MMA Fighting - HOAM | Who Has More Pressure In UFC 281 Main Event — Israel Adesanya or Alex Pereira?

Episode Date: November 8, 2022

Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira will meet in the highly anticipated main event of UFC 281 this Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New York. With the storied history between these two athletes, and with the stakes as high as can be, which fighter needs to win this bout more? On an all-new edition of Heck of a Morning, MMA Fighting's Mike Heck discusses the fascinating headliner between Adesanya and Pereira, what could happen if either guy wins, and whether or not there could be some takedowns in the bout. Additionally, listener topics include the fight between Dustin Poirier and Michael Chandler, the run of opponents Chandler has had since coming over to the UFC, Bellator 288 coming up Nov. 18, the craziness of the UFC's bantamweight division with Aljamain Sterling, Sean O'Malley, Henry Cejudo, and Marlon Vera, the MMA Fighting UFC 281 Watch Party going down on Saturday, and more. You can listen live to Heck of a Morning Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays at 10 a.m. ET on the MMA Fighting Twitter Spaces. Follow Mike Heck: @MikeHeck_JR Subscribe: http://goo.gl/dYpsgH Check out our full video catalog: http://goo.gl/u8VvLi Visit our playlists: http://goo.gl/eFhsvM Like MMAF on Facebook: http://goo.gl/uhdg7Z Follow on Twitter: http://goo.gl/nOATUI Read More: http://www.mmafighting.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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

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

Listen to Oscar winner Brendan Fraser reprised his role as Rosco Cudulian in this follow-up to the audible original blockbuster, the downloaded. It's a thought-provoking sci-fi journey where identity, memory, and morality collide. Robert J. Sawyer does it again with this much-anticipated sequel that leaves you asking, what are you willing to lose to save the ones you love? The downloaded two, Ghosts in the Machine, available now only from Audible. The Vox Media Podcast Network.

It's Tuesday, November 8th, 2022, and it is indeed a heck of a morning live on the MMA fighting Twitter spaces. You can hear the show at its entirety shortly thereafter on the MMA. Fighting Podcasting Network. Hope everyone's having a great week. How could we not? It is UFC 281 Fight Week. Ladies and gentlemen, we are four days away from the UFC's return to New York.

UFC's return to the Mecca, the world's most famous arena, Madison Square Garden. The card is very, very good. The main event is fantastic for the middleweight title between Israel, Adasania, and Alex Pereira. Cannot wait for that fight. A lot to be excited about with this card.

And one of the reasons is I will be in New York. I will be there. I will not be there all week. Jose Young's, I believe, is on his way to New York as we speak. It's going to be a crazy week. Media day going down tomorrow. I think there's like 20 fighters that are going to be at the media day. Very extended media day.

It's going to be a press conference on Wednesday as well. And then Thursday, I believe there's going to be another media day. to get you ready for 282, which is going down in December. There'll be some other fighters there as well. And then Friday we'll have all the way in fun. There'll even be, you guessed it, a press conference for the new Dana White's Power Slap Fighting League. So you get a little bit of everything. And then Saturday's fight day, I will be hopping on a plane 6 a.m. Saturday morning.

I'll spend some time in New York. And then it's happening, ladies and gentlemen. Watch party part two going down this Saturday for the main card. It'll be myself, GC, some special guests calling in as well. And we're just going to hang out and watch fights together. First one went over so well that we're just going to go ahead and do the damn thing again. So I'm excited to head back out to the Big Apple, especially since the card is out there. I won't be part of any of that process,

but be back in the MMA Hour studio, and we're going to do this damn thing again. Myself, G.C., we're going to have a ton of fun. We have a lot to talk about. So we can talk about 281. We could talk about UFC Vegas 64, Amanda Lehmush's big win, what's next for her.

We could talk fight circus if you want because that was a fun event to watch. Very, very crazy. We can talk about whatever. So let's get into this thing. It will kick things off. with Four Corner Sports. Hello, Four Corner Sports.

Good morning. I hope we're not having the same freaking issues that we've been usually having. Hang on. All right, try again, Four Quarter Sports. Let's go to Tristan. Tristan, hello.

Hello, Mike. How's everything? I hear you well. Okay, good, good, good. That's good. Yep, we're good. Okay, my question has to be in regards of three people

that are fighting on UFC 281. that's Dan Hooker, Brad Riddell, and then Otman Azatar. I just want your thoughts. I don't know if you got to see the every hour Ariel Hohani on where Dan Hooker is, where Brad Riddell is, especially those two, very interested in what they were seeing. And listen, these two have fought a murderous role. They're in the toughest division of the sport.

which is the lightweight division. What are your thoughts on where they're at in their head and how they're looking at this fight? With Dan Hooker, you know, he dropped down. He talked about the going back and forth and he talked about being very stubborn and hard-headed, but this man doesn't turn down fights and he's going to fight the toughest dudes.

So I just, if you got to see what they were talking about, what are your thoughts and what do you have to say heading into his fight against Gloria Poyas. And then also Brad Riddell, you know, he's fighting Honato Mokano, where he's at, he's fighting tough dudes. He just came off a loss from Jalen Turner. Then I think he lost to, forgot the other fighter that he lost to. I think it was Drew Dober, actually.

And, you know, where do you see him canning into these fights? You think it's like must win for them? Because I don't really think it's must wins because the amount of guy, the competition that they're facing. They're facing by tough dues. These are just killers that they're fighting, and they're commended. That's why they're fan favorites,

especially those two. And then your thoughts on Amman Azatar, can he pick up steam? Can he pick up where he left us? I think he can. I mean, if he gets a knockout against Matt Ferbola, do we have to start talking about him as one of those upcoming prospects?

Do we put him in there with the Grant Dawson that we just saw his performance? performance in USC Vegas 64 did we put him up in there with with him with Jalen Turner with

Armand Siru Kian with Matus Gammert with Demir Isma Gula Gulaqa Gulae with Guraam Kudalaza did we put him in there in those those prox and those type of prospects against these again you know because I mean remember he came up with a knockout

went over Kamowworthy at that time Kammerworthy was pretty good and he just got him out of there. So he has another performance like that where he just picks up where he left off that we have to start talking about him moving up or putting him in with those upcoming prospects that we hope that could get more shine

and get into that top 15 down the road and down the future. Also, too, you know, hopefully, I'm hoping Jose Young's does, I mean, hopefully, Alman Nazan is in the press conference. do you think we're going to get some clarity about the whole situation that happened out in Fight Island, Mike? Just want your thoughts.

Have a heck of a morning. Thanks for everything. Thanks, man. Yeah, I don't know. I think maybe there was potatoes in the bag. I don't know. But that was one of the big mysteries for sure with the Ottmane Zytar thing. I think he was supposed to fight.

And that was, oddly enough, you're supposed to fight Matt Vervola, who he's fighting on this card. So it works out. As far as he goes, I mean, I don't know. know. He's obviously solid, but his, I mean, his wins are Timo Pachlan and Kamaworthy. And neither of those wins have aged extremely well, if we're being honest. They're both first round finishes. Kamau was on a little bit of a run at the time, but I think we all kind of knew that Kamoworthy sort of over-excelled, if you will. So I don't know. I think the big problem with him is that he's just not active enough. One fight in 2019, out for a year,

fights comma worthy. Now, this is his first fight in over two years. I don't know how far he goes with the win over Maffervola. I think it's just going to be a fun scrap. Someone's getting put away in the first five minutes more than likely. And we'll see. I mean, it definitely will be a step in the right direction, but we got a lot of guys who are much more active than he is. As far as Hooker and Redelgo. I mean, I think we can all admit that neither of these guys are like title threats at this point. But Dan Hooker especially, these guys, they both have names that matter. Like, Jalen Turner beating Brad Riddell is a very big deal.

Raphael Fizziv beating Brad Radell is a pretty big deal. Fiziv went from Brad Radell to RDA. and we'll see where Jalen Turner goes when he's ready to come back. But, and then Dan Hooker is just a big name to have on the resume. Arnold Allen got a nice little shot in the arm from it. And Claudio Plias,

listen, this guy's went five in a row. This guys went five in a row. He might be the dark horse in this entire division. We just don't know it. But now we're going to get our answer. So I don't think it's a must win for either guy. I think both are kind of out of title contention,

but they both have significant names, and we'll see. Hopefully they're competitive fights. I just don't know if they're quite in that Tony Ferguson category or we kind of cringe when they fight. I don't think we're quite there just yet, but yeah, we'll see what happens.

All good fights on this card. So a lot of good ones, a lot of good storylines. Let's see if we can get four. All right, four course we have. Hey, sorry about that. I was crossing over the bridge. That's why I lost three. But I wanted to ask you, so on this card, we have Claudio Pueyes versus Dan Hooker as a fight that I'm really looking forward to

Now, I believe Claudia Poyas has, you know, exponential potential I just want to know like what's the ceiling for him? I think he could get Dan Hooker out of there by submission Another fight that I'm staring at is Dominic Reyes and Ryan Span Now, Dominic Reyes he last time he fought was against Jerry Prakashka and I think that was more than enough time for him to recover I'm glad he didn't fight at all after that fight against Yuri, you know, for him to get his head, you know, recovered and stuff like that. And he took a lot of damage from Yuri. How do you think he bounces back from his performance? You know, how long do you see this fight lasting between Aaron Blanchfield and Molly McCann?

Does Bonnie McCann have a good chance on defeating Aaron Blancho? Because that girl is strong as hell, and her wrestling is exponential. But it's a tall task for Molly McCann, in my opinion. And lastly, I know this might be one of your favorite fights. Montel Jackson for your RSA. How long does that fight last? All right, thanks, Mike. How long does Jackson RSA last?

I don't know. I feel like Montel Jackson's a guy that his biggest enemy is himself. And he fights a lot of guys that are just ridiculously tough. like he knocked down J.P. Bayes like a hundred times and still couldn't get him out of there. I would say, I'm going to say that's going to go to a decision, but if Jackson gets him out in the first half of the fight, it wouldn't surprise me. That's another guy I just need to see more of. I think he's so good. He's still a little green, but he's just so full of natural athletic ability and talent. We just haven't seen enough of him yet, which kind of is concerning. It's why he's not getting to where he wants to go. play as hooker's a good fight i think this fight stays standing it's hooker's got a chance if it gets

to the ground they start scrambling around hooker might be in some trouble so it's a big test for players he needs this one more than dan hooker does i think because again i don't think dan hooker's like a title contender or anything like that but if claudio wants to get into that mix he has to win this fight so i think there's more pressure on him to win than there is on dan hooker if that makes sense, despite the little Schneider that hookers on. And in terms of prelims, Dominic Reyes, Brian Spann is the most interesting fight for sure. We'll see how he bounces back.

Let's not forget, Dominic looked pretty good against Yuri for a while. Had him hurt. Had him mounted at one point. And then Yuri just supermanned up and brutally knocked him out. I don't think that fight gets enough credit for how good it was and how competitive it was for a while. But man, that fight was great. That was my fight of the year pick and my knockout of the year pick.

Neither of them got the first nod, but I think that fight got forgotten a lot when it came to the year-end voting. So definitely interested in that fight. We'll see how Ryan Span responds and the biggest pressure spot of his career. And then Blancheville-McCann is really good matchmaking. Like, I know a lot of people had some early issues with it when it first got booked, but I think it's great. I think this is perfect matchmaking for a couple of reasons.

One, if Blanchefield wins, she gets a name, someone with a lot of buzz right now on the resume. She beats Molly McCann. That's big. Makes her very interesting prospect, maybe even the prospect to watch at 125 pounds. I know hardcores are very high on her in Blanchefield as it is. She's still young, still a little green,

but Molly's got to test her. She's going to get right in her face. and put pressure on her. And if Molly wins, you could just keep this train rolling. And this is a test to see if Molly is not just someone who go out there and get big finishes in London, can she go out there and be a contender? Can she be a title contender? We're going to get some answers there.

So I think either way, either Blanchfield gets the rub and gets a shot up or McCann answers a lot of questions and proves that she's for real. And if Blancheville loses, it doesn't like stunt her all that much. because 125 is full of up-and-comers, and Blanchefield's super young. So she could bounce back from the loss to Molly McCann, and McCann can bounce back as well. She loses there in Blanchfield.

You just throw her on the next U.K. card. Get her a matchup she could win, and she'll be fine. So love the matchmaking there. 100%. I think Blanchefield wins a decision. But who knows? McCann's just, McCann's on fire right now.

So that's another interesting fight on this. There's so many interesting matchups on this one. just it's a loaded card let's go to Viking MMA hello Viking good how are you I'm good I just

I just want to talk about Alex Pahara and Israel Adisania just like you have said earlier about Usman if he loses what are the stakes for him when he was fighting with Leon do you think

Addisania is in the same shoes. Because I think he's trying to cover the damage on his on his image by saying he has a lot of money and would buy glory of the late name. And then this fight, and then this fight is personal. That's what he said.

And in the MMAR. So the same thing he was saying before the cannone air fight. It's both fight. It's both fighters. but he accepted the fact that he started to exchange in fifth round in the cannon air fight. And at the same time, he said fuck the, have the build in the process of, in the press conference. But this time he's going to smoke Pajara. That's what he said.

I think skill-wise he's going to win this fight 100%. But do you really think he's going to put a show for fans and still secure his step or fight? this fight is really all about F the Belt, because believe me a lot of people are talking about Pahira and Adisania since Pahira entered in the UFC. So that's that.

Thank you, Mike. Thanks, man. Yeah, I mean, it is an interesting comparison with Adasania in Ushman right now because Adasani is in an interesting spot right now. We talked about this last week. If Adasani goes out there

beats Alex Pereira, it's a clear win. There's no controversy, nothing like that. What do we do? Like, what does he do now? Because I know Uson was talking about moving up to even light heavyweight after the Leon Edwards fight and feeling like he's already sort of cleaned out this division. I think Adasania has a better case for moving up right now than Hussman had because

Usman still had Shamiyev out there. And Adasani doesn't really, I mean, there's guys. there's guys in the come up, there's André Muniz, there's DDP, but neither guy has really earned themselves a title fight just yet. And maybe part of it is just getting the right matchups. DDP is getting Darren Till, so that's good. But I just don't know, like, this could be the last fight at 185 for Adasagna. Like, it's possible.

It's something we have to keep in mind. If he goes out there and wins, I could see him moving up to 205, like taking it seriously, not just rushing up there for one fight, but just saying, you know what, I've done everything I could here. I'm bumping up. And if Pereira wins, I think, like, honestly, the best thing for this division from a business sense is Alex Pereira winning this fight.

Because then you get the rematch. It's got to be absolutely gigantic. So that's probably, like, the best thing that could happen for the UFC in the middleweight division is that Pereira wins. And then they could have the rematch, it should be gigantic. And then if Pereira wins again, it opens up this division all over again.

but at the same time, if Adasani wins and bumps up, still opens up the division a little bit. So love the fight. I'm leaning Adasania as well, but I thought Eugene Barerman on that same M.A. Hour show said it best. Pereira is like the ultimate challenge. You can't take any seconds off against this guy. Because if he hits you, you could be done.

Just one shot. And I'm interested to see what Adasani is like in the cage. Adasani will build the fight up at the press. conference in the media day and he'll say things and he'll have quips the Elsa line frozen like Elsa and all that stuff like those things will be ready to go I don't care about any of that stuff what I care about is what Adasani is going to look like locked into a cage with this guy how's he going to feel having two losses to him what's he going to do how's he going to respond these are the things I'm curious about but I do think Adisadio will win will he put will it be like the

compelling, exciting matchup. Are we going to see Glover versus Yuri? Probably not. But I think Adasania would be a little more aggressive because I think Pereira would be a little more aggressive. But Pereira also is not like, he's not just going to come in there and bulrush him. Like, Pereira is not just engaging.

He's not just going to roll in there and try to take his head off. They're both sort of counterstrikers in a lot of way. They both feed off of mistakes. So I think we could see a slower fight early, but then I think Pereira is going to realize, oh, crap, I'm down two rounds. I got to step this up a little bit. But I can't wait to see it. I cannot wait to see the fight.

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I appreciate you for taking my call again. Yeah, so let's talk about this guy, T.J. So as we was watching the fight, or I watched it back, I see a lot of people saying, oh, well, I was your only one because T.J. was hurt. T.J. was hurt. I got somebody at my job that spews this to the heavens, right? But if you think about it, he came out with a kick-heavy game plan against a wrestler.

Knowing that you have an injury, you come out with a kick-heavy game plan. If you look at the sequence where he gets taken down and his arm gets dislocated, that same sequence would have happened, barring him not having a, like if you said, he had three arms, he literally, the same thing literally would have happened. He would have got taken down. He would have got his back took. He would have got beat up for a round. The next round would have came out.

He would have got beat up again. That's how the fight would have went regardless. He's on interview saying, uh, excuse me. Yeah, he's not that dangerous. When he was hitting me, he wasn't on the ground. but he was out on the ground. Like he was knocked out. It's literally nothing that he could have done,

regardless of having three arms, four legs. Like, I just don't understand why he keeps coming out and attacking a guy that beat him fair, in my opinion, beat him fair and square. Like, yeah, just the whole idea of it being like a fluke or, you know, what people are trying to say, how they try to discredit Aljo because of the way he's became champ. And then his first one and the second one,

I just want to get your thoughts on, like I heard your thoughts, you know, right after the fight on the post-fight show. But I just want to hear, you know, weeks after and then hearing him come out on interviews and still trying to say like, oh, well, he only won because I had one arm and I really thought I was going to win. But, I mean, if you look at his game plan, he came out and he threw probably five or six kicks within the first minute and then got a kick caught and got took to the ground. That would have happened. That had nothing to do with his arms. Do you get what I'm trying to say? Yep. I do get what you're trying to say

and I still feel the same way like I heading into the fight I picked TJ to win just because I went with mathematics I went with numbers I went with different things how it's really hard to keep TJ on the ground but then if you go back and watch that fight Aljo is like three weight

classes bigger than T.J. Delishaw he's just gigantic and you don't even I never I mean they had faceoffs and stuff and all that. But when you actually see them in the cage, you realize, like, oh, my God, like this guy's so much bigger than T.J. Dillashaw. And then you realize that T.J. Dillashah's up there in age.

And I just don't feel like that fight goes any differently. Like, I think there's some different things that happen. Like, T.J. could throw that hand, that throw more punches and stuff. But I don't think, like, T.J. is getting up. Like, I don't know if he goes out and gets T-K-O'd and finish. But I think if T. DJ gets taken down that first sequence, he's spending the whole round down there.

He's not getting, like, this isn't, this isn't, this isn't, this isn't, this is a monster who's like a hundred, he's probably like 160 pounds in that fight. Way heavier, way bigger, way stronger than TJ. So, I mean, do I think Aljo goes out there, it just destroys him in two rounds? No. Do I think Sterling could have gotten him out of there? yes. Do I think he still would have won the fight? Yeah, I do. I didn't think that heading in, but after seeing these guys next to each other in the cage, I was like, oh my God, this is a different thing altogether. This is a flyweight fighting a lightweight. And that's how I looked at it.

So, I mean, who knows? I mean, nobody really knows the answers to these questions. But just to me, after seeing these guys, and normally the bigger, more athletic guy gets these wins. And then the other thing that Matt told us is that guys, T. J's eight. age, they don't come back and win the title, especially when you're under a welterweight. They just don't come back and win the belt. T.J. would have been by far the oldest under welterweight champion in UFC history if he had won that fight. Father Time always gets the nod, baby. I don't know. Maybe we'll see it again someday, but I honestly don't. It obviously made a difference, but I don't think, I don't think

Aljo would have lost that fight. I don't. I still think Aljo would have won, which is a far cry of what I was saying heading in, but even in like the first five seconds of that fight, I was just the first thing I noticed was, holy moly, Aljo is a giant compared to T.J. Delishaw, this is, this is not even fair.

It's not even fair. Let's go to Donkey Kong, the well-dressed donkey con. D.K., what's up? I just wanted to speak about Robert Whitaker. So say he does beat Polo Costa. Where do you think he ranks in the middleweight division?

Do you think he has earned the title shot next? Look, I think Robert Whitaker is the second best middleweight in the world. Plain and simple, he's the second best guy. I think much like Colby at Welterweight in a world where Israel Adasania doesn't exist, just like in a world where Kamar Usman didn't exist, Whitaker would be the champion right now. I think he's the second best middleweight in the world. I think he's going to beat Paul Costa.

I think he's going to do it pretty convincingly. Might even finish Costa. And then I don't know. If Izzy wins and stays at middleweight, I don't think he gets a title shot. But if Pereira wins and Izzy's like, Pereira wins a second time if they run it back. I think that's Whitaker's best case at Ario,

that to get a title shot is that Pereira wins twice. Or if Adasani wins and moves up. Adasania can't be the champion, is what I'm saying. If he goes out there beats Costa and Adasani is not the middleweight champion anymore, whether he loses or he vacates and moves up to 205, I think Whitaker gets the next shot. 100%. He's good. He's the second best middle way in the world. He beats everybody in that division except for Adasanya right now. What's up, AA? Good. How are you? I'm all right. I'll go a question about Michael Chandler.

He's fighting this week. I know this my question might have something you do with when he came into the USC but my question is is there a fighter a slide from Michael Chandler that you can think of that has fought the biggest names that he has similar to he has pardon me because like he's fought like name after name after name since joining the UFC you know I don't need to remind you

who they are, but I'm going to list them anyway. You know, Dan Hooker, Charles Oliverer, Tony Ferguson, Dustin Porre, and Justin Gagchi. He's just for, you know, this guy is just on a mission, it seems, just to fight everyone with a namement in this division.

And has there been anyone else that started their USC career like this? Okay. Everyone, have a good day. You have a heck of a morning work, and peace out. guys. Thanks, that's a good question. I could probably put Yuri up there.

I mean, it's different divisions too. Like, lightweight's a whole different beast than any other division. There's just more bigger, stronger names in that division. But, I mean, Yuri is a good one. I'd say probably Justin Gagey might be the dude. Comes in, fights Michael Johnson, who in July of 2017 was looked at much differently than he is now. then he fights Eddie Alvarez, then he fights Dustin Porre, fights James Vic, which again, at that time,

James Vic was on a nice winning streak, was looking for a big fight. There was some heat between those guys, went out there and knocked Vic out in the first round. Then he fights Edza Barbosa, Donald Soroni, Tony Ferguson, Habib, Chandler, and Olivera. That run is ridiculous. That is a ridiculous run since coming over to the UFC. It's probably better than Chandler's. it's a better run than Chandler's especially at the time like if we look at these names in 2022 some of them might not mean the same but back in 2017 2018 2018 2019

and on that way up it's Gaichi it's Gaecie 100%. Yeah I would say so I'd say that's the one but I like the question but Chandler's run has been ridiculous too Zeke hello Mike how are we Good, how are you? Doing all right. I've been hyping it up for months, maybe even a year. I can't stop talking about it. We got Frankie Edgar Fight Week.

Let's go. I'm super excited. Let me do everything I can to get in the building. Can you talk to me about that a little bit and maybe even a look ahead? I know this will probably be the only time I will ever do this to a card like this in the UFC. You have a Bellator main event next weekend. Corey Anderson and Bedeem Kempoff for the light heavyweight. Grand Prix. I'm pretty sure that I'll be taking place next Saturday.

A little preview to that maybe. I'm like, have a heck of a week. You know, I'll be in here all week. Thanks, man. Yep, Frankie Edgar. Final fight of his career. Taking on Chris Gutierrez. I mean, it's fine. It's fine. It's fine. It's a fight Frankie can win. It's a fight Gutierrez can win. I mean, Frankie just, if he wins, then he just goes.

goes out with the win and that's cool. If Gutierrez wins, he probably gets a ranking, but I don't know if he gets quite the rub that some people would expect him to get. But listen, it's a fine fight. Works out. I would rather see Dominic Cruz in that spot, but I understand why we can't. I would have loved to have seen like Jose Aldo in that spot, but again, he's retired. I don't know who else you put in there. So Gutierrez is fine. Goodyear's fine, he's on a nice streak, gets him the biggest marquee win of his career. Let me pull up this Bellator card.

This is one of my issues with this whole Josh Thompson versus the media thing, is that while I understand that this Bellator rising card is awesome, we can't neglect these other Bellator cards. this one. Badim Nemcoff versus Corey Anderson. We finally get to put a bow on this light heavyweight Grand Prix. I feel like this light heavyweight Grand Prix has been going on for like three years now. Finally we get to put a bow on it and it can be done. And then the co-made event might be like if if there's five fights for the rest of the year that I can only watch,

I'm picking one of my five is Petriki Pitbull versus Usman Nermagameda. I'm very, very interested in that fight. But there's no promotion for it. None. No one's talking about it. And I don't get it. I don't get it. We want to, of course, we want to look at December 31st.

It's awesome. I love this Bellator Rise and Co-promotion thing. We're going to cover the hell out of that thing. But we got to remember that we have two other events before that with some good prospects on it too and really good fights. Like, Habib Narangamayev could be the coach of the two of two lightweight champions and two major promotions with Islam. And I think Usman's going to beat Petriki Pitbull. So he's going to have two major lightweight champions in his camp. How is, like, this should be your top promoting thing for the next three weeks or next couple of weeks, whenever this is for next Friday.

Like, this should have been your promotion. Can Habib be the coach? of the two lightweight champions and two of the biggest promotions. I think he will be. This is how you promote. These are the things you need to do to promote these cards. Nemcoff Anderson is a great fight. I feel like it's lost some steam because Anderson was clearly winning dominantly their first fight,

and then it ended in such a bizarre way. And now Corey Anderson kind of gets closer to hometown fight, gets to do it in Chicago. He'll have the fanfare. I think Corey will win. and then Bellator could have that conversation like do we have the best light heavyweight in the world? And that's a good conversation to have because I think they have a case

if Corey Anderson goes out there and beats Fadim Nemcoff. And then we got Bellator 289 coming up after that. Stott Sabatello, Karmoujv-Valasquez, Magam Adolph versus Patchy Mix, awesome fight. Another good card that's not getting any promotion. So we got to get to get to, to these fights. We got to get to the

Bada mode Grand Prix finale. And then we can talk about the Bellator versus Reza card. And here's the last thing I'm going to say about this, because I had people like DMing me and sending me clips of weighing in and all that. Here's what I'll say. I've spent way too much time talking about this whole

situation and perhaps my rant early on there's a little much going back and thinking about it. What I'll say is this. Perhaps I was a little too hard on on Josh, perhaps maybe some of the things he said were, I don't know, misrepresented is the right word. But I'll say this. I know, I get where he's coming from. He's coming from a good

place. He may be wrong about some things, but that's okay. That's okay. And I understand that, you know, the promote and the cover thing, and he talked about that. He talked about the thing that. He talked about the thing that I had maybe the biggest issue with was the don't be scared, homie, you'll lose your UFC credentials like don't be afraid like are you just not going to do it because you're afraid to lose your UFC credentials?

He touched on that a little bit in the clip that I watched from Sunday show at the end of the day I ain't get a beef anymore I just don't, it's not worth it because at the end of the day we all want the same thing. We all want this event to do well.

We want people to talk about it. We want it to be great. And that's what I'm going to do from now on. I can't sit here on the show and just talk about Josh Thompson and say mean things. I'm not going to do that anymore. This is my Mayaculpa, if you will. Enough is enough. Let's just focus on what needs to be focused on.

Let's focus on the fights. Let's focus on the athletes. No more Josh versus the media. We don't need it anymore. I've said what I've had to say. Some of the things were a little harsh. I regret it a little bit. but there are some things that I don't, I don't think I'm wrong about, but that's okay.

At the end of the day, we all want the same thing. We want this event to do well. And that's what we're going to hope for. But my one thing I will say is what I just said earlier. Well, that event is super cool, and I hope it's the first of many, and we're going to cover it. Maybe we'll do some sort of thing on the spaces and watch it all together. Maybe we'll do like a virtual watch-along or something. I don't know.

We're going to do something with that. Because it's huge and it's awesome. And the fights are going to rule. And we're going to get rising rules. We're going to see soccer kicks out of these guys, which is awesome. But we all want safe thing. We all want this to do well. We want this card to be really good.

So let's just focus on that and not about the other stuff. Because at this point, no one cares anymore. No one cares. It's been talked about to death. We're taking, and I'm guilty of this too. I'm guilty of it myself. taking the focus off of the card and putting it on things that don't really matter.

So this is my mea culpa. Done with the attacks, done with the trash talk, done with the back and forth. Let's just focus on the rest of the year and the cool fights that Bellator is trying to do. Because let's be honest, I've talked about this for years. No one wants Bellator to succeed more than I do.

I really want them to do well. I want them to go back to where they were a few years ago. they have many, many holes in their promotional game. I think even Joshua would admit that at this point. He won't say it on his show. And I understand why. Because I mean, he works for them. So he's not, like, and I get it.

Just like, Anik on his show is not going to come out and just rip the UFC. I totally understand that. But there are issues with the promotion. That's the issue a lot of people have with this whole thing, is that how are we going to get this out to people? how are we going to make people care about it? Where are the storylines? Are we promoting this too soon?

And then just forgetting about it and then picking it back up later when it's too late. I feel like they did that with the December card a little bit. They promoted the crap out of it. We got Sabatelo and Stotz in the studio going face-to-face like three months before the fight's supposed to happen. Like save some of this stuff for the promotion of the card. And let's not forget about, you know,

November 18th next Friday. That card's great. The two title fights are awesome. We got some good, Roman for all those on that card? Roman for all those great. He's a solid prospect. Let's not forget about these fights before we get to December 31st. So, Mayacolpa, we done.

No more trash talk. Let's just do our part to make this event cool. Like, we're going to do what we always do. We'll cover it. You do the same. And come December 31st, we're going to be jacked up for this thing. All right. That's how we're going to handle it.

So no more negativity on my end. Let's just get to the goal that we want. We want this to be successful. We want more of these. We want more of these types of events. We don't want this to be a one-time thing. We want to be a many-time thing. We want us to be an annual event, Belator versus Rising.

I'm all in on that idea. So let's just focus on that stuff. we'll go to to to Pella and then we'll go to a head Tocalo So I'm very distraught because you know Mark O'Matson he fought

and sorry I'm going to say Mark O'Matson because they've done it in Danish media as well since he's since he wrestled in the Olympics they've always said Mark O'Matson even though it's his middle name and I know Alex K Lee was against that I'm just saying Danish media has done it for years years. So when Marco Madsen gets out-wrestled in the UFC, what is there left for him to do? I mean, and I know I said this last week, but having seen how bad it went, I'm completely, I can't

even see him taking one more fight in the UFC at this point, because what's the point? There's no point because he can't ever enter the top 15 when he's that limited. And the part that's supposed to set him apart from the others, he can actually get beaten because his wrestling is not MMA-based. It is just Greco-Roman. So what do you do? I know I said PFL last time. I don't know if you have a better idea, but please let me know.

I mean, I actually, I like the PFL idea. If they could get them out of that contract, I'm sure, and I'm not saying this to be a jerk, but I think the UFC would be like, okay, go ahead. You want to be released, go be released. I don't think there's anything, I don't think the UFC has any standing with him where it's like, we have to keep this guy.

I just, I don't think so. So I think if his management team or his coaches or whatever, he just goes to the UFC and be like, look, I think I've exhausted all my opportunities here. It's not much more I can do. I'm not going to be a top 15 guy. I'm not going to be a top 10 guy. I'm not going to be fighting for the UFC title.

Let me just go. I'll go to PFL. I'll go to Bellator. And I think the UFC would be like, all right, dude, bet. Go ahead. But yeah, I think that's probably his best bet right now is see if there's other opportunities elsewhere. But who knows?

Maybe he wants to, and I don't know how long Jekar Close is going to be out for. but maybe he wants that your car close fight before he goes off and does something else. Because there's some heat there and you get a, I mean, that's basically it. That's the one fight left for him that he would want. That would be really interesting. So yeah, yeah. I don't think the UFC would stop them honestly.

They would just say, okay. I mean, I get where you're coming from and then they part ways of them. And I don't think that's crazy. all. I mean, you even mentioned that the UFC pulled them aside from an interview

that they'd be like you gotta just, you can't just win, you got to win convincingly and man, that Grant Dossett matchup was a nightmare for him. Just really,

really tough. Grant's good. The weight miss hampers it slightly, but not too much in my eyes because it was a short notice fight, but Grant's just that good, man.

That's why I've been high on this kid for like six years now. that was an impressive performance all right let's go to Pella ahead you're on deck Pella you there I want to talk about

easy and easy and poor time what do you think who do you think is definitely going to win that match and also for Megume and

Jan for USA 282 who do you think definitely will win that match too. Because that's a really, really, really good fight. Thanks, man. Main event, man, it's tough.

Leading Adasania by decision, but I could be terribly wrong. But that's where I'm leaning. It's going to be... Adisani is going to have to be pretty much mistake-free for that fight, and I think he will. I think there's a different kind of focus to him.

I think he learned a lot from that 276 win. took a bit of a beating on that one. So, yeah, I'm Leonada signing to win a decision, but I could be wrong. He could... Something on my gut tells me we could be in for something crazy. The way this year is gone, would not shock me. And then the Ankylaev-Blohovich fight,

man, it's a tough one. I'm going to lean Ankylaiath. Because, I mean, Ankylaif could be the best 205. in the world. Like I know Yuri has the belt. I know Yuri's fighting Glover again. That's the title fight, but I feel strongly that Ankleif could beat either of those guys.

It may not be the prettiest thing in the world, but he gets the job done, and I think he'll beat Yombohovich. But I think it's a good fight. It is a great matchup. It's a true number one contender fight. Sign me the hell up for that one. But I think Ankaaaf's going to win a decision.

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Visit our Holtz holiday shop and store or online at Holtrenfrew.com. Hey, it's been a little while, my man. How are you? Yes. Last week, I kept missing the shows. But, like, I wanted to tell you, like, I wanted your admission that you were wrong. I was coming on last, I wanted to come on last week to say, your admission that you were wrong about everything

Henry SaHudo but I'll get okay I'll get to that in a little bit because I've got one point before I talk about Henry SaHooder which is about this gambling issue because obviously like MMA fighting like made the story of how this

UFC featherweight last weekend how a fight might have been fixed there was some sort of like scam or whatever like and you know I don't really know much about gambling, but it's some sort of like scam basically happening. And it just opens the doors to another conspiracy theory. And I like conspiracy theories mainly because a lot of them are true, like how the COVID-19 vaccine

killed, but that's a different story. But the thing is, it's like this conspiracy theory about James Kraus, because he's got his own Discord channel. And the thing is, it's like people pay to be on that Discord channel. and he gives out all these odds and stuff. And James Krause coaches so many fighters in the UFC. And, you know, there's this theory going around of how he's interfering with the fights

and how he's fixing, yeah, kind of like fixing fights. And a lot of people seem to be catching on to that. So it's just a bit fishy. Now, about Henry Sohudo, Mike, like there were so many things that last time we talked about have just been completely wrong. Firstly, it was like, oh, no one. wants to see Henry Sehudo versus Al Jermaine.

People want to see Sean. But your boy, Mike, John Anick, he, one of the most followed guys in MMA had a poll and who came out on top and who came out on bottom. Sean O'Malley, as far as I'm aware, came out on bottom on that pole and Henry came out on top. And then it was like, Henry wasn't serious. And Henry's asking for the interim fight. And now it's like, okay, like you say what you said about Henry.

Well, now you've got to keep that same energy to Alis. and Sean, because, by the way, firstly, about Aljo, I don't know what that other dude was talking about. Like, was it, like, Aljo would definitely have dominated Dillashore. Dillashore was doing kicks because he had one arm, all right? He couldn't have spammed jabs. That was ridiculous. But the thing is this, right? Aljo, he beats a one-armed guy and he wants to fight in June.

You know, like, where's the criticism of that? And then also, Sean O'Malley, like, Henry's there. Henry is right there and Sean O'Malley is trying his best to sidestep Henry. I guess he really does believe he can beat Chiro and I think so too. And listen, you can't believe for saying Henry like comparing Henry and Khabib, but the thing is is this, like Henry is one of the best to ever do it, multiple weight division champion. And I'm going to be real right now, like as in he comes back,

even if it's not 100%, he will butcher this entire division. I don't like Henry, but I'm not going to let my most. emotions cloud my judgment. That's the thing. Like, Mike, are you going to keep that same criticism of Sean and Aljo the way you did for Henry? Drop the mic, Mike. I mean, I must, I guess it has been a while since you've been on ahead because I have been keeping the same energy. Aljo has fumbled the bag like nobody else. Like, he's destroyed this whole thing. As soon as he beat T.J. Dillishaw, he should have been on the mic, on the press conference, and everywhere else saying, Sean O'Malley, you're next.

That was the way he should have done it. The whole time for multiple reasons. One, it's the biggest fight he can get right now. I don't care what you say. We had our own poll and O'Malley destroyed Henry Sehuto in our pool. So that's one thing. Two, O'Malley is the most winnable fight for him, but it's also the, this is prize fighting. Like that is literally the definition of prize fighting. You get the biggest fight you can get, but the matchup that's best for you. And this would be the best matchup for him

and the most lucrative matchup for him. 100%. 100%. So Aljo has fumbled the bag from Jump Street. Aljo is learning along the way, though, by listening to these shows, and I think he's listened to ours because he's starting to understand.

So who does not the bigger, fight. Is it the more intriguing matchup from a stylistic perspective? Of course. And I've said that from the beginning. And I've never dumped on Suhudo as a fighter. Never. I've dumped on Sehudo as a retireer. He's the worst retireer in the history of sports in my opinion. He's horrible. And then what he's done since has been abysible. It's just been so bad. And no one has cared. very few have cared. The UFC hasn't cared. And I still think that when Dana White brought up Henry's name,

I think there's a very strong possibility that he was being sarcastic about it. You wasn't serious. I don't think he was fully serious about it. I think he was just like, oh, you want Suhudo? Ha-ha. All I'm saying about Sehudo, and I've said this from the beginning,

just fight somebody. I don't care who it is. Prove to us that you're, are actually serious about this. Because we all know what's going to happen, ladies and gentlemen. Just get ready for it. If the UFC goes this route and books Suhudo versus Aljo and Sehudo wins and becomes the champion again, what's he going to do?

He's either going to walk away again or he's going to go wait and fight Volcanowski and he's not going to fight anybody. Do we want to do this again? Does the UFC want to deal with this again? no that's my issue now sean o'malley i think shot o'malley well maybe he hasn't been tremendous at all this i love the fact that o'malley was like you know what sehudo you want to sit there and call me stupid nicknames i'm just got to go for the cheeto fight because that's the one everybody wants anyways so he's trying to just leave sehudo out altogether you know what

I'm not going to fight Sehudo for an interim title. I'll fight Cheeto for the interim title. And then that knocks Sehudo out of the conversation altogether, especially if Aljo's not fighting until June. And I love that idea. I love that. And of course, Sehudo responded and such. And Cheeto just tenated them in response.

So I don't think I'm wrong. I actually gave Sehudo a little bit of credit for going to the O'Malley route, which is probably what he should have done in the first place. And he tried to do that in July too. Remember he did that little backstage, just awful cringy thing with O'Malley after the Pedro Munoz fight? I was like, this is good.

This is what you should be doing. Go get that fight. Go fight John O'Malley. Go fight anybody. I don't care who it is. Go fight Sanhagen. Go fight anyone. Go fight Jonathan.

the Martinez for all I care. Go fight one of those guys. If you win, go fight for the belts. Go ahead. You'll never get an argument for me. But just show me that you're serious. That's all. That's all I'm saying. I want to see what Sterling Suhudo looks like. I want to see that fight. I definitely want to see it. But I don't want to see it if Suhudo's just going to be like, all right, I'm retiring again. You're not paying me enough. Or I won the title. I'm never defending it. I'm going to fight Volcanovsky. I don't want that. I don't want to see it. So if they do Sehudo O'Malley, I love it. Love it. I'll give Sehudo some credit. And I've given him credit. The O'Malley call it in the first place. I gave him credit for that.

But it's just everything else, man. And don't say I haven't ripped on Aljo because he's fumbled the bag, too. he should have been all in on o'malley from jump street he didn't do it oh whatever the ufc wants to give me i'll take it no call shan o'malley out and then and then if you beat sean o'malley you can stick it to zahudo big time and just say you know what i'm stepping away i'm moving up to one forty five that's it vacating the belt so my boy marab de wallis really can fight for it and you got the biggest fight you could get right now. But you didn't do that. So yeah, he gets it too.

And that's it. I just, I feel the consistent thing about the Suhudo thing for me has always been, show me you really want to do this. Don't just come in and try to do a power play just so you can leave again. Show me you want to fight. Go fight somebody else, win, and then you don't even have to fight for the band. If you go fight anybody,

you can just be like, you know what, Volkanowski? I'm skipping Bambway and I'm going up to Featherway. Let's go. I'm cool with it. I'm cool with it. But just fight somebody. Go fight Max Holloway. Zahudo Max Holloway.

Then go fight Volk. I don't care. But just fight somebody. That's all. The bag is still sitting there. It's still sitting in the middle of the street. No one's wearing the Velcro gloves to pick it up and rum with it. But Zahudo like bathed in butter.

so that every time he gets near the bag, he slips and falls. But Aljo can't pick it up either. And O'Malley's trying to just screw over Sehudo altogether. So we'll see what happens. I definitely wasn't wrong. That's for sure. Anthony, hello. You know, what's all, bro?

How's been? Good. And real quick, before I get to my meat and potatoes, who had the worst retirement, really? Tom Brady or Henry Sehuto? it's a hoot and it's not even close hey well I just want to say

I'm actually in uh cross his discord and we there's no tip about minnir I actually saw the line movement and I went to minnir and I went to the group chat and I was like man did they fucking say

something and nobody said shit but uh yeah I mean that's all on that but uh and then uh yeah just real quick I haven't been here for a while but I called that patty fight man.

I came in here like a month ago and said he was going to fight Jared Gordon and long behold. All right, man. Have a heck with a morning. Thanks, man. Yeah, that's a good fight. I like the matchup with Gordon.

I think they'll do good things with it, raise awareness for mental health issues and that's great stuff. Love that stuff. And I think it's a good test for Patty too. I think it'll give me a lot of things to think about if he wins. And if Gordon wins, it's good for Jared. Like, he's one of the really good guys in the space, and his story's incredible.

And that'll be a great win for him. And then Patty could just continue doing what he's doing and fight on these UK cards and look like an absolute superhero over there. And that's cool. The betting thing is just really bizarre because, like, I don't know. I mean, I know everyone kind of pointed the finger at Krause

and all that, but, you know, you were on the Discord, so I appreciate the insight there. But there, I mean, I know I had mentioned the word fixed. And I don't know if that's the right word. But there are some shenanigans. There's some shenanigans going on here. There's no doubt about it. What those shenanigans are. I don't know

but somebody from the inside dropped that information and it caused this line moving. I don't think it was Krause but maybe somebody within the team I mean even like in that ESPN write-up they talked to somebody and they said yeah he was definitely hurt

heading into the fight so but that's a big reason why they instituted this new policy that you can't bet on UFC fights. And this is the exact reason why the UFC put this thing in place. So their asses are pretty much covered in this situation, I think.

But I'm curious to see what comes out of it with this investigation and all of that. And it's going to come out who started this process, more than likely, and then what happens to that individual? If it's Krauss, I'll be stunned on it. honestly, I will be stunned. Because I don't think Kraus is just going to sell at his own fighter like that.

Yeah, it's very strange. It's a big deal, too. But we'll see how this all pans out and what the results are. And it's just, I mean, there's definitely some Tom Foolery here. This is not any sort of conspiracy theory. When you see line movement like that and you see a guy get hurt that quickly, for just throwing a kick and then getting finished in the first round.

And that was some of the other stuff that was interesting. It was just the line movement, but there are a lot of bets coming in on near Denbaka getting a finish in the first round. A ton of that. A ton of first round action coming in. That wasn't there before. And all of a sudden, a guy who doesn't have a finish in the UFC

is getting all this action on a first round finish. It's sketchy, man. it's definitely sketchy I picked Shilid to I believe my official pick that I put in Saturday morning for the MA Fighting Squad

was NERDMECA by second round TKO because I just felt it was submission or bust for Minner and he's a high-paced get in your face, get or get got kind of a guy and I just felt that if Miner didn't get a submission

he was going to get finished but it was just strange to see how this is all playing out it's very bizarre Let's go to UFC News. Take UFC News and the AM and then we're getting out of here. UFC News, hello. Hey, Mike, can you hear me?

Yep, I got you. How are you? Good. How are you? So I got a crazy take for you. I was thinking about this in the morning and you were talking about Zahudo. So what if Volcanowski ends up being a three division champion? And I'm not talking Bannonweight. I'm talking welterweight. you think there's any chance of that happening?

A Volk being a three-division champ? I could see him being Leon. You know, pound for pound. He's short stocky, load of the ground. Leon's not going to wrestle with him. I think he's quicker. Man, let me... I don't know.

Oh, man. Because I don't think he's going to beat Mokachev. So that kind of kills it right there. But let's just say he does. And then just runs through everyone at 55 and then he just gets bored and wants to go to 170. I mean, he's going to have to fight. But by the time he makes that move,

he's either fighting Ousman, because I don't know, I mean, maybe Leon beats Oosman again. I don't know. But then he's going to have to fight either. He might be fighting Colby. He might be fighting Hamzaa Shemayev. I don't like his chances in either of those fights. So I'll say no.

I don't think Volk will have, I don't think Volk can do that. Like the difference in the Sehudo one is that, you know, it's a 20-pound difference, 25, 35, 45, 45, and then for Volk, it's 45, 55, and then we're jumping up to 70. So he's basically fighting dudes that are 190, 200 pounds. Like, it's just too much. Like, I know Volk has weighed in the 200s before for his, for his rugby career and all that. And I remember, like, when he broke in, that's all anybody talked about.

This guy used to be a 220-pound rugby player. Now he's a 145-pound UFC fighter. no i don't think i i don't think he can i just think it's i just think the size is too much once you get to 170 the size might be too much for him at 155 fighting a guy like macachev if that fight even happens so we'll see but that'd be that'd be pretty crazy if like if vault gets a shot to be a three-division champion before sehudo did that'd be a big time slap in his face yeah i'm hello Good, how are you? Henry Sejodo's case.

I'm not good. I will not be pissed if he just fought for the title, won the title, and retired again. Because that would be a boss move if he did that again. Because like GSB GSP said, people who do that, they are smart because UFC doesn't like people or champions or stars to live on their turn.

They want them to leave on the organization's terms. They want them to look bad before they leave because they always want the focus to be on the lights, to be on the organizations, and they don't want fighters to be bigger than them. That's about that. Regarding Alex Pereira and Easy's fight, how do you see it going?

Do you think it might go to the ground for a little bit? Do you think Alex, since he has been training, with the grover to share it. Do you think maybe he has been training, grappling and all that, and he might just take it to the ground for a little bit? That's it for me, and thank you. Have a good day.

Thanks, man. So the first thing, the Suhudo thing and the GSP thing, look, I get it, but here's the problem. Like, a lot of people like to compare the Suhudo situation to the GSP situation. GSP is a 5,000 times bigger star than Sehudo. It's just the way that it is.

Like he's a proven draw. Suhudo is not. He just, the problem, like, Suharto is just, I'll give him credit. Like, he keeps playing this hand and he's, he's just going to play it. Like, it's like he got, you know, he's got, he's holding pocket threes, but we have Ace King, 10, Jack, 9 on the ball. board and he's just like, I'm going to play it like I'm winning it, even though he's losing. He's credit to him, he's still going to try, but he just overplayed his hand from the

beginning. And it hurts them. And the UFC saw the GSP thing, it sucked for the UFC because they had GSP, basically verbally promised them like, you know what, I'm not coming back for one for one fight. Like, I'll fight Robert Whitaker if I beat Michael Bisbing, like, no problem. He didn't, but it's a little bit of a different scenario too, because GSP had a lot of health issues trying to bulk up to 185, messed with his gut, had some real health issues with that whole situation. This is different. So, Hudo is a whole different ballgame.

So Hudo screwed over the company. Like straight screwed him over. And the UFC doesn't want that to happen again. They don't, and here's the other thing. They don't need them. Like, everybody moved on without him. GSP, they really didn't because even like when Habilbians, Abe was the champion, it was always,

what about Habib versus GSP? Like people brought his name up for these super fights, Usen versus GSP, even like Woodley versus GSP for a while. Like these, we were having these conversations. When Sohudo left, it was like, that was it. Outside of Sohudo asking for it, and Dan is randomly put, throwing that up at a press conference,

no one has asked for him to fight because no one believes it's going to happen. That's just it. He just overplayed his hand. And again, one of the best to ever do it. This dude is an incredible fighter. His resume is spectacular. And that's not what's holding him back.

It's everything else. It's everything else. And that's all. There's just no trust there. There's no trust. But how you build trust is you fight somebody else. Then you can build some trust. But until that happens, I just don't, I don't know.

I don't know what they're going to do. Milo, hello. Oh, hey, Mike. Heck of a morning to you. You too. Yeah, I'm going to give you like a one prediction for your listeners for UFC 281 main event before it hits the Cajside Press. And one prediction for the year of 2023. So with Easy versus with Easy versus Poitan,

I think, in my opinion, these both fighters need each other, and I think they would need each other to fight each other more than one time. They already fought twice. And I think the more probable outcome for this fight that I see is the draw. And I think this is something that the public is overlooking right now, because if Poitan lands a good shot or two gets a 10-8 round, and then Easy puts up a volume, this fight may very well. and in a draw.

So that would be my prediction. And then I think for Algeman Sterling in 2023, I think Algeman Sterling will be stripped of the Bantamweight title. Thanks. Bye. Stripped of the Bantamweight title. Wow. I mean, stranger things have happened. I don't think he'll get stripped.

Like, if he's not fighting until June, like, you can't strip them. Did that just be... I mean, I guess you could. They are the UFC, and they control. all of this, but why would you strip him? I don't know. It won't be for so who at all. I'll tell you that right now. I don't know.

And the main event for 281, listen, a draw could definitely be in play. But I feel like if Pereira hurts Izzy, like he's going to win. I don't know if it's a situation where he just drops Izzy and hurts him, but Izzy recovers, I think if he hurts him, he probably

wins the belt. The other question I think the AM had was do you think we'll see any wrestling in this? And I think if Pereira is smart, he will, and not just, not for like winning the fight, like not using wrestling per se as a weapon to win, but at least it gives, is he something to think about that he's probably not thinking about. Like, I don't think Izzy's working on wrestling in this camp. I don't think he expects Pereer to shoot a takedown on him or try to grapple with him at all.

But if Pereer shoots for a takedown and they start grappling against the cage or he, gets a takedown and Izzy gets back up, that gives Izzy something else to think about. That might not be a bad strategy on this part. So wouldn't shock me. And who knows, maybe Izzy will do the same. Maybe Izzy will shoot a takedown on Pereira. And we'll see what he can do off his back, gives him something to think about. So wouldn't stun me to see a take down attempt in this fight.

And we're four days away and we'll get some answers. But we're going to get out of here, folks. Thank you very much. we'll be back again on Thursday 10 a.m. We'll do it again. Thursday will be a busy day. Friday will be a very busy day, as always. And then

Saturday it's on to New York. Excited for the watch party. Me and G.C., getting after it. We're going to be working on some stuff all week. And I think you'll enjoy it like you did for UFC 280. Feedback has been great. And we're going to have more fun. We're going to fine-tune some things, and we will be ready to go.

So from what I understand, by the way. For fans of the M. May hour, there's something real cool going down tomorrow. I can't tell you. I know what it is. I know what it is. But I can't tell you,

but you're going to love it. I can promise you that. So we are done. See you Thursday, 10 a.m. Eastern. Have a great rest of the day. And as always, have a heck of a morning, everybody. 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.