MMA Fighting - HOAM | Should Bo Nickal Get Top-15 UFC Opponent Right Away?

Episode Date: September 29, 2022

Bo Nickal is one of the sport's highly touted prospects, and ahead of his eventual UFC debut, how high should the promotion go in terms of his first opponent? On an all-new edition of Heck of a Mornin...g, MMA Fighting's Mike Heck reacts to Nickal's incredible performance on Dana White's Contender Series on Tuesday, and whether or not he feels the UFC should throw him in against a top-15 opponent right away, or choose to build him up. Additionally, topics include the PFL's decision to put their season finale card in November on pay-per-view, the Shane Burgos vs. Marlon Moraes matchmaking and why it's not great matchmaking, the UFC's lightweight division, the matchup between Arman Tsarukyan and Damir Ismagulov, Kelvin Gastelum vs. Nassourdine Imavov being expected for the first main event of 2023 in the UFC, and more. You can listen live to Heck of a Morning Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays at 10 a.m. ET on the MMA Fighting Twitter Spaces. Follow Mike Heck: @MikeHeck_JR Subscribe: http://goo.gl/dYpsgH Check out our full video catalog: http://goo.gl/u8VvLi Visit our playlists: http://goo.gl/eFhsvM Like MMAF on Facebook: http://goo.gl/uhdg7Z Follow on Twitter: http://goo.gl/nOATUI Read More: http://www.mmafighting.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript
Discussion (0)
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,
Starting point is 00:00:42 What are you willing to lose to save the ones you love? 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 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 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. The Vox Media Podcast Network. It is Thursday, September 29th, 2022, the second to last day of September. And it is indeed a heck of a morning live on the M&A fighting.
Starting point is 00:02:29 Twitter spaces. You can hear the show in its entirety. Shortly thereafter on the M.A. Fighting Podcasting Network. Hope everyone's having a great week so far. I am Mike Heck. Thank you for joining us. There's a lot to talk about since we last spoke on Tuesday. And I can't wait to discuss this with all of you. First of all, we saw Bo Nickel just go in and just truck a man in under a minute. He quote unquote got signed by the UFC, even though I think we already know he was sort of under contract anyways. But the man delivered the goods against definitely a step up in competition. And now there's a lot of talk about who could be his first opponents inside the Octagon. And I am excited to get your ideas. He called out Hamzat Shemayev. I doubt that
Starting point is 00:03:23 happens, but he did call him out, and that showed a lot of gusto in my eyes. And then, of course, he calls out Logan Paul for a WWE pro wrestling match, which was probably not the best thing to do. I'm sure Dana White and the brass were not overly thrilled with that concept, considering he was quote unquote, given a contract a couple of minutes prior. But I've seen a lot of different options thrown out there already on social media. So I'm curious to see what you guys think about that. We also found out yesterday that the PFL finale is all set for November 25th. It is the day after Thanksgiving. It's going down at the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York. As of now, there are 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 fights official. There are two other fights to showcase fights.
Starting point is 00:04:21 one to the main card, one to the prelim card that are supposed to be added. And the big thing about this, the big talking point about the card, which is headlined by Kayla Harrison versus Lorissa Pacheco, will have a bunch of finals match as Shane Burgos, Marius, which we can certainly talk about that fight if you want. It's going to be on pay-per-view. And there have been rumblings for a little while that that was going to be the case. and I was hoping that wasn't going to be the case. But of course, the PFL, gun a PFL, and they're going to pay-per-view.
Starting point is 00:05:01 And I'll let you guys sort of open the door for that because I have lots of thoughts on this. And yeah, I just can't wait to talk about it because I have feelings, I have thoughts, and we'll get into that. Of course, something that we talked about on Tuesday and last week, Hamzat Shemayev decided, you know what? I'm going to play with the people's emotions some more. After tweeting out 185 last week, he goes out and tweets yesterday, Colby Covington next. And I told you guys that was going to happen. Never take these tweets so seriously because we've seen it a million times.
Starting point is 00:05:44 We've seen it from the biggest stars in the sport. We've seen it from Connor. We've seen it from Nate. We've seen it from John Jones. and now we're seeing it from Hamzaat Shamaif. Shavayy tweets out 185. Everybody's talking about it. Everybody's going crazy.
Starting point is 00:05:58 We do a whole show basically about the move to 185. And then like I told you, social media, the tweets, all that stuff, they are what they are. They're to get a reaction. They're to evoke emotion. And that's what that did. And of course, Hamzat flips the script, calls for Koli again. And here we go. now it's back and forth, getting everybody talking again.
Starting point is 00:06:23 So, yeah, I mean, we get all this going on. We have one. They have a card going on right now. They have the Amazon Prime show tomorrow. Bellator versus the UFC sort of going head to head. There's a lot of talk about what's going on with the UFC card. No fans, no media, kind of close to the public. There's all sorts of theories about this.
Starting point is 00:06:47 We spoke about it briefly on. Tuesday, and since it's already kind of out there, I might as well address it. I said I wasn't comfortable talking about the rumor and innuendo that I had heard, which was the Mark Zuckerberg thing. There are a couple different theories, one that Mark just rented out the whole place for him and his buddies. And then there's the other theory that they're going to do some metaverse testing of some kind. And yeah, so McKenzie Dern at the Media Day throws out, Mark Zuckerberg rented it out. and I don't know if this is her knowing for sure or if this is just going on what she heard from everybody else
Starting point is 00:07:26 because that was the pretty constant thing going on. And then we saw of all tweets from all accounts, MMA roasted tweets out this thing about Mark Zuckerberg renting out the UFC Apex for this card on Saturday, but for the Bellator card, Tom from MySpace rented on Bellator's Arena, which is a great tweet. Love Adam Hunter.
Starting point is 00:07:48 Great dude. I got to meet him in person for the first time in July. But Dana White chose that tweet to quote tweet and say, Mark Zuckerberg did not rent out the apex. That's bullshit. None of it's true. But to me, that still could be true. But maybe Mark didn't rent it out.
Starting point is 00:08:08 Maybe the UFC invited him to come in and do the testing there. So it's still a theory. It's still possible. Who the hell knows what's actually going on right now? but there's all sorts of fun theories. And then by the way, on top of that, we get a freaking hurricane going on. Florida is just getting trounced.
Starting point is 00:08:26 I saw a bunch of videos from Fort Myers, and it was the first time I ever felt bad for a shark because the wind and the water blew a freaking shark into the middle of the street of Fort Myers, and the damn shark is like struggling and swimming around, and you actually felt bad for the shark. But my parents are right out, they're pretty much right in between Tampa
Starting point is 00:08:47 in Orlando. So they've been getting crushed with wind and rain, nothing catastrophic. I'm in South Carolina. And as of yesterday, every time I went and looked at the forecast, it was getting worse and worse and worse. It looked like the track of the hurricane was coming straight for us. That still might be the case. I'm not really sure, but it's been kind of downgraded to a tropical storm.
Starting point is 00:09:09 So we're going to get absolutely destroyed with rain and stuff. Looks like late tonight into tomorrow. But I didn't know what was going to happen with this show. I didn't know what was going to happen with BTL, but it looks like we're going to be good to go for all of those things today. And let's get this started. Let's go to you guys. This is your show.
Starting point is 00:09:26 This is Boston Sports Radio-esque. We like to turn it over to you guys to react to all of these things. So Tristan Gordettes, kick us off, my man. Mike, what's going on? Before we start, shout out to Phoenix Honore Valley. Who's in the house, BTL. Gets, Desmond, let's go. Here's return.
Starting point is 00:09:45 Let's go. Let's go. Okay, so, first I'm going to start off from getting more high. Bow-knuckle again, doing it again on Tuesday, no issues, okay? And then everybody starts getting to talking, who should you find this and that? And then all of a sudden I look at my Instagram page, and I see, I see Darren Till is calling out Boe Nickel. And I'm like, oh, I'm like, listen, Mike, I'm praying to the MMA gods. I'll make this fight happen sooner rather than later.
Starting point is 00:10:20 Please, I beg you right now to have Bo Neckle versus Darantil. If you don't think that Bo Neckle will not ragged off Darren Till all over the mat, you've got another thing coming to you. Literally, if you were a betting man, I'm telling you right now, I'll be betting my house that Bo Neckle is going to win that fight. I don't care. That's how dominant I think Bo Neckle will be against Darantel. But I digress.
Starting point is 00:10:44 Also, too, I do want to. talk about the fight announcement of what your feelings about it. We just heard the announcement reported yesterday, confirmed by MMAFighting.com, of course, the greatest website in the world, that we have Demir Isma Gula versus Armand, Sarukian, happening the 717th, the last fight card of the year. Mike, I need to hear your thoughts about this. Shout out to Sarukian. He is a G.
Starting point is 00:11:15 that is a very difficult fight. It's going to be very competitive. I'm not, listen, I know Siru Kna doesn't turn down fights, but I thought he would try to avoid Demir and maybe possibly still try to go for the Gilepsy fight. I thought he was going to do that, but I guess Glepsi, he's been radio silent ever since. So they probably offer them in this fight.
Starting point is 00:11:36 He's like, yeah, I'll take it, because he wants to show that he's going to be one of the best. Again, you've been on his train forever, and you still feel that he's going to be a champion, I need to know your thoughts about that fight, how you feel about it, you know how competitive that fight is going to be. So that's going to be,
Starting point is 00:11:54 that's going to just be an insane, insane fight right there and there. And then my last thing I want to talk about is on this card coming up on Saturday, USC Vegas 51. You know, we have McKenzie Dern versus Yon-Shan-on.
Starting point is 00:12:11 And my thought, the spotlight, I want to go on is to Randy Costa right here. It's a big spot for Randy right here. It'll be the first fight on the prelims. Your thoughts on Randy right now, where he's he at? I don't know if you're going to, I thought you were going to actually get an interview with him. You know, you guys have been, you know, he's been good to you.
Starting point is 00:12:31 You've been good to him. Two Boston guys. Just want to know your thoughts and possibly his mindset right now. It's a big spot right here. You know, I think it's a must win for Randy. He's got to get this fight. It's a fight that he should win. So your thoughts on that, Mike.
Starting point is 00:12:45 Have a heck of a morning, everybody. And that's all I got to say. Thanks, Mike. Thanks, man. So, yes, shout out to Phoenix, Cuntervalley. She will be on BTL later on today. The highly anticipated, long-awaited, undisputed BTL title fight,
Starting point is 00:13:03 the finals of the BTL championship tournaments that we didn't get to do last year because Phoenix has 5,000 jobs. But we got her. We got her going up against Jedmishu later on today, so I'm very excited for that. Bo-Nichael, Darren Till, it probably won't happen. Darren did the right thing.
Starting point is 00:13:22 He got people talking, like we said earlier when we were talking about Shimaeuf and putting out posts about two different weights and different opponents and things like that. He got people talking. I don't think the UFC will go that route. Plus, Darren Till is a freaking fight booked with Drickistuplecy already. So we know that's not going to happen. So we can kind of put that out into pasture. But Bo-Nichael would be favored in that fight.
Starting point is 00:13:44 Bo-Nickle would probably win that fight. But I don't think the UFC is going to go that route in terms of getting him rolling. They're going to give him somebody somewhat decent. I don't think they're going to throw him into like a top 20, top 25 situation, like right off the bat. They're going to give him somebody first that he can kind of style on somebody with a couple of UFC wins under their belts. And then they'll kind of go from there and just see how he does. And if he goes out there, it does what he did on his two contender series fights and his other fights, they'll push him up a lot. little bit more. I think they're going to strap the rockets to him, but I don't think they're
Starting point is 00:14:20 going to do it like immediately. I think they're just going to give him someone in the middle of the pack, let him do his thing. If he goes out there and crushes him, then we'll start talking some of the bigger names in the division. Yes, I saw the Armand, Surukian, is what Gula fight. It is a tremendous matchup. It's another one of those fights where I'm just like, why are we doing this? And I felt the same way about Surukian versus Gamrot. Like, why are we doing this now? But at this point, there's really not much of a choice because, one, the current guys at the top of 155, they're just sort of fighting each other right now. They're holding their place. We've seen some of the matchups that are going on.
Starting point is 00:15:02 There are just not a lot of top 10, 55ers right now who are going to be like, you know what sounds like a great time fighting Armand Surukian coming off of a loss? I just don't think that's fun for anybody. Demir Izma Gulov is certainly down for it, and Armand, to his credit, is taking not a huge step back, but taking a fight that benefits his opponent more than it benefits him, if we're being honest. Isma Gulov's real good. He's looked great, and this is going to be a great fight. I favor Surukyana to win. It's a three-rounder, not a five-rounder. I think Sirruki-ion will get it done.
Starting point is 00:15:38 I just think he has more tools, but Izma-Gulov is a tricky son of a gun, and it's going to be high-level in May. It's going to be high-level mixed martial arts, and I am here for it. Shout out to my man, the manager to the stars, Daniel Rubenstein, who happens to manage both gentlemen. Not sure how he feels about the matchmaking, but it is what it is. It's a good fight. It's a great fight to kind of close the card and close the year out. I don't know how they're going to do it. It's going to be, I don't know if they're going to call main events.
Starting point is 00:16:09 I'm sure it's going to be in the main card, but I can't wait for that fight. As far as Randy Costa goes, I haven't had a chance to interview. him. I wanted to bring them on for a couple of different things. I asked him come on a BTO a couple of times. I asked him to jump on for maybe a preview show or something. The dude's just super busy getting ready for this fight. He's got that mustache game that is just crushing it right now. And I sort of agree with you right now. So Rady Kasa is a massive favorite. This is a very suitable matchup for him. It's a must win for both guys. But I think the UFC likes Rady Kosta. I think they see something in him. He's never really in a boring
Starting point is 00:16:45 fight. The Tony Kelly fight was a tough one for him, but most of his other fights are, they're very fun. They're just, they're scraps. He just goes in and looks to get out of there in the first round with the finish and that's what he likes to do. The one thing I've been concerned about with Randy Costa is, and I've talked about it ahead of his last fight, let me just pull up his most recent fights. I don't even think the Tony Kelly will, was it Tony Kelly the most recent. Let me just go back into the annals a little bit. Yeah. So it's Adrian Yannis fight, which by the way, he looked great in that first round against Adrian Yannis. He was, he was beating him. And then Yannis turned the corner and knocked him out in the second round. And then Tony
Starting point is 00:17:29 Kelly had a great performance. Lumber he had a great performance against Randy. Shut him down completely. The one concern I've always had about Randy and I've talked about it on the show a few times is that if Randy can't get a finish in the first round, then what? What happens then? We saw it in the Brandon Davis fight. He looked great in his Octagon debut that he took on super short notice. And by the way, that was his fifth pro fight. Second round comes along.
Starting point is 00:17:57 Brandon ends up submitting him. Then he fights Boston, Salman, and Boston destroys him. Out for a little while, fights Journey Newson, runs him over in 41 seconds. He's beaten up Adrian. Clips him a couple of times. Can't get him out of there. Gets finish in the second round. And Tony Kelly just kind of had his number.
Starting point is 00:18:15 So this is a very favorable matchup for Randy. He's been out for a little while. He's had 10 months to really take things seriously and hone his craft and get ready. I mean, this is only his 10th pro fight. He got into the UFC at 4-0 coming from the New England regional scene, fighting for Cage Titans as a pro pretty much his entire run. Going into a Brandon Davis fight, Brandon Davis was the first fighter he had faced. as a professional that actually had a winning record.
Starting point is 00:18:42 And he looked good in the early stage of that fight. And then he beats Boston Salman, beats Journey News and then we saw what happened in the last two fights. So this kid's still growing as he goes on. Like he's growing up in the UFC. He's only 28. It's got a long way to go, but he has to be Guido-Kennedy. He has to.
Starting point is 00:18:59 He's a near three-to-one favorite. He has to win this fight. It's a very favorable matcher for him. I think the UFC put him in this situation for a reason to have him go out there and shine and get a quick finish. But the problem is what I want to see is if he can't finish Guido in the first round. If he hurts Guido bad and can't get him out of there and this goes to round two, that's what I'm really going to be paying attention.
Starting point is 00:19:22 That's when the live betting odds become kind of interesting if you're looking at it from a gambling perspective. Randy has not done all that well getting out of the first round. Kid is super talented. No doubt about it. The foundation is there. He's made a lot of adjustments. He's made a lot of changes. but he's got to win this fight.
Starting point is 00:19:40 He has to win. If he doesn't be Guido-Kennedy, I think it's going to be it for him. And that sucks to say, but I think they have something with him, but he's got to win these fights. He's got to go out win. He has to win this one.
Starting point is 00:19:53 But we'll see what happens. Be a good way to start things off on Saturday. Boarding for flight 246 to Toronto is delayed 50 minutes. Ugh, what? Sounds like Ojo time. Play Ojo. Great idea. Feel the fun with a fun. all the latest slots in live casino games and with no wagering requirements. What you win is
Starting point is 00:20:11 yours to keep groovy. Hey, I won! Boarding will begin when passenger Fisher is done celebrating. 19 plus Ontario only. Please play responsibly. Concerned by your gambling or that if someone close to you, call 186653310 or visit Comexonterio.ca. With Amex Platinum, $400 in annual credits for travel and dining means you not only satisfy your travel bug, but your taste buds too. That's the powerful backing of Amex. Conditions apply.
Starting point is 00:20:43 Let's go to Don. Don, hello. Mike, how you doing? I'm going to go to you. I hope you're having a two-sweekday, I have a morning and all that. I had a question about, well, I wanted your take on it.
Starting point is 00:20:55 Kevin, Calvin, Kevin Gasholam going against Hemelow. Yeah, they rebooked that. How do you feel about that? Isn't it crazy how 2019, I think it was, the national is still to this day. The only man to really give Izzy that bump in a UFC title matchup. And now it's like, my man scraping for him.
Starting point is 00:21:17 Like, he got to get a win. You think it's like, you know, win or bust gets out of the UFC. And also I heard that they had originally, like, first day they had playing Envolve and then they put a duplice and then they switched it back to Envolvelo. You think it would have been, I mean, who do you think is the better matchup for him? I think it's very similar either way. But yeah, and what do you think is Calvin's chances of winning that fight? But yeah, Mike, have a heck of a morning.
Starting point is 00:21:46 And, yeah, too sweet day, all that jazz, man. Thanks, man. So, yes, the first main event of 2022 as of right now is going to be Calvin Gasolm versus Nasardine Imovov, which is kind of interesting seeing Calvin Gasolum headlining a card, in 2023, especially considering what's been going on
Starting point is 00:22:14 in his career. I mean, if you're asking me if the better matchup for Kelvin is Imovov and DDP, they're both horrible matchups for him. They're both terrible matchups for him. Do I think he's fighting for his job on January 14th?
Starting point is 00:22:30 No, I don't. Just because for these types of situations, right? Calvin is still a name. He still has that rub from Izzy a little bit, still one of the best title fights you'll ever see. It was amazing. It was back and forth that came down to the final couple minutes of that fight when Izzy just turned it on and ended up getting the win.
Starting point is 00:22:51 But it's a big one. I mean, I don't know if this is like a crossroads fight. I think Calvin's had a bunch of them already, but this is a try to get Imavovov over kind of fight. I mean, Kelvin's run. has just, it's been tough. The Izzy lost, then the Darren Till fight,
Starting point is 00:23:13 which was not a great fight at UFC 244, gets submitted in just over a minute by Hermanson, beats Ian Heinish look great in that fight. Then he has to fight Robert Whitaker. We kind of knew how that was going to go, loses another decision to Jared Kennedy in another main event. It's an interesting matchup because like when you put,
Starting point is 00:23:35 when you put Kelvin in these types of situations where it's not the top. of the heap kind of fighter. He usually does pretty well. But I think Emovoff is just so good. This guy is a problem. And this is the matchup. This is the kind of matchup that he should have gotten out.
Starting point is 00:23:54 To me, it was either Gassilm or Darren Till. It was one of those two guys between him and DDP. One would get Gassilum. One would get Darren Till. And that's how it worked out. So yeah, great matchmaking. I'm fine with it. It's weird that's the headliner.
Starting point is 00:24:12 But again, we don't know where this is happening. We don't know if it's happening at the apex. We don't know if this is going to be a traveling show of some kind. We're not really sure. But yeah, Calvin's got to, Calvin's had some time to really think about this. He dealt with some injuries. It's a tough life for him. There's no doubt about it.
Starting point is 00:24:32 I'm favoring Yimov to go in and get the job done. I don't know if he goes out there and finishes Calvin, but Emovofsv's a big, big problem. So there's your first main event of the year as of right now. Let's go to Average avenues. AA, what's up, man? Good. Just two quick ones from me.
Starting point is 00:24:57 Your early thoughts on the Bellator tournament that just got announced. And you knew this one was coming, so I'll be the one to ask it. Aspen, Vlad, horse next for her. So everyone have a good day. You, Mike, everyone in this day, have a good day. Catch you. Thanks, AA. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:25:18 the yeah, Belator Lightweight Tournament. It's kind of what we expected. Scott Coker sort of teased it on the and the post-vite Dublin. Didn't announce it, but said we might do that. And then he went on the M.A.R. and said, let's do it. So I'm cool.
Starting point is 00:25:35 I'm cool with it. Belator Lightweight Division is a lot of fun right now. And there's a lot of interesting players in that mix right now. It'll be interesting to see if A.J. McKee is part of that mix. I'm sure you will be after this debut. I think Usman Narmaga Madoff is going to head into that tournament as the champion. I think he's going to beat Patrici Pitbull. I think he's going to finish Patrici Pitbull.
Starting point is 00:25:58 I think just that much of them. That man is a fighter, that youngster, and he's only going to get better, which is really scary. So he's my early pick to win the entire thing. But yeah, I think this is the right division to do it. There's a lot of questions, a lot of movement right now. We're seeing Benson Henderson pick up some big wins as of late. So it'll be a nice mix of these. young up-and-comers, these guys from who made a lot of, like, the guy that's like some of the
Starting point is 00:26:27 like Tovique and it's going to be an interesting mix of up-and-comers to veterans who are outside of North America, to these young up-and-comers that are becoming stars in the promotion. So, yeah, I like it a lot. As far as As Ashton Lad goes, I'm not really surprised. I think the UFC has given her a lot of chances. I'm not going to sit here and rain on her parade or anything because I like Aspen. I've been interviewing Aspen Ladd since before she got to the UFC
Starting point is 00:26:57 when she was fighting for Invicta, when she was a 25er, I was having interviews with Aspen Lad. And I'm sure it's very tough on her. I'm sure it's very tough on her. But we'll see what happens. There's definitely places for her. I think Bellator would be interested. She could fight at 145.
Starting point is 00:27:18 she'd be an interesting opponent for Chris Cyborg. She'd be probably the most interesting challenge right now. That's actually possible. I mean, obviously we want to see the Kayla Harrison fight, but I feel like we have a long road to get to that one to get all parties involved, all parties agreed and involved and all that stuff. She can go to PFL and bump up to 55.
Starting point is 00:27:40 She probably can't miss weight there, and she can get thrown in the mix there. I mean, if you look at that bracket, there are like some legit 55ers in there, but most of the, most of the women in that discussion, that tournament, that bracket are featherweights that are just bump it up to 55.
Starting point is 00:27:59 So that's, there's a spot for her as well. I mean, there's spots for her to compete. It's just not going to be in the UFC as of right now. But yeah, it's unfortunate, but not surprising. And we wish her the best. Hopefully she's either on the MA hour,
Starting point is 00:28:15 I get the chance to talk to her the next week or so, but I know she's not really doing any interviews right now. So let's go to Viking MMA. Viking. Hello. How are you? I just want to ask about Ken Hamzachim of take down Kobe. If yes, then how long he could be on the top and controls Kobe Cobe Covington,
Starting point is 00:28:45 according to your knowledge of being in the game for such a long time. and the second thing I want to talk about is what Mark Achilles coach was chirping and giving his judgments which were used most of them. Just let me tell you one thing that every fighter is a human and they are not as good as fan or coaches or analysts or praise them. And what about that Justin Gagee interview? still not on the YouTube channel. And I don't know if it's your personal thing or not,
Starting point is 00:29:27 but you should give up that host chair for, because you have such a great knowledge and skills to present them, but people are still supporting the wrong guy. You should, you should, you should deserve most respect on the YouTube channel, not anywhere else. Thank you, Mike. Thanks, man. Listen, I'm on the YouTube channel enough.
Starting point is 00:30:01 I think people have seen just about enough of me, so I think we're all good there. Addressing the Colby thing, listen, I've said it a million times. That's the fight to make. That is the fight to make. What happened at UFC 279 was crazy. It was the first time Shemaiah had missed. weight. I think it was more of a discipline thing than anything else. I don't think this was
Starting point is 00:30:25 like a big health thing. I could be wrong. But to me it just seems from accounts of people who are in Las Vegas and other people who noticed Shamiya kind of out on the town, I think it was just a discipline thing. If they do something in Vegas, just
Starting point is 00:30:42 get an Airbnb like off the radar. So Hamza can't like leave his hotel room and just go downstairs and have a piece of pizza. Get an Airbnb, bring a chef with you, and just let him cook Shemai of his meals and let him make the weight. He's made the weight before. Now, I know his coach had said that COVID was, it's been an issue getting down to 170 since he got here with a nasty bout of COVID. But to me, it just seems like he just, during fight week, he just needs to be a little more discipline. And bring in a chef, use the PI, take advantage of those.
Starting point is 00:31:19 that's what you should probably do. So I think he could still make it. And I think he was going to fight Colby. I think he's going to have to. Like he really doesn't have a choice. Like if he's going to be the Walterweight champion, that's what his team wants to do. He's got to fight Colby next. That's the fight.
Starting point is 00:31:36 And I think Colby would take it because Colby is, like I said, he wants to make the most money. And he wants fights with the biggest stakes. He's not fighting for the belt right now. He's already fought Mazadol. He beat the hell out of woodland. he doesn't need to do anything else. There's like, the Dustin Porre fight makes no sense. I don't even think it's like that interesting to a lot of people.
Starting point is 00:32:00 I think whatever rivalry, whatever sizzle was there has faded away. And there wasn't much of it to begin with. So the big fight for Colby is to fight Hamza. That's the one. It's a number, it's a legit number one contender fight. The winner's getting a title shot, no matter who wins the trilogy fight between Kamar Usman and Leon Edwards. Colby will get his third shot of Fusman wins and Shemayev gets the title shot no matter who wins.
Starting point is 00:32:29 And he gets the title shot of Leon wins too. So it's the biggest fight he can get. It's the most amount of money he can get. You can headline a fight night. You can headline a pay-per-view with that card. That's the fight. That's the fight to me. Now, no one has heard from Colby at all.
Starting point is 00:32:45 I've checked it with him a couple of different times. I haven't gotten much from him. I know he's not doing any media. the only time you really see him active at all is when he's doing his sponsored betting things. I had a pay-per-views and stuff like that. But yeah, that's the fight to make. I love that one. Your other question was the Justin Gaci interview.
Starting point is 00:33:10 That interview is done. And it's going to come out next week. We have to wait on it. It's one of those things where the UFC, Modelo, they teamed up, And Justin Gachie is involved in something that they're doing. But it's what we're in the business of journalism call under embargo, which means you can't release it until a certain date. And as of right now, that date is Wednesday of next week.
Starting point is 00:33:38 So Wednesday of next week, that's when that interview is going to drop. He had a lot of interesting things to say. I can't reveal a ton of them because it's under embargo. One thing I will say is I did ask him about the Raphael Fiziv stuff, because there were accounts that said that that fight was close to being finalized between Gachi and Fizzi for December 10th. Justin Gage said that fight was never offered to him. He said he already told the UFC that he's not fighting until next year.
Starting point is 00:34:06 He's not fighting in December. He's not fighting this year. He just had no surgery. He hasn't even been able to really train yet. So he's not fighting this year. He's not fighting this year. So I asked him point blank about it. Was that fight ever offered to you?
Starting point is 00:34:21 And he said no. and he said a lot of times I don't even know who I'm fighting until it's broken on social media so yeah that's the one little tidbit that I'll give you but he had a lot of other things to say about the state of the division what he wants left in his career
Starting point is 00:34:36 I did ask him about Connor McGregor and that's probably where a lot of the sizzle from that conversation came from but stay tuned next week that will drop let's go to a head ahead Oh yeah
Starting point is 00:34:56 Oh yeah I can hear you Okay cool Mike let me just start off by saying I'm not fully sold on Bo Nickel just quite yet And I'll tell you why
Starting point is 00:35:06 It's because like when I say I'm not fully sold on him I mean obviously he's really good But in terms of like Being a power for power best The way the Cowah brothers Were talking because they were They were saying he'll be the next John Jones
Starting point is 00:35:20 Because I'm guess they're salty That John Jones left them But the thing is this like he's good but there's three reasons why people like saying one obviously he's destructive but the other two is he's a good matchup for isola adissania henry sehudo got a lot of heat for saying bo-nickle could beat adissania he's not wrong henry sehudo's wrong about a lot of things he's not necessarily wrong about this we all know like is he's like striker mostly who's added a bit of wrestling defense but there's levels to this right and it's the same thing and 185 as a whole is
Starting point is 00:35:54 a weak division. So it's the same thing with Humza. Like, it's not this pound for pound best. It's just because of these conditions that people are excited. So why not do Bo and Humza in Orlando in December just for fun? Let's just fast track this. Let's see how good this guy really is. And also one championship, what are they doing? We've got the worst card in UFC, one of the worst cards in UFC history, Dern Xiaonan. But one championship, they've got Angela Lee, Pound for pound, one of the best female fighters. This, tonight we've got Tawanchai, who's probably like pound for pound, the best Muay fighter,
Starting point is 00:36:33 but the promotion is so poor. Like, it's like people aren't even hearing about this at all. And like Mark Zuckerberg, apparently they're doing some sort of metaverse testing or something. I'll be pretty funny. But imagine if Mark just rented out the whole thing because he doesn't like other people. You know, I don't think Mark's that type of guy,
Starting point is 00:36:52 but, you know, Mark was. the one who sold off all that data and he's the one that like censored all the stories about Hunter Biden so that Hunter Biden so I don't know but that's all I've got dropped the mic Mike thanks man yeah I mean I like one's deal with the Amazon Prime here in the US it's I got to say like even the DJ Mariah's card it was like wasn't bad to watch like a lot of times it's almost like a chore to watch one championship but that was like a well done card it was It looked good. It was produced well. It looked great. But yes, you're right.
Starting point is 00:37:29 No one's really talking about this one. And it's one of the better fights on the entire slate for the entire weekend, if we're being honest. So, yeah, the Boe Nickel. I mean, listen, Bo's real good. Bo's real good. Like, I know there's some people who are just like, well, you beat. I saw some people say that he beat like two cans on the contender series. I'm not going to go that far. I actually think Donovan Beards are pretty, I actually think the Donovan Beard fight was like
Starting point is 00:37:55 a really good step up in competition because Donovan beat a really good guy in his last fight. Like he got dominated the entire fight by Miles Lee, who was an excellent wrestler. But then he pulled out a late submission to win the CFFC middleweight title. So this is a good step up. This is a good step up. Good step up record wise. Good step up experience wise. And of course, a very favorable matchup because Donovan Beard is not a great defensive
Starting point is 00:38:22 wrestler. And it turned out Bo didn't really need to wrestle him at all. He just punched him in the face and he dropped him and then he got on top of him and he subbed him. For a guy who's 3 and O as a pro and with all those accolades, he's super legit. I will agree with you that Henry Suhudo is wrong about a lot of things.
Starting point is 00:38:41 And I do think Bo Nicol could beat a lot of guys in the top 15, but you got to be, you just got to be careful. You don't want to give him the wrong matchup too soon. That's why I said, give him like a middle of the pack kind of a guy, you know, I don't know, the Eric Anders's of the world. Eric's a good fighter. Like, if he fought Eric Anders's first fight and just ran him over, you're like, damn,
Starting point is 00:39:07 all right, let's go. Let's give him a top 15 guy next. But somewhere, somebody like in that realm is where I would put him. I wouldn't give him a top 20 guy just yet. Give him like a top 35, top 40 dude. Let's see how he does. if he just styles and trucks over whoever that is, that we could start talking about top 15s.
Starting point is 00:39:28 We could start talking about the gasoline and the tills and the Brad Tavares's who's fighting Greg Rodriguez and Brazil. Well, let's give him one first. Let's not give him the Joe Pfeiffer treatments. Let's give him a couple of steps up from the Joe Piper treatment. And let's see what the dude can do. Let's see what the dude can do. Let's bring in one half of the BTIA.
Starting point is 00:39:54 title fights going down later on today. Happy to bring in Phoenix Carnivali. Phoenix. Hi. So I know we have a lot to talk about after this, but I wanted to talk to you specifically because I know you're going to be talking to me and Jed. And I think one of the fights that we as fans are most excited about is Michael Chandler versus Dustin Porre. Correct? Correct. Yes. So after this, win-loser draw, Porre has literally nothing to prove. Do you think he retired? after this Michael Chandler fight.
Starting point is 00:40:28 Ooh. I would... That's an interesting question. I'll say no. I'm not ruling... That's a really good question, because I'm not, like, ruling it out completely. It all depends on how it goes down. It's like one of those...
Starting point is 00:40:48 I'm giving a Jose Young answer right now. It all depends on how it goes down. Like, if he just... If Porre goes out... If Porre wins, no. I don't think so. I think there's still big fights on the table for him. You can still do another fight with Connor.
Starting point is 00:41:03 He's not going to say no to that because he's just getting a giant, giant bag for that. And he's still, depending on what happened, like if Islam Makachev wins the title October 22nd, and Porier runs over Michael Chandler, he's in the mix. Like, he's in the championship conversation. There's no doubt about it.
Starting point is 00:41:23 Now, Michael Chandler knocks him dead in the middle of Madison Square Garden. I don't know how you come. I don't know if he'll be able to come back from that. I don't know if he'll just, the hunger will just be gone. I don't know. Poria is a pretty private dude. This is sort of a grudge match. And, you know, you could tell from Porier is just body language and things he was saying
Starting point is 00:41:48 when Chandler came into the UFC. He just feels like he's done more than Michael Chandler. It feels like he's the better fighter. Feels like Chandler's a little bit beneath him in terms of experience and accomplishments in some ways. And I think if Porre goes out there and loses and loses badly, that might be a conversation to have. But if he wins, he's a win at worst away from fighting for the title again. So yeah, it all depends on how it plays out. If it's like a close robbery split decision, I think there'll be more left.
Starting point is 00:42:21 But if Porier loses and he wants to keep going, I think, he kind of joins the sort of Max Holloway slate of fighters where Porre doesn't need to need titles. Poria could just have a bunch of fun fights. Like who wouldn't want to watch Poria
Starting point is 00:42:38 and Gaichi fight again? Or who wouldn't want to watch Poria fight Benile Der Ush or Matush Gamrod? Although he would probably wouldn't fight Gamrott because they're, they trained together from time to time.
Starting point is 00:42:49 But you know what I'm saying? Like there's options for him, but like would a fight with Armand Sarukian fire up Dustin Porre. I don't think so. But if he wins, he still get the chance to fight Connor. Maybe he gets back to a title fight. Maybe he goes up to 170 and has some fun fights there.
Starting point is 00:43:07 But I think it all depends. As long as he doesn't get destroyed by Michael Chandler, I think there'll be a little something left for him. Oh, that's a great question. It's probably a factor, though, if he loses and loses badly. This episode is brought to you by Peloton. A new era of fitness is here. Introducing the new Peloton Cross Training Tread Plus, powered by Peloton IQ.
Starting point is 00:43:32 Built for breakthroughs with personalized workout plans, real-time insights, and endless ways to move. Lift with confidence while Peloton IQ counts reps, corrects form, and tracks your progress. Let yourself run, lift, flow, and go. Explore the new Peloton Cross Training Tread Plus at OnePeloton.ca. When I got a great deal on a great gift at Winners, I started wondering, could I get fabulous gifts for everyone on my list? Like this designer fragrance for my daughter. At just $39.99? How could I resist? This luxurious wool throw for my sister.
Starting point is 00:44:06 This gold watch for my partner? A wooden puzzle for my niece? Leather gloves for my boss? Ooh, European chocolate for the crossing guard? At these prices, could I find something for everyone at Winners? Stop wondering. Start gifting. Winners. find fabulous for less.
Starting point is 00:44:23 Speaking of people who are excited to see Michael Chandler fight, let's bring in my man, Brett Gilman. Brett, what's up, dude? Mike, I hope you having a heck of a morning. How's it going on, my friend? It's going good. Nice. I love seeing you have success and how you just put the pedal to the metal, you know,
Starting point is 00:44:44 work hard, you know, that Boston-rooted, like, attitude, and you just bring it out and to you. show and and uh i don't uh i don't always pop on but uh i try to listen when i can and i just love listening to you man and i knew you go places with this ufc congratulations to all that i just want to preface that but i want to touch on a few things uh one bo nico he's uh he's an impressive uh athlete and uh and i think that they should throw like mavin vittoria at him or something like that and just beat the face in or something like that just give him like a big guy just just to feel the punches and get him going and really step him up in the competition if they want to
Starting point is 00:45:27 move him to the top. I think that would be a great thing. And I just want to touch on Justin Gachie. It was funny that you were saying about Fesev because that's what I was going to talk about is I saw Fizev's last fight. I really feel like Justin Gachi will just knock him out. I think Fizzov is a great prospect and everything and I think he's there at the top. I think Gachi, if you take away the ass kick and really he got by Khabib, there's nothing that says that Justin Gagchi is still not
Starting point is 00:45:56 top notch in that division. And that just brings me lastly to my UFC 280. I'm just fucking geeked up for it. And I can't wait to see all of there take a of Macachov. So I just want to just touch on a few things and
Starting point is 00:46:12 everything and have you a heck morning, brother. Thank you, Brett. Yes, I've known Brett almost my entire life. He was really good friends with my oldest brother. So he used to come over to the house all the time. You got to see little game show, wannabe Mike Heck running around the house and the mean streets of Malden, Massachusetts. So it's cool to hear from him and have him on the show and brings the Boston Axonotomy a little bit. No doubt about that. I think Marvin's way too big of a step up for Bo Nickel right now. I mean, it'd be a an interesting fight down the line, but Marvin's in a really interesting place right now because he's so far away from the belt after the loss to Robert Whitaker. I just don't know what you do with him. Like, I don't know. Like, there was a lot of talk about whether or not Whitaker would jump up to 205.
Starting point is 00:47:07 I actually think Marvin Vittori should think about jumping up to 205. I think he'd do well there. Doesn't have to cut all that weight. I think his style fits well on that division. I think he can get a couple of wins right off the best. that and get in the hunts. I think he's got a better chance in a, in a shorter road to getting to a title shot at 205
Starting point is 00:47:26 than he does at 185. And 205 is really interesting right now. But I think throw bow in there with Vittori is a tough ask for his first one. Not saying that he couldn't do well. I just think for a three and oh dude, Marvin's a, it's never, Jed Bishu said this a lot and I agree with him. There are very few 185 pounders. who fight Marvin Vittori and think to themselves,
Starting point is 00:47:51 that was a lot of fun. That was a great time. He's just, it's, it's, Marvin's just a tough out. And I think it's just a little too soon. Now, if you want to do that, like two or three fights in, sure. But if Marvin wants to go to 205, wouldn't blame him. Wouldn't blame him.
Starting point is 00:48:08 The Gachey thing, I'll throw out another interesting factoid, uh, from my conversation with him, which you'll see next week. Justin Gagey told me that for the, first time ever as an MMA fighter, he
Starting point is 00:48:22 can actually breathe out of his nose. That surgery was like life changing for him. He can smell food. He said he hadn't been able to you know how like all of us normally we're in the kitchen and someone's cooking food and you could smell it
Starting point is 00:48:38 and it smells delightful and it like boosts up your appetite gives you that sense. It's like one sense talking to another. Justin Gachie hasn't experienced that in 13 years. That nose injury that he just got fixed was something that happened to him
Starting point is 00:48:56 in wrestling before MMA. So a quote that he said to me, which you'll hear on Wednesday, right now, for the first time in 13 years, I feel like I actually have a nose. And it's just crazy. You can tell like it's just,
Starting point is 00:49:13 it's like a mind-blowing experience to him that he can actually smell things. And he can actually, you breathe out of his nose. And to think of all the success of this freaking guy had without that, it's crazy. It's crazy in a sport like, M.A., when you're getting punched in the face, you're getting punched in the nose. You have to breathe out of your nose a lot. He couldn't do it. He couldn't do it. Like, he could do it, but not to like the extent to that most guys in that division could do it. And that's just nuts. So I think he's got a lot of gas left in the tank. He still feels like,
Starting point is 00:49:45 because I brought up the quote he gave shortly into his UFC career when he said, I probably have like five more wars left before I call it a career. He feels like he's only had one since. So he still feels like he has at least like three more wars left. He doesn't consider the Chandler fight a war.
Starting point is 00:50:03 The only one he considers a war is the Charles Oliver fight. That's crazy. He's had like every fight he's in is a war. But what Justin Gage considers a war in the octagon compared to what we think about it and other fighters think about it it's like night and day it's crazy but yeah he's got he's got gas in the tank him and fazeve i love the matchup it'll be interesting to see he's he's sort of mentioned the poorie chandler loser or the olivera macachev loser somewhere somehow somewhere in that mix um but i would like to see the vizif i think i'm
Starting point is 00:50:44 a ton of sense right now, but all just depends on what he's looking for, when Fizziv's ready to come back, when he's ready to come back. He's thinking like February, Marchish. But again, December 10th, not a thing. So don't expect to see Justin Gagey fight this year. I fight again this year, that is. Let's go. We'll take a few more. The dog's at the groomer, and I just got the call that he's all wrapped up. what's up, buddy? I was just saying, I think Bo Nickel versus Jack Marshman makes sense,
Starting point is 00:51:21 a kind of veteran name, but, you know, he's a beatable name still, but it still proves something because he's a veteran. But my main thing here, I'm going to give PFL a compliment sandwich, if that's okay. Oh, go for me.
Starting point is 00:51:38 Yeah, because I love how they are establishing a good roster, establishing a product that's good and you want to watch. And they have this pay-per-view coming up, which it looks good. And here's the butt. The matchup between Mal and Morais and Rob Fond is the most idiotic thing I have seen in ages. So Shane Burgos. Yeah, Shane Burgos, sorry, my man. Not Rob Fond, Shane Burgos.
Starting point is 00:52:08 That is so idiotic. They've just signed two big names. They have a guy who's lost five of them. of his last six matches by K.O., they have him going up a weight class and fighting their other big name signing in a showcase fight, as they call it. Why is this a thing? Like, they are, it almost seems like they're sabotaging themselves. Malamor Rice going up in ways and finding their new big name, their other big name signing. It's just, it's just, it's, It's just, I don't know what you call it.
Starting point is 00:52:47 You kind of cut off your own leg and try to run. I don't know. I don't know how to say it because I'm not English, is not my first language. But my God, this is self-sabotage of highest order. So I'm just sad that they are kind of just hand-stringing themselves, just because they have an interesting product, and they actually have two fighters that are,
Starting point is 00:53:14 cares who watch more of. It's just, this is just killing all of Mara Mara Mara Rite more than anything, or at least giving him a little chance to succeed in this scenario that they set up. And I will say, if the pay-per-view is a fair price point, I will be interested in it because there is a lot of good fights on there. But however, my main thing is they are bad at max. matchmaking when it's not in a tournament format.
Starting point is 00:53:47 That's all I've got for you, Mike. Thank you, sir. So I agree with a lot of what you just said. I hate the Shane Burgos-Marie's matchup. I think it's one of the worst pieces of matchmaking that I've seen this year. It's so awful. It's awful. I know you have like two names that, you know,
Starting point is 00:54:11 people recognize and things of that nature, both coming over from the UFC. But why? Why are we doing this now? Why? Makes no sense. Shane Burgos is going to destroy this man. It's like, it's just, I don't get it.
Starting point is 00:54:29 I don't get it. Like you can do, you can do just as well having Shane Burgos fight somebody on that card and having Marl Mara's fight somebody on that card. It doesn't have to be a name. The draw is both of those guys that division. individually fighting on this card. And now you're going to pair them together before the freaking season,
Starting point is 00:54:51 before their first freaking season in the PFL? What's going to happen? If Shane Burgos does what I think he's going to do, which is knock out Mara and Marius in the first round, like, is there going to be any intrigue and interest and watching these two guys fight potentially for a million dollars after we just saw it? No.
Starting point is 00:55:13 Give the guy a freaking guy. can break. Six months ago, Song Yadong knocked him dead and got him into retirement. And now he comes out of retirement, signs to the PFL, goes up to 145, and you're going to put him in there with your other big free agent signing? What are we doing? What are we doing here? I don't understand. Every time PFL does something good, they do two things horribly. And this is really bad. There is no, like there was nothing positive for me at all finding out about this matchmaking.
Starting point is 00:55:50 Nothing. It's terrible. Nothing good comes from it. The only thing that heck could happen is like you put over the winner. If Shane wins, he's like, yeah, it's cool. He beat a guy of the name, but he also beat a Bannamweight. And then
Starting point is 00:56:05 if Marais wins, like you just kill Shane Burgos. Like, you're going to kill one of these guys no matter what. And Burgos doesn't get much of a rub beating Mara Marais to begin with because he's fighting a freaking Bannonweight in most people's eyes. It's insane. And then to top it off, the pay-per-view thing. Now, you brought up an interesting point if it's a fair price. What's a fair price? What's a fair price? If they put this on there for $2,99, who is going to buy it? And mind you, it is a good. It is a fair price. It is a
Starting point is 00:56:44 good card. But also, let's keep this in mind, there's like a bazillion title fights on this card. We're going to be watching this pay-per-view the day after Thanksgiving for like 11 hours. It's insane. And people, like, if you do it for 10 bucks, okay, like, that's cool. But you have the opportunity on a very busy weekend where people are just like hanging out with their families, put it on ESPN, put it on ESPN, put it on the big networks, just give it to the people. New York Rick on the MMR made a great point. They don't have the audience to support pay-per-view right now. They don't.
Starting point is 00:57:26 The UFC could put this card tomorrow or this card on Saturday on pay-per-view, and it's still going to get 200,000 buys, even though it's an awful card. It's still going to get 200,000 buys because it's the UFC and they have a built-in audience for it. The PFL doesn't have a built-in audience. They have like the hardcores, but the casual audience has no idea who these people are. They know who Shane Burgos is a little bit because his signing was a big deal. They probably have heard of Kayla Harrison. They've heard of Anthony Pettis who's not even fighting for the million dollars. You're just asking a lot of fans in terms of spending money.
Starting point is 00:58:13 The UFC is putting on a pay-per-view at Madison Square Garden like two weeks prior to that. They're going to spend the money on that. They're going to spend $75 bucks on that, but they're going to drop $30 or whatever the price point's going to be to watch the PFL? No. No.
Starting point is 00:58:29 And I'm like as hardcore as it gets. I'm probably going to be working it and watching it. But if I was off that day, I'm not watching it. In fact, I'm not watching it if it's probably on for free because I'm going to be, it's Thanksgiving weekend. It's a very big deal in the United States. That's when like people visit family and people fly and travel to other places. We're not concerned about the PFL finale.
Starting point is 00:58:57 And it's on Black Friday. People can be out trying to shop and save a bunch of money. Like it's just weird. Everything about it is weird. So I don't know how this is going to work. I don't know how it's going to play off. I don't know what the price point's going to be. I don't think it's going to be $10.
Starting point is 00:59:14 I think that's where it should be. But if they come out and drop a frigging $49.99 on this, oh boy, that next episode a heck of a morning is going to be something else. But I'm curious to see, like, what they're thinking here. If they put it up at $2,999, what is a successful buy rate? 25,000? Like, it can't be 100 because there's no chance they're getting that.
Starting point is 00:59:42 They could do Harrison versus Cyborg and I don't think they're getting 100,000 buys. But I don't know what they're going to do. It's very strange. All of this is very strange. All right, we'll take two more. We'll get Terrence and Zeke and then I've got to get out of here. Terrence, hello.
Starting point is 00:59:59 Mike. Hey, I'm sorry, my phone's acting up. So, I just wanted to remind you. of what I was talking about last week. I know I asked you a ton of questions, so you didn't remember this one. It was about Horaguchi.
Starting point is 01:00:15 If he had won his fight, like, what does that leave him with Bellator? But, of course, now he has won his fight. One thing I was thinking about is, like, I think they're dropping a ball over at Bellator when it comes to him. I think he's also doing himself a disservice. I think he is a 125er that's had luck at 135, and I think they should have a 125.
Starting point is 01:00:37 division and maybe have like another tournament for that division as opposed to like the 155 division i understand why they haven't won for that but i think it would be more beneficial for them to have a tournament for weight classes where they're trying to build stars and things of that nature are stars that are just now coming in um and then the other thing i want to talk to you about is pit bull he's going down 135 after this fight um could he be the first triple champ how do you think you were fair at 135 if the weight cuts good because they are a lot faster to roughly his size, but they'll probably be a little bit bigger going in there. And then the last one that I had was more or less like a statement when it comes to like
Starting point is 01:01:21 these fighters and them saying like, oh, I can take out the champ. Oh, I can beat top five tomorrow or whatever. Like I know a lot of times like media and other people like, oh, let's protect them. Let's go ahead and like go them up slow. like I'm like, no, if you're talking like you, you're the best in the world, let's go ahead and see. Like, go in there and fight this person or that person. And if you're not that guy, you're not that guy yet. You can always come back from that.
Starting point is 01:01:46 And you're like, oh, I try and I fail. Just like when Izzy went up to 205, like, he tried and he failed doesn't mean that he can't go back up. Doesn't matter of fact, people are saying that he should go back up now. And as well, just wanted to know if you ever spoke with a person where they're like, oh, I was just talking the line. I really didn't want to fight this person, but they called my bluff. And I took that fight, but I know I shouldn't have. I just wanted to know if you talk to somebody a person, you have to give a name or anything like that. But if you talk to somebody person who's probably like, yeah, I really didn't want that fight, but I took it anyways.
Starting point is 01:02:18 That's all. Thanks, man. Yeah, the four Gucci thing, I completely agree with you. He's a flyweight who just did pretty decent at Bannamweight. Had a good run, but he's a flyweight. And I don't think Bellator is opening up a flyweight division any time. soon. So it's probably just kind of good at where he's at right now and just fighting for Risen and trying to get reps there. And, you know, there's a big fight in Bellator for him,
Starting point is 01:02:46 like some interesting name, signs and wants to fight Horan Gucci, like make it happen. But I don't think he's, I don't think he's a Banimate. He's super talented. No doubt about that. I just don't think he's a Bannamweight. He's just a really good flyweight. who knows maybe maybe he's back in the UFC who the hell knows but yeah I don't know it's he's but he's a flyway that's where most of his success is going to come from but
Starting point is 01:03:14 maybe just wants just fight in close to home and fight where he's familiar and you know if there's a big fight for him a big name then cool he can have that but I like Orguchi a lot he's super fun that was a crazy fight
Starting point is 01:03:30 over the weekend and he got the job done with the whole I can beat the top five thing the fighters say. I mean, every fighter says that. Like literally all of them. They all think they're the best in the world. Randy Costa think he's the best of the world. I'm just throwing his name out because we talked about him earlier.
Starting point is 01:03:48 They all think that way. You have to. You have to think some kind of way that you're the best in the world. Otherwise, why would you do this? Why would you get into a sport like this? If you don't think you're the best of the world, you can be the best of the world. So, if the, Bow is an interesting spot because if they throw him,
Starting point is 01:04:04 a top 10 dude, like, we're going to, it's going to be a big deal and we're going to think Bo can do well. But you have to, it's a risk reward. His first UFC fight after all this hype with how fans, especially the social media fans can be, if Bo, they throw Bow in there with Marvin Vitori, because he got brought up earlier, and Marvin just squashes him, 3027, overrated, this guy sucks. he loses kind of all of his luster. Now, I'm not going to compare him to Brock Lesnar,
Starting point is 01:04:39 but they threw Brock Lesnar right in there with Frank Mears. And he looked good. And then there was that weird thing where he lost a point for the back of the head shots, which is kind of strange and it was kind of controversial. Loses to Frank, and he took a little bit of that poop sandwich, if you will. And then he goes to fight Heath Herring and he beat the holy hell out of Heath Herring. And then he won the title. So there are examples where guys got thrown to the wolf.
Starting point is 01:05:03 they lost and then they came back and did great things. But we saw what kind of happened with Brock and I know a lot of it was physical with the diverticulitis and everything, but it turned out as the next sort of generation of fighters earned their way up, the Cane the Lasquez of the world and guys like that, you just kind of realized that Brock, from a talent perspective,
Starting point is 01:05:28 had some great tools, but as an all-around martial artist, he just wasn't there. And he was kind of exposed with that. And I just don't, I feel like they have something really big with Bo Nickle. So it's just a matter of, do you want to risk it now? Or do you want to give him some confidence before you take that risk? So it's an interesting spot.
Starting point is 01:05:49 Like if they put him in with the top 10 guy, like I'm cool with it. And I think he could beat a lot of guys that are ranked right now in the UFC. I feel like he matches up great with them with his credentials. We haven't even seen them really wrestling yet. in his MMA career. He's just knocking guys out. See a takedown or two. So we haven't even seen
Starting point is 01:06:10 like his full arsenal yet. But we'll see what happens. I mean, they got something big with him. It's just a matter of, do you want to rush it now? Or do you want to build them up a little bit and then give him that big test?
Starting point is 01:06:21 We'll see. We'll see. All right, Zieg, take us home because I've got to go pick the dog up. Mike, what's going on? How are you? Good. Can you hear me?
Starting point is 01:06:34 I'm in the car at the moment. Not the best signal, I'm sure, but I will be short and sweet. So, Toc, you killed it when you came up here. I don't know if he's on here still, but it's cut your nose despite your face. And I just want to, without a doubt, like, pile on to what not only Tocke was saying, but you were saying, this is horrible by the PFL. I feel like all of the intrigue is on how is this talent going to cross over and compete against the PFL talent.
Starting point is 01:06:59 Why the hell are we putting them in the octagon together, especially with the way that Marlon and Mariahs kind of went out of the UFC. I feel like Shane Burgess, we know he hits hard. We don't need to see how hard he could hit Marlon Marius. Moving forward, obviously I would love to see I'm not Jamaya versus Kobe Covington. But, Mike, I feel like this fight would have been booked already if it's going to happen.
Starting point is 01:07:19 It's starting to reminisce like this John Jones, Tipe Miocic. Yes, the names sound awesome together. However, are we ever eventually going to get that fight? And lastly, give Mike a follow on Instagram. His son is awesome, getting some golf shots in yesterday. today. I hope he's sitting it hard. I hope he's keeping his head down. I hope he's sitting it straight. Mike, enjoy your week. Let's have a heck of a week. Thanks, man. Yeah. I agree with a lie you're just saying, I'm not ready to put Hamzaat
Starting point is 01:07:52 Colby into that Jones Steep A thing because Hamzaa just frigging fought. He just fought like two weeks ago. He went through that hellacious week. He just fought earlier this month. So it's not like, Like we've been waiting for John to come back for like years now, watching him build his body to like 265 pounds, talks of Sipa, talks of Francis, talks of all these different things, and we just haven't seen him. Shemayev has fought multiple times.
Starting point is 01:08:24 We saw him fight in April. We saw him fight in September. I mean, he's fought. So I'm not willing to put it there. And again, we don't know what's going on with Colby. I know Dana White says one thing, but guess what? Sometimes Dana says things that aren't fully accurate.
Starting point is 01:08:43 He's done it many times. It's not out of the realm of possibility that it's not true that Ian Colby haven't talked about anything. But we don't know. There's only like two or three people in the world that actually know what happened if there were conversations. But even Colby knows at this point that the best, the biggest fight for him is Hamzad.
Starting point is 01:09:06 because he's not getting a title fight even if Leon wins I don't think he's getting the title shot because he's going to go to either Hamzat Mazadol Mazadol is a better chance of getting the title shot now than Colby does if like Colby doesn't fight anybody else
Starting point is 01:09:23 or doesn't fight Hamzot because there's a story there Mazadol is a huge star and Colby's a draw and Colby's known but I don't know if Colby's like a big star so I don't know I mean, that's just kind of the position he's in right now.
Starting point is 01:09:39 So, all right, I have to go. I got to go pick up the dog because, you know what? The hurricane's coming. But I will see you guys. 1 p.m. Eastern. It's going down. 10 months in the making. It's finally happening.
Starting point is 01:09:53 The undisputed BTL title, Jedmishu, Phoenix Carnivali. It's going down in the virtual arena, 1 p.m. Eastern. M.A. Fighting YouTube channel. So thank you very much. Back here tomorrow, 10 a.m. feature and we'll do it again. Until that, everybody, enjoy the rest of your day and have a heck of a morning.
Starting point is 01:10:40 A podcast network.

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.