MMA Fighting - On To the Next One | Matches To Make After UFC 273

Episode Date: April 10, 2022

While Khamzat Chimaev proves that he belongs with the very best in the welterweight division, he’ll more than likely have to get another victory over another top guy before getting his opportunity to become a world champion. The question is, who should that opponent be?  On an all-new edition of On To the Next One, that question is discussed following Chimaev’s unanimous decision win over Gilbert Burns in an instant classic at UFC 273. In addition, future matchups are discussed for featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski and Chan Sung Jung following their main event battle — which was won by Volkanovski via fourth-round TKO in a flawless performace — Aljamain Sterling and Petr Yan after “Funk Master” unified the titles in a razor close, split decision victory in the co-main event, Mackenzie Dern following her decision win over a gritty Tecia Torres, the still-undefeated Mark O. Madsen, and more with MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck and Alexander K. Lee. Follow Mike Heck: @MikeHeck_JR Follow Alexander K. Lee: @AlexanderKLee 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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Nice travels. Wi-Fi available to Aero Pembers on equipped flights, sponsored by Bound. Conditions apply. Caircanada.com. You're listening to the Vox Media Podcast Network. Hello there, everybody, and welcome to a brand new edition of On to the next one. I am Mike Heck.

We are back after a rare week off to attempt to predict the futures of some of the notable names coming out of a quite memorable UFC 273 events on Saturday in Jacksonville, Florida. I am actually still in Jacksonville, but not for much longer. And more on what that means for this. show in a moment, but joining me as always, the co-host, the co-matchmaker, the Prince of Positivity, the well-rested, I'm sure, best friend himself, Mr. Alexander Kay Lee. Good morning, sir. What's not my best friend? I mean, look, seeing you always takes me up another level, energy-wise, but I'm in a pretty good mood anyway. Like, it wasn't the most,

top-top-on-it wasn't the most amazing card. We'll repeat what our, our, our brilliant New Mark Freaks said that this is this was a three-course meal card not a not a buffet and we knew that because the prelims were fine main card was pretty good actually all all five fights were pretty good actually really liked McKenzie Dern and Tichit Torres as well but it was but storyline wise I felt like so much so much move forward I feel like we had forward movement for in the stories of Kamsat Shemayev Osamaid Sterling Volkanowski even the people who lost they'd be heading in the other direction but we we learned I think we learned things and I'm all about learning. Rules rule. People know that. And also, I love to learn. That's the other thing. I don't

know if people know that about me, Mike. I love to learn. And we learn things about a lot of the fighters on Saturday's card. And I'm very excited to talk about it more. I agree. But first off, I think it's fair to say that we pride ourselves in being a show for the peeps. But this week, unfortunately, we're just not going to get to all of the peeps or I'm probably going to guess we're going to get to very few, probably the least amount we've ever had on the show because I need to beat feet out of here in around 50 to 55 minutes at the most to check out of the hotel, head home, get something to eat, all that good stuff. So we're going to get to our pitch.

Because you're still in Duval. Yeah, I am on the gun before checkout. So we're getting after it here. We'll get to as many listener picks as we can. And although we'll miss probably most of you, I promise we'll make it up on a future day. And luckily, we have a brand new show on the MA Fighting Podcasting Network and live on Twitter three days a week, Tuesday, Thursday, and Thursdays and Friday. So if you want to get your matchmaking questions in for that show, we could do that.

And we will make it up to you either way, because that's what we do. But let's get into it, AK, no more time to waste. Let's begin with the man who, even he even flipped our own E. Casey Leiden with this conversation. This man may very well be the best fighter on Planet Earth right now. And his name is Alexander Volcanowski. He goes out, and in my opinion, he pitches, I mean, as close to a perfect game as you can, over a fight that ends up in the championship rounds against the Korean zombie. A lot of people thought this fight would be more competitive than the betting line suggests.

But in the end, Volkinovsky showed he probably should have been an even bigger favorite as he dominated zombie, got his first finish in over three years to boot. This seems pretty obvious where he's going, but maybe not. Your thoughts on what could be next for the featherweight champion of the world. Yeah, Mike, the beauty of the rankings and whether you have Volcanowski one or two is, I think we're still very soon going to get to see him definitively prove it if he didn't already with that performance on Saturday. He's got to fight Max Holloway again. I don't know if it's next.

I don't know if it's one fight and then whenever Max Holloway is ready, we don't know the time until for his return. We still don't really know why he's out. But this is going to be a pretty easy show. I think this whole show has me pretty easy. I didn't have a lot of difficulty with too many of the matchups. And this is one of the easier ones. I've seen a few people ask, do you really want to see them fight again? like do we need to keep seeing these guys fat i'm like yes these are the two best one 45ers in the

world two of the best of all time if wokenowski and hollow he fought each other 10 times i'd be happy i don't think their bodies could withstand it i don't think we're i don't think we're gonna get we're gonna get the best of seven series though that would be amazing but that structure i mean i may unfortunately is really just not structured in a way where that's possible so but either way we need to see at least at least once and i'm happy to see it next if i think it's i think it's going to happen next it's my magic wand pick if i were booking and and i could guarantee Max Hollow is ready in the next four or five months, that's where I'm going with it. Yeah, I mean, it's got to be Max Holloway.

Give me that fight again. The second one, I say it all the time, underrated classic, one of the closest fights you will ever see as a mixed martial arts fan in the way Holloway has looked since that second fight and how much better Volcanowski has gotten since that second fight. It is the one, and dare I say, it would be a great mate event or co-made event for international fight week, AK. I think that would be a great spot for that fight. I mean, as long as Volcanovsky turned around,

but the way he was speaking at the press conference seemed like he wanted to get back in there right away and do the damn thing, and I think Holloway would probably be ready as well. So great performance from Volcanovsky. I can't wait to see that third fight with Holloway, which is well done on the great part. But as far as where the Korean zombie goes, this is kind of a tough one because, and I feel like we say this after a lot of his fights,

he's certainly going to need to take some time off. He's going to need to re-energize, refocus. He's going to have to heal up because he took a beating in this fight. And because of that, I'm going with Bryce Mitchell, okay? Bryce said he was going to need some time after his win over Edson Barbosa. Maybe we see him at the end of the year. He said he's going to head to heal up some injuries. He was in no true rush to get back in there.

But I feel like schedules will probably line up here. I mean, if this is a case where zombie could come back in like three or four months, I might go a different way. But I feel like these two guys, their timelines where they're both at in this division, I feel like the schedules line up here. So that's my pick. What say you? I'm a little surprised you went Mitchell because that's kind of close to where I'm going

with it. I'm going with Barbosa. I actually think the loser of that Mitchell Barbosa fight as the one who should fight zombie. This isn't the first time. I brought this up on the next one. I think you brought it before. I know our listeners have. It's a matchup.

We feel like we need to see before both men, before either man decides to hang it up, which which could be soon, and I don't mean that as an insult. I mean that I'd be very happy to see either man retire because they've frankly shed enough blood and sweat for all of us that I hope they've made enough money that they can, if they wanted to retire tomorrow in peace and comfort, they could. I feel like that's not the case, and we're going to see both guys fight it a few more times.

So if that must be the case, they have to fight each other. They have to fight each other. Anyone who thinks zombie is done, just because of that, for instance, Volkanowski, I don't agree. I just think Volcanoes that good. Zombie was just clearly overmatched.

He's a tier below, maybe two tiers below Volcanovsky and Ortega and Holloway. And that's about where Barbosa sits for me as well. So let's still these guys in there, make that a fight night main event or a co-main event. Give me five rounds of it, though, please.

It might not need to go five, but to give me the option of five. Yeah, give me five with Bryce too. Either way, I'm all for it. You mentioned the show's going to be kind of easy. Another one that seems pretty easy. Al Jermaine Sterling exercised a ton of demon. on Saturday.

He gets the split nod over Peotter Jan. And let me just say this. Even if Jan got the nod, which a good amount of people felt he did, including UFC President Dana White, I still believe Sterling would have had a giant weight lifted off his shoulder. He still would have exercised some of those demons

because that fight was really good. It was really close. It was really interesting along the way. It may not be the most memorable fight of all time because it just so happened to follow the MMA version of the Rock v. Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania in Toronto, which will get into that fight in a moment. But Sterling, AK, is the undisputed, unified, bantamweight champion of the world.

Now he has two official wins in a row over Peodor Yan. So the question is, will it be T.J. Dillashaw next for the Funkmaster. Yeah, yeah, it's got to be. It makes the most sense financially. T.J. Dillashaw, love him or hate him. He just has the resume of a guy who's, unless he goes on a massive win. excuse me losing streak over the next a couple of years he's just he's just in the proverbial mix two-time champion uh i would imagine top four at worst on anyone's uh bantamweight rankings i don't know

maybe some people have some more progressive rankings out there and they've they've bumped up some of the newer guys but until like they beat until dill shot loses to any of them i just find it hard for them to take his spot i hate that of course you know he he tested positive um when he moved down to flyway he failed that drug test he did his time and and got the two years off and should he immediately be thrown back on the title picture? I don't know. You guys can debate it. I'm not a fan of it, but I understand how combat sports works. You've done your time. You get, you know, that door opens right back up for you. And as far as Dana White in the UFC concern, I guess he's said and done all the right things to

regain his former status. So he is next. I'm sure Al Jemaine Sterling wants it. Very high profile fight. Winnable fight for Al Jop. Extremely tough fight, but winnable. It's a legacy fight if you're Sterling and you beat Dilleshaw. Again, we talk about, you talk about, you know, silencing some of the critics, some of the haters like he did with the, that went over Yon, a win over Dilashaw, boy, again, that takes its fame level up another, up another level. And I think him and his team will both be angling for that. And Dilashaw, of course, ready to sign as soon as the contract comes.

Okay, so I haven't officially made up my mind yet on this. But Dilashaw is clearly involved in the scenario, because I have very strongly fought for a T.J. Dillashaw versus Jose Aldo type, number one contender fight. I think that's the fight that 1,000. percent should be made. And again, that would be another good one for an international fight. Can you imagine T.J. Dillishaw versus Jose Aldo on that card? And the winner gets a title shot.

The stakes are super high. And even T.J. Dillishaw, he came back and spoke to the media. It's just a weird time. I felt like he maybe should have been brought back after the title fight. But he was like literally brought back on as the first fight. Like, it was before the first fight was happening. I'm like, what are we doing here? Our headline on the site, because we put it up as soon as the interview happened is,

part of it was to the jillishon, would prefer to fight Peter Jan. It's like, well, that's useless now. Two hours later, that was useless. And I'm like, thanks, UFC. Great job. But you could do five rounds of that fight, too. Like, that could be the featured bout.

You could do five rounds of Aldo versus Dillosh. And it would be absolutely ridiculous because, like, why wouldn't you do that? Just go have some fun. That's my want. Here's the, like, here's, here's my, here's my thought here. Because Aljo has been through a ton of crap over these last several months. He has put everything he had into this training camp. He has dealt with a lot.

So my question is, how long is he going to wait to get back in there? Is this something that he's going to come back in August or September? Like, will we not see him until the end of the year? Maybe even like early next year? Like, how much of a toll did this camp, this build physically, mentally, emotionally, how much of a toll did it take on him? So I'm taking you on a journey and I'm trying to do the math in my brain right now. I think right the second the UFC is looking at Sterling Dilleshaw,

if they could do it, they will. But I'm going to go Dillishaw Aldo, winner gets Sterling. I just don't know if time, I don't think timeframes are going to line up. I just don't know if T's just going to want to wait until the end of the year to fight. And I think if they put him in a five-round fight with Jose Aldo, number one contender about treat it like it's a title fight in a way. Like don't say it's an interim title fight, but treat it like it's an interim title fight, if you will. Go that route and the winner gets Al Jermaine Sterling.

because both guys have, especially with Yon out of the picture right now, two fresh matchups, two very intriguing matchups, and why not just build this thing up and make it a bigger fight for Sterling? So I'm going to go that route. I'm sticking to my plan. Dillishat, Aldo, number one contender fight, international fight week, five rounds, and the winner gets a shot at Al Jermaine Sterling later on in the year. Everyone's healthy and ready to go, Mike.

How do you feel about the possibility of Aljo versus Aldo? hashtag Aldo on Aljo and T.J. Dillashaw versus Piotr Yon. I'm not a huge fan. If Dilloshat doesn't fight for the belt, it's Jose Aldo. There's no other options. That's it. Unless there's injuries and stuff like that, I think that's the only way you do it. Now, for Piotr Yon, this one was actually easier for me because this story continues, right?

The UFC, they're not going to go back to this well at least right the second. They're going to have Jan and Sterling kind of do their own thing, go on their own paths for a little while. But the beauty of this division right now, A.K., is that Pejor Yan can still get a fight, but the storyline can continue. You throw him in there with the man he got into a tata taut with backstage at the ceremonial weigh-ins, Al Jermaine Sterling's best buddy, the AK Lee, to his Mike Heck, Marab de Wailash-Willi. I mean, this is a no-brainer. Marab needs a big fight. There's some heat. This continues the storyline.

If Peerrean goes out there and beats Marab and, like, does so convincingly, Aljo's going to want to fight Peerrean. So that, for a career move to the shortest path back to the title, I think Marab's the guy. I think Marab's the guy, A.K. That's a perfect parallel, comparing us to Aljo and, because you are very, I think I feel like you are very much the funk master of our pairing.

I am very much like Marav. I'm a bit of a wild, man. I'm a little bit of a wild man. I'm a little unpredictable, but I like to have fun. So, yeah, perfect example. Again, it's really one for one. It's really a one for one. People really do say we are the Marab and Alcho of the MMA media.

Yeah, I love that. It's a very pro wrestling, like, storyline. I'm imagining, you know, Sterling cutting a promo this week in an interview somewhere saying, I'm never, I'm never giving that guy another shot. I'm up two-oh. I'm the real champ, Piotrion. go to another division if you want to get a title and then if again if this were you know a w dynamite or something uh beholder yonlton taking a chair to uh to mirab obelish will his leg

and forcing sterling's hand and saying i will break his leg if you do not give me a title shot this won't be quite as dramatic like you said uh i will you know i will beat mirab de volge valli in a fight to prove that i deserve another towel shot so that makes a lot of sense i went in a somewhat more boring direction uh i guess maybe i want to remove him from the Sterling Serolongo feud. I like maybe, and timeline-wise, this would probably work out perfectly. Rob Font, Marlon Vera are fighting April 30th. Maybe the Fond Cito winner?

Maybe. You really kind of got me with that Marab scenario, and I certainly thought about it. And I'm really not sure what to do with Marab next, frankly, if he doesn't fight a top guy. But I'm going a little more conservative here. This may be more of what I expect to happen as well as to what will happen. and I'm going to say Yon versus Font Cheeto winner on April 30th. I spoke with Marab here in Jacksonville. He's thinking July, August is when he wants to come back.

So, I mean, again, I've said this about Marab a million times. It's going to be very difficult to find him a top opponent. But I feel this scenario actually makes sense for Jan because it builds a story and all that stuff. And it could get him back to a third fight with. Hashtag Marab on Rob. It's fun to say. That's fun. I mean, listen, either.

those fights that you mentioned, even the winner of font, Cheeto is a lot of fun as well. But let's get into the... Random way to... Yes. Hack the holidays with the PC Holiday Insiders report. Try this PC Porchetta. Crackling, craveworthy. You gonna eat that?

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Okay, okay. Try the season's hottest flavors from the PC Holiday Insiders Report. Please feast responsibly. But now, A.K., we have to move on to one of the most delivered fights in UFC history in comparison to the hype. Hamzat Shemayev defeats Gilbert Burns in a freaking war. And I went on the preview show. And I actually went with this. And in our official picks, I kind of veered off.

I whipped out. but at least it's on the record that I said this fight's going to go one of two ways either Shemayev is just going to bolt to Gilbert Burns in a minute or we're going to be in for an absolute war and I went with the war and I went Shemaya by decision at least on the preview show and we got even better than that in my opinion

incredible fight both guys showed a ton in that one both guys bled both guys hurt battered bruised and everyone who watched it is now better for it is now a bigger fan of this sport so huge win for Ham Zah not Shemayev, anyone who is saying that, you know, Hamzad is not the real deal or anything like

that, shame on you because you're doing a disservice to what Shemayev, because, A.K., you just talked about learning and how important it is to learn. It is an absolute disservice to Hamzat Shemayev because he needed this fight. And to be frank, it is very disrespectful to Gilbert Burns to even say that because that man, my proverbial hat, goes off to you, Gilbert Burns. All right? Shemaya passes the test. Burns has nothing to be ashamed of him in any way. where does Hamzat go now? Is it the Colby Covington fight? Because I will say this, heading into that card,

I understood why Dana White said Colby, and I wasn't all that interested in it. Now I feel a lot different. What's your thoughts on this? I should apologize to Leon Edwards before I say this. Omar Usman. Listen, I've been beating this drum for a long time, and I think I have to stick with it.

Kamar Usman, get Shemaya now. I know, even though he's the champ, he doesn't necessarily call the shots. Like I said, the UFC has their own plans for him, for Leon Edwards, for Shemaiah, for Colby Covington. You know, Dana White's saying on the Pat Maccabbee show just a day before Saturday that if Shemaiah wins the plans to put together fight with him in Covington, makes all the sense in the world. Of course, that's a very sellable matchup, the next logical test. But I have had Gilbert, I have had Gilber Burns ahead of Colby Covington in my rankings for a long time. People can agree or disagree. frankly I don't care.

This fight did nothing to change that for me. Like we said, Gilbert Burns performed amazingly well against a much bigger opponent. Some people thought he won. I don't. I had it for Shemaiah of 29, 28. But that third round was a banger. And Gilbert Burns ended the fight so strongly, I understand why he left that impression. So the fight had no real losers.

Both guys just looked fantastic. And for me, I have been ready to see Shemaya, Khamya, tested against Usman. and again, I just stand by my theory that is Uzman's, it would be a strategic move to get Shemayev now. We don't know how great Shemayev can be. I'm sure if you're Uzman and his team, you saw that fight and you saw a lot of holes. Very hitable. He's going to learn from a lot of those mistakes.

Does he have time to learn from all of them before, you know, if you had to fight Uzman next? I don't know. And if you're Uzman, you should jump on that opportunity. This guy is coming for you. And maybe Uzman is good. enough to beat the best version of Shemayev and maybe that's what he wants. It was Monsa competitor.

Maybe he's like, I want this guy to be when he finally, when I finally fight him, I want the best, best version of Shemayev because I know I can take him. But if there's ever, if there's even slightly any doubt, you try and make that matchup happen. And let's be honest, it could happen, especially with Leon Edwards, the poor guy. I don't know what happened. He's like a baseball player. He suffers some of this.

He's got unfortunate injuries and just setbacks. COVID-19, just these weird things that happened to him. and the matchmaker is just not liking him, I don't know. He might have to wait. That fight's not official. We said there's a chance. Jose Young's very confident that Leon Edwards is going to get the shot. He should get the shot.

He should get the shot. But I'm saying if I'm Usman, I'm a matchmaking from Usman's perspective, get this even more sellable fight now and a guy who snuffed that challenger out before he gets too hot. I will say this. I was on the side that if Shemai won, that there was a chance that he would leapfrog Leon. It's just dependent on how he did it. As the week progressed and conversations I've had,

I realize a little bit slower that Leon's going to get this fight. Like, it's probably going to happen in July. I don't know if it's going to happen in the National Fight Week. It's going to happen in July. But I was 99.9% convinced Leon was getting the fight even before Saturday. But now it's the Colby fight. It is so much more interesting now. It's a huge fight.

You do it on ABC. And if you get that on ABC, massive, massive main event, five rounds. It'd be freaking gigantic. And it's a number one contender fight. Because even if Colby wins, you can run it back with Usman again, and no one's going to complain about that.

Like some people might, but I wouldn't. I want to see those guys fight again. I think still, right now, even with Shamiahe beating Gilbert Burns, I think Colby Covington is still the best welterweight or the second best Walterweight in the world. he's the best behind Kamar Usman.

And right now, in my mind, and this is no disrespect to Hamzat, this just goes to say, like, how effective Colby Covington is, I would right the second pick Colby to win that fight. But it would be a war, it would be very close. I just think if it's a five-rounder, the way Colby just, he's got a chin on him, he can take shots, he could deliver a lot of volume and just his work against the fence, even as big as strong as Hamzat Shemayev is,

I think Colby could wear on him, on the stretch because both guys got tired in that fight. Colby wouldn't get tired. He would just keep going and keep chaining those takedowns together and just keep trying to make Hamzat's life miserable. So, right? I mean, it would be a very slight favorite. And I think the betting odds would have that fight maybe like minus 160 for Hamzot right

now because recency bias. But right now, if like this fight happened tomorrow without any build, any press conferences or anything, I would lean Colby to win a unanimous decision in that fight. But that's why I want to see it. That's why I want to see it because if he goes out there beats Colby in any way, any form at all, he gets his title fight against the winner of Usman v. Leon. And I just want to see what Colby's pace does against Hamzat's chaos. Let's go ABC five rounds.

I'm all in on that fight. I didn't think I would be, but I'm all in on it. I think there's no question we see that fight someday. And I'm like you, I do need to see that fight, that question answered. But I want who's my next. If I had to pick, I'm a child. I want it now, Mike. Right.

Like, I want it now. If Usman was... I wanted it like six months ago. I want it now. If Usman was Connor, he'd probably do that. But I just think the UFC's gonna be like, nah, dude. Like, we're gonna build him up and give him one more.

And if he beats Colby, then we get him. We're trying to... They're positioning this guy to be the champion of the world. And I think they realize that if he fought Usman right now, this is a pretty good chance. Usman wins that fight even as good as Hamz. And this is no knock on Hamzot. Because that...

I learned more about Hamzot. I was actually more impressed with Hamzot in his progression in his career after watching that fight with Gilbert had opposed to what I would have felt like if he just went in there bolted Gilbert like a much bigger story we'd be talking about it for weeks

but this was this was better for him 1,000% let's head 15 minutes with Gilbert Burns are going to approve him so much not just the fight itself but when they get when they check the tapes

and dissect that performance man they are going to be there's so many things and we'll take away from that and make him a better fight I like I would picture I have to beat Coventon and really pretty much anybody else he fights next except for Usman. Let's head to McKenzie Dern, who picked up a huge win, very closely matched fight.

M.M.A. Decisions, meeting members, I think this is the most, if we're using the quote-unquote robbery word, this would be the only fight, really, from the M.M.A. decisions landscape, that would be worth a A.K. robbery review because even on M.A. decisions for the Stirling-Yon fight, more people sided with Sterling. There were a bunch of draws, and then a couple people went with Jan, but it was mostly Sterling. This one, 11 to 7 margin for a very gritty T. Chet Torres. I didn't think this is a robbery.

This is a close fight, a split decision. However you scored it, I'm cool with. But Dern's looking to get back to maybe a number one contenders fight, A.K. She threw out a bunch of names. She was very realistic about it. One of which was Jan Jaunan, and I like that one, AK. So, spoiler, that's what I'm going with. Your thoughts on what's next for, McKenzie Dern.

Yeah, very smart callout. Someone who I think is one spot ahead of her, either in our rankings or in the official rankings or both. Sorry, excuse my clicking and clattering here, guys. I forgot to bring up the rankings. Normally I have these things prepared, but, you know, again, pretty hectic night. Pretty hectic night last night, guys. I think Yon Shon, and our rankings, we might have, have McKenzie Dern higher. Let me take a quick look here.

We have McKinsey Dern one spot above Yon Shon. So they're pretty close together. UFC, I can't remember. I think she's ahead of her there, too. I do like to call it. Very smart move right after the fight. She knows what she's doing. She's always kind of been good with Collison picking opponents.

So credit to McKenzie Dern for that. But I don't know. You know, Jan, two-fight losing streak. Yeah, tough opponents. She looked good in her last fight. I'm not crazy, right? She fought Marina Hodriguez. Yeah, and it was a good fight.

It was a really competitive fight. A lot of people thought Jan won that fight, by the way. Really? I don't know if I don't know if I agree with that, but it certainly was competitive and a very dangerous fight for Marina. But I will say, I like what you're saying. She does obviously want to move back to a number one contenders fight. I don't think there's a better number of contenders fight than fighting Carla Sparza if she loses to Rosemajunas.

So that's what's happening May 7th, U.S. 274. We're about a month away. Carlos Sparza could certainly beat Rosenoviz. So this is, I'm not saying she was definitely going to lose. This is an if pick for me. So I won't get a point. For example, I won't get a point if Rose Namajunis loses and fights the McKinsey-Denzyr. That's not what I'm saying.

I specifically, because I think Rose would get a rematch if she lost to Carlos Boszer. They'd be one-in-one. You could probably sell an immediate rematch. UFC likes her, fans likes her. If she's ready to go and healthy, they'd probably just want to book that one again right away. But if Carlos Barza loses, suddenly she's 0-1-2 against. Oh, sorry, she'd be, my math is so screwed in my head. she would be one and one and one

and I don't think she would get I don't think she would get a rematch Mike did anything I just say there made sense I know what you're saying because of just as exhausted as you are I mean this wouldn't be a number one contenders fight per se but if Dern won she sets her up nicely to get a title shot yes I'm sorry that's what I meant Carlos as far as that yes it's okay so Carl's wasn't loses

it would even up the series but Carla's not getting another shot at Rose Nubbunit if Rose loses even though she'd be 0 and 2 I think she would get a rematch with Carla, third fight. But Carla, yes, with a loss, should fight McKenzie Dern. I think great style matchup. I think Dern would jump at it again. And that, if you beat Carla Sparza coming off for Lost to Rose, there's your telosat. Is she ready for one with just one more fight?

Man, I don't know. But I think she's really, I think McKenzie is really, really fun to watch. Very popular fighter. UFC could sell a fight with her in Rose Namajunis in the year of our Lord 2020. It's a sellable fight. Yeah, I'm down for it. I just don't know. I mean, well, maybe timelines would line up

because either way, Kyle was getting married like a week after that fight and just she's going to want to take time and enjoyed marry life and as she should. Let's go to Irish Marco Mattson, A.K. Oh, the pride of Ireland. Oh, that's so funny.

That was just hilarious. Twitter was tremendous. Joe Rogan actually was, Joe Rogan actually fixed it. He was going in and out. He was going in and out. He would say, oh, Madsen, then he'd say Madsen, then he'd say Madsen, then he'd

say, then he'd have a good run of Madsen's, then he'd have some O Madsen's. And he didn't help that. That was Paul Felder. Paul Felder was saying, oh, Madsen. So that didn't help, Rogan. That was probably throwing him off again. Anick, of course, was on point the whole time. He was saying just Madsen.

Guys, it is just Madsen. It is just Madsen, oh is just Madsen. Oh, is just Madsen, okay? It's not O-hyphen Madsen. And so he's not confused with two-time NBA champion, Mark Madsen. I understand why he throws the O in there, because Mark Madsen is an North-Matson of the Lakers was an international superstar. So you got to throw that.

Owen there. Yeah, we're not going to Dublin to have a pint at O'Matson's pub. Okay, we're just not. I mean, maybe there is an O'Matson somewhere, but not this particular, it won't be owned by this guy, but he gets to win over a gritty Vince Pichel. Heading in, I felt like winner should absolutely get a top 15 opponent. I like Marco Madsen. I think he has a tremendous personality. He seems like one of the good guys of the sport, but I don't know, man. He didn't close the show in a way that tells me like, all right, we got to get this guy a top 15 opponent. It's good win. Vince Vichel is a tough dude. I actually feel like

in the eyes of fans, Pichelle's stock rose more than Madsen's, even with a loss. Definitely not a third round. We're going to be going back and talking about for a round of the year by any stretch of the imagination, but at the end of the day, Mark Madsen is trying to support his family. He's trying

to support his kids and try to make as much money as possible. And the win is more important than anything I, you, or anybody else after say. So I don't know. What do you think he's going to do now? He's 12 and 0. Still undefeated. Where do we go? Yeah, this was tough. 37 years old. So again, and pretty old and fight years. Again, like I said, he's an Olympian. He's been wrestling his entire life. That's a ton of combat sports wear and tear on this man's body. He's an incredible shape, don't you? I mean, you look at

Marco Madison. You're like this guy. This guy looks like he looks like a beast. So he's definitely if he's 37, again, I'd actually say 37 years young. He's just, he looks fantastic. But yeah, he's a tricky guy to book because he is undefeated, but he's not like an undefeated guy who has in the mystique of like a Hamzaa Shama. I mean, he's not like trucking people. This win made him, what, 4 and O, I think now in the UFC with some nice names. You know, again, Vince Pichel is a classic spoiler. So, yeah, it wasn't a dominant victory, but to get past him is big. I had Vince Pichel way ahead of Madsen in the rankings.

So that was a big jump. This will be a big jump for Madsen for me. And I think the winner was a close one, not that impressive. Clay Guida is a veteran. That was nice. So I had a lot of trouble with this one. I don't know if you did. So I had to go to my secret secret rankings, Mike, which extend well beyond a top

15 that goes all the way to the infinity. I rank every fighter in the UFC. And I landed on Hanata Moikano. I have Hano and number 22 in my rankings. I have Mark O'Madson at 23. And yeah, just a good fight. Moikano Bearer experience. I think he wants, he still wants a quality opponent.

He's not looking for a big bump down in competition. an undefeated silver medalist definitely fits the bill and for Madsen again you need more experience you need to keep fighting guys with different styles, different challenges Moikano, a very different challenge from Ms. Pichel and I think it would be a great main card fight

on a fight night somewhere. I'm going with Demir Isma Gulov I'm not going to spend a ton of time on this but both guys I just feel like it's perfect both guys are on great streaks both guys sort of need a signature performance both guys look at a crack the top 15 I just think timing's great for this one and that's the one I'm going with 4 and O in the UFC,

4 and O in the UFC. Someone's those got to go. Storylines. We like stories and we like learning, AK, and we're going to learn a lot about both those guys in a fight like that. So let's head to the wild card round because we're more than halfway through the show already. We're going to choose one fighter we have not match made for yet,

and we will matchmake for them right now. Lots to choose from here, AK. Where are we going here? I hope we pick the same person because I had a lot of trouble with this one, but obviously I think this guy needs to be talked about because the U.S. He's very, very much invested in him.

I thought he had a good performance on Saturday, not one that's going to blow the doors off, one that's, I'm sure, people can scrutinize. Ian Gary, the future, 24 years old, a guy many people feels destined to challenge for the welterweight title someday, maybe 2024, not anytime soon, but he seems to be on that path.

He's got the look, he's got this kind of, you know, not a larger-than-life personality, but he's certainly very comfortable on the microphone. and he's got the skills. He's got the skills. He looked very impressive in Caged Warriors. And I think has looked good in his first two UFC fights, if not exactly like a top 20 guy yet,

not even like a top 30, if we're being honest. So I have to go, again, I'm going kind of sticking the same level of UFC experience. I went with Ramaz Ramiz, excuse me, Ramiz Brahimaj, who was two and two in the UFC, recently bounced back with a win. Good fighter, talented guy, great grappler. So kind of, again, presents a stylistic matchup for a challenge, excuse me, for Ian Gary and a win-able fight. And even if he loses, I think even if he lost to Brahima, it's like, I'm sure people

would criticize, but I think that guy's really tough and is the kind of opponent that he just needs to learn from. So I don't know. If you picked Ian Gary and you have a better pick than me or if you can just want to kind help me, offer me some advice here, Mike, because I actually really didn't know where to go with the future. I do not pick Ian Gary. I do want to shout him out, though, because, you know, people give him crap about

what he says in the microphone, but I get to tell you, I mean, this guy's personality is tremendously infectious. You're around this guy. He's happy, smiling. It's just, just a personality, to say the least. Like, really nice guy. I mean, it's just super cool. And I actually liked his post-fight scrum. Like, it's nothing, it wasn't like headline worthy or anything like that, but he's very, you know, obviously some confidence there. He sees, he's investing in himself. He feels like in, in a few years, he'll be that guy. And, you know what? And if we're talking about how we feel about Ian Gary and how we feel about the Patty Pimbleds of the world, I'm investing all my money in Ian Gary, if I only have the choice between the two of those guys, because Ian will get over eventually,

good or for bad. But I feel like he's, I feel like his skills are just going to evolve in a much quicker way. In like five years from now, we're going to be talking about Ian Gary potentially fighting for a world title. Well, I don't feel like we're going to be having that conversation with Patty. And again, I'm not going off on this tangent. I don't want to talk about Patty Pimble right now. But I like, I liked everything.

I liked everything. I liked everything I saw for me and Gary this week. I thought it, and luckily we didn't get a post-fight interview. We might have. I don't remember you even remember. But he came back. He was like, listen, I know you guys want to watch this fight. I want to watch this fight too.

They brought him in right before the Shemiah Burns fight as they were both walking out. And he was like, I understand you guys want to watch this fight. So I'm going to make this super short. I'm like, I love you for that. I'm going with Raquel Pennington, A.K., because she did a lot of things right on Saturday. She won the fight. I thought her post-fight scrum was one of the best of the night. She was planting a lot of seeds after defeating Aspen Ladd.

She called for her number one contender fight, which I actually think she deserves right now. The streak that she's on right now, you could absolutely throw her in her number one contender fight, and I would not complain about it at all. I feel like Holly Holm, Kettlen Vieira might be more of that, but I actually think Raquel Pennington is a much more interesting fighter in this division right now, especially if Giuliana Pena beats Amanda Nunes. The Sarah McMahon callout, I just did not like it all. It just didn't make any sense to me.

Everything else is great. Number one contender fight. Yes. McMahon, no. Arrini Aldana? Yes. That's the fight. Arrini was supposed to fight Aspen Ladd on this card.

Raquel Pennington replaced Arrini Aldana, got the win. I think Arrini Eldata in the, I don't know what she's ranked in our rankings. UFC rankings, I think she's like three. So yeah, that's the one I'm going with. Because I don't know if the UFC was going to position this fight as a number one contender fight, but if someone came out and got a big win, they make a strong case to fight the winner of Juliana Pena versus Amanda Nunes too whenever that happens,

probably sometime in the summer. So if Aspen didn't get the job done, Raquel did. Let's give her that fight and see if she can get another big win. So that'll be five in a row. And I mean, I don't know what else she needs to do. Yeah, we have Eldana five one spot ahead of Pennington. They fought in, of course, July 2019.

Pennington won a quite highly disputed split decision. 100%. I know most people watching thought Aldana won that fights. Probably why she's ranked ahead of Raquel in our rankings. Yeah, I would love to see that one run back. It feels like it has to be done. Again, I'm talking 2019, so we're two, oh, almost three years ago. So we are well past the time where we can say, oh, that fight happened so recently.

Do we need to see it again? Yeah, yeah, we probably did it see again. I like that pick for Raquel. I love the idea of her fighting Pena someday, by the way. Ultimate Fighter 18, never die. they should have met in the finals of that show I will be amazed Mike if you can name who beat

Raquel Pennington to make the finals of the ultimate fighter 18 a Canadian woman who I think never fought again if I'm not mistaken after losing too yeah so you kind of remember what I'm talking about right I know I kind of know but I can't remember that she fought another Canadian she fought Valerie La Tourneau in her one UF's post tough UFC fight and lost

2015 never fought again Who I just say the name. I know it was like a big up to it. Jessica Rikosi. Yep, that's the one. That's the one. Her final, her final MMA record, professional, not including that. She went three and all in the ultimate fighter, obviously, to make the final.

Not including that. Her actual pro record? One and five. One no contest. What a strange. I should track this woman down because she must have a story to tell. And it was shocking. She was not one of the favorites to make the final.

This was a house that had Roxanne was in there. Shana Bazelor. and this little known woman from this little known warrior, I'd say, excuse me, from, from Hamilton, Ontario, fought Juliana Pena. And it was not a close fight in the final. But, yeah, very strange. She beat Raquel Payne's. And so I'd also love to see that.

I'd love to see that fight finally happen, Raquel and Julianna and Pena. But we'll see. Maybe. She gets past Aldana. Maybe it happens. All right. We're going to go to the peeps. We're going to skip the disclaimer this week because, I mean, there's no rules here.

Okay. I'm on my, I haven't looked at any of these. I'm on my Instagram DMs. I'm literally going to scroll and pick five. I'm going to pick five. And then I'm turning it over to you. I'm going to do the same thing, yeah. All right.

So here we go. Francesco, our big Italian fan. He likes Mike Malott versus A.J. Fletcher. Julio Arce versus Mario Batista. Pennington Duranda me too. I don't hate that idea at all. Hernandez versus Bruno Silva. Alenic versus Wanaspino.

Ooh, inject that. That's great fight. And he likes Ian Gary versus Brian Barbarina, which I actually like that. that fight as well. That's actually a big in matchmaking right there. John Ray, with over 132 combined fights, how have Arlofsky and Olinik not fought? I don't care if Arlowski wins or loses,

meritocracy be damned, please. Of course, Arlowski is going to be fighting Jake Collier on April 30th, stepping in on short notice. So we will see if Arlowski can make Jedmishu's article about him. Stay on the test of time. Arsay versus Phillips, Hernandez versus Chris Curtis. I like that fight. Ian Gary versus Cowboy Olivera.

Mattson versus Redel That's interesting Dern versus Namuon Excuse me Namiun is loser Burns Covington Shamiya of title fight After Edwards

Or interim versus Edwards I mean Yeah I mean I mean the interim thing is not gonna happen I'm sorry Jan versus Marab

Sterling versus TJ unless he's not ready Then triple C Okay Zombie versus Mitchell His next fight Not Mitchells Well I don't agree with that

And Volcanovsky versus Holloway Seems like an obvious pick Hernandez versus Curtis was not one of the permutations we had of the six middleweight fighters we had, right? That never, that never, that was never in play, right? I think that's the only one that

didn't come about. But I like it. I like it a lot. Ooh, good, a newcomer. Clemens Lumber. Hey, long time follower from Austria here with some Otno picks for UFC 273. Aljo versus Dilisha. Jan versus Marab. The heat is already there. And I don't think the trilogy should be next for Jan and or Sterling.

Homsat versus Colby. Burns versus the Balal-Luke winner. We didn't talk about Burns, but that's the direction I would go. Volcanovsky versus the Gaichi Olivera winner for the lightweight title. Clemens, throwing fastballs in here. I like it.

Bennington. Dunker, Dunca, Clemens, Dunker. Pennington versus Errne-Aldana. McKenzie Duren versus Carla, if Carl loses against Rose. So like a combination of both of our picks, A.K., so you got to love that. Robbie Ryan, Michael, Alexander.

How the Bloody Hell Are You's? Let's have a yarn about the next ones. Robbie Ryan, the man. Volk versus Max again, I guess. You guess? Come on, Robbie. Have some, that may be supposed to be fun. I actually thought about this pick, too.

TKZ versus Giga Chikaze. Yeah, I like that one. Another Aljo T.J. Jan Aldo 2, totally down for that fight if that happens. Shemaya versus title, Burns versus Colby, Dern versus the Lamos-Andraj winner. Yeah, maybe. Why was I against that?

I don't know. I didn't love that camera. I looked at it and I didn't love it. It didn't stick out to me. Mattson versus the winner of Grant Dawson versus Jared Gordon. I like that fight as well. Another Gary versus Barbary in a wild card.

We might see Sterling versus Jan 3 next. I thought Jan won 1, 4, and 5. Yeah. And then we'll end it with our man, Tristan Gordats, before I turn it over to you. Otno fight suggestions. Main card, McKenzie Dern versus Tatyada Swar Yes, Mike.

I got Tatiana skipping the line. I think she will make the cut down to 115 successfully. I just find that fight very intriguing. I will say this, Tristan Gordet. I know what you're thinking. You think I'm about to rip you to shreds right now. But you have to remember, and this is a very important fact that wasn't mentioned on the show,

I'm in Florida right now. You're dealing with Florida, Mike. So I'm not going to rip this apart. And by the way, if Tatian's... You could, though. You could. I could. I'm not going to.

I will after. Go ahead. I actually don't hate this idea. Tata, I think Tatiana will come back and she will fight at 125. I don't know if she stays at 125, but her next fight should be at 125, and it should be against someone that she probably should beat just to like knock some of the rust off. It would be an interesting matchup. I just, if Tataan is like, hey, guess what?

I'm 122 right now. I'm going to fight at 115. Let's go, McKenzie. I'm in. But there's a lot of ifs and we know ifs and what's or candy and that's blah, blah, blah. I was going to say the phrasing of his statement was confusing to me. Like he said, he said, I think Tatyana Suarez will cut down to 115. I think she will make the cut down to 115 successfully.

She's, she has been. That's like it sounds weird. Right, right. But she's. Does he know? No, he knows. He knows. He knows that.

No, he does. He knows that. But she was booked in a flyweight fight before she got hurt again. So I think it's, the phrasing of that makes it sound like he's saying like she's cutting down to 150 for like the first time or something. No, no, no, no. I don't think he meant that. I think.

Defend him. She's also said in many interviews that she will. wants to fight at 125 first and then maybe go from there maybe she stays there who knows some unknowns there but if she does want to go to 115 she's ready to do it now sure that's a good fight uh the irishman marco madsen versus drew dober interesting uh ian gary versus a j fletcher mike malott versus michael michael morales and by the way can i give a shout out to mike malott this guy i actually think he came off in terms of guys who the ufc could look at and be stars uh-huh he's not there yet but he had a he had a hell of a

night. A plus night. A plus night across the board. Congratulations to you, Mike Milad. And I thought he did a good job putting over his coaches go fund me to support his daughter. I like how he kind of took a shot and said, you know, I'm going to donate 10 Gs and kind of through the UFC on the bus a little bit. But then Dana White came back at the press conference. He can keep his 10 G's. We're going to donate 20. And I was like, cool. That's pretty cool. So Mike might have cost himself, might have cost himself a bonus with that comment if we're being honest. But I think Alexie getting the 60 wins and stuff like that it's got to be hard to ignore so hopefully they take care of mike

on the back end they give him a little something something and and yeah but he didn't even get the fan bonuses which is wild to me but not that's not all that surprising did not go to like the three top guy was it was what wasn't it not wolkenovski peter yon got one and he lost oh he said of all that's right that's right well hey that tells the people you know a lot people thought who actually won that fight so hey the people the people are never wrong but i will say mike malott represented water down ontario with pride uh it's a little town it's part of uh it's near hamilton or Pardon me, guys. I've never been to Waterdown, Ontario.

I'm not going to lie. But good old Canadian boy, I'll tell you. You wonder where he gets that gregarious personality? I'm just saying, it's Canadian guy. It's kind of how we are. Very nice guy. And this is a message to you, Halani. A.

Mr. Heawani, if you will. Mike Mott better be on your show this week. That's all I'm going to say. Wow. We turn it to you. Oh, no. I'm not ready. No, I'm kidding.

All right. Let me first. Let me, let me shine the spotlight on some, first timers. We like our first timers. Michael Haynes on an email. Michael P.S. Haynes. First time submitting, appreciate it. I don't know why I did that. I got to leave this area for second. So wax poetically. I have a wax fight first time meeting. Appreciate all you do. Volcanovsky. Volfer's Holloway three. Holloway is the only featherweight that has anything for Volk. I don't know with that. And I think the champ beats him again. TKZ offered nothing.

That that is true. Volk, Usman, and Izzy are just such the class of the divisions. I agree. Sterling versus Jan three. Wow, I want us to do very much with Jan. I think Sterling owns Dilshah. Don't like the fight, though it seems like it's on. Yon presents the biggest challenge. I scored the fight for Yon, but it was a coin flip. Super happy for Aljo.

Didn't deserve the hate. Happy he shut up the haters and shut up the Yon is going to walk through Aljo and could be number one pound for pound in the world talk. So, excuse me, Michael making his opinion pretty clear on the storyline around that matchup. Shemaya versus Covington, in all caps, take all my monies. So the fight proved one, Hamzat is beatable, but still a monster, which makes him even more intriguing. I agree. Two, Burns a badass, and I love that guy.

I think Leon gets to fight with Usman. That's, yes, probably the most fair thing to do. If Shemayev gets the run and beats Burns, Cumberton, and then Uzman for the title, the hype for the guy probably be the biggest ever in MMA. I don't know about biggest ever, but boy, it would be up there. I do think he lost a bit of his fear factor, though. Colby will challenge him mentally in the buildup, and we'll see even more of what this guy's made of. That's probably another reason why I kind of veered away from that matchup is I don't want to hear what Shamaio is going to have to say about Hamzat.

So, and just Hamzat's background in general. It's just going to get really ugly in all the wrong ways. Dern versus, Dern versus Lemoche. I like Lamosh to beat Androdoch. There we go. And even if Lamosch takes the L, I like this fight. So Lamoch either way, regardless of the result of our coin fight. Madsen versus Ludovic Klein.

Gary versus the loser. Oh, I don't know about this. the loser of Miguel Baezza and Fialo. I think both those guys are maybe a little too much for Ian Gary at this point in his career. I like the thinking. I like the thinking. I think both those guys would beat him, though, and pretty convincingly. Well, soon, yeah.

Yeah. Casey Carpenter also on email. Great program, as always. Love Mike's new morning show. Heck of a morning. Heck of an afternoon, as it was once earlier this week. But, yes, heck of a morning. People, please tune in.

Twitter space is very easy to use. Just click on that icon on the M.A. fighting profile, guys, 8 a.m. Eastern time. Rematch, Aldana Pennington, Gary versus Nico Price, Fluffy versus Bruno Silva. And it does sound like a good matchup. Madsen versus Tiago Moises Dern versus the Yawanna Zhang winner. Oh, okay. So kind of the same way I was going, but the winner of that fight. Yeah, again, I think, well, sorry, I went with a different matchup.

But yeah, she has to wait for one of these upcoming matchups. Yawanna Zhang winner, that would be super tough. know, I think both them would be three to one favorites against McKenzie Dair. Hamzat versus Lucay after Lucay wins next week. Oh, calling the shot. I don't think he gets chaos by Usman. And after seeing his cardio tonight, Colby would wear him out. Like, I know you agree with that.

Burns versus Muhammad, Sterling, Dilleshaw, Jan versus winner of Fonberra. Pain's me to say, I like to see Korean zombie retire. Thank you to him for all the great memories. Volka versus Cater. Oh my goodness. Because I know everyone will be picking the max fight. P.S. Keep the martial arts part. Thank you.

Thank you, Jason. Well done. I'll get a couple more here. Sorry, guys. Again, like I said, we're going to have to short change. Yeah, we got two more. Two more. All right.

Well, oh, I'll just go to Twitter first. We got our new guy, Kenichi. He's messaged before. This is the first time actually submitting picks, Volkanowski Holloway. Kenishi wants to say, sign up as a fellow Asian, just a normal human being. That was really hard to see TKZ be worked like that. I love him. This is a big part of me to see him retire.

That's two retirement. Otno calls there and enjoy coaching or training the next generation. I do think he'd be a great coach. trainer and when he retires from fighting you'll still be seeing a lot of the Korean zombie Aljo versus Aldo hashtag Aljo versus Aldo Yon versus Marab there you go Mike it's just make it happen Hamzat Colby Burns Luka versus Luka Muhammad winner he won't fight Lukei right I sincerely doubt he would fight Luque no maybe for a title and if for like millions of dollars but that's probably gonna be Mohammed for sure 100% very happily take that fight Duren versus Rose Carla

loser yeah I like it I think he can Nietzsche says He was nervous. You weren't nervous. That wasn't coming through. And I'll go to Instagram real quick. Sorry, guys. Not reading any picks for Instagram, though. I see you guys.

Some of our great fight pickers from Matt Bradbury, M.M.A heads. Marcus, shout-os to all you guys. But I do want to give a special shout-out to, I'm going to call this guy. We should sponsor him, Mike. I think we need to reach into the petty cash and sponsor Jake Halsey, who won an amateur fight. I believe he's, this isn't his first. He's won other amateur fights. But he was victorious by Arm Triangle Submission at a BT Fighting Series show.

So Jake, he sent me the message. she put the clip out. So, guys, if you want to see the clip yourself, Jake. Dot Halsey, H-A-L-S-E-Y, on Instagram. He's got the highlight up on there. It's a very cool looking finish. He beat a man named James Naran.

So representing Otno and representing all the fighters out there. Thanks, Jake. And I think, you know, again, I appreciate everyone's picks, but we'll get to those another time. Thank you, everyone who sent stuff in. And thank you, Mike and Jose, by the way. Big thanks to Mike and Jose, guys.

Holding it down in Jacksonville. Lovely Duval County. And I can't wait. I can't wait to see you guys team up again. I don't know when the next time you'll be able to. But it's great. Some great work. I would like to go to International Fight Week because I've never been to Las Vegas

ever in my entire life, which everyone is like stunned by. Because you can cover in this point, you're never been to Vegas. I'm like, the furthest west I've been is South Dakota to cover an event. And it was a, it was the Ken Chanrock Bear Knuckle card. But so that's it for this week. I'm actually on like a slight vacation for the next week. So I'm still going to be doing the shows. But that's all I'm going to be doing.

I'm going to be doing the shows. I'll be doing heck of a morning. I'll be doing BTL. And that's it. That's all I'll be doing this week. My kids get school vacation, so I'm going to spend some time with them after being away for six days.

And then his birthday's coming up on Sunday, so there's a lot going on. I might actually come back to Florida, not Jacksonville, but I'll come back to Florida. Maybe Florida might can make an appearance and just rest and relax. But next week, the UFC train continues on. This card is interesting.

It's a lot of prospects, a lot of up-and-comers, but it will be headlined by Vicente-Lukee versus Blah Mohamed, and the people's main event just because he's already on the card. He'll be on the prelims as of right now. The return of Chris Barnett inside the UFC Octagon against Martin Boudet

and then the rest of the card just go somewhere else and find it. But I appreciate you guys very much. Appreciate everybody checking out the coverage. I do want to put over Jose Young's. The guy is an absolute animal. He's a beast. The guy just, and I've been saying this for years,

he just doesn't get the credit he deserves for what he does behind the scenes and on the road, the guy's an absolute monster. And he made me look pretty damn good this week. So it's all because of him. It's all because of him. I just held the microphone.

He made me look sharp up there. And I appreciate that very much. But that's it for this week on. So the next one. I think your plane's taking up. Mike is on a plane right now doing this podcast. I know you guys know he's actually on a plane. People are very annoyed right now.

Well, I can hear shit. No. I got to get out of here, everybody. On the road to see the fam. But for AK, I am Mike Heck. UFC 273 is in the books. The matchmaking is in the books. We'll see you next week.

on to the next one. And always remember, the ought no lesson. Don't take the stuff so seriously. I'm made supposed to be fun. We'll have more fun next week following. Luke A. Muhammad 2. UFC fight night. Blah, blah, blah.

Right here on on to the next one. The podcast. I'm losing track of the UFC Vegas cards. Leave me alone. You're listening to the Vox Media Podcast Network.