MMA Fighting - HOAM | Where Will Michael Page Fight Next After Announcing Free Agency?

Episode Date: July 18, 2023

Michael "Venom" Page surprised a lot of people on Monday when he announced he was a free agent on The MMA Hour after his previous deal with Bellator had run out. While Bellator has the option to match outside offers, the options for Page are likely aplenty. Will "MVP" return to Bellator, head to the UFC, or a different promotion? On an all-new edition of Heck of a Morning, MMA Fighting's Mike Heck reacts to Page's announcement, where he believes the UFC could find themselves on the list of suitors, and more. Additionally, listener topics include Mayra Bueno Silva's submission win over Holly Holm in the main event of UFC Vegas 77, who Islam Makhachev could fight at UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi, UFC London, the ticket prices to attend a UFC event, rumors about the UFC 291 fight between Paulo Costa and Ikram Aliskerov, 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: 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 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?

The Downloaded 2. Ghosts in the Machine. Available now, only from Audible. Does it ever feel like you're a marketing professional just... Speaking into the void. But with LinkedIn ads, you can know you're reaching. the right decision makers, a network of 130 million of them, in fact. You can even target buyers by job title, industry, company, seniority, skills, and did I say job title? See how you can avoid the void and reach the right buyers with LinkedIn ads.

Spend $250 on your first campaign and get a free $250 credit for the next one. Get started at LinkedIn.com slash campaign. Terms and conditions apply. The Vox Media Podcast Network. In 2020, you could hear the show in its entirety shortly thereafter on the MMA fighting podcast. Network. Hello, everybody. I am Mike Heck. Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend, having a great start to the week. We are smack dab in the middle of the summer.

The UFC was just at the apex this past Saturday. The women's band-in-weight division has themselves a new contender in Myra Blasilo Silva after defeating Holly Holmes, submitting her in the second round. Big win for her. It's going to be interesting to see what the UFC does moving forward at 135 pounds to crowd a new champion. I would assume they're going to go with Giuliana Pena versus Raquel Pennington. Meyer Bueno Silva gets the winner.

Only thing that really makes sense right now. I saw some people on onto the next one suggest maybe if Meyer Boinosovoine wants to get another fight in before fighting for the belt, maybe throw in there with the Rini Aldana on that September 16th card. If I'm her, I'm probably not doing that. but it is an option nonetheless. But we could talk about that. We could talk about some other things.

And I have a feeling, excuse me, that anything that I would talk about in a monologue is going to get brought up here in the program. So let's just go right to you guys and see what you have to say on this Tuesday morning. Four Corner Sports. Hello.

Hey, how you doing, Mike? I wanted to talk about a couple things. First, I'll start with Michael Vennepage. I was actually shocked to hear. that he announced on the Emmy Hour that he's a free agent. I just wonder, you know, to you, who do you think?

I mean, I saw Nolan King ended up putting it out there the whole thing of the Pitbull Brothers, A.J. McKee and MVP on USC.com. I don't know if that's accurate or not. So I saw a bunch of people retweeting that.

But do you think the USC is going to make a push for Michael Vennel page? And if so, I mean, I have a feeling that somebody of that marquee, they're probably going to do something what he did to Michael, like how they did with Michael Chandler, put him on a big card. I would predict maybe November.

And if that happens, I actually was looking at a topology. I could actually see a matchup of MVP versus the winner of Miguel Baezza versus Jake Matthews as kind of like an entry into the UFC. And if he doesn't get into the UFC, what do you think he signs with? And then I wanted to talk about Mara Bonozova. Holly home fight. I was actually very astonished that how quickly the fight ended. Sorry about that.

That's Sanyl PD in the background. But the reason why I felt like, you know, Bonasova shouldn't get a title fight is just because she's ranked 10. And how do you think a matchup? I know my pick was Dutu for Otno, but I didn't think a matchup between her and GDR sounds like, like, you know, as like a one contender fight. All right, that's all for me. Thanks.

I mean, if they went that route, I mean, I wouldn't hate it, but I feel like if you go out there and you beat Holly Holm and you do it convincingly and you finish Holly Holm, whether she's 41 years of age or not, you should be in a position where your next fight is for the belt. 100%. You do it in a main event. She's ranked number three now. Let Payne and Pennington do the thing.

and then MBS can get the winner. Now, if you want to give her one more fight, if you want to do the Aldana fight, if she wants to take it, sure. If you want to do GDR and the comeback fight, sure. If you're going to make her fight again, it's got to be one of those two.

Nobody else makes sense. Nobody else makes sense. But if I'm Maira Boeh-a-Selva, I ain't fighting anybody. The backup for the title fight, and then I'm getting the winner. She doesn't need to do anything else right now. This division needs movement,

and they need things to happen right away. If Amira Blanco Silva, if the UFC has a date in mind and they present it to Payne and Pennington and one of them says no, MBS gets the next call and she's stepping in there and getting that shot

because she has earned it. Maybe it all depends on what she wants to do, honestly. The MVP thing, I didn't see that one coming, but, and I know Bellator hates when I take shots at them, But how do you not know that one of the biggest stars in your promotion is coming up for free agency? How do you not know that?

MVP said on the MAA are like, he didn't really know, nobody really knew the date just kind of passed before anyone realized. Like, how do you let that happen? How do you let that happen? I don't understand. I don't understand. what this has led to is a whole bunch of shenanigans on social media, especially on Twitter, saw a bunch of it. You go on the UFC's roster page, both Pitbull Brothers are there, MVP's there, Fadour's there,

I know Fader's retired, but he's still on there, AJ McKee was on there, and from what I understand, those names have been on that page for quite some. some time. Some of them have competed on UFC Fight Pass in the past, whether it's in a grappling event or something that was aired on Fight Pass

that puts them there. And a lot of people are speculating, well, maybe the UFC just bought Bellator. I don't know for sure. I have reached out to people who would be in the know. Not that they would like tell me anyways, but from what I understand, it's just a weird

coincidence and nothing more. And as far as where MVP could go, I think the UFC will talk to him. I think they will present him with an offer. But at this point in his career, I'm sure he's looking to secure the bag. And that's more important than anything else. And I don't think the UFC is going to match what Bellator would probably be able to offer him, what a one would probably offer him, what a PFL would offer him. BKFC's probably going to chuck a whole big bag at him.

So I think MVP is going to have a lot of options. I don't think the UFC... I mean, maybe he's just like, you know what? I just want to test myself. Dollars be damned. I don't really care about the money. I just want to secure my legacy. I want to see what it's like to fight in the UFC.

And if that's what he wants to do, then the UFC could be a player. But honestly, when it comes to... If it's all about the money and securing the biggest bag possible, I feel like the UFC's probably like fourth or fifth on the list. that's that's just what my gut is telling me but if he were to fight in the ufc i mean you mentioned one matchup i i think he's going to fight a rank guy he gets in there he's probably fighting a rank dude i don't think there's a tune-up fight like michael chanler fought dan hooker his first

fight i would assume mvp would get similar treatment whether it's a jdm or winner, loser of Vicente Lucay versus RDA, like somebody like that. I don't think he's fighting a Jake Matthews type if they sign him. But if I had a bet $20 and where MVP ends up, not putting it on the UFC. Although it would be interesting. I'd like to see it.

I just don't think they're going to come correct for him. Cole, hello. Good morning, Mike. Just one question for you. Well, I got something to say first. About four years ago, I went and saw the baddest man on the planet. baddest man on the planet Francis and Ghanu against Junior Dost Santos in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

And my ticket costs about $75. I was in the middle of the lower bowl, great seats. And right at pre-sale, I went and bought two tickets to UFC Nashville, Sanhagen, Nirmagamatov, main event. For two tickets, about the same spot, spent about just under $700. I mean, guys, just ridiculous. I can't wait to go there and actually ask people, like, what the hell these people are paying? Because, like, I can't imagine everybody around me paid the same, like, as me, but I guess they did.

So I guess my question is, like, what do you make of just prices nowadays? I get inflation, but my God, it can't be that bad. And what do you make of, like, the UK fans being priced out of this weekend's event and such like that? Shit's crazy, man. I mean, we've been saying, I haven't preaching this for years and whether you go to events or you stay home and watch events. It is not shaped to be a mixed martial arts fan. It just isn't. And the UFC is on fire right now.

They are printing money left and right. And I know a lot of people kind of crap on the Apex shows. And you saw sort of the memes of the guy holding the UFC ESPN Plus poster at the Apex. dude paid probably $2,000 to go sit at the apex for that card. The card ended up probably exceeding expectations because the last four fights were pretty good. But $2,000 to watch that card on paper, yikes. That's a lot.

But here's the thing, man. People are paying it. People are paying it. I went on Sunday while we were doing Otno and looked at the website for the UFC London tickets, and they're pretty much all gone. There's maybe like 100 seats left on Sunday. So while they're pricing out a lot of the hardcore fans,

people are still paying it. And they're dropping multi-million dollar gates left and right no matter where they go. Even the Jacksonville card. Like the Jacksonville card wasn't spectacular on paper. It was a pretty cool main event, but the rest of the card for an ABC card was not great. and they didn't sell that place out, but they probably had 11,000 people there.

People are spending the money. They're spending the money. Pro wrestling is the same. AW tickets are expensive. WW tickets are expensive. Not as expensive as the UFC tickets, but they're expensive and people are paying them. So that's not going to change.

I expect the prices to go up even more. And it's just an unfortunate thing for fans who just want to go see a UFC event. You have to save money. You have to open a savings account with giant interest rates to go to a UFC card. It's wild, man. It's wild.

And I feel for all the fans. I feel for all the fans right now that are paying hand over fist to go attend one card. Mikey, hello. What's up, man? Just a long two weeks. anyways um yeah uh as for myra beryl sylva you could just thematically you can't have her fight anyone

else after beating holly home like holly home is basically the she's the key to a title shot you know i mean she's the gatekeeper of that division she's one of the gatekeepers of that division as an ex champ i mean i would mind if she took hypothetically she probably should fight on myra brano so she'd probably beat another quote-unquote high-rank contender but when you beat holly home that's just one of those like you can't go from holly home to like car rosa all due respect you know what i mean um she secured herself a spot in the top 10 and as i've always preached if as long as you're in that sweet spot of the top 10 maybe especially the top 5 you're you position yourself into a title shot you don't have to be the perfect number one contender where you've beaten where you've cleaned out

half the division to get a title shot just position yourself correctly and i think that's the thing that fans keep like they keep doing this thing where it's like you know I see these I see fans on Twitter always matchmake stuff and they think it's like this good idea and I'm sitting there going like and this is how you kill divisions because you go with like

oh let's have Shaft let's have Shaft cat fight Shemaya right away I'm like why have them fight now when you could wait until they're both in title contention and one of them is a champ and they fight for the title you know what I mean like I get it there's certain I feel some MNAM fans don't really know what their timing is.

They want everybody to fight everybody at this right at the beginning. It's like, dude, no, that's how you kill off divisions. And then you guys sit here and wonder why paperviews don't have good title fights because you had all the prospects killing each other off before a title fight happens, you know? And as for Michael Vennon-Page, given his age, he's kind of in this weird spot where it's like he's going to demand to be in a top spot right away. PFL would be enticing, but the funny thing is he's not going to be guaranteed that one million dollar person unless he wins the whole thing, but they would pay him a lot. He could go to one champ, he could go to one, but they're becoming more of like a kickboxing organization.

Risen, eh. He could go back to Bellator. Maybe he's just one of those things where he's like, you know, leveraging offers to get Bellator. Because I believe Bellator has matching rights to him. So he could, I could see him do him about that. But again, if we're talking competition-wise, I mean, the UFC is where he's got to go. I mean, especially with the way

Walter Waite is shaping out where it's like a lot of the top contenders and champions are getting old and you can't really give a title shot to some, you know, you're not going to give Jack Medellate a title shot right now. So I could see Venom Page being given the contract where it's like, hey man,

you win your next two, you win your first two fights. Like Michael Chandler, he's going to get a title shot. And listen, who knows? He might even be a different fighter in the UFC than he is in Belmont. tour, you know, and yes, I would like to see him fight Leon Edwards, you know, so that'll be off with me today, guys. Be kind as always. Talk to you later. We'll see. We'll see how he fits into this puzzle. I mean, again, it all comes down to what he wants. Is it about legacy, is about getting the biggest fights possible against the toughest competition? If that's the

case, I think the UFC is the place for him. If it's about cashing in and, you know, you You know, a lot of what he said yesterday, I want to see what my value is. I want to see what my value is. And maybe it is a negotiating tactic to go back to Bellator or go elsewhere. I just don't think the EFC is going to touch what Bellator had been paying him. I just don't see it happening. He's 36. If it's about money, he's mentioned going back to the BKFC world in that conversation with Ariel.

I think they'll probably come with the biggest offer for him. It's just a matter if that's what he wants to do. One would actually be a pretty good place for him. You know, you could have kickboxing matches. You get at MMA fights. There's lots of things you could do there. PFL you can go after the Millie. But maybe there's some value from the UFC as well

because they do go to London two to three times a year now. And if you can put Michael Page on the cards, he's actually going to be there on Saturday. Maybe they'll test it out and see what kind of reaction he gets if they put him on the screen. And if I'm the UFC, I would absolutely put him on television. Oh, there's Michael Page, MMA fighter, high-ranked welterweight.

He's a free agent, not under locking key with anybody, and just see what kind of reaction. If the arena goes bananas for them and you could hear it on TV, maybe that's something they explore a little bit more. But yeah. And with Meyer Buena Silva, look, if Holly Holman had won that fight, Raquel Pennington was screwed. She was out of the title fight.

They were going to do Payne Holm. That's what they were doing. But guess what? Meyer Buena Silva, not only won that fight, but in hindsight, she did the UFC, and I think she did fans a big favor. I think they did a big... Look, Holly's a big name.

She's got some big wins. She's a former champion. It means something to still beat her, even though she's 41. But she was getting a title fight if she had won. Even if she won a decision, she was getting a title fight. So MBS, it's up to her.

If she wants to take another fight, that's on her. But if I'm her, I'm just, waiting to see how this all plays out and fight the winner at Bannamweight. Because the UFC needs to get this division going. They need a crown of new champion and they have to try to make this division interesting. Or at least do something. There's like 12 women's Bannam Wights right now. 13 with like Melissa Dixon and Arena Alexiva.

There's just not a lot here. We have to build this thing up. So we got a crown of champion. We have to defend this title a couple of times. let's get the wheels moving a little bit. It's been a minute since we've heard from Mr. Michael Morgan. Michael, what's up, buddy? You tell me, it's all about you.

Mike, what the heck? What's going on? How you doing, man? Living the dream, buddy. That's good to see. That's tremendous to be inspired by. As you know, I've seen how the sausage has been made, and there was a couple of things which you said earlier,

which I just really wanted to touch upon. And that was, you were talking about the tickets, with regards or in regards to London tickets for UFC. You and I know how the sausage is made, and I'm not sure if you've seen this in action, but I have. When they actually have tickets, surplus, they comp a whole load. Not only do they comp them, but they literally give them away on the street.

I've actually seen this. Hundreds of tickets being give away on the streets. are where was it, I saw this now, Nottingham, because you'll know that this is very much a TB product as opposed to a or as well as a arena product. So seeing threadbare arenas is never a good look. And that is what you've experienced when you saw on Sunday the exponential filling up of the O2.

Yeah, man, it's, we'll see what happens. Like I said, I looked at, we were looking things up. I was looking at, I think it was Ticketmaster, whoever was distributing the tickets and it was almost sold out. And I don't know if they, they, like, positioned it that

way because they gave a bunch of way. And look, even in pro wrestling events, they comp. And I'm sure the UFC had radio buys and all these different things. And when you do that, sometimes you barter. I mean, look, I've worked in radio a long time. Sometimes you barter with tickets. You give them away on the radio.

and in turn you run commercials for the events, try to get people to buy tickets or at least watch on television. So I'm sure there's a bit of that going on. I remember when the UFC came to Albany, New York. And when I was working in Western Massachusetts, Albany was a 35 minute drive. So that's how the UFC did it. They bartered. They did interview trades. They did all sorts of different things to try to get people in terms.

the door. And that's just how the business works. But again, the ticket prices can be pretty ridiculous, but people are paying them. And the one time it's really faltered from what I understand. And look, there's other examples of this. But 283 in Brazil, that crowd was dead. They were dead. Why? Because the boisterous, loud, crazy hardcore fans priced out. Priced out. It's just a bunch of high roller fans who are like, ooh, I'm at a UFC event. And they reacted as such.

But the thing about London is whether you price out people or not, that crowd's going to be electric. At least that's what I think. No matter what car the UFC brings, They're going to come and they're going to be ready to go and they're going to sing and they're going to dance and they're going to have a damn good time. And they're going to have a couple of vevies before they go in there, probably a few more while they're in there and like $17 a pop. And they're going to be feeling good and they're going to be singing songs. And when Molly McCann comes out, they're going to go absolutely insane.

And then when Tommy Aspenall comes out, they're going to blow the freaking roof off the building. So again, people are paying them, paying the prices. I remember when as soon as the Boston tickets went on sale. I had so many of my friends, family members, reach out, we're like, Jesus Christ, like $300 to sit in the balcony to go to UFC card. I'm like, yeah, man, welcome to 2023. But I'm sure that Boston card is, I'll have to look it up later, but I would be stunned if it's not just about sold out because it's been almost four years

since they've had an event at the Garden. and there are friggin' fight fans in Boston. That is for damn sure. So I assume that place will sell out by the time we get to August 19th. Support for this show comes from Chase. If you're a fan of women's sports, you're always looking for ways to get closer to the action.

And your Chase card can get you exactly that. With a Chase card, you can experience more. That means access to presales, preferred seating, and more savings. For more information about how to step into a world of more, with Chase Experiences, 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. Support for this show comes from Volkswagen. As the U.S. gets ready to host soccer's biggest moment

on a worldwide stage, Volkswagen is helping people discover new turfs and new ways to play the beautiful game right here in the U.S. From deaf and power wheelchair soccer to beach and futsal, Volkswagen is actively supporting all the communities and teams within the U.S. soccer ecosystem. They're supporting talent from across the U.S. soccer extended national teams and are focused on helping to give these less widely known forms of soccer a platform moving forward. From the pitch to the sand and everything in between, welcome to our turf.

Henderson, hello. You too. stuff i don't believe the ufc has signed him yet that the other the other names that are they haven't signed yeah that i don't think i think that's totally like just random BS but as far as his options i i always thought of him kind of as like a lesser version of wonder boy right like he's not as good as wonder boy he kind of has like karate style it's interesting it's fun he gets cool knockouts every once in a while. So he could do the UFC thing,

but I even think Wonderboy would still beat him right now. So what's even the point of that? I think he has more options at one, like you said, he could do all sorts of weird stuff. You know they'd throw lots of money in his way and get him to do like some sort of big appearances. But here's what I want to put out there as a possibility, right? How about Showtime Petis in the PFL pay-per-view

that's coming up because Pettis has said he just did a boxing fight. He actually won somehow. But he's going to be coming back to PFL just for paper views from now on. And I think that would be a really cool fight. They could probably do it at 170. I think that would probably work for both of them. And it could be a really good fight.

One of the thing I want to mention, too, is just the UFC, I think, has figured out as far as its ticket prices that, for the people that are going to pay, they can charge crazy numbers. So, like, they can charge crazy amounts for the pay-per-views. They can charge bars a lot to show the pay-per-views. They can charge people to show up to the arena and apex and all that. But they also know that, like, 75% of their audience, I would say, is just pirating it or sharing it or not paying or whatever, right? So it's kind of a weird business model because if the only people who are, you,

saw the UFC where the people actually paid properly, they'd have such a small audience. But around the world, people are just sharing these videos. And that's what's actually growing the UFC is all these pirated stuff that they claim to hate. So I just think that's a weird model. But all right, one of your thoughts on that and Showtime Peders MVP. You could do that there or you could do it in gay bread boxing.

That's another option for MVP because they are just paying out the wazoo to put these these fight cards together with bigger-named MMA fighters boxing each other. I mean, look at the payouts they had from that Milwaukee card. So that could be an option as well. It's definitely something to look at. But again, it's all what MbP wants. Is this about securing a bag,

or is this about testing yourself against the best fighters in the world? And if it's about the latter, I think the UFC is the place to go. And I think the timing is actually pretty good right now. Could MVP get himself a welterweight title fire right now? Yeah, he could fight Yaroslav Amosov, but that's an awful fight for him. And I think he probably knows that. And the juice just probably doesn't seem worth the squeeze to him at that point.

Now, if it is about money, I think, like I said, I think Bellator is going to come better. I think BGFC is probably going to come the most correct. I think one, PFL, I think all of them are going to pay more for MVP services than the UFC will. But I think fans would like to see MVP get tested out there and just see how it goes. Like they took a chance on Michael Chandler. I'm sure he made decent money, but I'm sure it's just not, it was more of an opportunity than, hey, we're going to give you a million dollars to fight. I'm sure Chandler's making a lot of money now

because he's gone out there and had fun fights and crazy finishes and performances. So he's earned that right to make more money. They gave him an opportunity. He came through in a big way for them. He's a company guy. But I think they might be a little hesitant with MVP because MVP's a guy that kind of speaks his mind

when it comes to promotions. Has he dumped on Bellator many times in the past? Yes, he has. have him and Scott Coker publicly gone back and forth more so on the MVP side yes and I think when looking at potential options and where MVP could end up going I think the UFC is going to take that into account do we want this guy going on the MMA hour and shitting on us is it worth it because MVP ain't got to make or break the UFC by any stretch so it's going to be interesting to see what happens my get my guess is he's going to

stay with Bellator. If I had to like take a stab at it, it's Bellator or BKFC. But I, who the hell knows? I mean, I can't, I'm stunned. I haven't gotten asked about one specific fight in fighter just yet. Speaking of contracts and what they want and what they feel they're worth and all of that, maybe we'll get there soon. If not, I'll talk about it and tell you what I've learned about said situation. Drew, hello. Hey, how you doing, man? Obviously, last time, Fight Night was in London. You know, he had Aspinall, Meatball, Molly. But this time around, pretty notorious Brit, not on the card.

Paddy the Batty. What do you think about everything going on with him, the weight issues, where he's going to fight next, and, you know, who he's going to fight next? I mean, he's saying the right things. I don't know. One of the things I've learned about Patty and we're starting to see him kind of be more of himself, like less, I mean, he's still the, the patty, the baddy character, and he knows what to do to rile people up and get emotions flowing.

But he's also being a little bit more honest with how things played out. Now, is he going to sit there and say Jared Gordon beat him? No. But is he going to say that he's down in the dumps and the performance and all of that and saw what people had to say and it kind of irked him a little bit? Never really heard that. I haven't, since he signed with the UFC, I haven't really heard that first. from Patty.

He's starting to see some of the negatives and say, like, look, I'm not going to eat 8,000 calories anymore and all that. So we'll see how it all goes. He's in an interesting spot right now. That's for sure. Who he's going to fight? I have no idea. No idea.

Do they want to just give him not a layup, but do they want to give him a step back? and just get him going, maybe. But I kind of feel like the ball is rolling towards a Matt for Vola fight. And it's a fight that Patty can win. And it's a fight that gets him into the top 15 if he does win. So if he fights this year,

I think that's the way they're going to go. And I think that fight makes a lot of sense. I think that fight makes a lot of sense. Let's go to Satan's patron. Okay. What's up? Are you there? You're muted. Hey, guys are going. Hey, this is.

What's up, man? This is Corey out here in Denver. I was, uh, I was going to ask you about the women's featherweight division, but I can tell you, Don, for this hot tag. So tell us what you know about Paulo Costa, man. Well, I mean, what about the women's featherweight division? We'll do both. Uh, what's your take on it? What should they do? Because I know, I feel like it's where, I guess, well, I mean, it's worse than men's flyweight was about, two or three years ago. But I feel like I don't want them to get rid of it

because obviously the more opportunities, the better. But what can they do to try and build this thing up? I know there's more people out there. They just got to go find them. Well, they need somebody to like carry that division. And for a little while, they had, I mean, just look what they had. They had, I mean, GDR won the belt and one of the worst fights of all time.

I was there. Yikes. Then she was no longer the champion. Chris Cyborg won the belt, and things were interesting because Chris was there. And then Amanda just blew the doors off of her. And she was the two-division champ. But the division really never moved. Like, she had title defenses against the Felicia Spencer's of the world and the Megan Anderson's of the world.

And she just ran through all of them. And none of it was really surprised to anybody. I think you got to get Kayla Harrison in. I think she is like the one that gets this thing cooking, but I don't think they're going to like pay her what she was making at PFL. So again, it's what she's looking for. I just don't know if you have enough talent. You don't even have enough to fill 135 right now.

The 135 pound rankings for the UFC, let me just look at them since they've been updated. But heading into Saturday, there was like 12 actual bantam weights, and then the rest were. feather weights. Look at a look at her right. Norma Dumont is 12. She's a featherweight.

Says she can make bannam weight, but she's a featherweight. 13 is Julia Avula. I don't know when she's coming back. She just had a kid. Josiani Nunes is mostly a featherweight. Chelsea Chandler is definitely a featherweight. And they're ranked at bannam weight.

So you have not just featherweight to fill. You have bannam weight to fill. And we tried with the ultimate fighter, right? We did a whole ultimate fighter season to try to build this division. And what happened? Half the women they signed just went back to 135.

So I don't know what they're going to do. And I don't know if like, look, I like Norma Dumont. She wins fights. She's very solid. But there's just not a lot there. You can do her in Nune, Josiani Nunes, maybe. But then you have to build this division, but you still have to build 135.

So I don't know what they're going to do. Not confident that they're going to. a crown a new champion and keep this division alive. Will they just kind of keep it as a thing? If they book Bannamweight fights and then someone falls through last minute, they just do it at 45, like they did with some other fights. Sure, they could do that. The Polakosa thing.

So the internet went a buzz multiple times yesterday. One was because of this whole, oh my God, there's Bellator fighters on the UFC roster page. Did the UFC buy Bellator? The other thing was a tweet went out. out and let me just pull it up because we obviously were looking into this yesterday. A tweet came out. Judo Better 995 said my inside source has told me that Costa versus Iqram is not going to happen

and UFC are looking to book DeLizze versus Alaskaroff. Nothing official, but info comes from Icrom's camp. So I'm sure it's true. Here's what I've been told. I have been told, I'm not saying that Paul Costa is out of the fight or anything. thing because as you know the second this fight was announced i have been very vocal about this until i see paul cost his ass not his ass but his being in salt lake city doing media and doing all the things that a fighter would do to prepare for a pay-per-view fight i don't believe this fight's happening

if paul cost it wasn't going to fight robert whittaker why in god's name would he fight icromalus caroff unless he signed this new deal said he was making a lot of like a million dollars to fight all this, but from all accounts, no new deal was signed. Okay? What I will tell you, from what I know, Roman Deleidez is not fighting Ikeh or Malasgaroff on July 29th. I have been told by multiple people, there are different plans in place for Roman Deleideze as of right now, not saying that something crazy could happen and they give him a call

and a ringy ding ding ding and a whole bunch of money to step in on short notice and fight this guy. but from what I was told from multiple people confirmed it a little bit more last night Roman DeLidezai is not fighting Icaroff on July 29th there are other plans for him as of right now that are being discussed and him turning around in less than two weeks

to fight Icramalaskarov is not one of them and why would Deleese take that fight anyways why would he take that fight what does that do for him It does nothing for him. It does the UFC of favor if that's presented to him. But why would he take that fight? That makes no sense.

Brennan Allen told Brett Okamoto after UFC Jacksonville that as soon as he was done fighting, they offered him a main event fight against Roman DeLizze in September. So if they were planning on having Roman DeLizze headline against a ranked guy who's on a nice run, why would he fight at Granol-Scaroff, who has one fight in the UFC? dude's real good and he's going to climb the ranks real fast. But that fight makes no sense for Roman Deleite to take. But from what I understand, fake news on the Deleza end, know nothing about the Costa end,

but we don't know anything about Costa anyway. Someone had quote tweeted out something that Costa is not fighting because he's fighting Hamza At Chamaif and Abu Dhabi and Costa had like quote tweeted saying that this guy knows what he's talking about. we'll see but yeah so once again deletes a as of right this moment no plans for him to fight acrimalescare off next saturday and don't freaking blame him they offered him that fight if i'm roman deline's i'm like hell no hell no i want nothing to do with that let's go to shay then we'll go to dylan and then we'll go to uh mr ammanuel shay hello shea are you there

Try again. Let's go to Dylan. Dylan, do we have you? Yeah, you got me, Mike? Yes, sir. How are you? Pretty good. I just kind of wanted to hear your thoughts for a second on Jack Dela, Madelana.

Like, I know that, like, he had two weight cuts in two weeks, and so maybe that's why he, obviously, that's why he looked a little, like, you know, sloppy, maybe. but as far as like technique-wise and stuff, he made some really bad choices against Basel. I can't remember that guy's last name. And I'm not going to pretend like I knew who he was going into it. But obviously that guy was underrated. But I feel like if they run that Sean Brady fight back, Brady's going to be able to hold him down on the ground

and possibly submit him. And you can't make mistakes like that with Brady. So I was really high on him going into that Brady fight. And then maybe seeing that fight just technique-wise kind of, maybe pump the brakes a little bit, but I'm still high on him, but I don't know. I feel like I think Brady would have got takedowns, and Brady probably would have held him down the entire round

if they would have fought. But I just kind of wanted to know your thoughts on that. And also, I got into a 10 minutes late, so if somebody asked this first off, I'm sorry. Oh, no. First, first JDM question. First of all, let me reiterate what I said on Sunday. I thought JDM won that fight.

I don't think there was really any controversy. there. I know a lot of people are screaming robbery. I don't think it was a robbery. I don't think there was a robbery. I thought J.D.M. won the last two rounds. You know, you could take somebody down. Just don't listen to what Dominic Cruz says and you will be better off

when it comes to scoring fights. Because Dominic Cruz just feels like, well, if you get a take down and you lay on someone from two minutes, you automatically win the round. It's not true. It's not true. And I agree with you. J.D.M. Wasn't his best night. That's for sure. Jumping Gilly a whole

bunch. You don't want to do that. I think we've learned that over the years watching this this crazy sport of ours. But look, sometimes you just don't have it. And if you don't have it, but you can still find a way to win, that's the mark of somebody you need to keep an eye on and get excited about. People talk, I've talked to fighters for years who, there are certain days where they wake up in the morning and they're just like, I don't care who I fight. I don't care if I fight the champion, I would whip that dude's ass. And you just have that feeling. And on the flip side, you wake up and you just don't feel good. He was like, I guess I have to go fight. Not feeling really good about myself right now, but I'm going to go do it. And a lot of times

that fighter just goes through the motions and loses a fight. And sure, there are technical deficiencies that JDM is going to have to shore up. He's going to have to figure out. how to get up after getting taken down. He's got to work on his takedown defense. He's a very good offensive grappler, not a tremendous defensive grappler, as we saw. And that's why I said on the preview show before UFC 290,

I didn't think Josiah Harold was going to beat JDM, but stylistically, what this guy brings to the table, I felt like he could have given JDM a tough fight. I was still picking JDM to win, but everyone's like, oh, Josiah Horel's no chance of beating JDM. He's just going to get knocked out in the first round. I didn't think that at all. I actually thought it was going to be a pretty close fight.

I would still pick JDM because he's the bigger fighter, but that's what Josiah does so well. He just takes you down and he puts a pace on you. That is hard to, it's hard to stop. It's hard to stop. And shout out to Basley. He had a good fight. but I didn't think he won.

I think JDM won. I think the judge has got it right. If I'm the UFC, I ain't going near that Sean Brady fight. I'm JDM. If they offer it, yeah, cool. I just don't think it happens. He had the, you know,

Brady had the infection and he's recovering from all that. He's hospitalized for a while. Now he's got to kind of get back in shape, get back into a camp, and then he has to travel internationally because I would assume JDM is going to fight in six.

Sydney next. I don't think he's going to do that. So I think Neil Magny's an interesting option. I liked the Joachim Buckley option. I know Buckley's not ranked, but a matchup that I think JDM has some advantages in, Buckley could wrestle if he wanted to and make things a little more interesting for JDM. But it's a fight he could win. It's a fight that I think people would be like, oh, that's a fight.

pretty cool fight. And we're not rushing him. There's no rush for JDM right now. There's no need to fly him up the rankings and all that. So we'll see what happens. Yeah, I think it gave people some pause, but

again, sometimes you just wake up and you don't have it. But if you can come out when you don't have it, and have a bad night and still win, it's all good. It's all good. Support for this show comes from the Audible Original, The Downloaded 2, Ghosts in the Machine.

The Earth only has a few days left. Rosco Cudulian and the rest of the Phoenix Colony have to re-upload their minds into the quantum computer, but a new threat has arisen that could destroy their stored consciousness forever. Listen to Oscar winner Brendan Fraser reprised his role as Rosco Cudulian in this follow-up to the Audible original blockbuster, 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. Reporting 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

and 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. 19 plus Ontario only. Please play responsibly. Concerned by your gambling or that if someone close,

you call 186653310 or visitcomex Ontario.ca. Let's go to Kat Dunkor-Emanuel. Hello, sir. Yeah, hello. I have an idea and I wanted to run it through you. to see what you think. I was thinking that since Jamal has relinquished

his title, instead of making easy fight DDP, if DDP is not ready, why don't they actually make easy fight Yiprohasker for the title? And

whoever wins has to fight one of Blajovich or Pereira. Either way, it sets up a blockbuster match because if Yeri wins against Easy and let's say Blahovic wins, it's an Eastern European fight that they could put together. If Easy wins and Pereira wins, that's already a blockbuster match that would happen. Or even if it is the other way around and Easy wins and Blahovit wins, that's a rematch. and if it's Uri versus Pereira 2

that's like the apprentice versus the apprentice of what's his name I've forgotten his name against Yri Prohaska and that would be also a very good match what do you think about it I like the

forward thinking I will say this I would feel better about it had Robert Whitaker won that fight against Strictus 2 plus C I'd feel better about it because I don't think fans would be in a giant rush to watch Izzy and Rob fight again.

But I think right now Izzy DDP is one of the biggest fights the UFC can make right now. For good or for bad, we know how the build's going to be, it's going to be awful. But if there's one thing the UFC does well is they know how to promote a rivalry and they know how to use bad things to promote fights. And I just don't feel like the UFC's going to beer away from this at all.

I really don't. So what I think will end up happening is I don't think they're going to make the Blahovic-Perara fight a title fight. It doesn't seem like that's going to be in the direction. Winner of that, fights Yeri later on this year, to crown a new champion, and we go from there. But, yeah, with DDP and the rivalry and all the stuff going on there, the face-off at the end, there's no way the UFC's not going to do everything in their power to get those two guys in the Octagon in Sydney and September. So if there's no other options, like you'll see DDP goes for a jog and hurts himself and can't fight September 10th. Yeah, maybe that's something they look at.

But right now, DDP can fight. They're going to make that fight. 100%. Let's go to every day is a battle, perhaps. You're muted. Every day's battle, do we have you? Hello, we have you. Hey, how's the going?

Good, good, good, man. So I like the idea about Jerry and Jerry facing the winner of Pereira Blovich. But I have a suggestion rather about Izzy, since he's so busy at middleweight right now. Would it be a crime if the DDP fight takes place a bit later? And rather they put Strickland for Sydney, since I think Strickland might be more ready to go. than DDP. I don't know if you took any injuries or anything, but if they ever wanted to make a fight in Africa,

there's more incentive to do it with DDP than there is with Strickland. So rather Strickland fight in Sydney. What do you think? I have no issue with that whatsoever. And I know it's weird that Strickland would get a title fight after beating a Boosmaga made off, but look, again, the UFC knows how to build heats.

know how to use old clips and turn it into something big. Just go back to International Fight Week last year. When Izzy and Sean Strickland were at that press conference, and Strickland went after Izzy and was firing shots at him, and Izzy was kind of going through it, but it seemed like Strickland got the edge on him there. You could build that fight, and then DDP gets the winner. Honestly, I would prefer that to happen,

just because you're right. You're right. If they're going to, doing Adasanya versus DDP in Sydney just seems like a waste. When if Africa is truly in the plans and it's in the plan sooner or out and later, that's where this freaking fight should happen.

Not in Sydney. If it's just getting out of, Izzy on the card and fighting somebody in Sydney and making those people happy who bought tickets and spent all that money, just have him fight Strickland. I know that you're taking the risk that the banana peel thing happens and Strickland somehow wins.

I'm sure DDP Strickland would be a nice build. And if DDP beat Sean Strickland, which many would probably favor him to do, then you could still do the easy fight down the road. But I think they're just going to strike while the iron's hot and just try to get this DDP fight going in Sydney. But honestly, that is an Africa fight.

If they're going to go to Africa and they can go there in the next nine months to a year, that's the fight you bring there, in my opinion. But we shall see how it plays out. I like that idea better than Izzy.

Not that I'd like or dislike any of the ideas that have been presented, but I feel like that idea is more sensible and more realistic than is he fighting. year for the vacant light heavyweight title in September. Brett, hello. Hey, Mike.

With the amount of success that Bo Nichols having and the amount of people that have gotten behind him, do you think the UFC regrets not making a bigger push to try to sign Gable Steven? And do you think they'll go out of their way, try to find more of these really high-level wrestling guys that aren't quite good enough for the Olympic team or, you know, in Bo Nichols' case, they're just stuck behind? really, really high-level elite wrestlers. Just because in the past, you know, they haven't done a great job,

in my opinion. Getting all those guys, a lot of those guys go to Bellator, stuff like that. Yeah, that's it. Thank you. I don't think the UFC will regret anything at this point. I mean, they're just so far ahead. They can't make a wrong move.

Like, I don't think they're sitting there like, damn it. Should have got Gable Steven before he went to WWE. And who knows if Gable even would have taken, which would have been probably like an entry level deal. Like probably a little higher than like the contender series contracts. But I don't think you would have Gabe. I think Gable went to WWE because he still has the freedom. Like if he wants to go wrestle again, he can.

If he wants to go and compete in the college wrestling scene one more year, he could do it. If he wants to go try for the Olympics again, he can do it. And W.W. will let him do it. I don't think the UFC would give him that same longer leash, if you will.

but I don't think I don't think they regret anything I don't think they regret anything but Bo is look Bo's got something it's gonna be real interesting to see what they do next

I saw some people say like Bo Nichols should fight Jun Yon Park next no why why would you book that fight now what is the point what is the point no there is no rush

for Bo Nickel right now. Let him take gradual steps. They're not building Bo to anything in particular right now. Like with Alex Pereira, he was signed to get him to Izzy. Let's give Izzy, who has fought all these guys, something new, a storyline that fans can sink their teeth into. And they did it perfectly. Right now, there's nothing like that for Bo. I know he continues to say like, oh, I'm going to fight Hamzaa Shamaa if at Reliance Stadium. But you're so far, away from that, like there's no need to rush them. So my suggestion was

the highest I would go with Bo right now is give him Puna Soriano. Give him Puna. I think it's a good step up. Puna has no issue being the hammer. He will get in Bo's face. Bo would probably beat him or have a really good chance to do so.

But it's a different kind of a challenge and we're giving him gradual steps up. So no, John Young Park deserves to fight a rank guy right now. He deserves to fight a rank dude. Get him in there with, like I was saying on to the next one, and I think Jed agreed with me. Give Nasdaen Imovov. Give Janjana, Imovov. Do it in Paris. Imovov does not have an opponent for Paris. That's a good fight. Give this dude a shot against a rank guy. And let's see what he can do. Let's go to Daniel and then we'll go to Shea and then we'll go to

Billy and then we're going to get the hell out of here. Daniel, hello. Hey Mike, I'm a morning to you. You know what I mean? I'll keep it short and sweet here. Just want to get your opinions on Terrence McKinney. Super exciting fighter, you know, but now he's just had a couple of losses here. I think three and one here in his last four. Just curious is just what you think the next steps for him are, you know, if you think he'll still be in the UFC in a year or so.

Like I said, just super fun and exciting to watch, but just seems like, you know, he's pretty first round of the line here. Just curious on your opinions. Thanks, Mike. Yeah, it's been kind of weird with Terrence McKinney, right? Because we've been saying this about him for a while that, you know, if you can get Terrence out of the first round, then you have a really good chance of winning. But this is like a different version of Terrence McKinney

where the Terrence McKinney who fought like Drew Dober, that dude is like an animal. He just went in there and tried to kill you in the first round. This guy who fought Ismail Bonfim, who fought Nazim Sattikoff on Saturday. Not saying that that animal instinct is not in there, but he's trying to kind of cage it up a little bit, be a little more patient.

And he looked pretty good and decent in that first round, and then things change. I will say this, though, and I'm not making excuses for Terrence. I don't, like once that fight got to the second round and think Terrence is going to win. and you can feel how you want to feel about him. Like it doesn't seem like there's any gray area with Terrence McKinney.

You either really like this dude and you appreciate his story and you want to see this guy succeed or you think he's kind of an asshole on social media and you just want to see him lose fights. Either way, he ain't wrong about the fence grabs. He is not wrong. Nazim Sadikoff, and let me just preface this by saying, I've been saying this for years because Jed and I have been screaming from the rooftops that every fighter, if given the opportunity, should just cheat their ass off. Should just grab the fence at every point because it's not cheating if it's never called.

And I don't blame the Zem Sadaikoff for taking a little edge because no one's going to stop him from doing it. But Terence isn't wrong. The referee, after multiple warnings, should have been like, all right, dude. Like, you've grabbed the fence like four times, and I believe there's a fence grab or two in the first round two. Like, stand them up, at least. At least be like, no, no, no, no.

We're standing you guys back up. And you can't deny that the fence grab did not help Satikov get better positioning in order to finish that fight. So, having said that, I don't think McKinney would have won that fight. once it got to round two. But, yeah, very, very strange where we've gone with him.

Because record break, seven second knockout against Maffervola, gets the win over for Zayam, steps up on short notice fights Drew Dober in one of the craziest three-minute and 17-second fights you'll ever see. Gets knocked out, taps Eric Gonzalez in two minutes, and then gets highlight reeled by Ishmael Bonfim, and then gets tapped by Nazim Sadikoff.

It's just been a very weird road. I'm not ready to give up on Terrence McKinney yet, but I'll tell you what. Someone mentioned earlier who should Patty fight, and if Patty wants a fight that is not against Matt Rivola, that has some buzz that's a step back from a Jared Gordon, I think that Terrence McKinney fight makes perfect sense for Patty. because I would pick Patty,

like right now I'd pick Patty to win that fight. There aren't a lot of guys. I mean, I just feel that the durability of Patty, his ability to take a shot and not go down and not get taken out of a fight,

I feel like that's just going to cause a lot of problems. I think Terrence will fight very emotional in that fight, and I think Patty can weather a storm and probably win. So I feel like a fight, between Patty and Terrence McKinney is more realistic now than ever. But I don't know. It's a, it's been a strange run for Mr. T. Rex.

All right, Shay, do we have you? Yes, yes, yes. Good morning, good morning. I was wondering your thoughts on this UFC 294 coming up. We only have one official fight. And with Islam, the amount of opponents available doesn't seem very high level i mean charles said he can't fight vogue coming off a successful elbow surgery you just announced today i mean you're hoping that gaichi and poor eight beat the shit

out of each other in a couple weeks i mean who is the true contender that islam can fight i mean he hasn't fought since february like you're thinking this has to be his card like what are your thoughts like what do you they got to build this card i mean tickets come out friday so i'm wondering what you think they're going to give islam and is it going to be I mean, you got people like Chandler, but he's coming off a loss. You got people like Darryush, she's coming off a loss. It doesn't seem like there's a solid opponent that makes sense. And I don't know what they're going to do.

Yeah, this is a conundrum. But this is Volcanowski's world right now. We are living in Volk's world. And if Volk says, hey, it apparently the elbow surgery isn't major. it's just you know something he's just cleaning something up so when he said

at the post fight press conference like if they want like if that opportunity is there and I want to take it I could I believe him I believe him it's just a matter of

does you want to do it because that is a back pocket fight we don't not we do not need to see Bolkanovsky fight Islam again not right now I want to see those two guys fight again but let's let these dudes like defend their titles

a little bit more. Volk, incredible performance against Yayaeer. I want to see Volk fight Ilya so bad. And I just want to see how that fight works. Like, Volk has guys to fight and he's got guys coming up that are going to make for really interesting matchups at this point of his featherway run. So he's got guys to fight. Islam right this second doesn't have guys to fight,

but he still has guys to fight. He's got Oliva, who's coming off to win over Darayush, just Oliver's doesn't seem like he's going to be ready for October. We don't know for sure. This could be Oliverer just negotiating perhaps, maybe get a couple extra bucks to get him in there. But I think if Volk wants the fight, he's the number one option. And you mentioned a name to me that I've been screaming for a while now.

Do not count Michael Chandler out of this race. In fact, if Volk ain't going, I think Chandler's going to get the shot. I think he's going to get the shot. Why? Because he's a company guy, because he's over like Rover. He says yes. And who the fuck knows what's going on with Connor McGregor right now?

If you're Michael Chandler, you've got to get in there. Like, you've got to get in there and fight. And if they give you a title shot and Connor, I mean, who's going to say no to that? So I feel like Chandler is a very viable option here. And if it ain't Volk, or if it's Volk Olivera Chandler, that's how I feel this is all going to, how this all plays out. If Volk calls the UFC right now and says, look, I'll be able to fight in October. That's the fight. If he can't go, I think they'll take one more stab at Olivera.

Bolivar is steadfast on, no, can't do October. Chandler's getting the phone call. And Chandler ain't going to say no to that fight. So I think those are your three options. and I kind of feel like Chandler's a really good chance to get in this fight. But we'll see. We shall see. All right, we'll get Zach in here and then I really have to go.

What's up, Zach? Can you hear me? Yep. Just real quick, I know you said no more, but the last question reminded me of something I saw this here. What are your thoughts on the mayor of Volcanazi's hometown? His thoughts on MMA. I'll get your thoughts on that. What do you say?

He basically is just taking the stance that they were taken back in the 90s and it's betrayal, the human existence and a whole bunch of old takes back in they tried to get rid of them. Honestly, it's the first I've heard about that. It's the first I've heard about it. So interesting, considering how much the sport has boomed in that part of the world. but yeah so I don't think it's going to stop the UFC at all all right we got Lado we'll go Lado and then I got to go

Lado hello you're muted unmute wouldn't it make the most sense to just wait for the outcome for this upcoming event and then that would be the next title shot for 155 well in a perfect world yes but those two are going to

Dustin Porey and Justin Gaiti are going to beat the shit out of each other they are going to kill each other in that fight, regardless of how long it takes. So to ask those two guys who are preparing for an absolute war, we're going to beat the hell out of each other, to turn around and fight for a belt less than two months later, or a little over two months later, you are asking a lot.

Now, if Dustin Porier wins that fight, it's going to be a tough hang to get him back in there because one, it's just not ideal because this, honestly, Porre gets a title shot and loses, I mean, that's probably his last chance at this point because eventually this division is going to have to move forward with some of these other contenders. Plus, on top of that, Porre is a dad and his daughter's in school, and he has talked many times about, I would prefer to fight in the summertime. So I don't have to pull my daughter out of school and all that.

talked about that a lot after the Michael Chandler fight. Not ideal to fight in November. Got an offer he really couldn't refuse. He had to pull his daughter out of school to go to Florida for different parts of the training camp. And when he was asked about fighting Darius in February, a lot of people are just like, no, not really interested in that. What he was trying to say, at least in my opinion, was I'm not interested in fighting

Darius in February. because then I'm going to have to pull my daughter out of school again. I'm not fighting until July. All of that. And it seemed to kind of work out. I just don't think it happens. I don't think either of those guys turn around that fast. And Islam is fighting on this card.

Like he's going to fight in Abu Dhabi. Otherwise, like, what are we doing here? What's going to headline if it's not him? It's got to be him. And then he can fight all of it. then he could, or the thing that stinks for Olivera is as soon as, if Olivera doesn't take that fight in October, the winner of the BMF title fight is going to skip over him. There's just, it's just, that, that's what's going to happen.

So the winner of the BMF title fight will fight the winner of Islam and whoever Islam fights. Now, if Justin Gachie goes out, throws one punch and knocks Dustin Porre, out. Could he turn around and fight for the belt? Sure. But both these guys are kind of on the home stretch of their careers. And they both probably are on their last chance to be a world champion. I don't think they're going to rush themselves into it. I don't. So I don't like, sure, it makes it. If Abu Dhabi is in December, different story. But it's October. You can't move it now. It's already set.

Tickets going around on sale this week. So I think it's going to be Islam Chandler. That's going to be my guess, unless Volk wants to make something crazy happen. I think we'll get Chimaif on that card. Maybe against Jared Kananir. We got Tim Elia Mahamahev. Honestly, I don't know how the rest of this card is going to fill out. Usually they put two title fights on these.

cards but like what other do you do it's kind of weird but do you do pennington paina in abudabi just to give him a second title fight i don't know what other title fight could you do the only other one i thought of was pantosia and you could do amir al-bazi because it makes sense to have a mere fight for the belt in abu-dabi i think that's amir's best chance of getting a title shot next but Pantosia and Moreno beat the shit out of each other. It's tough ass to get them back. Honestly, Leon and Colby aren't, like, that fight makes no sense in Abu Dhabi. I don't know what they're going to do.

I don't know what they're going to do. Trying to look at how this could play out. Let's look at the chair. Pantosia just fought. Sterling's fighting in August. Volk just fought. He's in play, but they're not going to put the featherweight title on the line. Mokachev's going to fight somebody.

Leon Colby doesn't make sense in Abu Dhabi. Adasani is probably going to fight in September. Jamal Hill is not the champion. Jan and Pereira are about to fight in July. To one of those guys turn around and fight Yeri in Abu Dhabi, perhaps? And John Jones is fighting Steepay in November. And Alexa Gras is fighting Valencia Chivchenko in September. And Zhang Wei is fighting Amanda Lamosh in Boston in August.

So there's not a lot of options here. It's going to be real interesting to see what this card looks like. but hopefully we'll find out soon and around later. All right, I have to go. Four on Stiper, I apologize. Hop in Thursday, I'll make sure you cut the line. A couple of repeats are waiting, but I got to go. We're actually getting ready to record.

I'm stepping in to do some tough hang. You know what, Four On Stiper. If you can make this real quick, I'll get you in. Here, Mike? Yo. Oh, I think you said cut the line for Thursday, but I'll take it. Thank you. Thank you for having me.

I saw the tears, and I couldn't say no. Oh, did I lose you? Yeah, somebody called me. Sorry about that. I'll try to make this quick. Appreciate it. So Nathaniel Wood, I don't know if anybody asked about him, but what do you think about his fight

and how do you see that playing out with him and Andre Feely this weekend? That's all, Mike. It's good fight. It's good fight, and I think it's a winnable fight for Nathaniel Wood and one that can make him look good and make him another. very interesting

another interesting dude at 145 another potential another potential opponent for Volk in the future perhaps but yeah good fight feely brings it every time

Nathania Wood has looked great at 145 should be a banger it's one of the best fights on the card that's for sure okay I gotta go yeah so I'm going to be doing tough hang with GC.

So look for that after the Ultimate Fighter episode drops. Yes, I will have to watch the Ultimate Fighter. And we'll see if Connomer Greger can avoid the historic sweep. O and 7 against Team Chandler. Hunter Azure is fighting

New England's own Rico DeShullo in the final fights of the quarterfinals. and hopefully this is a good episode because if I have to waste time watching The Ultimate Fighter every episode I've watched the season has been fucking atrocious

so hopefully we turn the corner here hopefully we get some good vibes and I just don't feel like I wasted an hour of my life watching an episode of a show that is not evolved in almost 20 years so thank you all very much we'll be back on Thursday 10 a.m. Eastern We will do it again.

Until then, everybody, have a great rest of your Tuesday. And as always, have a heck of a more. 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.