MMA Fighting - HOAM | Shavkat Rakhmonov Or Kamaru Usman — Who Should Be Next For Belal Muhammad?

Episode Date: August 9, 2024

MMA Fighting's Mike Heck talks the welterweight division's title picture in the UFC, the talk of Kamaru Usman getting the first shot at Belal Muhammad over Shavat Rakhmonov, Francis Ngannou's MMA return being announced, Arman Tsarukyan potentially fighting for an interim lightweight title, and more. You can listen live to Heck of a Morning Tuesdays 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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But first, there, the last one. Enjoy a Coca-Cola for a pause that refreshes. You're listening to the Vox Media Podcast Network. It is Friday, August 9th, 2024. And it is indeed a heck of a morning. We are live on Twitter on the M.A. Fighting page. And you can hear the show in its entirety shortly thereafter on the M.A. Fighting podcasting network. What's going on

everybody? I and Mike Hack. Hope you're all having fantastic week. A fantastic start to your Friday. We have made it. Yes, we've been grinding through the week, just looking ahead to UFC Vegas 95. We just got to get to UFC Vegas 95

because we got that rematch in the heavyweight division that the world has been clamoring for. Marching Tybora versus Sergei Spivak and Sergei Spivak exact revenge on Martin Tibera four years later. Storylines galore on this card. I will say, although I am being a little bit sarcastic,

there are some positives to this card, one of which there's going to be a couple of pretty decent fights on here. I think Chepa Mariscald Damon Jackson is going to be fun as hell. There are some squash matches on here for sure, so we're probably going to see some big finishes. But the two biggest things to me, the two biggest boxes of this card checks off. One, 5 p.m. Eastern Main Card,

just fantastic stuff right there. I believe that's what it is. I could be wrong. I just know it's not a 10 p.m. Eastern Main Card. All right, it's a 7 p.m. Eastern Main Card. That's not horrendous. 4 p.m. or 5 p.m. Freelim start time,

which is good. And then the other thing, 10 fights. 10 fights. Just right in the wheelhouse. 10 fights. This is what all these Apex cards should be. 10 or less. Get in, get out.

Let's move it along. And let's just do the damn thing. So I am okay with that. Leads us into UFC 305. I'm sure there'll be a lot of promotional material for UFC 305, the return to Perth for the UFC, the return of Israel out of Sanya against Strickus DuPus C,

that rivalry will write its next chapter. And it's a decent card. It's not the best pay-per-view of the year, but main card's pretty solid. Main event's great. A lot to like there. A lot to like there. A lot has happened since we have last spoke,

including we found out the return of one Francis Inganu to the MMA world is happening in October, the PFL, heading back to, which I assume is Saudi Arabia. I know I was told that Saudi Arabia. I know Francis did some interviews and said it's going to be in Saudi Arabia and he will fight Henan Faheda. Good for Francisigano getting back in there. Good for PFL because, boy, do they need him in a very, very good. bad way right now. And then we also found out Chris Cyborg versus

Larissa Pacheco is happening on that card as well. So this is big news for PFL. They got to steal a couple of headlines. And this is a we talked about this a little bit on BTL yesterday. This is a crossroads event, in my opinion, for PFL. I mean, they have

financing, they have distribution deals and such. So from a business end, from that end, they're doing okay. But from a promotional buzz perspective, from the MMA community and the mixed martial arts fan base,

there is little to no buzz on this promotion right now. For them, for Bellator, PFellator, however you want to look at it, there's just nothing. There's just nothing. Cedric Dumbay, obviously, has been a big deal for them because he gets to fight in Paris.

so we could see those crowds go absolutely bananas. Dakota Chavez has been a nice story. But in a lot of people's eyes, she's been pretty much somewhat untested. She hasn't beat really like a top 40, 125 or just yet. She has got to fight Tyler Santos in the finale, which is going to answer some questions, but she has been a fun story.

Nonetheless, she's become a rising star for the promotion. But it just seems like PFL has just been a whole bunch of empty promises. We're going to do this. this. We got Francis. Okay. When's he going to fight? We don't know yet. Now we got a, we get a date. We have Jake Paul. He's going to fight an MMA. When? I don't know. We have Amanda Serrano. She's going to fight an MMA. When? I don't know. There's just so many unknowns right now when it comes to PFL. And like I said earlier, they have no buzz. There's no excitement behind them. I don't think this is going to do great on pay-per-view. I think it's going to do a lot less

than they probably believe it will. I asked on BTL over under 100,000 buys, I got laughed at, laughed at by everybody. So this needs to do well. This needs to be a big card. This needs to have storylines in the aftermath.

And I think if you're PFL, I know you just kind of want the fights to happen. But boy, oh boy, does PFL need Francis and Gano to win this fight? They need him, to win. They need it to happen. If he goes out and gets ethered by Henan Ferreira, that is very, very, very bad for them. Very bad. Henan Ferreira will get a little bit of a of a bump from this,

like very little. He's not going to become a superstar beating Francis Ngano. It's just not going to happen. They need Francis to win and win impressively. If that does not happen, at the end of the night is Francis Ngano laying on his back after getting finished. This is a disaster for PFL, an absolute disaster. So we got a couple of months to think about this. Hopefully the pay-per-view price is within reason. I don't think it will be. It'll probably be 50 bucks.

And the timing of this may not be that great. We got two UFC pay-per-views in October. We just found out it's official Salt Lake City October 5th. It's a go-for UFC 307. and then 308, which is the week after the PFL pay-per-view, is gigantic. Just big fight after big fight after big fight. Massive stakes. The top two fights are gigantic.

And then we get MSG three weeks after that. You're asking MMA fans to shell out a lot of dough to watch pay-per-views in October in the first half of November. It's got to be tough, man. It's going to be tough. We'll see how they load up the rest of this card. It needs to be their greatest card ever. This needs to be bangor after banger from top to bottom.

There cannot be a stinker on this card anywhere. So we'll see what happens over the next couple of months in the lead to this Superfight pay-per-view event for PFL. We could talk about that. We could talk about Vegas 95. There's been quite a debate going on about the welterweight division and who should fight Balah Muhammad in his first title defense, I get to tell you,

this conversation is driving me insane right now because there are actually, I cannot believe we're having this discussion right now. There are people out there who are saying, with confidence, that Kamara Usman should get the shot. And I pose the question, why do you feel that way? How is this a thing? How can you award a title shot to a guy who's lost three fights in a row?

I'm sorry. I don't care how the loss has happened. I don't care the situation of some of the losses. I do not care. Penn went to paper. Risks were assumed. What the hell are we doing here? We're going to give a title shot.

We are actually stating a case to give a title shot to a guy who has lost three fights in a row. This is insanity. This is insanity. If we're looking at Bilal Mohammed returning in the next five months, it is Shafkat Rakmanoff by a mile. This is not even a discussion. What are we doing here? That is a far more interesting fight than Usman right this second.

And again, Usen has lost three fights in a row. How are we even thinking about this being an option right now? All Kumar Usman has to do is win a fight. I don't give a shit who he fights. Give him somebody in the top 50s. he can fight Neil freaking Magni if he wants. I do not care. He has to win.

Go fight somebody in the top 15. Get a win. Then you can have a title shot. But if he gets thrown in there right away, just because Leon isn't the champion anymore, this is a guy who less than a year ago is like, yeah, I think I'm going to stay at Middoway for a little while. But now because Leon Edwards is the champion anymore,

we're stating our case for a title shot back at 170. What are we talking about? What are we talking about? I had multiple discussions about this on social media. Some on Twitter. People DM and me giving me shit about this take. This is ridiculous. If Bilala's going to be out for a year and he's dinged up or something, fine.

Do Usman versus Shafcott. That is the fight to make. And let us not forget, ladies and gentlemen. Because one of the big talking points people are saying when it comes to Shafkut is, oh, he hasn't beat a top five guy yet. Well, you can only control the. the opposition that has agreed to fight you. We saw literally on a documentary with the UFC,

Dana White going up to Ali Abdaliz, the manager of Kumar Usman and saying, hey, let's do Shafkhov versus Usman. And what did Ali say? Nah, Usma wants to fight Wonder Boy. Okay. And that fight never got made. Even though Habib kind of was like,

Ali, what the hell are you talking about? This is exactly the fight he should be. taking. I don't understand it. I don't understand it. By that metric, you are saying that Islam Makachep didn't deserve a title shot. And now he's the best pound for pound fighter in the sport. Sometimes it's just your time. Sometimes you're just the guy. And it doesn't matter who you beat. You beat the dudes in front of you. Do it the most impressive in the most impressive way. And then when we look at the line, Chavkat's the front of the line. It's just, it's him. It's Liam. Leon Edwards deserves to fight for the belt against Bilal at a rematch before Kamaro Usman does, in my opinion.

He ran off a few title defenses, lost a fight. He deserves it more than Usman does. And I don't think he should get it at all. This is a no-brainer. So how do you set up this Welter A division? You do Shafka v. Bilal. You try to do it before the end of the year. I wouldn't be shocked that the UFC is already on the horn with Ballol and his team saying, hey, we have this spot open October 7th or October 5th in Salt Lake City. I know you just fought. I know you're saying you want to fight in December, but we sort of have that earmarch for Connor McGregor's return,

and we know you're not going to fight on that card if Connor's on it. So if you want to fight again this year, Belal, you fight October 5th, and you could fight Shafcott-Machmanoff. In the main event, put your title on the line. get your pay-per-view points, it'll be a good time. Because that card's pretty good. That card's pretty good. We're probably going to get a second title fight on there.

Raquel Pennington versus Juliana Pena is pretty much yet to all but announce at this point. And this is not breaking news. We've been talking about this for a while now. And I honestly think, like, this might be Ballal's best chance to beat Shafka. It's just get them on a quick, you know, quick notice seven, eight weeks. That might be his best chance to win. If you give these guys like three months to prepare for each other, I don't always just beat Leon,

and I know he silenced a lot of people, but I just don't think that fight's going to go well for him. I just don't. So, yeah, this conversation of, oh, it's got to be Kamar Oussman. What are you talking about? What are you talking about? Just go win one fight. Go win a fight.

He should be fighting Ian Gary or Jack Delamette, Adelina. Preferably Ian Garrett. That should be the fight. Usman versus Gary, winner gets a title shot. That's how it should be. If Gary's done for the year or something and Usen wants to get back in there and JDM's

ready to go, throw them in there with JDS. Fine with me. You beat them? Cool. You want to get in there and get a title shot even though you're one and three in your last four? Sure. I can live with that.

I can live with that. But until that happens, I just cannot. support this idea that because he was once a champion and now the guy who beat him twice in a row is not the champion anymore, we just immediately insert him into a title fight because once upon a time, Dana White said he was the best Walter rate of all time, which is also egregious and ridiculous and real dumb. Kamara Usman hasn't won a fight in just about three years, just about three years was the last time Kamara Usman won't. to fight. And it was the Colby Covington fight where he got tested and there are a lot of people

to this day who feel like Colby won that fight. That's his last win. And the win before that was when he knocked out Bosn't-ed-all who, let's be clear, didn't deserve a title fight at that time. So, I mean, we got to, this is crazy. This is absolutely crazy. A guy who has lost three in a row and hasn't won a fight in just about three years, we're just going to throw him into a title fight? And I don't blame who's been for going after this. He should go after this. And I honestly don't blame Balal for going for after this either.

All the blame goes to the UFC. Every bit of it. The way they booked this division has been horrendous. Giving Colby a title shot last year was just awful. It was just terrible decision making. And it screwed everything up.

The new blood is coming. It's time to give them their opportunity. We've been waiting for this at lightweight. waiting for somebody to come along who is different, a different name. That's not, and look, we love Charles O'Levara, we love Justin Gaichi, and we love Dustin Porre. We love these guys. They're fun. They're great fighters.

Tremendous resumes. We love all these guys. But it is now time for the Armin Sarukians of the world to get their opportunity. And finally, we're here. Finally, we get the chance. We'll see what happens with Armin. He said he's up for an interim title fight. Maybe they go that route at 307.

Who the hell knows? But it's time. It's time to mix things up. Let's get some new names in there. Let's see what we can do. And if below beats Shafkaa Rakhmanoff, give that do whatever he wants. I don't care.

He goes out there and beats up Shafka for five rounds. Give him whatever he wants. He wants to fight Uson. Cool. He wants to go fight Connor. I don't give you shit. But go beat the next guy. Go beat the next guy.

and then we can talk about all these other things. All right, let's hear from you all. I had to get that off my chest. It's been driving me crazy for the last 24 or so hours. See a lot of you in line. We're going to go for about 30 minutes here. I've got an interview coming up at 11, so I want to get this wrapped and packed it on the pod network

before I get to that. So let's rapid fire these and get to as many as possible. Left lane, go ahead. With Instacart, you get groceries that over-deliver so you can over-share your preferences. Want russet potatoes with no brown spots? You got it. Want turnips that look light but feel heavy?

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Yes. Well, I was going to take a little bit longer, but I'll try and shorten this because I know you've got to go pretty quick. So I know this weekend's Apex card, extremely stimulating stuff, I'd love to go into the in-depth breakdown about marching to Borov, Sergei Spivak, but I'll pass on that for today. But looking ahead to the next couple Apex cards,

we just got the next Apex main event announced for two weeks from now with Boralio and Cananeer. A week after that, or two weeks after that, I think we got Brady versus Gilbert Burns, and then we got about a month break from the Apex. We come back after 307, then we got Tyra versus Roy Valle, and then a week after that we got Pereira versus Hernandez. So my question is, out of those four Apex main events, which one are you most intrigued in? Which one are you most looking forward to?

Which one do you think is like the most competitive, I guess, the most meaningful? And also just a quick shout out to both the September 6th card, which is the Burns v. Brady one. and then also the October 19th card, which is the Pereira Hernandez one, both shaping up to be pretty solid cards. Burns Brady's actually a really solid lineup. Scott, some cool fights. Chanel versus Costa's on there. Steve Garcia versus Carl Nelson's on there.

Natty Ice versus Andrage. There's some cool fights on that one. Ryan Spans fighting is against LSP. I mean, that's cool, I guess. But October 19th also has Rob Font versus Kyla Phillips on that card, which, if I'm being honest, should probably be the main event, given that, like, no one really needs to see Fluffy Bess Pereira for five rounds,

because it's not going to go five. But, yeah, it's also got Sumerogh versus Melbaio versus Mattaz Nicolao. Got some cool fights on some of these Apex cards here. What do you reckon about these next four Apex main events? Thanks, Mike. They're fine. Like, this is what it should look like.

I mean, Kenner and Boraleo, I can kind of do without that one. It's fine. But see, here's the thing. Kyle Barallio proves that if you make smart, realistic callouts, you just might get them. You just might get them.

Because you remember what Kyle Barallio did in his previous victory? Before that, he called out DDP, and we laughed at him. Like, what are you doing? This is terrible, awful. One of the worst callouts of the year. And then he says, Got a lot of respect for you, Jared Kennear.

Let's fight. And here we go. Now he gets his opportunity. He gets the headline of the world's most famous Apex. Mr. Co-Main event. Now Mr. Main Event. But I don't think it's going to be a thrilling affair. Burns Bray is a great fight.

Looking forward to that one for sure. I'm also looking forward to the weak break we have between those two cards because that's fun. A little bit of a breather ain't going to hurt nobody. And then it's kind of the road show for the next. next four weeks after that. Burns, Bray's a great fight. Roy Val Tire is a great fight. I love Pereira Hernandez.

That's just going to be an absolute slapper. Can't wait for that one. Yeah, pretty solid main events. We just got to get through this week. We've got to get through, I mean, Canada Barolio's got some intrigue to it, but if I'm ranking them, that's probably, what,

one to the fourth most intriguing main event of the four. Birdsbury is probably one. Roy Val Tire is probably two because of the stakes. But Pereira Hernandez is like right, right there. And then Canaaner Baraleo is just kind of there. A lot more to gain for Baraleo than Cannoneer, in my opinion. So yeah, they're trying to do something kind. They're trying to put together some cooler fights down the stretch.

And who knows? Is this because of the TV deal and the negotiations? Try to end the year with the bang. I don't know. But we will find out. And yeah, these are way better made events than Tybor versus Spivak. That's for damn sure. Let's try to get Abzwalia in here.

God, Abzwalya. So, Mark, how good morning. I'll try to keep this very short answer on your rapid fire. I have two or three questions, but I'll keep it in the frame of two. So my first question is with some upcoming fights that we're having like Matej Gamrod v. Hooker, Brandon, Allen, and Imovov, in my opinion,

a very wonderful fight that we're going to see in underrated. I just want to get your thoughts. What outcome do you see for both fights? And depending on who wins those fights, what fight do you reckon those fighters will have next? Another question I have, it's about Amman Serukin, just to touch on the interim title,

if that does happen instead of him fighting Islam market share for the title, who do you think his opponent will be and maybe even why to put it in frame? That's all I have. Have a wonderful day. Thank you, sir.

So, Alan Imovov, where do they go? It's tough to say, man. It's tough to say. It's division's kind of a mess right now because Strickland's just kind of chilling out waiting to see what happens. We got Whitaker versus Homestat,

and I don't think anything's really going to be decided until that fight happens. So TBD on that one, I just don't think either guy is in a position to jump the rest of the line. I just don't see it. So, yeah, it's just a chance to move up a notch or so in the rankings.

But yeah, I think, I don't think they gain a ton. They should gain more, but in today's UFC, I don't think, I don't think they gain a ton. And then with, what's the other one?

Oh, Hooker and Gamron. Kind of the same. I think Hooker gains a ton. Like, this is a great, this is a great opportunity for Dan Hooker. Gigantic opportunity for him. He probably, and I think if he asked him,

and he was, like, truthful and honest, probably doesn't deserve this fight. Probably doesn't deserve to fight a top five guy in the best division in the sport. But here we are. Matush Gamrod is super good, but he's not like super over right now. And I still think if he beats Dan Hooker, he gains very little from this. But if Dan Hooker beats him, he gains a lot because Dan is way more popular.

Dan's got a fan base. Dan's got the gift of gab. And people like him. People like them. So What did I just What is this? Oh, this is funny.

I'll read this at a second. This is freaking hilarious. So yeah. Big opportunity for Dan Hooker. I don't know what either guy would get. But I don't know. Maybe Gamrod turns around quick and fights Armand for interim title or something.

I don't know. Maybe the same happens with Hooker. I don't know. It's an interesting time. that fight, the timing of that fight couldn't be any better. So there's a lot to kind of unpack with that one, but we'll see how it plays out next Saturday. And then the Armin interim title thing,

I think you should just wait, man. Like, I think you should just wait. Unless they're just offering you a big bag to, like, headline 307, I think it's Porier. I think you have to go there, even though he just lost a Machachep, but he did give Machchep a hell of a fight.

And if we're going to do the interim thing, we just put the biggest name in there you can of like realistically and it's probably Dustin so I think if they and there's a story there both ATT guys you can tell that story that's going to sell tickets that's going to sell pay-per-views because Dustin's a star so maybe you go that route but I think you should just wait I mean if they're saying maybe December early next year just wait dude just wait I know it sucks to wait but just wait just wait

so I got a press release that I think is tremendous next Sunday at Madison Square Garden I believe at the theater there's a big event the fanatics is it fanatics

yeah fanatics Fest NYC next Sunday the day after 305 it's a big sporting thing it's gigantic I know there's going to be some UFC representation there. I believe the actual Octagon is going to be there as well. I just found out. But they're doing a press conference for Jake Paul and Mike Tyson.

And Ryan Clark will be the host. But special guest for the Jake Paul versus Mike Tyson press conference. None other. The Mr. Nationwide is on your side. The man who has been chasing Tom Brady on the all-time great list, Hayd Manning will be at the presser, which, which will be quite a scene. In fact, I believe I'm going to be there as well. I think I'm going to do the watch party on Saturday, and then I'm going to fly to New York the next day, go to the presser, and then fly home that night.

But Peyton freaking Manning's going to be there. How about that? We got to get a one-on-one. Peyton Manning, Mike Heck, chatting on M.A.fighting.com about boxing? Now, that'd be something. that would be something. But yeah, that's wild.

Next Sunday. Be ready. Lee, go ahead. Hi, Mike. Heck of a morning. I just had a quick question. What stopping organizations like LFA and Cage Warriors from actually being like a major org? I know they're regional, but like I don't,

or actually, could you just explain what makes an organization regional compared to a major org? because it's like they, you still see them fighting, like, in most areas, you know, like, in the States and Europe, like, you see them fighting everywhere. So I was just trying to figure out, like, what makes them only regional. Yeah, that's my question. I don't know. It's tough to say because, like, I think there are certain organizations that are labeled that way, but for some reason, one second, I don't know what this is.

Sorry about that. I'm having some tech issues. So I'm trying to get this all squared away. Yeah, I just think the way it's been sort of put together now, at least like how regional promotions are perceived, it's become just like any promotion that's not a major promotion, like a global major promotion. Like Cage Warriors, I think you could say is like slightly beyond the regional thing,

technically they still are. LFA is a little more global, but they're still kind of looked at as a regional promotion. I kind of feel like LFA is beyond the regional number or the regional moniker, if that makes sense. Like KSW is, to me, they're a major organization, but they're major in just like a certain part of the world. So I guess like anything that's not like worldwide global, you know but you know what really is a regional promotion for me is like cES cage titans like those are new england regional promotions like to me titan fc was a regional promotion because they're in florida

um you know certain promotions in california fury fc is like a texas promotion so that's like a regional promotion but i think the definition has expanded a lot more because the sport is it's the ufc and everybody else else. PFL obviously is a global promotion, but a lot of the other promotions who I think are actually bigger than PFL don't get that same credit because they're not like a big global

entity, if you will. They don't have like a fan. Like there is like hardcore fans that watch everything, but it's not like people from New England are going to go see a cage warrior show because they're going to come to Boston or anything of that nature. You know what I mean? So yeah, I think the definition has changed. over the years.

And it's kind of just however you, however you feel about it, however you present it in your own mind. But there are certain promotions called regional promotions that probably should be labeled a little bit higher than that. CV, go ahead.

Hey, Mike, heck of a morning. So I know the other day we were talking about like what would possibly headline UFC 307 at Utah. If you're at the UFC and the final people, pay-per-view card is, I believe the TSC 310 at Vegas, and you do have your kind of rebook Chandler McGregor again. Worst case scenario, like, what would be, like, your backup main event?

And to tie with this, with the Sarukian waiting for a title shot or, like, an interim title shot, like, would you kind of, would you mind doing, like, Armand versus Chandler for the interim lightweight belt. Oh, God. I can tell you don't like you anyone, but I'm going to let you cook. Let's pull this up, shall we? Let me just make sure I have everything I need to respond to this. What would be the backup for December?

I don't know. What's Alex Perre doing? What's Alex Perrier doing? It would be my answer. Throw him in there with anybody, it doesn't matter. Michael Chandler, him getting this shot would be incredible. It would be, it probably be more egregious than Oosman getting a title shot in my eyes. The dude has lost three of four.

His one win in this four-fight stretch is against Tony Ferguson, who has lost eight in a row. His other win is against Dan Hooker, who I like Dan Hooker, but he's not a top five guy. and he just got finished by Dustin Porre in his last fight. That was two years ago. And we're just going to give him a title fight interim or not? That's insanity. No freaking way. No way.

And Chandler's popular, but he's not Dustin Porreier. He's just not. I know Porreier's kind of flip-flop wins and losses as well. But in this position, if you're going to play this, if you're going to play this card of doing an interim title fight, I think you've got to go Dustin Poria here. Because he's the bigger star. He's a pay-per-view draw.

It's proven. And he just gave, like, he lost Islam, but he gave Islam hell. Gave him a tough fight. It's definitely, it can't be Michael Chandler. It just can't. It just can't. If they did book this fight, I think Armin absolutely smashes Michael Chandler.

and I like Chandler Chandler's a fun-ass fighter UFC Chandler is a different cap but I just think Armine I just think stylistically Armin just annihilates him so it would take Chandler out of the title conversation

at least for now so that would be like one thing but yeah I just don't know I just don't know how you can do it like I just don't the reaction to that would be like what if I'm a too scamron I beat Dan Hooker and then Dana White goes on Instagram and announces that

Michael Chandler is getting an interim title shot. When he was the backup for the main event last year and didn't get the shot, I'd be fucking livid if I was him. I'd be livid. Oh, we'll say. I just don't see how you can do Chandler here. I don't see it.

It would go over, as the kids say, like a fart in church. She wouldn't go over well. All right, let's keep going. Terrence, go ahead. Hey, Mike, how you been? Good. You? I'm going to ask a non-MMA question. If you, I don't know if you play fantasy football or not, but if you had the first, like, if you had to pick your top three picks for fantasy football, who would they be?

And the last question would be out of all the teams, one that hasn't been in the Super Bowl pitcher in a while, are having been in at all, who would you pick? if you only can pick one futures bet and why. That's it. Wait, ask that second question again? Which one? The last one? Yeah. If you had to pick a futures bet for the Super Bowl,

but it can't be a team that's recently been in the Super Bowl, and who would it be basically and why? Like, for example, if it's like the Lions or whomever, like, and why? I don't know I think Miami's probably up there As much as that Freaking pains me to say I'd probably look at them

They're just incredibly talented As far as fantasy goes I haven't played in a while But I was always like a big PPR guy So I would obviously go for the running backs That could catch passes So Christian McCaffrey would certainly be number one Um

Reese Hall's really good Like him and then I don't know if you go with like a Jonathan Taylor Derek Henry can kind of do it all he's just score a bunch of touchdowns if he stays healthy Sequin Barclay I think's going to have a big year so yeah but yeah it's been I mean it's been years

since I've done fantasy football I used to be like super into it too but I haven't done it a while I just keep forgetting about it and then the drafts happen and the season starts and I'm like oh shit I should have done it and then I don't so four quarter sports go ahead Hey, so for that interim title fight, fuck that. I don't want Dustin fighting, what's it called, Sarukyan. Give somebody else a chance.

I get it that, you know, Dustin's a star and stuff like that. But if Gamrod wins against Hooker next week, I really want to see Gamrod versus Surukian, too. I know you would like it too. Plus, it would be for the interim title belt, and what's going to be better than that while Islam's on the sideline? Because I'm pretty sure Islam's going to need surgery. And the U.S.S. is going to want some type of traction. And that fight ruled the first time. It was unfortunate.

It was inside the apex. But, you know, you put that in front of a crowd, interim title fight, Gamrop, Surukian, too. That's going to be freaking amazing. But I wanted to ask you, so I know that BFL announced Engano versus the Brazilian dude. I think Berrera or is there? And Eric Nixick said that Angano is now falling in love back with

M.MA. My thing is, I'm a little bit concerned. Not because he said that he fell back in love with M.M.A. Which is that knockout that he received from Anthony Joshua. My thing is, I know there's a possibility of him getting knocked out because it's heavyweight. But if he does if he does somehow lose this to Hanen-Ferrera, you know, would you take time off?

Would you just call it a quits with MMA? Because that knockout was pretty scary. I thought he should have taken a little bit more time off, maybe like a full year, just because that was one of the, that might be knockout of the year when it comes to boxing. So I just want to get your thoughts on that. Thanks, Mike.

Yeah, I mean, look, I wouldn't be mad if they did Gamrod, Serukian, but if they're going to do it in October, it just seems like you're asking this man a lot. Because Dan Hooker, like he might go beat Dan Hooker, but he's going to feel it and he's going to wear it fighting Dan Hooker. That fights go in the full 15 and Dan's going to batter him

around a little bit. Even if he wins like 30-27, like Dan's going to get his lumps in. There's no doubt about it. And then asking him to turn around and get his first title shot interm or not in six weeks. Is this a big ask, man? And do it at elevation?

It's a tough ask. It's a very, very tough ask. But we shall see how that all plays out. That's why I think if they're going to go the interim route, they're just going to go with the bigger name. They're going to go with the bigger name. And they're going to put themselves in a win-win situation when it comes to drawing and making money and all that fun stuff.

And then the Engano thing, yeah, him losing would be horrible for everybody. PFL is PFL is basically cooked if Francis gets knocked out like they are they've invested everything in this guy they've gone all in on them and if he goes out and gets knocked up by Henan Ferreira that ain't good

because it's not like Ferreira can get built into a star off of this and then as far as Francis goes yeah he's going to be in a tough place I like I always agreed with Jed when it came to Francis going to PFL Just give him bodies to annihilate. Just give him anybody.

Give him the 175th ranked heavyweight to just obliterate. That's what you want to see from Francis. That's why he's there. I do think this is about as good of a matchup as he can get, though. I know Ferrer is a giant and he's dangerous. But the dude's chinny. He has been knocked out by fighters far less powerful than Francis. And he's very beatable.

Like, honestly, like, his best win is Bader, who's not a heavyweight, in my opinion. And before that, it was, like, Maurice Green. Like, eh. Francis should win this fight. Like, he should win. If he fights tactical and smart, which I think with what he's fighting for, I think he will. I think he should win. But it's very, very bad if he gets knocked out.

Very, very bad. we'll take a couple more that we're going to get out of here we'll go Mateo that will go to Justin and then we got to go. Mateo go ahead. Mateo, you're muted. All right. We've lost him. All right, Justin with the Y.

Take us home. Are you there, Justin? I am. Oh, what's that, ma'am? I just want to say as a community, we need to all collectively come together and we need to push Tony if he's going to keep fighting

to fight Jay Ellis. time, any place, any weight, any promotion, any discipline. I don't care what it is. I need this really badly. And if he's hell-bent on continuing to fight, that needs to be the fight. Good old Jay Ellis. He's kind of like a New England legend now. Just always fights in New England.

He's got a win over Gerald Mearsharp, by the way. Yes, we could do that. I've been saying for, you know, on to the next ones over the last like three years when it comes to Tony Ferguson, exactly who he should be fighting. And John Anick, who I'm actually going to be speaking to in the next 30 or so minutes, dropped out an idea as well.

Joe Lozahn, that's the one. Him and Joe Lozon, just have him get after one more time to be the retirement fights for both guys. It's perfect. Lozahn hasn't fought in like five years since October of 2019 in Boston. That was the last time he fought. and he beat the soul and finished very quickly,

Jonathan, JSP, Jonathan Pierce, which a win that aged very, very well. So yeah, go do that. Nothing, I don't want to see anything else. But Jay Ellis is definitely intriguing in its own way. But all right, everybody, thank you very much. We'll be back sometime next week. Schedule TBD.

We'll figure it out. I'll let you guys know. We might have to move some things around in order to get this cooking, but we will. Preview show coming up at 1 p.m. Eastern to preview the UFC event. And yeah, there you go. Appreciate you all very much. Have a great rest of your Friday. And have a heck of a morning, everybody.

The Vox Media Podcast Network.