MMA Fighting - HOAM | What's Next For Arman Tsarukyan After Quick Finish Of Beneil Dariush At UFC Austin?

Episode Date: December 5, 2023

Arman Tsarukyan solidified himself as a major player in the UFC's lightweight division with his incredibly impressive 64 second finish of Beneil Dariush in the main event of UFC Austin this past Saturday. The 27-year-old called for a fight with Justin Gaethje next, but will he get something of that magnitude, or will he have to fight backwards when he returns to the octagon? On an all-new edition of Heck of a Morning, MMA Fighting's Mike Heck reacts to Tsarukyan's unreal showing against Dariush, where he could go after picking up the biggest win of his career, and if UFC pivot in regards to the division's next title fight. Additionally, listener questions include Jalin Turner's finish of Bobby Green, the likely end of Green and Dariush's title hopes, Miesha Tate's one-sided win against Julia Avila, where Mike Perry goes from his BKFC 56 win over Eddie Alvarez, Josh Emmett needing a new opponent for UFC 296, and much more. You can listen live to Heck of a Morning Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays at 10 a.m. ET on the MMA Fighting Twitter Spaces. Follow Mike Heck: @MikeHeck_JR Subscribe to MMA Fighting Check out our full video catalog Like MMA Fighting on Facebook Follow on Twitter Read More: http://www.mmafighting.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 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 reprise his role as Rosco Cudulian in this follow-up to the Audible Original Blockbuster. The Downloaded, it's a thought-provoking sci-by 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?

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visit chase.com slash experiences. Benefits available only to eligible Chase card holders, deposit and credit card products provided by JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A, member FDIC. Terms, conditions, restrictions, and limitations apply. Media Podcast Network. It is Tuesday, December 5th, 20203, and it is indeed a heck of a morning. We are live on the MA Fighting Twitter space.

As you can hear the show in its entirety, shortly thereafter, on the M.A. Fighting Podcasting Network. What's going on, everybody? I am Mike Heck. Hope you're all having a great start to the week. It's the holiday season. There's lots to talk about in terms of the mixed martial arts and combat world. We're coming off of a super fun weekend with UFC Austin, BKFC 56,

Armand Sarukin, just obliterates Spineal Daryush in 64 seconds, making a gigantic statement to the lightweight division and to a lot of people who felt like perhaps he wasn't living up to his potential. I heard that a lot heading into that fight. And I, Armand Sarukian, despite not being the most popular guy when he walked into the Octagon, and he might not be the most popular guy right now. None of that matters because he picked up an absolutely impressive and gigantic win in the main event of UFC Austin. We saw Jalen Turner pick up a huge win against Bobby Green and the co-main event. Short notice, big way cut, started at 180 when he took the fight nine days before.

for UFC Austin, makes the weight and basically puts a nail in the Bobby Green, Jorge Mazinol-esque run that a lot of people are hoping for. Bobby Green is probably the most popular fighter who competed this past Saturday, if you listen to the crowd. But it wasn't meant to be. Jalen Turner comes out and just obliterates him. Carrie Hatley should be fired. She'd never be allowed to referee again after that stoppage, but that's not here nor there. I talked about that enough. We have talked about that enough. No, that's not really true, but I don't want to take, I feel like a lot of this story

has taken away from Jalen Turner's win, and I don't think that's really all that fair. But good for Jalen Turner. He's back in the mix after that big win. Davis and Figurata, what a performance gets Rob fought, sweeps the scorecards. He fought great. He fought incredible. I got to say, of the guys who, where their stocks were entering UFC Austin to where they are now, boy, I think Davidson Figurato got a big stock jump, which is crazy to say for a multiple-time former world champion.

But a lot of people are wondering, can he perform well at 135? Can the skills translate? Can the power translate? And Rob Fond is a super tough test. And Figgie passed that with flying colors. What a performance. Another player at 135. What a showing for Figgie Smalls.

Or as Damon Martin likes to put it, Figgie not as small. What a performance from Sean Brady? I got to say, heading in outside of the made event, the Sean Brady-Calvin-Gaslin fight was the second most intriguing bout on the card because it just had a lot of questions and as did a lot of other people. The amount of people who jumped off the Sean Brady train heading into that fight, even after the Balala loss, there were a lot of people who were saying,

this guy's probably going to fight for a belt that were just like, nah, he's never going to fight for a belt. He's about to get knocked up by Kevin Gasolam. I saw a lot of that. And that didn't happen. He just ran over Kelvin Gasson. The fight was not competitive for more than like three seconds. But Sean Brady did the damn thing.

Nasty Kamor submission in the third round. He is back on track after a long layoff, wins for Joaquin Silva, nice submission, went for Dustin Stoltzvist. Misha Tate, what a performance from her against Julia Obelah. Julia just couldn't get going at all. Misa just wrestled her and beat the hell out of her. What a performance from the former Bannon Way champion. And if we don't do Misa Tate versus Hollyholm 2 now, what the hell are we doing here?

What are we doing? We had back-to-back power bombs slash slam KOs from Drak Close and Cody Brundage, Hadolfo Bellato and Ehor Potaria. What a fight they freaking had. Jared Gooden with a come from behind submission win against Wellington Termin. And Veronica Hardy, two wins in a row, defeating Jamie Lynn Horth and handing the Canadian prospect her first professional loss in the process. that was UFC Austin.

Then we go to BKFC. Super fun card. I thought Jimmy Rivera. Jeremy Stevens was pretty fun. I thought Jimmy Rivera is looking real good in that fight despite being terribly undersized in that one. I thought he was boxing really well. But that's what BKFC is all about.

You get a cut, you get hit, you bleed a certain way, and things just fall apart. And there was a nasty cut that was opened up above Jimmy Rivera's eye. and Jeremy Stevens gets the Dr. Stoppage TKO victory. Fun fight. We had the heavyweights doing heavyweight things. We had a fun featherweight title fight.

Kai Stewart remains the featherweight champion of BKFC. Christine Faria, just being Christine Faria, she is the female equivalent, I guess, to Mike Perry at BKFC. I just don't see a lot of fighters beating her. She did call Chris Cyborg. Chris Cyborg seems relatively interested in that. Not sure how her contract would translate to that, but I got to tell you, I am super intrigued by that idea.

Christine Ferreira versus Chris Cyborg and bare-knuckle scratches me right where I itch. Obviously, the Kala fight would be bigger, but I'm super intrigued by that idea. I really am. But we'll see if it happens or not. And then Mike Perry and Eddie Alvarez just delivered what we expected from those two.

Just a violent affair. Eddie Alvarez had a great first round. Mike Perry just got angry and did Mike Perry things, fracturing the orbital bone. Multiple, I believe, according to Eddie Alvarez, and gets the coach's stoppage. And I have no issue with the stoppage at all.

Mark Henry needed to stop that one. Man, Mike Perry is just born for this shit. it. Mike Perry is just born for this. And if Mike just found BKFC six years ago, where will we be? Where would he be right now? It's a fascinating question, but just seeing the difference in Mike Perry the fighter, Mike Perry the person, since going to BKFC, it's been freaking crazy, man. It's been freaking crazy. He is a star. We do have a nice little roundtable on M.A. fighting right now. now asking multiple members of our staff, who should Mike Perry fight next? Because this is kind of the issue with Mike Perry is he's getting all these really fun fights, right? MVP, good fight, super fun.

Wouldn't mind seeing that one again, if we're being honest. But that was a big one, right? And then we get the Luke Rockhold fight. And that was a big one. The bill to that was big. and Mike Perry just obliterated Luke Rockhold. Like Luke knew immediately, yeah, this ain't for me. And then he fights Eddie Alvarez.

Another big fight, another great build. Mike, and Eddie Alvarez was not like Luke Rockold. Like, he was just like, yeah, I love this shit. But Mike just broke him. I mean, literally broke him, broke his face. That's what Mike does. So now it's like a really interesting question of who he fights next. Does he fight for the belt against a guy he's already beat twice in MMA?

Seems like it doesn't have a ton of interest in that. Paul Daly, I think, is super interesting. Could we do Dylan Dannis? I don't know if Dylan is the kind of guy that's going to do that, but Dylan called for it. We'll see. I mean, that would be love it or hate it. That would be maybe the most trafficked fight during it in the history of the website.

and it sounds weird to say, but it's probably true. The Darren Till fight, perhaps, if Darren wants to do it, Perry wants the Mazadol fight, I would be shocked if that happens for multiple reasons. One, he's probably still somewhat under UFC contract. I don't know, I mean, Masadol's done the barreduckle thing for a long time, so I don't know if he wants to go back to that well, but it would be a huge fight. So it's going to be real interesting to see where they go with Mike Perry after this performance. Yeah, lots going on.

UFC 296, we lost a fight. Luckily, it wasn't one of the main card fights, but still one of the intriguing matchups on the card. Giga Chikaze gets a bit of momentum after a long layoff, beats Alex Kassaris, and he gets a big opportunity to fight Josh Emmett, a top 10 guy, and I believe he tore his groin, so he's out of the fight.

Promotion's still looking for replacement for Josh Emmett. We'll see what happens there. So yeah, that's just part of the new cycle right now. So let's get right into it. Let's hear from you. If you guys have got questions lying on up, four-ounce sniper. Go ahead and kick us off on this Tuesday. Yep. I got you. You hear me, man?

I got you. I think my kids is a little rough. Hey, good morning, how are you? Good. What's up? I just wanted to ask you your thoughts on Sean Brady's performance. He went out there and he just dominated. I had a feeling he was going to be able to get Kelvin down at will. I really didn't learn anything about Sean Brady this past weekend.

I kind of wanted to see him fight a guy who was going to stuff to take down and then, you know, respond by punching him in the face. So what would you want for him next? Like, what do you want to see him do next? Thanks, man. Yeah, dude, he looked. he looked damn good he looked damn good it was the performance he needed

it was the performance he needed now is Kelvin and Sean was on the M.A. hour yesterday and he was right he probably gained more from beating Kelvin Gasselham than really anybody else he could have fought realistically

and I think that's true you don't see a lot of people do that to Kelvin Gasselm you just don't like Calvin loses a lot of close to decisions. He's been in there. He's super hard to finish. And Sean just, I mean, Luke Thomas said at best, like he didn't, Sean didn't ragged all him, but it was like a step below that. And it was just super impressive. Like, Kelvin had no answer at all for Sean Brady, which that doesn't

happen to Kelvin all that often. So tremendous performance. It's exactly what he needed. And to me, I kind of like the Ian Gary fight. I do like that. like he called for it i think it makes sense but obviously e and gary's fighting vcente luke ufc two 96 i think the winner of that fight versus sean brady is super interesting i know the ufc was interested in making brady versus luke to begin with and it didn't come to fruition he ends up getting gasolm lucet gets i and gary so i think the winner of that makes makes a lot of sense i'm not i don't want to push brady like to a top five guy right now but yeah one of those two guys I think makes a lot of sense.

And if Ian Gary just goes out and out strikes Vicente Lucke and wins, I would like to see how Ian Gary does. Ian has talked about, hey, you've seen me, you've seen me strike, but you haven't seen me grapple yet. And I'm one of the, he thinks he's one of the best grapplers in the world, pound for pound. So we'll test that for sure against the guy like Sean Brady. So, yeah, I like that idea. I think it makes perfect sense.

And we'll see if that's what comes. down the pipe. Maybe you do Brady versus Gary main eventing in Atlantic City, if that is actually what's going to happen. Bob Arusa, go ahead. Hi, Mike. I just want to ask you about the situation, the lightweight division. You see, what do you prefer? Because if Charles Rivera fights Islam and then Justin doesn't fight and wait to fight, then you have a best case in it.

is that Arman fights end of the year against Islam, if Islam fights three times a year. And the interview yesterday with Ariel, when Mike Schandler said that he intends to call out Islam after he wins, that makes pretty messy. What I would prefer is that Islam fights just. and then Charles and Armand fights for the next contender so that it's not to be a long line and the waiting and so that does, because if Armand fights Justin, then all Islam title defenses are going to be rematches.

Thank you, Mike. Yeah, it's an interesting spot he's in right now. Look, if the UFC announced right now, now that Armant-Serukian's going to fight is on Makachev for the title, I would be so excited. Look, I know I'm the Armin guy, and I was like the first on him, essentially in the media, and now he's there. And all people are like, all right.

I don't care about any of that stuff. I knew how good this guy could be, and I think a lot of other people did as well. Dude's real good. And I got to tell you, I don't know if there's any other fight that I want to see more. in the next two years than that Makachev-Seruky and rematch. I want to see it again. I have to see it. It's like one of those fights I have to see now.

It's probably number one on my list of fights I have to see. Full training camp, Armin, coming off of that win. And look, Armand's not wrong. And just think about what this year has been like at 155. We have had two title fights at 155, both. And this is just what happened. One was just a fight that was perfectly timed and needed to. And the other one, the original fight fell through.

And we got a short-notice placement. Machchevvv Volkovsky twice, who is a featherweight. So yes, they are technically lightweight title defenses. But in terms of like lightweight versus lightweight action, Arman Suruki and what he did to Bidel Daryush was the most impressive thing that happened at 155 all year. And that includes Justin Gaichi knocking out Dustin Porier. To me, like Olivera melting Darius was impressive, but he had to work for it a little bit.

I mean, this fight didn't get going. Surrogate just clobbered him. And he did it faster. He did it better than Oliver did. So this was the best win at 155 all year, like when we're talking about lightweights fighting lightweights. having said that, I don't know what's going to happen.

Look, Justin Gajie is not fighting Armour and Surricin. Like, he's not going to take that fight. Why would he? He wants the title shot. He has earned the right to wait for it. He's only going to get one more crack at it. And if he loses to anybody, he ain't going to get it. So if I'm Justin Gaghi, I have no interest in fighting arm and surrogate.

What I would like to see, and I think this is what a lot of people would like to see. Just give Gachie the friggin title shot. Just give it to him. Like I know you promised Olivero or whatever, but look, it's not Oliver's, it's, it's not Gachie's fault that Oliver got cut up. He got the opportunity to fight. Got cut. Shit happens. Let's just do something different. Give Gachy the shot and do Sarukian versus Olivera. If If Oliver beat Surukian, there's no doubt about it. There is no complaints. No one's going to be like, oh, well, he just, no, we're not going to get any of that.

It's going to be like, holy shit, he just beat Benile Darius and then beat Armand Siruqi in back to back. He deserves a title shot. He deserves it. Now, do I think that's going to happen? No, I don't think that's going to happen because this is 155. 155 is the best division in the sport. But it's also really dumb at the top of it because there is no movement. We finally have a guy who got the opportunity in a top five fight and delivers, and he's going to have to wait a year to get a fight or he's going to have to fight back.

That's fine if he fights backwards. If they do the Gamrod rematch, like, I'm cool with that. You think I'm going to complain watching that fight again? It's one of my favorite fights in the last five years. Of course I would watch that fight again. I kind of feel like that's what we might end up getting. but if I had my juthers, Gachi gets a title shot, Sirukin fights Olivera, the winner gets the winner, and we go from there.

That's what I would like to see. But I don't know, I don't think we're going to get that. I think they will go ahead with Olivera. Gachi probably shouldn't take that fight. Maybe Porei takes it. If it's at UFC 300, I mean, after seeing what Darius, what Seruki just did to Derriush. Because look at Porre right now.

Look at Porier right now. After that head kick knockout to Justin Gathe, we're like, damn, this guy's out of the picture now. Like, he's not going to get his last title shot. But if he wants one, if he wants one, he kind of has to take this fight. He goes in there and beats Armin Sorukian at UFC 300. He's in play too. Like, he could get himself a title fight. He could.

That's just how this division is. I know Chandler said he's going to call for Makachev. He's, I don't know. Who knows? It's so weird because he probably will, like, I don't know if he jumps Gaichi. That'd be, like, super dumb. But who even knows when this Connor fight's going to happen? So, I don't know.

There's a lot to think about. Zrukian's definitely going to have to fight one more time. He may even have to fight twice, depending. on how this all plays out, but it's unfortunate, and it shouldn't be that way. But I'm sure again should just have to fight Olivera, and if he wins, he gets a title fight. Like, that's how this is supposed to work, but it probably won't. But we'll see. 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 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 two ghosts in the machine.

Available now, only from Audible. Support for this show comes from Figma. Figma is the collaborative design platform where teams come together to turn ideas into the world's best digital apps, websites, and experiences. Now there's a faster way to bring those ideas to life. Introducing Figma Make, an AI-powered. prompt to code tool that helps you turn ideas into something real, fast. FigmaMeg is a different kind of vibe coding tool. With just a few prompts, turn any idea into a code-backed prototype or app that anyone can explore, iterate on, and share. And it's all connected to Figma, so you can start

from scratch or from your design file. FigmaMague is made for designers, product managers, and builders who want to move fast and explore more ideas. Figma Make, a prompt to code tool for making ideas real. Try it now at figma.com slash make. That's F-I-G-M-A.com slash M-A-K-E. We shall see. Eric, go ahead. So, yeah, so actually Gage, you should get a shot.

I'm not all there, but if Gave you have to wait, I wanted to defeat Guitteer versus Islam. That would be a fresh start. A fresh play, fresh matchup. That's all, guys. Thanks, guys. Yeah, it would be. It would be.

And the fights that we've gotten for the title at 155, the ones that were originally scheduled were, like, the timing was, like, perfect for it. The Volk fight, the timing was perfect for it. They were going to Australia. Someone's trying to call me. Mokachev needed somebody to fight. He called out Volk,

through Habib. It was a brilliant callout. It all made sense. All of it made sense. It was great. I loved it. So it made sense for that to happen. There was no logical contender at the time.

October, Oliver gets the title shot after the Daryush win. A lot of people thought he was out of play after getting just melted by Mokachev. But then he goes out and just obliterates Darius. It's like, okay. They already had Gaichi lined up to fight for the BMF title against Porier. We knew Islam was going to fight in Abu Dhabi.

It lined up real nice for Olivera. The timing was perfect. But then he didn't fight. So now we can, like, do we have to still do this? I mean, Olivera is going to be pissed, but that's just the business, man. Sometimes that's just how it works. So, but it probably will be Olivera and it stinks. I mean, look, it doesn't stink.

Like, I am interested to see how he can turn it around. But I would rather see the Gachi fight. I'd rather see Olivera fight Siru Kian. And if he beats Syruki, and then, like, you get no complaints from anybody. Like, the dude gets title shot. But it's probably not going to happen. And we're just going to have a mess at 155. And it just tracks, you know.

That's just how this division is. It's the best division in the sport, but there's very little movement. Tope, go ahead. Talk about that because something took over, like took priority, because I had an itch. I didn't know what an itch before it got scratched. And that was when Jose Young said that maybe, I know this was probably just for fun,

but if the super fight was Brock Lesnar versus Fador, and I was like, oh my God, that is, amazing and hilarious and I know there's no truth to it but I would love to have a damn they were good heavyweight championship of the world and yeah that's all Mike thank you that'd be wild that'd be wild I literally have no idea what the super fight could be I don't know I have no idea at this point maybe do like a throwbacky kind of a fight GSP Silva Fador versus Barack would be crazy all these years later. I think Brock would just kill him.

Brock would just tackle him and just sit on him. So I don't think it would be like that fun of a fight. But I don't know. I don't know what the hell it's going to be. It doesn't involve Connor. I don't know. I don't know. Maybe it involves John Jones and a boxer.

or something, I don't know. Who the fuck knows? But we shall see. Steve, go ahead. Yes. Hey, good morning, heck of morning. Just one quick question for me. Just want to get your thoughts on Figuerado's future at Bantam Wake, whether it's another big fight and the chance for him to

fight for a belt, or even then, I think he's a nice addition to the weight class for as long as he continues fighting and I just thought of a good short notice replacement for for Chikaze against Emmett how about Diego Lopez thanks boy that's that's fun that's fun I like it I love that idea he didn't fight for very long in his last fight boy that would be super fun I'm trying to think like who else it could be I'm I have no idea I mean pull up the rankings real quick that's a man that's a good one i don't even see the freaking rankings

there are no what what is the ufc didn't even have their freaking rankings oh all right i'll pull up this okay uh volks fighting for the belt or volks defending his title holloway versus em it's not bad but i don't think he's got to take that fight on like two weeks no does uh ilias fighting for the belt there's talks about yair and brian ortega headlining that Mexico City card more on that in a moment Arnold Allen is booked if Loy of is fighting Allen Cater would be interesting

but again I don't think he's taking that fight on short note especially after that injury Bryce Mitchell let me see this this division's so good is he booked is Bryce booked no he's dinged up so he probably won't do it

Billy Q would be fun maybe Edson Barboza but he's going to take that on short notice? I don't know. George Subrito. I love the Diego Lopez idea, though. That's a great call.

That's a great call. I love that idea. Do it. Do it, UFC. Do it. Because he loses nothing in that fight. I would probably pick him to beat Josh Emmett if we're being honest.

I love that idea. CV, you nailed it. You nailed it. Clay, go ahead. Hello Mike, good morning to you. You too. Yeah, I'm trying to dispute a claim that everyone is saying that Armand's win over Benny was very more impressive than Charles win over Benny.

First of all, the poor Charles was coming off a loss, and everyone was betting against him, so he was like everyone was counting out. And Benny, on the other hand, was this undefeated guy who was everyone was seeing as a next title challenger. And everyone was like saying, oh, this is going to, this is going to be the guy who was going to be the Islam. But it turns out Charles didn't like that and he just knocked him out in the first round. I know Armand's win might be a little bit more flashier, but I believe that Charles was taking that win streak from Benny was way more impressive than what what Armand did to him. What do you think? Way more impressive? Why?

Why is that way more impressive? Because it took away the winning streak. It's like basically the same thing that Gagy did to Tony. Don't you agree? I don't know. Like, I get it. Like, I'm willing to listen to an argument that all of theirs is better. But in terms of, like, stock jumps, there's, I mean, it's not even close.

It's not even close. It's Sarukian. I mean, Saruket, there was a lot of. even I was even I looked at the betting lines and was like this is too wide through even especially me being like the Surukian guy even I was like these lines are a little wide like Betty's the right bet here and nope that maybe that line wasn't even was was was not wide enough just crazy it's just nuts like he just obliterated him Like, he just knocked him dead.

You don't see Benny like almost unconscious like that. That was freaking insane. So, I mean, I get where you're coming from. To say that's way more impressive than Armand, I don't agree with that. But I'm willing to listen for the impact. Now, at the same token, Charles Oliver came out of Toronto looking like a freaking superstar. And he also headed it like that whole week. Oliver was the most popular dude on that entire car.

and that includes the Canadian fighters, which is nuts. So if we're disputing star power, and I guess star power impact, then it's Olivera, because he just looked like a freaking superstar. But Sarukin was kind of like the heel all week with the whole him and 12 dudes rolling up on Bobby Green, but then it's just amazing to see,

like, no one's even really talking about that anymore because he just goes out and dusts, B'Neill Darius in 64 seconds. Olivera shut the door on the Darius title hopes, but Sarukian locked it forever. Because Darius still had a chance to fight for the belt. After all that, he still had a chance to fight for the belt because he took this fight.

And now he'll never fight for a title because of this loss. And it's just crazy to think about the swings of the sport. It's wild. But yeah, I'm willing to listen to the Oliver having a little more impact because he's a bigger star. But I don't agree that it was way more impressive than what Sarukia did. Because nobody saw that coming. I picked Oliver to knock out Binaer Darius.

I thought that was in play and very, very possible. I don't think him doing it in the first round didn't surprise me. But Sarukin knocking out Darius in 64 seconds, even I didn't see that coming. So it was just like a damn. This guy is the real deal. So we'll see. Now, does Oliver deserve the title shot? After just getting dusted by Mokachev?

And then getting one win? I don't know. That's why I think him and Siru Kyi should just fight each other. But we'll see what happens. I do think Oliver will end up getting the title shot, but it would not be my choice. That's for sure. Win one more you beat Sirukin?

It is undeniable. You get Gachi or Mokachev, and that's fine with me. Cole, go ahead. Hi, Mike. I just got a question for you. When do you think the pressure from the fans in media for Dustin Porey to fight one of these up-and-coming lightweights is going to, like, finally mount enough to where he's going to have to fight one?

Like, Daryush having to fight Sarukin and Gamrodot is like, Like, I don't know. Like, he's doing all the dirty work in that 155 division for those guys. Like, I feel like if Dustin wasn't such a beloved, like such an easy to like guy, there would be a lot more fans saying he's, like, squatting, not willing to fight these guys. I don't know. I mean, I know he just kind of just fought, but, man, like, is he just going to be a top five lightweight for fucking ever until he retires? Like, Benny is fighting all these guys. That's all I got.

Well, there's a reason for that because Dustin is a star and Benny isn't. Dustin has done all the right things. Benny hasn't. When the microphone's on Dustin, he says things that are interesting. Benny doesn't. And that's the difference. That's the difference. So when, and look, have we said that Dustin's been squatting?

Of course we have. We've been talking about Dustin and all these guys squatting at the top for a year and a half now. All of our ranking shows, that's all we talk about, is the lightweight squatters. But you know what? It's also the best division of the sport, and it's the most loaded division in the sport in terms of potential star power. There's a ton of stars at 155, including the biggest star in the history of the sport in Connor McGregor, who is essentially a lightweight, but may fight at 170. Chandler's a star, Porre is a star, Makachev is becoming a star,

Olivera is a star, like there is just a ton of stars at 155. And Porre, to his credit, has learned prize fighting. As much as he hates Colby Covington, he's a prize fighter. The dude wants exciting fights that's going to make him money.

The risk reward has to be there. Him fighting Benile Darius, he didn't. gain, I don't think he gained a whole lot from that. Like he'd get, he gets something from that. But Poria could just beat anybody and be in the same position. Like, he could be Gachi again or Chandler again. And it's the same impact as it would have beating a Benile Darry but he'd probably make more money fighting any of the other guys and be in a much better position. And that is why it is so important that when you have a microphone in front of you,

that you do the thing, that you say interesting things. When you come out after beating Matush Gamrod and you say, I will fight 10 more times when the fucking title is about to be defend, or the vacant title is about to be awarded to one of two guys, three fights after yours,

is just one of the worst post-fight interviews in the history of the sport. And now, because of that, he had to fight Charles, Olivera. Instead of saying like, hey, I've won eight in a row, give me the title shot. And I know Darius isn't a big trash talker, and no one's saying that he has to go out there and talk trash. He doesn't have to like shit on Mokachev. Mokachev's not good at fighting. I hate you, Islam, let's fight. No, what we're just saying is do what you should be doing. Hey, Islam,

you said you want to defend your title against me. If you win, be a man of your word. let's fight. That's all he had to say. And instead it was like, no, I don't care. I'll fight 10 more guys. And it just immediately was like, oh, it was the birth of do the thing. It was the birth of it. It was the birth of it. It's what's put Belal Muhammad in this position because he's made just ill-timed callouts. And Brandon Allen is learning. You see what Brennan's doing? Brennan's on a nice win streak right now. He ain't calling for the belt anymore. He was calling for the Strickland rematch for a little while and it was getting a little weird. But I Strickland's the champion. You think he's calling? He's not calling for the belt now. He's saying, give me someone ranked above me. I want a

main event. Give me that. Like he's being smart about it. It is important to do something interesting with the microphone. Now Brennan Allen gets a big fight next. It is smart. He's not going to say, well, I've got win 10 in a row to get a title shot. No. You got to set yourself up. You've got to be interesting. You've got to create headlines. And then Benile didn't do himself any favors during fight week when he said, oh, I gained nothing from beating Arm and Sarukin, which is so false, which was maybe the most false statement of the week. You would have been a win away from the title. You would have been in a number one contender fight if you beat Armin Sarukin. And now you're not fighting for the bell. So to say you gain nothing from being a win.

meeting Arm and Sarucan was just bad. It was just bad. And now Sarukin, is it a good spot? And he made good callouts. Give me Gaichi, give me Islam. Let's go. Is Gaichi going to wait a year to fight for the belt? He's got to fight somebody.

He should fight me. And all that just kind of hurt Darry. And Dustin can sit around and wait. Dustin can go fight Paul Felder at UFC 300. People can be like, holy shit, Dustin Pori is fighting Paul Felder at UFC 300. But he could fight Sarukin too. I bet Saruki can get some more excited than Benil did

because he's got buzz. Benil never really got any buzz. You got to have it all. You got to be able to check off all the boxes in some way. Any, go ahead. That's what I have a place right now. Sorry about that. that what you got so before I actually ask you my question I just wanted to address

the comparisons between Oliverus win or Darius and Sarukhans win over Dharijush if you just look at those fights um you know from a technical perspective like from as in who performed better I think of course Sarukin's knockout was way more It was way more technical and it was way more, how do you say, you know, it was just learned. It just felt very educated. You know what I mean? I just feel like Oliver just, he just decided that he was going to run through Darius and he ran through him. But I think Sarukin sort of, he was analytical and he sort of systematically did what he had to do very quickly.

But I think when you look at the circumstances, I think Olivera beat Darius when Darius was all the rage. Darius was the favorite going into the fight against Oliver, if I'm not wrong. Was he? Maybe it switched later on, but I do remember Darius being the favorite. Everyone just thought that Darius would outgraple Olivera because they saw how he performed in the Islam fight where he was just, you know, for the most part he was on his back. And I think by beating Darius, who was on such a long win streak in the way that he did, that makes Oliver's win over Darius better than Sariqin's win over Darius.

But the way Sarkin beat Darius was impressive. The knockout was better than Olivera's knockout. But I think in terms of stakes and in terms of situations and circumstances, Oliver Aswin over Darius was more meaningful. Because he was coming out of a lopsided finish against Islam. He was like it was a bounce back fight and he asserted himself that he's levels above Darius. And I think that's why he deserves the title shot. Of course, him being a star and everything that you said about Darius not doing well on the mic.

I agree with that as well. But I have a question for you, Mike, like switching gears towards Misha Tate. Excuse me. Do you think it was more of improvements in Misha Tate's game? Or was it just Julia Avala's ringrust? Because I do remember that a lot of people were quite high on Avala. So I want you to tell me, was it Misha Tate improving or Avala just being, you know, ring rusted? Or was it a combination of both?

And one thing that AK and you, you didn't say about, you didn't mention my match on to the next one, a really interesting one. Elvin Gaston versus RDA. That's it. Tell me what so. Thank you. I think Gaslim and RDA have some kind of a relationship. So maybe that would kind of hinder it, but not really sure. The Misha thing.

And look, I'll go back to the other thing about the whole der Euse and the whose win was more impressive. Like, at the end of the day, like, it doesn't matter. It doesn't really matter. Right? Like, Oliver got a big boost from it. Sarukian's getting a big boost from it. The most impactful thing of all of this is that poor Benny is just never going to fight for the belt now.

Unless something crazy happens and he happens to be like cornering a fighter on the same card where the title is on the line and someone falls out the day before and he can make $155 the day before. Like that's the only chance he's ever fighting for the belt. So it's kind of tough. Misha, look, she just had a great performance. I was not expecting Julia to just have like no wrestling at all. No ways of scrambling, just nothing. And even when she tried, Misha just, we should just one step ahead of her.

I picked Julia because I thought Misha was going to be. And look, she fought pretty angry and she fought with the chip on her shoulder. and that was an incredible performance. Normally when that happens, though, you fight outside of yourself, you get into a scrap, and I kind of took a lot away from the Lauren Murphy fight where I thought like,

eh, you know, Misha could just tackle her and do well, but she might just stand there and try to trade with Julian and have a fun fight. That didn't happen. And at the beginning of the second round, Julia came out and she cracked Misha a bunch. Like you see Misha's eyes. And then Misha was like, no, I'm not doing this.

What are we doing here? And then she took her down. And she just clobbered her. It was a great performance. It was a great performance. It was a fight Julian absolutely had to take. I do think there is a future in this division for Julie Obula. I think she's got a very interesting story.

She's super fun as a fighter. And I think she'll grow from this one. Was there ring rust? Sure, there was at some, you know, to some degree. But I don't think it was, like, I'm not taking anything away from Misha's performance. Like she, fight IQ was A plus, and she finished Julia Obula. It's not easy to do. I don't think anybody's ever finished Julia Avila before.

So that was incredibly impressive. So good for her. Let's give her the Holly Holm fight. Let's do the rematch. Let's run that shit back of one of the most. underrated fights of all time. Let's just do it again. It's perfect timing.

And they're both superstars. Misha goes out there and beats Holly after this win. She might just get herself a title fight. That could happen. We'll see. But great performance from her. She delivered in spades. Support for this show comes from Nordstrom.

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19 plus Ontario only. Please play responsibly. Concerned by your gambling or that if someone close to you, call 186653310 or visitcomexonterio.com. Eddie, go ahead. Eddie. Eddie might bounce back out Eddie and bounce back in. Yeah, pop out and then re-request. they usually fixes the wheel of doom that you're getting.

As well, you go ahead. Good morning, good morning. How are you doing? Yeah, so two questions. I want to add to your combo about the lightweight division. I actually don't know why fans are really trying to suddenly say Justin Gagee doesn't deserve a tile shot.

He has absolutely done everything the fans wanted him to do and he was required to do on his end, which was fight. won the newer gen lightweight in Rafael Fiziev, delivered a masterclass of performance in that fight, and even Eschar won the best endings to a fight I've ever seen this year. His fight again, Dustin Porry, was amazing. He made a great comeback from that, you know. Sure, I guess in some ways, you know, I can see the argument.

Well, you know, Dustin was fighting what Michael Chandler, you know, who's not the best win even for contend, like Dustin. At the end of the end of the win, and especially if it's in the top five, you know, and you beat someone who was at the peak of the Korean, you know, did not lose to any lightweight fighter minus the title, the title holders. And I think you've earned your fair shot of that.

I think Charles Oliver should fight Islam. We need to get that rivalry over and done with, because, you know, we don't know who might win that fight, but I have Islam fully bet on winning that. You know, I think Amman Taruken could fight Dustin. Poirier or he could sit out you know he doesn't really have to do anything you know I'm sure

the UFC will figure out something it's just unfortunate that Charles couldn't have fought in October another thing I just want to briefly ask is Jared Canaaner do you see him likely find Braddon Allen since Brendan Allen have moved up

into the top ten that's all I have have a great day maybe but i mean it all depends he's canada they're going to be back in for april or may i don't know dude tore his name's he's got an mcel tear so he could be out for a while it's not it's not a quick recovery so yeah i don't know i think brendan probably fight somebody else in the meantime uh i love the mar i pick the marv vittoria fight i think that's that's a great one I'm cool with that. That could headline an apex card or, you know, if they go international,

if they do a card in like Italy or something. Like throw a Marvin in the main event spot, it's not a bad place to be. So, yeah, we'll see what happens with Brennan. I'm not really sure. But, yeah, and you're right about Gaichi. Dude fought back, fought the hard fight, fought, fought Raphael Fiziv, beat him. And then he knocked out Dussuporier at the head kick. Like, damn good.

That's what you need. That's what you want to see from somebody who's trying to get back in the title contention, winning two fights. You know, a lot of people questioned whether or not Oliver should get this title shot. But again, in October for that Abu Dhabi card, the timing was perfect. They had booked Gagey in a BMF title fight with Porier. Oliver got the big win over Benile. There's nobody else.

They weren't going to do the Volcanowski fight because they wanted to do Volcanowski versus Deporia in January. All there was like the guy. He just happened to be like he had it all. Coming off a good win was the most available high-rank guy. And then the fight fell off. So now, like, things have changed since then. Gachi got that big win.

A lot has happened since. Now we got Sarukin in there. Like, a lot has changed. A lot has changed. But again, I do feel like Oliver will get the shot. Gachi is not going to fight Arm and Sarukin. And if I was managing Justin Gachi, I'd say the same thing. I'd be like, no, don't fight them.

What are you doing? You have a title fight. You're going to fight the winner here. So just, you know, I know you have to sit out for a year. Because let's say, Mockachev Oliver happens in March. I mean, who knows? Like, would anyone complain about a Islam-Makachev, Justin Gaichi, main event for International Fight Week? I don't think anybody would complain about that.

Machchev wants to fight three times this year. So, Mokachev fights on that Saudi, if they do Mokachev-Oliv-A on that Saudi Arabia card, and then I expect Mokachev to win. Would he bounce back to headline international fight week against Justin Gachi? It's a damn good main event right there. I'd be fired up for that one. So, and then maybe you do like, if that's what happens, maybe you do Saruki and Oliver on that card.

I don't know. Eddie, do we have you now? Yes. Go ahead, Eddie. Hello. I have you, Eddie. Go ahead. You got me?

Hello? I got you. Go ahead. Shit. Hello. Yeah. It's not working. It's on your end, Eddie.

Not mine. I had you. Uh, Jarrell, go ahead. you're not getting through either wait a minute I got you go ahead good morning

long time listening the first time called a big fan of yours the whole MMA fighting team first and foremost thanks man I have one thought I wanted your take on

you think that the result of Bobby Green and Jalen Turner shows just how hard it is to become a true superstar in MMA and almost shows how much Jorge Mazzvedal's run was kind of like lightning in the bottle Mazvedal had the run

with the Till knockout in London, the three-piece in the soda. The ask her need, I really sent him off and basically resulted in him getting called out by Nate, the BMF title, the rock, Trump, two title shots, and eventually, you know, the big Kobe fight. Bobby Green was kind of hot and looked like he had everything going in his favor going into this past weekend, but ultimately couldn't get it done where it mattered the most, which is in the actual fight. And, you know, there's other examples like Connor's run in the run, Sean O'Malley is on now. I kind of don't really think of those the same way because those guys, I believe those guys to be truly elite fighters and personalities that would have made them stars regardless. But they also had good fortune while on their respective runs.

I kind of look at somebody like Patty, who will be another example of somebody who seemingly had everything in their favor, but not truly being able to capitalize where it mattered the most. And I'm sure there's other people who have gotten like really close. But yeah, I just want your thoughts on kind of like the whole. star making in the UFC. Appreciate it, Mike. Thanks, man. Yeah, it's a great question. Because, yeah, you have to, everything has to, like, hit at once. And sure, the promotion can, like, there's guys who are on the contender series that you

just knew when they came, like, Peyton Talbot, perfect example. The way Peyton Talbot fights, you just knew he was going to get signed no matter what. Because they could do something with him. He's got a little bit of flash to him. He's green as hell. And I think matchmaking for him is going to be really interesting because they have to like, they cannot push him too quickly. They have to really slow play him.

And he's got to get a little more charisma as well. I thought he had a lot more on the contender series. And then he wins his UFC debut. And it's just like, oh, that wasn't a great post-fighter. interview so you got to kind of have it all mazadol that mazadal run was just unbelievable because everyone loved like everyone respected mazadol they respected him dude had a personality fought tough fights just did it all but could never really get over that hump and people rooted for him to get over that hump because of what he had given to the sport and then he knocks out

Darren Till at a vicious knockout. Has that moment with Leon after the fact, the three piece in his soda, like everything that came from that, and the snowball just got bigger and bigger and started rolling downhill faster and faster. Then he gets a foil. Got himself a foil in Ben Ascred.

And that fight ended the way that it did. And Mazdal just became a bona fide star in that moment. And then he got to head by an MSG against Nate and delivered. That was probably the best performance, Mazadol has ever had.

Like, I know people look at Masadol and think of the flying knee and all that and the record breaking knockout and all that stuff. And that's great. And it was a huge moment. But his performance against Nate, like, he beat the hell out of Nate Diaz in that fight. He beat his ass. I was, I said a cage side for that fight. He beat up Nate.

Now, had it, if it wasn't in New York, they did it anywhere else. And it didn't get stopped. Could Nate have done Nate things and turned things around? Yeah, maybe. But, I mean, this was all Mazadol, the entire fight. And Nate didn't really show much at all in that one. So it was just a great performance from Mazadol. And then he got his title shot.

And even in the title shot, like, he gained a ton in that title shot. Why? Because he took it on super short notice. He cut a whole bunch of weight. And people just said, like, well, Usman didn't want to strike. with him. He just foot stomped him and tackled him the whole fight. And Usen was the quote-unquote boring fighter after that. And then we get the rematch. And Jesus Christ, man, the knockout that Kamar Usen delivered on DeHawarie Mazadol. It was just like, all right, that's it. It's over.

Like, this is the guy. Like, it's like the run, the lightning in a bottle is gone. Like, it's gone. So, yeah, it's just, you just got to catch it. Now, had Bobby Green, and this was one of those things, right, had Bobby Green beat Jalen Turner, if he went out and knocked out Jalen Turner, then he's got a foil. He's got Armin Sarukin, and you bet your ass the UFC would have booked that fight. Even if the, even if the exact same thing happened in the main event, Sarukin obliterates Benil Darayush in 64 seconds. If Bobby Green went in there and knocked out Jalen Turner,

you bet your ass the UFC would have made that fight. They would have made Bobby Green versus Armand Sarukin. They would have built that story. He would have had his foil because Suruque would have just talked a bunch of shit. Bobby would have talked right back. He would have had his foil. And if he goes out there beats Armin, he's getting a title shot. So, like, he could have got, like, the road was there.

It could have happened. But Jaylen's a tough fight. And was I concerned about him possibly getting K-Oed in the first round? Of course I was. That's why I said in all the shows, like, he's going to have to weather a pretty bad storm. And he just couldn't, because Jalen hits hard, and he weighs

he's just a gigantic lightweight. So, yeah, I think Bobby could still be, I think Bobby could still be like one of the tier-level stars. I think he'd be like a third-tier star. He's a guy you can bring on the road and headline fight night cards and people will buy tickets to watch him. Is he going to go fight for the belt? No. But it doesn't matter. Bobby's over.

People like them. But if you get to saw Bobby like getting a number, like getting a shot to maybe fight for the belt out of nowhere with all he's given to the sport, like I think people would have loved that. So yeah, it is very hard. And that's why I equate. like I always say like MMA is like because it's so new, it's, I compare it to like the 80s, like late, mid to late 80s, early to mid 90s of what the WWF, WW was during the quote unquote WWF run,

where it's, hey, we're not going to pay a bunch of money, but we're going to give you the opportunity to get over. And if you can get over with the people and get over with the fans, we will notice and then we will push you and that's how it is. So when people say like, oh, stop comparing MMA to pro wrestling, no, this is another example as to why they are entrenched. The UFC provides you an opportunity. They give you the opportunity.

Now, will we like to see the fighters make more money? Of course we would. Especially after seeing what the UFC is making financially. They're making so much money they could be paying more. But again, the fighters could also. form an association to say we ain't fighting until you raise that number, but they've chosen not to do that, and that's okay. The lawsuit could change things as well if it all goes into the former fighter's favors, but that's something we have to watch out for as well. But like I said,

I always can, right now, the UFC gives you opportunity. If you get over with the people, good things happen. Look at Charles Olivera. Look at Max Holloway. Look at Sean O'Malley. Look at Connor McGregor, John Jones, et cetera. You get over with the people and the people talk about you. The UFC will see that and they will push you. And I think they were starting to see you with Bobby. I actually thought the matchmaking with Dan Hooker was absolutely perfect. It was perfect.

It was perfect. Because Dan Hooker was coming off a great win, but a win he took a lot of damage. shit. And it could have set Bobby up nicely. But that's what happens. You got a lightning in a bottle is very hard to find. Mazadol got it. Bobby was close. Couldn't quite get there. And it's tough. It's tough to be a star in MMA. It really is. Like even as popular as Charles Oliver is, like he's not a superstar. He's not a tier one guy. He's probably a tier two guy. Like at best, maybe even like a tier three star, which is still really good.

It's still a really good place to be. Because like Sean O'Malley is a tier two star on the cusp of being a tier one. You know what I'm saying? But as long as you're on a tier, I mean, you're doing quite well for yourself. All right, we'll try Eddie one. We'll give any one last chance. Eddie, do we have you? Nope, we don't.

Yeah, I hear you. Yep, we got you. All right. Finally, my question. I don't know if the answer to yet, but. with kicka out of who do you think is going to replace him or if anybody at all my my my opinion is hopefully it's someone that got an easy first round finish like david lopez in the Brazil fight on the card or um maybe someone else i mean i heard some rumors that people were wanted to get

aljo in there i don't know how much that's true but you know i don't know if we have any predictions on who might um replace him that's all that's all i'm to ask Um, it's not, I don't think it'll be Aljo. I don't think it will be Aljo. Sorry, I'm doing multiple things at once here. No, I don't think it's going to be Aljo. Some of the CV was on earlier and he mentioned, uh, I don't know if it was CV or not. Maybe it was.

But he mentioned Diego Lopez and I was like, ooh, that's really good. That, that actually might, that actually might be the correct answer. I don't know if he wants to turn around that quickly, but I love the idea. I love the idea. I'll tell you right now, Diego Lopez will be the undisputed rookie of the year in M.MA if he takes that fight and wins.

Like, without question, he's the undisputed rookie of the year. He might be the rookie of the year right now, even though he lost, he has a loss, but that was to Mavzar of Loya of less of a week's Dota. So he's proven he can get in there, and perform on short notice. Mavzar of Loyaev is a problem.

And he went in there and gave him a tough-ass fight. So I would probably pick, I would probably pick Dea Lopez to beat Josh Emmett right now. So that would be super interesting. I think that's like the best case scenario all around because Lopez is getting over. He's looked real good. And he's a guy, he's a guy who could become a stunt.

are like he could he's he's doing the right things he's got the hair he's got the gimmick he's got it all so that'd be pretty damn cool but we're talking less than two weeks so lopez would be a good one could like a guy like nate landware do it not a bad idea but lopez would be perfect that would be absolutely perfect chef's kiss that's the one i don't think it'll be al joe j smack go ahead. Hey, Mike. Yeah, so I was really impressed with Jill and, uh, Jill and uh, Gill and Turner's performance, uh, this weekend. And I just wanted to know, I didn't hear your match up for him. And I'm just curious, like, do you have, do you guys have ranked in the top 10 now? Turner, uh, no, he won't be in our top 10. He won't be a mind. Really? Okay,

because he's my top. He won't be done. After finishing Bobby Green so easily, though, in the first round, it's hard not to, you know, and also, He kind of got ripped off against Gamrot, too. Don't you think? I thought Gamrod won that fight, but I could see why people say that. So I haven't re-ranked yet. I have Turner at, I will have him ranked. I'm not ranking above like Ben Wasson.

I have Ben-Wassantini at 13 right now. He is not going to be ranked above Ben-Wassantity. I can tell you that right now. So he'll probably, I had Bobby Green at 14. So and Aubin-Mersier is going to be off. the ranking since he's retired bsd will move up uh yeah he'll be like bottom end of the top 15 for me okay because i didn't uh i didn't hear what you guys came up for him for his next what about what about uh benoit saint dinee for him next i think it's a perfect matchup actually

thanks man um thanks brother i think benoit santii versus dan hookers the fight to make if BSD's going to wait that long? I don't know. I just feel like the UFC has to look at this from the perspective of what we're just talking about. Like, who could be a star between Benoit Sontigny and Jailin-Tur? And the answer unequivocally is Benoit Sontini. It's unequivocally him because of the growth of the sport in France.

Like Jailen Turner is never going to get a reaction. anywhere that Benoit Santinie gets in Paris. Never. It's never going to happen. And Turner's great fighter. He's got a tremendous upside. But I don't know. I mean, look if they made it, I'd be like, holy shit.

Like, that's a great fight. But is the UFC willing to, and I think most would pick BSD to win that fight? I would. But it wouldn't shock me if Turner beat them. You could do that. Who did I? AK picked the rematch of Matt Favola.

I picked, I don't even remember who I freaking picked. Oh, Hanata Moikano. I picked Anato Moikano. That's what I picked. Look, Jalen is, lightweight is just a beast of a division. It's a beast of a division. Morkano hasn't fought this year, which kind of stinks because he had so much momentum after the MSG card last year.

it just hasn't been able to get in there. Moecona called him out. I think that's it. I think that's the fight. Look, beating Bobby Green is great. Doing it on short notice is great. But he was also a pretty significant favorite to do it.

And him starching Bobby Green in the first round was not a shocking development. It just wasn't. So I felt there's two options. It's Grant Dawson or it's Hanata Moikano. And I think Moikano is the better option. So I think that's what he's going to get. I don't think he's going to gain a ton from this, from this win. And that's one of the unfortunate things about the storyline of the fight is that it was more about the referee and not about Jalen.

And that's not Jalen's fault. But it was just good for him to get back. Let's throw him in there with the vet like Moikano. Let's see what he could do. Last time he was in there with a tough grizzled veteran, he lost. he got outdogged by Dan Hooker. Let's see what Moikato can do. I think that's the fight to make.

But 155's Best Division of Sport can't go wrong. But, yeah. Four Corner Sports, you are last. Go ahead. Mike, so I'm pretty sure you guys already talked about this a lot. But with Giga being out, so Lorone Murphy on Twitter, try to put his name in,

instead of that hat, how do you, if Lorone was to get to fight, how do you feel like that fight would stylistically go between Lorone versus Josh Emmett? I think that Lorone was being, like, actually sincere when he said that he wanted to fight multiple times throughout the year, instead of once per year, like how he has in the past. I think that, my opinion, Lorone could be like a top 10, maybe like a top five featherweight if he continues to actually fight just wanted to get your perspective to see if that fight was to happen how do you see that fight playing out and what's the likelihood that um the ufc books um micha t versus holly home too for ufc 300 uh if they don't then something's terribly wrong so i would say i

don't know i mean look did they do it for ufc 300 i think that's the perfect place for it could they do it somewhere else could they do a fight night on the road have that be the main event sure do it out but you do it in New Mexico you could do it in Vegas you can do it anywhere two fighters who are stars that would do well as long as you give it like a really good supporting cast I think that would do pretty well so I think three out of its perfect spot for it um Lorone Murphy so look I'm surprised I didn't get more questions about the the leaked board from the Dana White interview with the Nelk Boys. And one of the fights that was on the board was Dan Egey versus Lerone Murphy,

I believe it's for the February 10th card. There is smoke to that fight. I'm told February 10th might be not their date that maybe they want to move it back a little bit, a couple weeks, perhaps, maybe the end of the month. Maybe do it on the 24th, but that would be Mexico City, so that wouldn't really make all that sense. So, yeah, look, Lerone's on a bad option either. Lerone's on a bad option.

But if he's getting Dan Ege, why not just wait for Dan Ege? You know what I mean? I don't know. Be interesting, but I think the, honestly, I love the Diego Lopez idea. I love that idea. because Lopez is over.

And like if he goes in short notice and just like is somewhat competitive with Josh Emmett and loses, like no one's going to give a shit. No one's going to care. I don't know if they have, I don't know if it's the same with Lerone. I don't know if it's like that.

Because Loro, I mean, we've been waiting for Lerone to get a big fight. Danny is a pretty big fight. Do you risk it on the Emmett fight? Because if he loses, I don't know if, like, I think it hurts him more than it would hurt to Diego Lopez. because I think Lopez is over more with people.

So we'll see. I mean, if they make it, I'd be super interested in it. I'd probably pick Lerone to win. But I would, I kind of like the Lopez idea better. I kind of like that idea better. But we'll see what it ends up coming up from this. They may not find anybody. They may not find anybody.

Maybe someone takes in, they do it, 55 or they do it at 50. I don't know. Maybe Elvis Brenner. Like Elvis Brenner's not a bad idea. I'd watch that. That's a good one. Maybe do Elvis Brenner 155 versus Josh, I meant.

Like, that'd be a good one. If Josh wants to fight a lightweight, can do something like that. He had a quick one in his last one. I don't know. I don't know. I'm not sure what we do here. Maybe Jalen Turner wants to bounce right back.

and do it at $155. But that's not going to happen. Obviously, I'm just throwing things out at this point. So, yeah, Murphy's a good one. Land Aware would be fun. People like him. And he would gain a whole bunch from beating of Josh Emmett after losing to Danny Gay.

But I think Diego Lopez is the best option. I think Diego Lopez is the best option. Someone at DM me early. earlier asking about the Mexico City card because we confirmed on Saturday the co-main event, at least as of right now, between Brandon Moreno and Amir al-Bazi for that targeted Mexico City card on February 24th. There were talks and there were talks about Yeya Rodriguez versus Brian Ortega as being the main event and that is being discussed as well that fight is not done yet

I'm trying to like figure out the way and it could happen it could happen to Mexico City there's a chance there's talks about possibly doing it the week before in Anaheim perhaps but not

that fight's long and the short of it from what I've told as of right now it's not done but it seems like that's the matchup we're going to get it's just a matter of whether it happens in Mexico City and you do Moreno is the main event or do you do it in Anaheim with the featherweight title on the line in the main event I don't know

I don't know that's what that's at right now I think that's what I think we're going to get that fight in February it's just a matter of where it happens and when it happens. I kind of want to see it in Mexico City. I think it's a better spot. But I can understand Anaheim as well. You got the title fight on there.

Ortega's from California, so he would get a big pop. But honestly, a year would get a big pop there as well. So I don't know. So we'll see what happens there. But by the way, it's going to be fun this year. This is going to be a fun year for one.

145. I think we're going to get some movements. We're going to see some of these up-encumbers get their opportunities, try to make the most of them. And it should be, uh, 2024 should be really fun for 145. But all right, we're done. I got to go. Uh, thank you all very much. I appreciate you all. Uh, we'll be back on Thursday. We'll do it again, 10 a.m. Eastern. And we'll get you ready for UFC Shang Vegas, which is coming up this Saturday headline by. Song Yudong and Chris Gutierrez. So thank you all very much. Appreciate you back on Thursday.

Have a great rest of your Tuesday. And have a heck of a morning, everybody. Into the Vox Media Podcast Network. Okay, only 10 more presents to wrap. You're almost at the finish line. But first, there, the last one. Enjoy a Coca-Cola for a pause that refreshes. Getting ready for a game means being ready for anything.

Like packing a spare stick. I like to be prepared. That's why I remember 988, Canada's suicide crisis helpline. It's good to know, just in case. Anyone can call or text for free confidential support from a train responder anytime. 988 suicide crisis helpline is funded by the government in Canada.