kayla Harrison fight is something that we can possibly see we don't really know where Amanda's at I think Amanda's kind of just kind of seeing what's offered if I stay on Twitter if I If I stay staying stuff and I stay in the conversation,

maybe they offer me a super fighter against a fight that appeals to me. But Julianna Pena doesn't appeal to her. So she did drop the ball on that. And I don't think she was ducking Kayla Harrison anyway. I think she was just trying to say big names, you know, to continue to keep the momentum rolling off of the win that Pena had. But this was the problem for me. And we can get in Kayla Harrison as well.

but let me start with Kayla. Kayla's performance was not impressive, right? I was hoping that Kayla won, and I was hoping that Pena won that way it would set up the super fight, and that's likely we're going to get to see. But Kayla's performance at night was not impressive. And so, therefore, she could not do a big callout because it didn't follow the victory.

He didn't follow her performance. A knockout or finish, like a great performance would have set up a tremendous callout. but the performance wasn't there, so her callout was lackluster. And the same thing with Pena. Most people thought Pena lost. So I think she was almost like she could have maybe had a mic drop moment and called out Kayla if they both would have showed out.

But neither one of them performed that night. And so it made the whole thing odd that she went on and called out the former champion of Manez. It was a missed opportunity, but I think their performances is what made it somewhat of an awkward callout. think, and I don't disagree with you, but I think that's how you seize the moment, start building for it. You know, just start now because as soon as she said, like, they had Kayla on the screen and as soon as she said, Amanda Nune, as the crowd booed her, because they're just

like, what are you doing? Like, you know, like, I know it's different. I know Amanda's in a different spot now, but that would be like Kayla winning and saying, I'm a two-time gold medalist. Rhonda Rousey, where are you at? You had a bronze. I had two gold. What purpose?

It's not happening. And I know, Amanda has teased. But she's not back. If she declares I'm back and I'm fighting, then you call her out. And I had this conversation with Kayla today because Juliana made a comment saying that Kayla didn't call it Amanda. And I said, I brought this up to Kayla. She laughed because it's true.

When she was in PFL, everyone would always ask her about fighting Chris Cyborg. And at one point, I've talked to Kayla going back to like right out of the Olympics. So I've known her for many, many years. After, for many of her fights, I'd say, what about Chris Cyborg? We talk about Chris Cyborg, fight would never happen. And at one point, towards the end of her PFL run, I said, I'm not even going to ask you about it anymore. It's pointless. It's not happening.

She's not in the same organization. And all it does is piss you off because you have to talk about this girl that you're not fighting. I'm just not doing it. Maybe people are getting mad that I'm not going to ask you about Chris Cyborg, but I'm just done because I'm tired to talk about fight that's not happening. And that's kind of how I felt about Amanda. I brought up briefly to her before the fight. And I kind of joked with her today. And I said, I know you want to fight Amanda.

But Amanda's not here. And that's exactly what she says. She's like, Amanda's not here. I want Juliana. Juliana's got the title. That's who I want. So like the whole thing is just so bizarre because like or not, Amanda's in the same spot as Rhonda right now. They're both retired.

They're both not fighting. What are you gaining by calling it out? They're not here. There are two names in a division that are relevant. It's the champion Juliana Pena and it's Kayla Harrison. The newest entry into the division. One of the best smack talkers we've ever had in the division. Now you put two girls like that,

who can go back and forth that have been joined at each other, even though they haven't been able to fight yet. It's the perfect storm. It would have been a moment right there, would have helped them promote their fight, would have made them more money on the back end. Yeah, her going out and still trying to relive that moment of that win that she had against Amanda Nunes,

it was like Joaquin Buckley calling out Connemer Greger. Like, no, no, no, no, no, no. Like, let's stay on track here. What is actually next for you? You're calling out someone that is probably not even, fighting again. As I said earlier, even if she does come back, I really don't think it's to fight Pena again for a trilogy fight. What did she have to prove? She's coming out of retirement for that to beat, to win again when she just won. That's why she retired. She felt like she'd done everything.

There was no new obstacles for her, but Kayla Harrison is. Kayla Harrison is somebody that could intrigue her and coming back. Missed opportunity. Again, I think you said it. I think the win that she has over Amanda Nunes. And I get it. Like it was one of the biggest upsets in UFC history, but you can't live in the past like that. You have to move forward with things. I understand Julian is more established, so I know people are going to say this is not a good comparison, but this is the best comparison I can make.

When Matt Serra knocked out George St. Pierre, it was one of the craziest, wildest upsets in the history of the sport. They ran it back a year later and George beat him from one side of the octagon to the other and finished him. Did people start crying saying, why isn't Matt Sarah getting his trilogy? you know what I'm saying like it was a not Matt pulled up the upset we'll always remember that moment George will always remember

that moment Matt will always remember that moment but I don't remember anyone after that second fight saying man where's this trilogy George why are you ducking Matt Sarah yes Juliana has a win over Amanda Nunes it was incredibly impressive to do what she did to tap out the women's goat the way she did

they ran it back and Amanda beat her from one side of the oxygons there was no question and on Saturday night Amanda and said I ran out of time. You ran out of time because she was beating your head into the canvas, not because they didn't get a stoppage. I'm just saying, like, to me, that's the best comparison I can mean. No one was screaming for Matt Serra to get a trilogy after George said,

okay, yes, you got me. You got me once. The second time I beat him so definitively, there was no question. That's kind of where I'm at with Amanda. Like, what does she prove? Yes, she got caught. She had a bad night. Maybe she underestimated Giuliana.

Maybe she didn't train this. I don't know what the reason is she lost. But then the second time they ran it, it wasn't close. It wasn't a 48, 47 decision. It wasn't like Amanda got knocked down and came back. She beat her from one side of the octagon to the other. No one was crying for Matt Serra to get a trilogy. Why are we so concerned about Giuliana Pena?

I mean, I know you and I are. I'm just saying like she's obsessed with it. No one else is. Yeah, she's the only one. She was able to outwill Amanda. She was able to break Amanda's will that night and take it. And she'll always get credit for that. But when we saw what actually happened when a focus determined someone who wasn't sick, Amanda Nunes went into that fight, we saw it was just a whole other level.

And it goes back to what I was talking about having tools in your tool belt. Amanda is somebody that could do everything box kick, jujitsu wrestle. I mean, she checks all the boxes where Juliana Pina is more of like an overachiever. And I don't say these things to discredit her in a way. I want her to be recognized for accomplishments. But when you watch her fight, it doesn't feel like you're watching the best fighter in the world. You're watching somebody who happens to get the job done sometimes.

But in this case, a lot of us agreed. We don't think she got the job done. I mean, I really don't think she won that fight. And then she kind of, you know, kicked herself in the butt at the end. And when she said during the post-fight speech, there's been some funny decisions tonight, this and that. Like, I think another funny decision happened that night as well. Yeah, it was wild.

And you know what's crazy about this card, you know, and we always say this, like it or not, fight cards are remembered by main events. And this card wasn't great. It wasn't. It just wasn't. The weird Kevin Holland injury, obviously the Jose Aldo Mario Batista fight wasn't a dog fight. Paula, Sparza, retirement fight kind of went the wrong way. It was just, yeah, it was a, now credit I give Joaquin Buckley credit.

What a huge knockout of a Wonderboy. But then the main card was just kind of like, eh, it was just all right. We remember Alex going out. That's what we're going to remember most about this card. But, yeah, the rest of the card was okay. It wasn't tremendous. And so, yeah, you got to seize those openings. And I want to give credit where credit is due to Joaquin Buckley,

to go out there and knock out of guy like Wonderboy, super impressive. A fight he was, I think it was 1919. He was tied because he lost the first round and came back in the second. And then he just, I loved Buckley going out there in that third round and basically being like, screw it. I'm going for it. And he did. And he knocked out Wonderboy.

And then unlike the last time when everyone's like, dude, what are you doing calling out Conner McGregor? You're never getting that fight. Dana shot it down that night, which was like the worst thing ever to happen to Walking Buckley. When Dana laughed was like, no, he's not getting that fight. He called out Kamar Usman. That's a good callout. He's on like a five-fight win street. Camaro doesn't have a fight right now.

I think we all know we're going to see Shavkat and Bilal. Great call-out credit. Everything that went wrong with his last fight went right this time for Walking Buckley. Agreed. five-fight win streak right now, Buckley. I mean, he's looking tremendous in the, in the, uh, the wealthway division. I think this is the right way class for him. And I know, I know Wonderboy Stephen Thompson is older now, right?

And so he's kind of losing a bit of a step, but he's still able to compete with the best of him and love that guy. You got to love the way that he goes out there and puts, puts on a show. And, and then just even his media posts following the loss. He's just so honest, uh, with his fans and everyone to support some. But Buckley's on a tear right now. And what he did going in there to get that knockout, to leap into the fire and to continue to throw that second and third punch while cover and rolling, I mean, he knew that's what he had to do. Like, Stephen Wonderboy is so tough to track down because he fights just as well backing up as he does moving forward.

And so you have to really run him down, but at the risk of getting caught. So what did Buckley do? He made that adjustment at the end. He said, I'm going to leap in there with two punches and continue the forward movement. And while he was continuing the forward movement, he put his hands up and covered, covered, setting up his follow-up hook. That third punch is the one that landed and knocked him across the octagon at the fence right there and put him down. But yeah, it was a great adjustment that Buckley made right there, the right call out. Buckley's doing good, man.

I mean, he's a guy that had that huge knockout early in his career, obviously, that made him a household name. And then he was kind of hit or miss, but he was bouncing around, didn't know a way class he should be in. he found the right way class and he's the guy that I think made the right call call out Usman I think that fight makes sense a lot of people were saying oh you know what maybe Usman should get a title shot again this and that and I think Usman needs to prove himself against one of these up-and-comers and Buckley would be the right guy I like and listen I I you know we did I did a podcast with Matt a few weeks ago Matt was talking about how like he doesn't buy the idea that the UFC roots for guys to win or lose yes of course some things are

better for business but we were talking about Sean O'Malley Morrell to Wailishville and he said if they don't if they want Sean to win they already gave him that fight they gave him the Cheetah vera fight that was a much more winnable fight but they're just trying to protect Sean O'Malley they wouldn't give him Marab so you can't say they just want Sean to win because if they do they wouldn't give him a guy like Marab I'm saying this knowing that like one of my absolutely favorite guys in this sport one of my absolutely favorite people just people in this sport is Gilbert Burns I think Gilbert

Burns is a legend nicest guy in the world smart very good guy but you could argue that Sean Brady beating Gilbert Burns was better for the division because we know where Gilbert is. Gilbert's been around. He's fought everybody. Sean's kind of a newer guy. Yes, he has a loss to Bilal, but outside of that he's not been touched.

He's had some good wins, beat Michael Kiesa. That's a new name. You could argue Wonderboy winning over Buckley would have been worse for the division because we know what Wonderboy is. He's been around. He's 41.

Buckley winning gives us a new contender. Jack Della Madelana beating Gilbert Burns. Same kind of thing. Like Jack Della. I know he's been injured and dealing with some stuff, but that's a new name. We're in this, we're finally kind of getting kind of

in that changing of the guard. And guys, you know, Kamar Usman is still, in my opinion, one of the best welter weights in the world. But I think him fighting Buckley makes a lot of sense because he's fighting one of these young, up-and-comber, 20-something, you know, walking Buckley's like 27, whatever, young, hungry guys, a Sean Brady. Because, you know, like I got like Colby Covington

who's just sitting on a spot. He's just sitting on a spot. He's not fighting anybody right now. So I would like to see more of these, like, veteran versus kind of up-and-coming welterweight. Like maybe Covington, I thought Covington. I thought Covington and Sean Brady makes a lot of sense. You want to see if you can out grapple Sean Brady.

Have that, see if you can do it. That's what we need to see right now. I don't need to see Kamaro Colby 4. I don't need to see something. Buckley's good for the division. Jack Delam Adelaide is good for the division. Sean Brady's good for the division. We're finally seeing some new blood here.

And to which you and Matt Brown said about the UFC not rooting for certain people. But so from somebody who's there a lot, like right, myself, if that's, you know, I work for the UFC, obviously, and I have the producers in my ear, and I'm around everybody as we're watching fights. What they do root for is momentum. And this is obvious, right? But it's, and you can take this as what's better for business, or you take this as who's going to be the bigger champion.

Take it however you want it. But it's an obvious thing. They root for momentum. As you just said, if you have somebody who's had two title shots already and they lost both of them, does the UFC want that person to win, knowing that where do we put him? now or do we want the momentum of a surging star or a surging newcomer or somebody that is not yet fought for the title to go then and fight for it how can we parlay that and if a star in the ufc is winning of course they are kind of wanting that momentum to continue over because it sets up

bigger and better super fights so i don't think it's individually like oh we just like or dislike this one guy but they want momentum to continue to build bigger and better fights or at least fights that makes sense. As you said, we don't want to see certain rematches over and over and over again. Yeah, and I think, I think, you know, it's good right now. Buckley doing what he did. Great call out. I thought it was perfect. Usman doesn't have a fight right now. Buckley looked incredible out there knocking out a guy like Wonderboy. And again, you can say, you know, Wonderboy maybe not be the same guy. Maybe not. I know he told me he's like he feels as good now as he did at 25, but the one thing you can't say about Wonderboy, no one really, the only guy that's really knocked

out Wonderboy was Pettus, and that was a fight he was losing handily, and then Pettus did the Superman punch and caught him. You don't typically see Wonderboy get outstruck. Joaquin Buckley just knocked him out. That matters. Like, you knock out Wonderboy, I don't care how you do it. You knock out Wonderboy, it's a big deal. Sees on that moment, credit to Joaquin Buckley, man.

He made up for the Connor McGregor thing with a great knockout and then calling out Kamar Usman. And I hope we see it. I hope that's the fight. It looks like we're going to get Bilal and Shavkat. I'm here in December. It seems like that's going to be the fight. Makes a lot of sense. Usman, if he's ready and Buckley wants to fight, put that on the same card.

Do that on the same card. Make it Buckley and Usman on the same card as Bilau and Shafkat. I agree. I like those fights right there. You know another Walterweight fight that I like the first fight of the night. You look at the old dudes, Cort McGee versus 10 means. You know, this is a fight that most people probably just overloaded because you're looking at a guy that's 39 years old versus the guy that's 40 years old.

These guys have been in the UFC for like 15 years. Like it wasn't anything that people were. Probably looking forward to that much. That's why they put it at the first fight of the night. But man, for Cort McGee at this age, should still be winning and to get that finish right there over a crafty guy like Tim Means. I mean, the guy still looks in shape, like phenomenal for that age

and still fighting at a high level. So I was just, I was impressed with them, man. And you can see the emotions coming down, fighting at home over there. It was a fight that for me started off the card with a good vibe, a good feels going into the rest of the card. And I will say, even though the Utah crowd had a couple of questionable moments to boo.

Like, I, I, listen, you will not find a bigger carless bars. I love Carla, one of the sweetest, nicest people. So is Tisha. Tisha is one of the nice. And, like, booing her out of the building. I was kind of like, that's a little rough. Like, it was a close fight. I don't think it was like one of those moments.

But I will say this. I've been to Utah before. What a crowd, man. They were into it. I loved that. They were there early. They were, you know, they made. There's a reason why the UFC's gone back there a couple of years in a row now.

I think Utah is showing to be a really, really good crowd for everyone. and I think, you know, some of these other cities and states need to step up like that because that energy was there all night long, even though there were a couple fights were a little hard on the eyes. Looking at you, Jose Aldo, Mario Batista, they were, the energy was there. They were there. They were up and roaring during the main event. Credit to the Utah crowd, man, they showed up.

So I'll put you in a spot. We're probably not on the spot. You've probably already stated how you felt about this. But how did you score that fight? With Mario and Aldo. Alda and Batista It's not going to be popular when I say this So I'm just going to say it

I had it 2928 Mario But I didn't have a problem If it went the other way And it's not Before people say Oh he all he did is holding against The cage of the clinch The problem is Aldo didn't really do anything either

Like it wasn't like there was this like Aldo had a knockdown And we scored it the other way Like it was just a bad It just wasn't a good round And going by the criteria You know That's why always people like

When you say aggression and control Those are the bottom of the criteria after everything else. If that's the only thing that happens, that's kind of what I scored on. So I lean Mario Batista, but I wouldn't have a problem going Aldo. I think Aldo's going to look back at that fight and say he should have done things differently, you know, in that moment. And maybe he had flashbacks to the Morab fight in Utah where he kind of got war down and

just got held against events. I don't know. I don't have a problem with Aldo one, but I didn't think it was a rod. I guess what I'm getting at is I just didn't think it was just, people were making it sound like it was this great robbery. And I think it was a robbery. I thought it was a close fight. It's tough to see things with clarity and judge a fight correctly when you're watching

a beloved fighter like Josie Aldo, right? And I thought that fight was very even, could have gone either way. You're wanting this guy, the King of Rio, the guy that is so fast and has this fun boxing style to circle to the middle and unleash something. And when somebody is holding him down, though they may be winning the fight, you're like, all right, this guy's holding. Let's let's get this thing going. and your judgment isn't clear.

I thought Aldo won the fight, but it definitely, I didn't, I felt it could have gone either way for sure. Just when I look at people holding against the fence these days, though, I think of it the same thing as the new rules change, where they say, look, it take down, unless there was damage inflicted, or there was a submission attempt,

or an advantage to try and finish the fight where I wasn't seeing that against the fence. And so maybe it was the King of Rio vibes inside of me, or maybe it was me looking at it from a rule set. We're like, okay, he's holding against the fence, but is he trying to finish his fight in any way? I'm not seeing it. And that's why I did rule it for Aldo, in my opinion.

But it was one of those fights where I don't think Aldo did enough to get off of the fence, didn't work hard enough to not be held down. At the end of the day, you can't let another man hold you down. And it's easier said than done. But if you're getting held down or against a fence on the mat or you're back against the wall, you're still not in a position that you want to be in. The other person is holding you there

dictating the action of the fight. I kind of contradiction myself, but it's because I see it both ways. No, you're absolutely right. And I think here's the other problem, I think, and we're all guilty of this. We all love Jose Aldo. Jose Aldo's a legend.

He's one of the greatest fighters to ever compete. And you're putting him in there against the guy of Mario Batista who's just not known. No one really knows. We know Mario Batista, but like the general audience doesn't know him that well. If this was Josealdo dominant Cruz,

it would have had a different energy. If this was Joseo Aldo, even Cody Garbrand, even though Cody wouldn't necessarily deserve a Jose Aldo fight right now, it's different. Or if it was Jose Aldo Deveson Figuero, guys that are established, you know, well-known names, Mario's kind of, I don't mean this to be offensive, he's kind of a nobody in that way. And so, like, it's a weird bit of matchmaking when you're putting Josealdo again. And so we do, sometimes, I'll admit it, we do watch a fight a little bit through rose-colored glasses because we're like, we all love Josie Aldo. Jose looks so good against, even to Jonathan Martinez fight. Like I was like, that's a bit of weird matchmaking because Jonathan's not a well-known name. Like, couldn't you have given him?

Like, wouldn't you have rather? I'm not saying, like, it couldn't have happened now because he just fought in August, but like, wouldn't you have rather seen Jose Aldo, Corey Sanhagen? Wouldn't that have been a much better fight or, you know what I mean? I don't know. I didn't give him names. It's just a weird matchup to me. It's like, are they bringing them back because the spark of Joseo Aldo is something

that people want to see? Or are they bringing them back because the name value of Josie Aldo is something they can build these contender guys off of. I don't quite know if what the mindset is of the UFC with these matchups, but I agree. I think, you know, you have a veteran, a legend, a legend. Give them another veteran or legend in the game. And let's see those type of fights. Then we almost don't care who wins or loses because we get to see something that we haven't seen before.

But less or no names against a legend. Or if you're trying to build a guy, like then you put him against like Umar. Like Umar is trying to build up, then adding a guy like Jose Aldo to his resume means a lot. But I just, it's weird. because I don't feel like they were like, man, Mario Batiste is going to be a number one contender. He's the next guy. I didn't get that vibe going into the fight.

So, like, I don't, I just didn't understand it. Damon, let me tell you something. The fight's over and they're about to announce the winner of that fight, Josie Otto Batista fight. And I'm thinking, Aldo did enough, right? The fans felt that way. I can't remember how the commentary. I might have leaned that way as well.

I'm not quite sure. And so I'm getting on my phone, right? I'm on X and I'm tweeting out X and out. How about Joseo Alto versus O'Malley? You know, this is a fight that I know Josie Alto was interested in. This is a fight that I think O'Malley could be a good rebound fight and stylistically a good matchup. I don't know if we get to see that fight anymore or do we? What do you think?

A loss and a loss? Do we put these guys together still? I mean, I think the match that I've made in my head is Sandhagen O'Malley because that's what I wanted to see before. But I don't think you're wrong there. I mean, O'Malley is coming off a loss. I don't care what he says. He lost. If it's not San-Hagan...

We always had this conversation about O'Malley's losses. Yeah. If it's not Santhaggan, I think Aldo's great. That's the matter. Like, that's what I'm saying, though. Like, O'Malley is a fight for him. Dominic Cruz is a fight for him. Again, I'm not saying Cody Garberan should have been the guy,

but Cody Garbrandt's a name. Cody Garber. It just, I didn't understand the matchmaking with Martinez or Batista. Nothing against I. of those guys. I'm glad they both had the chance to go in there and share the cage with the legend. It just was weird matchmaking to me at that point. So, yeah, if it's not Sanhagen, I think O'Malley Aldo is an incredible fight.

Hell yeah, sign me up for that tomorrow. And I do think Sanhagen would edge, uh, um, Aldo on that. I think Sanhagen deserves it. That's stylistically a great matchup. Um, but as I just stated, my second place nominee for that matchup for Sean O'Malley.

Yeah, those Joseo Otto in there. I don't know how well he would do. I think Jose is a little bit more of a pocket fighter, likes to throw double body punches. He likes to be in that boxing range where he obviously, O'Malley's a sniper. But man, you talk about an intriguing matchup right there. That's one that I'd be watching.

That's what I'm saying. Like, dude, I think the matchmakers in the UFC do an incredible job, but that's one where I'm just kind of like, I don't, I didn't get it. And again, I'm happy for Mario Batista, but I don't know that like, because the way the fight played out, like I don't really know what he gained.

I think of anything, people are going to dislike Mario Batista now, which kind of sucks. sucks for him because he didn't do anything wrong. Like, it just wasn't a great fight. But he won. He has a win over Josie Aldo on his record, but no one's going to, he's not going to suddenly bounce into co-main events and become a star. You knock out Jose Alas is a different thing.

But, yeah, it's just weird. Like, if that happened with Dominic Cruz, well, Dominic Cruz is an established name. He's a legend, one of the greatest of all time. Okay, it's Dominant Cruz. Or you said, O'Malley or Sanhagen, any of those guys, it's just a weird bit of matchmaking. I just didn't get it. And it's just, I don't know, it was odd for that.

Because also the other part of it is, Mario Batista's not an easy fight. It's not like they went in there and thought he was just going to roll through Mario Batista. So it's just odd. If you're going to go in there and have him have a tough fight, have him have a tough fight against Corey Sandhagen. Have him have a tough fight against Sean O'Malley. That was just weird to me.

Again, that's just my opinion. No, I agree with it completely. I haven't quite figured out where they're going with these kind of lesser known names, guys that are established in the UFC, but lesser known than Jose Aldo's. I mean, he's one of the kings. the guy that people put on, you know, the goat list. But I, Batista and Pena, two fighters, both coming off for wins, but both need to do something in the next fight to win back to masses. You know,

even if you're going to play good guy, bad guy, I mean, I know, obviously Batista's not like a bad guy, good guy, you know, Pena kind of plays it up a little bit, but two people that won and got booed the entire time. I don't think that people, agreed with a decision, nor the performances that night. Yeah, I agree. But again, we always remember what we always remember the main event. And the credit to Alex Paheda for coming in and kind of saving the day because we didn't get, you know, a crazy main card.

We had kind of a lackluster main card. Let's be honest, you know, at the end. And then Alex comes in and kind of swoops in and saves the day. Overall, again, that's our impression. We know how that goes. That's how every card is kind of judged. Maybe outside of the UFC 300, which was just so incredibly stacked. it's almost like, oh yeah, we still have the main event to go tonight.

But the rest of the cards, you need that main event. And then, of course, we got this weekend, Tatsuya Tira and Brandon Roy Val. What an incredible fight. That one's kind of slipping under the radar. That's an incredible fight. Obviously, at the end of the month, we got Max Holloway, Teporia, Hans out against Robert Whitaker. Some big fights.

Where are you working next? I think you're always traveling and doing stuff. What's your next gig? Yeah, I'm doing these next two fight nights. The one you just mentioned with the fly weights. Brandon Royval, Tzu de Taira. I'm high on Taira, man.

I've called a lot of his fights. He just has something special. He's got something where he finds his submission. He's got a really good one, two down the middle. He's fast, man. He's got this confidence, kind of a swagger about him. So I'm high on him.

I can't wait to start studying this matchup because this is going to be a tough test, man. Brandon Royvroville, seasoned everywhere. And if Tider can't take this fight to the ground or find an opportunistic moment to kind of jump on the back or something like that.

Then he's got a stand and trade with Roval, and that's not an easy one. So I think this is a really tough test for him. And then I'm working the following weekend as well. I don't even know who the main event is for that one, but I'm working this weekend and on the 19th as well. I think that's the Fluffy Hernandez, Michelle Paheda. Yeah, yeah, I think that's that one.

Which you know what? That may not be the biggest name value fight, but man, that's going to be a fun fight because Fluffy is a tough, man. I love that, dude. And then Michelle Paheta at Middleweight. I want to see TV all the time. Yeah. That is, that is like, I know it's not.

He's like on a 7-8 fight win streak right now. I mean, he kind of flew under the radar. Knocking people out too, doing really good. He should have been a middle-way, dude. He should never try to cut and get down to, like, he was a massive welterway, but he just killed himself getting down there. He's looked good at middleweight. This is a banger fight.

Like, I know it's not the biggest names, but this is a banger fight. And to your point, I know it's a bit of a controversial statement. I'm not trying to kick the guy while he's down. I promise I'm not saying that. But I think Tatsuyaa Taya is what we all thought Muhammad Mikhail. would be. When he got to the UFC, we all thought May and McCoyev's going to be the guy. And then after his first fight against Cody Durdon, he started kind of, you know, he got caught in the knee bar. He kind of had some, you know, not some great fights. He had

some wins, not taking away the wins, but just like, you know, not the dominant guy we thought he was going to be. Tire, though, has been on a tear. And this fight this weekend, man, this is going to be a battle because Brandon Roy Vall is not an easy out for anybody that dude's a banger. That's a really good fight. So I'm actually really excited about that one this weekend. The difference and one of the differences between Taita and Muhammad Makayev is that Tidah is a finisher man. He's a flyweight that gets the job done. He will put you away. He capitalized on opportunities. He's fast. He'll trade on the feet, although he's very good on the ground. And he's got that kind of

X factor to him where he's able to just opportunistically find a way to finish the fight. Yeah, I love it. Good matchup. Well, obviously, always love seeing you doing the analyst gig and working the cards. We got a very busy couple of months. head, of course. We got, you know, obviously I mentioned the end of the month in Abu Dhabi. And the next month, of course, going to Madison Square Garden with John Jones. We got the cart in Edmonton with, uh, that's a great fight. Amir al-Bazi, Brandon Moreno and Rosamah Unis there in Blanchfield. So it does not slow down.

Alan, it is always a pleasure to have you on the show. You know, we appreciate it. Obviously, uh, we appreciate everyone that tunes into the show each and every week. Make sure you check us out on all your favorite podcast platforms, Apple Podcast, Spotify. And of course, over on the best website in the world, MMAfighting.com. and Joe Ban. I am Damon Martin. We will see you guys next week for another edition of the Fighter versus the writer. Thanks for tuning in. We'll see you then.