MMA Fighting - Jon Anik: Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs. Zhang Weili 2 Feels Like Gaethje vs. Chandler | UFC 275

Episode Date: June 7, 2022

UFC lead play-by-play voice Jon Anik checks in once again with MMA Fighting's Mike Heck to preview Saturday's UFC 275 event — including the light heavyweight championship main event between Glover Teixeira and Jiri Prochazka, Valentin Shevchenko vs. Taila Santos for the flyweight title, and the rematch of an epic battle between former strawweight champs Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Zhang Weili. 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

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To the Vox Media Podcast Network. All right, let us welcome in once again, the great John Anick. The man is logging his travel miles over the next week in change as we record this. He's right now in Vegas, getting ready to call UFC Vegas 56, which will probably be over by the time this interview drops. But then he will hop on a plane to Singapore for UFC 275, a big time fight week for that area, which will be capped up by a rematch of one of the all-time great fights

in two world championship boats. John, it means a lot. You're decked out in the right gear. I know you're a very busy man, so I really appreciate you doing this. Thank you very much. How are you? Great to be with you.

Yes, I'm reppping Marcus Smart in the Boston Celtics, 29 turnover free minutes for number 36 in game one of the NBA finals. But yes, we got Alexander Volkov and Jarzino Rosenstrike coming up here in, I don't know, probably like 16 hours. I got an 8.45 a.m. Pacific call time for this one. And then, yeah, it's wheels up to Singapore. And just very excited to see Yomani Yon J. J. Check come back and obviously to share his first defense. And we're going to talk a lot, hopefully, about the great Valentina Shepchenko. So I'm excited. Obviously, it's a little bit tricky balancing both shows. So hopefully I don't talk to you about a fight right now that isn't happening on June 11th, but an exciting time to be a UFC fan to be sure. Absolutely. So you're going to have to watch the rest of the NBA finals in Singapore or on an airplane with our Celtics.

But you'll at least have plenty to distract you from the craziness of the NBA finals with this fight week going on. And yeah, go ahead. No, better for my longevity and my hat to not have to watch these games in their entire. So we'll see how the schedule lays out, but I think I'm going to miss a game or two. We'll see. Yeah, it's a darn good card. UFC 275 as a stands. We'll get into the main storylines in a moment, but you're getting to call fights at Singapore indoor stadium. I'm trying to remember, is this the first time that you're calling fights there? Because you weren't at the Maya Ascron one, were you? I didn't do that one, but I did do a show in Singapore. I want to say like January

2014, but my memory won't allow me to be convicted in saying that. But I have been to Singapore before. I'm so hold up that I don't sort of get out much, unfortunately, but I don't know, man. I'm excited to dive in and it's obviously a beautiful place. And I'm glad the international pay-per-views are back, you know, and hopefully this is a trend that continues. So we'll see. Yeah, they're getting the road to the UFC cards, a whole bunch going on for that market. But they're also getting a really, in my eyes, John, and maybe a lot of people don't feel the same way, they're getting a really fascinating main event for the light heavyweight title. Glover Tashara making his first title defense against an absolute maniac in Yuri Prahashka.

And I say that with all due respect to Yari Pashka. Maniac is the highest compliment I can give this, man. He's two fights in, two devastating finishes in, gets to a title fight and rightfully so. And John, I feel like we have these conversations every time we talk, but I feel like some folks, I do feel like some folks are coming around a little bit since October, but it seems to me that the vast majority of people are looking at Glover Tashira as the guy just holding the for Yuri Phrashka. Have you seen this? But I do feel like some people are starting to come around here. Yeah, I mean, I guess it's hard, right? Because what a 42-year-old man gets hit, generally speaking,

it looks different than when a 26-year-old man gets hit. I just was in Connecticut with Glover Toshera last month. And man, he has just, he's ready to go right now, Michael. I mean, he is ready to go right now. He looks strong as an ox. He couldn't look healthier. Just really excited about being champion in this fight. I don't expect him to be around all that long. And certainly it stands to reason, given Prohazka's weaponry on the feet, that Glover Tashara could get knocked out here in two minutes. And I don't even know that Glover would be totally surprised by that result

because Glover understands how to mitigate risk, but is willing to take risks at time to get things done. You know, he even referenced one of his professional fights, maybe the Gustafson fight or the Anthony Rumblej. I forget what fight it was, but he's willing, if he's losing, to go get knocked out and go out on his shields. And that isn't something that you can necessarily say about all these fighters. But stylistically, it's absolutely fascinating to see what he can do.

His confidence in his submission grappling game is so strong that there will be this sort of rise of tension in the building if the fight does go to the mat. But certainly there's going to be some navigation for Glover there. Glover hit Jan Boehovic hard with the left hand. And that was sort of the beginning of the end for Jan, if you recall. So I think Glover has a lot of confidence in his strength and community. missioning in his own power. But I think it's pretty clear where both of these guys respectively want to take the flight.

100%. And I have said since October, and I don't go on a lot of limbs, John, sometimes to do these preview shows and stuff, and I have to make predictions. But since Glover Tashara won the title, I have said from day one that I'm picking Glover Tashara to submit Yuri Prahashka in the first round. I've said this literally every day. Anyone watching this right now has heard me say it ad nauseum because everyone keeps asking me about it.

And here's what's interesting about this fight and why I feel this way. In my personal opinion, I want to give Yuri some shine first. Yuri, and maybe I'm on an island here, in my 2021 year-end awards, he had the knockout of the year and he was one half of the fight of the year in my eyes. That fight with Dominic Reyes was ridiculous. That guy is pure chaos, is the reason why there was so much hype behind him coming in. But one thing I just cannot shake from this Dominic Reyes fight was Reyes' ability to advance position on the ground, got full mount, and had Yuri in some big trouble. Now, Yuri was able to

explode out of it, get the fight where he wanted, and the fight ended in such vicious fashion. But if Glover Tashira at any point in this fight gets to there, this is a very good chance to fight is over shortly thereafter. That discrepancy plays such a big factor in how I view this fight. And I also like what Yuri has been doing here. I like that he went to fight ready. That's exactly where you want to be when you're fighting a guy like Glover to Chera, a guy who has such a ground advantage on you. I just can't shake Dominic Reyes getting in full mount and just being in, because the Glover gets there, I don't think the fight's lasting much longer. Yeah, I guess we'll see. You know, sometimes I try not to get too predictive, I guess in some part because I'm actually

calling the fights. But I think developmentally it stands to reason that Yuri Prohazca, knowing that this was going to be the type of challenge he was going to have to navigate, would be better in theory than he was for the Dominic Reyes fight. And even just in terms of a few situational stuff. But Glover's game is so nuanced on the ground that, you know, there are levels to the game. Obviously, in MMA, a lot of my broadcast partners say that a lot and certainly when it comes to the grappling. But I do appreciate the shine on Prohazca as well because, yeah, there are guys on his Wikipedia page that you can't click on, you know, but there's also Olympic gold medalist in judo, Satoshi Ishi and other names. And, you know, I just, I think the body of work for Yuri

Prohazca largely is underappreciated. And I do believe that he, you know, he's a lot of He is primed. I think he's primal. I think there's a reason he was the alternate the first time. I think he would be an unbelievable champion for the UFC, aesthetically off the charts in terms of his style. And I think his mass appeal. So I'm excited to see what he can do with the opportunity.

But man, if I were Yuri and I could sort of handpick a guy in my bracket, I probably wouldn't pick Glover to Cher, even though he's 42. Agreed. I mean, as I've said also many times, if Yuri went out and finished him in the first row, I wouldn't shock me. because getting to those advantageous positions, he's literally going to have to go through fire to get there. And I know Glover's ready for that.

But if Yerry goes in there, John, and stops Glover quick, he wins the belt in just his third UFC fight, how does this compare to others? Like, we saw Anderson Silva do it quicker. One fight, got to the belt, and then just went on this run. It's not identical, but I see similarities here. A guy coming in from a big promotion with a little bit of hype, gets a win, everyone jumps on the bandwagon.

I see similarities here. Is there a comparison in your eyes if Yuri goes out there, wins the title in just his third UFC fight? Are there similarities between the two or is there somebody else that kind of stands out to you? Yeah, it's a good question. You know, I mean, Brock Lesnar was very inexperienced and things happened for him quickly in the UFC. And I do believe largely his body of work is underappreciated when you look at the

wins over Randy Couture and Shane Carwin. But man, I just look at Yuri Prohazka's experience, you know, and I don't know the answer as to why he wasn't in the U.S. see sooner. It's certainly on my list of questions to ask him next week. I don't know if you can shed any light on that, but to me, it's fascinating why this happened at this point in time. There were other times benchmark moments in his career where he had put together the requisite winning street to get here. So largely, I think he deserves to be a two to one favorite. And I think he is getting this fight at the right time. You know, sometimes I feel like, you know, quick finishes can, you know,

leave you with sort of less to wrap your head around. You know, if Dan Igay and Gavin Tucker, we were just talking about this, had gone 15 minutes, you know, maybe I would think even more of Dan Igay than the quick knockout, you know, because I think very highly of Gavin Tucker. So I don't know, man,

I think we're all kind of fascinated by Yuri Prohaska, and I don't think they're going to make him cut his hair before the fight. I cannot freaking wait for that fight. But before that happens, we're going to watch Valentina Shofchenko make that watch. She's going to defend her 125-5 title against Tyler Santos. as expected. Valentina, massive favorite. She's been unbeatable since the women's flyweight division. Hey, buddy, opened up. And this is one of those situations where no matter who Valentina fights,

John, when you get the chance to see the absolute best do what they do best, which is Valentina right now, it just must see TV for me, regardless of what the betting lines is. You could have Valentina against a minus 17,000, as a minus 17,000 favorite. And I'm still going to watch everything she does. Your thoughts on Valentina, what she's done in this co-main event against Talasantos. Yeah, she's unbelievable. And, you know, perhaps it was divine intervention that Juliana Pena v. Amanda Nunes, so that Valentina Shepchenko could get painted with that brush as arguably the greatest female mixed martial arts athlete of our lifetime, right?

Or at least that most of us have ever seen. It's everything, man. It's like, how much time do you effing have for me to wax poetic on Valentina Shepchenko, right? Everything from arriving early in Singapore. And we've talked about this before to the way, right? Like getting ahead of her peers and her contemporaries gaining any little small edge, you know, not unlike a Tom Brady or a Michael Jordan, managing her energy in her fighter meetings with us, not being super verbose.

You know, she is just so calculated. She really is. And, you know, you're going to have to be perfect against her or land that perfect shot. And the beauty of MMA is that that is actually not out of the realm of possibility, especially when you have a fighter with some pop like a Tila Santos. But I agree with you, man. And I don't have a ton to add. I mean, that is my thesis statement.

Valentina Shevchenko deserves your eyeballs because you're watching greatness. And thankfully, I think she's going to be around for some time. And they're running out of places to put those little rubies on her championship belt. I mean, this gets brought up every time she fights. So I might as well just ask you, if Tylos Santos, who's been on a great run, her Octagon debut was not a great one, but she has bounced back at a big way. She's got a great resume right now. She has earned this opportunity.

But if she goes in there and wins this fight, is this the biggest upset in UFC history? Is this bigger than Matt Serra, GSP? Is this bigger than Giuliana Pena, Amanda Nunes? Is this the one if she gets this thing done? Oh, gosh, man. It's hard, right? And I try not to get two in my head about this stuff because I might have to punctuate the moment with some sort of call that is going to have to provide the historical context for this moment.

So, God damn it, Mike. Can I plead the fifth on that one? Yes. Yes. I mean, it's up there for sure. It would be hard for me to watch Amanda Nunes and Valentina Shepchenko both go down in a matter of six or seven months. Gosh, it would certainly be up there, man. And to me, I'm so much more focused on the modern era, you know, than Matt Sera or anything.

So for me, Giuliana Pena would be hard to top. But, man, Valentina Shepchenko has this Floyd Mayweather quality. It don't matter if she's sick down with the floor. dealing with circumstances during fight week, bad weight cut. She always rises to the occasion. She's never really flat on fight night and we'll see what Santos can do. I'm always excited to see what these fighters can do. But I got real excited for Jessica Andrage and we saw how that ended. True or false. If Valentina Shupchenko wins this fight like many expect her to do, her next fight will be for the Bannamway title. So I am excited about the way the women's flyweight

division is going. But yes, I believe that is true, what you said. And thankfully, Valentina has the appetite for that, which hasn't always been the case. You know, certainly if Ketland Vieira or Holly Holme, you know, had done something to really position themselves, you know, maybe that would have been a direction that the promotion would go. But yeah, I mean, I, hey man, I need it. Like, as an M.MAGAGAO Medev and Tony Ferguson, you know, I kind of need like Shevchenko Pena 2 or Shevchenko Nunes 3, like I need some sort of finality on that front. Yeah. I mean, I'm super fascinated by this next generation of talent at 125, like Aaron Blanchfield,

who will probably already have fought by the time this thing goes up, Casey O'Neill, who's going to be out for a little while, unfortunately. And then Manon Fioro, who looks like she's about to fight Caitlin Jukegan in Paris. I mean, this division's shaping up real nice, but I kind of want to see these prospects develop a little bit more, like, and if Valentina wants to go up and down, great. Misha Tate could obviously throw a monkey wrench in that thing if she beats Lauren Murphy on July 2nd because that's a pretty big name and a pretty big fight and tough to ignore if you're Valentina, but I cannot wait to see where she's at the end of the year.

But let's talk about Yawani and Jacek, John Anik. She is back taking on Zhang Wei Li. You called the first one, 25 minutes of all out, just insanity. Such a close fight. Could have gone either way and you were there calling it. And now you get to do it again. You get three more rounds of it, 15 more minutes. When you found out this was the fight on this card, how did you react to that?

Why does everybody want five rounds so badly? I can't take it. I can't take it. I know that's the minority opinion, but I'm excited to see I want to Jaycheck back. I think it's a fascinating angle that had she emerged on the judge's scorecards that night, now, however long ago, March of 2020, she would have fought at least once more in a championship defense, right? And instead, she's had this elongated layoff. And I think it stands to reason that it could benefit her.

I have watched the fight back recently. I do believe Yohanna won that first fight, which I guess is neither here nor there. I love this division. It's history. The Straw Lake Division's history is absolutely fascinating, right? You have Rosamah Yunus, who has two head-to-head wins over Yohanna Yon J-Chek. And for me, Yon J-Chek's championship reign is really the historical greatness of this division. and what an opportunity for her, obviously,

to get this one back against Zhang Wei Li and position herself for a title shot against Carla or whomever. I can't wait to see it, man. It's just, I don't know, it feels a lot like Chandler and Gaichi as far as a main card fight. I know that was an opener,

but like leading into these championship fights. And, you know, I think Zhang Wei is going to be at the height of motivation. A lot of people felt like she beat Rose one of those two times, of course. And yeah, man, I don't have enough good things to say about the UFC strawweight division. And that last title fight, obviously notwithstanding with respect.

So yeah, man, we'll see what happens. I think the betting lines a little wider than I would expect, you know, but I think I'm going to be aligned with the public thinking that Yawanna should be closer to plus 120 than plus 150. And maybe the Sharps will be on the Jean-Waley side. We have to see. But I can't wait to get to Singapore for that one to be short. We were talking about this internally with the MA fighting crew the other day,

that although people, like you said, wanted five rounds and they felt like, it made sense after that first fight. Is making it three rounds could this fight could it actually make it better than the first one? Because you got 10 less minutes to worry about. The gas tank could be, you could throw some of that out the window and it's just pure chaos. Or do you think this is going to be a more more tactical approach because of what these women went through in that first fight? I don't know if it'll be more tactical. I just don't know how it could possibly be better.

And what's crazy is that Yon J. James Jacek was so prophetic about that first fight. She said to us on the fighter meeting and probably to the assembled media as well that she felt like it was going to be the greatest fight in UFC women's strawweight history. And obviously it was that and then it extended to, you know, arguably the greatest fight men's or women's in UFC history, right? So it's not going to top that, Mike. I mean, that feels like a pretty safe bet.

But maybe not, man. Maybe we have 15 minutes and we can buy some more stuff, dude. Let's go. Please, go buy the paper. Yeah. And I mean, obviously those three fights, they have the storylines. They're on the posters right now. And we totally understand that.

But we got Manel Cap, Hujerio Bontarine. Jack Delam Adelaideon is coming back. We got Brandon Allen, Jacob Alcun. We got some good fights on this card, John. And you know, I like to ask, we like to go a little bit under the radar here. What's the most intriguing matchup in your eyes that it's just not on the post? or not getting enough attention. Well, so Andre Fialio, who has fought three times already in 2022,

taken on Jake Matthews. So, you know, when Hamzaa Chimayev was on that streak, and this is now the modern day, Kamzakimayev, which is probably the wrong way to put it, right? But for a lot of guys, in an active schedule like this, it's better for them. They feel like they compete better, even if they're a little bit sore when they go in there to compete, right?

And I believe for Fiala, it was January and then April, May, June. When Hamza fought twice back to back, he then had like eight weeks off, I think, before the Gerald Merchart fight if memory serves. So this is an interesting schedule back to back to back months for Andre Fialio against an experienced guy and Jake Matthews. So fascinated to see that. I'm glad you brought up Hossetti Obronterine against Minel Kopp, because when Minel Kopp says, like, I'm the best flyweight in the world, you know, I kind of believe him at times. And that's no disrespect to the rest of the division. But I do believe skill for skill. He matches up very favorably with a lot of the elite guys. and obviously he's favored here to beat Hoseerio Bontorin.

I know a lot of my sharp contemporaries like the value on Bontarine, but I think Monell Cop, to his nickname a little bit, is a potential superstar and excited to see what he can do with the pay-per-view showcase. Love it. This is going to be a tremendous stretch for you in the UFC. Some fascinating fights coming up. I love the main events in the 18th. I love the Sirukia on Gamrod main event on the 25th.

That is fantastic. And then international fight week, two pay-reviews in July. you got to save that voice, my man. And you have to yell during the NBA finals when you can ever watch, we can actually get the chance to watch these games. But I will let you go. You're one of the busiest men in the world. And I appreciate your time as always, John.

Best of luck on the headsets. And can't wait to hear these next two weeks of fights coming from your voice, my man. Thank you, buddy. This is good energy for me as I leave the great United States of America. So hope everybody enjoys the fights. And I'm sure we'll talk on the backside, my man. Thank you. You're listening to the Vox Media Podcast.

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.