MMA Fighting - Heck of a Morning | UFC 273 Burning Questions, Free-For-All Friday

Episode Date: April 8, 2022

With a little over 24 hours away from UFC 273, the anticipation levels continue to rise ahead of Saturday's PPV event. On this episode of Heck of a Morning, MMA Fighting's Mike Heck takes calls on a Free-For-All Friday from Jacksonville, Fla., on the burning questions heading into the fight card — most notably the main event between Alexander Volkanovski and Chan Sung Jung for the featherweight, Aljamain Sterling and Petr Yan's rematch to unify the bantamweight championship, the incredible hype surrounding the Gilbert Burns vs. Khamzat Chimaev fight, and more. You can listen live to Heck of a Morning Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays at 8 a.m. ET on the MMA Fighting Twitter Spaces. Follow Mike Heck: @MikeHeck_JR Subscribe: http://goo.gl/dYpsgH Check out our full video catalog: http://goo.gl/u8VvLi Visit our playlists: http://goo.gl/eFhsvM Like MMAF on Facebook: http://goo.gl/uhdg7Z Follow on Twitter: http://goo.gl/nOATUI Read More: http://www.mmafighting.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Nice travels. Wi-Fi available to Aero Pem members on equipped flights, sponsored by Bound. Additions apply. Cairacaneda.com. You're listening to the Vox Media Podcast Network. Friday, April 8th, 2020, and it is a heck of a morning. It is a heck of a morning here in Jacksonville, Florida.

We're at the host hotel getting ready for the UFC 273 official weigh-ins, which is going to kick off at 9 a.m. Eastern. Go to 11 a.m. Eastern. Hopefully we have zero hiccups. everything goes smoothly and then we have ceremonial weigh-ins coming up later on and then somewhere in the middle

it's opening day for the Boston Red Sox So that gets me excited And then we got some other cool stuff that we have in the works as well Which you'll find out over at M-Afighting.com But I am Mike Heck Thank you all for wake it up so early and jumping on I know there's people in other parts of the globe And they're thinking that early

This isn't early This is late I've been up for 12 hours But it's been a good trip in Jacksonville And I don't know if you guys we're listening earlier throughout the shows this week. First, this is the first UFC event that I've covered in person since UFC 244, November 2019. That was before I was on with M.A Fighting.com.

And all the events I've covered for M.A. fighting have been either Bellator cards, BKFC cards. I covered the trailer card with Holyfield and Vitor Belfort, Jake Paul, Tyrone Woodley, too. those are the events that I've been covering. So to be back in the UFC fray, they're just a well-oiled machine. I've talked about that many times.

Here's what's going to happen. And 99% of the time it happens. It's just been fun. It's just been fun getting back on the road. And then just being able to cover an event with Jose, I think him and I pack a solid one-two combo. The dude is absolute monster. So it's always nice to work with a true pro like that.

but this is your show. It is a free for all Friday, and I want to hear from you for the next 30 or so minutes. We have to get out of here at 8.30 a.m. Eastern because we have the way ins at 9 o'clock. So my goal is just, we're just going to get after this thing for the next 30 or so minutes.

So if you got a question, you get a thought, UFC 273, anything else going on in the world of mixed martial arts, send in your request, raise that virtual hand, if you will, and we will get after this thing. And if you guys come in a little bit late, as always, this show will head on over to the M.A. Fighting Podcasting Network shortly thereafter. So with that being said, I hope we can make this happen,

because we are 0 for 2 on these requests. My man, Dana Spite, please tell me this is going to work. Guess what? We're 0 for 3. Try again, Dana Spite. I cannot believe this. Just horrible luck for us. let's get let's get tanner in here tanner good morning morning mike

what's up so out of the three big fights this weekend which which upset do you think would be the most impactful upset out of any of the three fights that is a really good question and a little teaser if you know there's no video no live between the links this week But last night, I just got back to my hotel room.

I filmed a, we just did a podcast reaction to the press conference. And then Jed and I went after it for an hour. And that was one of the questions I actually had for Jed on BTL was, which one would be crazier? Would it be Korean zombie? Would it be Al Jermaine Sterling? Would it be Gilbert Burns? To me, and just based on how the betting line is,

how the vibe is in Jacksonville, because you get to a certain point during, these fight weeks where you can actually you can feel like it's a big deal in the anticipation levels or where they're at. The anticipation levels for Hamzad. Shemayev is, they're just off the charts. Honestly, and I asked John Anick this question,

the video is over at M.A.fighting.com, if he had ever seen anything like Shemayev. Like, we've seen guys emerge. We've seen guys get pushed really hard, and we've seen fighters that we feel could be very special throughout their careers, even and I always sort of bring up Connor McGregor in these situations

because Connor got shot like a rock like it was like they basically strapped rockets to him and they push the button and he just soared off and it just soared off he just flew as high as he wanted to go but the thing with Connor is every time he won

there was always every single time even after the the Chadman even after the Chad Mendez win there was like what's going to happen if he fights and Mendez was a wrestler and Mendez took him down But there was always some sort of built-in excuse or built-in reason or follow-up question about like, all right, well, what happens if Connor fights a wrestler? Or what happens if Connor fights this guy or what happens to this guy?

Well, Shamiya, I'm not hearing it at all. Look, I'm not hearing that at all. Maybe early on, like after Fight Island, you got the two wins in 10 days. We're thinking, all right, we got to get this guy step up in competition. What's going to happen if you fight somebody like this? And then he goes and fights Gerald Mearshard, who, by the way, I have an incredible amount of respect for. Gerald Mearshard is a good dude, but he's also a really good fighter and a super experienced fighter,

and he presents some very interesting challenges to a lot of fighters. And it was just one of those holy crap moments when Shamiyaf just bolted him with one shot. And then the Li Jingleong thing, what he did there, I mean, just immoralized that poor man. And props, of course, to Lee Jing Long for going to the press covers. But to me, if we're talking like headlines and interest and buzz,

if Gilbert Burns be Tom Zat Shemayef, that will have the biggest impact in my opinion. Al Jermaine Sterling would be probably a close second because of how those guys have built this fight up and the confidence that Al Jemine Sterling has just exuded throughout fight week. It's actually been really fascinating to see, if we're being honest. And then Korean zombie would be a huge upside. It would be super impactful. It would kind of put a halt to the Volkanowski pound for pound number one discussion. it would stop that in its tracks.

But honestly, I mean, if Gilwood Burns v. Tom Zachima, if that is, I mean, the reaction that's going to get is just going to be massive. So to be fair, it will have our preview show later on. I don't think either of those upsets are going to happen. But I will say, I feel a little bit differently on this Friday morning that I did maybe on Tuesday. I feel like Al Jermaine Sterling, I'm picking Yon to win. I think that fight's going to deliver in a big way.

I think it's going to be super exciting, and it's a fight where both guys' stocks are going to rise. I think zombie and his mindset, his mentality heading into this fight, has been really interesting. It really has. It's actually been refreshing because he's admitted that in the past some of these big fights,

he lets the bright lights get to him a little bit, become a little stressful. I'm not really seeing that from him this week. He's actually been loose as a goose, cool as a cucumber, and that makes that fight pretty interesting to me. Let's bring in a mod on this first, Free for all Friday.

Ahmad, good morning. He's got to make sure you unmute. Yeah, good morning, Mike. What's up? So I know everybody is expecting Volcanovsky, Volcanovsky to dominate the Korean zombie, or at least, you know, when. Do you see him beating the zombie in any other way than a drawn-out decision?

I mean, how do you see him finishing the zombie if it's, So that's a great question. I mean, you have to think, and this is, I mean, this is kind of, this is just one of those answers that kind of seems like the way everybody's thinking on paper. I think Vol, if it's a decision, it's going to go to Volk, and if it's a finish, it's probably going to go to Zombie. Volks is so good at wearing guys down, at frustrating them over time. But it is a fight that, because I think Volcanovsky,

while he's very self-aware in terms of the goat conversation, not just for the division, the pound-for-pound discussions, he knows he has some work to do. One of the things he's going to have to do at some point if he wants to get over that hump is he's got to finish,

he's got to get finishes. He has to get a finish in there somewhere. And Kamar Usman is a really good, because right now Kamar Usman in a lot of people's eyes, pound-for-pound is the best fighter in the planet. but for a while, Kamara was viewed as like a boring fighter and it wasn't honestly

in my opinion it wasn't fair were some of these fights the most aesthetically pleasing events to watch not all the time but once Uspin started finishing guys like once he finished Burns and once he absolutely devastated Jorge Mazadol

then it became like almost no brainer questions and Habib the same way Habib was spending a lot of decisions super dominant decisions But once he won the belt, once he beat Al-Aiquinta, every fight was an emphatic finish. So by the time he said, I'm done fighting, I'm 29 and 0, I'm good, I'm out of here.

A lot of people viewed him as the man, like the best fighter in the world, pound for pound. And getting the finishes really put you over the top. Volcanowski could get a late finish in this fight. I don't know if he gets a submission, but I could see like maybe a late TKO if you were going to get this thing done before the final horn sounds. I think it's going to be like a 48, 49, 46 type of affair.

But again, and I've talked to the Koreans, members of Korean Zombies team throughout the week yesterday as well. And you're always going to get fighters and teammates and coaches that are going to say like, yeah, man, we're ready. We're going to give this guy a fight. These guys are incredibly confident that Korean zombie, it's like they know something that we don't know. That's the vibe I get just from talking to those guys. I ultimately think Volcanowski is going to win, but all of these fights, just being here, all these fights are now more interesting than they were than before I got here.

I could tell you that right now. Let's get Aaron Ray in here. I think it's Aaron Ray or is it Aaron Rhea. Good morning. You'll pronounce that wrong in my whole life, so it's all right. I just wanted to make 100% sure. I had a feeling I was right, but I wanted to know. Yeah, you nailed it.

So question this morning is around. Hamzat and I want to get your opinion. I feel like people are making a lot about him being able to make the weight due to him channeling his inner DC last time. But a point that I don't hear brought up often is that his first fight against John Phillips was at 185

and then 10 days later made 170 to face Reese McKee. So I'm thinking his issue to scale last time was just the delayed time off not be remembering how to cut to welterweight. I don't need he's having an issue this morning, but I was curious on your opinion on that. Thank you, Aaron.

appreciate that. So I get it is it is a thing. We've talked about this throughout the week. And it was something we talked about on BTL as well. If you want to go back and listen to that. I asked Jed about this fight. And I don't think that's the case. But I can't, I mean, a lot of people that I've just talked to on the streets,

a lot of people have come up to me. This is the question they ask. If Shemai of misses weight today, which I don't think he will, by the way. If he misses, should Gilbert Burns take the fight? it's an interesting question right it'd be disappointing to the fans and all that stuff but what a slap in the face that would be to shemaiah if like he missed and he was like 172 and then burns is like nah me ain't fighting you that would be such a gangster move in my opinion he would get crucified for it you'd get destroyed for making that decision but in my eyes that'd be like kind of hilarious it would suck because i just want to see the fight and just see how it plays out but i don't think he's going to miss weight and here's another thing to kind of keep in mind as well with that whole first thing thing. Life at that time was a lot different. Fight Island, I mean, you had no other options. Like, you were stuck in a hotel room for like three days. And then even when you could get out, you couldn't get out for much. Like you could go downstairs in the hotel. Like, that's it.

Maybe you could walk around a little bit. That's as far as you could go. It's not like you can live everyday life like you can right now. Like you couldn't go to the gym. Like they had maybe another hotel room. You could go in and like hit pads for. 45 minutes and get a workout in. But it's, it's just life is so much difference right now. And the even like that last, because that Li Jing Liang trip, fight was on Fight Island in Abu Dhabi as well, it was just a way different setup. Like it was, it was just like a normal fight week in a lot of ways.

But back then, you're there. You get a win. You're at 185. And then you have like another nine days to think about going to 170. But you can't really think about anything else and you can't really do anything else. So I felt like that was probably. an easier process for him because that's i mean there's nothing what else can you do when the world is shut down like that now things are a little bit different shami if is gigantic he is huge i don't know

how he makes 170 i just it's shocking to me i think he will be i think he'll make it fine i don't think he's going to be one of the first fighters on the scale who knows every time we say that it seems like they will be the first fighter on the scale i actually think i was raised strongly to me the first fighter on the scale to make a statement but it's an interesting question. I think he'll be fine, but just how long can you keep making this cut to 170? Because that is a massive human being.

I'm Sat Shima. Let's get Tristan Gordet in here. Tristan, how are you? Are you there, buddy? Tristan. Tristan. Come on. All right, try again, Tristan.

We'll get you back in. Hendo slice. You're next. Good morning. Hack the holidays with the PC Holiday Insiders Report. Try this PC Porquetta, crackling, craveworthy. You gonna eat that? Who are you?

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Please feast responsibly. What's up, ma'am? I just wanted to ask a question about the bulk fight. I'm a huge fan of his and a former rugby player myself, and I was wondering if there's a future for a lot of rugby players to get into MMA because it has a lot of similar skills required in terms of like endurance, toughness, and also tackles and takens are very similar. that is a very interesting question well done hendo slice thank you for chiming in

i uh i have played rugby a few times but we didn't actually play it like it's supposed to be played we basically just played and i know in 2022 the name of this game it doesn't sound as you know politically correct as it does but we used to play kill the man with a ball and that was like our version of rugby like we just have a football we would run around and everyone would just chase you and try to crush you And that's that that's what we played. Jed Bishu actually played rugby in college. So he'd probably be more.

And I have to talk about this. But from what I understand, just talking to him and then having rugby conversation with Volcanowski, it takes a special kind of crazy to play rugby and like just love it and play it and play it for a really long time and excel at it. And that a lot of that same crazy goes into becoming a professional fighter. Because you've got to be, there are some really fascinating, some really brilliant people who compete.

in this sport that I've gotten the opportunity to have had the honor to talk to over the years. But you're still got to be a little crazy to get in there and fight. Like Casey Liden, all the respect in the world for that guy. Guy didn't have to do that. It goes in there and fight. Like Casey's got a little crazy to him,

but in like the best kind of way. So yeah, I mean, listen, if the guy you're using as an example to prove your case correct is Alexander Volcanovsky, that is a damn good way to start because Volko is not only a tremendous this fighter, A plus human being, family man, and it all started from rugby.

So you got to be tough. You got to be able to tackle. You got to be able to have explosive tendencies when it comes to the physical contact and athleticism. And he's got that in spade. So that's a really good point. Let's get Stephen Svito. Hey, Stephen, how are you, sir?

Good sir. So I had a question. It was actually, it wasn't going to be about rugby. it's going to be now. So Tai Tui Vasa actually played, and he was very, very good, and it was hard to bring down a great ball carrier. So the transition about, like one thing I'm noticing,

because I also played in high school, and the transition that I'm noticing, I know guys who have done wrestling and then went to rugby, have done rugby, went to jujitsu. Something I'm noticing is that, lots of guys appreciate how how you can be in control of your own safety yeah it's crazy sport but um if you know obviously rugby has no pads or headgear or anything so you have to protect yourself so one thing i notice is that like these guys are uh very concerned about their long-term health and

even though it may not seem like that because it's such an intense sport um so with that guys like Volcanovsky and Tuivasa, they seem to have a long game plan, like a long stretch in mind. Tuvasa's been at it for a while, Volk's been at it for a while. It's like, and my question is, what separates, it seems like, guys who are fighting now at the top of the list, top of the rankings from those guys who just want to get in, kind of like Hamza and kill everybody and get in there and smash and out and next fight, not decline any fights, but there's guys who seem to have more plans. So where does that come into play?

Why do guys, is it just like a personality thing where they want to get out there and get into the octagon and start smashing or they want to play it safe and make a longer career for themselves? So where's the mindset switch that you've seen, if that makes sense? Thanks, Stephen. That, I mean, really interesting question. I mean, the long term part, I mean, you have to have a lot of luck there. I mean, especially in such a physically demanding sport,

not just when you actually get in there and fight, but just the training and strength and conditioning and everything that comes with it. There's aches and pains and being able to mentally fight through all that, the nagging stuff. And it's also being able to know that, like, when you need to take a day off, it's not easy.

Like guys like Shima, who is starting to get a reputation, not just as a fighter, but how hard he trains, that's, I mean, that's a big thing. You just got to be, you got to have some luck,

but you have to know when to, turn it off or when to slow it down. I think the guys that you mentioned do a really good job with that. And yeah, it's just one of those things where you got to have some luck, you got to get involved. And then for the mentality of like, how long do I want to keep doing this? It just depends on who you are. And a lot of that has to do with sort of the UFC pay structure and the win and show bonus

because, you know, there are fighters who are just going to go in there that are fine, just being exciting guys. Like maybe they're not going to be world champions. Maybe they're not going to be contending for titles. But they're fine, just going in there and just punching dudes in the face and getting hit. And they just like it. They like it.

So they go in there and they get after it and they have fun. And maybe they get a bonus and get some money. And that's what it's about for them. And then there's others that are like, this is what I'm doing to take care of my family. This is my, this is it. I'm going to do this for as long as I can. I'm going to build a financial portfolio because I fight, and they look at it more as a not,

I mean, they're all professional athletes and they look at it as sport, but they also look at it as a self-made business, investing in themselves. I want to be able to do this for 10 years, maybe a little more, and then I want to be able to be in a place where when I know I'm done, I can just walk away and never come back. I think that's the goal of a lot of fighters these days. it's not just about titles and wins and losses.

They want to be able to be done when they're done. I think that's all of our goals. Like we'd love to just be in a position to say like, all right, like even if you're a doctor or a lawyer or an MMA journalist, you want to get to a point where you're at a certain age. Your kid, like in my instance, like, well, my kid is out of the house and he's on and he's doing his thing or he's in college or doing whatever, I want to be able to say to myself,

you know what, I've had a good run, but now I just want to, like, chill out. But I want to be in a position to do so. And fighting, it's really tough to do. So it's important to, while you want to be a guy, people will spend $50 on it, $75, and you want to be an exciting fighter and you want to make the fans happy.

At the end of the day, it's about making yourself happy. It's about making your bank account happy. And if you're married, that will lead to the wife being happy because I know from personal experience, the wife likes money. Let's bring Tristan Gordad in. We're going to go for about 10, 15 more minutes, everybody. Tristan, are we there? Do we got this?

Yeah, yeah. Are we good? We're good, man. We're good. Excellent. Here's the thing is that I'm surprised about it. I just checked the card again. You have Aspen Lab versus Raquel Pennington on this card.

And nobody's talking about. You do. Wait, hold on. Am I reading that wrong? No, that's fight. That's happening. Okay. I just feel no one.

talking about that. I'm like, hold on a second. I remember you were talking to Aspen Lad about her situation, and she's got to see, we got to make weight to Banley at 135. But Kel Pennington's on a three-fight win streak, and I'm like, man, this is going to be a very interesting fight between those two. So I want your thoughts on that.

And then, and then going back to Tisha Torres versus McKenzie Dern, I'm wondering McKenzie Dern could get this on the ground because, you know, she had real trouble against Marina Rodriguez. She couldn't get her. She had very poor takedowns.

And I'm curious if she's fixed that issue, because if she can't do this against Tisha Torres, I don't know if she's going to win his fight. Your thoughts. Thank you, Tristan. Tristan, they gets in on all this stuff. And I love that. So Aspen Ladd-Ra-Kale-Pentington, this fight kind of came together pretty quickly because if you recall Aspen I was supposed to fight Erie Nel-Dana. We fight. find out Arrani Eldon is out of the fight. And then we find out Aspen, Raquel Pennington gets the call on, I think it was about two weeks notice, or three weeks, it was short.

It was less than a month, I could tell you that. And now Raquel is in. And, I mean, especially on a card like this, no matter who Aspen Lad or Raquel Pennington are fighting, when you have the two title fights and you have a guy, a sensation, if you will, like Hamzat Shemayev and everybody's just talking about him, and it's just like Shami of overload. everything's going to get buried a little bit more. It's just the way that it is.

You find that on Connor cards. You find that on a lot of these other cards where some of these really good matchups and even the ranked fighters, they just sort of fly under the radar. And you can make the argument that even Tisha Torres-McCenzy Dern is flying under the radar. Yeah, they got up at the press conference yesterday, and they got after it a little bit and built the fight up. But, I mean, when you're on a card with Hamzat and two big title fights, everything's going to feel

just a little more under the radar. But the reaction I'm hearing, Tristan, is very similar to yours. Oh, yeah, I forgot that fight's on the card. So that just builds the anticipation levels for the fight, which is good. In terms of Torres-McKennsey-Durton, I mean, this one's kind of laid out perfectly.

And what I appreciate about McKenzie Dernard is she's very self-aware. She understands what her problems are. She understands that Tisha's striking might be a little bit better. but she also thinks that those striking discrepancies that people feel like Tisha's a way better striker than her. She feels like, all right, I might not be as good, but I think it's closer than people think. And McKenzie also realizes, and this has been something that's been said about her throughout her entire career,

while she is a absolute wizard on the mat and can make some crazy things happen once things get to the ground, she's not a great wrestler, and she knows she's not a great wrestler. And you know who else knows she's not a great wrestler? Tisha Torres knows she's not a great wrestler. So it'll be interesting to see how McKenzie approaches this fight. McKenzie's striking has gotten a lot better. She throws with everything she has. So it'll be interesting if she lands a really big shot on Tisha, how Tisha will respond.

And if Tisha can avoid getting McKenzie on top of her, she's got a very good chance to win this fight. But at some point, even if Tisha like just trips or falls over and McKenzie gets up on top of her, Boy, it could be over pretty quick. Honestly, it could be over pretty quick shortly there after that. So looking forward to that fight. I thought the ladies did a good job. Kind of a tough spot for them to be in yesterday at the press conference. If we're being honest, when you have Hamziding, Burns, and Jan and Sterling getting after it,

and then Volkanowski and Korean zombie, you know, Dana White there, kind of a tough spot for them to be in. But looking forward to both of those fights. Let's take a couple more. Let's get Patrick, who might or might not be driving right now. Patrick, good morning. Are you there? Patrick, are you there? All right, try again, my man.

Let's spit. Simon. Or Patrick Dakin. Simon. What's up, buddy? Hello? How are you? I just wanted, you talked about Hamzad, obviously.

So I just wanted to get another question going. He was the champion in wrestling in Sweden in 92 kilograms, which is about 205. So he's at 170 right now. And I wanted to ask you if this pays any dividends to him in the fight, if Gilbert or how do you see playing it out with having this in mind that he wrestled 205ers, which is like crazy to me. Yes. Like I don't know what I said earlier, like just seeing the man in person,

he is he's frigging monstrous. He is humongous. I just don't know how he makes 170. I have no clue. He's a huge dude. this will pay huge dividends because that's like the first thing you notice especially if like if you haven't seen it yet

go to I mean you've probably seen it at this point if you're on this but those two ran into each other the hotel trying to like cut weight and everything Hobbs has just so much bigger than him he's so much bigger than Gilbert Burns it's got to play huge dividends and he's so powerful it's going to be a huge thing in this fight

honestly that could be the big difference now if things get the ground. If Hamzat takes Gilbert down, gets on top of him, usually that's it. Doesn't matter. He just gets his hooks in. He's such a big guy and just starts landing big shots and there's nothing

you can do. You're just kind of trapped. Gilbert is obviously excellent on the ground with his jiu-jitsu, his scrambles. He hasn't had to really use it all that much as of late, but that's where this fight gets interesting. What happens if Hamzac gets that big take down and gets on top,

mounts him, gets side control, how will Gilbert respond? Can Gilbert force scrambles on the ground? Even if he doesn't get back to his feet, let's just say in the first round, in the first minute of the fight, we get the vintage humsat Shemayev,

I'm going to pick you up, I'm going to walk you across the cage, and I'm going to slam you down, and we get you inside control. What happens there? Can Gilbert Burns get out of that first round? Because maybe not getting up is the thing, but just transitioning, sweeping, moving,

make sure you're in full guard, making Hamzat work, but not get that quick finish. What happens then? What happens if Hamzat starts to fade a little bit? Then maybe Gilbert could take over. So I think Gilbert, his best chance is he's going to have to weather a huge storm and let Hamzat tire himself out

and just let this fight continue on and just work like that. This could be a war. And I think if it is, that's Gilbert's best chance, honestly. If he wants to get in there and have like a technical kickboxing match with Hamzaa Chamaif as not the path to victory, but he's a very smart guy. And I think he knows that. I think he knows exactly what he needs to do here.

But just implementing it against a guy like that, boy, you're asking for a lot. I have to see if we can make this happen, Dana Spite. I have to see. No! Are you here? Oh, my gosh. This is amazing. What's up, buddy?

say Mike I love the show I want to hear one of the last questions I have a lot more to say but I'll just end it with who do you think is going to win who do you think is going to win each fight who do you think won the press conferences and do you predict anyone to miss weight

that is my two cents thank you Dan I'm glad we got the the technical aspect worked out um I'm gonna I'll just talk about the first three fights I think I'm leaning to I mean, I have the favorites to win them all. I think Volcanoffs he's going to win.

I think Jan's going to win. And I think Hamzat's going to win. I just think Hamzad is the man. I think Gilbert Burns is tremendous too, a big fan of them. I just think sometimes just between the skill, talent, even if you want to play the destiny game, you can play the destiny game here. I think the world is aligning for him in that way.

So I think the three favorites will win. I do think I do think Jan and Sterling is going to be a really good fight I think it's going to be a war now I use this fight as an example but I think this is how it's going to play out

I think Sterling's going to win the first round might even win the second but the last stretch of that fight the final three rounds it's going to look like and if you haven't watched this fight go back and watch it you know what I'm talking about go watch

Zabit my Agamed Sharapov versus Kyle Bokniak. You're going to see things like that where Yon's just going to get going and he's going to hit Aljo and Aljo is going to be fine with it and he's going to come back and fire shots and Yon's going to land something massive and Alj is going to keep walking. He's going to keep going and they're going to have some good exchanges down the stretch. I'm predicting a 49-46 for Pejorian, but at the end of the day, I think it's going to be a great fight.

I actually think it's going to get the fight of the night because I think it's going to be much more of a war than people think it is. Like Sterling, Sterling is probably the biggest heel in Florida. He was getting booed out of the building yesterday. It was crazy. And Jan was getting cheered.

Like he was freaking Elvis Presley in the 50s and 60s. It was wild. Absolutely wild. But here we are, 22. All right, we'll take a couple more. Whoops, didn't mean to do that. All right. Patrick, I think we got you now.

I hope. Let's see. Can we do it? Can we make it happen? All right. Oh, no. Try again. Get in again, Patrick.

We had you. We lost you. And then we had you at the very end, right before I gave you the virtual boot. Underground MMA Ringo. The only question I really got for you is I want to know about all this love for Perry-on and, uh,

Chamsa, you know, I mean, the love for them is beyond. So, and I do. agree that they're both very talented and amazing what they've brought in their kind of short careers in the MMA for the last few years.

But like at this point, guys are talking like they can't be beat. And I just haven't seen that in a long time. I do see if, you know, Giller Burns gets manhandled in one round, then we've seen something we haven't seen in years, probably since, you know, Conner's heyday in the featherweight division. But like, do you honestly see these guys kind of running for the next five years? and being like Anderson Silva and his pride? Good question.

Short answer, yes, I do. Obviously, these fights have to happen and things have to play out and work out the way they want them to, but Jan is just such a talented fighter. I felt that way from Jump Street. I understood the questions and some of the reservations people might have had.

Maybe it was the level of competition, the Yariah Faber win, and maybe his road to the title wasn't as as difficult, if you will, as maybe some of the other guys, especially some of these up-and-comers that are fighting at 135 now. But Jan is really good.

And I thought he was looking really good in that Sterling fight. He was on his way to winning that fight before the illegal Nate. And let me just say this, and I've said this many times before, you cannot call, there's no asterisk

next to Al Jermaine Sterling being the champion. You may not like the way the fight ended, and you may feel a certain way about it. But at the end of the day, rules are rules. And if you break the rules, you should be penalized. Jan broke the rules, landed an illegal strike. Aljo couldn't continue. He was deemed unable to continue. He's the champion. That's the rules. So we can't get him too much crap for that. Yon is a super talented fighter. That Corey Sanhagen fight will age like a fine wine. Every time you go

back and watch that fight, I think you get even more appreciation for Jan in the skill set. And the fact of the matter is both him and Hamzat already are this talented and they're both pretty young. Their careers are just getting started. Neither have hit their athletic primes yet. That's scary. That is scary to think about. And they are very good at evolving with the game too, especially Peotter. We see Peotter improving and doing different things and his game evolves almost every single fight.

And that's the difference sometimes. That's what you want to see from these guys. Are they the same fighter they were two fights ago? Have they, they're different tools in the toolbox. And I feel like with Piot-Riyan, we see one, we see either one that's refined or we see a new one. But I mean, I'm high on both those guys, and I think both those guys could have very long careers,

and both of those guys could be top five, top 10, pound-for-pound guys, for sure. All right, we're going to take two more. Maybe one more. I don't know. Dax, what's up? Hey, Mike. So we kind of have the layout of the first six months of, you know, big UFC fights. This one, Burns and Schme is my favorite by far.

Of the first six months, past, present, or future, what is your top fight? Over the next six months? The first six months of 2022, past present or future. Okay. I mean, right, I mean, right now. the, I mean, Colby Mazdal had a big build. You could even make the argument that

like right before Adisanya Whitaker 2, the UFC was putting the promotional push behind the Covington Mazadol fight, like even more so. But I mean, the most, the fight I'm most interested in so far to this year and even with like things that are on the

books, I will say Oliver Gishi is probably my most anticipated fight overall. But in terms of the fights that I have the most questions about, or the one I want the answer to the most, it's Shemaya Burns. It really is. Like, is Shemaya of the man?

Is this a guy who could beat Kamar Usman? If he goes out there, just runs Gilbert Burns out of the building, I mean, come on. There's just no doubt. And then what happens with Leon? What happens to lose? So, like, all these things. And what happens if he loses?

It's just so interesting. All very gaugie, though, as far as fights go, good grief that fight rules all right i'm going to take patrick and i take mark and then we're done what's up patrick i think we got you now i think oh unmute i think we're good okay we're in we're in what's up i'm i think my share my uh my colin's gonna lose a little sizzle off the steak after all that but what do you got what do you got well i wanted to chime in on uh hendo's question about the rugby thing.

I like that kind of bigger picture thinking when it comes to fighting. And I have a take on the Samoans, you're like one 10,000 times more likely

to play NFL football if you have Samoan heritage. And it's like those guys, they start small and lanky and super athletic. And then they build mass on top of that. And I feel like Volcanowski probably did the same thing

because obviously he was over 200 pounds when he was playing rugby. And Anthony, who's the guy who plays on the Lakers, he also, like some of those basketball players who go through growth spurts where... Davis, yeah. I lost you? No, I'm here. I'm here.

Oh, yeah. Yeah, but just like some of the NBA players who they grew up playing point guard, and then all of a sudden they had a growth spurt. You know, so they have all of the athletic ability of the little guy, and then they build on mass. And also, you know, you look at Mexican fighters, like warrior cultures, you know, I think that if you're not that far removed from being in a warrior culture, you end up just having that mindset and that chin, you know, you just can't. be defeated. That's a little bit of my take on that. And I'm also, thanks for all the info from Jacksonville, I'm liking that the Aljimane is a little bit more of a live dog now. And, yeah,

it just seems like he's got that whole, that full first fight, he saw what didn't work. And so I think, like you guys were saying, a BTL, that he can't just come in with that vulnerability. polymer, pepper and pepper and pepper him, you know, whatever, 50 strikes a minute. Like you got to, I think he's totally going to have to take him down, like you're saying. Anyways, uh, yeah, I agree. Happy Friday. Thanks, my man. I appreciate him.

I'm glad we get you on. Some very interesting points. Where did I get the last word from Mark Vini? He's been patiently waiting. Mark, good morning. Morning. How are you, Mike? Good.

How are you? Pretty good. I just want to go back to your, you're just. put him a kid in the car. Just go back to your question, your conversation with John Anick yesterday and how he said that Hamzad is not going to want to take, you know,

multiple extended breaks. And with Usman, probably not fighting for a while with his injury, and Colby probably not going to take a fight with Hamzat. What do you think about him facing if he wins the winner of next week's main event, Lukai Muhammad? Let's go Yankees.

I'll go off. Abu. boo. Boo you, Mark. I'm even going to answer your question now. Eat it. No, I'm just kidding. I don't think that fight happens. I actually think Colby would fight.

I actually think Colby would fight Hamzat. I don't think you would fight him now. I think if he fights him, I think it's a bigger fight. They fight for the title. Like if Shemayev wins a belt, then you do the Colby fight. I think you can wait on that one. I think it would be a big one. And I actually think Colby would take it.

And I think Colby would take it now if the UFC offered it to him. But I think the UFC is also where it's probably, not the best decision. You could wait and put some sizzle on it, let those two guys continue to talk about each other, and then when they can match them up for a title fight, cool. I've been saying this, and I know my best friend AK could attest to this,

because I've been saying this since UFC 268 or right after on that on to the next one episode. And I actually believe this is still the case, because if not, why is Oosman Leon, why has that not been announced? I know Dane has talked about it, but why is that fight not in the book?

Why do we not have a date for it? Why? Because there's still unknowns. We don't know when Oussman's going to be able to fight. Now, best case scenario, we do Ousman Edwards in July and Homsak gets the winner. That's like the way it would work out ideally. But MMA is not ideal. It's supposed to be fun, but it's also chaotic and it's unpredictable.

So I truly believe. And I still believe this. I said this on BTL with Jed last night. Hamzaa Tchamayev, if he wins, is going to fight Leon Edwards. Interim title. And I think this makes so much sense. It gives Uzman more time to heal up.

Let's Uzman hang out with this family a little longer. He's one of the more active champions they had, even with injuries and stuff that he was dealing with. You let Hamza fight Leon for an interim title, and if Hamzaat wins, you do title versus title. unification, you build the crap out of it. And it's a bigger fight because he's got the interim title. You got two belts.

It's always looks better, especially in the UFC's eyes of two belts. But if Leon Edwards beats Hamzat Shemayev, the interest in that fight grows exponentially. It's a 10 times bigger fight coming off of a win over Hamzat Shemayev than it would be coming off the win over Nate Diaz, which still, everyone's talking about Nate in that fight. So I actually think it's going to happen. Like if Ushman can't fight International Fight Week, and we can't get Jones-Stepe, I would not be shocked in the slightest

to see the UFC headline international fight week with Hamzad, honestly. Hamzat versus Leon Edwards, interim title fight. Do it. Just do it. Like, people hate the interim title situation. I get it. Sometimes it's not called for. This is a glorified number one contenders fight. and everybody sort of knows that by now.

Both guys would get more money. But there's a purpose to it. We're not disrespecting Usman. We're just saying, like, here's the number of contender. We're trying to get you paid, son. We're trying to get you the biggest fight possible. Because he's not getting Canelo. It's never going to happen.

And he's not fighting Connor McGregor. So what's the biggest fight we can make? We wait. We wait. MSG. Usman versus the winner. Either Leon Edwards, Hamzaa, Chimaeuf. October, November, December, whenever.

But whoever wins that fight, interim belt, two belts, fights huge. It's way more interesting. Way more interesting than if you just threw them in there now. Even if Hamzat beats Gilbert Burns on Saturday, which a lot of people feel he's going to do, even if he does that, people are going to be clamoring for it.

Let's get, sorry, Leon, no title fight for you, Hamzat skips the line. That's what people are going to be calling for. So Dana White's going to be asked at the press conference. And that's what we're going to be talking about all week long on these shows. But we can wait. Leon still gets his title fight, gets a huge one with Hamzat, and the winner goes on to fight Kamaru in a fight that's just much bigger.

So there's no need to rush this one. Let Uspen heal up. Let him get some time with his family. And then he comes back to an absolutely huge fight. All right, we are done. I got to get out of here. I'm surprised my best friend is still here. are listening right now because we got our way in show coming up nine a.m. Eastern,

22 minutes from right now, myself, Jose, aka E. Casey Leiden, one of the pound for pound greats, we will be there, along with the fighters, of course, because that's where you're there to watch and listen to us in the background, but you want to see the fighters make weight. Someone asked me earlier if I think there's going to be any weight misses. I'm going to stay positive here and say no. no weight misses today. But that's it. We'll see you on the YouTube channel.

Appreciate you listening. If you missed it, if you missed the early part of the show, it's got to go up in the M.A. Fighting Podcasting Network probably within the next 20 to 25 minutes. So thanks, everybody. Have a heck of a Friday.

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