MMA Fighting - HOAM | Dissecting Laundry List Of UFC 299 Storylines, Sean O'Malley vs. Marlon Vera 2, and More

Episode Date: March 5, 2024

This is one of the big weeks marked on the calendars for fight fans around the world with Francis Ngannou looking to shock the boxing world once again when he faces Anthony Joshua on Friday, and a loa...ded UFC 299 event on Saturday, headlined by the rematch between Sean O'Malley and Marlon Vera for UFC bantamweight gold — and that's just a couple of the big storylines for this weekend. On an all-new edition of Heck of a Morning, MMA Fighting's Mike Heck discusses UFC 299 and Joshua vs. Ngannou, the O'Malley vs. Vera second chapter, and everything that could happen based on the results. Additionally, listener questions include Petr Yan's return to the octagon against Song Yadong this Saturday, Michael Page's UFC debut against Kevin Holland, Alexandre Pantoja's next title defense following Muhammad Mokaev's win at UFC Vegas 87, Jamahal Hill challenging Alex Pereira at UFC 300, 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 to MMA Fighting Check out our full video catalog Like MMA Fighting on Facebook Follow on Twitter Read More: http://www.mmafighting.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Starting point is 00:00:00 Support for this show comes from the Audible Original, the downloaded two, ghosts in the machine. The Earth only has a few days left. Rosco Cudulian and the rest of the Phoenix colony have to re-upload their minds into the quantum computer, but a new threat has arisen that could destroy their stored consciousness forever. Listen to Oscar winner Brendan Fraser reprise his role as Rosco Cudulian in this follow-up to the Audible Original Blockbuster. The Downloaded, it's a thought-provoking sci-fi journey where identity, memory, and morality collide. Robert J. Sawyer does it again with this much-anticipated sequel that leaves you asking, What are you willing to lose to save the ones you love?
Starting point is 00:00:46 The Downloaded 2, Ghosts in the Machine. Available now, only from Audible. Support for this show comes from the Audible original, The Downloaded 2. Ghosts in the Machine. The Earth only has a few days left. Rosco Cudullian and the rest of the Phoenix colony have to re-upload their minds into the quantum computer, but a new threat has arisen that could destroy their stored consciousness forever. Listen to Oscar winner Brendan Fraser reprised his role as Rosco Cudulian in this follow-up to the Audible original blockbuster,
Starting point is 00:01:27 the downloaded. It's a thought-provoking sci-fi journey where identity, memory, and morality collide. Robert J. Sawyer does it again with this much-anticipated sequel that leaves you asking, what are you willing to lose to save the ones you love? The downloaded two, Ghosts in the Machine, available now, only from Audible. To the Vox Media Podcast Network. Tuesday, March 5th, 2024, and it is indeed a heck of a morning. We are live on the M.A. Fighting Twitter space.
Starting point is 00:02:27 You can hear the show in its entirety shortly thereafter on the M.A. Fighting Podcasting Network. What is going on, everybody? I am Mike Heck. Hope you're all just having the best start in the week. And how could we not? We got Francis and Ghanu getting back in the boxing ring against Anthony Joshua on Friday. We got Cedric Dumbay fighting for PFL on Thursday. And guess what?
Starting point is 00:02:55 Guess what? If you're in the United States, we can actually watch it. We can actually watch it. Watch Cedric Dune Bay Fight. We don't have to wait for social clips. We can actually watch it. Isn't that great? You can watch it on the website.
Starting point is 00:03:10 PFL's website, PFLMMA.com. You can watch it on their YouTube channel as well. And something tells me, you can just go right to MAAFiting.com. Terrific website. And you can watch the final five fights, including the Dume Bay fight. Wonderful stuff. And then Saturday, we got UFC 299. Sean O'Malley versus Marlon-Varra 2, Dustin Pori,
Starting point is 00:03:33 versus Benoit Santini. That card is so ridiculous. It is, I mean, it's just magnificent. Everything about it is great. We don't even need to be having discussions about, oh, is this better than 300? Probably isn't, but it doesn't matter. The card rules.
Starting point is 00:03:51 The card rules. Look at this. Joanne Wood, Marina Morose, Siege of Vergara, Asu, El Mabayoff. We got the UFC debut of Robelli Despagne. I'm going to get that pronunciation. Thank God. is on the call Saturday.
Starting point is 00:04:06 We will get it for sure. Josh Breeson, it will be his opponent, Fleeplins. Iwan Kutalab is going to be insanity. Michelle Pereira, Mikhail Olegzecich. Great fight.
Starting point is 00:04:15 Pedro Munoz, Kyler Phillips, Gammert, huge fight for him against Hoffield Osangos. Caitlin Serminara, you may know her is Caitlin Chugian.
Starting point is 00:04:27 She's going to take on Macy Barber. She's going to try to halt that momentum. And then we got a huge one between Curtis Blades and Jelton Almeida. And those are the prelims.
Starting point is 00:04:38 Then we get to the main car. Piotrion versus Song Yudong. Ridicrous fight. Gilbert Burns, Jack Del and Madelaine. A big fight for both guys. Kevin Holland welcoming Michael Venom Page to the UFC and the featured bout. Dustin Porey versus Benoit Sonsigny. Five rounds of the co-made event.
Starting point is 00:04:53 Huge one for 155. And then, of course, the main event, the rivalry writes Chapter 2, Sean O'Malley versus Marlon Cheeto Vera for the band. anime championship of the world. This card is incredible. I'm in such a great mood work. It's almost like, I almost forgot for a minute that UFC Vegas 87 happened. It did happen and some cool things happened.
Starting point is 00:05:19 And a lot of like, not so cool things. We don't know the shorter pundit portion of a post-fight show we had ever done. But yeah, I mean, it wasn't terrible. Jars and your road strike gets a big win. Coleman event wasn't great. Big win from Umar Nomaramara Madoff. Nasty knocko from Steve Ursaig. Nasty knocko from Venetius Olivera.
Starting point is 00:05:44 Had some big finishes along the way. Mohamed Bukhyath, did he earn a title shot? Did he not earn a title shot? Should they just do him versus Brandon Roybal? A lot of questions at 125. We also had Jake Paul getting a easy, breezy win. Manisorano had something happened with her eyes, so she didn't even fight in Puerto Rico.
Starting point is 00:06:04 So hopefully they're going to try to rebook that. I know she felt horrible about it. And then if you watched the Gamebred card, it was pretty good. The action was pretty darn good. I enjoyed it. All of the issues that I have with Gamebred remain the same, unfortunately. But the card was great. The card was great.
Starting point is 00:06:24 Robin Black, again, I don't think he's a play-by-play guy. He's a good color guy, I think. it's just for me having two color guys on a broadcast it just doesn't flow great you need somebody to kind of set the tone like if joe rogan and daniel cornea were just the broadcaster for ufc 299 you would notice a difference because there's just two guys who provide the knowledge and such and no one is actually steering the conversation in the right direction i will say say this, I thought Brendan Schaub did a pretty good job throughout the night. The commentary was
Starting point is 00:07:06 not spectacular. The card was great. Junior Dos Santos knocks out Alan Belcher in the main event. Chase Sherman just clobbered Alex Nicholson, knocked him dead in the co-made event. But solid event. Again, I'll say this one last time about Game Bread. They need to go full ECW. Just go full ECW, 1,200 seat buildings, rabid fans, let them go crazy, and then just do it right. Do it right. Get a play-by-play guy in there. Keep robin on the broadcast. No issue with that.
Starting point is 00:07:45 Keep job or whoever you want to bring in on the broadcast. It's fine. But you got to have somebody who can steer the conversation. You got to have somebody there. If they can do those two things, I think they got something really cool here. I really, really do. But that's a conversation for another time because we have too much other stuff to talk about. Let's hear what you have to say on this Tuesday.
Starting point is 00:08:12 You know what? Before we get to that, some bad news for the heck of a morning listeners. I mean, it's not really bad news. This is going to be the only show of this nature we're doing this week. There's just too much going on. and there's it's crazy town however it's not like we're not going to provide programming for you Thursday we are going to do BTL at 1230 but we're going to do a live in ganu joshua preview show i think at like 1030 a.m. Eastern so it's basically going to be around the same time slot
Starting point is 00:08:52 but we're going to do that on the youtube channel i think it's going to be jetta myself that we're going to do btel with jetty myself and my best friend AK. And then I'm actually off to New York Thursday night because Friday is going to be nuts. We have the weigh-ins in Miami, which start at 9 a.m. Eastern, and my best friend's going to be on vacay. So I might actually be on commentary for the weigh-ins,
Starting point is 00:09:15 big shoes to fill, gigantic shoes to fill. And then right after weigh-ins, we're going right into the 299 preview show, maybe like 15 or 30 minutes after that. And then the watch party is going to start at 4 p.m. Eastern for Joshua and Ghanu. And then Saturday, normal schedule, people's pre-fight show,
Starting point is 00:09:36 watch party, scrums in the back, post-fight press conference, post-fight show. My dog just tried to jump on the bed and missed. I don't know. And, yeah,
Starting point is 00:09:50 on to the next one Sunday. We will do that live on YouTube as well. So you're not missing anything. The amount of things we're going to be doing remains the same. going to be on different platforms. But yeah, it's just, there's just too much going on, guys. That's all there is to it.
Starting point is 00:10:05 All right, let's get into this thing. And let's begin with Jonah. Jonah, hello. I can. What's going on? Okay. Two things about UFC 300. You and I believe you said it.
Starting point is 00:10:24 And Luke Thomas said this as well that not all the fights are signed. So I kind of suspect one of them is Olivera. And if that is the case, what do you think that he could handline UFC 301 in Brazil, maybe make an interim belt? That would be a great headliner, although it will be like bad to move it. But if it's not signed and he wants more money or something like that. And the second thing about 300, did you hear anything about Paul Felder? I was excited to see him back, but everyone kind of forgot about it. Thanks.
Starting point is 00:11:13 Yeah, I mean, I can't, I'm not really going to get into which fight, like, isn't signed. Like, you'll know if it falls apart from what I understand that is not the fight. I mean, but I don't know for sure if that fight is signed or not, if we're being on. honest, but I know there is a fight on this card that is not fully signed, at least the last time I checked. But I haven't looked into it in several weeks now, so maybe that's still the case. But again, like when we say these things, it's not like in a indictment on the UFC. There are certain fights that aren't signed until like fight week, like where Penn hits paper.
Starting point is 00:11:57 Like everything is in order. you know, they're all in and then they get to fight week and they like officially sign the contract. Like that stuff happens. But we had that stretch, obviously, when they announced Sean Brady
Starting point is 00:12:10 versus Vicente Lucke, when I knew that Sean Brady was probably not fighting on that date well before the announcement. I knew that was, because I told you guys in the show, like there's a fight being talked about
Starting point is 00:12:23 to headline Atlantic City, but there's some hurdles that need to be leaked over before that happened. and then all of a sudden it gets announced by Dana. And I heard it. And I even came on the show the day after it was announced. I was like, I was kind of surprised they got announced.
Starting point is 00:12:39 And then come to find out everything that I kind of teased was true. Brady was dinged up. Once, obviously, to fight for Sente Luge. That's fight he's won her for a long time. But that date just doesn't work for him. He was dinged up. He even said it on Joe Rogan when he was on there. That that date is probably not going to work for him.
Starting point is 00:12:58 So, and then the whole Porre situation, he made it public and did the whole public negotiation thing, which I thought was absolutely brilliant. But, yeah, the last stuff, but it's been a while since I checked. So I assume most of these fights are going to happen. I don't think they're going to move all of Arsarukia to 301. I don't think you need to do that. I think it's going to be fine. Look, they ain't all going to be 299,300. Like, you're going to get a 297 in there.
Starting point is 00:13:26 like 297 had a compelling main event but the rest of the card was not good and the card played out as such it was not a good card outside of the main event they're not all going to be like big time winners it's just not going to be that way it's just not going to be that way and then paul feldner i've heard nothing um it seems like the ufc isn't i'm going to say they're not interested but they don't seem, at least at the time, because him and Jim Miller made all the sense in the world. Everybody wanted that fight. And then they even had Paul Felder go up and do a scrum after Jim Miller won. So I'm surprised they didn't go to that.
Starting point is 00:14:11 They wanted to go back to Bobby Green. Jim Miller explained that a bunch. They wanted to see if maybe he would get ranked, and that's a different kind of a story. So we'll see what happens with Paul. Kind of feel like at this point he's not going to be fighting at 300, but there is one fight that's left to be announced, so maybe that's what they're working on.
Starting point is 00:14:30 But it's not in shape, so you'll see how that all plays out. Let's go to Thysen or Tyson. Go ahead, sir. Are you there? Try again. I think we had you for a moment, and then you vanished. Let's go to Velo.
Starting point is 00:15:09 What's up? Yo, y'all can hear me? I got you for show. Yo, so I ain't even going to lie. I cannot just wait till this weekend, yo. See my boy, Kevin Holland go crazy. We got MVP making his debut. And then we got Sean O'Malley Cheeto Vera.
Starting point is 00:15:33 I personally, I think Sean going to win, but I do want Cheeto to win. Just based off that first fight, like, I think, like, just like watching back, I was watching the Safe Saeed break down of the fight, like on the UFC channel, and, like, they really give, like, a good in-depth, like, look on it. And I like just, like, Cheeto and the clinches is going to be nasty. And then, like, like, he said, like, he can, he's willing to take the damage so that he can inflict more damage on you.
Starting point is 00:16:02 So he's going to, I hope that he can just drag out the fight, in my opinion, to at least, like, the fourth, at least into, like, the fourth round that we're going to see what Sean working with. But I can see Sean winning it, but I do want Cheeto to win. Yeah, I mean, look, it's an interesting fight. This is the one we've been waiting for. All the questions are going to be answered. Hopefully, we're in a position where not even the Sugar Commission can dispute the results of this fight.
Starting point is 00:16:34 I think stylistically, Marlon should win. Like, Marlon is a really tough stylistic fight for Sean O'Malley for a number of reasons. And I know what some people will say. They will say, Mike, you said Al Jermaine Sterling was a awful stylistic match for Shana Malley. And I stand by that. Aljo made a mistake. He got caught. And that's it.
Starting point is 00:16:57 Aljo can be caught. He's been caught before. Marlon brings a lot of those same problems to the table. But Marlon can't be hurt. You cannot hurt this man. You cannot even cut this man. You can't even make him look like he's been in a fight. It's unbelievable
Starting point is 00:17:18 The amount of damage and punches and kicks that this man has taken Throughout his career, yet he has shown none. Go watch the Rob Fawn fight. Rob Fawn hit him like 350 times, and he didn't even have a scratch on him. How are you going to finish a guy that can't be finished? So that's to make this fight so interesting Because I do feel like the vibes are with Sean O'Malley
Starting point is 00:17:42 in a lot of respects. But at the same time, I think Sean's best chance to win this fight is to knock Cheeto out, but how do you knock a guy out who can't be knocked out? So that's a huge question I have. Can Sean go five rounds
Starting point is 00:17:59 and just outwork Cheeto Vera down the stretch? We've seen Cheeto fight. Cheeto basically takes like a round or two off before he gets cooking. And then down the stretch, he starts to just sprint downhill, way faster than everybody else. Plus, again, you can't hurt him.
Starting point is 00:18:17 So it is such an interesting fight. I can't wait for it. But I understand why people want Cheater to win. One good dude, family man, he's on the precipice of becoming a star. Everybody just likes this dude. They just like him. And he's really good at fistfighting.
Starting point is 00:18:38 And then Sean O'Malley is a star on the rise. the things they could do with Sean from a promotional and a business standpoint, if he wins the belt or retains the belt, they could do so much with Sean. They really can. So I don't think it's like a lose-lose for the UFC at all. Cheeto wins and becomes champion. You could run this one back for a third time if you want,
Starting point is 00:19:01 even though Cheetos is up too. Even if Sean wins, you could run this back for a third time. Like the rivalry can continue on. But I just don't know. I don't know how this fight goes. I really have no clue how it's going to play out. Because I think the vibes are with Sean,
Starting point is 00:19:19 but if he goes out there and just kind of Cody Garbrand's, Marlon Verra's Dominic Cruz for five rounds, like that will be way more impressive to me than, like, O'Malley. I don't know. I was going to say it's going to be more impressive than O'Malley finishing Cheeto,
Starting point is 00:19:40 but maybe I'm wrong about that. I don't know. I'm not really winning in however way he does it, outside of a controversial decision will be really impressive to me. So, cannot wait for that. And obviously, Kevin Holland, MVP, perfect matchmaking. Boarding for flight 246 to Toronto is delayed 50 minutes. Ugh, what?
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Starting point is 00:20:24 or visit comexonterio.ca. 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. Tyson, do we have you now?
Starting point is 00:20:47 Hey Mike, can you hear me? Yeah, I got you. All right, heck of a morning. First thing, first I just want to say that I'm a fairly new listener, first time caller. I just want to say I'm a big fan of the show. Appreciate the work that you guys do, love listening to your feedback. So I have three quick questions. You kind of answered my first question.
Starting point is 00:21:06 So I guess I'll answer. I guess I'll ask, how do you see the, for instance, in Ganu fight playing out this weekend? That's my first question. second question would be why do you think that a lot of mMA fans UFC fans in particular like to discredit like certain title defenses for example i was talking to a buddy over the weekend and he was you know he was saying that if sean retains the belt you know there's a blemish there because chito didn't really deserve it where he falls in the rankings this and that but you you kind of heard that
Starting point is 00:21:38 with aljo as well everyone discredited all three of his title defenses you hear the same thing about Islam, you know, two title defenses against a 145er. So I guess my question is like, why is it, you know, more and more common for people to discredit title defenses? And then my third and final question, I apologize, probably more of a free-for-all Friday question, but why do you think that Jamal Hill gets the hate that he does? Like this man, I'm talking prior to him kind of bitching about where he belongs in the rankings after vacating the belt, you know, all the stuff that went down with his brother. Um, you know, when he first, you know, won the belt. You know, everybody was just giving him hell because, because of who he beat
Starting point is 00:22:16 and stuff like that. So yeah, that's all I got for you. I wanted to make it quick. So Francis and Ganu, discrediting title defenses, and then Jamal Hill, those are three. Thanks, Mike. See, Tyson, you come back anytime because you reminded me of all the questions because I have, I have like an elephant's brain with dumb things, but when I come to the show, like, if there's three questions, I forget two of them, like, pretty. pretty much every show. So thank you. I'm thinking, look, I'm never going to pick against Franson Gano ever again. I'm done doing that. So I'm going to say France and Gano by knockout. I do think he can knock out Anthony Joshua. I truly do. I think he could do it. So I'm just not going
Starting point is 00:23:01 to bet against him anyways or pick against him. So yeah, give me France by knockout. What a friggin' world that will be if that happens. The title of fencing is just kind of weird. I just think it's I think it's a lot of the newer fan base, honestly, that really does that. I think a lot of people, like, in this room, understand that, you know, you fight the people who are in front of you. Like, you just do.
Starting point is 00:23:31 And that's just it. Like, the Volcanoz, like, I didn't hear a lot of, and I still hear from Volcanozky, too, the Korean zombie fight. Look, he was scheduled to fight Max Holloway. Max got dinged up. Max couldn't fight. They moved Volk to a different card. And they moved Al Jemann Sterling-Piore on to a different card.
Starting point is 00:23:53 And Volt needed somebody to fight. Zombie was the guy who stepped in and said, all right, I'll do it. And he beat the shit out of the Korean zombie. Like, that was one of the best title defenses I've ever seen. I mean, it was a perfect game from Volk. Like, people beat Zombie, but you don't go out there. Very few people have gone out there.
Starting point is 00:24:13 and just outclassed and made him look like an amateur. That's what both did. And I saw a lot of people, oh, it's a zombie. It doesn't really count. I mean, come on, man. Like, there's nothing you could do. And how could you discredit Al Jermaine Sterling's? Like, I understand the Yon one.
Starting point is 00:24:27 He won the belt. But still, like, everyone blamed Al Jermaine Sterling for winning the belt the way that he did. He didn't throw the knee, man. He didn't throw the knee. Peerreryon broke the rules and lost the fight. And then he goes and gives Pioter a rematch. They have a fight, and I thought Sterling clearly won.
Starting point is 00:24:47 Close fight, but I thought Sterling clearly won. The Dillishaw fight, like, who knew Dillishah had one arm? I remember talking to T.J. before that fight, and he was like, at the end of the fight, I'm going to tell you guys something you're not aware of. And I'm like, oh, okay, any hints? No, I can't say it. Turns out he had one arm. Shoulder injury.
Starting point is 00:25:09 Then, like, what are we doing here? You can't blame Alger for that. It's not his fault. And then on and on we go and he gets beat by Sean O'Malley. Like the Cheetah one like, look, like, why is anyone surprised by this fight? We knew this was going to happen. Go back into the archives and listen to any heck of a morning from the moment, the moment Dana White announced that Sean O'Malley is fighting Al Jemey and Sterling.
Starting point is 00:25:36 What did I tell you? What did most people say? If Sean O'Malley wins the belt, Al Jal ain't ever fighting him again. And he's going to go fight Marlon Vera. Because they're going to do that fight for the belt, and you have to do it immediately. So the discrediting thing, I think, is a little crazy. The discrediting thing, I think, is a little crazy. So we get, we, it drives you a little, it drives you up the wall, the discrediting thing.
Starting point is 00:26:06 But who knows? What if Marlon Vera goes on there and wins? Like, do we discredit the title win? Like, what are we doing here? What the hell are we doing here? And of course, I forgot with the third. freaking question was because I'm... But I'll remember. It'll pop in in my head
Starting point is 00:26:30 like 18 minutes later and then I'll be like, oh yeah, there it is. Let's go to The Homie. Go ahead, The Homie. Hey, Mike, thanks for having me. What's your take on the bloody elbow situation? It seems like a pretty big loss for MMA journalism as a whole, considering that they were like the only site that
Starting point is 00:26:49 were doing the kind of coverage that they were doing. Yeah, so I knew I knew this is going down before anyone started tweeting about it. It's tough, man. Like, it's tough. It's a weird situation, and I don't know a ton about it. So I don't want to, like, say too much about it because, again, I don't, I knew what was happening. I just don't, I don't know the ins and outs and why it was done.
Starting point is 00:27:22 My, like, the weirdest thing about it is why even buy the website, if you're not bringing over, everybody like what's the point of buying it if you're not going to keep it going the way that it's been going i i just don't i don't get it something is missing there so now you're just going to do mma coverage but the coverage that bloody elbow has always been known for you're not going to do what like what are we doing here the whole thing is just so strange to me but obviously i feel bad for anyone who lost their job. I guess the substack's going to keep going, but it's tough.
Starting point is 00:28:05 I don't know what to say. Like I feel bad for everybody. Hopefully, these guys can continue, these guys and gals can continue to report the sport the way that they always have. All the fighter pay stuff, all the anti-trust lawsuit stuff. Most, like 95% of that has come from them.
Starting point is 00:28:25 So hopefully John Nash and company, Anton, et cetera. they're out there doing the thing and we can continue to get coverage on that. I mean, Paul Gifts is, I don't think he's not part of them. I don't believe, but I mean, he's out there doing coverage as well. We find out that all those names we talked about that the UFC called to testify on their behalf, all them got denied yesterday, which was pretty funny. But, yeah, it's, it sucks, man.
Starting point is 00:28:58 It sucks. I hate seeing people lose their jobs. And it's just, it sucks. It sucks. Hopefully everyone get back on their feet. Hopefully that coverage will continue. And shout out to everybody who contributed. But yeah, it's a loss.
Starting point is 00:29:14 It's a huge loss for sure. Brian, go ahead. Hey, Mike. How you doing? Good. Good to hear. I just had a quick question. Do you think Macy Barber could, like, potentially be next for the title if she wins this one?
Starting point is 00:29:32 I think she's had like four or five in a row at this point. And especially if she like can go out there and finish, well, I forget her new less or her married name, but Chikagian. Do you think that that's actually realistic for or do you think she's still like one or two away? Thanks, Mike. I mean, she's got ways to go, I think. Because you have to assume they're going to go, they're going to do Grasso-Balentina next. Blanchefield and Fioro, whoever wins that fight,
Starting point is 00:30:07 is going to be ahead of her, no matter what happened. Like, Macy Barber can drop kick her to the face in the first seven seconds of this fight, and she ain't jumping Blanchefield or Fioro. It's just not going to happen. Rose is fighting Amanda Hebas, who Macy just kind of throttled in Jacksonville, but Rose is a way, way, way bigger name. So if Rose beats Amanda Hebaugh, she is going to also be ahead of Macy Barber, in my opinion. But Macy's on her way.
Starting point is 00:30:42 A win over Chukagin puts you on your way. A win over Chikagan is not as automatic anymore. Like when back before, like if you beat Caitlin Chichagin or Caitlin Serminauer's, her name is now, like you were probably getting a title shot. Like that's what you did. You go in there with her if you beat her, you get a title fight. It's not that way anymore. It's not that way anymore.
Starting point is 00:31:06 So, I mean, look at Manon Fioro. She's had a fight like twice since then. So she won't be next. She won't be next, but she'll be in line for a big fight. And I think if you're Macy Barber, you hope one of two things. One, you hope Aaron Blanchfield wins because I think Macy versus Mannon
Starting point is 00:31:26 is a better stylistic matchup for her. or probably more so hope Rose Nomi Unis wins and hope the UFC can book Macy Barber versus Rose Damai Yunus because if she goes in there and beats Rose Domitunus, she probably gets up there. So I would say a win here keeps her in great position, but she will probably still need a win, maybe two more, to get there. So we shall see how this plays out. But I'm looking forward to that fight.
Starting point is 00:32:02 We're on diaper. Hey, Mike, can you hear me? Yep. All right, I'm dealing with some rough connections, so bear with me. I'll try to make this quick. Just wanted your thoughts on a couple of flyway matchups that I'd like to see up next. I don't know if, well, I don't think any of these guys are booked. But personally, I know the UFC were trying to book Manel Cop and what's his name, Nicolao?
Starting point is 00:32:25 And that fight fell through. I hope they don't try to do that again because I personally want to see him versus Kai Kar-Fran. and I also would like to see Steve Ursaig versus Nicolao instead. Just wanted your thoughts on that matchup. And then do you think Amir Abazi is getting the next shot? Or what's going to happen with the five-way division as far as who's next to the championship? That's all, Mike. Thanks, man.
Starting point is 00:32:49 And shout out to the comment section here because now I figured out with that other question was I was missing. So I'll start with fly weights. I mean, you guys know how I feel already. If all the rumor and innuendo is true and they are trying to sign Kioji or Gucci back, that's the fight. Just bring Horaguchi in, big announcement, you can drop it on the pay-per-view Saturday. Hey, guess what? Ali Pants is fighting Kioji Horaguchi for the flyway title at UFC 3.01, and I might just fall over to the floor and excitement because that fight is everything. That fight's awesome.
Starting point is 00:33:31 If that doesn't happen, I kind of think Minnell Cop's going to get it. I kind of think he's going to get it. And he doesn't deserve it. And believe me, it hurts my soul to have to say that. Because as you all know, if you've been with enemy fighting with us since I joined, I have been, along with E.K.C. Liden, on the Minel Cop train, sitting in the front seat, hoping that this day would come, that Menel Cop gets a title fight. However, it is tough to reward somebody a title fight after a bad weight miss, like a really bad weight miss.
Starting point is 00:34:11 I understand circumstances happen. It is what it is. But it's crazy to think that metal cop could have just been like, yeah, man, don't feel good. Can't fight you, Mateus. Let's try to rebook this or something. And he probably just get thrust right into a title fight. If he just didn't fight, if he just listened to his team when they said, yeah, man, shouldn't fight. he'd probably be automatic for this title shot right now.
Starting point is 00:34:34 So I do think they'll go with him. But again, it depends on, it also depends on what happens Saturday. Because if Jelts and Almeida runs over Curtis Blades and does it quickly and doesn't break a sweat doing it, I could see the UFC doing Tom Aspinall versus Jelts and Almeida in the main event of UFC 301. And I know Tom Aspinall is going to think,
Starting point is 00:34:57 oh man, this is an idea going to Brazil. so what you're getting pay-per-view points you're getting a main event spot on a pay-per-view for the first time ever you do it you go there and you do it and it's tough fight and i know you want john jones to steep but you know those fights aren't ever happening so jails and wins and does it quickly i think the ufc does that and then at that point the ufc can throw alley pants in there with anybody because it's the whole main event but if they need to sell this as a main event the flyway title fight, which would be cool for Alley Pans.
Starting point is 00:35:32 I kind of think Cops the guy that's going to sell it the best for him. So we'll see how it plays out. It's going to be, it's a weird situation. I mean, they could still throw a macaif in there. It's possible. It's possible.
Starting point is 00:35:48 The question I missed from earlier was, why is Jamal Hill getting so much hate? I don't know. I don't know. His, I don't know, man. The whole thing that Ariel, I think, kind of rub people the wrong way. Just kind of blasting him on YouTube and stuff. Other things that sort of rub people the wrong way,
Starting point is 00:36:12 I'll tell you what kind of rub me the wrong way about him. What we put out, I don't remember when it was. I think it was after he won the title. I mean, it was like a couple months after. We put out our light heavyweight rankings. And we ranked him all Hill 5, I think. and Jamal Hill was pissed about that
Starting point is 00:36:36 he's like what the what are you talking about or maybe I don't even remember when this was but I remember he commented on it and made said some things and we're just like dude
Starting point is 00:36:45 like what are you talking about what are you talking about Jamal Hill is the biggest mystery in the sport right now because his performance against Glover Tashara was incredible I thought Glover was going to
Starting point is 00:36:57 run him out of the building he's just got to take him down and smush him but Jamal showed a lot of improvements, and he beat the hell out of Glover's Shera. The problem is he hasn't been able to follow up on it. Took the fight on short notice. He didn't beat one of the five best light heavyweights
Starting point is 00:37:17 in a lot of people's minds at the time, and won the fight. And all we've been waiting for is like, hey, go fight Yuri. Go fight Alex, whoever. whoever he fights for unification for for the next title fight like that's going to answer all the questions and it was yury at the time and then we're trying to figure out what's going on the year and then jemal gets hurt so Alex steps in after the winner against yonbovich he becomes the champion so now we're getting jamal hill versus Alex Pereira a ufc 300 which also doesn't
Starting point is 00:37:52 help jama hill because the ufc overpromised the main events and while this fight is great it's not the oh this is going to blow your socks off and i think when you put fighters in that position especially guys like jemal hill like below mohammed even to some extent like an aljermaine sterling where people just they for some reason they rub people the wrong way it's always that guy who gets the brunt of it even though they were just asked to compete in a fight so is some of it unfair certainly is some of it kind of justified perhaps but i don't know i i don't I don't know why he gets so much hate, but I don't know. I just think there's more...
Starting point is 00:38:35 I like Jamal. I mean, I like Jamal Hill. The being upset about the rankings thing, like, I think he just kind of, like, use that as motivation, use it as fuel. But I like Jamal. I'm so excited for this Alex Perey fight. I've said countless times on this show that heading into 2024, there were, if I had to make a list of five fights, I had to have to see in 2024, Jamal Hill versus Alex Pereira is one of them. It's on that list. And it's not his fault that the UFC bungled this entire 300 main event thing. It's not his fault. But we're
Starting point is 00:39:14 going to get our answers. We're going to find out how good Jamal Hill is April 13th, the UFC 300. And if he goes out there and just beat six shades of shit out of Alex Pereira and wins and regains that belts that he never lost at a fight, I'm going to rank him number one without question. Without question, I will rank him number one. I just got to see it. I got to see the follow-up performance. I got to see him fight the champion or a number one contender. I need that performance against one of those guys.
Starting point is 00:39:50 And if he can give us that, he will be number one with the bullet. The first thing I do when UFC 300 ends is I'm going to quit Jamal Hill number one. And he will jump probably into the top five of my pound for pawn rankings. but just need one win. Just need to beat Alex. You beat Alex, you're there. But yeah, he gets a lot of hate. I don't really necessarily understand why he gets so much hate.
Starting point is 00:40:14 But I do know he rubs some people the wrong way. And you can sell tickets that way. That's for sure. If you do it the right way. If you're Jamal Hill, his next couple months are very, very important. I hope his leg is good to go. because if it ain't, he's going to have a real tough time with Alex Pereira on April 13th.
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Starting point is 00:41:42 Mn Mn MN Fighting YouTube channel so they always ask stupid questions and they get they get a push because of the super chat and E.K.C. Ladin doesn't does not pick our questions. So people are all always ask about Jets, have you had your dinner? Did you go to the peace? What the F? All those patients are stupid and you are rich man. I have seen your home. You are rich. You don't need super chat. And one more thing, what should Islam Makachov should do? I mean 10, 9 or 10 title. defenses and then retire and cement his name at the goat list or he should just retire after just like Habim.
Starting point is 00:42:48 Thank you. And I'm sorry if I heard your feelings. No, you didn't hurt my feelings. You just told me I was rich. So tell me where to find this big bag of money that you think I have because I'm going to go get it. I don't know what you're talking about, man. And I don't even live in that house anymore.
Starting point is 00:43:07 I am not rich. I can tell you that right now. And I don't, like, look, the Super Chat thing is just, it's a thing people ask for, and we're giving it to them. We mix things up a little bit. All right, we have a little fun. Doesn't all have to be like X's and O's. We could talk about Jed's dinner.
Starting point is 00:43:23 If you want to pay money to talk about Jed's dinner, then power to you. Like, what can I tell you? People seem to like it. People seem to like it. And we do take other questions. And there's sometimes like, like UFC Vegas 87, Like, do we really need to do a post-fight show for an hour and a half on that card? There was, like, three things to talk about.
Starting point is 00:43:45 And if we take seven questions and are all super chats, like, what do you want? $2.99 is going to be different. All those programs are going to be different. There's shit to discuss. There's nothing to talk about on Saturday. Nothing. Outside of, wow, Umar struggled. Or should Mikhail fight for the belt?
Starting point is 00:44:04 Jarzini won a patient fourth round TKO. there was a cool knockout. Okay, good night, everybody. Would you rather the show be like 25 minutes and not take any questions? And that's just a feature. You want to skip the line? You got the option. It doesn't mean we're not going to answer other questions.
Starting point is 00:44:21 But when there's nothing to talk about, we're not just going to sit around and just answer questions for 45 minutes about a card that doesn't have any storylines attached to it. You know what I mean? That's just the way that it is. And what should Islam do? Be happy. Do what you,
Starting point is 00:44:39 he could do whatever he wants to do. If he wants to fight two more times and then retire, he can. It's whatever he wants. He should not be forced into doing anything. So just like Khabib, you make a promise to your family, or it makes you happy to walk away from the sport,
Starting point is 00:45:00 do it. No one's a good question Islam's greatness. Nobody. Dude's real good. UFC wisdom, Poetown getting slept at one. Tell you what, man, he does it. He's number one. He'll be top five pound for pound.
Starting point is 00:45:23 I have so many concerns about that fight. I mean, if he is a legitimate superhealer and comes in and that leg is not a problem, he can beat Alex Pereira, no doubt about it. But if he's basically taking this fight on one leg, he's going to get run over. It's a tough matchup for him anyways. but if that leg is good to go,
Starting point is 00:45:50 no problems, no pain, no nothing, no tightness, et cetera, by the time April 13th comes around, this is a super fun fight. And Jamal could beat him in the first round. I don't know. This is why I want to see it so badly. But all the questions I have about Jamal Hill and how good he is will be answered April 13th.
Starting point is 00:46:13 And I'm not saying he's not good. I think he's very, very good. Thought he's been very, very good for a long time. but is he the best light heavy weight in the world we are going to find out April 13th which is all I've been wanting from the from beginning is to answer that question Terrence go ahead hey Mike how you doing good I don't know if you guys talked about this one in the past however um Peter Yon is going in his fight he was already lost four fights in a row if he's fighting for his job if he loses his and they still
Starting point is 00:46:49 like have him on board and what have you and taking fights he will be entering to Tony Ferguson like that is like in like such a short period of time and I kind of feel bad for him
Starting point is 00:47:02 I honestly think he's going to win this fight but that's just something that I'm not seeing anybody really talk about they're like oh he's not watched which I don't think he is but it's just like if he slips on a banana feel and lose another one like how much of a fall from grace would that be from being
Starting point is 00:47:17 themed as like the I'm best alive at 135 a few years ago to being like on a four approaching possibly a firefight losing street. The other one, somebody kind of already reached out or in asking you about which is the bloody I will. One thing that I thought about is like I'm wondering so why there isn't like a, it's probably like a bad comparison, but like a PBS for like news in regards to MMA. like where the people buy into it and they the people run the site and they curate that type of information in regards to like all right we want this information is important we'll go ahead and pay for it and we want to keep these people employed like a non-for-profit type thing like people getting their salaries but it's not like a profit type thing and i think something like that is needed in the mma space and then the last one you might have talked about already but kados santos of course is going over to PFL, another fall from grades. I don't know if Yarmay said anything about it or had an interview with her, but I'm curious as to why she was let go. I want to hear her side and story, and I'm just wondering if you have any intel and refresh
Starting point is 00:48:28 that. That's it. Let's see. What are we? The bloody elbow thing of the PBS, I mean, they have a substack. So if you want to support them, you can. When they set up the website, they asked for the support. So, I mean, you can still support them.
Starting point is 00:48:48 The substack is still alive. That is, at least according to Nate, is not going with the sale. So if you still want to support those individuals and what they are trying to do, you can still do that. So there you go. You have the option. You have the option. Talas Santos going to PFL. Maybe maybe you can figure that out.
Starting point is 00:49:22 But honestly, I think this is probably the best thing for Tyler Santos, honestly. After losing to Aaron Blanchfield, she ain't getting the title fight anytime soon. Just not happening. So this is probably the best thing for her. Now she should go to PFL. Yes, the schedule is a little more strenuous, but she can make a lot more money at PFL than she can in the UFC right now. So maybe that's probably told at some point.
Starting point is 00:49:52 as to why Tyler's don't longer with the company, but I don't really know. But I think this is a better move for her. It definitely is a better move for her. And Peyrean, like, I understand the losing streak is, is a, it's a long one, but I'm not ready to put him in the Tony Ferguson category by any stretch of the imagination.
Starting point is 00:50:19 I mean, Tony is getting thumped in every fight he's in. It's almost uncomfortable watching Tony fight. Jan is not in that same position. A lot of people thought, you know, a lot of people still defend Jan in the DQ situation, which is insanity. A lot of people still had. Jan still is the best band-of-way in the world,
Starting point is 00:50:40 despite losing the title. A lot of people thought he beat Al Jermaine Sterling in the rematch. A lot of people thought he beat John O'Malley. I am one of those people. There are a lot of other people as well who thought he beat John O'Malley. And then Marab just marobdomed them.
Starting point is 00:51:02 I mean, I don't, like, when they booked Pieter Yon versus Song Yidong, I'm not like, oh, my God, he's lost four in a row. Can't do it. I just hope he's going to be okay. Tony Ferguson, like, if he gets put in there with anybody, can you imagine if they booked Tony Ferguson versus Venetius Olivera? What are you going to say about that? You're going to be like, oh, my God, this man's about to die.
Starting point is 00:51:25 Don't do it, Tony. Don't do it. We don't feel that way about Piotr. Now, Song Yidong goes out there and one punch of beliterate. him on Saturday. Maybe we could have some discussions, but you can argue that Peter Jan should have, I'm not going to argue this. I thought Sterling beat him in the rematch.
Starting point is 00:51:45 I thought Jan beat O'Malley in Abu Dhabi. But you can make a case that Jan should have won two out of three. And he was winning the first Sterling fight pretty convincingly until the DQ. So it is a fall from grace. It's one of those stories where we look at, like we look at Jan in a way where it's like, man, if he just didn't throw that knee, if he just didn't throw that knee,
Starting point is 00:52:17 it's one of those big moments like, man, if Chris Wyman didn't throw that spinning kick against Luke Rockhold and all these other like weird instances of that, of that nature. So yeah, I have no concern about Yon. If he loses five in a row, they didn't get to fire him. They ain't released him. People still want to see him.
Starting point is 00:52:38 People come on this show and they're like, man, where's Pieter Yan? When's he fighting again? That still happens all the time. So it's a big one. If he ever wants to get back in title contention, he has to win this one. But if he loses the Song Yadong,
Starting point is 00:52:53 he's probably never fighting for the belt. But will he have a job with a loss? Yes, I think he will. Because he still has a very powerful name in this division. Go ahead, Ibswaya. So, Mark, Ikev, of morning. I have two questions. Firstly, to follow up, the Peora Yan question,
Starting point is 00:53:16 if he beat Songya Dong in very convincing fashion on Saturday, a great fight, by the way. What is next for him? Do you think he will possibly fight Chiro Vera if Chiro loses the Shorna on Saturday, or would he have to fight maybe a John Ternardin? maybe the winner Davidson and Cody
Starting point is 00:53:37 what do you think that you'll see will try and do with him next because he's in a really weird spot and I think out of anyone in the entire roster right now he is in the weirdest spot
Starting point is 00:53:47 for someone who is still possibly for a title shot you know he I don't think he's done with his day as a title but if he still fight smartly but it's going to be a very long journey
Starting point is 00:53:59 before he gets back to that rain I'll say that much and to follow up another question. Corey Sanhagan. I know, I know. I think they're going to make Umaa versus Cody.
Starting point is 00:54:08 But if that fight does not happen, what happens for Cody next? Do you think he just sits out and wait for Marab and, you know, whoever to get their town shots done so he can get his slaughter in? Maybe he fights as a backup in case. Anyone gets injured down the line?
Starting point is 00:54:24 What do you think happens with him next? That's all I've had a great day. I mean, he's probably going to have to fight Umar anyway. So, yeah, I don't know what he does. I really don't. Do you do Dominic Cruz just to, like, give him a name? I mean, it's kind of like a potential passing of the torch kind of a fight.
Starting point is 00:54:45 So maybe you do that for Corey. But I think he's, it's basically like, hey, dude, you fight Umar or you're benched. I mean, I just don't know. I don't know. Sean O'Malley says his name a lot, too. So he probably just needs another fight. And if Sean beats Marab somehow, maybe they just Sean talks it into existence.
Starting point is 00:55:06 Kind of like what is he did with Y'all Romero. You know, one of those types of deals. But Corey's obviously not Y'all Romero. It's coming off of wins. But, yeah, I think he's got to end up fighting him more. Like, if he wants to get back to that title fight, if he wants to get himself a real, like an actual undisputed title fight, that's probably the fight he's going to have to take right now.
Starting point is 00:55:28 Probably the fight he's going to have to take. If Yon wins, I don't know. I think Davis has got a knockout Cody Garbrand. So yeah, do that. That's fine. Yon versus Figgi works for me. Figgy, Jan versus all those guys works. You can do Cheeto if he loses, sure.
Starting point is 00:55:50 Jan Suhudo is interesting if they don't do the Marino fight. So there's a lot. There's history between those two guys. There's ways we can go with this. But, beyond wins. He'll have people to fight. All right, we got probably like 10 or so minutes, so we got a flag. Four quarter of course.
Starting point is 00:56:12 Go ahead. Hey, so I am tempted in how they're going to do this booking for 301 for Pantosio. I'm with you. I'd like to see them, you know, get a horrogoor with you on that card. But if not, do not put five on that headliner. I feel like Makayev and Pantosia. It's not going to be a fun fight. I feel like Mikhail needs some seasoning in his game before we come to that point.
Starting point is 00:56:46 I thought that he was going to be able to finish Alex Perez, but clearly there is still a lot left for him to improve before we put on a final fight. Me personally, I'm going to still keep saying it. It should be Menel Kopp versus Pantosia. I know he didn't make weight. I just feel like that would be a banker. And I think that that would, you know, definitely get the crowd going in Brazil. For the main event this week, Cheeto versus O'Malley.
Starting point is 00:57:18 I think O'Malley is going to have to really, you know, digging deep and prepare themselves to go five rounds because how can you stop somebody that's not able to get knocked down, not able to get knocked out, and not able to get submitted. And Cheeto, I think Cheeto is going to start slow. but the way Dominic Cruz ended up breaking down the fight on the UFC channel was perfect. This fight would be determined on who gets, you know, their timing correctly, and Omanlike to start fast, and Cheetah likes to start slow,
Starting point is 00:57:52 and O'Malley starts to degress as the fight goes on, and Cheeto starts to pick it up. The way that I feel like this fight's in the go is if O'Malley starts fast, he doesn't expedite the way that Cheeto fighting, South, you know, comes along and we might see something of how Cheeto ended up fighting Rob fought. Rob threw so many punches in that fight. And Cheeto, you know, I think he threw like a third of the punches.
Starting point is 00:58:20 But the way that he ended up hurting Rob every time he landed a punch, you know, Rob looked like a totally different person once that fight had ended. I'm leaning towards Cheeto. But, you know, for some reason, O'Malley has his aura where. He can always muscle through because I didn't think that he was going to be able to knock out Al Jameen up until Al Jambay ended up leaning in too much and exposing his chin. Let me know what you think. Thanks. Yeah, I've talked on that part already for a while. So I'll get on the first question a little bit.
Starting point is 00:58:54 The problem with Copp's case too is he does not have like a great win on his UFC record. Let me pull his upward. Like he's got good wins. He does not have a great win. like all the guys who are like ranked high in the division he's lost to like Felipe dos Santos is a newcomer david devorak is ranks because they just don't have enough guys zuma gulov not the ufc ode osborne wanked way below him and he's the two guys that he fought one is pantosia he lost and then he fought nicolao and lost so i thought cop won the nickel off fight but it was two it's it's it's
Starting point is 00:59:37 close enough where it's like, okay, his best win right now is probably O'Day Osborne. Like, that's, it's a, he's got a tough case. He's got a tough case. He's fun and he says outlandish shit and he's a fun-ass fighter and he gets finishes and stuff. But like, it's kind of hard to like say, yeah, this is the fight when your best win is O'Day Osborne. Like, no disrespect to David DeVorec, but like stylistically, that was a good fight for And then Felipe dos Santos was basically brought in there to be like, hey, run this dude over.
Starting point is 01:00:19 Make a statement. It ended up being a really fun competitive fight. But I don't know. Like, I'm, again, if Curtis Blades beats Yeltsin Almeida, throw a cop in there. Like, I'm cool with that. Cop will sell this thing. Like, the UFC will kind of just pump this pay-per-view in a lot of respects. And then again, no disrespect for Ali Pants, because I love watching that man fight.
Starting point is 01:00:41 but he's not as pay-per-view draw. The flyway division is not a draw. So if you're going to headline it with the flyway title fight, bring in the dude who's going to at least attend to sell it, and Mel Copp will just say some heinous shit about Brazil and sell it. So, but again, it's like the big, massive weight miss. And, you know, I know some of the stuff, a lot of stuff wasn't his fault.
Starting point is 01:01:07 The Kai Kar-France booking, not his fault. Figgie, not his fault. Perez, not his fault. But, I don't know. Like, at least, like, it's very similar to Islam. Like, Islam was ranked, was matched up with a whole bunch of super high-ranked guys, and they all got hurt, like, right before the fight. And then someone would step in on short notice, and he just treated them accordingly.
Starting point is 01:01:33 Like, that's what happens. So he never had, like, a top five win on the resume before he got his title shot. He got Dan Hooker and such. But even then, like, Dan Hooker, Drew Dober, those guys are better wins than Manel has on his resume right now from, at least during his UFC run. So we'll see how it plays out. But if you throw a cop in there, it's because you want to try to get somebody in there who's going to sell it. But in terms of like deserves, out of all the guys we've mentioned, if we're really looking at this from a merit perspective, he's probably the least deserving right now. like I'd give it to machiaf over him
Starting point is 01:02:13 like macayev has a top like macapef beat alex prez and I know people like don't view Alex Perez as like a top fighter like Perez is good like he's a good fighter he's not a pushover and mokai if didn't look great but he won
Starting point is 01:02:28 on a bad day he says this is his worst day on his worst day he beat Alex Perez and I'm going to take him at his word until I see otherwise he still beat him you know what can you do so i don't know how this is going to play out but i think we'll get some
Starting point is 01:02:49 answers over the next few weeks all right we'll take stealthy and annie and then i got to go so we got to make this real quick stealthy go ahead i'm all listening i just uh sometimes i just can't get to the phone and call but uh i got so many things i can talk about but uh i'll just narrow it down uh i want to know what's next for uh dricus duplicy uh i just love that guy um Even with the smack talk, with Strickland. I just, I love everything. His professionalism. I like the way he approaches the game.
Starting point is 01:03:25 He gets a little carried away with the extra talk. But, hey, you got to sell your game at MMA, right? Then I, how do you view Dustin Poria versus Benoit Saint-Denie? I'm really curious on your thoughts on how you feel about that fight. And my last thought is I really feel like. Justin Gaci in Holloway, although it was a fantastic fight for the fans, I feel like that's a no-win situation for Gachi, who, like, pretty much is only lost to, like, Khabib, like, over the last couple of years.
Starting point is 01:04:04 And I feel like if he wins Holloway, he's supposed to beat Holloway, but if he loses, like, Holloway couldn't even beat Volk, you know what I mean? And now if Gagee don't beat him, I feel like it's a no-win situation. Last but not least, I want to see Joshua piece up in the Gano so they can put all this to rest. Mike, always a pleasure talking to you. Have a great day, man. Have a heck of a day. Thanks, buddy.
Starting point is 01:04:31 Why do you want to see Joshua piece up in Gano? Like, this is a great story. This is a great story. Francis goes in bytes Tyson Fury. No one gave this man a chance. Me included. I'm like, guys, we know what this is. We know exactly what this is.
Starting point is 01:04:45 Francis is going to grab a big bag of money and then he's going to go obliterate a bunch of people in the PFL. And what does he do? He believes. He achieves. And he arguably beat Tyson Fury. Now, I don't think he beat Tyson Fury.
Starting point is 01:05:03 Now, if we're talking about this fight in the middle of the street, Brett, you'd understand this. If we did this at Lyndon's school, Francis wins that fight. Schoolyard rules. He wins. they don't score schoolyard fights by rounds
Starting point is 01:05:17 France had this significant moment he looked like he didn't look like he was in a fight Types very certainly looked like he was in a fight and he got dropped iconic photo meme forever so I think Francis can win I really think he can win
Starting point is 01:05:33 but we'll find out we'll find out but I'll never pick against Francineano ever again ever absolutely ever Is Gagio Holloway a lose-lose for Gachi? No, because I think if he wins, he's going to get Islam. I think they'll give it to him.
Starting point is 01:06:00 I think he gets it. Even with Sarukian and Olivera, whatever happens there. I don't know. Gaghi's kind of accepted the fact that this is what's going to happen. So he was confused by all of this. And then after watching Iliatea Poria win the featherway title, I think more people are confused by the booking. I think we're all a little blinded by it.
Starting point is 01:06:20 Like, okay, this is very 300-y. And I know personally, this is the fight I've wanted to see forever, Gachi and Holloway. But I don't know. It's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's how this all plays out. Like, no one, we talk about Cheevera being a guy you can't finish. Fucking Max Holloway is one of those guys, too. You can't even hurt this man.
Starting point is 01:06:46 You can't hurt him. Justin Gaci is the man who the the guy Like Dustin Porre Hit him a lot and didn't hurt Max Like you could tell that Max felt those punches A little bit more than the featherway punches he felt But Porre never stung him He was never wobbled, never got dropped
Starting point is 01:07:08 Do you imagine if Justin Gagethe just drops Max Holloway Like no one's done that before That'd be incredible And I'm sure Justin Gage's making a whole lot of money for this as well. So, and then Porie Santini,
Starting point is 01:07:28 God, I cannot wait for that fight. Can not wait for that fight. Let me see what the betting lines are. I've got to start making bets. Goddam's too much this week. I can't make bets for In Ghana too. So right now, Benoit Santini, minus 205,
Starting point is 01:07:46 Dustin Paui, plus 170, according to draftings. I'm betting on Dustin Porea plus 170. I tell you that right now. kind of have a feeling this line's going to get a little more juice along the way. Look, could Benoit Santini just grapple Dustin Porre, take him down and beat his ass? It's very possible. That could absolutely happen. But Dustin's a dog.
Starting point is 01:08:08 Santany, big opportunity. Experience matters in the sport, guys. It really does. I don't care how dangerous and how crazy you are in that octagon. There's nothing more valuable in this sport than experience. experience and Dustin's got it in spades. And if this is a striking battle, even though Santanyi is an animal, Dustin is very live in this fight, especially if we go along here.
Starting point is 01:08:33 If we go long, Dustin's got a real chance here. I can't wait. I love O'Malley and Vera and I love the storylines behind it. I get it. I get it. But this is, this to me is my main event. This is my main event. I'm so fascinated by this fight.
Starting point is 01:08:53 And then DDP is probably going to fight Izzy, but we'll see how that all plays out as well. And then last but not least, we'll go real quick to Ani, and then we got us to go. Go ahead, Ani. Yes, sir. So I'm still going to ride with this idea, and again, I'm assuming it's just an assumption. Now, that doesn't mean I'm counting Volcanowski out, but I assume that Alexander Volcanowski is going to lose to Toporia. Going by that assumption, I still feel Wolkenovsky versus Dustin Polier is the fight to make, regardless of what happens with Dustin Polier next, because he is after exciting fights. That's what I think should happen, regardless of what happens with Porriere.
Starting point is 01:09:45 But that's not what I want to talk about. What I want to talk about, I just keep coming back to this fight. You might think I'm crazy, like with UFC 299 and UFC 300 coming up. I still can't stop thinking about Aaron Blanchfield, man. Like the Aaron Blanchefield versus Manon Fioro fight? Do you think Manon Fioro is the toughest matchup that Blanchefield can get? Or is Alex Agrazzo the toughest matchup? I mean, of course, I know Valentina Shepchenko.
Starting point is 01:10:17 So out of these three fighters, who do you think is the toughest matchup for Blanchefield and who has the best chance at beating Blanchefield? And who would you pick against all the three of them? Thank you, Mike. Wait, who are the three options? Grasso, who else? At the top three, Shevchenko, Grasso, and Fioro. Mano Fioro.
Starting point is 01:10:44 That's a good question. Honestly, I think Blanchfield rolls all three of them. I really do. I think she's going to run over men in Fioro. like no disrespect to what man is accomplished but she fights like she did against Rosamundi Unis she is going to get squashed by Aaron Blanchfield
Starting point is 01:11:12 it ain't going to be good for she needs to go out and try to kill on her Blanchfield that's honestly Styles City that is her best that is her best path of victory she needs to go out there and try to just knock Aaron Blanchfield into the third row because if Aaron gets a hold of her
Starting point is 01:11:28 she's going for a ride and she's going to be on her back that whole fight and it's not going to be good for I'll say Shepchenko but I'm not even confident in that Grasso is very good too Grasso's striking has gotten a lot better
Starting point is 01:11:46 I'll probably say Shepchenko because of the dangers on the feet so but yeah it's going to be a big fight I can't think about that one right now because we got UFC 299 we got we get Joshua and Gano we got so much going on this week so stick with us MAFighting.com
Starting point is 01:12:10 Like I said, this would be the only show of this magnitude this week. Perhaps I will jump on at some point during the New York trip. It will just like kind of chit-chat. We will do something. I don't know. We'll do something at some point. Even for just like a half hour, just a little community chat. We'll do something.
Starting point is 01:12:32 But appreciate all you guys. Enjoy the rest of your Tuesday. It's going to be a very busy week. So like I said, just stay with us and we'll let you know what the hell is going on. So have a great rest of your time. Tuesday. Have a heck of a morning. It's Fight Week, everybody. Let's go.

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