MMA Fighting - HOAM | Bold Predictions For UFC 281, Israel Adesnaya vs. Alex Pereira Main Event

Episode Date: November 10, 2022

UFC 281 is built with many fascinating matchups, storylines, and questions ahead of Saturday's return to Madison Square Garden. While making fight predictions is one thing, predicting something outside of the box is something entirely different, and there are many avenues to take when it comes to the main event between Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira, and the rest of the fight card as a whole. On an all-new edition of Heck of a Morning, MMA Fighting's Mike Heck discusses his thoughts on some of the major bouts on the slate for Saturday. Additionally, listener responses are focused on some bold predictions for Adesanya vs. Pereira, Carla Esparza vs. Zhang Weili, Dustin Poirier vs. Michael Chandler, along with questions about the disrespect Esparza has received from fans heading in, Molly McCann's potential title aspirations if she upsets Erin Blanchfield, and more. You can listen live to Heck of a Morning Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays at 10 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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Thursday, November 10th, 2022, and it is indeed a heck of a morning, live on the M.A. Fighting Twitter Spaces. You could hear the show in its entirety shortly thereafter on the M.A. Fighting Podcasting Network. I am Mike Heck. Hope everyone's having a great week. We are on the eve of the eve of UFC 281 going down at Madison Square Garden this Saturday. Main events, we all know what it is. Israel Adasagna versus Alex Prater. Middleweight title on the line.

History, storylines, everything you would want for a main event. We got it in spades. Of course, we got the Strawway title fight, Carlos Sparza, versus Zhang Wei Lee. A lot of people on Zhang. I feel like Carla is just getting swept under the rug here. Curious to know what you think about that. Of course, Dustin Poria versus Michael Chandler. The whole card is fantastic.

We'll talk about that and much more. And of course, I will be in New York. I will not be at the Mecca. I will be at the beautiful Vox Studios with my man, G.C. Live watch party, 9.45 p.m. Eastern time. We'll go on about 15 minutes before the main card starts. We're just going to watch the main card all together. We'll have special guests, some fun times, some games, some cool stuff, some betting stuff.

We'll get you all involved. It's just going to be a lot of fun. So a lot to talk about. We could talk about 281. We could talk about whatever the hell you want to talk about. But here's what I want from everybody today as well. For whoever's hopping on in to discuss this card. or whatever you want to talk about.

At some point, through your rantings, I want you to give me a bold prediction for 281. A bold prediction. Give me something. Think outside the box. Let's have some fun with this. All right? So we can talk about whatever you want,

but then the last thing, give me a prediction. A bold one. Not just, well, like to go to Sonyi wins a decision. No, give me something different. All right? Let's get into this thing. I am excited.

Let's go. Double A. Hello. Good, you? All right. You said you wanted a bold prediction, yeah? Let's go. Okay.

Just give me a second to think. Bold prediction. Okay. You could talk about whatever else you wanted to talk about. Yeah, I'm going to. I'm going to, but I just wanted to think. I will bring up what I wanted to bring up first. Are we any closer to getting an Amanda Nunes fight announcement, do you know?

And if it's not Giuliana, who do you think she would fight? Who would Juliana have to fight before she gets the title fight again? Okay, my bold prediction. Okay, I don't know if this is bold or what I think that, oh, geez. Just give me some prediction, anything. Does it have to be like crazy out of the box? But I mean, if you think it's bold, make it, if you think it's bold, then it's bold. Well, I don't know some people are saying this.

I've said this already, so I'm going to say it. The main event, I feel like it's going to, it's going to come down to how, how that left hook is dealt with. And I honestly think it's going to be dealt with in one way. You ready for it? Ready. 90-night on the canvas. is he's going to sleep

damn all right thank you double a there we go is he's going to sleep old prediction as far as Amanda Nunes goes I don't know

I don't think it's going to be Giuliana Pena I think it's down to two it's probably Kettlin Vieira but what I think they're going to end up doing is the Valentina Shepchenko fight because

I think you got a strike now that Brazil card is pretty solid, but I think it needs something else. And if you could do Nunes versus Shevchenko on that card is the main event, I think that would be fantastic.

It's like there's no true emerging number one contender at 125 for Valentina. I mean, Manon Fioro just won, but it looks like she had to go into surgery. She's probably, she wants to fight Alexa Grasso, Alexa Grasso wants one more fight.

Lauren Murphy's fighting Jessica Androge at 125 on that same card so maybe Androge can emerge for a rematch? I don't know. But I think right now the biggest fight for both of those women is just to fight each other.

So I'd love to see that at Brazil. Clock's kind of ticking, but maybe we'll get an announcement on Saturday. I don't know. But I feel like if I'm the UFC, that's the fight I'm trying to make. I know Amanda said she wanted to take some time off and all that after the Pena fight.

I just don't think Pena is going to get another shot. Like, maybe she'll get one. So how I would do it is Nunes versus Chivchenko, do Pena versus Vietta, and then if Pena wins, she gets a title shot. It's a rematch against either woman who beat her the last time she fought them. Nunes,

Nunez beat her pretty convincingly in the second fight and Shevchenko finished her when they fought the first time when Schenko is at 35. So that's how I would do it. We'll see if the UFC's going to do the same thing, but that's exactly how I would do it. Let's go to Pella. We went from AA, now we go to double P. Are you there, sir?

You're muted, so are you there? All right, try again. We'll get you back in here because you were muted. Let's go to Zeke. Hello, Zeke. Mike, how are we? Good. You hear me?

Yep. You get a mute. Yep, I got it. We're good. I absolutely love it. I got my prediction. Extremely bold. Gotta leave it for the end.

Now, got to leave you guys on your toes because I'm excited for this card. I got a question for you, Mike. What are you most excited about for this card if I could ask you? I mean, it's definitely the main events. There's no doubt about that. I mean, I think I'm as excited for what everybody else is excited for. The main events. the Chandler-Porye fights ridiculous.

I would say if we're going a little bit lower and I talked about this earlier this week, I am very curious to see what Dominic Reyes looks like on Saturday. That's like my low-key question I need answered. So I'm very curious to see what the time off, the move to Danbury, Connecticut for this camp, training with Glover and Pereira and Turman and all those guys. I'm incredibly fascinated by that storyline.

I mean, I agree. I want to see how Dominic looks after, you know, what Yuri did the last time we saw him in the Octagon. But moving forward down this card, I got specialized on Brad Riddell. I think that's going to be a banger at lightweight. Let's see how Brad responds after what happened, unfortunately, with Jalen Turner. But that guy's just a freak. You know what I mean? Who the hell wants to fight that guy right now?

But with that being said, I got two little predictions, dash. I guess you could say bold takes. I don't think the main event's going to be what we think it's going to be. I think Izzy's going to need to keep his distance, his space, and do what he does. He's going to need Pereira to gas. And I think we might be looking at a decision. I think we're going to be looking at a Zanya normal style, the way he does, the way it kind of rolls, cannon-nayer kind of way.

However, if you watch that fight back, watch it back. Jared hit Izzy late. I don't think Pereer is going to be able to keep the gas tank to hit him. late. However, if Izzy drops his hands like he did in the fourth and fifth round, good night, Adizania. And my bold take, here we go. Frankie,

the answer. Edgar, get you done in one. Tomorrow, Mike. Gets it done and one. I mean, that would be pretty damn cool for everybody in attendance. I don't think the Adasani... My decision prediction is all that bold,

but listen, this has, like I'm so torn on this fight because there's like so many different stylistic vibes that pop up in my head

because I feel like Pereira is so dangerous but I just feel like I just feel like is he's better than him at a lot of ways. Like I know Pereira has just that power.

It's so sneaky. You don't see it coming. But I just feel like Adasani is better than him as an MMA fight. across the board, but sometimes you just have that equalizer and it doesn't really matter. So I'm curious what Pereira's game plan is going to be, the preparation, and just how Izzy's mindset is heading into this thing, like standing across the cage from a guy who's already

beat him and knocked him out viciously. I know that was a while ago. I know that's a big part of the storyline and all that, but I don't know. I just feel like this is one of those things where like Pereira is just, Pereira's not going to do a lot to, like, win rounds. You know what I mean? Like, he's not just going to, like, pile together strikes to just win rounds against Adasania. He's just going to land the big shot,

maybe steal something. Like, it's not going to be a volume striking style that's just, we're going to watch a round and be like, oh, that was a close round, Perera won it. I don't think we're going to be looked. I don't think any of the rounds are going to be like that. I think it's going to be either Adasanya just wins the round out right or Pereira gets a sneak knockdown or something to steal it. So I don't think it's just going to be such a strange fight.

It could be a boring Adasanya fight, which, again, I don't have a big problem with. I don't know if Pereira is going to fight him like Cannesair did and just be over cautious the entire time. I don't know. I don't know if we're looking at like, and I don't think it's going to be like this, but this is just, the way people compare this fight because of the 25 minutes and the danger, who knows that this is going to be like a Cyril gone Derek Lewis type of thing? Because that's the way people look at the Derek Lewis-Seril-Gone fight. Cyril's the better fighter.

Zero is going to be the man. But when you give somebody like Alex Pereira or Derek Lewis 25 minutes to land one shot, it changes the narrative a little bit. And I think Pereer is obviously a better technical striker than Derek Lewis is a much better one. but still the same dangers apply. And what if Pereira can't hit him? What if he can't land that big shot? That we could be looking at a 50-45, who knows?

I just have so many questions about this fight, and that's what makes it so fascinating and interesting. I can't wait to see it. Frankie and won. That would be something. Let's go to Boston. Brett, hello. Good morning.

Hey, I'm just looking forward to this 281 card, and I got a, I got a question. How the hell is Michael Chandler in DDP not a five-rounder? I get the idea. It's the third fight and everything like that. But I think the UFC missed it on this one to not making this part of a, not making this a five-rounder.

Because one of my bold predictions is this is going to be like a fight of the year. And it's just going to be bombs being thrown by those guys. And I mean, the way I see it, it's almost like if you put chase-tink. in Gagey in front of Chalya when you see Poria. And they destroy and I'm just really disappointed that. That's not a five-rounder. And that prediction is going to be a fight of the year candidate. And my main prediction is Peril is going to sleep out of Sanya.

This guy, he's so sneaky. I've been watching his fights on YouTube religiously recently and just he's, he hunts you down. Like, he's like a quiet and it's happened. And when he gets close, now that's the fan's going to put out anybody in the game.

And he's going to make the division wide open. And it's, it's going to be a game breaker. And, and I just want to give it one last observation on, I'll watch one of your famous fights again,

Surukian and, Gamrod. And I tell you, I watched it one time. I saw it at the Gamrod one. I watched it another time of the Syruki and won. I still don't know how they judge that, that fight.

And it could have gone either way, and I completely understand. But Mike, you're doing phenomenal. Enjoy your show on Saturday night. And have a heck of a morning, brother. Thank you, sir. So I'll address the chair of poor you. I think a lot of people kind of feel the same way about that. They wanted five rounds.

But at the end of the day, I don't think it's going to matter because I don't think this thing's going to the cards anyways. I think these two are just going to get in there and beat the shit out of each other. It's going to be a lot of fun. And I don't think it's going to need the cards. So, and again, it was the timing of it all because I know poor, you wanted to fight at MSG. Chandler was maybe looking for December. And had they booked that in December, that would probably be a five-rounder.

Because all we have is, and this is not a bad thing. We have Yuri Perashka versus Glover-Teshirea in the main event. But if you add that as like a second five-rounder, that would have been pretty sick. but this card's loaded enough. I'll take 15 minutes of these guys and potentially I don't think we're going to get that far. But I think that's the big thing.

I think that's the big thing. And the main event, a lot of chatter. Hey, look, if you're looking at this from a betting perspective, I think all the value from that sense is on Pereira at plus 170.

And if you're going to look at it even further, like Pereira is going to win, he's not going to win a decision. It's just not going to happen. I mean, if it did, I'd be completely stunned. So if you're going to bet Pereira, I think

all the value in this fight is on him from a betting perspective. And Adasania by decision is plus money, so if you're going to bet Adisania, maybe that's a way to do it. But Pereira by KOTKO is plus 275. So if you think Pereira's going to win, you probably should

look at that and get the extra juice. But man and then surukion gamrod is just the best it's my favorite fight of the year it won't win fight of the year but it's my favorite fight of the year all right pelah do we have you double p do we have me yes i have you okay um i'd say my prediction um i think he's going to win by knockout run four or one five because i i don't think peri is going to keep up i don't think he's going to keep up i don't think he's going to keep up i don't think he's going to keep up i I think he's going to gas out and he's going to either knock him out or is he's going to submit him. Then Chandler versus Purir, I think Purir is going to crack Chandler's chin for sure. I think Puri is going to knock at Chandler. That's what I got. Thanks, man.

Hey, listen, that could happen. Again, if we're looking at it from an odds in a value standpoint, I think Chandler's, I think all the values on Michael Chandler. plus 180. That's a, I think this is a 50-50 fight. Like, I think this is a 50-50 fight. I have lots of questions about both of these guys, just where they're at currently in their careers,

like how good are they really? And they're both great fighters. But this is a division where it's just the same names up there over and over again. And we have these young bucks coming up and these two guys are just kind of mainstays in this division. So I feel like this fight is way close and the betting odds suggest.

But, yeah, I think all the values on Michael Chandler from a betting perspective, just because I think this fights way closer than the lines indicate. But it's going to be a banger. It's going to be a good one. Let's go to Lashana. Hi, Mike.

How are you? Okay, I have a prediction, a comment, and a question. I'll keep it short. My prediction. A bold prediction. Carla is going to walk out of there on her own two feet.

Maybe she'll win. She'll probably get deaded. But I think she will walk out of the cage of her own volition. Comment. I'm excited. I'm glad that Chandler, Porriere, is only three rounds, to be honest. I think these guys just have been in absolute wars, just getting battered and battering other people for a while now.

And what you were saying before about, like, I mean, should they even? really like based on meritocracy be fighting each other right now like probably not it would be cool to see them fight other younger up-accoming guys but while we have this fight and while they're both not crippled it'll be cool to see it'll be cool to see them just get after it for only three rounds question i also have been hearing a lot of like perera and just anti-isie talk do you think that even if Izzy wins in a boring point fighter-e way, people still have to give him respect for this one just because Pereira is so dangerous

and has beaten him before. And, I mean, just compared to his past challengers, I think this is the one people are excited for. So I don't know, if he wins, like, does it matter the style within which in he wins for him to, you know, make a lot of noise after this card? I'm not sure. What do you think? All right. Thank you so much.

Listen, I think you should get the respect anyways. Here's the thing. If you're going to play into what you do best, you have to take it. Everyone expected Jared Canada Air. Like everybody who broke the fight down, Jared himself, Adasania himself heading into that Canaan Air fight. All said the same thing.

Cannon Air needs to go forward. He's got to take risks and he's got to go after. out of Sanya. Because if not, what's going to happen is Adasani. She's just going to be at range. You're just going to pick him apart for 25 minutes. And guess what happened? Candidore fought him at range. And Adasania was probably thinking to himself, like,

um, really? Like you're just going to let me do what I do best? Okay. What's he supposed to do? You know what I mean? Like, everyone dogging out of the side. Like, look, if you bought tickets and spent a bunch of money on the fight and you felt disappointed or whatever, you expected

more of a barn burner, I guess. get it. But at the same token, like, it is so hard to continuously defend your title over and over again. And if someone's just going to give it to you the way that Cannonair sort of did, what's he supposed to do? You know what I mean? Like, I don't feel like, I feel like Canon Air deserved the lion's share of the blame for that fight more than Adasania. Because Adasania is not, he's the champ. Like, why is he going to take all that extra risk when he doesn't have to just to make fights exciting? I understand this is an entertainment thing. but it's up to

the challenger to go take the title. And if you don't try to take it, then Adasian is just going to stand there and just whoop you from the outside. He's just got to appoint you. And he dominated that fight. That fight was not close. It was not competitive at all.

There are moments down the stretch where Canada may have landed a couple of shots, but this is the Adasani show. And it could happen here. I just don't expect it to. I expect Pereira to go and try to take this one. I expect him to be more aggressive. I expect him to go after it a little bit more.

But what if he doesn't? And if that's what happens, and Pereira wants to have a range kickboxing fight with Israel Adasania, despite the pedigrees of both guys, Adasani will gladly take that. They'll be like, okay, this is what we've been hyping up the whole time. You're just going to hand me a title defense.

I'm not saying that Pereira is still not dangerous, but I don't, if that's what's going to happen, then Adasani is going to fight that way. So I think this is, I think this is a different fight. I think for the last caller saying that Adasania by knockout, I think that's in play here. I think that's in play. Because there's going to be a point in this fight where if we go to the championship rounds, if Adasania is up 3-0, we know that Pereira is going to get a little bit desperate. and that plays into Adasania's hands.

He's a great counterstriker. He wants you to be aggressive towards him. If you're not going to be, he'll just shut you out from the outside. But eventually, desperation leads to mistakes. So I think in Adasania finishes definitely in play. But again, these are all the vast questions I have when it comes to this fight. There's just so many of them. There's so many parallels, so much in play.

I can't wait to see it. I can't wait to see it. Boarding for flight 246 to Toronto is delayed 50 minutes. Ugh, what? Sounds like Ojo time. Play Ojo? Great idea. Feel the fun with all the latest slots in live casino games and with no wagering requirements.

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your travel bug, but your taste buds too. That's the powerful backing of Amex. Conditions apply. We'll keep this train going. A lot of people in line. Viking, hello. I just want to give my predictions. Israel Arisania by decision.

Blenfield is going to smoke Molly McCann because she is a stupid fighter. That's it. And I just want to know about who's going to be on the BTL panel tonight. Thank you, Mike. All right. Blanfield McCann is interesting. Yeah. I mean, I think Molly is, I think Molly is earned the spot.

I think this matchmaking, this might be, I mean, the main event's obviously brilliant matchmaking, but in terms of like non-title fight matchmaking, this is the best matched fight on the card in my opinion, because this is perfect. It's a win-win for the UFC. Because if Molly wins, you continue to ride this wave. Molly, if Molly beats Aaron Blanchfield, if she goes out there and finishes her at MSG, I don't think she's fighter of the year, but she's going to be in my top five.

I'll tell you that right now. She goes out that there are three finishes, having not finished the UFC fighter, getting a TKO or anything like that, to go out there and get three finishes and then beating Aaron Blanchfield, that's massive. Like I understand that Luana Carolina and Hannah Goldie

are not world beaters, but now you're giving her Aaron Blanchfield. It's a hometown fight for Blanchfield. Everyone's super high on her. If she beats Aaron Blanchfield, that's massive and you've got something to build upon. You could shoot her through the ranks. And it's going to be one of those situations

where it's just like, hey, Molly's on fire. Do we just throw her right in with Valentina? Like she jumps up big time if she beats Aaron Blanchfield. That's the win that takes her over the hump. And if Blanchefield wins, that's a name that has a lot of rub on it right now. You get a win over Molly McCann. It means something in 2022.

It means a lot. And it could be a star-making moment for Aaron Blanchfield. So I love the matchmaking. There is nothing to lose here if you're looking at it from a UFC business perspective. BTL, Jedmishu versus Ben Duffy from Sherdog today. Should be a lot of fun. A lot of people wanted to see that the first time. One of the more underrated matchups we've had on BTL,

and they're going to run it back again today. So I'm excited for that. 1 p.m. Eastern. Stay tuned. All UFC 281 chatter, by the way. That's the whole show is 281 chatter. Mikey. Morning, guys.

How's everybody doing? man, just a couple more sleeves, right? I just want to make a couple of observations. It's so funny how Israel and Sanya's career is being paralleled to Anderson Silva, how we've been always talking about that stuff for years because the parallel is creeping up again because this fight with Pereira just feels like when Anderson fought Vitor Belford. Remember when Anderson was coming off about a couple of bad title defenses,

quote-unquote, lackluster title events? and everyone's like, well, somebody has to fight him that wants to try and fight him. And then here comes Vitor. And we know what happened with that. And also, even though I'm picking easy to win, I just think the experience will, you know, people forget this is still Pahara's only, what, like, ninth or tenth MMA fight. I will say this, though. I'm not going to lie. If Pahara wins and then his and then Glover loses to Erie, good Lord, I would love to see him fight Yeri Prasca.

wouldn't that be fun? Also, I'm leaning Wei Lee against Carla, but I have to say, man, to disrespect for Carla is just, I mean, I get if you're a fan of Wei Lee. I'm a fan of Wei Lee, too, but it's like everyone just keeps dismissing how good Carla was and how she helped build that division.

You know what I mean? And as you mentioned with Molly McCann, listen, if she impressively finishes Erin Blanchfield, it's going to be hard to deny her a title shot. Don't give me all this. That's enough merit, man. Like, listen, you don't want to hog. hog-tied that division by having contenders fighting each other, build new blood out,

Valentina's getting older, get her bodies, you know? So that'll be all. Be kind of one of the other guys. Thanks. So I respect your take. I disagree with it to just give Molly a title shot. Because, again, I mean, Blanchfield's, Blanchfield is super young. She's green.

She's got a, her ceiling is super high. But beating Luana Carolina, Hannah Goldie, and Aaron Blanchfield. It's a good year, but it's not title shot worthy. And she's got fresh faces right now. She's got Manon. She's got Alexa Grasso. She's got two right there for her. And then we still got some of these other fighters on the way up as well.

The Bacy Barbers, the Casey O'Neills, when she's ready to come back. Like the next, I think like the next nine months to a year are going to be a little slow for Valentina. That's why I think let's just do the Amanda Nunes fight now. and then if she wins, you know, do whatever. And if she loses, then goes back to 125 and hopefully the division will sort itself up. Molly's in the mix, that's for sure. Molly probably gets herself a massive fight, somebody in with a name, somebody in the top 10. And if she wins, then she's close.

She's close. I think we need more than just a Blanchefield win, but she's definitely in the conversation. There's no doubt about that. the Carla thing is interesting. So if you listen to No Bet Spard, and we'll probably talk about it more, Jed Bishu is doing something that not a lot of gamblers are very wise to do.

He's going all in on John Wei Lee. He's going all in on. He's that confident in her. He went all in on Valentina Shepchenko against Tyler Santos. He had to sweat that one out a little bit, but he is very confident that Zhang Wei Lee is going to beat Carlos Spars. I think

I think Carlos Sparza her career is vastly underrated I think she is a first ballot Hall of Famer probably being it coming back and winning the title and you can knock the resume on the way back to that second title winning that second belt

all the split decisions all that but you know what? She went up she got those wins officially she got to the Rose fight not a lot of people gave her a chance to win that fight or is it a fight we're going to remember

or we're going to go back and watch that one repeatedly? Absolutely not. But she won and she got the title and she did it for the second time. This fight is just a brutal stylistic matchup for her. It's just brutal. And I could be wrong.

I just, and I'm not knocking Carla as a fighter. I just feel stylistically this is a nightmare. I think Zhang is just bigger, strong, more physical, better athlete. And when that combination of fighter fights Carla Sparza, it doesn't go very well for her.

Ioanni and Chezek, Tatiana Suarez, and I feel like Zhang could do the same. Now, if Carla beat Zhang Wei Li, she's the fighter of the year. She's the female fighter of the year unequivocally. She won the belt against Rose, not a memorable fight, but if she goes out there and beat

Zhang Wei Lee, no one's giving her a chance to do so. She's getting booed. She was getting mercifully booed at the press conference. That's insane. I don't know. This is, it's nuts. It's Aljo he. And Carla hasn't really like done anything to really deserve it.

She's taking this fight. I don't understand. There is a lot of disrespect here for her overall resume. I don't think this fight goes very well for her. But I could be wrong. I take nothing away from what she has done in her career. I only say this not as a demerit to what Asparza has done, but just what Zhang Wei Li has done and how good she is.

That Yawanna fight opened up my eyes. I actually thought the second Rose fight opened up my eyes a lot too because she got deaded in their first fight. And I haven't gone back and watched it a second time. But watching it live, I scored the second fight for Zhang. I know the takedowns are a little scary, and people bring up those takedowns

and when I talk about this fight, they'll say, well, hey, listen, when Zhang fought Rose the second time, Rose used her wrestling, and won those last two rounds, and won the fifth and sealed off the fight. Yeah, I get that, but Zhang wasn't expecting that.

She's expecting Carla to wrestle her. Now, if Carla is throwing a bunch of spinning stuff at her, and is like uber aggressive that will be interesting to see but i don't know man i could be wrong what a crazy story would be if carlos bars to beat jang wei lee msg has been home to many of upsets we'll see what happens but i just feel like stylistically this is just a really tough fight for her let's go to milo gustavo's on deck we're going to try to get to everybody.

Milo, what's up? What's up, Mike? Heck of a morning to you. Yeah. You know, a couple of thoughts again. I'll reiterate maybe the point that I made like last time. I think Alex Pereira versus Easy is going to go to a majority of draw. We're going to have one judge scoring it for Alex, another calling it for Easy, and then

they're going to be a draw by the third judge. So we're probably going to have to see a rematch for the fourth time, which I think will be interesting. As far as Molly McKen, I think Molly McKen is probably going to be delivered the upset of the evening. And for her to get to the title shot, I mean, if I'm in the UFC matchmaker, I would probably want to see her fight somebody like Jessica Andrash. And then if she beats Jessica Andrash, then she can contest a Valentina for her title. And I think the biggest thing that maybe people are sleeping on, maybe betting community, is, what's his name?

Oh my God. Is Dan Hooker's submission game. Dan Hooker actually has seven submissions to his credit. And I think he will look to make a point that he is better than Claudio Puehl is everywhere. So I see some kind of a submission happening. Currently, Dan Hooker is by submission is 16 to 1. which I think is crazy odds. So he'll probably be going to take care of him in the standing department.

And then after Claudia falls on the ground, he'll probably go and submit him. Yeah, that's all I have to say. You know, a couple of maybe bold predictions. But yeah, let's see what happens. Take care. Thanks, man. Yeah. Hey.

I think Dan Hook, this is a good fight for Dan Hooker. I think it's a good stylistic matchup for him. Claudio is a sneaky son of a gun, though. and Dan has those long legs and you cannot be messing around down there with Claudia. I know Dan, Dan has submission wins, but you don't want to mess around down there

if you don't have to. Dan wants to keep this thing standing. That's for sure. That's where his biggest advantage is. And, you know, maybe Dan has a point to prove, but I don't hate that idea, like a club and sub, but this isn't going to be like a,

I doubt it would be like a work-for-submissION. type thing. You have to hope that he just drops Claudio and submits him and takes that route. But Claudio's sneaky, man. Super sneaky. It's a good fight. I like the matchmaking there. We'll see if Claudio's the real deal. And we'll go from there. I just like I understand where you're at with Molly, but they are going to keep her. If Molly McCann goes out there and beats Aaron Blanchfield and like it beats her convincingly, goes out there and finishes her, they're going to keep her far away from Jessica Androj. No way.

But there's a perfect fight for her. You throw her in there with the chuk. Throw her in there at Chikagan. I think she could be Caitlin Chikagan. Chichagin's a tough out. But it's a less risky fight. It's a less risky fight than Androge. Because, I mean, Androge might be the best women's fighter on the planet right now.

We just don't know because she bounces around so much. And it's just crazy. and that Amanda Lamo submission just aged incredibly well, did it not? So, yeah, I would keep her away from Andrage, for sure. I would throw her in there with someone else who fought Valentina, but is less dangerous in that sense, because I think Androge is a horrible matchup for her. But I think Chukagia would give her openings in order to beat her.

I think Bannon Fioro fought a great fight. I think she could take a lot away from that. So, yeah, Molly's in the mix if she wins this fight. They're going to fast track her. They're not just going to give her the title shot. They're going to give her, I mean, she might only need one more after that. Honestly, they're going to build on this, and they're going to try to get her there as quickly as possible if she beats Aaron Blanchfield. It's a tough ask.

But I think she needs to get it done early because Aaron's eventually going to get her seed legs under her. And then it could be a rough night for Molly. But it's a great fight. Like I said, it's a stupendous matchmaking. Gustavo, hello. Your morning, Mike. How are you doing? Good. How are you? Good. I just wanted to say, I feel like a lot of people are undermining the fact that this is

Adisania's one time defending his belt at 185, that he doesn't have the reach advantage. So there's a good chance of the little kick and jab, keep your range technique. It might not actually work. If you go look at all the other fights where he's knocked people out, you got calls. you got Costa, you got Whitaker, you got, Kevin didn't finish, but was very close. All those guys had lesser reach than Izzy, so he was able to keep that distance very well. Same with a cannoneer. So is he really going to be able to do that with a guy that's bigger than him, has the same reach?

And the guy looks like he's made of wood. I mean, and Pereira hits hard, man, 25 minutes. one punch. I'm willing to bank on Perreira knocking out of Adesania, hopefully early first to second, possibly third. That's just it. That's all I got to say. Thank you. Thanks, man. I mean, I get it, but we've seen these guys fight at range in two kickboxing matches, right? Like I, listen, I understand kickboxing is on MMA. Maybe Adasani mixes in a takedown. Who knows? Maybe Pereh mixes in a takedown to try to mix things up a little bit. but we've seen them fight twice in kickboxing.

First fight was super close. Could have gone either way. I actually scored it for Adasania, but it was a really close fight. And the second fight, Adasania was beating him. But he was winning the fight until he got caught. So he could fight it.

The reach is one thing, but using it as another. And Adasania is a master at using that range against anybody. Even if he fights a guy that's like, has a longer reach, him. Adasani is so smooth getting in and out being defensively sound, using that to his advantage.

But go back and watch that second kickboxing fight. I know he gets deaded in the fight, but Adasani looks pretty damn good up until that point. He was winning the fight and using the range well. So yeah. I mean, like I said, if you're going to bet on Alex

Pereira, I don't blame you. I think all the value from a vetting perspective is on him. And if you're going to bet him, you might as well just go for the A.O. Prop because you're going to get a little more juice on there. Juice is worth to squeeze. So rather than get, what is it at, plus 170?

Plus 175, get plus 175. Get that extra 100 points of juice. Go get that extra 100 points. But just so many questions. So many questions. Anthony, hello. Yo, yo. How's it going, bro? Yeah.

So last night I'm watching the press conference, right? and there's tons of stupid-ass, annoying questions. But I wanted to ask you, what was your most memorable or favorite question you asked at one of those? And also my bold prediction, there's only one right bold prediction. And it's Malay, Malay, Malay, Malay, Malay, bro, Malin McCann dominates that girl. She's 23 fighting in her hometown. I think that plays way against her.

She was getting pieced up in her last fight. Molly dominates her, maybe gets a late finish. And that's all. Have a heck of a morning. Thanks, man. Most memorable questions I've asked to press conferences. So I will admit,

I did not watch the press conference yesterday. Those things are just tedious, man. Like, it's one thing being in the building, there's like a whole different feel to it because you get the crowd ambiance and they're into it. And it's just different than watching it on YouTube or watching it on TV or whatever.

And I remember, like, one in particular, then I'll get to your question. The Colby Coveington Mazadol one, like watching that from a computer screen was awful. Like it was so bad. I'm just thinking that this is the worst press conference ever. And then Jose was like, who was there, I was like, no, it was actually great.

Because like he was there and the fans were all into it. They were going crazy in Las Vegas. And like, it's just a different vibe. I will say this about those pressers. Like I said, they're tedious. And I'll say this to aspiring media members as well. and this goes not just for press conferences like that, but scrums and everything. Just because you're there does not mean you have to ask a question.

If somebody's already asked your question that you don't need to go in there and ask it a second time or a third time. That drives me bananas. It drives me insane. So as far as those go, I've only been part of two of those like live with the crowd pressers. 273 and then 276. So here's how we kind of play it out as like a group of media members because we know things are going to get wild and wacky. So there's like a bunch of us that will like get together.

So for Jacksonville and Vegas, it was, this is how it worked. It was like Morgan, John Morgan, Jose, Oscar Willis and myself, maybe like Mike Bond gets sprinkled in. We get together and we come up with a plan. And we're going to say, hey, we're going to ask these two questions. Like, John will usually go to the main event. And then, like, the next person will go to the co-main events. And then, like, the next person will go to this.

So 273, Morgan got the main events. And then I got, I think Oscar maybe got the Hamzat, Gilwood Burns fight. And then I got Al Jermaine Sterling and Pieterion. So I focused on them. Aljo came out with all the props. I asked him about the props and the rulebook for dummies. Piotr was getting a big applause. So I think I set the table nice for both of those guys.

And then for Vegas, I got the Sean Strickland-A-Rer fight. So Sean, it was his first big press conference. So I asked him like how he was feeling about it. Does he feel a little bit looser? And then if you watch UFC countdown for this card, you'll actually hear my question to Alex Pereer because they're both up there. and I said, Alex, obviously, this is the UFC's plan. You guys both have to win on Saturday.

What do you want to say to Israel as he gets ready to fight? And Adasania, I mean, Pereira gives his answer. Like, I have to focus on myself, but I'm rooting for Izzy so that we can fight. So it's just a matter of like context. Like it's nice being, I guess, kind of trusted in that spot to just not go all rogue and wildcardi. Like we have a plan. Let's stick with it. let's get the meat and potatoes out of the way

and then we know things are going to go off the rails down the stretch but at least we got our stuff in we laid the we laid the groundwork the foundation for the presser but man some of those some of those questions are tough it's it's just tough I will say Jacksonville was much easier because there's far less people at that press conference

Vegas man and I like I get in a zone when I have a microphone of my hand so I don't even notice it. But someone like sent me the clip of like me asking a question. And the people around me are just jumping up and down. They're screaming. They're trying to make faces of the camera. And like I didn't even notice it.

And I'm glad I didn't because I would have been like, what the hell is happening right now? But yeah, those are tough, man. Those are, those are tough. Unwrap holiday magic at Holt Renfrew with gifts that say I know you. From festive and cozy fashion to Lux Beauty and Fragritty. sets. Our special selection has something for every style and price point. Visit our Holt's holiday shop and store or online at Holtrenfrew.com.

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Let's go to Tom. Apparently a fellow New Englanda. Tom, are you there? Hey, how you doing, Mike? What's up, man? I'm doing pretty good, pretty good. Just straight into the bold pick. I mean, I'm probably going to get some hate for this because it seems like everyone's kind of one-sided on it.

But, man, I'm actually going with Michael Chandler this weekend. think he gets it done. I think we've seen those who have watched him throughout the Bellator Days. He hasn't showed it in the UFC, but I think he's going to lean heavy on his wrestling in this fight. I mean, I think he realizes how much is at stake at this fight. The Justin Gachie fight, he knew even if he won, he wasn't getting another shot. He had just lost Olivera. If he lost, he was still going to fight someone on the top five. So he was able to go put on that performance. I mean, I think he realizes if he wins this fight, he's going to be very close to another title shot. And a lot of people will call for him versus Mahashev if he puts on a

good wrestling performance. And then he also sets him up for the money fight in McGregor, which would set him up financially for the rest of his life. So I think he realizes kind of how much is at stake this weekend. And I think he's going to lean pretty heavy on the wrestling. I think he, I don't know if I don't see him getting a TKO from. ground and pound. I'm going probably by decision. And I think there is a chance. Dustin could clip him something like that in the first and the fight. But man, I'm going Michael Chandler. Decision mainly due to wrestling this weekend. That's that's kind of my bold pick. Thanks, man. Yeah, like I said, if you're looking at this fight from a betting perspective, all the values on Michael Chandler, it's all

there. Plus 180 for a fight that I feel. And I think most people would feel honestly at this point, both of their careers, this is closer to a 50-50 fight. So if someone's like, Mike, here's 20 bucks. You have to bet on one of these underdogs. I'm betting on Michael Chandler because it's there. It's just the values right there. And he can wrestle.

If I'm Chandler, I'm getting a take down right off the bat and maybe that's not my game plan the entire time. But just take him down and be like, all right, Dustin, get back up. Give him something to think about. I don't know if we're going to get, Maybe, I don't know. But who knows?

Chandler gets in there. Feels that crowd. Maybe he just wants to get into a car crash. It's very possible. But the fight's going to be great. I can't wait for it. But I have no issues with your prediction at all. Jordan, hello.

Mike, how are we doing? We're doing great. I want to reach out because I know that everybody's been talking about Molly McKinney getting a title shot. After this win, I think she's guaranteed a fight night main event almost. She's so electric and her fans just love her. That being said, I know we talked about the Paheda moving up to 205 earlier and Finiuri. I thought the exact same thing. His frame, 205 frame and his striking could be unreal. We haven't gotten to see the grappling yet,

but I think it could be absolutely incredible. Thanks, man. I don't, like, look, do I want to see that fight someday? Of course I do. Do I want to see Pereira? win the belt and then go up to 205? No. Like we're seeing it right now. There's contenders at White 85. Like this is a whole new division. This is a whole new division.

And we have like fights in place. Like if Robert Whitaker beats Paulo Costa, like his, I mean, he's going to go, if he beats Izzy, they're just going to do it again. Because it's just, it becomes a massive rematch. Like Adasani is 0-3 against this guy.

They're absolutely going right back to that well. But here's something to kind of counter with. If Israel Adasanya beats Alex Pereira, there is a much more realistic world that we see Adasanya versus Prakashka because that fight is frigging fun too. Because what else is there for Adasania 185? He's already talked about it.

His team's already talked about it. We're going up. At some point, we're going up. And it's not to be a two-division champion. and it's not to be that guy that we're going to bounce back and forth. He's eventually going to move up to 205 and he's going to be a 205er.

Him versus freaking Yuri is sick too. Like that's fun. Not now, but if Adasani is like, you know what? I'm done with this division. I'm moving up. Give me nine months to bulk up.

Then I'm ready to go. That fight's great too. That's a huge fight for the UFC. So I think we have a better chance of seeing that one, just because I honestly think, and I could be wrong, I don't know. I think if Izzy wins this fight, he's done at 185 because he's got nothing left to do.

What's he going to do? Fight Sean Strickland? If Sean beats Cannoneer, I mean, I know we got guys coming up, but it's going to take forever to get Andre Meunis up there and jerk his duplice up there. I mean, maybe if, like, if Darren Till just destroys D.D. maybe, but even that's like super risky. It looks like Shamiya's going to be a 170, so like that's kind of off the table right now.

So I mean, I don't know. This could be, this could be it for Adasania 185. And if he makes the move up, I wouldn't blame him at all. Like, well, he's mentioned it many times. I've already lapped this division. I already lapped it. He's already beat everybody. Be Vittori twice, be Whitaker twice, beat Canaanere.

He's beating everybody. there's guys coming up but he's the only guy he hasn't beaten is strickland strickland just got knocked up by perera so is that really i mean don't get me wrong 276 was huge for that division because it's set that it's set up bodice on either way in such a big way that's why there's so much attention on that fight because even if strickland did one and strickland was getting this fight right now that'd be a massive fight too but now that lost, I think a lot of the shines off that. So do I

want to see Perrera Pajka someday? Of course I would. Do I want to see Pereira win the belt and be like, screw 185. I'm fighting you, Yuri. No, I don't want to see that. I don't want to see that. Asualia, hello. Hey, what's up, man? How are you doing?

Good. Good. So I have three questions. I'll make it very quick. The first one is regarding Ardezanius's Alex Pereira. I personally see this fight going either way.

It depends on how it plays out because on one hand, Adesania's confidence, but at the same time, his demeanor is quite interesting how he's handling it. And if he fights with aggression and a very unique fight, so I think he can win. But on other hand, Perera

has that mental toughness and the mind games he's playing. If Alex wins in my opinion, I reckon he probably can least defender belt one or two times. Or he might take the chance to move up to 205 because realistically that is more of his weight class. If Ardysanya wins,

I reckon he might fight would take one more time before he makes a move up. I don't think we'll ever see him fight Hamzaa realistically and probably email off because, you know, right now seeing the situation, it's not going to work. As for the other two questions, I'll make this quick. How do you see the one shady fight playing out?

And do you reckon the guy Darren Hooker is fighting if he wins against Dan Hooker? What's his petition on the lightweight? Thanks, man. I mean, if Claudia plays with wins, he's, I mean, it's a big win. It's probably like right around where Grant Dawson's at right now, I would say, maybe just outside of the top 15. It's a good win. Dan Hooker's a name.

So that'd be a great win for Claudio Plas. Zhang, I don't know. I think Jean could definitely finish Carla. And I think she will. I'll say like a third round TKO. She's just such a beast. I just don't know. Like, Carla's just had such a tough time

with like big, strong athletic fighters. She just hasn't done well against them. If she can out-athlete somebody, she usually wins, but when she is not the most athletic female in the fight, it doesn't really go well. And I know Rose was a little bit different because I feel like Rose is probably the more plus athlete there,

but Rose just didn't fight. Her game plan was awful. It was not good. I don't think John's going to fight like that. I'll tell you that right now. The one advantage Carla has is offensive wrestling, but it's not even because it's MMA,

I don't think it's that big of an advantage, honestly. Because Zhang's would be ready for it. And John's a really good wrestler, too. She's a really good defensive wrestler. And even if Carla gets her down, I don't think she's going to be able to keep her down. She's so much bigger and stronger. I just don't see this fight going well for her.

And again, this is not being dumping on Carla because I feel like the disrespect she's getting overall is just not warranted. And I don't mean like disrespect people picking against her, but it's just people not giving her credit winning this second, winning this title for the second time, dump it on the resume.

Just people just don't like her. I don't get that. I mean, she didn't have to, she could have just said, no, I'm not fighting, John. I'll fight Marina Rodriguez. is. She took the fight. I mean, it is what it is.

It's just a bad mat. It's just a horrible stylistic match for her. It's really terrible. And before I get to you, J. Money, the other thing about if Pereira moves up 205, here's the only way I will accept this. If Pereira just wins the belts and says, you know what? I'm dropping it. I did what I needed to do.

I shut this man up forever. 185 is too much for me. I'm moving up to 205. I'm cool with that. Just don't be the champion when you go up and do it. Don't need it. Jay Money, you're up. What's up, buddy?

Jay Money, you're there. All right, try again, my man. Four Corner Sports. Hey, Mike. Heck, good morning. You too. So I wanted to talk about, I think a caller had said something along the lines of

this is one of the few times that Adasania doesn't have the reach advantage. I did think about it. And if he's going to go up, right, then I don't like his. style. I don't like his chances, you know, against, like, heavy weights. Because I do feel that Anasania will win. He might, you know, get like a two-nothing lead, you know, after the second round.

And then Pereira was going to have to, you know, try to find openings. The only problem is I think that 25 minutes, that left hand, you know, Perrier could drop them and stuff like that. I think another factor is for kickboxing, what was the size of the gloves that they were wearing? 12 ounces or something along that nature. I don't really know exactly, but I know you have to use as four-ounce gloves. You know, that means that prayer isn't hit harder is possible.

But I do predict Adasania winning. My only thing is if Adasanya was to move up, right, after this fight, no, you don't have to give up your Adenau pick, but, you know, like, who within the top five would you, like, favor him against? and then also Frankie Edgar versus Chris Guadierrez and that's a fight down

looking forward to I think Frankie Edgar is a pure legend just unfortunate I just say I think Chris Guadierrez is going to just take him out with leg kicks and he's in a put him out

but yeah that's just what I'm predicting as a right now all right thanks Mike have a good one thanks man let me just pull up the UFC rankings real quick.

Try to answer your other question. Now again, this is not just him being like willy-nilly, let's go fight a 205. I think he beats Anthony Smith. He could beat Rackage. I think he could beat Blahovic. I mean, we saw it, but I think he could beat Lehovic. He was just so undersized in that fight.

And he could probably be close. Like, I think he'd do, I think you'd do okay against a lot of those guys. Ankyloyaf would be kind of a nightmare for him, I think. But, and Yuri would, be a tough one. But I think you'd hang with a lot of those guys are the top five. But again, it's not going to be something. He's not going to be like a two under

he's not going to just roll out of bed and hit the scale. Like he's got to put on he needs to take time, like not fight for a while and just focus on putting on some size before he makes this move. If he's going to do it and he's just got to do it. Be like, I'm not the middle eight champion anymore. I'm done. So I'm a tool of fiber I'll see you next year that's what I think

just answer that question Alex hello hey guys so I've got a question for you guys why is everyone sleeping on the Moichano fight I think this is the I think this is the sleeper fight

the whole card personally like don't get me wrong you've got some of the biggest fights on the year on this card no one can really predict the main event and the and the Dustin and Michael Charnan the fight, right, really. Personally, I think Izzy gets it done.

I think Izzy gets it done because despite the fact that despite the fact that in the past, their fights were kickboxing fights, like we say, right, this is MMA, it's different. But even though we all expect them to stand there and punch and kick. We don't really expect this fight to go to the ground. Just the fact that you're going to be in an in an MMA stance, right?

That it means you can't throw the same kicks and punches in the exact same way, right? You know, so it's very different. You can't open your body up as much as you would in a kickboxing fight, which I think, you know, will end up giving the advantage to Adisania because, you know, more than anything else is experience, isn't it? There's a reason why he's the champion. There's a reason why he's gone six or six. seven, you know,

defenses, right? So, yeah, I think he gets it done. You know, honestly, Poria and China, I think that's a coin flip. And obviously, being a Brit, I'm hoping and praying that money, that money McCann gets it done as well.

But really, I think everyone's sleeping on this week on if I think it's going to be a bang-off. But yeah, we'd love to know what you guys think. Cheers. Completely agree. That's why it's in the spot. Like, it's not, the UFC certainly isn't undervaluing it because it's giving him the primo spot.

If you're on the main card, the place you want to be is in that featured prelim spot. And there's a reason why that fight's in the featured prelim spot. Because it's a banger. It's going to be great. It's going to get more people to buy the pay-per-view. I think Redell's going to do well in that fight. I think Redel's going to do well in that fight.

It should be a lot of fun. All right. Jay Money, then we'll go to Paradise, then a hid. We'll try to get to everybody. Jay Money, hello. Hey, Mike, how are you doing today? Good, you? Good.

So I had like two questions on matchup. So for the Poyer-e-Channel fight, I was thinking for Poyer, if he wins, what do you think his next fight? I was thinking maybe he could fight Olaver for a rematch and the winner against a title shot next or something like that. And also for the Puelez, poker fight. If Puelez wins, could you see him fighting Patty maybe in the future? I think that would be a good, too young contingent in the lightweight division. They would be a good matchup. So, yeah, I just want to touch on that.

Thanks, Mike. Yeah, that's not a bad idea. Boreer probably Benile Darouche. I mean, just going by the trends here. This is what's going to happen. I think Benile's going to have to win one more before he gets Mokachev. And I don't know.

Maybe, who knows? I have no idea. But if they end up going the Mokachev Volcanowski route, that I think you do Daryeuse versus Porre. I don't think Darry is going to shed a lot of tears fighting a guy like Dustin Porier, but I don't know. It'll be interesting. Paradise.

Hello. Hey, buddy. What's going on, Mike? How are you? Great, pal. Listen, you know, the one thing, you know, we were talking a little earlier about, or you guys were talking a little earlier about, you know, Adasania, this boring, this, boring, that. I mean, you're spot odd.

Look, it's not the best, you know, viewing all the time, but if you're just going to give them the belt and fight the way canning here fought. He's going to take. He's not stupid. The guy's IQ is off the charts. I think the biggest issue people have with him is that he over promises is under delivered. You know, this is going to be, like, what's he saying this week? It's going to be a horror show.

It's going to be this and that. Well, we'll see. I just think that Alex, I just think he won't stop coming at him. And it may be at his own peril. He might get knocked out, but I don't think he's going to lay back. I don't think he's going to play that game. And yeah, Carlos Sparza is the most hated woman in female history, apparently. I have no idea why she's like the sweetest person, but she's going to get rolled.

And then my point of my question and comment is, will this be the first time when Waley Zang rolls Carlos Sparza, the UFC champion will be 0-2 against the person that they're defending their belt in against Rose? That's all I got. You guys have a great day. I'll have to look that up. probably know the answer to that question, like off the top of his head because he's a freak like that. Yeah, I mean, this has similar vibes to the Yohana fight. Because even when Carla won the belt on the Ultimate Fighter, most fans at that time who watched more than just the UFC realized that the winner of that show was not the best Straway in the world.

We knew it was either Yohanna or Claudia. That's who we thought it was. and then she fought eowana, we saw what happened. And I feel like if she fought Claudia, the same thing would have happened. She probably got stopped by Claudia. This just has similar vibes. Again, not taking anything away from Carla. But the Yonna matchup was a nightmare for her.

And this one is too. This one might be worse if we're being honest. She just, I don't understand the hate at all. But just stylistically, it's rough go, man. Like, it's just really rough. like Carl might be able to win around if she could stay on top like if it's late she can hang in there but man I just don't think this goes well for her but who knows maybe like I said MSG has been the home of many of upset maybe this is one of them all right ahead let's go ahead can you hear me yes okay so

here's the thing, like watching those UFC 281 press conferences. I'm just like these press conferences now, I used to be excited, but now it's just like a bit repetitive. I actually like the media days more. And the hate that Carla Spaza gets, like everyone says, it's so unjustified, but it's not just the hate, it's the hypocrisy from MMA fans, utter scumbags because they're booing Carla

now, but two years ago at UFC 21, they were booing Zhang Wei Li. Remember, they were going after Zhang and then Jean said, oh, it got to me and everyone clowned her for it. So it's just that MMA fans are true scumbags and two-faced scumbags. And like, the lightweight thing,

I feel like if Chandler wins, they might give him the title because he's one of the most marketable human beings there is. And it's an interesting. in Matcha, they might not go Volkinovsky and Markachev. And also, a big enough of the last time we spoke, this is the last time we're talking about Henry and the rest of it. It's just like, Mike, with regards to Henry, like, we can't just look at entertainment perspective.

That's pure boxing. We also, the whole point of MMA was the best fight, the best. And that's the point I was trying to make. Like, if the fact that I don't like Henry, but he would whoop all of them so we might as well see the fact that he'll whoop all of them

and it will improve everyone's standards and I saw on social media as well Jake Paul and the King of Masculinity Andrew Tate are fighting like as in their last fight Jakin Silver was fixed and I don't know why MMA outlets like when I was talking about

previously with Josh Thompson like cover more MMA like it doesn't have to be bell at all one championship, more MMA and less of KSI or Jake. Because, like, as an Ariel's going after, people were saying it was fixed, but, like, Ariel's had conflicts of interest. Like, I was part of that event. And then it's like with also, for example, Eddie Hearn, you know,

like he supports Eddie Hearn, but we know Eddie Hearn's a scumbag because he's trying to cover up the whole Conner Ben. You started, like, you started to say WADA drug test failure. So it just makes no sense why this is, just cut, um, Jake Paul's being covered. But yeah, that's it. Drop the mic, Mike. Hey, look, if, if, if my career could be based on not covering Jake Paul fights,

if people just weren't interested at all, I'd be happy with that. But the problem is everyone's interested in it. They just are. I'm sorry to tell you, they just are. And they're interested in all this stupidity with KSI and, and all of it. Like the numbers it generates is insane. It's unbelievable. The Logan Paul Floyd Mayweather fight,

the numbers that that friggin' stupid fight generated is just, I can't even explain it to you. It's just unbelievable. The So who don't think I'll say this again? From a fan's perspective, from a guy who likes fights, I would love to see Sohudo fight Al Jermaine Sterling. I would love to see that fight.

But you have to understand looking at this from a UFC lens. And just a fan's lens, too. The retirement was stupid. Everything he's done since has been horrendous. And the problem is, there is no trust with Henry at all. Like, it's the best fight the best, that's cool.

I get it. I want to see it too. I'm fascinated by the matchup. My issue is Henry is just going to leave. He's going to win the title and he's going to be like, all right, I'm out. I'm retired again. Or he's going to be like, I'm not fighting anybody unless it's Volcanovsky.

And then we're just like, oh, God, why did we do this? He's not going to fight anybody else. Like, that's the big thing. And that's why I just want to see him fight somebody else first. show me you care. Just show me you care. Hold the door open for me. Let me walk through it.

Just show me you care. All you got to do is fight once and win. Like I said, fight Cub Swanson. I don't care. Fight Chris Gutierrez. Fight Jonathan Martinez. Fight anybody. Ranked or not, I don't care.

Just prove to all of us that you actually want to do this. And then if you win, Go fight Aljo. Go fight Volk. I don't care. But that's my whole holdup with the Suhudo thing, is that we know what's going to happen. We already know he's going to win. Or if he does win, he's just going to retire again.

Or he's going to say, I'm not fighting anybody. Even though it was a slew of contenders ready to fight Henry, he's just going to be like, nah, I'm not fighting anybody. I'm just going to sit on the sideline until I fight Volcanowski. And then we're just going to be like, we are so stupid for buying into this crap. Again, why would we do this? But want to know where it gates it?

He goes and fights somebody else first. And then he goes and fights for the belt. I don't think I'm asking for too much. Like, I honestly don't think I'm asking for too much. The guy screwed up this entire thing. Like, the whole thing. Can you imagine if he just didn't retire? Like, where would he be right now?

How would we be viewing Henry Soudo right now if he didn't retire? Or if he just, like, if he just didn't say retire, if he just said, like, you know what, I demand more respect. And until I get it, I'm just not fighting again. Like, and you didn't retire. Like, that's a different thing. But you left, you got out of the pool, and then you decided to hop back in after you screwed everybody over.

Like, you screwed everybody over. The UFC was building you up. You were getting me. there and then you just turn your back on and the UFC's just like all right you screwed me like i don't have any faith that you're not going to do it again and that's why my suggestion is just go fight somebody else and then you build a little faith back that's all that's all i'm asking i don't think it's i don't think it's too much for me to ask i really don't i want to see the fight too but i just want it to mean something crypto hello how are you doing

Good. Thanks. Okay, Mike, bold prediction. Carla Esparza against Jean-Weilly, there's going to be some type of freakish situation where Carla wins. And the bold prediction is, Mike, that Jed Michoud is going to pass out live during the watch party. And we're going to see, yeah, we're going to actually be able to see that when Jed sits down, stands up and passes out. And that should be the promo for the watch party. to see a man bed his entire bankroll on one fighter, in essence, almost his entire bank

role. And this is the thing, Mike, Jed got warned the last time, I mean, with Santos and Schifchenko, because that was a close one. The MMA gods gave him a warning, but I don't know if he's going to get that lucky this time. So that's going to, yeah, that's my bold prediction, Jed Michoud passing out. Secondly, Mike, so my question, or actually just a reflection, because I'm so tired of seeing people calling Adesanya boring. Because, I mean, let's remember how we treated Sean Strickland against Paheda.

Worst strategy ever. What a terrible performance. How the hell could you push forward and try to just stand up and brawl with Pahedahed? We, like the MMA community made fun of him. It called him just basically a complete idiot for having that game plan. And the thing is, Mike, he actually tried to make this. fight fun. He actually went in there and said, you know what, fuck it. I'm just going to push forward. It's going to basically end up the way it's going to end up. I don't care. I'm going to make this a

fun fight. And we completely destroyed him afterwards. We just made fun of him. He became basically a highlight reel. There were memes made. And now we're asking Adesania to make fights fun. And these are the same people, Mike. This is what's so funny about it. The same people that were basically calling Sean's performance ridiculous are the same people that are now calling for Adesania to be more fun. I mean, listen, if you want to see these stand-up brawls where people just push forward and just knock the shit out of each other, there's a bunch of YouTube channels, like underground garages somewhere in the middle of Russia, where two people just stand

up and just beat each other senseless. Like, if that's your cup of tea, go ahead. But, I mean, how can we blame Adesania for boys? being careful and for having that type of, yeah, style of fighting, so to say. And remember, I mean, for those people that have followed Adesania, prior to him being a part of the UFC, Mike, his kickboxing career, and basically when he was knocked down, knocked out by Pajeda, his fighting style changed.

I think that is actually what made. I think that situation actually caused him to rethink his whole strong. strategy and be more careful not to push forward and put himself at risk in different situations. So I just think it's ridiculous. And until the UFC Mike puts on or puts in some type of clause in the contract saying that you get 50 plus 50 and an additional 40% for being fun, then I think it's just stupid to blame Adesania. He's a true champion.

He does the hardest thing in MMA over and over and over and over. again. So hats off to Adasania, I just think it's so funny to see the same people that were talking shit about Sean that are now calling for Adesania to be more fun. Thanks, Mike. Thanks, man. And we talked

about this a lot today, but I'll say this. Game 7 of the NBA final. Let's just say it's game 7 of the NBA finals. Okay? And Steph Curry has the ball. It's a tie game. It's like four minutes left in the game.

And Steph gets the ball. And everybody on defense is just, they move out of the way. They just move. They're like, all right, do whatever you want, Steph. He's either going to take, he's either going to take the free layup or he's going to take the high percentage shot, which for Steph is a three. He ain't going to sit there and do a triple axle over the head, triple somersault backflip dunk. No, he's going to take the freaking layup.

He's going to take the wide open J. Like, that's what he's going to do. He's not going to do anything. He's just going to be like, huh? You're going to give this to me? you're going to give me my best thing and you're just going to allow me to walk into it out of anything I want.

Yeah, you take the points, bro. You take the points. It's a slam ball. This is MMA. And I think, I think, Adasani expected Canada to be more aggressive. Like you come in with a plan,

you come in expecting things to go a certain way, and if they just hand you the victory, what are you supposed to do? Say, no. I'm not taking it. No, because, this isn't fun. No, you take it.

And he was hard at himself. He was tough on himself. He even told, he said after that fight, he cried in the backstage because he wasn't happy. But listen, it's, it's fighting.

It's so hard. At the end of the day, you want to go out there and entertain. Of course you do. And you want to back up what you say. But it's about winning, man.

It's about winning. And he goes out there wins. And he wins pretty easily. Well, we'll see a prayer. We'll see what prayer does. Like we have to, like, we're excited and we have all these questions about this fight.

But we have to understand that there is a chance that we see a similar out of Sonia fight. Like, that is a possibility on Saturday. And I'm still intrigued even if that's the case. Because that's super impressive to be. If he can, if he can do that for 25 minutes and avoid Alex landing that shot, any kind of a big shot on him, like, he shouldn't be booed. He should be like, this should be like, damn, dude. that is incredible

that you were able to stand there and do your thing and win rounds and not get knocked out over 25 minutes like I think he deserves a lot of respect that that happens even if it's not the most aesthetically pleasing fight of all time

I know it's talks about car crash and horror movies and things like that and that's what you want to do you want to sell pay-per-views you're trying to get that money bro like that's what you're trying to do but you're also there to win and if they're just going to give it to you

you just take it you walk through the goddamn door that's what you do all right we got max and tristan's been waiting the whole time and then i have to go max hello hello mike how's it going good all righty so uh i was just wondering about your opinion about this uh oldberg

versus negamarianu uh fight seems like oldberg is jacked as all hell biggest guy probably on the roster looking like brick but uh negamarianu's been on a really steady role solid wrestler but uh yeah what do you think about that fight? Thanks for your time.

Peace. Uh, yeah. Honestly, I have no idea. I have no idea. It should be interesting. I feel like my gut is telling me it's too much for Elberg. I'm kind of shocked he's the favorite here for being honest. Because Negamariano is a dog, man.

He's a dog. But the thing is, Negamriano has made a living on his toughness and his ability to take punishment and continuously coming forward. And if Alberg cracks him, is he going to be able to maintain that? I don't know. This is going to come down,

this is going to be one of those fights where, at least to me, this is how I see it. The longer this one goes, the more it favors Negomarianu. And if this gets finished early, it's coming from Carlos Olberg. Like, I think if we get to the second half of this fight,

Negamiriano is going to win. Probably win it's eke out of decision somehow. But it's a big spot. for Carlos. This is a tough fight. Negamariano is ain't the most technical guy in the world, but he's going to put his chin right in front of Oldberg's fists, and

we'll see if Alberg can take advantage of that. But it should be, it's a fun opener. It's a fun opener. All right, Tristan, take us home. Hey, Mike. A couple of things here. Molly McCann versus Aaron Blentfield, I did go back and watch the JJ Aldrich

fight again. Very concerning in that first run on because JJ Aldridge was piecing her up think utilizing the jab. I kind of expect Molly McCann did watch that last fight in her training and with her coaches to try to

do kind of the same thing with JJ Aldrich did. You know, that's where it gets a little concerning here. I listened to Molly McKeown to Aaron Blanfield's post a fight conference after the JJ Aldridge. She said she didn't really

come in with a strategic plan more of like a little bit of more of the details she knew JJ Aldrich was good as far as a take down defense and a little bit of a grappling so and you know I remember after that fight we were I mean I think you were a little bit concerned too with that first one

he's like oh this doesn't look good that first round but then Aaron Blantro was able to weather the storm in that second round and then obviously get the guillotine choke heading this fight into Malin-McChan I really think listen, I'm not a coach, but watching the tape and seeing what other fighters have done,

two people in case and point. We just saw last week what Grant Dawson did. And then we also saw what Matus Gamrock did is do not play this standing up game. Go to your strengths. One of the things that I do like what the Ambrantra does is the one-two combination and then the head kick.

Set that up, level change. Single to the single leg, get hurt down. Beaver. lend us do not give Miley McCann any room. Maybe he should be ready, but you've got to be relentless here. Grant Dawson just had a perfect game plan in his fight against Marco Manson, and he didn't stop, didn't let her go, ground and pound, you know, and it was over.

That's the mentality I feel that Am Blentrelenthal has to go into this fight. Do not play games with this. Don't play games with Molly McCam where you're standing for a very long time. This was my issue that I had. with, you know, she just, she's on injury reserve. Oh, my gosh, I can't believe I forgot her name. Oh, Casey O'Neo, I'm sorry. This is my issue with Casey O'Neill,

when she falls on Roxanne Motifery of not going to her strengths. I understand you want to be entertaining. I understand you want to show pieces of your game, of your striking, but use your striking to get into your strengths, which is your grappling. Do not play games here. You know, I'm really hoping for Aaron Blentry here. Do what you do best.

use your striking to set up what you're good at is you're grappling, get the single leg thing down, or use what you usually do. Get into clinch, judo throw, get on the ground, side control, elbows, ground and pound, submission, end the fight, and we're moving on.

So she's got to be real careful here. I think in my opinion, Mike, I don't know if you feel the same way, but I just remember after that fight against J.J. Alder, you were a little bit concerned in that first run, and so was I. So I hope Aaron Blentfield blocks in,

goes into her strengths, and then see what happens there. And I think she'll most likely get the win. Rook, another thing, my bold prediction, I'm picking Willingham Turnin versus, what's his name? He's fighting, oh, my gosh. Oh, yeah, there we go. Andre Petroski, Petrosi at the press conference,

listen, I don't get annoyed, but with him, it's just, he says I'm the best grappler in this division. I'm like, come on, Andre, seriously. And then the fact that, oh, yeah, he's talking about Bo Nichols saying that do turn down a grappling fight with me, bro. Like, listen, I'm like, he's not being realistic here. Listen, you just got to the UFC. Your gas tank is a question. Okay.

I think you questioned it. Like, yo, the guy was getting tired. So I think sometimes I feel like he's better than what he think he is. I don't think he's realistic. But I'm picking turning him to beat Petroski, my submissions, turn him as, I believe. term in this belief is on a 251 street by submission. I think he's coming back to the phone. So that's my goal prediction on that.

And then also for the last point here, Mike, I did see that you announced that Anthony Kassar is making his icon FC debut, his MMA debut, December 2nd. I'm really interested in this guy here. This guy did beat Gave Stevenson back in 2019 at Penn State against Steve. So I'm really focused on him. I hope he does get to the Dana-Wyton Tennis series next year. And then, because his grappling looks incredible. And I think he can make some noise if he does come to the UFC, hopefully the next year or a year from now, or whatever the case may be, that he will make some noise in that heavyweight division.

Your thoughts on everything, Mike, have a heck of a morning. Everybody enjoyed the fights this weekend. Thank you. Thank you, sir. Yeah, I mean, that's some of the UFC is going to have their eye on. And it just so, happens that fight card is right down the road from where the UFC is going to be the next day. So wouldn't stun me to see some of the UFC brass in the building, potentially scouting that one out. Would not surprise me whatsoever. But that'll be interesting.

Obviously, a teammate of Boe Nickel, both on mats and with MMA as well. Yeah, the Blanchefield one is interesting. My biggest concern is my biggest concern is my big. biggest concern about the fight is not the skill set because I think I think Aaron took a lot away for JJ is a good fighter she's a very solid hand she is not an easy out for anybody even like when even when uh macy barber was on that rise like jj gave her fits before she got finished so jj's good man like she's good and i'll say this if jay jay fought molly mccan right now i don't think she'd be that big of an underdog she's

She's got a style to beat Molly. So you can make a compelling case that JJ might be a tougher fight for Aaron than Molly is. But again, we got to see them fight. My big concern is for a 24-year-old up-and-coming star who has fought for Invicta and fought in the Apex a couple of times. And now you're fighting at home. You're fighting at MSG against someone who has been in these big roles and these big spots before. Like, I know she fought on a pay-per-view before, but this is MSG.

This is a whole different thing. And she's fighting Molly McCain, who has been in these big spots and been for the big crowds and been part of massive events many, many, many times. And she knows how to do it. How is she going to handle it? How is she going to handle it? Molly can handle it. She's shown it.

She thrives off of it. Can Blansefield do the same? It's a potential star-making moment for her. Like if Blancheville loses, it's not the end of the world. It's huge for McCann. her to a really interesting place. And if Blanchefield loses, it's like, hey, she's 24, she'll come back. Like, it's okay.

But if she goes out there, just finishes Molly McCann, it's a potential star-making moment for her. So we'll see. I like the fight. As far as the Petrosky-Termin fight goes, I'll go real quick and then I have to go. Betting perspective, I think the values on Wellington Termin. He's a plus-165 dog. I just feel like Wellington's fought way tougher competition.

I feel like he's been in there with better guys. I'm just not fully sold on Andre Petroski just yet. Like, he's got something. He's got something. I'm just not, I'm not fully sold on him yet. The first fight, gritty, wasn't great. And then Nick Maximoff, like, Nick's, Nick's a good fighter, but he's not great. I think we all know that.

Another young guy who's kind of one-dimensional, if we're being honest, and Petrosky caught him in a scramble and put him away. I don't know. I just don't know if this will be one of those fights where I'll learn a lot about Petroski. Because I just think Termin's been in there with better guys. So, but maybe Andre's ready for the spot.

Who knows? But, yeah, I think the value of a betting perspective is on Wellington Termin here. I just feel like he's been in there with better guys. get better competition. I think he's a little more well-rounded than Petrosky. Petrosky's a dog, man. So we'll see what happens.

All right, I got to go. I've gone on way too long. I'm going to yell that probably, but it's okay. Tomorrow we're going to do this again, but it will not be at the normal time. We're going to go a little later because we have the official UFC 281 weigh-ins going down between 9 and 11 a.m. So we're going to have the live weigh-in show.

I would never interrupt AK or that. I might even jump on with those guys for a little while. And then once the way ends over, we'll come on here and we will just react to it all, do the free for all Friday stuff for about an hour, and then get ready for just a chaotic day with multiple press conferences and ceremonials. And then we'll have a preview show sometime tomorrow.

I think it's actually to be a little bit later on in the day. I think it'll probably be after ceremonial. So a lot to look forward to BTL, 1 p.m. Eastern, don't forget about that. It should be a lot of fun. Nothing but UFC 281 talk. And I'm jacked up for this card on Saturday. So thank you very much. Appreciate

you very much. Enjoy the rest of your Thursday. We'll see you for BTL at 1 o'clock. Have a heck of a morning, everybody. The Vox Media Podcast Network. Okay. Only 10 more presents to wrap. You're almost at the finish line. But first, there, the last one. Enjoy a Coca-Cola for a pause that refreshes.