MMA Fighting - On To the Next One: Matches To Make After UFC Vegas 35

Episode Date: August 29, 2021

On the 57th episode of On To the Next One, MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck and Alexander K. Lee put on their matchmaker hats following Saturday’s UFC Vegas 35 event, which took place at the UFC APEX. Future matchups were discussed for Giga Chikadze, who picked up a third-round TKO stoppage win in his first promotional headliner, Edson Barboza, Daniel Rodriguez, Gerald Meerschaert, Abdul Razak Alhassan, and more. 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

That's annoying. What? You're a muffler. You don't hear it? Oh, I don't even notice it. I usually drown it out with the radio. How's this? Oh, yeah.

Way better. Save on insurance by switching to Bel Air Direct and use the money to fix your car. Bell Air Direct, insurance simplified. Conditions apply. To the Vox Media Podcast Network. Well, hello there, everybody, and welcome to a brand new edition of On to the next one, as we discuss the what's next for some of the notable names coming out of Saturday's UFC Vegas 35 event. I am Mike Heck. Thank you for checking out the show this week.

Big thank you to Stephen Morocco for sitting in the co-host chair. Last week in my absence, so much has happened in the last nine or ten days. It is craziness. But this is the first show being recorded in the brand new Command Center 3.0. And joining me for this historic moment is the co-host, the co-matchmaker, the Prince of Positivity. He's our best friend, all of us, collectively, all of our best friends. Alexander Cayley, aka wonderful job running the show last week. I listened in the U-Haul.

Thank you for that. How are you? I'm great. I'm so great. This is now that you're back, Mike. I'm so happy that, yes, Mike, I do consider all of our listeners and viewers and readers to be my best friend. But I really only have one true best friend. And so for you to be back is just wonderful.

Yes, and I'm glad you mentioned Stephen. Big, big, big, big thanks to Stephen Morocco for filling in. He did an excellent job on onto the next one last week. He was a little bit merciless. I don't know. You can be pretty tough, I will say. Usually we do need someone to play the bad cop. And he filled that role well at times, Mike.

I'm sure you were very proud. And he also recorded a kick-in intro, which hopefully we'll use for something else to get in the future. But yes, that was last week. Mike, this is this week. And I think people are dying to hear and to feel that magical matchmaking touch again. Yes, it has been a minute since I've talked about MMA. I did do between the links from my old kitchen on Thursday,

or Wednesday recorded that a day early with Jed and Spencer Kite. So that was a lot of fun. But now back in the comfy chair, ready to do this. Let us start with the big winner from UFC Vegas 35 on Saturday. Let us begin with Giga Chikaze, because that was an amazing performance in the main event against Edson Barboseley, puts on a clinic, gets the stoppage in the third. ground. He calls out Max Holloway. And you know what,

AK, I haven't match made in a while, but let me just say this. I throw out the zero chance he gets that fight line a lot on the show. And this might actually be a below zero chance. I dig the gusto, but there's no way this fight happens now. No way.

But still, outstanding performance. A step up is certainly next. Where does Giga Chikaze go? Hopefully not into a replacement reserve, I just say opportunity. for Volcanoski Ortega, UFC 266. I, listen, I know it's going to sound weird,

and I heart about this on the post-fight show on Saturday a little bit. I know it's going to sound weird, because we do always say that we love when big fights have reserves. So there should be reserves. But I don't think fighters should campaign for it. I don't think it puts you in a good spot, unless you are guaranteed win and show money. If you are a UFC fighter and you're selected as a reserve,

you should be guaranteed your win and show money. You should be treated like because you have to prepare it. You're preparing for a huge fight. You're taking time out, time and again resources out of your life to repair for that sort of thing. So yes, good, be a company person. Put yourself in position for a tell shot. Of course, is what you want.

But please, fighters, make sure you are getting handsomely compensated if you are being a select of the deserve. Do not just more than just show money, more than just, I don't know if they even get that. I would assume they at least get their show money for weighing in. But sorry, that's my little rant on that. Please, guys, don't. because I'll stop people also saying Carlos Sparza should volunteer to be a reserve

for the Zhang Namajunus rematch. I'm like, guys, come on. She deserves a title shot. So I'm sorry, I use my time on something else, but Korean zombie. Korean zombie, I'll just say, I agree with you. I don't know if the Holloway fight happens. It would have been more likely

if you hadn't mentioned the reserve thing. So I do want to see him fight zombie. I was very hung up on a zombie Barbosa rematch for the longest time. But hey, I think Chikaze is taking that spot now. So I don't know, Mike, where'd you go with it? Yeah, I mean, it's two options. It's cater or it's zombie.

And look, just because I said Giga shouldn't fight one of the top 245ers in the world doesn't mean I wasn't incredibly impressed with what he did on Saturday. He's just not getting that fight when Holloway has so many other options that are much more valuable to him than Giga Chikazza. Like a fight with Giga Chikaze does absolutely nothing for Max Holloway right now. Nothing. Cater, that fight makes sense. Zombie, that fight makes sense. Those two are 1A and 1B.

And I know on this program, you don't get half points. You're not supposed to get half points. But I'll go zombie versus Jekadezai as well as my pick, because there seems to be some other irons in the fire from Mr. Cater at the moment. Nothing to report officially yet. But zombie chakaze is super interesting in my eyes. And I feel like if there is a reserve for that title fight, it's zombie, right? Like, it's got to be.

I don't think he left Arizona. He would be the guy. So, you know, and if he ends up being the guy, maybe Giga feels a certain way about it, they could battle it out for who should have been the reserve challenger for the title fight. So I like it. I think we're both on the same page there.

No surprise here, best friend. Such a tease on the cater front, Mike. When you come back later this week, it's going to be spicy hot. I feel like you're some spicy hot business to bring us, but it's such a tease. I'm glad you mentioned points, by the way. We'll get to that later. Mike, in your absence, I don't know if people knew you were away.

There's been a lot of point finagling, a lot of point campaign. And I understand, ought no points are the hottest, you know, non-fungible token on the market right now. If I don't even think I use that right. So I get it. People want them. People want to put their kids through college. I understand with ought no points. So I'll explain.

There's some people asking for points now. So, okay. Yeah, I heard last week's episode. it was, you know, Stephen was kind of thrown into the fire about the auto points and how important those things are. But we talked about Giga Chikaze. Let's talk about Edson Barbosa because this is a big opportunity for him. He ran into a buzzsaw and now he has to take a step back in a loaded division. But step back in ranking, not in competition because there are some heavy hitters on the way up in the featherweight division.

Probably the most underrated division in the UFC right now. I'm going with Mavzar Evloy of A.K. This guy is on a tear. He's 15 and 0 overall. He's 5 in 0 of the UFC. He's coming off a nice win over Hakeem Dawdo. That's a fine fight right there. I think that makes perfect sense.

Keeps Barbosa in a top 15 fight, but he's got to fight a super dangerous guy. So what do you think? I hadn't thought. I hadn't thought of it. And I can tell you, I don't think any of the listeners suggested that. I was a surprise because there were a lot of suggestions for Barbosa. I don't know if I've been there.

If listeners, if you had that, then please correct me if I missed it. But that's a great matchup. 15 and 0 3, 4 and 0. No, what is he? 5 and 0. 5 and O in the UFC. That is a great fight.

That's a great. And I love it because it's not like, I don't read that as like a, oh, we're just queuing up Barbosa to elevate Ebloyev necessarily. Because I think Barbosa could win that fight. I think Eblos is a younger fighter. We don't know if he's, you know, a top 15, top 20 guy yet. Like, that's really good.

You didn't miss a beat. You didn't miss a beat in your time away. I was a little less creative. I just said, rebook the Sadiq Yusuf fight, which was supposed to happen sometime last year, I think. I think it's a fight, a lot of people still want to see. Great striking matchup. It's a little bit, I think it's a little bit closer.

I guess I would have Evoia above Yusuf in the rankings. I don't take a look at that. But they're around the same range. And I think Yusuf's also, also on matching, you know, guys coming off losses. So Yusuf coming off a loss to Avloev and Rodriguez was coming off of Saturday's loss. So, yeah, one of these guys gets back in the winner's bracket. But, I mean, I think, Avloia, I hadn't thought about it, but I like that a lot. Yeah, I feel like Barbosa becomes sort of the Tisha Torres of this division.

And it's not litmus test. We're a step above litmus test, but if you beat Edson Barbosa, you are a legit title contender at 145. So it's sink or swim time when you fight Edson Barbosa. So I like that idea. I think it's a good fight. I like your idea as well. We'll move ahead, but I do just want to throw this out there. And this, with all due respect to the fine athletes who competed on Saturday,

and we congratulate them on their victories. We will not be matchmaking for the tough fights in the winners. Ricky Turcios, Brian Battle, Andre Petroski. Congratulations on your great performances and fine fights. It's just way too wide open. It can literally be anybody. And they will all likely face fighters who are not even in the UFC yet. They'll probably come off the contender series.

They're going to build, oh, yeah, here we go. Ultimate Fighter versus Contender Series. They'll probably do one full card of these kinds of fights. So we will clap for these fights. who will congratulate them on a job well done. And that's it. We're going to move on to... And Mike, well, Mike, I just want to say,

we all know I love The Ultimate Fighter. I don't know if you saw. I was very, I was doing a very, almost a silent Twitter protest using the hashtag tough 29 finale, not hashtag UFC Vegas 35. I'm sorry tonight. This should have been called

the Ultimate Fighter 29 finale. I'm upset that they didn't call it that and throw in maybe one or two more cast members from the show. But I understand, again, we're living in pandemic times. everything's kind of wacky and upside down. But that's the ultimate fighter 29 finale.

Let's give this show some respect. I don't. Why didn't they just do that? Especially with like the latest poster job. Like why wouldn't you just call it the tough finale at that point? You have the whole freaking cast on the bottom of the poster. Makes no sense. No sense at all. I'm with you, A.K., but let's move on to Daniel Rodriguez, who picked up another big win.

He did so in short notice against the returning Kevin Lee. A.K., this guy is six and one in the UFC. So good. And you can argue that he's seven. and O in the UFC, and he's done this all since February of 2020. So this has all happened in 18 months. This is an insane pacing. This is probably better than what we saw from Kevin Holland. He's fighting like every two months. It's insane. And he might be the most underrated fighter in the welterweight division right now. What do we do with D-Rod after another big win this time

over a former interim title challenger in Kevin Lee? This guy should be talked about, like we talked about Hamzad. I understand he doesn't have the explosive. He has finishes. I guess no big signature finish. Why is he not? Like, I, I am so frustrated with the UFC that they cannot find a way to market a guy like Daniel Rodriguez. It just angers me. I have a feeling that we landed on the same name here. Like, I could be wrong, but I went with Santiago-Ponsenibio. I was determined there's a lot of ways they can go with him. Of course, the Welterweight Division, just so many tough opponents. But I really want to give him someone who I think is in the top of Dean, not quite in the top of 15 of our rankings,

but I believe still in the top 15 of the UFC rankings, and I would certainly say ranked above D-Rod right now. So, yeah, I'm going with Ponsoniviao, a good style match-up, great, great veteran fighter. I think it helps Ponsonibio, too. Again, there's one of those wins that would remind people why he was viewed as a top-10 guy, potential title contender if he could string together the right wins. And I think Rodriguez could be one of those wins, and vice versa if Roger Bates beats him, the UFC can continue to not market him,

but at least he might have a number next to his name. Yeah, I went with the exact same formula that you went with. I just landed on a different name because I will assume DROD will be ranked come Tuesday. But I think the most logical step in all this, just do the Sean Brady fight. Brady's 13, I believe. Rodriguez will probably get the number 15 spot. I know Lollars there right now, but you don't need to rank him.

He's fighting Nick Diaz. That rankings don't matter at this point. Brady looks to be cleared. I think he's going to be clear in like a couple weeks maybe. So yeah, give D.Rod like a little bit of time. Give him a month or two to rest and train and improve and their dog's excited about that pick as well. So yeah, D.Rod versus Sean Brady.

There you go, Shairo. Get excited. He literally took Brady's spot against Kevin Lee. This was supposed to be twice booked. I think we all want. I think we all thought Sean Brady was like the perfect matchup for Kevin Lee and this move back up to 170. But it's just not meant to be. I think that ship has sailed.

So, yeah, I guess Brady now gets the guy who beat Lee. I think it makes sense. How about friend of the site, Gerald Mearschart, aka, survives the storm that is Mahmoo and Murdof, maybe the most popular Otno pick for matchmaking amongst our listeners over the last several months. Gerald Mearschart goes through and survives the early storm, picks up the submission in the second round. Huge win for GM3, who was the biggest underdog on the card Saturday at plus 440. And guess who would have cashed in if he played the ponies? This guy right here.

I picked Beershardt. I picked him by submission. I was off by a few minutes because I picked it in the third round, but still, outstanding performance for Gerald. I like the Brad Tavares fight, A.K. Both guys are wily vets. Both guys are on winning streaks. I think it's the first winning streak for Mearshaar in like three years. He's got something cooking right now. That's a big win. That is not an easy guy to beat, not only beat, but finish like that. I like the, I like the Tavares fight a lot. I think both guys are heading in the right direction. Let's just see who makes that next step forward. What do you think? You know, you know who's got something cooking, Mike? You, because that's another one. I don't think I, I didn't think of it.

And I don't think the listeners that either. You are, sir, again, if we were under Scattergories rules, you'd be racking up points here like crazy. Because I think, again, and listeners, if I'm wrong, Maybe they're in your DMs, Mike. I didn't see the Tavares' suggestions. That's an excellent suggestion. Similar experience levels for the two guys. Mirshir has more fights like anybody at middleweight. But, I mean, in the UFC, Tavares has more experience.

So that works out. I do have Tavares ranked above him. So it's a nice little kind of reward to Mershirt for taking such a tough fight, beating such a tough opponent, stopping a 14-fight win streak. What a performance. So, yeah, obviously, like I said, I didn't think of it. I went a different direction. I like him and Drick's Duplice.

I think Duplice still hasn't even shown his best. I think everyone knows he has the potential to be a top 10 guy. But he's a great grappler. And he really hasn't even had the chance to show that. But he can scrap too, obviously, as he has, you know, he's been finishing guys with strikes. So kind of similar to Gerald Mearshard in that way. So I love the Duplice matchup. But either way, man, that Mearshaart stock, it doesn't, it never drops too far.

he always finds a way to stay to stay in the mix and i'm glad we're talking about as a winner um with respect to um who i expect to bounce back just fine in uh whatever matchup they give him next oh i was muted because of the damn dog um what's so impressive about jeremiah right now is less than a year ago 10 months ago this guy got folded in the biggest moment of his career by hamzat shemaiah in like a matter of seconds and he's bounced back with two wins in a row like this. It's just wily veteran stock right now. He's taken the UFC record for most submissions.

I think he took it with the submission over Bartos Svinsky. I think he broke a tie with like, I don't know, Damien Meyer or something like that. And now increase the lead. Now seven, seven UFC submissions, the most submissions ever, again, considering... In the middleweight division, right? In the middleweight division. Yeah. Considering how many great fighters have fought at 185, that's a hell of an achievement.

And like we said, a lot of people counting about he lost us from my. I have three out of four losses during that stretch. And if you're like, ah, is it over for Gerald? And it's like, guys, this, guys like this is find a way to stick around. So, you know, you love to see that. I would agree. 50 Gs. 50 Gs for me. Pay that man, his money.

Goodness. There's no way we could move on to the wild card spot, AK, without talking about one of the most vicious knockouts of the year. Abdul Razak al-Hsan took just a tree trunk of a leg and put it across the jaw, a poor Alessio di Chirico and I thought Alessio might end up in the second row man like if this is the bigger

if they were fighting in the bigger cage he might have flown across the whole cage but they were in the smaller cage she just kind of landed against the fence and just stopped but that was some power man like he snaps a three fight skid seems like 185 at least for now

is a pretty good spot for him where does he go after that incredible knockout that that like that wasn't just like it was the shin clearly But like it almost somehow his whole lower leg Just seemed to smack poor Lestero Tikirko Like right across the top of his It was I don't think I've seen a head kick KO like that

Like it wasn't we've seen head kick chaos Normally there's kind of like a snap like a snap to it This was like something like you said tree trunk But this like a tree trunk It wasn't like getting hit by a tree trunk It was like a tree trunk falling on someone Like falling on their head and him just falling to the mat And just being like yeah that's over

Like there wasn't that loud crack I had to watch the game, maybe I'm wrong, but there wasn't that, again, that snapping motion that we see with head kick sometimes. This was this drawn-out timber of a head kick. Just scary. 17 seconds, the fastest knockout, fastest head kick knockout in UFC history.

Again, these guys are making history left and right. I want Joaquin Buckley. He's fighting Antonio Ahoyo on September 18th. If he wins, Antonio Oyo could definitely win that fight. This is not a walkover for Buckley, but, damn, we got to see this fight happen. Give me Buckley and Al Hassan.

Sorry, Ahoyo. Could you take a dive or something? because it's just got to go down. I mean, you can make that win or lose for Buckley, right? This is true. This is true. Yeah. I like that.

I thought about that as well. But I have a feeling he might turn around pretty quick. I mean, I don't know. I don't know this for sure, but I just have a feeling when you fight, you break a losing streak like that. Then you have a 17 second knock like that. You have all that momentum. I have one word, AK, fluffy. Fluffy.

Can you imagine? Hernandez. Can you imagine the absolute insanity that would come from an Al-Hasan Anthony Hernandez fight? Yeah, sign me up for that one. I'm in. That's scary. So let us head to the wild card round where we select one fighter that we have not match made for yet, and we're going to do it right now. So my best friend, hit me with that, Vegas 35, tough finale wildcard selection.

Mike, I am, listen, I am, I'm not going to lie. I am dangling you and the listeners by your leg over a cliff right now. Remember when I said I wouldn't matchmake for the tough 29 finalists winners? Oh my gosh. I lied. Wow. Drop, drop. Wilhelm scream.

People better keep this reference. I'm not going to explain it. Anyways, I'll be very quick, though. Mike, I love the, I'm one of the only people who watched the show. I couldn't neglect these guys. Even though I was the one who suggested we don't, include them in the regular ought-no pick rotation. Obviously, I'm not going to leave them about to try.

But I wasn't super specific. Brian Battle, I think, as you said, probably some from the Contender Series. I'm not going to, I haven't looked the upcoming, you know, roster in-depth of Contender Series, but I assume there's some middleweights in there. Grab one of those winners. Let's have an Ultimate Fighter versus Contender Series battle, which show truly reigns supreme. So there we go. Riquet Tursios, though, I did have at least a couple of names.

I like him maybe facing the Chris Moutinho, Aaron Phillips winner from October 23rd. It's a bit of a wait. Ricky's probably going to want to get back in there soon. But if he does wait maybe closer to the end of the year or early next year, obviously I'm looking more at Moutinio. But maybe Aaron Phillips, too. Not to be confused with another Aaron Phillips who was on the Ultimate Fighter 29, by the way. This is the more Aaron Phillips was fought in the UFC before.

So that's it. So I cheated. I cheated, Mike. I'm a rascal. There's no cheating. That's why it's what the one. wild card is there for. You know, you could pick whatever you want. Anything. You can choose a referee if you want. Referee versus referee matchup. And people have in our, you know, listener figure.

For me, like, I'm not going to take it on a journey here. I've been on enough of a journey this week. Dustin Chicobey versus Alonzo Menefield, AK. I like the matchup. I have a lot, I have a lot of questions about Alonzo Menefield. Like, I think he could be really, really good. But I want to get rid of as many question marks as I can. And I feel like Dustin Chicobe is having a lot of fun in there. And he's really, really good. And he just ran over a guy who has been pretty damn durable throughout his career and he made it look easy. That's a hurdle

fight. So, yeah, winner is a good chance of cracking the top 15. I think that's a perfect wild card matchup. I'd like to see what happened between those two guys. Yeah, the listeners were all, that's one of the most requested matchups I saw was was Jacoby versus Menofield. There's a few suggestions for Chicago, but him and Medafield by far was the one I saw the most. And yeah, right, he looked great on Saturday. There's just something about those guys who have, those veterans who have just been through it and then have a bit of a chance to focus on their specialty, you know,

he fought in glory, and then come back to MMA and they just really know who they are, and they're really able to implement their, like their prime skill in such an effective way. And man, he's in there with guys who just aren't on his, like with respect to Darren Stewart, just aren't on his level of striking, and that was clear as day at the Ultimate Fighter 29 finale. So, yeah, great win. And, man, just people talking about Justin Jacoby is, it's always fun to see. Do we have any check the tapes or mic checks? Or what do we got?

Do we? Well, there's no mic checks. Just a lot of people saying how they miss you, obviously. Oh, hold on, hold on, hold on. By the way, before we go to that. And I'm not sure if this is an Alex check or a Stephen check, but one of y'all got checked. Oh.

So let me read this message that I got from John George. He said, Alex Check, 112. I thought Steve made this pick, but I could be wrong. You can correct me. How is he going to say, don't send in any do-do picks, or we won't read them, but then come out of left field like Manny Ramirez and say that Jared Canaaner should fight Zach Cummings.

Come on, man. Ha-ha. There you go. I think that was this. I thought Stephen made that suggestion because of the quick turnaround, perhaps. Am I wrong about that? No, look, he just said that Jared Canaanier needs to step down. Maybe, did he say Cannoneer Cummings?

Somebody said that. I thought Stephen said that because, like, there was one, like, logical matchup, but if he didn't want to wait that long, if he wanted to, like, turn around quickly, he could fight Zach Cummings. I thought I heard that, and even I was puzzled by that suggestion. But I understood where Stephen was coming from. I'm pretty sure Stephen said that. I'll just say this.

It's not a sexy pick, but it does feel like kind of one of those weird eyebrow raising picks that the UFC would make. That's why I think I didn't object to it too strongly. And again, let's see how this one bears out, because I just have this weird feeling that fight will have, could it really happen? And then we'll all owe Stephen an apology. So I don't want to, I don't want to slam it. I understand the trepidation. John George, I appreciate the check of. of myself and the show.

But I, gosh, we could all look really stupid with that fight actually ends up getting made. So I am not going to, I do not consider that pick to be due to, if I'm being honest. There you go. There's the only check I got. All right. Listeners were on point with Frankie Edgar

versus Marlon Vera. Rose Namajunis, a lot of people thought that the Rose Namajunis Zhang Wei matchup would just happen right away. They were correct. That is happening. And Jermaine Duranmi versus Iriene Aldana was also a popular pick, so those are all happening.

UFC 268. November 6th, great looking card so far. So good job, listeners. Denny Capps, this is where we get a little contentious, Mike. I went out of my way to message Jenny Caps and say he did a great job picking Terrence McKinney and Ferris Zium, which is going down November 20th. Then he comes back with me like, oh, can I get another point for Nico Price Alex Olivaire? And he hedged, Mike. He hedged on this, he said, this is what he said about this.

He said, Price Jake Matthews would be interesting, but it would be a fairer. fan crime if we never got to see Price versus Alex Olivaura. That is not, sir, that is not you picking Alex Oliver. We've already had it out in the DM, so I shouldn't publicly shame him. But I just warned him, no hedging. There's no hedging. And this goes out to everybody, by the way. I deleted a lot of picks that were like, oh, this guy or this guy this week.

You have to make a pick. No hedging. Rules, rule. Okay, you need to be very clear. If you throw out a bunch of names and then say, oh, but I'd love to see this. No, you need to make your pick very clear. All right. These points are valuable and rare.

They're rare gems. But back to the pot. But he did, again, great job with McKinney and Ziam, Denny Capps. Lim Perry with Chas Skelly, Mike Trezano, October 9th. And Tristan Gordet coming in nicely with Andrea Lee and Jessica I, November 13th. So we got, our listeners are just, as always, Mike. Killing it. Just crash out.

With Instacart, you get groceries that over-deliver, so you can over-share your preferences. Want russet potatoes with no brown spots? You got it. Want turnips that look light but feel heavy? Easy. Want honey crisp apples that are firm, green, and definitely not Macintosh like last year when you lost the fall bakeoff to perfect Penelope Johnson? Okay, a bit TMI, but we're here for it. So download the app today and get zero delivery fees on your first three orders.

Instacard, groceries that over deliver. Service fees exclusions and terms apply. Make their holiday unforgettable with a gift that says it all from Pandora Jewelry, a gift that tells a story and shows you know theirs that doesn't just spark. but speaks. From new festive charms to forever rings and personal engravings. This season, give a gift that's perfectly theirs. Whether you're shopping for a shiny surprise for your significant other,

matching bracelets to celebrate your friendship or a heartfelt gift for a family member. Say more this holiday season with Pandora. Shop now at ca.p.pandora.net or visit your closest Pandora store. Before we get to your picks, the standard disclaimer mic, emphasis winners. Guys, usually talk about all about winners, but you guys send some great picks for losers sometimes. So we'll read those. Scattergorial, try to focus on your necks.

Fighters could already be booked. Please, people, do your research. You may have just made some other mistake, wrong weight class. They could have fought already recently, and you didn't mention it. If you don't mention it's a rematch, I assume you didn't know. There could be an injury. It could be someone who's released. This comes up a lot.

And also your pick. This might be do-do. And we don't want to read it. So, guys, please be careful. Pick, pick responsibly. That's right. It is the weekend. We are approaching Labor Day here in the United States.

So people might be tipping them back a little bit quicker. as summer is getting ready to come to an end. So let's start with Jake Marshall, said, I know on Otno, you and AK like to prioritize winners, but I feel like Vanessa Demopoulos and Kay Hansen would be a good match. Both have young UFC careers and are both coming off of L's. Yeah, I like that.

That's not a bad idea. I think Kay would be a... I was going to say, I think Kay's a bit above her in my internal rankings, but also I do think a Demopolis will actually be good at 115. So I didn't think we saw the best of her on Saturday. Jaron Kawata said he wants to know how to submit picks for Otno and you can continue with the DMs. We'll give you the full disclaimer.

Wait, he just asked and didn't. That was part. I was like, oh, here's a new name. And then I was like, oh, you're asking how to submit. So there you go. Okay. Well, we'll tell you how to do that after yes, you could do it there. Brandon Nunez, Jacoby versus Inzichu, Gerald Mirashav versus Punahali Soriano.

uh... Kevin Lee versus Randy Brown D. Drod versus Ponsidibio, battle versus Tristan, uh, Giga versus zombie. Okay. Thank you, sir. Uh, Vegas 35 from Owen Carroll, Sabatini versus Herbert Burns. J.J. Aldridge versus the Casey O'Neill Antonina-Shafchenko winner, which, by the way, I should get, check the taste for that. I picked that fight. Okay. Casey O'Neill Anthony. I forgot. I knew there's one that it. I believe you. Uh, he said, Jacobi. Meadowfield, Wellington Termin versus Roman DeLideze, ARH versus Jack Marshman, GM3

versus DuPlessi. He's not happy with the Rose Namayune's Jean-Wea-Lee rematch, called it stupid. Oh my. What else do you got? D-Rodd versus Sean Brady, Ricky Turki-O's versus Tony Kelly,

Battle versus Gore, Giga versus zombie. Yeah, people really want to see battle and Gore just get rebooked because Gore was supposed to be the finalist, obviously. Yes. Poppy underscore Bryant. He said check the tapes. Call for GDR. Adana.

Stick it with GM3 versus Rodolfo Villera. That's a crazy fight with the grappling pedigrees of both of those guys. Delicious. Let's see. I wanted Barbosa versus Allen after Brabosa's last fight, but since that didn't happen, let's go

Giga versus Arnold Allen. All right. I mean, listen, I'm watching that fight all day long. John Ray, pouring out for Carla Sparza, she can't do anything for a title shot. It's ridiculous. I know. And by the way, let me just say this.

Carlos Sparza should not even entertain the idea of taking another fight. She should fight the winner. It's o facto. That's it. And you better be the biggest Rose Dame Yunus fan of the world because of Zhang Lei, Wei Li wins. They're going to run it back a third time. Rose isn't the most active fighter on earth.

Neither is Zhang. So Carl could be waiting another year to fight for the title. That's wild. But yeah, she should not fight anybody else except for the title. He likes, John Ray likes Jacoby versus the winner of Jimmy Crute versus Jamal Hill, Terman versus Soriano, Al-Hassan versus Buckley, Mirchard versus the Shabazian, Imovov loser, Kevin Lee versus Mike Perry. I like that one.

What else we got? Barbosa versus Yusuf, Chikaze versus Cater. Let's see. This is a different one. Our friends, sneakers, flippers. From Italy, our very big fan. Whoa. A very big fan from Italy.

Jikaze versus zombie, battle versus Michaelitis. Turquios versus a hobby. Rodriguez, Ponsinibio, Petroski, Stolt's Fis, Mearschart versus Gasolam. I don't mind that fight either. Aldrich versus Maverick, Al-Hassan versus Soriano. No, no, did Chirico matchup? No, he's basically.

was like pour pour out some liquor for my man i'm man alessio sorry sorry to bring it up all right i will end with that one uh jack porter uh let's see barboza versus teporia i like that idea as well yeah well yeah again stay stay in the georgia region yeah yeah termine versus muniz jacobi versus insachuku and i would like to see high stand get another fight for the ufc against manna martinez sure i agree i i i Well, Heistin's also a guy, though, I would love, like, this is where I wish we had. We've talked about this all the time. The UFC did developmental deals.

I would love for him to be making some sort of UFC salary, like something that would, you know, that would keep him. So he's getting paid more than the average regional fighter, but also let him go back to the regionals and fight that kind of competition. Because he's super young. He was the youngest guy on this season. And he's super raw. I think there was this, like, sixth, seventh pro fight. I don't know if I want him fighting some of these experience UFC guys. So, yeah, if you can just bring in Contender Series guys or other newcomers to face him, that's great.

If you can't, we've really, really, he's one of those guys I wish would just go back to the regional scene and just get some wins, build up his confidence. Because he's clearly skilled. And that was a great fight with Ricky Turseos. Yeah. Back to John George. He went with the tough guys. Just rebook Brian Bowles versus Gore. Yeah.

He likes Ricky Tertios versus Adrian Yannes. I saw, man, some of these people went, I think Tersios is going to be like a mid-level star, like a real fan favorite. People went nuts with some of these picks, though, for what will be his second UFC fight. Man, I, simmer, guys, simmer, please. Tristan Gordet,

Mearsarp versus Munez. See who's his better grappler. Petrosky versus Kisri. Kizriev has to make his UFC debut at some point. Man, that's a tough. Yeah. That's a tough fight for Petroski, man. I saw that a lot, though.

I saw a lot for Petroski-Kisri-Reyer. Tertios versus Draco Rodriguez. Draco's on a two-fight skid. He needs a win in the worst way. Why not have these two fight? I think it would be a fun scrap. And then he ended with Al-Hasan versus Soriano. What else do we got here?

We got one more that I said I would read out. Patrick Austin. This is not a matchmaking thing. but we will take care of business because he's a long time listener of the show. Very well. He said, hey man, I don't know if you do this or not, but maybe on one of your shows

you could send out some good vibes to Louisiana. I'm from Lake Charles, which is close to the Texas state line, and we haven't completely healed from the hurricanes that hit us last year. In 60 hours, there'll be several people that have lost everything. We need to get all the help we can get.

So Patrick, shooting those solid vibes. Yeah. down into Louisiana. Thoughts, prayers, positive vibes, everything we can send to you guys. Thanks for listening. And, yeah, I hope things get better there. And now we turn it over to you, my best friend. All right.

Well, as I said, I think the most popular, so consensus picks here, I think the most popular for Chikaze was Korean zombie. But I did see a lot of Arnold Allen and a lot of Calvin Cater. So Barbosa EGay rematch was a popular one, Mike. I think that's not unreasonable to run it back. It's not my top choice, but it's about, what, three fights back for both guys now. I know it was last year, so it's like not, it still feels really recent, but certainly Verbosa would love to have that one back. E. Gay, probably not as enthused.

I think you'd take it, though. I wouldn't mind it. It does, it's probably like eighth on my list, but if they made it, I'm not going to complain about it. Rodriguez, Ponziadio, the top choice for him, Brady coming in a very close second. Mier Shirt, Duplice, a lot of people with me on that one, Duplice, and Muniz. Yes, they want to see this grappler's delight. Al-Hasan versus Buckley. Some people mentioned that they knew Bucket was fighting. Some people didn't.

But I think obviously they just want to see that match-up happen. Like you said, win or lose. Win or lose, right? Want to just do it. There was also for Al-Azan, Trevon Giles, Fluffy, and Wellington Termin. Jacobi v. Metafield, like I said, maybe the most popular pick that I saw this week. Other options for him, Jung and Enzachuku.

And then a lot of people saying, just re-book Aldrich versus Tracy Cortez, one of my favorite picks. It makes a lot of sense. Cortez was supposed to fight, but was replaced by. Demopoulos. And then one really deep cut from the second fight of the night. I saw this multiple times. Sabatini versus Derek Minner. Apparently this is a thing. People want to see Sabatini and Derek Minner. So I don't object at all. It's a cool matchup. All right. A lot of reader. We had a ton of reader picks last week, Mike. So we got a bunch more this week. Our listeners, readers, listeners are so good. Tyler Brell through email once, Chikaz says, disagrees with us. Says, Chikaze versus Holloway.

just do it battle versus trevin giles terseos versus john castaneda that's not unreasonable that's a fine try too sure daniel rodriguez versus shopcott rockmanov i totally no no keep them away from each other keep them away these are two contenders keep them away for each other petrosky intermin and sabatini sean watson robert miller coming in with j g aldrich versus sejara eubanks tough fight for jj but it kind of makes sense i think where they are relatively in the rankings at 125 right now eubanks This looks really good dropping back down. Samatini versus Kamala Kirk. Al-Hassan versus Roman Delizze.

I made a note to read this one for some reason. Robert Miller, what did you say that I found so intriguing? Just said, oh, amazing knockout, he says, but let's not forget that this dude, Al-Hassan, lost to 4-1, Jacob Malcoo and not too long ago. And I thought he was going to get cut. So let's get him back on a winning streak. DeLese is solid fighter, but he thinks Al-Han can get it done against him.

So there you go. Well thought out, Robert. And as I mentioned before, Danny Capp's coming at me with the e-mail. males this time. He says, Manna Martinez, he wanted him to fight the Bantamweight

tough winners, turned out to Vigutrisios. Terman versus Fluffy. He says, we need, sorry, Stephen Morocco, we need Gerald Mirchard versus Zach Cummings.

So if Denny Kaffs gets his way, Zach Cummings may be, may be occupied, and Barbosa versus Cater, so there's another one. Tom Rotor, Al-Hassan versus Tom Breeze, and Termin versus Sam Alvey.

I think he's saying, hear me, I hear him out, he said, Termin versus Sem Alzi, I assume he's saying just instant rematch this time,

loser leaves town and the winner also leaves town. Tom Roder, that is not, that's not a nice thing to say. That's, come on now. That was a slop fest.

That was a 15-minute fight that I think took like, it felt like it took like 45 minutes with the fouls and the somewhat glacial pace of the action. to put it politely. Those guys

one last paycheck, all right? Harris on Instagram just wants to say, he was saying, I should sell a Prince of Positivity mug. That's a good idea. And also, he wants to know, he says also we should consider doing a weekly, monthly rankings show, which I'm just saying,

I told him, hey, keep your ears peeled because you could be seeing that much sooner than you think. So thank you, Harrison, for the comment. And our guy, Tripp Harper, your pal from, Where was this show again in Massachusetts, Mike? I'm never going to remember. Is it the Biggie in Springfield, Mass? Springfield Mass, right.

He just wants to chime in. He's a pretty good night of fights. He loved last week's card, by the way. Giga's a monster. He doesn't think Max's going to happen yet, so he's hoping for a year of Rodriguez matchup. Daniel Rodriguez against the king of Kung Fu, Muslim Salikov. He said he's very happy for Gerald Mearshert,

and just says he deserves a name, doesn't have one. Ian Hynish rematch, I guess. I don't know. Because he says it's a perfect matchup. I don't know if he's aware how recently they fought. I don't know if I want to see that one. And also, Mike, he just asked what you? And yes, yes, Tripp Harper. Mike is clearly back. Michael Conifrey. All right, I'm going to skim through some of these. Martinez, Manna Martinez versus Randy Costa, which made me like, I don't kind of raise my eyebrow. But I keep forgetting, Costa only has, how many pro fights does Randy Costa have? like eight maybe if that right i keep forgetting because he's been on the roster for a bit now

but it's right he's you know he's not uh he's still a young guy so it's not like the it's not a crazy idea i don't mind it six and two aldrich versus miranda maverick which i believe michael conifer here said would be like a to get maverick a win i don't think that's an easy win for random maverick at all people need to stop underestimating jj aldrich including myself who i always talk about how good she is and then i always pick against her for no good reason uh michael Mier Shirt versus Brendan Allen. That's not going to happen. They're training partners, very good friends.

So sorry, I don't like to normally call these out, but Michael, I had to tell you. Because he's very enthusiastic. He's like it'd be a great matchup, great grappling matchup. And I'm sure it is in training. Hopefully, Michael, you can make your way to like Rufus Sport and watch them spar. I'm sure the sparring is incredible. Yeah, the last time Gerald Mirchart was doing the People's Pre-Fight show with us. He had a Brennan-Alan Reebok jacket hanging up behind him.

Unless they're getting paid a million dollars to fight for a UFC title, I sincerely doubt we see that one happens. I agree, cool matchup, but probably happens a lot in practice. Rodriguez, but Michael redeemed himself with this pick, which is it should happen in a just and fair world. And I know there's zero chance it does. Rodriguez versus Nate Diaz. Oh, man, that's great. I would hope someone would at least propose that to Nate Diaz. I know he might not, you know, Dan Rodriguez is clearly probably not in his radar.

But stylistically, even their personalities kind of, I feel like Rodriguez is cut from the same cloth. He just, he just wants a scrap. He's just like a no-nonsense guy. I would hope that fight would at least be considered. I love that suggestion, Michael Connoffrey, Rodriguez versus Nate Diaz. Love it, love it, love it. Yeah, normally I like, I cringe when I hear names with Nate Diaz. But I don't know, man.

Like, I feel like Nate should be calling Daniel Rodriguez. me like, dude, come hang out. Like, I feel like those two would get along swimmingly. At least train together, guys. Yes. Let me, give us some video of this training. I think that'd be, I think there'd be so much fun. And he likes Chikaze for Sala, and he said, Jed with another classic prediction.

I don't know if you saw him, like he said, Jed said he, Jed predicted that Barbosa would destroy Agiga. He says, for real, though, just throw him in there with Max right now. Yes, Jed was on BTL and fired some venom. said that this fight would not be close would be one-way traffic. I believe he said he's going to beat the brakes off of Giga Chikaze. Why does he do these things?

Dylan's shoot. One of our boys checking in from Australia. Hasn't checked in from a while. Dylan, great to hear from you. Hope everything is going okay. He likes Jacobi versus Jimmy Crute, so shouting out a countryman. And then him and Just Call Me Bob,

are you our local Instagram hero, both like the possibility of Chikaze versus Megamad Sharipov and Just Call Me Bob. and JustColme Bob was called Hashtaggaggibit, gigabit, gigabit, Zabit and gigabit. It took me a second to get it. I'm like, Gigabit, I'm like, Gigabit, what's the...

Oh, Zabit and Giga, so well done. I also wanted to read what it just... Just Colleen Ball said. Welcome back, Mr. Shucks, I mean, Mr. Darn, I mean, Mr. Heck. So he said, for weeks, we got, what the heck? Last week, though, ought no hard course. We're asking, where the heck. So thank goodness you're back.

The long national nightmare is over. And he said, he also just wants to say he doesn't think that year is ever winning another UFC fight in his career. Wow. Ouch. Well, look, I don't even know he's going to fight again, so we'll see that. But, I mean, I wouldn't go that far. Matt Bradbury. What did I really like here?

Terseos versus Johnny Munoz and Petroski versus Issy Fatikafu. I like that one. I just like saying Fatikafu as well. Barbosa versus Yusuf. Thank you, Matt. We're on the same page. And M. M.M.A.

heads coming in with Tertios versus Cameron else. I think it's, oh, that's good one. I think it's else. I think it's else. I like that one. Petroski v. Abuazitar. Gerald Mirchard versus Wellington Termin. I don't know.

I think Gerald's a little bit above that. I don't know how I hadn't thought of. Dustin Jacoby. Nikita Krilov. That's fun, man. I like it. Spicy. Spicy.

Sabatini versus Shane Young, Manna Martinez. I'm in Zahabi. Let's go to the Twitter, where again people are just locked and loaded Michael Perrigini some great picks here I love Mata Martinez versus Tony Kelly I think that's awesome he wants Aldrich versus the Sabina Mazzo Agapova winner Mazza already beat Aldrich but I guess a rematch would not be out of the question it was a pretty close fight and Agapovah wait a minute that fight when's that

fight happening October 9th Mazzo versus Agapova this was news to me wow Yeah, this was news to me as well. Wow, I did not hear that because I would have reacted in some way about that matchmaking. I don't know. I don't think we've confirmed it, but it apparently is out there. It is out there as a report. So I don't think we've confirmed that in October night. It's very far away.

But either way, if that fight is happening, yes, that's an odd. Al-Hassan versus Duplice and Kevin Lee, I love this. I think, I saw some people suggesting Michelle Paheda for, Daniel Rodriguez, but I actually love this more for Kevin Lee. DeMalador and Kevin Lee. It's a win-eval fight for Kevin Lee, but really what isn't a winnable fight for Kevin Lee? He's such a talented guy and just, you know, I don't know.

Maybe Pada would bring out the best in him. But Timmy Olsha also wanted to see Rodriguez and Paheda and Pat Sabatina versus Mowgli Benitez. So I like that one. The UFC report coming in with Rodriguez versus Salakov, and I wanted to read what they had to write about Mir Shirt and duplice. He says, I think we just keep sending hype trains at Gerald

and seeing which ones he can derail. I think that's fair, sure. That does seem to be how they treat him, right? I don't know if they view Gerald Mirshaw as a contender. They keep throwing him tough, up-and-comers. Jake Salky, I love this matchup. Pat Sabatini, Austin Lingo. That is perfect, Jake Salkie.

Well done. Mike, I don't know how you feel about this one. Justin Jacoby, William Knight. Too much too soon. Too soon. Too soon for a night. Yeah, no. Way too soon. Jacobi could make him look really bad. Or Knight could just, I mean, night's just a freak.

But I feel like Jacobi just, you know, technically, like just his kickboxing pedigree and stuff could. Yeah, I mean, yeah, I don't like it. I just think it's too soon. I'm not, I get it. I get it. But I just think it's too soon for William night. Like the Daun Jung fight, like, it's still in my mind. It still creeps in the back of my head. And Jacoby isn't like a huge wrestler, but he, you know,

if William cracks him, like, Jacoby's wrestling is good enough to take him down and hold him down. So, yeah, I don't know. I'm actually, I'm being negative about it, but the more I talk about it, the more I'm kind of talking myself into it slowly, but no. It's intriguing. It would be a huge. for William Knight. And if he beat Jacoby, I think a lot of people would really start believing in him as more

than just like someone who looks the part, but like someone who really could be a dangerous guy at a 205. I mean, if his not last huge knockout didn't already do that. But I mean, you could say the same thing about Menafield, too. Like, Metafield's had some rough ones in there, but he's had some good ones too. Yeah. So, like that one makes more sense. I think that clearly makes more sense.

Yeah. But I almost, I almost, I still kind of want to see Knight in Metafield fight. Like those two, like that is an 8 by 10 special right there. Those two guys coming off the bus. I mean, good Lord. That's crazy. Stephen Breiter with Ultimate Fighter picks. I like this one a lot of Brian Battle versus Jacob Malcun.

That's an excellent pick. I don't understand this one at all. Ricky Terseus versus Brian Keller. Wow. Going from, look, I understand Tersios was one of the more experienced guys coming into the ultimate fighter. It's not like he's a newbie. this was his 13th pro fight he's 11 and 2 so he's experienced but you're talking about like

going from fighting a tough castmate to like maybe a top 20 bantam weight i i don't think that's a good idea i don't think brian kellerher should want that fight out that's a very that's an incredibly like medium risk low reward fight for brian kellerher so i don't know about that yeah i mean i guess that tells you about how people view ricky right now which is a very much is a little bit a good thing. I mean, that's a great performance and great fight and people want to are ready to throw you to the wolves right now. And that's, that's a good thing. That's a good thing. I guess, but I mean, but I always say, guys, sensible matchmaking is what makes stars, not throwing guys these like chaotic situations. Liam Pear, I don't know how you feel what this one, Mike.

Barbosa versus Bryce Mitchell. Sure. I just don't want Bryce is fighting again, but yeah. Yeah, again, yeah, he's one of those guys now. He was in that I equinter range until we suddenly found out Saturday that Iaquinta is apparently finally fighting Bobby Green, which is a fight that we've, I think we've all wanted to see for a long time. So I don't know how, where that came from. But Chris at Dragon Slayer 2, Al-Hassan versus the Marquez Jordan Wright winner. Did I mention the date of that? What is that happening? That is... What are I don't know how many of the date? I don't know they read out of the date.

I apologize, listeners that I neglected this information. I think that's in November. I could be wrong. Oh, no, it's October 16th. Marcus is supposed to fight in November, and it's October 16th. I don't mind that. But like you said, Alassan might want to get a quick turnaround, so it could be in the distance. Four corner sports and Y. Termin versus Eric Anders. Boy, that could be a real slop fest.

And I kind of into it. He says, just throw Alvi to Petroski. Gosh, that would be sending a message to Alvey, wouldn't it? That would be. And honestly, it's not even like a fight he would necessarily lose. I shouldn't even say it's like he'd be run over or anything. That's an odd one. Tertios versus Smolka.

Again, people just want to see him fight veterans, so sure. How do you feel up? Barbosa versus Dawadu. I'd be fine with that. Yeah, I like it. I like it. I really, I swear I to not put these in this order because Haysbetard, Hayesbythard, excuse me, just said,

Tertios versus Thomas Almeida. I don't dislike that one. I mean, Almeida's on a skid, so it's not like he can, there's not like he can pick his opponents. or anything, but is there not an experience gap? Am I crazy? Oh, gosh. Mirsharp versus the Jokko-Serkhanov winner on October 2nd,

Misha Serkenov dropping down to 185. We'll see how that goes. He's going to, if he can make that cut, he's going to look effing. He looks shredded at 205. At 185, he might look like the rock. I mean, I don't even know. It's been crazy. Jacoby, oh, I love this.

I love this from Hayesby Third. Jacobi versus Kutalava run it back. He says regardless of what happens, the QTalapa's fight with Devin Clark, they should rematch, he should rematch Jacobi. It was a clear draw and a crazy fight, and he says, I feel like Jacobi earned the rematch after taking the fight on such short notice.

And also another addition to his cause, apparently, is Hayes for there, his ongoing cause, hashtag, all draws should be run back. Wow. It should be automatic one more round. Or just like, I mean, that would be better, right? That's a way to do it. Just like, especially if it's like a majority or a split draw or something, just do one more round.

I mean, what's the difference? Sudden victory. Sudden victory. Yeah, sudden victory. In the theme of tough, like, why don't just do the other round? Like, I mean, so what? Just put in the contract. Like, it's like you're paying more money.

Like, it's the pluss is a UFC, so let's be honest. They're not going to give you more money. But, I mean, come on. Like, five more minutes. Like, that would be really cool. That would make people just so much happier. Why not? The UFC just needs to be more creative with things in general.

Again, we harp on this all the time. Thomas Collins with a great suggestion. We've all been saying like, oh, Chukazzi don't take the reserve for the UFC 26 fight. Why not just, why should he maybe not just get the loser of Volcanozky Ortega? I like it. Thomas Collins suggests, I like it. It was a great win, okay?

It was a great win. And if Barbosa had done the same thing to Giga, would have been a great win. But my answer would have been the same for both guys. Like, we're going from the 9-10 range, and we are all pretty much in agreement that whoever won that fight was getting a top-five guy. Like, that's a pretty darn good prize. Like, top five, especially Chikaze, who has only been there for a couple cups of coffee at this point.

He's already like in line to fight top five guys. Like fight the top five guy. That's a pretty damn good opportunity. And then you get those fights. But like this rushing to to get to title contention or the Holloway fights or fighting the loser of the title fight. Like if it happens, cool. I'm going to watch and it's a great moment for them. But I feel like there's just other options.

And I think people forget just how deep 1.45 actually is right now. There's so many fights that Chikazza is probably not even favored. in right now. Like, I wouldn't favor him against zombie. Cater, I think the line would be pretty close, but I'd still probably favor Cater in that fight. Like, he's not a favorite against any of these guys. You know what I mean?

Yeah, it's tough because there is, like you said, it's such a deep division. There is this tier of undefeated up-and-comers, undefined the UCS, I should say, Bryce Mitchell, Arnold Allen, Giga, that are just kind of, that are dangerous opponents for guys in the top 10, but need to have some way to move up. aside from matching them up with each other. I know a lot of people said they like to see Giga and Arnold Allen, but I almost wish there was a way that all three guys, them and Mitchell,

could continue to kind of win fights and move up alongside each other until you have no choice but to match them up. Maybe they've reached that point already. I don't know. I don't think so, but that's probably why I'm in favor of like on us and just, and he gets the loser of Volcan Oscar. It would be nice if he was a perfect scenario. He's picked the reserve.

He's paid win money and show money. and Dana White and the UFC kind of suggests that he does get the loser that fight. That's the conditions under which Chacazza should sign on. Because as we all know, guys like Gingachatze and UFC fighters have so much leverage when it comes to negotiating. Yeah, with the UFC. I feel like zombies ahead of him in that regard anyway, so. Yeah, he should be. You're right.

He should be. He should. Barry O'Reilly, I like some of these picks. J.G. Aldrich versus Melissa Gato. Wellington Termin versus Adolfo Valletta. He made some good. Okay. Rodriguez versus Bolivia. Balal Muhammad.

He said he'd love to see him fight Shafcott or Sean Brady, but Walter Wade's needs some fresh challenges. So instead of pitting those guys against each other, he said, give me, Dan Rodriguez, Balal Muhammad. Yeah, and I think Balal would like that fight as well. And for, he said, Ricky Terseos, Randy Costa. He says, Terseos has more fights, but Costa looks like a real prospect. So a good challenge to see where Terseos is at this stage.

I don't hate it. I don't hate it. That's fine. He has a question about, he wanted to ask us a question. question this fight's not for a bit i think timor valley's next fight i believe it's october uh 16th if i'm not mistaken um either way so it's in october but he wants to know if we know anything about his opponent daniel santos uh mike i don't know but you i assume you haven't started doing your research for this card which is six weeks away but um are you familiar with daniel

santos at all who's fighting timor um i mean it was it was some interesting matchmaking to say the least. I don't know a lot about him. Outside of just like tearing up sort of the Brazilian scene, I know he's fought for Brave, ACA, ACB, probably ACC at some point. I don't know. But I mean, he seems like a good little prospect. He hasn't fought a long time. It's been almost two years to fought. I assume he's been affected by the pandemic, travel restrictions. Yeah. I had to, the name sounded familiar, so I had to look back. Jed and I had highlighted him a bit a couple of times in Miss Fist. He had a great fight at ACB-80 with Duke Baca Astamirov.

You guys can find that fight. That is free on fight. Fight.tv. You guys can look that up, fitee.tv. And look for ACB-80. The fight is on there. I can't find, I don't think anyone has just the fight isolated, but it's a really, really great three-round fight.

He was only 22 years old at the time, so this was some years back, it's 26 now. And he had a great, highly real knockout against Henrique Fantini, which I don't know if the clip exists anywhere. And the other thing is, his nickname is Willie Cat, which I was told by Guillermo is a Thundercats reference. Were you a Thundercats guy? Kind of? Kind of? That one went right over my head. I guess this is a big deal in Brazil.

So there you go. So he does have a reputation as being an intriguing prospect at 1.35. just another killer add to 135 division, Barry O'Reilly. That's our assessment of it. Just three more to go here. Marcus McGaheyi coming in with what he called the On to the Next One, Giga edition. Martinez versus Manna Martinez, Johnny Munoz, Termin versus Roman DeLite, Al-Hassan versus Abu Azitar. And he had something to say.

He's like us. He said, it's hard to match up with the tough winners. Ideally, it's have them face any other sort of tough alumni. that they said he round or season 5 contract winner. So I agree with that. But he threw out some names. He just said, Petruski,

Justin Stoltfus, Tertius, Jesse Strader, and Battle and Fatikofu. So I'm just glad people are acknowledging that tough 29 happened. And putting an effort to thinking about it. Chris Stiles says Rodriguez versus Neil Magni.

Sure? Yeah. The pace in that fight would be nuts. It would be. And Magny, gosh, he'll find anybody. He'll just, he'll fight. And he could win that by, too.

And he just wants Tersios versus Mutino. He said, I know he's booked against Aaron Phillips. I don't care. And laughing, crying emoji. So I agree. When I suggested the Matino Phillips winner, I was leaning towards Mutino, but I have to respect the process. Let's close out with Nate Andrews, Mike.

It comes in hot with some great picks and some great comments. Let me just make sure I got his message here. There we go. Nate Andrews says, Chikaze versus. Oh, yeah, year. Barbosa versus Tuporia. I saw a few people mention that,

as your listeners did again, keep it in Georgia. I like this. I think I saw someone else mentioned this as well, but Lee versus Randy Brown, which is the fight he should have taken all along, which I agree.

That's probably a way more sensible 170-pound test for Kevin Lee. So hopefully they gave him another shot, and that happens. Oh, Mir Shirt versus Marquez, right winner, there we go. Al-Hassan versus Lungiambula Berrio winner. September 4th, Alvi versus full hammy,

Cesar Fahedda in the 2022 PFL season. I think they fought. Am I crazy? I don't know. I mean, Alvi's fought everybody at this point. Back in the day, February 2015, he beat Zazza Faheda first round knockout. This was a lifetime ago.

And a card that was headlined by Frank Meir and Antonio Bigfoot Silva. So that's how long ago that was, yes. And then I'll close with this comment. So he says he wants to see Sabatini versus an interview with me. He says, an interview with you, AK, the Prince of Positiveity. So you can actually appreciate his work. I guess because it was such a brutal, ugly submission, he didn't really get to celebrate. He says, it's not his fault that Emmer's made a mistake.

He was fucking Tank Ebbett and went for a toll hold in 2021 while heel deep in the tightest submission in the sport. please, AK, I know the man's guilty because he hamburged a dude's knee on national TV, but interview him and help him see how great of a job he did. You're the only person in the industry built for this hashtag, built different. You know, thank you, Nate and Andrews for the compliment.

I can think of at least one other man who's built to do an interview like that. And it's the man I'm looking at and talking to you right now, Mike Heck. I think you need such a great job. Of course. I think you're a very positive. You might not be the prince of positivity. It would be a fairly positive man and I think you would

do a great interview with Pat Zabatini and I don't think you're making you feel guilty at all. I think you would really alleviate a lot of his stress. Yes. What is the guilt from? Come on now. I mean, it's not, it's a fight. It's a fight. You sign the dotted line, you know? You signed, you put

pen to paper, things like this can happen. It's just the way to it is. Not some press, Jamal Embers who apparently he said his knee was fine, I believe, on social media. He'd do an Instagram story or tweet or something like that saying like, does It doesn't appear to be any damage. We'll see, you know, we'll get the medicals later this week, of course.

But fingers crossed that Jamal's right and that, you know, just a lot of pain, but no tear, nothing broken. And he can get back in there because it's been a tough, man, it's been tough for him. The back spasms in his last fight. What a weird career he's bad. And now suffering a brutal leglock. And he's a good fighter. Dude, I thought he beat Giga. I thought he beat Giga in that debut.

I thought he beat Chikaze. What a different story would be telling right now? I'll say I'll I'm going to throw out of wow prediction I think in 2020 if he is healthy I think we'll see Jamal bounce back in a big way yeah and we'll look back on this kind of weird last like it's you know 16 months of his career I was like whatever he's good man

and the MMA happened to him you know but that's it though guys so thanks of course everyone who sends in picks and everything please DM me on all your picks this is instructions now the instruction time for the person who asked you like you can DM me at Alexander K Lee

on Twitter at Alexander KK Lee on Instagram and Alex Dotley at SBNation.com if you want to send through email. Mike? M underscore HECJR on Instagram. Mike Heck underscore J.R. on Twitter. Jaron Kowada, who actually asked for the instructions, sent some picks in. I think the one that we didn't mention was Pat Sabatini versus Bruce Leroy, Alex Cesaris. Hey. The rest we've talked about many times.

So thank you, Jaron. He figured it out. It's good to be back, everybody. It's good to be back. And we'll be back again next week to get you ready for, or not get you ready, but discuss the fallout of UFC Vegas 36, back to the apex. And at a time that I just think is just wonderful, 1 p.m. Eastern prelims kickoff, 4 p.m. Eastern main card, because this is an ABC card.

I remember if you're saying correctly. It's an ABC card and they want to, they want it to be on in prime time in London maybe. Why? Because perhaps one half of the main event. Derek Brunson versus Darren Till, the main event for that car. That's a very interesting fight. And Darren Till, win or lose, will probably fight for the title next because that's just how his career is gone. Tom Aspinall, I believe, is fighting Sergey Spivak now. I haven't been able to confirm that, but there are reports out there.

Do they do not on the broadcast? Maybe not. I'm not seeing. Let me double check that. Keep going, Mike. Let me double check that. I thought it was. Yes, because he was supposed to fight Sergey Pavlovich and probably visa issues. Stop that from happening.

Khalil Roundtree versus Medesis Bukascus. That's going to be a crazy fight. We're going to see the UFC debut of Patty Pimblitz against Luigi Vendermini. What a wild road it was to get to that fight with the correct journalism from guys like Marcel, guys like Guillermo Cruz. Pimble was not going to be the guy. Now he is the guy after all. A late addition to the story.

card. David Sawada versus Alex Marono. That's going down. Gian Kim versus Molly McCann is fun. Dalcha Lungambula versus Mach Andre Berial. We'll see the UFC debut of Mandy Baum. She's going to fight Ariani Lipsky. Jonathan Martinez

versus Marcello Rojo. That fight's going to be nuts. Charles Jordane no longer fighting Lorraine Murphy. He will now fight Julian Orozah, which will also be a crazy fight. And Jack Shore will take on Ludwig. Sholinian.

Sholinian from, of course, as everyone knows, Tough 29. That's right. So there you go. I didn't mean to interrupt you, Mike. I know you were just about to say that, that Ludwig Shillian from Tuft 20. I apologize for interrupting you. I know you're just a... I know Ludwig very well because he beat...

He handed Mitch Raposo his first loss. Is that... Didn't he beat Mitch? On the show? He beat Mitch in the opening in the first round, didn't he? Yes. That was the first time Mitch had lost a fight. No, I'm suddenly the one who can't remember.

Yes. That's right. Yeah, Mitch did lose on the show. I think the very first episode, second episode. I think it was episode two, yeah. Because Mitch is the first pick overall. He was. He was.

But as we said, wait, he's, he'll, he'll show out at flyweight. He really needs to, he's really going to be at 125, right? Mitch probably, yeah. And by the way, yes, it was announced, I believe, on Saturday night. I do see on the official, the official, UFC accounts that Tom Aspinall versus Sergei Spivak is going down. Okay. So this is a fun little card.

And it's going down in the afternoon, which means the post-fight show is going to go on at 8 p.m. Eastern. That's tremendous news for everybody involved. So that's going on next week. But that will wrap up this week. We're not even done with the combat sports weekend. So as you hear this, I mean, it may be a little bit too late, but as you hear this as it drops,

later on tonight, Jake Paul versus Tyrone Woodley is going down. It is happening. This whole thing is happening. The circus is coming to Cleveland. And I'm very intrigued. I'm very excited for this. this fight, AK. Super excited.

Anyone listen to this on Monday, you'll already have been blessed by this, by whatever it is that's going to happen on Sunday evening. But anyone listening now, yeah, hey, look, don't forget. It's probably, probably happened in a few hours by the time you, this, this finds your your drums. And I don't know. This fight could be, give me nothing, or the world could be a very, very different place come Monday morning.

Yes. Last thing before we say our goodbye. A.K. You are the Prince of Positivity after all. And I want to see if you can find some positive in this because you tweeted something out. And I'm curious as to why. The number one trending film on Netflix right now in Canada is a film called He's All That?

That's a thing? Yeah, I actually learned about this last week. I don't know. Maybe someone else must have put this in my feed somehow. And I thought it was like a joke. I thought I was like, of course, it is a remake. of the teen comedy, early late 90s, late 90s

teen comedy, very popular teen comedy. She's all that, starring Freddie Prince Jr. And Rachel Lee Cook. And I just learned about this like last week, and I didn't know it was on Netflix. I thought it was like, okay, this is some, I don't know, Apple Plus or direct-to-video thing. I don't know why this is something talking about this.

I didn't know. It was apparently this big Netflix release. And it was apparently a big deal in Canada because, yes, as I opened up my Netflix, does the first thing that they show you. They really want people to tune in. it's called he's all that I didn't want there's a trailer

which has a remix of six pence none the riches kiss me I'm not going to watch the trailer I'm not going to watch the movie I say that and probably somehow end up doing it probably some friends would want to watch on a lark or something

I apologize on behalf of Canada we're better than this we're better than this so so deal with that let that soak in for a little while as you prepare for

Jake Paul versus Tyra Woodley and that's a lesson we could all learn because even if you don't like this just think just remember it could always be worse

hashtag tease all that so that'll do do not hashtag you don't have to so until next week we talk about UFC Vegas 36

and what happened then I am Mike Heck that is AK and always remember don't take things too seriously MMA is supposed to be fun well more fun right here next week on

on to the next one the podcast You're listening to the Vox Media Podcast Network.