MMA Fighting - HOAM | What Is Going On With Paulo Costa? Plus, UFC's Most Underrated Divisions

Episode Date: May 30, 2023

Paulo Costa has called cap on the UFC's announcement of him facing Ikram Aliskerov at UFC 291 in July. With his second booking of the year being called into question, does this mean that the one-time middleweight title challenger and the UFC are still not on the same page? On an all-new edition of Heck of a Morning, MMA Fighting's Mike Heck attempts to answer that question in regards to Costa, the matchmaking, and why the UFC isn't moving forward with booking Costa vs. Khamzat Chimaev for the promotion's return to Abu Dhabi in October. Additionally, topics include the Miami Heat beating the Boston Celtics in Game 7 if the NBA Eastern Conference Finals, the UFC's most underrated divisions, the future of the UFC women's bantamweight division depending on the result of the UFC 289 headliner between Amanda Nunes and Irene Aldana, Aljamain Sterling and Dana White's current relationship, who Israel Adesnaya could fight next, Bellator adding a flyweight division, 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

Support for this show comes from the Audible Original, the downloaded two. Ghosts in the Machine. The Earth only has a few days left. Rosco Cudulian and the rest of the Phoenix colony have to re-upload their minds into the quantum computer, but a new threat has arisen that could destroy their stored consciousness forever. Listen to Oscar winner Brendan Fraser reprise his role as Rosco Cudulian in this follow-up to the Audible Original Blockbuster. The Downloaded, it's a thought-provoking sci-fi journey where identity, memory, and morality collide. Robert J. Sawyer does it again with this much-anticipated sequel that leaves you asking,

What are you willing to lose to save the ones you love? The Downloaded 2, Ghosts in the Machine. Available now, only from Audible. Support for this show comes from the Audible original The Downloaded 2, Ghosts in the Machine. The Earth only has a few days left. Rosco Cudullian and the rest of the Phoenix colony have to re-upload their minds into the quantum computer, but a new threat has arisen that could destroy their stored consciousness forever.

Listen to Oscar winner Brendan Fraser reprised his role as Rosco Cudulian in this follow-up to the audible original blockbuster, 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. Tuesday, May 30th, in Twitter spaces, you can hear the show in its entirety shortly thereafter on the MMA Fighting Podcasting Network.

Hope everyone's having a great start to their week. I am Mike Heck. Thanks for joining us. So far, so mid for this week for your boy. Yesterday was Memorial Day, did the MRF, did in really good time. I actually think I could have done better. But I woke up Saturday. You could probably hear it in my voice.

Nasty head cold. Like basically everything from my like mustache of the beard that I've apparently tried to been growing out up to like the top of my head is just like it's just it's like a bunch of clay is just forming up and hardening in there it's just brutal um but we got through it had a really good time and then just kind of chilled worked the desk for a little while yesterday and then I've relaxed and then I watched the Boston Celtics play basketball game seven in Austin against the Miami Heat. And it was a tough one.

It was a tough one. Best player in the team gets hurt 15 seconds into the game. We try to battle through it. Southlicks just didn't show up. They preferred to smile rather than step on the gas. And Miami beat them. And boy, I thought the Dallas, Texas fans were the worst fans in sports. I think Miami might have, might beat them.

out. I think it's very possible. The amount of shit talk that I got when I woke up this morning was just unbelievable. I mean, it was incredible. Twitter,

Instagram, like all these Miami fans just talking smack. Like I play for the Celtics. It was, I actually was laughing. I actually was laughing because my response to be like act like you've won before but you don't win very often

so you don't really know how to act yeah you want to you want some championships when you had like the most ridiculously stacked team in the history of the world and the fact that you didn't win every single time is a travesty but here's the thing you beat the Celtics you almost pissed away an easy series win you got the Celtics on their D minus game And it still took you seven games to beat them. And it took their best player getting hurt 15 seconds into the game for you to accomplish that. And here's another lesson for you. And you can listen to me coming from being a fan of the greatest sports city of all time.

Because all we do is win championships. Sometimes we lose them. You lose most of them, Miami fans. Here's the thing. If you don't beat Denver, if you don't win it all, nobody gives a fuck that you beat the third. Celtics. Nobody gives a shit that you beat the Celtics if you don't win the whole thing, especially with how you guys are acting. If you don't win at all, nobody cares and you will be

a laughing stock. I will come on here and just crush all of you with how you're acting. If you don't win at all, nobody cares. Nobody cares and all they're going to remember is that the South Expect player got hurt 15 seconds into the game, and that's the only reason you won Game 7. Trust me, I don't feel that way. I don't feel that way. But the whole entire sports world, after the way you have behaved, are all going to feel that way.

And I can't wait because you have no chance of beating Denver. Denver is going to run you off the floor. And they're probably going to do it in four games, five maybe. They're going to hammer you. absolutely destroy the heat. It's not even going to be a competitive series. It's going to be the lowest rated series in the history of the NBA finals.

And you're not going to win. And that's okay. Because you have a win over the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals. Wow. Congratulations. But if you don't win it all, nobody gives a shit.

So that's all I have to say to you. But I'm sure other people are going to chime in. I was going to give you all a bunch of congratulatory thoughts today. I woke up as like, shit, we lost. I was going to come out and say nice things. But then I woke up to all of your responses. And now my mind has changed. And you don't deserve any congratulations.

You deserve what's about to happen to you in the finals. And I can't wait for it. I can't wait. I wasn't even going to watch it. I was like, yeah, season's over. but I'm watching every gosh darn second of that finals. I'm going to watch every second of it. I'm watching every point.

Yock, it scores against your asses, which is going to be about 47,000 of them because you can't stop him. You don't have the size. You don't have the physicality. He's laughing right now. He's just sitting there laughing right now. The whole team's just like,

we got to rest to play this team in the finals who struggled with a D-minus showing up Celtics team. It's got to be incredible. incredible. All right. Enough about me. Let's get to you all. Let's go to Abswalia and we'll talk about some MMA. What's up, Abswalia? How are you doing? I'm doing good. Yeah, so I'll quickly start off with just an MMA question. Then I'll just speak a little bit on the NBA if that's all right. So my MMA question, Hering on is how excited are we looking towards this upcoming weekend car for the UFC? you know, and I guess the main event, the guy Kai Karra Francis, I'm not sure, I've got his name, but do you really think there's a good chance he could be Kai Karer Francis Saturday based on his

fighting style and how good he's been in the last few fights? And just regarding the NBA, you know, I'm a Miami-Heat fan. I definitely agree we have really horrible fan base, and a lot of our fan bases are people who grew up in the LeBron D-Wade era so you know you're going to expect that and while I do agree there's a lot of classless fans

you know Celtics fans are pretty classless too and I just want to say you know Miami Heat should have not ever been in this position in the first place they were never even meant to come this far you know the fact they came this far they'll probably go down there

you know they're probably not going to win the ring you know Yokic is a fucking monster unless some way somehow spolstruck and magically put all his will and find a way to double team triple team which I highly unlikely going to happen

I think Miami will get a bit of respect for making this final they beat the number one seat who was expected to at least very least make the East Conference final they beat a solid New York Knicks team who also had all the potential to make it you know this Boston team was amazing

I'll get their credit and I think you know really would have truly meant something if Jason and Jalen had overcome the 3-0 deficit, you know, but there's no excuses. They had all the home court advantage. You know, I understand Jason was injured, but I wouldn't say it's a viable excuse because he still played most of that game, all credit to him, you know, and I think he could have done more.

Jalen was pretty horrible. The only guys who I think really did good today was Derek White, you know, Al Horford at times and, you know, some of the other role players. But yeah, I mean, it was a really good series. I think it will go down in NBA history, one of the greatest NBA game seven series that we'll ever see. But yeah, you know, this is sports, man. You're always going to have some classless trash fans on, you know, every side. I definitely have my respect for Boston, and I would have not any problems they made the finals.

They played till up to their potential standard. Thanks for them. Have a great day. Yeah, I was, I mean, it was a series. It was a series. I mean, watching it from the Boston perspective was tough because they sucked the whole time. They had moments. They had moments.

They had spurts, but they were pretty awful, the entire seven games. I was shocked that they were able to push this to seven. I was shocked they won game six. I mean, Derek White deserves just so much credit, but the Celtics were horrible. Like, they were terrible in the series. And Miami caught them. I mean, Miami's just surging, man. That's what's what the postseason's like.

You know, that's how the Bruins series was with the Panthers. Panthers just got in, got red hot at the right time, caught the Bruins, who played really well in that series for the most part. And the Panthers just, like, outgritted them. I don't feel the same way in the series as I felt about the Panthers. But, dude it's it's it's a good win you know good for them but again doesn't matter unless you win the whole thing the way your team the way everyone's

been talking you can't ride a win over the Celtics in the Eastern conference finals into the next season if you get the doors blown off of you in the finals it's not well well at least you beat the Celtics it doesn't work that way it doesn't work that way that's like if the Red Sox beat the Yankees in that series in 2004 but then they just got

launched out in five games by the Cardinals it's not like well at least we beat the Yankees no it doesn't work that way it doesn't work that way and as far as the card this weekend eh I mean it's look it's a fight night card

main event's good I like it can Amira Abazi win sure he's a good fighter he's a good fighter and the rest of the card is very fight nighty it's not bad we lost

maybe the most intriguing fight on the entire card in my opinion with malarkey and gromkutatelaze who just can't get back in the octagon for some reason but it's not bad it's better than the last couple

I think so we'll see how it plays out I think a lot of people are excited of the UFC back. Let's go to 4-ounce sniper. Hello, Mike, can hear me? Yes. Hey, heck of a morning. I'm surprised you went live today. Wait, I guess it's Tuesday.

You usually go live on Tuesday. I'm chirping. So, I just wanted your quick thoughts on the co-mate event going down this weekend. Daniel Panetta versus Alex Ciceres. Daniel Pineda, 28 wins all by finish. So obviously, probably got to

get a finish against Alex Casares if he's going to win. Yeah, just, if you could, just give a quick breakdown of that fight. It's going to be a good one. Paneda is just pure chaos, man. That dude doesn't go to the cards, ever. Like, it's all by finishes, but, like, has he actually ever gone to the cards? Yeah, a few times.

But mostly he doesn't go to the cards. When was the last time he went to the cards? 2016 was the last time Daniel Panetta went to the cards. It was a splitie against Emmanuel Sanchez and Bellator. Dude doesn't fight for a long time. He doesn't punch a clock. It's not here to be paid by the hour. So he's just going to bring a lot of chaos.

And I love that. And Alex Casares is obviously a guy could finish fights too. I think Casaris could probably just, I think if Casares could just sort of weather the storm that Panada is going to put on him, I think he's going to have a really good chance to win this fight. But Paneda, again, is just such a chaotic fighter, and he looks to end things very quickly. So I think the longer it goes, the more it favors Casares.

This one kind of strikes me as a kind of like the Cub Swanson fight, where I could see Panetta getting a lot of success early. I see Casares landing a lot of leg kicks. I see him landing some big shots, maybe stealing some momentum at the end of the first. and then maybe getting them out of there in the second. So it should be a good one. I like the matchup. Let's go to JD, then CV, then Mikey, then Terrence.

J.D., hello. All right, how are you? I'm doing pretty well. Doing pretty well. So I got a question about Ian Gary for you. Because I saw him at UFC Charlotte. It was up there with Brian Battles finish over Gabe Green over who got the biggest pop of the night.

But where do you see Ian Gary in the next three to five years? Do you think that he'll compete for UFC title in the next three years, maybe win within the next five? But yeah, just your thoughts on that good, buddy. Thanks, man. Yeah, I like Ian a lot. I think he's tremendously skilled. I still feel like even though he's tremendously skilled,

he still has a lot of room to grow. He's just getting started. What's he 24? Let me just make sure I have this completely right. He is 25. He'll be 26 in November. This dude's three, four years away from his athletic prime, and he's already a top 15 wealth right in the world.

He's, honestly, I think the sky's the limit for him. I think the sky's the limit for him. I don't know who he's going to fight next. I wanted him to call it Kevin Holland. I still think he should have called out Kevin Holland. Even though Kevin's fighting somebody else, it wasn't booked at the time. But, yeah, three years, yeah, I think he fights for the belt in three years. Because I think the UFC is going to book him appropriately so that he does get to.

The UFC is behind him. They're behind him. They want to get back to Dublin. they're going to if they can't get Connor headlining in Dublin they're going to use Ian Gary to do so so they're behind him they're behind him I think they're going to

meticulously matchmake for him and yeah I can see a world where he does fight for the belt in three to five years he will fight for the belt at some point in his career will he win it we'll see but he will definitely fight for the belt I'm pretty

confident CV Hello. Yo, Mike, can hear me? Yes. Hey, man. Good morning. I hope you had a great weekend.

Shout out to the Celtics. Congrats for Miami. As a Lakers fan, I was actually rooting for the Celtics, believe it or not. So they could destroy the Nuggets. I thought Boston and Denver would have been a more compelling finals, but it's okay. And if you guys don't want Jalen Brown, you can give them to us next season, if you guys don't mind. But a quick question for me. I was thinking about how you're saying Federwick was one of the more exciting divisions.

Like I forgot which show you said that in. But yeah, I was thinking about, is there any news or any update about Digar Chikaze? Like, I know we got like a few, like we got a lot of killers in that division. But I'm really interested to hear if there's anything new coming out of them. And potentially like who would you think he'd fight? next for his like return fight thanks yeah i don't know man it's been a it's been a weird road for giga i think he's been saying that he's been there's talks about maybe him fighting brian ortega which honestly i just don't like that fight for him i would pick brian ortega

pretty quickly and pretty confidently. Like, I know Giga's a, like, I know Giga is a dangerous guy, but Calvin Cater beat the brakes off of him. Like, that fight was not close. Calvin beat the brakes off of him. So, I would say, like, I don't know. They might do the Ortega fight, but if I'm, if I'm his team, I'm like, dude, take a step back

because if he loses two in a row he's like he's cooked in this division he's not a spring chicken he's gonna be 35 the summer so like the window is closing so you gotta make a like you have to be meticulous you have to be smart about how you you get booked

honestly I like the let me just take a look here I like the winner of Danny Gay versus Nate Landware for Giga honestly. I think that's kind of like right around the wheelhouse. I think stylistically, those are two matchups that he can hang in,

that he could win, could lose, but could win. I like that, honestly. Much more. I mean, obviously, if he beats Ortega,

that's huge, but I, that's a tough one, man. That's a tough fight. Coming off the cater loss, going right in there with Brian Ortega. Boy,

that's a tough hang. So, maybe they do Ortega, I don't know. But other than that, I would give him the winner of EGA versus Landware and just see where he's at. Boarding for Flight 246 to Toronto is delayed 50 minutes. Ugh, what? Sounds like Ojo time.

Play Ojo? Great idea. Feel the fun with all the latest slots in live casino games and with no wagering requirements. What you win is yours to keep groovy. Hey, I won! Feel the fun! The morning will begin when passenger Fisher is done celebrating. Ontario only. Please play responsibly. Concerned by your gambling or that if someone close,

you call 18665331-2-6-0 or visit comicsonterio.ca. Unwrap holiday magic at Holt Renfrew with gifts that say I know you. From festive and cozy fashion to Lux beauty and fragrance sets, our special selection has something for every style and price point. Visit our Holtz holiday shop and store or online at Holtrenfrew.com. Mikey. How we doing? Great weekend. First of all, just to address something real quick, previous CV, how in the world as a Laker fan can you utter out of your mouth

that you were rooting for the Celtics? No, you root for the Nuggets because they swept the Lakers. You root for the team that beat the Lakers to win the title. Second, you have to prevent the Celtics from breaking the Tatex from breaking the tie with the Lakers for most titles of all time.

Like that logic doesn't make sense to me. I mean, both Miami and Boston can go to hell, to be honest. But anyways, notwithstanding. Also, as for Giga, I wouldn't mind seeing him fight Billy Q if there's stuff. the fight in the same.

Is Billy Q fighting a lightweight or Fedaway? No, he's a Fed away. Yeah, I wouldn't mind seeing them go, but that's just tossing it out. Glad to see the U.S. he's back, but of course I'm sure every May Tort is going to find something wrong with the card or, you know, pretend like this card is something that it isn't. But anyways, at least you guys have fights back.

However, I'm more focused on pro wrestling. It was a really big weekend of wrestling. I just want to get your thoughts on Night of Champions. I thought the swerve was great. I just didn't like that it happened in Saudi. And what your thoughts on double and nothing was? Because I was able to go and in-house, it was a really good pay-per-view. The map, the card got better every match as it got on.

The main event was amazing. The four pillars, title match was great. Anyways, that'll be all for me. But there for me, guys, you kind of want another. I'll see you around. Oh, am I, am I glad I got a hot tag for this one? So I watched, I did watch quite a bit of versely. this week.

I watched Night of Champions. I thought it was really solid. The swerve happening in Saudi was, I get where you're coming from, but I thought it was a really solid card. Like honestly, I thought it was a really solid card. The crowd

just absolutely popped for the Uso's turning on Roman and it was pretty solid. It was pretty solid. Wasn't great, wasn't bad. but very solid and it left us with a massive memory

at the end. I watched NXT as well. I watched that last night before the Celtics shit the bed. It was pretty damn good. I thought the

Wesley, Joe Gacy, Tyler bait match was frigging great. There are some things that weren't so great. The Ilya Draganoff diejackman might be the match of the year.

It's going to be, to me, that is the best match WWE has put on by a mile. It's not even close. If you haven't watched it, if you're a wrestling fan, go to Battleground on Peacock and watch that match. It is fucking incredible. It's one of the best matches you're going to, it will be a top 10 wrestling match of the year, in my opinion.

It's excellent. Last Man Standing, it's excellent. Then we go to double or nothing. And I actually watched it and yikes, man. I was not a fan. Not a fan. There were some things that I like. Here's the thing with AEW.

They're booking sucks. The television show sucks. Nothing makes sense. Everything's overbooked. Everything's razzled. dazzle and none of it makes sense. You had a match. Think about this, guys.

Think about this if you're not a wrestling fan. Let's just say like this would never happen. But let's just say in a weird world that the UFC did an unsanctioned match. And they put in two guys unsanctioned where the promotion is not responsible for what happens in the fight. and something happens, just use your imagination. Unsanctioned, anything goes, we're not responsible for anything. Then all of a sudden, a referee just says, eh, we're going to stop it, even though we have no responsibility over it.

Makes no sense. I mean, literally makes no sense. I will say this, though. I'm not a fan. I didn't love the main event just because if you watched NX, or not NXT, AED on TV, you saw every single thing they did already on free television. So, like, there's nothing that really stood out. The four-way match, the Four Pillars match was fucking great.

That stole the show. MJF is the best wrestler. He's the five-tool player. The guy has it all. That match is great. Really, really great. But the rest of the show, I love the Chris Atlander moment. I thought that was kind of cool.

A lot of people didn't like just all of a sudden Jade Cargill's streak ending, but I thought it was like a pretty cool moment on the show. Obviously, Wardlow jumping off the freaking ladder was pretty damn cool. But the rest of the show, man, it just didn't make sense. It was overbooked and was just sloppy.

Didn't seem like the crowd was into a ton of it. But the MJF, Jungle Boy, Guevara, Darby Allen, match was excellent. Battle Royals was awful. I wasn't a fan of it. AEW has so much potential, but Tony Kahn sucks

as a booker. He's so bad. You got to get somebody in there that can book and make it make sense. Because it's just a waste. Normally, you could, AEDW gets away with it because the TV show is so bad that when you get to the paper, you're like, okay, you can almost forgive how shitty the television show is and how the build has been to the pay-per-view?

Because the pay-per-view actually delivers. This one did not deliver outside of the heavyweight title fight or a match, if you will. But the rest of it was just, I was like, none of this shit makes sense. Like, it's pretty bad when you have the best tag team in the world. and even that match is pretty bad outside of a wife of a 50-something-year-old wrestler like dinging people with guitars to steal the spotlight of the match

and make it digestible. It was just a bad, honestly, I think it was a bad knife for AEW outside of MJF and those guys. Not great. Did not enjoy it, but I love that match. That match was really, really good.

But the rest of it, yikes. Tough hang. To me, you were there. Maybe you had a different experience, Mikey, but watching on television, oh, boy, it was that rough. Terrence, hello. Hey, what's up, Mike? How are you?

Good. Since y'all was talking about wrestling, I watched it. I think AEW's only saving grace is NJF, like you just said. I think, like, they need to pay CM Punk whatever money. They can have him come back as a hill because he can't be a face anymore because everybody is against him right now,

but his hill work is like the best. So if they break him back, I think that's the only way that they can kind of like pick up some kind of steam again. But other than that, it seems like they're done for it. Something needs to change for sure because it's been an awful product lately. In regards to the USC stuff, I'm not talking about this week. I want to talk about the pay-per-view. So we have a mandonius in Arrini, fighting.

for the belt. And with that being said, you have, Arrini has all the potential to be a star. I personally think when lose or draw, I'd make a manager retired because I think she's holding back that division. It sounds negative, but I think it'll be like almost like a John Jones situation to where once she leaves the division will become fun again and be more digestible. And then maybe we'll have people have the moving up are coming over. and make a 135 great again because it's the only 135 division in any major promotion,

so where else they're going to go. But I think she's the reason as to why people move down to 125, so with her being gone, and I encourage people to come back up to take on potential title shots. And lastly, I wanted to talk about what you brought up this at the beginning

in regards to LaSeltitz and how Miami's the worst fans. are Florida's the worst fans out, whatever you just said. So, as you might know, I'm from Florida. And I have friends all over the country. It wasn't just Miami fans that's probably, like, tweeting at you. It's probably fans from all over the country because it's almost like the mentality of anybody but a certain sports team

and nobody wants to sell to win, except for the Celtics. It's almost like when you're at a Celtic bar and, like, they're winning, and they're going crazy. and you have like those five like Miami fans that are also in that same bar rooting on the heat. They are like, oh, don't let us win one game. Oh, don't let us win another game. We're going to take it to game seven and this and that. And we're hearing that all week.

And then y'all get home. You're like, oh, once I get home, it's done for it. And then they just crap to bed. And it's not a Florida thing. And mind you, Florida has a ton of championship. So there's that. ton, a ton, not a ton. I'm pretty sure. Some, not a ton.

Yeah, I'm not talking about just basketball. Like, we're talking about the whole sports league, like, in regards to all sports. Well, I mean, dude, you can't compare the size of Florida to Massachusetts. You can. I'm just saying. It's not fair. I'm just saying, well, you're saying all the mass because New England don't play in I mean, Boston, so it's the same thing.

What team does it play in Massachusetts? I said New England doesn't play in Boston, so it's not the same. So you're counting the whole state of the state. a mess. What are you talking about? Massachusetts is tiny, man. Miami is bigger than like all of Massachusetts. But I'm just saying it's a whole state versus the whole state.

But you're saying like we have more sports team. That's fine. However, Boston fans and Massachusetts fans are some of the loudest, most vocal fans. Like, it's almost we probably can't hear it because you are a fan. But looking from the outside, when you're in that house, you can't recognize how loud you are. but when you step outside you can realize how loud it are. So I'm just saying if you were the way you're looking at other teams right now or the way other fans are, you have to amplify that.

And that's how Boston fans are. I'm just being there. But that's it. The main question is about the whole Irene Adonan thing, and I was just commenting on your Boston thing. That's it. Thank you. That's just not true.

It's not true. I get where you're coming from. Look. as a man who has been a part of like all of all of it i understand where you're coming from there are some people who are just dickheads um but you also have to put in take into account that these dickheads are like casual ufc fans the ones that sit there and find something to shit on all the time that's those are those fans those are the ones who like all of a sudden they go to one game and they're like, oh, we've been there the entire time because we won the championship.

But yet they don't even know who plays like third base for the Red Sox or play shortstop for the Red Sox or, you know, was the closer for the Red Sox when they won the World Series Keith Folk in 2004. Like they, they're not actually fans. They're just dicks. So these people, like, and again, I'm not the one that's sitting there and DMing, I wasn't DMing Miami fans. after game six being like,

oh, you suck, assholes. Like I was getting this morning. It was incredible. Like, I even laughed at it. I'm like,

wow, you guys are really taking this so seriously. But again, I stand by what I said. If you don't win the whole thing, if you don't go out there and starch Denver,

nobody gives a shit. Nobody cares that you beat the Celtics. If you don't, with this mentality, if you don't win it all, you blew it. Yeah, blew it.

So go win it. all. Go win it all. Have your parade. And I will congratulate you. But I don't think you're gonna. I think you're gonna get run. And I'm actually gonna watch it and I'm probably gonna laugh at it. So I didn't fire those shots. Your fans did. Tocke, hello. Hi. thing that we didn't get to on on friday was this new bellator flyway division so the thing that i am curious about is does bellator even have do they have anyone to compliment horiguchi or is it all going to come from the outside they've already announced that he's going to fight the guy from rison i believe so what does the do you think there's enough kind of free agents and available fly weights to make a compelling flyweight division in Bellator?

Or do you think this is more of, hey, we want to see for Gucci actually do well in our company? That's my question. And have a good Tuesday, Mike. Thanks, man. Yeah, I mean, they obviously, they must have something in place. they must have something in place. They must have a bunch of flyways that are like ready to go.

So but I like what they're doing here. I like that they're going back and doing the Bellator versus Reison thing. I think doing McKee and Pitbull on the card is a good call. I like this Horaguchi

Takahashi fight. I think it's a great fight. I don't know who else they're going to bring in there. But they must have some people in mind. They must have some people ready to go. But I love the fact that they're finally doing this. And just don't put Ray Borg in the division for the love of God.

Stop booking him for flyweight fights because it makes literally no sense. Please stop doing that. Please stop doing that. But I love what they're doing and should be a good fight. Should be a good fight. But I'm jacked up.

At least Belitzer's trying to do something. They're trying to do something. But now, let's just, let's build upon this. And to build upon Terrence's other thing, you know, Manon Nunes, win or lose, she should lead the division. What division?

There is no division. There's nobody there. There's, what, 11 bantam weights right now, maybe 12? The bottom three fighters that are ranked at 135 at the UFC are not even bantam weights. They're feather weights. So there is real,

no real division. And even if she, if Amanda loses, like that's just going to create storyline. But you think of Amanda loses, she's just going to retire? I don't think so. I think she's going to want another rematch.

And I don't think, I don't know. I'm picking Aldana. Like, I'm telling you, I, like the vibes are within me when it comes to a Rini Aldana.

I feel like she's going to go out there and beat Amanda Nudas. I don't know why. I don't have a stylistic feeling as to why. but this is just a vibe feeling. I feel like Elana's going to beat her. But I don't know if that's going to retire, Amanda.

And even if it does, like, even if it does, we got Raquel Pennington, who's on a nice run right now. But look at the rest of the division. There's like nobody there. It's wild. Let me pull up the UFC rankings right now. Phanimate. There's no featherweight rankings.

We have Peña, Pennington, Holm, Vieira, Erini Aldana, who's fighting for the belt. We have Janice Santos, Panny Kanzad, Macy Chesson, Carol Hosa, Myra Bueno Silva, Misha Tate, Julie Avila. We don't know when she's coming back. Norma Dumont, featherweight. Chelsea Chandler, featherweight. Josiani Nunes, featherway.

There is no division. So what they should do is, and I've been saying this for a while, and this is not meant to be disrespectful. I said this on onto the next one as well. 135 to like 155 should be like its own division. Or 135 to 145 should be its own division. It should be like Bampther weights, whatever you want to call it. From 135 to 146 should be one division.

That's what it should be. I would love a world where that is the case. But what do I know? then we're going to have like legit divisions just make one title like this is all just so silly panda hello panda four corner sports hey hey mike can you me yep hey so i know we have the ultimate fighter on tonight i actually have a couple questions one today's my birthday and it's weird it's saying that i'm dirty if you have any advice to somebody is answering their 30s on how life's going to be my 20s were a blast, and, you know, now that I'm coming up my 30s, it just feels weird.

I don't agree with that sentiment about Florida winning a whole bunch of titles just because if you want to look at the demographics, I mean, I'm a New Yorker, but I respect the Red Sox and the Red Sox from, what was it, 04 to the last title was 20, what was it, 2018? won more titles than any other franchise in baseball. Nonetheless, I mean, they got the 08 Celtics, and I don't know anything about hockey like that, but I mean, I would say Boston is kind of like Title Town, USA. Outside of that, I mean, I'm actually really intrigued on this main event

with Kaikara Friends versus Amirabazi. I know it's kind of not being heavily promoted, but, man, I just have a really good feeling these things. fly weights are going to really deliver. I feel like whoever can be listening to No Buds Bard is going to really come out with some serious cash. Just because, I mean, this is pretty much like a flyweight type of a card. Intrigued on Victor Ultramarano, I feel like he's been coming up big.

I mean, I don't have he had a crazy fight in his previous fight. I know it was on one of those paperview cards, but I don't know. what do you think is going to happen in the main event and do you think Victor Osmer Ronald's going to get the win this weekend? All right, thanks Mike. I mean, I talked about the main event already. I mean, he could.

Victor Alter-Mahor's a good fighter. Tim Elliott is just a dog, man. Just a whole different level beating this dude. So, I'll probably, but Tim's also been going through a ton I don't know.

I don't know. It's a good fight. I would probably pick Tim Elliott, but I could be dead wrong on that. But it's a good event for the flyweight's, and flyweight undernation is going to be in full force. Well, happy birthday as well. You're 30.

I would say it just like gets better. I don't know. Everyone's experience is different, but when I was 30, I turned 30. and then two months later, I had my kid. So obviously, like, it was different for me and the focus change and all that.

So I just turned 40, and I actually feel better at 40 than I did at 30, if that makes any sense. So, yeah, just enjoy it. Gets better. Don't worry about getting older because older is wiser and wiser is cooler. So keep that in mind. and I think you'll be all right. Let's go to Dragon Daddy.

What's up? Oh, hey, what's up? Is there any... Was there any confirmation on, like, the possibility of Bellator being sold to somebody? So, there's, I mean, they're definitely up for sale. They're up for sale. So, the PFL thing, from conversations I've had, like, Ariel's talked about it as well. Was there ever conversation between PFL and Bellator about,

I don't know if it was like a merger about PFL, maybe purchasing Bellator. Yes, was it very preliminary? Yes. Did they kind of die pretty quickly? Yes. Does it mean they can't come in at the 11th hour and still do something? It could. But from what I hear and probably what Ariel is hearing as well,

because he's talked about it. There are some interesting players. Can't say, obviously. But PFL is not one of the players that are at the top of the list as of right this second. But again, that doesn't mean that somebody can't come, they can't come in and do something out of nowhere

because we see it all the time. So they're Bellator is for sale. And there are conversations happening, and there are front runners. PFL at the moment, not one of them, but we'll see how it all plays out. I am very fascinated to see how this plays out, and I'm curious to see if PFL can come through.

Like last minute, can they come through and make something happen? Because, boy, would that be fun? That would be super interesting if they can make something happen. But from all accounts, as of right now, conversations were had, They're not at the top of the list at the moment. So take that for what it's worth. But I expect something within the next.

I don't know. We'll see. Panda, hello. My man, Mike, two times a charm, of course. How are we? What's up, man? Yeah, I'll be short and sweet two for you. First, I want to talk about the main event this weekend.

Abaji versus Kharkar, France. I mean, this is a huge fight for Kharkar, France, after his last one. Obviously, we want us to get back in the W column. and number two was announced recently this BMF title fight is this just going to be you know I want to say a carbon copy of the last fight what does Justin Dustin really look like at this point in their careers thanks Mike

dude it's going to be sick I can't wait for it didn't need the BMF title I've already given my thoughts about the BMF title it's just silly I mean if it means more money for the fighters great but we already did the BMF title like do something else do the violence weight title or the all violence title or just be creative and if and i'll say this if this if the bmf title is going to be like a thing and it's every time the winner fights it's for the belt and they defend that belt then fine like i'm in for it like

i'm down for a for a gimmick but it can't just be all right well it's there when we need it every four years. I don't want that. So I'm picking Dustin to win. I could be wrong, but they're going to be an elevation, so it's a different fight. They're different fighters in the last time they fought, but I feel like Dustin's style, his ability to take punishments will be the difference here, but I am curious to see how elevation will impact this fight in particular. Gagie can fight at elevation, He trains at elevation, so he's going to have the advantage there. And Porier, he's just, dude can battle through all sorts of adversity. So can't wait for the fight, fascinated by it, and be a fun one to watch during the watch party on July 29th.

It's going to be a lot of fun. 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. It's hockey season, and you can get anything you need delivered with Uber Eats. Well, almost, almost anything. So no, you can't get a nice rink on Uber Eats. But iced tea, ice cream, or just plain old ice?

Yes, we deliver those. Goaltenders, no. But chicken tenders, yes. Because those are groceries, and we deliver those too. Along with your favorite restaurant food, alcohol, and other everyday essentials. Order Uber Eats now. For alcohol, you must be legal drinking age. Please enjoy responsibly.

Product availability varies by region. See app for details. QP, Bill's next. QP, you're there. All right. Let's go to Bill. What's up, Bill? You're muted, Bill.

Oh, I was muted. My bad, Mike. How are you doing? I'm doing good, man. I'm just wondering what you think about the integrity of this middleweight division when we got, I mean, arguably one of the best number one contenders in Robert Whitaker. And I don't see Duplessi or any of that top five getting through him.

So what are we really doing next is what I guess my question would be? Hold on a second. Sorry about that. So I'm like, this is what I would do. This is how I would handle it. I would pull the DDP from this Robert Whitaker fight right now. Just pull him. Pull him from UFC 290.

let Drick's 2 plus C fight for the belt. Let him fight Israel-A-Lasanya. It's going to be in Sydney. Just let him fight for the belt. Izzy is going to win that fight. He's probably going to finish Drick's 2-C. I'm not trying to be disrespectful. It's just a terrible stylistic match for DDP.

He's going to come in, guns ablazun. He's going to make Izzy fun, and then Izzy will probably knock him out within the first 10 minutes of the fight. So that's fun. Izzy gets a big pop. looks like a star, that's great. Now you're like, what do we do with Robert Whitaker?

Whitaker has no opponent. So pull Sean Strickland from the Abis Magamadoff fight, do Robert Whitaker versus Sean Strickland at UFC 290. Icrum Alaskaroff is probably not fighting Paul O'Costa at UFC 291. I'd be stunned if that fight happens. So either put Maga Madaf and Alaskarov together or just give them each different opponents so they can get on television and fight people,

but just give DDP the freaking title shot. What are we doing here? Let's just do that. And if Whitaker, Whitaker could fight Strickland, winner of that fight, it's the winner of Izzy versus DDP. That's how I would do it. But to put Whitaker and DDP in that position

where they have to fight each other and then turn around in two months to fight Izzy, just doesn't make a lot of sense to me. Now, a lot of people have suggested to me that, well, you know what they're probably going to do. They're probably just going to keep everything the way that it is. And then they'll do Izzy versus Jamal Hill at 205. I hate that idea.

Not a fan of it. Would I be surprised if that's what the UFC does? No, I would not. But I could definitely see a world where they do that. But it makes no sense to do that. It makes no sense to do that. So I would just put DDP in there at Dizzy. Let Wittaker fight Strickland.

The winner of that gets the winner of the title fight. Magamadov and Alaskaroff could fight each other. Or he could do Fluffy Hernandez against one of those guys. I don't know. But you got to do something. I mean, we're getting pretty close here. We're like the end of May. We're a month away from UFC 290.

We're a month away from the Strickland. Magamato fight? Like, we're a month away from all these fights coming together. Dana said an announcement is forthcoming. I have no idea what it's going to be, but is it going to be? Is he versus Jamal Hill at 205? I wouldn't be surprised, but I hope that's not the case. We don't need to do this. We don't need to do this. D.C. Betts, hello. Hey, Mike. Can you hear me? Yep. Okay, cool. So I just wanted to talk about how how Dana is showing once again why he is the best promoter in MMA because he's done the impossible.

And he's almost turning, almost done the impossible, but he's turning Al Jermaine Sterling almost baby face by making him, him in the Sano Malifide is pretty much, you know, UFC fighter against the UFC now. So I just kind of wanted to get your thoughts about that, about how Dana, you know, with his villainous moves, somehow took, you know, Al Jermaine Sterling, who just can't connect to the fans. And finally, you know, a lot of people finally have that connection with him, or at least they can, you know, by kind of seen Al Jermaine and Sean, you know, as, as, you know, the fighters against the UFC and how, you know, Sterling really wants to beat Sean O'Malley now just to rubble. it into Dana and the UFC space because, you know, they're, they're back in Sean Amalley big time. So I just wanted to get your thoughts on that. Have a heck of the morning. Thank you, brother. So, so you think this is, this is a plan from Dana? I don't think it's a plan. No, I'm just kidding. You know, I don't think it's a plan. I just think it's funny. Yeah,

I just think it's funny how, how, you know what I mean? Like, Dana does bad or good man, it's promotion. And I think, you know, I don't think he's so clever enough to be like, oh, this is what I'm going to do, you know, Vince McMahon move here. But it's just funny how it's, it's just, you know, the guy hate him or love him, you know, he freaking the promotion worked, you know, because now you're kind of like now, I mean, I know I like Sean O'Malley, but I'm rooting for Al Jermaine too because a lot of times I agree with the UFC and a lot of senses. I know Dana's a dick and I don't agree with a lot of the things he does.

But business wise, you can't say it's not working, you know. I like the every week. of fights, you know, you got to get these weak cards because it ends up building stars. You know what I mean? So these weaker cards, like if Kai Kara fans does something really good this weekend, everybody gets to see his story, gets to see his thing. And then if he does something amazing, then the next time you see him, you start remembering him, just like McKenzie Dirt and her fight and her win

wouldn't have meant as much if it wasn't a main event, you know? And we all complained about the card, but it does the job. you know, now casuals are going to see McKenzie Dern and say, oh, I remember that girl, you know? So, yeah, so I don't think Dana's that clever, but I just think it worked out in his favor for that way. And for Al Jermains, because now, you know, he's got a lot of ways to connect with the fans.

I mean, I'll give you that for Al Jermaine because it's, he's done the right thing here. He's firing back. Aljo deserves better. Aljo deserves better. And to say that Dana is the best. best promoter is, I mean, I assume that's sarcasm because he's just not. He just isn't. I mean, from a business perspective, yes, he's the president and he deserves credit for

helping build the UFC to where it is today. And there was a time where Dana was probably the best promoter when he was actually like interested in the product and not in and not more interested in promoting a slap fighting league on the company's platforms because he's way more interested in slap fighting. He's way more interested in power slap than he is the UFC. That is 100% unequivocally clear. He is more passionate about power slap than he is the UFC. It's unquestionable. It's 100% true. And Aljo is turning baby face, but because people understand like what the fuck are we doing here the dude just fought like he literally just fought this month a five-round battle with henry sehudo and before aljumain sterling could go into the locker room

and take a shower after he beat henry sehudo dana white went to the press conference and announced his next fight essentially he's fighting chan o'malley in boston that's where we want this fight and i was just like um not dude just fought need to get some shit checked out i'll do it in september give me another month. And then what happens? Francis does the PFL deal. Dana's like, I'll show you.

We'll announce Al Jemeyne Sirling versus Shauna Malley, which I think we all know. Both sides are not 100% in on that fight. But at that point, we know how the UFC does this. They just announce fights. They put pressure on fighters,

put pressure on Al Jermaine Sterling. Sterling's just like, F it, I'll do it, because I'll probably beat this dude anyways. But Aljo has done the right thing here. He has done the right thing. and do I think he'll be a baby face by the time that they get to Boston? No, I don't.

I don't think that. I think Sean O'Malley will still be over and Algeo will still get booed out of the building. And that's just the way that it is. And as far as like the other point about the cards and stuff, yeah, there's some truth to that. But which, like, who has emerged as a star in this era? era, from the apex era of having fights at the apex, who has emerged as an actual star for the company? Who? None.

Nobody. I can't think of anybody. That has emerged as an actual star from the apex era? I can't think of anybody. I can't think of anybody. Now, have we had moments in front of fans? Sure. But the problem, here's my issue. How many times have we prepared ourselves for a card? And we're trying to find ways to like it. But instead of the UFC actually promoting the card, they promote the slap fighting. It's happened so many times. How you expect to build stars that way?

It's cool to put them out there. But like, I don't know. They could do better with this. They could do better with this. 100%. this card's not bad like it'll be a fun watch but this is not a card where like people are just going to be like you know what I can't I can't go to the barbecue this weekend because I have to watch

Kai Kar or France fight Amir al-Bazi I just don't think that's going to happen I think people are going to be like all right I'll come to the barbecue and play some cornhole and skip this one I'll watch it on Sunday or I'll read enemyfighting.com and get the results

and some of the pay-per-views have been like that too so I don't know if I can fully agree with all of that but this is the deal I mean this is the deal that ESPN is paying them for they are obligated to put put on cards they have to they have no choice they're contractually obligated to do it uh bull what's up bull are you there I'm here what's up Mike how you doing brother um got a question uh Paula Costa man what's going on with that dude It seems like the last two or three fights that the UFC announces, he comes out and says, I'm not taking this fight. We also heard he got a new contract, supposedly. So I was under the impression that the issues are resolved, but still some weird shit going on with Costa.

What do you think? Well, I mean, as far as I know, or as far as I can tell, and from other reports as well, they're talking. but there is no deal. There is no deal. Remember there were like reports that Paul is going to make a million dollars to fight which nobody really truly believed? I don't know.

Honestly, Paul Costa seems to be like I'm getting pay what I'm worth or I'm not fighting and power to him. But if he's not going to take a fight with Robert Whitaker, why in the hell would he fight Iqram Alaskaroff? It makes, I mean, it literally makes no sense. I look to that fight. I was like, boy, is that an interesting fight?

And I would watch the hell out of it. But the first reaction I saw when I saw the graphic was like, there's no way he's fighting this guy. He wasn't going to fight Robert Whitaker. He's not fighting this dude. And I'm sure he's not getting paid what he wants to be paid to fight this guy. Back in elevation again. So it doesn't seem like there's a deal in place.

Paul has already kind of called cap on that fight being in a, announced to begin with. Why are we not just doing Paul Costa versus Hamzaa Chayas? What are we doing here? Why is that not happening? That fight should already be on the Abu Dhabi card. It's the fight everybody wants. What are we doing? I don't get it. We're here to put on the fights the fans want to see, right? Everybody wants to see Paul Acosta fight Hamzaa Jamey if they want to see the bill to it. It's right there. What are we doing? Instead, we're going to put him in there with a guy that Humzot

fought once before. Like, what the hell are we doing here? So I don't think we're going to see cost to fight Alaskarov. Unless, I mean, I don't know. Unless they want to pay him a bunch of money, but it doesn't seem like they're going to want to pay him a bunch of money, so I'd be stunned if that fight happens. But I don't know what's happening with them,

but I assume a deal is not done. Ricky, hello. Ricky, do we have you? Ricky, try again, man. It's not getting through for some reason. Let's see if we can get Viking in here real quick. Trying. Viking, do we have you?

Yes, I know why Paulo Costa is not fighting Hamza Chimao and Ikram Alaskarro. Because, you know, just like Kobe Covington said in his interview, that don't cross your boss and Paulo Costa just did that. So that's the main reason, I think. And the other thing, I just want to ask about the fight between Binid Darius and Charles Oliver, because I'm 100% sure that bin Laden is going to get the W. And he's going to fight Islam in Abu Dhabi and Islam is going to win because a Muslim fighter is not going to lose in Abu Dhabi. So Islam is going to beat Benil Darius.

So what's next for Binil Darius if Islam beats him? Thanks a lot, Mike. Well, it's not going to be good. He'll probably have to fight the up-and-coming hungry killers. He'll be fighting the Sirukians, the Raphael Fiziv's, the Grant Dawson's. kinds of guys. Jalen Turner's. That's kind of his path if he doesn't win the belt.

He's in a tough spot. He's in a tough spot. But he's got to go out there and take care of business against Charles Valvera because if he loses another fight, he's probably not getting a title shot, maybe ever. And it's unfair to say Ball Mohammed's kind of in the same

position he's in. Those two are very similar paths right now. So yeah, it's a tough spot for him if he loses to to Oliver and if he gets the title shot and loses Democchev, it's going to be tough getting him back there. It's going to be really tough

unless he jumps in on a short notice opportunity. Let's go to the fan and then we're going to get out of it. Hey, what's up, bro? Hey, listen, have you seen the idea as padwork? I have. Yeah, bro, it's embarrassing, bro. This is why boxing is better, bro. Bro, like, bro, boxing is just better, man.

Have you seen that shit, well? Yeah, I've seen it, man. I've seen it. But honestly, I was in Hollywood, Florida a couple of years back watching Avander Holyfield hit pads before fighting Vitor Belfort. And that was the worst I've ever seen. That was the time where I was like, oh boy, this is, this is not going to go well. This dude should not be getting in there in boxing.

anybody let alone Vitor Belford who was probably not Natty at the time. So didn't love that I mean look Nate's not I think we all kind of understand

what this fight is right? This is a let's sell out an arena let's get a bunch of paper views let's use Jake's fans and add in Nate's fans and create a event that makes a ton of money and this one is going

to make a ton of money. And what Nate Diaz is so good at is he's probably going to lose to Jake Paul, but he's going to have at least a moment in the fight where, like, Jake might win the first five rounds, but then Nate wins like two of the last three and makes it seem like he won the war. And it was like, this is a real fight, and we scored it on the basis of an entire fight. I win, but since we're doing it round by round, Jake Paul wins. Nate will always find a way to find a victim.

So Nate's not going to sit there and have a classic boxing match of Jake Paul. Like, it's just not going to happen. He's going to go in there and just like take punches. He's going to be like, come on, Mofo, and chuck some shit back and land some punches late in the fight. Nate's going to do a great job, like finding a victory in the defeat. That's what he does. So, yeah, this is what boxing is right now. This is what boxing is right now.

there's some bad like non-boxing boxers but people are interested in it it's insanity it's wild to me wayne hello wayne you're muted wayne we have you apparently jake paul senior is here yeah maybe not we tried all right mayonnaise fake mannays facebook flanagan take us home take us home Mike, honestly, I don't know what I got today. Looking at the card this weekend, what's the low-key-banger? That's what I want to know. Happy Tuesday. Low-key-banger, pro.

There's a couple. I think Daniel Santos, Johnny Munoz Jr. is probably not going to the cards. I like the Eliza Zeleski-Aubakkar-Namagamato fight. But to me, it's going to be the Tim Elliott-Victor-Alta-Morana-Morano fight. I think that one's going to kind of fly under the radar, especially at the main event. And I think those two are just going to get after it.

It's going to be fun as hell. So love that one. That's the one I'm going with. I do think this fight's going to be like this is not a car. Again, this is not a card that you're going to cancel your plans to make sure that you're watching. Like if you have a early Sunday morning tea time on the golf course, you're not going to be like,

I'm going to skip it because I have to stay up late and watch this UFC fight night card. You're not going to do that. But if you don't have an early tea time, if you don't have other plans and you're sitting home watching fights, I think you'll enjoy this card. I think this will be a fine watch.

It's not one we're going to be talking about for multiple weeks to come, but it's going to be like, all right, I'm glad I watched it. Some competitive fights on here. Some interesting names, some potential storylines that can come out of it, but ones that only can last like 24 to 48 hours.

and then it's on to the pay-per-view, and then it's on to the next card, and on to the next card, and the next one, on the next one, all the way to International Flight Week. So, yeah, this will be a fine watch. But I'll go with Elliot Altamorano

as the low-key-banger. All right, we are done. As you can hear in my voice, face just continues to hurt. Whatever illness I got struck with on Saturday is just not going away. So thank you all very much. We will be back on Thursday,

actually we will not be back on Thursday. Maybe I might have to tag an AK on Thursday. Might have to tag an AK on Thursday. Because we got something cooking here in South Carolina that I have to take care of on Thursday morning. So I'll probably be back on Friday. We'll do a BTL on Thursday, but it'll be like a little bit later than usual.

I'll fill you guys in on Friday and what the hell's going on. But so I'll try to tag an AK on Thursday so we do have a show. And then we'll get you ready for UFC Vegas 74 throughout the week. So thank you all very much. I appreciate it. We'll see you guys later on this week. Have a great rest of your Tuesday. And as always, have a heck of a morning.

Go Nuggets.