MMA Fighting - On To the Next One | Matches To Make After UFC Vegas 45

Episode Date: December 19, 2021

Derrick Lewis capped off 2021 with another ferocious KO of Chris Daukaus in the headliner of Saturday's UFC Vegas 45 event. What could be next for "The Black Beast" as he heads into 2022? On the final matchmaking episode of On To the Next One for the year, that topic is discussed, along with potential bookings for Belal Muhammad after picking up the biggest win of his career against former UFC title challenger Stephen Thompson, Amanda Lemos, Ricky Simon, Mateusz Gamrot, Cub Swanson, 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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Everybody, hope everyone's having a great weekend. Welcome back to a brand new edition of On to the next one. one last time here in 2021. A UFC event took place. We are here to maybe predict the futures, maybe get those last minute otno points before the holiday season comes to an end. And we're going to recap UFC Vegas 45

and talk about some of the notable names, including the Black Beast with a ferocious knockout to cap off the year. I am Mike Heck. Thank you for listening. I am doing this podcast right now in the lobby of my hotel because I just checked out.

I'm about to head on over to the airport and head back home to my family. After a crazy week here in Tampa, Florida, covering the Taryn Woodley Jake Paul card. We all know what happened there, but we're not here to talk about that. And joining me on this venture is the co-host, the co-matchmaker, and he's my best friend, Mr. Alex Cayley, aka, how are you, my friend? My best friend, you have done some phenomenal work this week in sunny Tampa, Florida. Florida, Mike, on point, as always. I'm sure the listeners will be very happy to getting Florida mic for this.

episode. How do we even how do we even talk about anything after Jake Paul just knocked out Tyrone Woodley on what is what is going to be our last, we'll do another show probably but what is our last sort of regular onto the next one episode of the year

I mean we should be celebrating a UFC card that had so many finishes implications for the 2022 title picture but goodness me all I can think about is these memes and poor Taran Woodley face down in the ring and oh my gosh. I don't know. You know, Mike, let's

get to it. Maybe we can shake this UFC stuff loose from my brain, like in a good way and get out of this conversation. Because we could talk about that event, the Paul Woodley rematch for two hours. I agree. And I'm sure you guys did it on the post fight show

last night, which I think everyone should go and watch or listen to. But let's talk about what Derek Lewis did. Came in as the betting underdog against Chris Dawkins. And someone tweeted this, and I can't remember off the my head and I would credit them, but they said something to the effect of there is nothing more terrifying in the sport of MMA than Derek Lewis when he smells blood. When he knows you has you hurt,

there's nothing more terrifying than Derek Lewis. That is exactly what happened with Chris Stochus. Lewis hit him with a shot, knew he had him in trouble, and then he just goes for the kill and he did exactly that 336 into the first round. Chris Dachas went to sleep. Derek Lewis gets the win and a lucky fan at the UFC Apex got Derek Lewis's cup. So that happened, which is not surprising at all, especially during a pandemic. But anyways, AK, your thoughts on Lewis's knockout, the performance, and what could be next for the Black Beast? You know, again, I think anyone picking Lewis, this is kind of how they thought it would play out. I think I said second round, I think in my official prediction, but this was a big step up for Chris Dawkins. There's no shame in Lewis and loses Derek

Lewis. I hope people don't look at this as one of those. Oh, hype train derailed or what have you. Chris Docas looked great in his first four UFC fights. They've built him up the right way. I don't fault the matchmaking at all. This was the right matchup. I think pretty much he called for it after his win over Abdurikimov. Pretty much everyone on to the next one was like, yeah, this is it. He's beaten two veterans, Olinick, Abdurikimov, finishing everyone.

He deserves the top guy who happens to be free, who has to be coming off a, you know, a big title fight loss. Needs a bit of a bounce back fight. And this is it. You get Derek Lewis. When you reach this level of heavyweight, man, you've got a lot of guys who can take you out quick. And if you do that better than Derek Lewis now, 13 career UFC knockouts, Mike, the most in UFC history. So, again, really no shame for Christakis. I still see him almost a surefire title challenger.

It could still happen in 2022. He's a fresh name. And let's say he wins. He needs two wins. I think he gets right back in that telepicture. And we'll see how that shakes out with Inkan Uncon fighting very soon. So for Mr. Lewis, how do we make this Stipey and Miotich fight happen? Like, can we do it?

Is it possible? I mean, I think it's, I think that's probably the fight to make. Like, I think we're in the same boat. But it all depends. Like, there's just too many unknowns right now, right? With In Ganon, Gond, of course, John Jones waiting in the wings. And then, you know, if John, something happens and this fight falls apart for what the 448th time, you got to call Steepay. So it's hard to put steep in that situation.

I'm going to go ahead. And by the way, I can't wait for our prediction show to go back to some of these picks. I listened to it on the flight over here. It's hilarious how terrible I was with predictions. You were slightly better than I. But, yeah, I mean, I think you've got to do the steepy fight. Like if John, yeah. Your predictions, you say were terrible.

Your picks, you killed on the pitch. My picks for last night were great. I'm talking about, like, remember how we did our odds to the next one, like, prediction show? The year ahead prediction show. I didn't want to talk about that. Yes, but anyways. So I assume John Jones and the UFC have made nice enough,

since John Jones is saying like April or July, and I'm hearing similar that they're looking at dates around the time. And if John Jones does get the title shot, I think we do Derek Lewis versus Steepet. I'd love to get, Stipe should probably get one more win. But again, it's up to Steepay. If he doesn't like the idea of fighting Derek Lewis, he's just not going to fight him and he just won't fight. And that's fine with him.

That's totally fun. So, but I'm with you, Derek. If we had our druthers, AK, the best friends, we're doing Derek Lewis versus Steepay. Yeah, this is a magic wand pick. This is not a like what we think is, the match picks are necessarily thinking or even if they are thinking it. Do they think like this? Oh, we can easily throw this one together. It is tough with Steepay.

He's, you know, once he's, he's in that, he reached that world title picture. I should say, I'm sorry, I became world champion. And it stayed in the world title picture. So in his mind, he's like, I just, why do I have to take? I want championship money again. I'm used to making championship money. Why am I fighting dangerous guys? Like a Derek Lewis, for example, in a fight.

I'm not going to do a fight. I don't want to do a fight-night main event. I don't want to do, like, you know, why should I do a co-main on a pay-per-view? It's tough. He's in a tough spot. He seems very happy to wait. We know this.

We know he's very happy to wait. So this is a magic wand pick where if we're up to you and me, and I think a lot of the listeners, this fight would happen. I'm not sure what's, I don't have what's likely to happen, I'm actually not entirely sure. Yeah. things have to play out. This is one of those weird scenarios. I mean, if you want to throw them in there with Jarzino, just if he wants to fight, cool. That works for me. But yeah, if we can make the

steep fate happen. I know our own Jose Young's called for tie to Vasa and sure, Derek Glose gets another main event and makes that bag. Yeah. The Jarzino fight has some has some in Ganu Lewis potential, though, I will say. That could be a really, really bad fight. Yeah. Really bad. You know, on the Prince of Positing. That could be bad. And if Inganu loses to Gan, like the Otno picks galore would be Inganu versus Derek Lewis too. Like you just would probably have to look in that direction. But with Derek Lewis's contract situation and all that, yeah, who the hell knows? So we'll see what happens.

Derek Lewis against anybody is fun. And congratulations to the Black Beast bouncing back from that loss to the interim heavyweight champion of the World Zero Gone. Let's move ahead to the co-made event, Balal, remember the name Muhammad? gets the biggest win of his career. He just sort of bullies. I mean, literally, like, he lived up to his Twitter modicter very well. Bullied Stephen Thompson for three rounds. This was one-way traffic.

Was it the... Was it a highlight real fight where we're just going to be like, wow, look at all these incredibly brutal, ferocious and violent moments Balah Muhammad had? No, we're not going to have that moment, but Malah Maham went out there and he dominated Stephen Thompson. Gets the biggest win of his career. And there's a very good chance.

Balah Muhammad is a top five welterweight on the play. Planet come Tuesday. Huge win for him. What do we do with Bilal Muhammad now, I.K. It's so weird with him. It's the more he has success, it never seems to, it just doesn't raise his stock that much, Mike.

I saw so many people criticizing him for how he fought Wonderboy. And I'm like, what did you want him to do? He saw the Gilbert Burns fight. He saw what is possibly now a very exploitable weakness in Stephen Thompson's game, one that I didn't think existed before the Burns fight, and even after the Burns fight, I had said, well,

Gilbert Burns is sort of an elite grappler, you know, one of the best in the world. I don't think Muhammad's on that level. I was very wrong. Muhammad channeled that energy, all that energy, all the technique that we normally see in his striking and found a way to go with the wrestling and ground Stephen Thompson and really put a beating on him at the end of the first round. So it's not like he didn't do damage. Rounds two and three, not as impactful, fine.

Clear cut wins for Muhammad. So I don't know. It is really tough. And I was saying on the post-Fi show as well, he's got a very quirky personality, a very cool social media presence. But he doesn't have that easily sellable badass or I don't know. What's a nice way? Dickish personality that the UFC enjoys. So he's a hard sell.

I landed on a Vicente Lucke rematch. Some people would ask, why would Vicente Lucke? did this do this he won the fight period admittedly a few years ago when they fought several years ago I should say it's it's really in the past but with this win I mean he leapfrogs luke in the rankings you know luke

couldn't beat wonder boy mohammed did luke is again I just don't know if he's getting a tattlis one of the big fights he wants anytime soon all the names above him soon do you talk about each other and not him which is really the story of his life he might have to go for the mohammed rematch and if you're mohammed very dangerous opponent

but you'd like to get that w back And again, he has to wait for one of these big names to kind of open the gates and let one of these slightly lower rank guys in. I'm with you, AK. Blal is a tremendous individual. He's a great personality, and he's a damn good fighter. He's a guy that I've been following for a long time interviewing him since he was a Titan FC. Even before he's the Titan FC Walterweight champion before he went to the UFC and has just had this really interesting career. He's on the streak right now.

And yeah, his social media presence has gone. over in such a big way, but it just hasn't translated on television. Like, he's good in the booth, and the UFC's giving him these opportunities to get over, and he's done a fine job with all of it. It's just not, something's just not clicking. No one is hankering for some reason to have Blal calls out Usman calls out Leon Edwards. I understand the Leon fight. If for some reason, Leon doesn't get the title shot, or I'd like to see that fight. Like, it makes sense. Like, it makes sense. But Leon's so far ahead of that now that, I don't know, it's just a hard sell. So unfortunately, even beating Stephen Thompson last night, great win. It's a great resume booster,

and I think it's going to be sort of a futures victory where, like, down the stretch, three, four wins from now, we're going to look back on that win and be like, okay, that's a good name to have on the resume. Having said that, you're talking about remitremer. matches and fights that were booked in the past, I'm going to do the same thing. I think he's going to fight Sean Brady next. I do. Like, I think that's the fight. I mean, it's not what he wants, but right now Brady's a top 10 guy. Just get him in there with, get him in there with Sean Brady. They were supposed to fight earlier this year. Didn't happen. Let's do it. I think that's the fight to make, and I think that's the fight's going to end up happening. And Bilal probably deserves

better, but I think that's what's going to happen. And that's a good test for Sean Brady, and it's a good test for for Bilal. Neil Magny is another name. than I was thinking about, but I feel like they're going to end up doing the Hamzat fight, but we'll see what happens. Yeah, I do think the one thing appealing for Muhammad about that matchup is Brady is, I don't even know if it's arguable. Brady's probably the hotter name. He might have lost a little bit of steam because of kind of how close the Kiyasa fight was in the end.

But I do think the UFC's been pushing him pretty hard and us in the media. I think we've done a lot of Sean Brady stories. And he's undefeated. So I think Muhammad would relish the chance to catch a guy like Brady sort of at this stage of. his career before, you know, Brady is, Brady's probably at like 80%, 85% of how good he's going to be someday. But I think, you know, we've said before, we think he's a real, like, championship level fighter, not just a contender, like a guy who could become the world champion.

He's just not there yet. And I think if you're Muhammad, you want to get him before that and say, hey, I was the guy who handed him that first loss back from the day. And I can, and I can have that. So there's an appeal to him, for sure. Yeah. We move ahead to Amanda Lamos. And I got to admit, I was at the arena for Paul Woodley, too, so I did not watch this fight at all. Like, not even a, I saw like one clip of it. But from what I understand, A.K., bad decision, bad judging. A lot of people thought Angela Hill won this fight. I mean, I didn't even look at him made decisions for this one, but it just seemed like everybody was screaming that Angela Hill got robbed.

Is that, is that the case? Will there be a robbery review for this? And if not, just give us a little brief one right now. Was this actually a robbery in your eyes? So because I was also remotely covering boxing, I only had this fight on, sort of in the corner of my eyes, watching glimpses. I can't say I saw enough to say for sure. It should have been Lemosch one round one, Angela Hill won round two. That seemed pretty clear.

There was definitely controversy in the third because Angela Hill landed a nice elbow. And it was more of a slip than a knockdown, but it was probably one of the biggest fights of, excuse me, one of the biggest shots of the, excuse me, one of the biggest shots of the. not just that round, but the entire fight. So the lasting impression on anyone watching definitely is that Angela Hill won. M-Madestisions.com, 11 media members scored it 10 out of 11, 29-28 Hill. Only our boy, Drake Riggs, had it for 29-28 Limosch. And again, and that's mine. Like I don't think 29-28 is an objectionable scorecard.

3027, Mr. Doug Crosby, that's a highly objectionable score card. I'm not sure what Doug Crosby was thinking. It was, again, very clear, first and two, very easy to score. third is really the controversial one. And I think Angela Hill gets a little more credit as well because she was such a big underdog. You know, you always have that if they did better than you expected, then they sometimes get extra points.

I would need to watch the fight more closely to say. But she certainly has an argument for it. As she has had in several of her UFC fights, she's now 0 and 4 in her career in split decisions. So there's definitely at least one or two robberies in there. I really feel for Ranjah in the situation. The matchmaking for Lamoche, pretty easy. And this isn't going to sound nice for the person that I picked.

But Jan Shaanan, a good fighter. Someone I think in most people's top tens at Strawweight, I don't see why anyone would not have her in their top 10. Lamosh, also probably in the top 10 now. I would have her behind Jan Shaanan. Some people might have already put her over. I know some people have her top six, top five. They're very high in Lemosch as a future contender.

Could be a title challenger. Sorry, I could get a tell the shot, one win away. So for me, it was easy. I think Jan Shaanan, I would pick Lamush to win that and keep her run going. Otherwise, hey, maybe Jan wins and gets some of her own steam back. I don't know. Yeah, this was interesting because that's a fine win, but in a lot of it, it's not a win that, at least for now, is, again, not quite to the same extent of the Blah Muhammad win, because that was obviously bigger. And his performance was, I mean, it was a no doubter.

this is a little different. We saw her gas up quite a bit in this fight. I think we have more questions about Amanda Lamos coming out of this win than we've had since her move to 115. I think that's very fair to say. My initial thought was, let's just, and I hate throwing out to get more gatekeeper because it seems so disrespectful, but I mean this in the nicest possible way. After you beat Angel Hill in your up-and-coming prospect in this division, it seems like you go from one gatekeeper to the next. next. Like Tisha Torres would be a perfect fight. Like this would be the right fight to make.

So that was my pick. Before I went to bed, I was like it's Tisha Torres. But then Tisha Torres tweeted this morning that she verbally agreed to another fight and it clearly isn't this one because Amanda Lamos just fought a grueling split decision win over Angela Hill. And that's, they're not going to make that fight. So I think she's going to have to fight another vet. She'll be ranked, but it's Jessica Penney time. I think she's, She goes in there and gets fight Jessica Penne. Rough night of the office for Jessica Penny more than likely. But Penny has been playing spoiler quite a bit since she's had that long layoff.

So yeah, I think we could do that. Give her a chance to kind of shine, work on those, those cardio issues, and know that sometimes you're going to fight women who just can take a shot. And Angel Hill surviving that onslaught in the first round, especially seeing that clip, is just unbelievable and very Angela Hill of her. So yeah, Jessica Penny. and or just run it back. Who the hell knows?

If something happens, they book Jessica Penny and she gets hurt, Ingelio will just slide back in, fighter. So there we go. And Angela Hill, of course, is Jessica Penny's pal. So they go a little bit of revenge factor there. And I do would like to see Lemosch against another veteran because Angela Hill has about twice the amount of experience as Amanda Limoche. Plenty more high-level UFC experience as well.

Again, it wasn't, I picked Lemosch first round win, But I went against what I had said on sort of our pre-fight Q&A before, where I was like, this would be my, if I were a gambling man, my upset pick-up the night. Because just there's no substitute for experience. And Lemosch's being some good fighters, some of the experience, none has experienced to Angela Hill. And Angel Hill rarely gets run over. So if Lamoche had, you know, had won by first round finish, we'd be having a very different conversation right now. I mean, we'd be talking just give the title shot right away, or at least definitely number one contender shot.

But as it is, this was good. this was a good, you know, close decision win for her, at least officially. And she's going to learn a lot from it. Yeah, and I think a penny fight would be good for her. And we would see how much, you know, how much she learned from the Hill fight. And I would expect her to finish Jessica Penny. But you never know. You never know.

This is why we have the fights, AK. That's why we have the fights. We move ahead to young return to mullet wearing Ricky Simone, who gets a huge opportunity, finally gets a rank guy, a guy ranked significantly high. I mean, he fought your eye of favor. That was a massive name. But now he got Hafiela Sonsau, and he did what he was supposed to do in this situation. He did what a lot of people expected him to do.

I didn't think he would go out there and just bolt him and knock him out the way that he did and just stop him with strikes. But I thought he would win a clear, easy decision. And Simone did not do that. He goes out there and gets a big finish. He needed that one, especially after what happened with the Faber fight. Massive win for him. He calls out Sean O'Malley.

I've liked that fight for a long time. The problem is the UFC probably could have pulled the trigger on it now, and I think it doesn't really make a lot of sense. It'd be great. I think it's probably better for O'Malley right now than it would be for Ricky Simone. Ricky Simone will probably be ranked higher than Sean O'Malley on Tuesday after that victory. So I don't think that fight happens unless Sean O'Malley just starts calling for it. I didn't see him call for anything last night.

So Ricky Simone deserves a big fight. Pedro Munoz. That's my pick. Yeah, that works. I mean, honestly, my rankings is perfect. I did have Ricky Simone jump over O'Malley. Rick's Simone took a big jump with win over Aung San Sao, who I also ranked over O'Malley. So Simone essentially took A Sunsau's spot or I should say bumped a Sunsao down and then jumped ahead of him.

I have it right now, number 12, from 12 to 15, Munoz, Simone, Asunsao O'Malley. So yes, Simone is higher than O'Malley and right next to Pedro. So I like that one. The only problem is for me, so you think Pedroa Muno, I can't remember what I said for Pedro. I think I probably didn't make a pick for him after he lost. But I'm going with a little bit, probably lower ranked. I know people might not like this one. Song Ya Dong.

I like the Song Ya Dong fight. It's kind of, again, putting two guys with a lot of potential, who are both veterans, but still have a lot of potential, excuse me. I think I just like the fight. And this is just a bantamweight's a killer division. I don't know if Simone Munoz would probably be his best chance for moving up. But I don't think he'll move him up that much. So if I'm him, I wouldn't mind taking a fight with another guy. Again, sort of, in a similar, just a little bit lower in the rankings.

And if I beat him, hopefully by then the top 10 of the bantamweight pictures has shaken up a little bit. Because I do like the Mara rematch as well. We've discussed that a few times on the show, Mike. I do like that rumin. The timing for it right now is probably a bit off. It's probably not going to happen next, but I think you keep the door open. And eventually they fight after the head of a controversial win for Ricky Simone the first time around. So I think that one's still on the table, just not next.

I'd go Sonia Dom next. I actually like the idea of Ricky Simone versus Frankie Edgar as well, but I'm still holding a hope we get Dominic Cruz versus Frankie Edgar next. I just wanted to see that fight. You know me. I don't pick fights for Frankie Edg. I say I want Frankie Edgar to never retire, but also never fight again if that's possible. That is my official out-no stance. He's never officially retired.

He keeps getting, the UFC keeps paying him as if he's an active fighter. Like, they just pay him three times a year as show money. And then just, but we just, he never actually fights. That's my. Yeah. I get where you're coming from. That's why I like the Cruz fight so much. I'm such a Frank Yeager fan.

Yeah, I mean, Cruz might just like sort of piece him up a little bit, but I don't think he like really hurts him. And I think what if he did then? Then we're just like, okay. Then we have to have, we have to officially have the conversation that we never wanted to have with Frankie Edgar. I feel so bad. I would feel so. It's just crazy because Frankie was probably winning the Marlin Vera fight until he got knocked out.

Poor Frankie Hager. But that's why I like Pedro if I think Patriot is a great option. Let's go to Matt. Let me just add, by the way. I picked. Simone's win was one of my perfect picks on the night. I said second round knockout for Simone. You know, us and sound, unfortunately, it's just really getting up there in age.

He probably just can't take the hits they used to. The reflexes aren't what they used to be. Yeah, again, listen, we saw age catch up. a few guys this right night, Mike, I think. Tarant Woodley, Stephen Thompson, how far out on South. So, you know, I wish these guys are the best, but I do think they're not just in the twilight, I think they're near the end of the twilight of their careers. Yeah, I have a hard time believing at this point that a Suncel fights in the UFC again, but we'll see what happens. Let's go to the lightweight division. Matush Gamrott continues his

surge. He's starting to to fight like the, like the Gamrott that we've wanted to for a long time. He had that tough fight in his debut against Guram Kutatsalate. It was a short notice replacement fight. And it's your UFC debut, your expectation, expectation for him with through the roof. But he's just finishing dudes like crazy now. Stopps Diego Fajara, nasty, nasty knee to the body that really started it off. And then was going for the submission. It was a tap due to strikes. Like, it was just all chaotic. And I feel bad for people who bet on Gamrot to win by

submission because it ends as a TKO, which is just wild. He tried to, Mike. He tried. I know. He knew about the betters. He knew about the betters. And after the fight, you saw, he's like, oh, oh, no, he probably had some friends who've been submission. He's like, oh, I got to get it. I get submission. Oh, Jason Herzlok. I'm submitting. I'm submitting. So, yeah, what a crazy ending to the fight, but a huge win. The Diego Fajeda, the guy is, he's not winning right now, but his fights are just awesome. Like he's he's not in Justin Gaichi territory, but he's like a couple of steps away from that. Every fight this guy in is just insane. And that's not really the stat you want to

have all the time when you're losing fights. Matush Gamrock gets a massive win. He had some callouts, probably callouts he's not going to get. Where did you go with Gamrod after this win over Diego, Hedda, to improve him to 20 in one? This was actually one of the the tougher ones for me. It's one of those wins that opened up a lot of things for him. But at the same time, again, it's almost like what Ricky Simone is the problem Ricky Simone is facing is, I think the top tier is a bit occupied at the moment. And you don't want to rush Gamrod to. I suppose it sounds weird to rush say rush him. The guy's like, what, 20 and one? Yeah, 21, one no contest, former KSW two division champion. Before I, before I tell my pick, Mike, you would say that Gamrod has done enough to kind of jump back over Kuta Blase, right? That fight was like over a year ago now. Yeah, Gurama hasn't fought since

then. So, you know, I thought the ranking of Gamrod's tricky just because he had that weird sort of split decision lost to Kutadlase, which you kind of alluded to where we maybe didn't see the best of him. But I think he's done enough in the past year, three and O, three finishes to leap fraud, Kutalteh, who unfortunately has not been able to compete. I was supposed to fight Don Don Madge. Injuries kind of funked that matchup up. And I said funked, by the way, this is for the kids. And, you know, I still, I still think very highly Kutta Latsi, I think a lot of people do. But Gamrod should have, you know, not actually fighting a top 15 guy in Faheda, it's probably taking his spot, right? I would agree. Yeah, I would agree, especially since

Kutata Latsi hasn't fought. Yeah, what did you go with? So there's a lot of options for him. I like Bobby Green. I think Bobby Green, I like the name. I think Bobby Green, I think we're seeing one of the, we're in a stretch of the Bobby Green life cycle where we're seeing the really good, Bobby Green, again, this comes and goes. This is, you know, the wheel of chaos spins very quickly for Bobby Green, but right now, it's in a positive light.

So I'd like to see him fight Gamera. I think Gamera would take it. He's a veteran name. It'd be a cool fight. I have Bobby Green in the top 20. Gamera just a little bit higher than him. And again, he just needs to keep building his resume and his name while the top 15 at lightweight, or say the top 10 at lightweight, gets sorted out.

There's been a lot of movement in 2022, and some of these divisions. And Gamerich just keeps winning. He'll be poised for a big fight, probably by third quarter, third quarter, or at the end of the year, at 155. That's a great pick. I really like that pick. I went great. I went with the popular kids, you know. Everyone was saying Greg Gillespie. I'm loving that idea. I know we haven't seen Gregor Gillespie fight in quite some time. We haven't even heard from him in quite some time. And then all of a sudden, and not Gregor Gillespie. Gillespie-esque fashion. He gets on Twitter and calls out Tony Ferguson.

Now, I don't think he's going to get that fight. I think he might be like a win away from getting that fight, but if he beats Routt, there's a very good chance you could get that fight. So, yeah, I like the chaos of Gammarok Gillespie. So, yeah, I'm in on that. I'm with the masses, if you will. I'm with the cool kids. We're going with Gammarok Gillespie, AK.

Yeah, I think I was pushing the Fiziv. I don't remember if I was pushing the Fizib Gillespiev. train or the Fizib Dosanos train, both matchups, which I like. But I think Gamrod Gillespie is more of a, is likely, is likely. Not necessarily my top pick, but if we're going by what they're thinking. Yeah, it makes a lot of sense for both guys. Again, rankings wise, style of the fight. Yeah, that's, that's, again, like I said, Gamrod really has this options open for

2022. So potentially a lot of great fights for him. And now we go to Cubby Swanson. What our performance just goes out there. takes on Darren Elkins who just for some reason like a year or so ago even a little bit more

we're like please stop fighting Darren just please we don't want to see you take any more damage and then he just continued to take damage but continue to win and finish fights which is just insane but Cubbs Swanson goes out there and gets it done just rolls through Darren Elkins we're seeing wheel kicks

at this point in his career big stop just two minutes and 12 seconds he gets it done okay I want to hear from you first on this one Cubs Swanson, the legend, coming through here. Against a very durable and tough guy who was on a little bit of a streak. Just fought Giga Chikaze, tough fight for him. And then he comes back with a performance like this, and everybody's just glowing about it. Where do we go from here?

How do we capitalize on this? And what do we do with Cubs Swanson now after another just incredible performance? I'm going to pull a card that many of our listeners have pulled frequently, but I have hesitated on making this matchup happen, mostly because the name I'm about to say there's another dream matchup I want for him, but I feel like that it's going to have to be put off because the name I'm thinking for him is occupied

or it's about to be occupied. This is someone who apparently Cubs Swanson, I actually don't really remember this, I had to look this up, welcome this man to the WEC, back, back, back, back in the day in yonder years of 2010, Mike. And I think this would be an awesome

Just an awesome matchup between veterans and a fight that the name I'm about to pick, I think would be honored to take. Give me Cubs Swanson and the Korean zombie. Oh, man. I love it. I know zombie is higher ranked. Swanson, for me, is still top 20, maybe now top 15 after getting this, getting back in the wind column here. Certainly, the UFC is not afraid to book him in tough matchups, like we just said. They threw him in there with Giga.

It would just be, I mean, again, another band. Bangor, another WEC never died matchup. We keep talking about Cruz and Aldo and all that. How about Swanson and Zombies still putting in work, right? So, yeah, 145. You guys won a guaranteed Bangor. Easy fight of the night main events. Let's go.

Kill a Cub, Korean Zombie, Chan Sung, Jung. Let's do it. I love the idea. I just don't think it's going to happen just because TKZ is so close to a title fight right now. After the Dan Igay win, and I know he's been dealing with some injuries and stuff. So who knows? Like maybe the UFC just says, don't mind. like, dude, you're not getting any of these guys that you want.

And if you want to fight for a title, you need another win. Go fight Cub. He's just like, all right, fine, I'll fight Cub. I want a bit of a different name for Cub. A guy who stock rose, a guy who is coming off of a loss, but a guy who stock rose in the process. And I think this fight actually ages incredibly well on the night. It did not because it followed one of the most insane fights of all time.

So I'm going Cub Swanson versus Billy Q. AK. I think that's a fun fight. I think it's a good test for both guys. And no animosity, just two good dudes getting after it. And yeah, I like that idea. It's not a, no, not really a demotion for Cub. And, you know, it's a nice kind of spot for Billy Q after a really crazy fun fight with Shane Burgos at MSG. So yeah, I liked that idea. That was the first one that popped in my mind. I'm just sticking with it, my friend. So I'm just looking at my furtherweight rankings right now, Mike and from like from like 15 to third to 40 it's a pretty close cluster so just give you some idea I do have Cove in the top 15 I actually have Quarandello

outside the top 30 but again if you look at the names in between you could really put these in almost any order Ilya Tupurias in there Alex Casares Lorone Murphy Tukagov the Herbert Burns Gavin Tucker Sung Mu Choy so these are all guys who you whatever order you'd want to put them in you really can't be wrong there's so much talent in that section of 45. You know, 155, historically the deepest, 135, the hottest right now. 145 has always been right up there with like 155 and Welterweight. So, yeah, so you can't go wrong.

I think the Billy Q matchup makes a lot of sense. It would kind of numbers-wise shake up the rankings, but again, depending how people view some of these veterans, how high they should be, how high some of the newer guys should be, they're probably a lot closer than it looks. Agreed. Now, AK, for the final time in 2021, it is time for the wild card round. We're going to choose one fighter we've not matched made for yet.

And we'll do so right now. So, AK, kick us off. Yeah, so like you said, this is our... Oh, let me put it that way. It gets so emotional that this could be the last wild card we're doing for... That we will be doing for some time. I've got to put the spotlight here on Melissa Gatto. Good for her for taking out to JARU Banks.

Again, a tough... A someone who really could be a contender at 125 if she could just get that weight cut down. As far as we know, I mean, U-Banks could be on the verge of being released. But, you know, U-Banks is a very talented, strong fighter. 125, I do think, is her home. I think at 135, she's a little more average. So, Gato, a huge win.

Got herself a performance bonus, which maybe would have gone to Justin Tafa, if Tafa at heavyweight was not one pound over. But that's a whole other thing. So, Melissa Gato, looking ahead to some of the matchups at 125, some of the names are a little too high for her, so I'm going to wait for her to take. on the Viviani Arujo, Alexigrasso, loser, the loser of that fight that's going down January 22nd, UFC 270. And then after that, hey, Gatos undefeated.

It would be a really, even much bigger matchup for her soon. I like that. I like that quite a bit. So I'm going a little bit with a little bit of a different direction. I'm going with someone who's coming off, who actually did not get the victory on Saturday. a man who has fought for the UFC Walterway title on two different occasions. I'm going with Stephen Wonderboy Thompson, A.K.

Oh, boy. Oh, boy. Coming off the loss of Al-Mohamed. I think he's at this point now, and I know he's got this dream of getting back to a title fight and becoming a champion and becoming the oldest fighter in the UFC. Like, all great gallant goals. But I think there's one fight that really irks him,

and he said as much. I think the Matt Brown fight is something that, just kind of clawed at him for a while, because he got, he got dominating that fight. That was, that was the first time we saw Wonderboy Thompson just kind of get dominated

and it wasn't a good night for him. It's time. Just do the rematch. Like, let's go. Book these two guys. Let's do the rematch. Wonderboy versus Matt Brown 2. I think everybody would be happy with that selection.

So that's what I'm going with, AK. That's my final wild card pick of the year. Wonderboy versus the Immortal Map Brown part two. Your thoughts on that? Look, yeah, look. That's why I wish the UFC really embrace these kinds of narratives

because they're very quick, we've seen, they're very quick to book like instant rematches. That's a big UFC thing. But they're much more hesitant to book rematches that have like a year's long history. Now, I see that with Porreier and McGregor, too, earlier this year.

But, I mean, that's a McGregor-Poree thing. I mean, that was something that they thought they could sell on pay-per-view. I just don't know. Like, this was nine, almost nine years ago. That's crazy. Someone who wants to see, yeah, the first time Thompson was kind of dominated by a more expert grappler. I mean, the Matt Brown, you know, kind of set the blueprint that wasn't really able to be done again until Gilbert Burns and Bala Muhammad.

Yeah. Wonderboy would definitely love to have getting a top 10 ranked welterweight. I mean, when's the last time? I remember to clown myself probably, but yeah, it's been a while since. he's had the chance to fight a top 10 Walter Waite, he would leap at that opportunity. I guess Damien Maya would have lost five years ago last time.

And depending where I guess we replaced Donald Soroni when they fought, I don't think Sorony was in the top 10 at that point. But yeah, Damien Maya, long time ago. Yeah, Wonderboy rematch, man. AK, you're already aware of this, but I'm going to let the listeners know because you may hear a little bit, we're having some technical difficulties as well.

And I want to just give a little bit of an apology to the wonderful Otno community, because they sent in their picks to me. Again, an apology to the Otno community. They sent in their picks and they worked hard on them. They want those Otno points. And I'm going to keep those logged. However, I got to go.

I got us to go, okay? Plus, we're losing the connection Wi-Fi-wise. So I got to go. That's right. I got to order the Uber. I got to go to the airport. And then I got to fly home and see my family. After a crazy chaotic week covering this Jake Paul versus Tired Woodley fight,

and the way that all went down is just absolutely insane. It's a week I'll never forget, and I know it's not everybody's cup of tea. So I'm going to turn it on over to you, AK, to finish things off. All right, it is your show. It's, I mean, we're still best friends, so I'm here with you in spirit. Absolutely. But I, and I appreciate you doing that. But don't you worry, friends.

You will hear from us again. We got a couple of shows. We were thinking maybe doing the Ask Us Anything show again, because that one went over really well. Maybe that makes up for this. You guys just ask a bunch of questions. Cool. Sorry, Tristan Gordette. I don't want to hear anything.

I don't want to hear any crap from you, son. Shout out's Tristan. Shout out, Stristen. He gave some good picks and actually agree. Well, I'm saving that for another time. But thank you all very much. My apologies. So, A.K., take over the listeners that you got.

If you want to do the check of the tapes, it's all you, my friend. Thank you very much for being my co-matchmaker all this year, my friend. Anytime. A pleasure. Safe travels, sir. Safe travels. I mean, people will see you soon. Welcome aboard Air Canada.

Rocky's vacation, here we come. Whoa, is this economy? Free beer, wine, and snacks. Sweet. Fast free Wi-Fi means I can make dinner reservations before we land. And with live TV, I'm not missing the game. It's kind of like I'm already on vacation. Nice.

Air Canada. Nice travels. Wi-Fi available to AeroPen members on equipped flights. Sponsored by Bell. Conditions apply. See Air Canada.com. All right. While Mike is flying back home to South Carolina, I will be flying solo here for the remainder of the show.

Though I guess technically I'm not, because I have all of you wonderful listeners keeping me company. Always appreciated, guys. You sent in a lot of picks this week again. This is our last official onto the next one traditional show of the year. We'll have some special program for you coming up. But let's get to checking the tapes first. Not much to report here, guys. there wasn't, there weren't too many recent announcements.

You know, this news week was dominated kind of by USC Vegas 45 stuff, of course, Paul Woodley news. So there's maybe a smattering of rumors out there. One of which was the news that Jamal Hill and Johnny Walker will fight sometime in 2022. We don't have an exact date, but we were able to confirm that both sides have agreed to the matchup. They just don't know when yet.

But a lot of people want to see that one. So all of you listeners out there who had Jamal, Hill and Johnny Walker on your ought-no scratch card, there's a point for y'all to share. So don't spend it all in place. Now, let's quickly get to the listeners' picks here. It won't be the same without Mike, you know, bouncing these things off, Mike, but I will do my best to comment and compliment you guys and maybe even criticize as Mike would, but we'll see how that goes.

Standard disclaimer, I prefer to only mention the winners picks that you guys send out there, unless they're in the main event or a title fight, then obviously I can understand what why you'd want to see what's in store for the loser next. Solo Otno points, the most valuable commodity in the MMA world. Guys, category's rule. You're really only getting these if somehow you picked, you were the only person to pick this fight,

and this fight gets made. Guys, watch out for mistakes. Wrong weight class. People who fought already, and you didn't seem to acknowledge it was a rematch. You don't seem aware they fought. People who were injured out for a while, people who have been released guys from promotions,

and fighters could already booked. All this stuff, please. Check that stuff before you send it to me. for same your picks. Most importantly, your pick, it might just be doo-doo, and we don't want to read it. So not a lot of that this week. I think you guys did an amazing job.

I'll read out some of the more popular ones. For Derek Lewis, Stevie Miotich was probably the number one option, though a lot of people are in the Jose Young's camp and just want to see him in there with Tai Tuvasa, just two of the most lovable heavyweights that we have in MMA. I have nothing against that matchup. Of course, I'm a bit more in the Miotich camp. I wish they could wave a wand and just make that one happen.

For Chris Dawkins, tied to Avasa was a pick for him as well, but most people said, Martin Tabura is the right test for Dawkins coming off this first UFC loss. I'm inclined to agree. I'm inclined to agree. I do like that matchup. I like Tabara too. Everyone knows. I'm a big Tabara fan pushing him for potential title shot.

He did suffer a loss recently, which kind of derailed that. But I think he's still in there. He knocks off a Daucus type. You know, could be back in. Balal Muhammad, biggest win of his career, unsurprisingly, opened up a lot of doors for him. I heard Sean Brady, I heard Gilbert Burns, I heard Hamza Shemayev, I heard Vichente Leuke rematch. So all those are good options. All those were said by multiple listeners.

So great job there, guys. One other thing I liked for Thompson, Santiago Poncinibio. I had a few people recommend that. And that's a good one. That is a good one. I like the style matchup. I like where they are in their careers. I think it makes sense for them.

And again, get keeps both guys on track, somewhat in the mix. Like I said, I'm a little word for Wonderboy that. He's maybe past his prime and maybe, you know, we won't see him contend anymore. But if you just want to see him fight, if you're a fan of Stephen Thompson, you still want to see him compete. I think matchups like Santiago Ponsenibio are the ones that make the most sense. Amanda LeMosch, again, continuing her run at straw weight. A lot of people just said, just rebooked the Nina Nunez fight, which I don't have a problem with. Others said, move on to Tisha Torres.

Let's hear go up against another veteran. As Mike suggested, an elite gatekeeper, I don't know if that's an oxymoron, but I do believe there is such a thing. I do believe T.J. Torres still has a ton to offer up-and-coming challengers in the Strawberry Division. And, you know, she knocks off a name like Lemosch and someone else. She might fall into a title shot herself. For Ricky Simone, a lot of people want to see the Sean O'Malley matchup. I totally understand. For Gamrod, two popular picks.

Gregor Gillespie, probably a little more popular, but a matchup with Brad Riddell was also right up there. So, again, people just want to see Gamrod fight again and get in there in that top 15, top 10 mix. Swanson, for Cub Swanson, tons of options thrown out there. Most popular, I think, was Sudec Yusuf. That's a nice, deep cut guys. I love where your heads at. Competitive fight would have ranking implications. As would, I think the second most popular pick for Swanson, Dan Ike.

Now, Ike is coming off a couple of losses, but he's looked very strong, very competitive in all his matchups. He is ranked higher than Swanson. At Zombie Fight fans said, I know Ike's coming off two losses, but if he can't beat Cub, we can put an end to the top 10 rankings for him. So maybe some of you viewing a Swanson-Ege matchup as a litmus test for E.gay.

Because again, he's right there in that top 10. It just hasn't been able to break through into that real title shot contenders circle. Justin Taffa, I should have banned him. He missed weight, but I know people love that head kick knockout. If you're E. Casey Leiden, you applaud that he made history by somehow. guys, somehow I'm missing the heavyweight limit by one pound.

If any of you have any suggestions or theories or inside information on why Justin Taffa was not able to shed an extra pound so that he could be eligible for a $50,000 bonus and so that he didn't make dubious history, please let me know. I don't understand, because he was pretty early to weigh, and it wasn't like he weighed in, and I think he was in the first hour, probably in the first 45 minutes,

he had plenty of time to hit the sauna or do whatever it is that these fighters do at the last second to try and cut an extra pound, extra two pounds, and just couldn't do it. So if it would have been deleterious to his health, then Justin Taffa, of course, I'm not judging. We don't like extreme weight cutting here. It is just very odd for a heavyweight to come in over and by such a small amount. So, and people, sorry, they're imagining for him, Chris Barnett. No, he doesn't deserve Chris Barnett.

I'm sorry. He doesn't deserve Beast Boy after missing weight. I do like the Dantale Mays matchup. But Dantel, of course, was also victorious on Saturday, beating Josh Bresian. Now, Melissa Gatto, very impressive. I want to see her move up in the rankings. And I think she did with that win over Sajara, but the most popular picks I saw for her were Montana de la Rosa and Jillian Robertson, who I would have behind her in the rankings, but they are more veteran.

Maybe people still see this as a step up for Gato, who again is undefeated. Some more consensus picks here. Pennington versus Dumont. A lot of people saying Pennington go to 145. Hayes Bethard saying fight her if she wins. She probably has a title fight there, especially if the UFC does not sign Kail Harrison, which he doesn't think they will. A lot of people are skeptical, including members of them,

fighting staff, that Harrison would go to a potentially less compelling financial situation with the UFC when she could make very good money with Beltoor or return to the PFL for another million dollars, plus her show and win money, excuse me, for all of her fights. So, I don't know. I don't know about that one. And plus Pennington, we already saw her fight in Nunes. And I, and I don't know if we, if we want that. I don't know if anyone wants five more rounds of that. That was an ugly. That's pretty one-sided. Oh, Charles Jodaine. I love a couple of the recommendations you guys had. Nate Landwer. Any Nate Land-Ware matchup was fun. And Billy Q, Billy Quarantillo. And, oh, and I should say, sorry, the most popular pick for Raquel Payington was Kentland Bayer. And one, a couple of ones that you guys have really been fixated on.

Jordan Levitt versus Euros Medici. I think we've, this has come up on other shows. There's a lot of heat behind this matchup. So I think on to the next one committee, that being you listeners, Mike and myself, we got to pound this one for the UFC. We want Levitt, Levitt and Medici. I think that's what people want. And you guys went really deep with Dantel Mays versus Jarges Danho, the Man Mountain.

I'm amazed most people even remember that Jarges Danho is in the UFC. I know he's coming off a win. I know he actually fought this year. There was a long stretch of inactivity for him. It was like four and a half years. I think he has the longest, like, record for, you know, wins in the UFC between fights without having been released.

He was with the promotion the whole time, I believe. Just really inactive. So, hey, you guys want to see more of the Man Mountain and you want to see him fight, Dante Lames? I'm all for it. I think that's great. Now, let's talk about, let's go to, let's go to, more specific picks here. I want to read some lovely messages, of course. I won't waste too much of your

guys' time. First time reaching out, Laura Taron does not have picks, but I did want to read her comment. She said, thanks for the awesome pre-fight live stream. We do a pre-fight Q&A for people who don't know. And they said, I feel bad. I think I may have jinxed Angela Hill. Here was my comment during the stream. They have a screenshot saying, excited for Hill versus Limosh. Angela has had a lot of bad split decision losses. I think this will be a good fight. Laura, you weren't wrong. It was a great fight. And you also weren't wrong. She's had a lot of bad split decision losses. And this just was another one. So Laura goes on to say, Angela is now 0 and 4 in razor close split decisions. Her 13 and 10 record could easily be 17 and 6. Wow, that's true.

And here they have a question. Do the rankings account for split decisions? If not, should they? Hashtag Justin for Angie. And then they wishing me all the best. This is a fellow Canadian. and happy holiday. So thank you, Laura T. I'll say I think there's no blanket rule as far as rankings go. We're talking, of course, about the MMA fighting rankings, the only rankings that matter in MMA. I know some people,

if they really disagree with the split decision, essentially just treat it as a win for the other person. This has been the case most recently with, say, T.J. Dillishaw, Corey Sanhagen. A lot of our ranking panelists kept Sanhagen above Dillashaw. Just felt it was very clear that Sanhagan won that fight. I wasn't as convinced.

I would have scored it for San Hagen, but I do think it was closer than it was not a robbery. But my standards for robbery are very, very, very high. So keep that in mind. But yeah, it's pretty much at our own discretion as far as voting goes. Like Angela Hill, again, I think she is ranked in our top 15, despite suffering some odd losses here and there. And I do think the closeness of some of those losses

factors into why we're so fond of her. Also, she's very active, which helps. I mean, one way to stay in the rankings is to keep fighting. Even if you lose every now and then, as long as you're winning more than you're losing, you're in good shape. She kind of hovers around that. But again, always looks competitive, really hasn't been blown out in a fight in a while. And that's why she is where she is in the rankings.

So split decisions, I think they do matter. And I think there's a lot of people hashtagging justice for Angie out there. So thank you, Laura, for that question. Feel free to send any questions, guys, for on the next one. I don't know if we'll get to them all. But like I said, you know, we do have more programs coming up that will not be based around events. Mike said we could do a little ask us anything and so send your questions in and that will have a show just for that if we get enough which hopefully we will.

I trust you guys. Regular contributor Casey Carpenter throwing out some good suggestions here Mickey Simone versus Hana Yaya Amanda Lemosch versus Jan Shanan. That's the one I want. And Ren Odenheimer, what is up Ren? Lays out a pretty elaborate heavyweight championship scenario here, I'll try and skim this here. So, because, you know, Lewis lost recently in an interim title fight and lost pretty badly, he's trying to figure out what's next for him. Like Mike said, John Jones kind of seems to be, you know, now that his legal issues are resolved, we could see him back in the Octagon sooner rather than later.

So he goes on to say that Bones will probably get the winner of the Inganugan heavyweight unification fight coming up in January. He says, therefore, if Inganu loses the fight against Gluck, gone, he thinks he should fight Lewis, excuse me, Gondon who should fight Lewis as the co-main event for a teleth shot on the same card as the Bones, you know, it would be Bones Gone fight in that situation. That way you get your rematch. Again, hopefully a better fight than the first time that I ran into each other, notoriously terrible fight. But I do think a second fight would be, it would be a different story. But who knows, it could be another

15 minutes of staring. And then he says, if Ngana defeats gone, I don't want to see Lewis gone too so soon after that snoozer oh yes i'm sorry the snoozer the gone uh lewis title thing uh also a snoozer uh and so instead let's pair him up with steppe am egotich in that situation either scenario like we'll likely determine if louis is truly the contender everyone wants to be or just a high level gatekeeper and regarding chris dachis uh wren says that chris dachs got caught by derrick lewis which happens to over 75 percent of louis's opponents overall i would contend that he's not exactly catching them around i do think there's some there's uh you know there's a setup to what he does but i get you're saying caught in the end um and because uh he ran feels that chris got caught he's not

losing too much confidence in him especially in the heavyweight division getting caught more than once a clear signal of fighters perhaps peeked too fast his next opponent should be a step down against the guy who's earned a step up uh so he wants to see the tie toivasa matchup again this seems likely this does seem like something that could happen dacus is higher ranked than Tuivasa and either guy could really benefit from a win and and again toivasa already trending in the direction towards Talashot. Dacus kind of regained that that status. On Instagram, oh I better bring that up in case there's some funny messages here to read because our Instagram guys are a little wild. I think that's Instagram in general but definitely the people who send in Otno

Picks on Instagram. I don't know. You guys are characters. Twitter and email the most civilized Twitter somewhere in between Instagram straight of wild boys so dad jackson wants Justin Taffa versus doc us sure they both won I can see that happening mere shirt versus Calvin Gaslam gammonrod versus Bobby green yes dad Jackson we're on that one Amanda Le Mose versus Macy Barber I'm sorry I hate it she has surpassed Barber uh Barber would would kill to get that fight she is she needs to work our way back to LeMosha at this point and uh uh Wonder Boy versus Cowboy.

That would be interesting. I don't know, you know, Don Stern, I don't know what his competitive status is if he wants to return to 155. If he's fighting at 170, again, which is a very comfortable weight for him, Cowboy versus Wonderboy would be kind of cool. Pretty easy sell.

Eminemayheads, a lot of picks, again, the popular picks, but Levitt versus Chris Gritsamacher, I don't mind it. Matt Bradbury, Levitt versus Steve Garcia, Dawkins versus Gersino. And then some fights from Paul, some picks from Paul Woodley, too. Jake Paul versus Tommy Fury, of course. They can just rebook that one.

We don't know when Jake Paul want to compete again. He had a very, very busy 2021. And again, it's a very rich man. So may not box again for a while. But if he wants to stay active, Tommy Fury certainly seems like the pick. And I shouldn't even read this one out loud. But Tyrone Woodley versus Vitor Belfort. No.

Matt Bradbury, no. And now quickly moving on to Twitter At Nutshot Ipoke Thank you for sending in the fix Charles Jodaine versus Lorone Murphy Swanson versus Landwehr Wonderboy versus Magicaleza Gerald Mirchart versus Chris Curtis

Oh no I love both those guys I don't want to see that Ricky Simone versus Song Yodong Yes I agree Going back to the Mirchart Curtis matchup It's certainly I mean it's certainly a

It's certainly a It would certainly be a fun fight. A nice clash of styles. You have a super submission specialist in Jared Mearshirt and striking specialist and Chris Curtis. So if you're interested in seeing that sort of thing, I could see why. I guess why Nutshot iPoke you would pick that? But for me, I'm fond of both fighters. And also I feel like they're kind of, they're trending in the same direction, but at different angles, if that makes sense.

I don't think they're quite in each other's spheres. Colin Avery, I want to read a comment that Colin made about Bellator. They've suggested this before, apparently, I stand by my previous matchup, Wonder Boy to Bell Tour, where he immediately is matched up with MVP. You can bet Scott Coker is licking his chops at the prospect of that matchup. Timmy Oshow, Charles Jardin versus Jamal Emers.

Yes, I like it. At Zombie Fight Fan, Ricky Simone versus Timor Vallia Lewis versus John Jones. I'm really surprised more people didn't suggest that. Hayes Bethard, thank you, Hayes always sends these nice details messages. I'm sorry I can't read all this out. They did, Hayes did want to say last week,

Mike kind of wasn't crazy about Cody Garbrand's, um, his picks for Cody Garbrandt. He wasn't crazy about, Hayes, he wasn't crazy about my picks for Cody Garbrand either. Hayes and I are kind of in the same mindset here. I'm not just to say, sorry,

Hayes had picked, uh, Jeff Molina for Garbrand at Flyweight. I don't love the Molina pick, but I don't mind it. I don't mind the thinking here. Because we both think this. This is,

this Hayes. getting a win saves Garbrand's job regardless of who it is against. Now, I could be wrong, but I also think he probably doesn't get cut after just one loss from that point either. So it gives him some breathing room if you still think about fighting for a prolonged time. Not sure he should, but I'm sure he probably is. Overall, though, it just boils down to a difference of opinion, and I totally respect anyone who disagrees. You don't have to respect. You don't have to do that, Hayes, but you're allowed to disrespect anyone you want. Also, I made that pick saying what I would do.

I know that the UFC is going to have him fight, cop, or O'Malley. I, Hayes, I know it's likely, I'm with you though. I really hope it doesn't happen. Some great picks here, Picks here, Hayes. I just wrote down Wonderboy for some reason. Wow, that's bad. Oh, Wonder Boy versus Nate Diaz. Thompson, oh, excuse me, there you go.

I'm sorry. Wonderboy, it was not WonderV versus Nate Diaz. Wonderboy versus the Salakov-Michel Pajara winner on January 15th. Yes, I think Wonderboy versus Michelle Paheda would be friggin' amazing. I know we have a kinder, gentler, the Maldador these days, but I would like to see if he could bring out the wild man in contrast to Stephen Wonderboy Thompson. Otherwise, it would probably be a point fight, which is somewhat of what we've seen from Michelle Paheda lately.

But one can hope. And Salakob, I mean, the king of kung fu. The king of karate? Come on, yeah, let's do it. Ricky Simone versus the Cody Stamen, Saeed, Narragamettev winner, U.S. 27th. January 22nd. Gamrod v. Chandler, big call-up for Gamrodot. I don't think he gets the fight, but Hayes is down for it.

Swanson v. Barbosa-Mitchell loser. Merchart versus Julian Marquez and Jaldane versus the Akeem Dawadou-Dou-Mikil-Tru-Makou-Mak-Mur-Lusur-Ver February 5th. Dawood-Daw-Dew versus Jardin would be a little Canadian crime. Cody Hartman. I want to read your intro here. Congratulations me on the Paul Keogh prediction. Thank you, Cody. My prediction for how the fight would, like, kind of unfold wasn't super accurate.

but I did predict a K-O in the later rounds for Paul, which is what we did get. So I was a little vague there, but I still got it. Cody says it was painful, all caps, to see that. The UFC event was much more entertaining. And Cody likes Thompson versus Masvedal too. Maybe it is time to run that one back. Savon versus Marlon Marlon Marais and Cubs Swanson versus the Ilya-Tuporio-Loyev loser.

That's a huge fight coming up. two of the brighter prospects at 145 pounds. And I could see the UFC. You know, I do think they view Cub as sort of a gatekeeper at this point. I could see the one of those guys, maybe even the winner, frankly, getting the Cubs Monson fight. Braden O'Neill, Melissa Gato versus Aaron Blanchfield. A lot of people all aboard the Aaron Blanchfield train, I know.

I would kind of like to keep them apart. But again, we're getting a lot of talent at 125. So at some point, you really do just have to match some of these women up and see who comes out on top. And again, a loss does not signal the end of, like, the bright prospects for any of these fighters. So I think that'd be a cool fight. Not my pick, but I think it'd be a cool fight. And Donnell-Maze versus Parker Porter.

Thank you, Braden. Four Corner Sports, NY, likes Muhammad versus Dustin Porriere. Excuse me. Now, let me give you their thinking here, obviously. I shouldn't just read out a pick like that and let it go unexplained. Four Corner Sports NY says, the reason why is Dustin's coming off a loss, said he doesn't want to cut to 1-25 anymore. And with Bilal on this run, I can't see anyone in the top five wanting to take a fight with him.

Not because they're scared. They don't want to lose their ranking. That's kind of scared to me. So it makes sense for Dustin Porre's inaugural fight at 170. He faces Bilal Muhammad. I don't mind that. I actually, I do think that would be a good fight for... Definitely Muhammad would love it.

Obviously, Porre is such a big name. And I think Porre would accept it, too. I know Muhammad is, we've kind of said this on a lot of shows, is not the UFC's biggest star. He's, his fighting style isn't super exciting, and he's got a very funny, quirky personality, which doesn't always lead to pay-per-view sales or big ratings. I wish it did. So that's the only, I could see, but I think it would be refreshing for Porre again. After the McGregor stuff, he had a nice gentleman's matchup with Charles Olivera,

and I don't think he'd mind continuing that against Chicago's own, Balal Muhammad. So, Four Corner Sports, NYU, also predicting. Ricky Simone versus Julio Arcei Justin Taffa Ben Rothwell. Yes. Yes, I like that. Gerald Mirchart versus Joaquin Buckley if Buckley beats Al Hassan. That fight is happening January 15th. And another Jake Falls suggestion here.

This one made me, this one almost made me cry. Jake Paul versus Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. The bad boy of professional boxing, or was for so long, the malcontent, if you will, who, by the way, I had no idea, and I think this is why Four Corner Sports and why I suggested this, one of the reasons anyway. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. fought on Saturday in Mexico, and he won.

This is according to Box Rex on this official records. He beat David Zagara in Culea Khan. Palenque de la Ferreilla Ganada, Kulia Khan. That's probably more of a Portuguese accent than a Spanish accent. I'm sorry, I've been watching too much M. He beat 37-year-old David Zagara, so it sounds like a journeyman to me, but beat him by unanimous decision. So good for you, Julio Cesar Shavez, Jr., win number 53 of his career. And, boy, I mean, he'd probably, I know JCC Jr. is a bit of a mess, but he would probably still beat Jake Paul, right?

Only one way to find out. So very cool suggestion for Corner Sports, NYU. Almost to the end here, guys. God, I wish Mike was here. We usually can stretch this out, but I love spending this time with you guys. Maybe we'll try this some other days when Mike has just had enough of your crap and just doesn't want to deal with you. Maybe he can leave you in my charge once again. I kind of enjoy this.

Liam Perry going big for Amanda LeMoch. Throw her in there with Zhang Wei Li. Listen, a lot of people, like I said, have Amanda Lemosch pegged as a title contender, a possible champion. And she was wrecking people at 115 before having this tough fight and arguable loss to Angela Hill. So that's why for me it doesn't make sense to the shagging matchup right now. But I mean, a lot of people were kind of saying it was going to happen eventually. So why not next? Not badly in Perry.

Rickus Simone versus Nathaniel Wood. Mateus Gammarraf versus Tony Ferguson. Gerald Merchart versus Brad Tavares and Jordan Levin versus Christos. Thank you, Liam. Barry O'Reilly coming in with Jordan Levin versus Terrence McKinney. Yes, I wish McKinney had gotten a chance to fight again in 2021. One of my breakout candidates, sorry, excuse me, one of my candidates for breakout fight over the year.

If you add in his fights before the UFC as well, he has just been disintegrating people in the cage and has that one big win in the Octagon as well. Dantel Maze versus Juan Espino. Barry wants to know where is one? Where is the recent ultimate fighter winner? He's a good age, and if he has hopes of a title run,

he needs to get fighting as much as possible. That's a nice way of putting it, Bear. I like that he's of a good age. He's 41 years old. And I know this is heavyweight, but when you consider he's 41 and not the most experienced fighter. He's something like 10 and 2, I believe.

So he's less than like 15 fights. It does feel like he's in a weird spot where he's the age where he should be contending, but he also needs more experience. So Dante Mays is the right matchup. Yes, I don't know what is up with Juan Espino. I think, you know, just dealing with bumps and bruises.

Again, he is 41 years old. Probably takes a bit longer. bit longer to recover from fights. And I like to just picture him just kicking back with a nice, you know, a glass of chardonnay or whatever it is people drink on the coast of Canary Island, something like that. So one, no rush back, but people do want to know when you're fighting again. Charles Rodin versus Charles Woodson.

Charles Woodson? Sean Woodson. I'm sorry, not pro football Hall of Famer, all-time great, Charles Woodson. Apologies for that. That was terrible. Jordan Rejardine versus Sean Watson Let's see what happens

when Mike isn't around Melissa Gatover's Ariane Lipski and Abari says Have that one happen in Brazil Yes they are traveling People doesn't know Reportedly they are traveling Back to Brazil sometime soon

heading to Rio for a fight night So fingers crossed We will see Brazilian Fight Night Cards again And Gerald Mirchard versus Hadolfo Valletta If he beats Wellington Termin Vietta fighting Termin at UFC 270

January 26 Oh another submission To submission masters going at it. I love it. I love it. I think the deeper gas tank of Mirshart. You might be favorite. It might be favorite heading into fight now. I don't know. But yeah, I love that. That might be my favorite. I think, sorry, it's definitely my favorite Mirchart pick this week. And maybe my favorite pick at all. And another comment I want to read from Barry, another guy who sends great messages concerning Lewis versus Romanov. I think that here we go.

Maybe this doesn't make a lot of sense, but Lewis has fought a lot of the guys around him. I don't think Stipey takes a dangerous fight like that. Tom Assel has made his intentions clear. No rush to jump up the rankings. So the only other guy on his streak is tied to Ivasa. That'd be fun. But I think Lewis knocks him out. Romanov has the wrestling to cause problems to Lewis.

So that is why I think it's a more interesting fight. Cue the Mike Rantz. Okay, listen, Mike's not here. If he were, again, we're dealing with Florida Mike here. I'm sorry, I cannot emulate crusty South Carolina slash. formerly of Massachusetts, Mike. So, but I actually think he would like this one. Maybe I'm being too optimistic.

I think he'd be with me. I think it's kind of a fun fight. Ramona would fit in that classic mold of a guy who would probably like throw Derek Lewis around a bit, really give him problems in the first two rounds. But, you know, the gas tank is in question, and you feel like this is a third round, Derek Lewis swangin and banging,

come back, knockout, waiting to happen. So now I really want to see it, because I just, I think it's possible. Our man in Denmark, Toke Girding Jensen, says, I only have one matchup. Gamrott, Halfa de Sannios, February. So he's, so Toc is matchmaking for UFC. He's giving you the date. Just pick the card.

He's saying when, he's saying the opponent. And I think, I think that's a fight RDA should actually be interested in. I think he's a gamrott, again, very decorated former two-division KSW champion. And now in a three-fight win streak. Ardea, you want to regain some of your momentum at 155. you know, I know Gamrod's dangerous, but you're a great fighter, you're a veteran. Maybe that's the one to take. And we'll close out the reader, sorry, excuse me, listener portion here with Marcus McGehee, of course, a regular.

I loved his title for this week's edition of on the next one. The Bulley and the Beast edition. So shoutouts to Derek Lewis and Balam-Muhammed. Rickie Simone versus Marab de Volishvili, too. Yeah, I think this has to happen sometimes. It just won't be next right now because Marab is just a bit far ahead in the rankings. I do want to see that again. Charles Jodaine versus Landa Vanada, Jordan Levitt versus Luigi Vendramini, Justin Taffa versus

Jarges Dan Ho. The Man Mountain is white hot. I'll not know this week. And Dantel Mays versus, forgive me, I keep forgetting this young man's name, recent contender series winner, Martin Boudet, Boudet Boudai, apologies for the mispronunciation as well. Yes, I like that, though Marcus wants to add that he originally wanted the winner of Mays and Parisian to fight Chris Barnett. And then they say, I have since realized what I really want is Josh Parisian versus Chris Burnett three rounds of big boys spinning. Hashtag big boys spinning.

Maybe I'll throw that in the tweet this week. Thank you, Marcus McGehy. Guys, that is it for the listener suggestions this week. Thank you, guys. Thank you for putting up with me. I'm sorry. I know it's, you've literally just been listened to me, talk by myself about you for 30 straight minutes.

So you guys are absolute saints for putting up with it. Please continue to send your picks when the new year begins to me at Alexander K-K-Lee on Twitter at Alexander K-K-K-Lee on Instagram at alex.com. At sbnation.com

and you can hit up Mike's DMs as well at M-H-E-C-K-J-R M- underscore HEC-JR on Instagram. Slide to these DMs, guys. We love hearing from you. And we can't wait. I really cannot wait until we have cards again to see your awesome picks and to have you hear your awesome thoughts. Love you guys.

Normally this is very close out, but I keep forgetting this segment that I want to make a regular thing. The last match, guys, the last match. It looks like we have seen the last match for Claudia Godelia. She announced her retirement, or sorry, it was reported that she was retiring no longer in the UFC roster on Friday. She pretty much confirmed it herself and then addressed a lot of questions about, you know, why she stepped away. You can read this sort of that full story, her comments that she put on Instagram on enmafighting.com. That just went out on Sunday. But essentially saying, you know, there were some issues with concussions following the loss to Jan Shaan.

That's why you haven't seen her compete since last November. She had a lot of post-concussion difficulties describing it like a knife stabbing in the back of her head. So she twice had to go to the hospital to address these things. It had to deal a lot of this on her own. Her family's back in Brazil. I believe Claudia is now currently living in Las Vegas. I know she's helping out of the UCPI, which is another reason she said she's kind of transitioning out of competition.

She's been working with the UCPI to help Brazilian fighters to acclimate themselves to the UFC. I think that's very cool. A lot of Brazilian fighters, of course, moving to the United States once they get signed. So she's trying to help out in that regard. And also studying nutrition. She said she's set to, I hope, graduate soon, get her bachelor's already has it. Apologies if I got that wrong, but she is planning to further explore. nutrition and health and athletics. Of course, she's always been one of the most fit straw weights in the UFC once competed for the UFC title against her rival, Yuanani Yacht Jacek. So Claudia had a really, really good career. Again, one of those names that helped, frankly, helped to put women's MMA, as we know it, on the map. You know, she was coming up facing tough competition well before there was a strawweight division in the UFC. And sorry, I'm just, I'm just, if you heard some clattering there, I'm just kind of trying to look back on.

Yes, you know, fighting in Brazil and fighting for Invicta once, beating a future sort atomweight star Ayaka Hamasaki, and then having a very good UFC career wins over Angela Hill, Ronda Marcos, Asparza, Caroline Nicole Bukkavits, Jessica Aguilar, when, again, Jessica Aguilar was still kind of regarded. It's one of the best 115 pound fighters in the world. Tina Latimaki when she was undefeated. So happy trails to Claudia Goodell, who, again, she's pretty adamant. She says, I'm not coming back.

I am not one of those fighters who was going to go back. She just said she just doesn't feel welcome in the Octagon anymore. Not calling out anyone, by the way, saying, I think, in her mind, saying it just feels alien. It would feel alien to go back in there. So this could be an M.A. retirement, guys, 18 months from now, we could see Claudicadilla changed your mind, wanting to take a fight. Who knows? But she seems pretty confident this at the end.

And if it is, hats off to Claudia Godelia for a great, great, great career. and hopefully she's walking away at the right time and very healthy. So that is it, guys. That's it for this week. I guess I, normally we'd say next week, but really this will be a month from now. We have our next card. January 15th, according to Wikipedia, UFC fight night number 200. 200 fight night guys.

And this is a card that is currently expected to be led by Calvin Cater and Giga Chikaze. outside of that, I don't know if we have much of a lineup. I will check our good pals at topology.com, who always the most up to date with this sort of thing. Again, that'll be Cater versus Chikaze. Okay, here we go, I'm sorry. We have a ton of, oh, I see it. We have a ton of bells that just haven't been confirmed by the UFC.

But, of course, various reports out there. Shout us to all the guys on the beat. And I always trying to hunt these matchups down. So Calvin Cater, Chikaze main event. Caitlin Chukagia and Jennifer Maya 2 in the co-main. About order, by the way, still to be determined. This is a tentative lineup, so I should just run it down. Joaquin Buckley versus Abdul-Vazan.

First round knockout, yeah, right? Demolidor versus Muslim Salakov. Clitzen Rodriguez versus Zaruk Adashev. Joe Anderson, Brito, versus Bill Algio. Brandon Royval versus Hoseerio-Bontorin. Big, big flyweight fight. Friend of MMA fighting. Brian Keller, one of the best M.

C's in MMA versus Sayyayy Jacob Kachramanov. Sayy Jacob, of course, coming off a frigging ridiculous win over Trevin Jones. He looked really good. Third round, third round submission in the last minute. So great job, Saeoogne. And now he gets a big step up, Brian Callagher. Rames Brahimage fighting veteran, Courtney McGee. Chase Sherman meeting Jake Collier in a heavyweight bout.

Dakota Bush. his second UFC fight, excuse me, I've forgotten about the Austrian-Hubbard fight, facing Vyashislav Borshiv. Vanessa Demopoulos, former LFA champion, fights Silvana Gomez-J Juarez. And we've got, man, Kyle Barallio, recent contender series signing

and that a lot of people excited about him fighting Jamie Pickett, that's a 205 pound bout. T. TJ Brown fights veteran Gabriel Mogli Benitez. And it sounds like the, The bout between Victor Henry and Haouni Barsolos, which is supposed to take place on Saturday Night, has been rescheduled for this card. Again, not official yet, but I believe that is the thought. Victor Henry tested positive for COVID, so the fight was postponed.

But a month from now, fingers crossed, hopefully everything's all right. And we do get to see Haouni and the long-awaited debut of former Rise and Standout Deep Champion, Victor Henry. So, guys, thank you so much for putting up with the second portion of this show. and for all keeping up and supporting us guys always Mike again has had been doing crazy coverage please send more messages to Mike praising Mike one of the best in the business our entire social media team did a great job also with

covering two events this week and that's it that's it for me I'll stop rambling I love getting to spend time with you guys but until next time this has been how does Mike do this again? I think I already biffed this outro but I'll remember the most important

part. Until next time, guys. Thank you for listening to. On to the next one. The podcast. Wait, is that what he does? I messed up. Hey, Mike. Hey, Mike. Can you, uh, you want to re-record this outro? All right, all right. Thanks for listening, guys. See you up. You're listening to the Vox Media Podcast Network.