MORNING KOMBAT WITH LUKE THOMAS AND BRIAN CAMPBELL - UFC 294 with Rashad Evans | Makhachev-Volkanovski | Usman-Chimaev | BKFC 56 | Morning Kombat Ep 504

Episode Date: October 20, 2023

On Episode 504 of Morning Kombat Luke Thomas and Brian Campbell give their picks for UFC 294. The boys also discuss the news that Mike Perry will face Eddie Alvarez at BKFC 56. Are they excited for this all violence matchup? The boys also discuss the reports that Jake Paul will Face Nate Diaz in boxing. Do the guys care about the rematch? We close out the main topics with some recent UFC news. We close out this Friday show with Dead Wrong. Morning Kombat is available for free on the Audacy app as well as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts and wherever else you listen to podcasts.     For more Combat Sports coverage subscribe here: youtube.com/MorningKombat   Follow our hosts on Twitter: @BCampbellCBS, @lthomasnews, @MorningKombat    For Morning Kombat gear visit:morning kombat.store   Follow our hosts on Instagram: @BrianCampbell, @lukethomasnews, @MorningKombat Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Introducing the new McSpicy from McDonald's. It looks like a regular chicken sandwich, but it's actually a spicy chicken sandwich. McSpicy. Consider yourself warned. Limited time only at participating McDonald's in Canada. Reveille, reveille, dogs. Look at us now, tip to tip. This is our life. This is our life.

This is our passion. That's the spirit we bring to this show. I'm Luke Thomas. I'm Brian Campbell. This is Morning Combat. Oh, yeah, right? It's that Friday feeling. I'm on the road with horrible audio.

Breathe out so we can breathe you in. Yes, Everlong Luke would be a great description for me below the waist. Thank you very much. Hey, it's Morning Combat. It's Friday, October 20th, 2023. I forgot my Rode microphone, and all of you are going to have to deal with it. But that doesn't mean we don't have the best damn combat sports show ready to infect your face hole luke thomas on the other side that man right over there from the capital washington dc ufc 294 just 24

hours away and luke on a scale of uh of one to uh you know insert the joke. How bad do I sound at the mall? Not horrible. Not great. Not horrible. I just want the audience to understand. Look at how carefree this man is. Like, Tuesday of this week, Showtime shuts down Sports Division in historic move. Two days later, BC, I may or may not bring my equipment for this job. I may or may not.

You don't even know. Here's the deal. We got a great show for you tonight, but I'm currently in New York City. Why? Because my morning jacket had a great show for me last night, Luke Thomas. The Beacon Theater, the 20th anniversary concert of the It Still Moves record. This was an out-of-body experience that is best explained much deeper than simply saying mushroom gummies, Luke. I don't think it's much deeper than that, but I'm glad you had a good time.

I am. I'm really glad. And I'm glad you now sound like you're speaking into a tin can of beans that you emptied out to make this show possible. Well, but in emptying them you better believe i ate them luke there's no question about that but uh hey it's october 20th friday don't know if i mentioned that and luke thomas before we get into the meat of this show and apparently apparently we have a very special guest in our opening segment that will be here so

so hang tight for a few minutes as we continue to set the stage for Abu Dhabi this weekend uh morningcombat.store Luke the launch 2.0 of the Average Joe Art collaboration I'm wearing a hat and sweatshirt that don't represent those but you're Ninja Turtles Wash Dad uh part of that larger collaboration collection that Average Joe's got going. 2.0 is live right now, and it's moving. But if you want more Average Joe in your life, MK audience, you're going to have to buy this 2.0. You're going to have to take it off the shelves because I've seen the future, and I've seen some of Average Joe's hinting at what he can produce.

And, Luke, what's on the site right now is just, I mean, what do they call it? The chef's kiss, Luke? It's excellent. It's absolutely excellent. Go check it out go see what you like some of my favorite things and i have to tell you bc this morning when i wore this shirt tuki he goes is that you daddy i said yes it is and she goes uncle gringo likes hot dogs i said yes he does she didn't say that come on yes she was on my on her life I swear she said likes hot dogs that's what she said I'm so typecasted in your household too Luke it seems wow that's great right there um thank you Mikey more mouth CBS Sports by the way on the ones and twos we will have a special guest in a moment we're gonna have okay bet today we're gonna look

at what went down at the press conference yesterday in Abuu dhabi as we continue to get closer and look there's never been a a closer run in this okay bet experience so i'm excited to see our picks today as i have taken over the lead for the first time and uh tied into that by the way folks this episode of morning combat is presented by fan dual sportsbook make every moment more uh we love you over there at fan dual sportsbook you saw briefly our social channels below you can like and subscribe dead wrong to close today's episode and morning com youtube.com slash morning combat for all the bonuses we got this week, guys, Room Service Diaries, Eric Nixick. A breakdown. I had a 294 with Coach Nixick inside the cage at Extreme Couture.

Ken Shamrock, I caught up with him about bringing back his bare-knuckle promotion and all that goes on there. You know, Luke talks to a lot of famous people like Gordon Ryan, too, and Karen Fitzjobber. and uh Karen Fitzjobber uh yeah exactly there we go there we go uh let's see I went to Starbucks this morning oh boy what's your order I know this is like a hack comedian excuse me I know this is like a hack comedian bit and you're close to the edge of being a problem but you haven't gone over it i don't feel like we are close but these people who have the orders that go on forever and i don't mean

like everyone's getting drinks i mean like you know dude like this guy in front of me this fucking pretentious shit bag with like the hoka shoes on and like a really nice you know fuck hey my wife wears hokas all right yeah i know a lot of people do a lot of people do but he was a little more he had the he had like those like not just the patagonia winter jacket but like the with a higher level one than that whatever it is what you need what you're describing are white people you hate white people yeah there's a certain kind that drives me nuts the yuppies i'm trying to become them luke okay so i can't wait i live among them i don't know if i'm trying to become them i mean i like their neighborhoods that's about it but

okay the point i'm trying to make is this guy's order was like you know i need two uh extra stevia shake and stirred upside down ejaculating this fucking thing gang bang bukkake the whole nine yards upside down foam you are that guy in our circle though in our circle you are that guy and you know you're that dude here's my fucking order large coffee milk to splenda that's it that's it that's the fucking order every time you've always like hey can you put the fruity umbrella in as well you've always you know can does this come with a tampon okay i don't think hey can you put the fruity umbrella in my unbelievably effeminate cocktail is as long a process and as difficult to one as telling people to shake

your and then dump everything in it and then flip it upside down and remix the what the it man just order the and move on with your life you know what we're learning through this process as beautiful as it is and luke the two appearances i made to your city over the last year and a half i've confirmed how beautiful it is it's magical in some cases but the service workers luke wouldn't sell a joke if you paid them and the yuppie white customers are just long line holding up pieces of too right i mean this is what it is rule number one when you lose an election don't blame the voters don't blame the voters guy you know you can't bomb on set and be like oh you just didn't get those jokes what are we doing political bits now you got any anti-union humor luke that you've been storing it's a metaphor i'm

not doing political it's just a metaphor i'm just saying fucking a dude go to the shit order your stuff move on with your life move this process along man i'm gonna begin we're gonna have a special guest joining soon to break down 294 uh even deeper but luke ufc 294 talking about getting it going uh it of course goes down saturday late afternoon abu there is it look do you know the start time is it a main car i can get it for you i believe it's 2 p.m but let me double check that very quick 2 p.m eastern let me double check very quickly and I'll let you know. And we're expecting just magic in this one. But a lot of talk this week. And I think you would argue.

In fact, Luke, tell me the truth here. Because of the Kamaru Usman video with the possible pop knee or whatever him and Justin Gaethje are claiming really happened. That has really aided the idea that Shamaya Usman for as amazing as this main event is and Luke I've got a hard-on from here to Hanover people know this about this main event this co-main event is almost getting people's main event status because of the buzz around it is that true or false I don't think that's in any way false just very quickly to clarify the prelims for UFC 294 start at 10 a.m in the east your main card will start at 2 p.m in the east the main card of course will be on pay-per-view all right so that out of the way BC yeah I mean this co-main has really taken on a life of its

own I mean partly you understand that right because the star power went up i do think that's fair kamaru is a more established name than paulo costa um you know headline many pay-per-views champion for a long time probably the second best welterweight of all time or you know certainly in that conversation and he's bumping up on short notice uh to take on this the star quotient really went up and then when they made the new fight it could have been anybody else but because they made a new fight remember they added the title implications on top so this thing they doused gasoline right on top of this fire in a major major way and i think that that's what's explaining that and then of course as you indicated the whole knee gate is it a thing is it not a

thing i guess we'll see on saturday but you're right it definitely has in many ways overshadowed something that we got before and was amazing, but you have seen it at least once. Yeah, I do believe we have a piece of video to throw at you, and I do think it's important to hear Kamaru directly in reaction to what we played during Wednesday's show and what has been the talk at the Open Workouts in Abu Dhabi when Justin Gaethje was grappling with Usman. It did sound like the camera picked up Ga Gaethje asking if he was okay.

Usman indicating that it felt like something popped. Gaethje would go on Twitter in response during our show and kind of make it feel like, no, I thought he fell on his head. That didn't match up. But let's, if Mikey, if we can throw to the sound from Kamaru this week, addressing this directly, let's hear how he defended this whole thing maru not only have you stepped in on late notice to take this fight now it feels like people are trying to give you injuries that you might not even have there's this viral clip that went around yesterday i know that you addressed it earlier for the people who don't know your knees are fine heading into this fight i'm fine um that's just how rumors start. You know, somebody posts something and then everyone starts jumping on it

and then all the doctors start jumping on it. Knees are fine. They will be put to use this Saturday. Boy, Oscar. Oscar, I mean, could you get up on there and just blow Kamaru while you're at it? I mean, Jesus. I love Oscar, by the way. You's just serving you i love oscar serving him i mean we love oscar hold on we love oscar but good lord buddy yeah oscar is a is a weird brother

in this weird game luke i don't want to be the person that unnecessarily stretches out conspiracy theories although boy do we have a lot to talk about that recent Hamza Chamayev clip during media day. Can we get to that in a second? I hope so. But I'm sorry, Usman. We didn't like plant the story. The video went live and we heard what we thought we heard. And now it's up to you to address that. Look, even if he is hurt, which he's not going to say he's hurt. So him coming out, you know, doing the whole it sounds like the media is just lying and playing it up and blowing it up this isn't the

case this wasn't somebody having a secondhand rumor of a source that they heard that he slipped in the locker room or something we got it on video here i just feel there were already enough concerns suspicions about the combination of usman's age is wear and tear and now you're moving up in weight against a killer. This video did not help that. Maybe, do you think this will sway bit betting aggressively after having people have,

it already moved it. It already moved it a little bit. There's been some updated. There's been some movement back and then a little bit returning to where it was before this whole thing moved around, but certainly it did affect betting lines at some point. Okay, plus 260 on FanDuelist. Usman, at the moment, minus 340, Jamal.

Yeah, and I think he had dropped to like plus 300 for a brief moment and then kind of returned back a little bit. But even then, it still went up a little. But the point I wanted to make is, BC, I one time, and you've probably experienced this too on the boxing side, I one time did an interview with a guy, I won't say who it was. It was a 20-minute minute interview and i later learned i don't think there was one thing he said the entire time that was true like nothing like it was just 20 minutes of intentional lying and you can get mad about that at that point in time but

the bigger lesson to draw is that these guys uh they have to in certain ways at least they believe they have to i should say they have to lie as a matter of getting the job done. If you're going to take a final short notice and your knee does pop in the open workout, you absolutely, most of these guys are not going to say a goddamn thing unless they really, truly cannot walk, like literally cannot function. And even then, you'll probably have to like kind of sway them to get them to do it. So like, could he be telling the truth? I mean, you can make your best judgment about it just like we can uh but that he is denying it doesn't mean anything it doesn't

change the story one way or the other because we have no way of discerning at this point anyway whether or not he's telling the truth and we know for a fact fighters on fight week especially will lie big time to get around any kind of issue that might become an obstacle to making the fight. Well, speaking of issues and who are main, who may or may not have told the truth and currently be telling the truth. If there's any comparison to how this UFC two 94 card has fallen apart. So disastrously yet has been instantly repaired.

And in some levels, as we talked about improved, which is really remarkable and, you know, speaks to the idea of Abu Dhabi in the fall being a true major. We know the potential for site fees. They've got to keep the star power high. When Hamzat Tremayev last fought and was supposed to be fighting Nate Diaz in the main event, only to miss weight by nearly eight pounds, to angrily act like a over-exaggerated pro wrestling heel in the interviews that followed about, I don't care, I'm still the best, I'll crush you, F you, all this stuff. Yet gets a replacement opportunity against Kevin Holland and freaking destroys him. And then the whole weight gate thing, it never really gets explained.

It never, the story never advances. Tamiya has been off since last September. He's had visa issues. There's been some kind of like long stretches of not knowing his future. And now he emerges in a number one contender fight in a new division. And Luke during media day, two days ago, we don't have the video ready. I forgot to have Mikey grab it my apologies on that but I sent it

to you a lot of people are talking about this it seems to my I've said that no one should be talking ahead of this fight about me potentially missing weight I've only had one weight issue and he went on to allude that the weight issue was an agreed-upon plan that wasn't his decision. That's not quite what he said. Okay, but tell me if I'm crazy here, but doesn't this kick open the door of that remaining conspiracy theory that even I've thrown around that, hey, maybe UFC realized in the last minute,

let's not get Nate destroyed. Let's keep him in our good graces so we can do the Conor trilogy, blah, blah, blah. You've heard that conspiracy theory. I play into it, but I don't know if I fully believed it's true, Luke. Does this confirm that it's true? That somebody, I'm thinking the UFC said, look, you're going to blow weight on purpose by a lot. And we're all just going to forget that it's happened.

And you'll fight Holland last minute. Dude, tell me true or false. Did it sound like he confirmed that? Because I want to now stand on the street corner with picket signs and tell the people that I was right, Luke. The sky is falling. No, you have to be careful with this one. So let me say this.

First of all, do we have it? Do we have the audio? Do we have the video? I don't think we have it, unfortunately. Ah, dagger. BC, do me a favor. See if you can dig up exactly what he said, the transcription of it. I want to hear exactly the words he picked. Guys, anytime you enter a

scenario like this, you have to remember, I will give BC this. When he sent it to me, the first thing I thought was, okay, yeah, this one demands some more questions because is it possible, like in other words, if you had to imagine a set of scenarios that satisfy the conditions of what he explained, right, that meet the criteria of what he is telling you, how many different versions could you get? Of course, you could get a bunch, but the point is one of the more likely ones is the one that BC, at least you think one of the more likely ones is the one that BC had suggested,

which was some of this may have been arranged now that requires another level of information that we don't have but i want to caution you you can also explain what he said without doing that at least in the way you might imagine bc do we have the exact transcript of what he said we do not i no one aggregated it's got to be out there i bet i I can find that one. I bet I can find that one. I can't find it. It's out there. The point I want to make is, BC, remember some of the details about saying there was a weight miss that wasn't his idea, right? I got the audio. Do you want the audio?

This is what I did in three minutes, yeah. BC, listen to me very, very clearly. There is a scenario where what he could be talking about based on what I believe I heard in that clip as well, is that remember he wanted to keep cutting weight to see if he could make it and they didn't want to let him and they might have forced him into an agreement up at 180 or at least, you know, force him, cajole him, convince him to go at 180 that I believe would if in that kind of arrangement that he might feel like he's being dictated to that also might satisfy what he's talking about but I need to hear it again or see it again it is a very plausible uh alibi in this consideration if he was trying to be the warrior spirit and say no I can make this let me do it they didn't want to see him get hurt get compromised all of that if his team was more into the idea of a catch weight get a new opponent you know it's up to nate and obviously nate played it like a sly businessman and and got the best scenario out of it yeah we're well the proof will be in the putting of the sound that we're about to hear

but thank you so much mikey morse for grabbing it but dude that was sort of a stop the presses what are we really saying here type of moment because it definitely demands more questions no doubt about it but but where do you stand it's never made sense right it's never fully made made sense what really happened i come i come down on this one people in the fight game do keep secrets that's true but i don't think any of the fighters involved would be good at keeping a secret of something that conspiratorial. I think it would have leaked by now.

I just don't believe that. Um, that's why it's hard for me to believe just the mechanics of the secret don't quite add up. Indeed. Indeed. We'll get to that sound. Um,

what did you make of the press conference, Luke, which had a lot of Volk versus Islam trash talk where you, did you think this was a, one of the better ones of late? Yeah, I thought it was good. I thought it was good. It was a lively atmosphere in that sense. I mean, when I say good, what are we evaluating?

How much truthful information we got? I mean, look at Oscar. No, you want entertainment. You want entertainment. I mean, look at Oscar. Oscar's just out there lobbing him up. But the reality is it was kind of interesting. I thought Hamzat looked dialed in.

I think, you know, there's a little bit of banter, like you picked up where they left off between Volk and Islam. The more interesting part was some of the audience dynamics where they were booing the Indian guy. Remember this? Yes. Because there's obviously like, you know, there's a Hindu and Muslim uh muslim obviously you know uh different parts of india are represented by different religions and there's obviously great conflict between the groups um so dana was like why is this happening it's like well buddy you know there's geopolitical concerns also this whole thing i know we haven't gotten to it yet but this thing about muhammad mukayyad saying that the

flags are now banned again at this event which i I know some people are like, oh, yeah, that's a smart decision. It's like, guys, you were all high-fiving Dana two weeks ago for being like, yeah, fuck your feelings. Well, apparently somebody's feelings got hurt because the flags have apparently been taken away. I do agree with the idea that if they do feel like it's a concern, then changing the rules for certain situations is not a bad idea. Anything that you're potentially lowering any combustibility guys i'm down for that all right you're not a free speech champion if you change the rules to accommodate situations that make free speech difficult yeah well luke you know as simple as that at the end of the day you know what i mean because we all have it's the same people doing the same thing with you know with

other i won't even get into it but the point being is i don't think it's i don't be see i don't think it's a not a pragmatic decision it probably is is probably wise right all right let's let's let's see if we can be like well this is not you can do whatever you want here no you can't no you can't not in luke thomas's house let's go to this conspiracy video here's hamza chamaya media day i think this is the macLife capturing this audio. Let's get to the bottom of this weight gate. He didn't make weight. And everyone speak about my, I didn't make weight, you know, once in my life.

And there was some plans to do that some way. It's not my plans. But I can't say everything here. And yeah. Dude, that's juicy. That demands more questions. That's juicy, dude. but I can't say everything here. Yeah. Yeah. That demands more questions. That's juicy, dude.

Yeah. I can't say anything here. That is pretty damn juicy. Speaking of juice, Luke, speaking of spice, sugar, speaking of flavor, let's go to flavor town.

No guy. Fieri's not here. Luke, let's bring in our brother, our colleague, the UFC hall of famer and former light heavyweight champion always sweet never sour a tower of ayahuasca fueled power and his sugar rashad heavens back in the building brother what is going on gentlemen what is going on uh great to see you both great to be back on the show all right rashad we've been talking look at look at rashad he's got plants in the background he's got mushrooms on his shirt i

mean you really got a full 180 rashad are you indian style he's sitting indian style of course man i'm trying to stay in his end. Namaste to you too. Namaste, my brother. Thank you, Rashad. Rashad, we're knee-deep in excitement over UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi on Saturday. We've talked ad nauseum about it. What one storyline from the whole card do you think is the juiciest, the one that has your attention the most heading into this weekend? Well, I mean, I think you guys are just talking about it. When Hamza just opened up that can of worms talking about the, you know,

weight gate and him missing it, it's just, you know, like you said, begs for more questions. But more importantly, it's like, you know, who, who, who, who is this person? You know what I'm saying? I feel like he just kind of opened up a can of worms and really, you know, made himself, put himself in a position where he just needs to answer more of these questions. Indeed, Rashad, indeed.

Well, let's stay right here. You've long been a mentor, mentee, confidant, friend of the great Kamaru Usman, the former welterweight champion. There is so much talk about age, knees, upper weight class. He's fielding it, you know, coming off a two-fight losing streak. He's fielding all the negativity now and trying to fight through it. What's the real truth? What version of Kamaru should we expect in a very tough matchup against Jermia?

Well, I mean, this is a Kamaru Usman who, you know, had a championship belt for a while, lost to Leon Edwards twice. And it gets hard to fight from that position, being the fact that you were a champion for a while, and now you've got to kind of fight down in a sense. So you need something to get you up. You need something that's going to be exciting. You need something that kind of makes you afraid. You need something that's going to make you become the predator once again.

And this is what this matchup symbolizes to me you know he needs to come back with a big scalp to really show people that he's back on the map he doesn't have many fights left in him and he knows that so with that said he wants to come out here and he wants to leave it all out there he's burning the boats and saying you know what this is it for me you know if i can't make it off this mountain then you know my career may be short-lived after this. And that's what I truly feel like he's coming from. Let me ask Rashad, you saw the Gilbert Burns.

You know Gilbert as well. You saw the fight between Gilbert and Hamzat. What did you learn, good and bad, about Hamzat from the Gilbert fight? Well, I learned that he's that bully mentality. And a lot of guys who fight with that bully energy, you know, when they get somebody who bites back, there's a reckoning in them where they realize that, yo, this guy is not going to be an easy win. And then you see him kind of slip back into a more conservative type of fight. And I feel like that's where Gilbert was able to gain traction just by being able to go forward and i feel like if kamaru does the same thing right out the gate come forward and no matter what hamza brings in the beginning he weathers that storm hamza is going to realize he has to settle into this fight and then he has to realize that the pace that he may push early out is not beneficial for going 15 minutes hard it's a three-round fight but he's got a 12-day prep yeah i i don't know if you've talked to Kamaru, and even if you did,

I know you probably wouldn't tell us the game plan. But if you had to corner anyone with that profile, who's kind of the athlete that Kamaru is, that's filling in under these conditions on a three-round fight, what do you think the logical game plan would be in that scenario? Well, Kamaru keeps himself always in pretty good shape. He's always in the gym training. But like you said, there's no training like, you know, when you get ready for a fight.

With that said, you got to tell him to press on the gas, and I would tell him to press on the gas for more than one reason. Not only because he's coming in his fight short notice, but because of the fact that he's used to fighting five-round fights. And when you fight five-round fights, you understand the flow of fighting a five-round fight. So in order to break that when you're doing a three round fight you gotta go a little bit harder out the gate i've lost many fights not me yeah i've lost a few fights because i was used to doing five fights and then when i got the three round fight i was still fighting on a five fight pace so he's got to go out there and he's got to try to push himself a lot harder than he does for the five-run fights.

And if I may, just quick follow-up. How fucked are his knees? Like where are they in a scale of grandma to peak Tyreek Hill or something? I mean, well, one knee's in Boca. He's got that – he's got a very bad bone bone on bone type action and and uh and one of his knees so it's kind of grinding right now and he and he's been trying to do things to prolong it you know he's done stem cell and he's done those kind of things to kind of give it a little bit more uh wear and tear but the truth of the matter is it's just that you know at some point in his life he's probably gonna be looking at a full knee replacement uh you know, so he's on borrowed time when it comes to just the knee,

and he understands that, so he knows that, you know, he doesn't have the ability to really, you know, push himself to go another maybe three years, you know what I'm saying, he knows that he's got to hit it right now so that goes into his mindset and um the thing with kamaru and that i learned is that he kind of feeds off these injuries going into a fight you know what i'm saying some people some fighters need something to be like i'm going in a fight with this and it's going to make me fight harder the injuries that he has going into the fight, it makes him fight a little bit harder.

Absolutely. Rashad, if there's any synergy here across this great co-main event, and obviously this last-minute could-be-instant classic rematch for the lightweight title between the two top pound-for-pound fighters right now on Alexander Volkanovsky and Islam Mahachev, if there's synergy I'm talking about is, one, wrestling could be a big part of the theme and storyline for whoever comes out on top in either fight. But with that is the idea of a 36-year-old Usman with his physical questions and now

a 35-year-old Volkanovski who's also moving up in weight. How sustainable is a wrestling attack in your eyes? This is a theme that's been coming up lately you know in your mid to late 30s you know and as it pertains to Usman that's the the that's that's the horse he rode in on but he's evolved into such a great striker that I think sometimes he thinks of himself more as striker first is it sustainable for these guys in their late 30s to carry on this type of attack you know I feel like it's sustainable and it's kind of better than than the approach of going with the striking bases first because when you have the wrestling pressure it's the pressure whether you get the takedown or not

that's going to land you in a position where you're in close quarters and where you're not really having to work with your disadvantages as you get older which is the loss of speed which is the loss of accuracy and that pop on your punches. So it can really help you push yourself a little bit further. Check out Randy Couture. He won a heavyweight title when he was in a later part of his career because of the fact that he fought from that close wrestling position. So even if he lands a takedown or not, Kamaru's biggest strength has always been able to keep his opponents on the horns of dilemma, being able to not really guess if he's going to wrestle or he's going to try to strike. Long as Kamaru keeps that movement where he's going up and he's going down, he's kind of challenging the wrestling. I feel like his striking will be a lot harder to predict, but also his wrestling will be work a lot better for him.

And then the thing also is he's going with a guy in Hamzat who's, you know, he's got that wrestling prowess. He's got that wrestling pressure and he knows how to wrestle. But is he ready to wrestle at that length for 15 minutes straight? And a lot of guys, even if they can wrestle, they haven't mentally put themselves in a place to really believe that they can go 15 minutes just straight wrestling. Yeah, very good stuff there rashad appreciate that in particular to this main event obviously a lot of storylines about volkanovski and the decision he made but look volkanovski looks like he's he knows the secret and he's the only one and we're all going to find out on saturday i mean he accepted this so quickly

he's giddy about it that yes my chef like, you're only doing it for the money. But what do you think Volkanovski knows? And what do you think is fueling his confidence to make this gamble worth it? I think he knows that he can wrestle with Makachev. I think that he knows that he can get up and get him taken down is no longer a fear because he understands where you can contest in the grappling. And I feel like he's going to want to contend more in the grappling spaces. But I also think that he's kind of erring on the fact that he's been listening.

He's been understanding that Makachev for the last 10 to 8 weeks has been training to stand up on his feet and really try to impress people with his stand-up, saying that he wants to finish Charles Oliveira on his feet. So he's kind of counting maybe on the fact that Makachev is going to overextend himself in the stamp department, which would mean that it'd be easy for him on his feet. All right, let's talk about this main event. I had people asking me, Rashad, being like, oh, could it be better for him that it's on 12 days notice? And I'm like, okay, there can definitely be scenarios where sometimes a short turnaround

powers just the right kind of forces in your favor but in general please help the audience understand if you had it you know in an ideal scenario would you not want a full camp for this right yeah you absolutely want a full camp for this i mean the depth that you're going to have to go and here's the thing about it and here's the thing about it. And here's the thing that the benefit of going, having it be short notice plays the benefit in because of the fact that when you went through war with somebody, sometimes thinking about what that war entailed, it kind of puts a feeling in your stomach like, damn, do I have do I have it to go again? But having it on a short notice kind of eliminates a lot of that, and it's just kind of like I got to be ready for action right away. So you're not playing that mind game with yourself, but at the same time, you really have to understand, and I'm sure that he does, the length and the depth that this fight can get to.

And some people don't want to go to their dark place, but if he's at home then then it's a benefit for him okay that being said right you would always want a full camp if you can get it but there can certainly be ways where a short turnaround can marshal the right forces in your favor right we have a 12-day window here i know he was probably doing some training but he also was sidelined with a you know a relatively minor-ish orthopedic surgery. Given that this one is five rounds, the co-main is three, this one is five, now how do you game plan if you're Volkanovski?

Do you put pressure early and then just punt on rounds four and five if it goes that long? Or do you want to really apportion your offense? How would you strategize around that? Yeah, you've got to press on the gas right away and just kind of hope that, you know, the thing is that Makachev will make mistakes and you want to pressure him and you want to pressure him in the areas where you are the most confident, where the odds are stacked in your favor, which would be the stand-up for Volkanovski. So it's

going to be a lot of sprawling and brawling. And the thing about it is when you put a wrestler on his heels, it's less likely that he's going to get the takedown so Volkanovsky's got to have pressure forward and he's got to throw a lot of fakes and faints to make Makachev have to recalculate himself and have to always readjust because when you're readjusting you're less likely setting up a shot so all those things he's got to move forward fakes and faints and really make it difficult for Makachev to feel comfortable early out in that fight and believe that he's strong enough to handle him in the grappling positions. When he's in the grappling positions early out, there's no need to try to engage and

try to show that he can handle himself there. Disengage first chance he gets and look, knock him. All right. Now, let's say all of a sudden Ali called you and they said, Rashad, you got to go to Abu Dhabi. We need you to corner Islam Makachev. It's you or we can't get this done. All right?

What is the strategy for Makhachev? Because he is going to have an opponent who's going to come at him like a bat out of hell, who does know how to negate some of, obviously, the clinching and the ground exchanges. How do you manage that fight if you're Islam Makhachev? You slow down Volkanovski right out the gate. And what you do is, you do is you use whatever tactics that you have. Here's the thing about it. A lot of wrestlers feel like they have to get a guy down to the ground in order to really impose their wrestling prowess, but the thing is you

have a cage, which is very adjacent to having a guy on the ground. So what you do is you put him against the wall. You wall and you brawl him. You make him work his muscles. You make him get that lactic acid. You make him get frustrated in those clinch positions you kind of make the fight boring for a little bit because you understand that the deeper that this fight goes the more you're going to be able to really put it on rounds four and five and get the and get the win i love it rashad i love this fight so much. We know what we say about what's at stake here, and obviously for Volkanovski, it's potentially like doubling his critical resume and legacy.

I mean, this is such a big moment, and let's not underscore for Mahachev to be able to get the chance to get two victories over this future all-time great. But we do this to fill hours on podcasts, and we always have to have all this will make them the third greatest of all time as a fighter what would this say about Volkanovsky to not only become a two-division champion which is rare enough but to come back on short notice against this guy I think it would really put him in a category that you know you have to put him

up there one of the greats I mean what he's been able to do at featherweight has truly been remarkable. And, you know, what he did against Maka Chet the first time is really something to take notice of. But if he walks away with a victory in this one, there's no doubt about it that, you know, he's one of the greatest ever. And the thing about it is he's done it in the era where he's had many of those tough challenges. You know what I'm saying? He's had a guy like Max Holloway who is you know one of my favorite guys of all time and to be

able to you know beat him the way that he has consistently it really speaks to his dominance and really speaks to the fighter that he is but if he goes out there and he beats makashev my god i mean you got it you got to be saying he's one of the one of the greatest of all time you're damn right. I mean, that's the freaking truth. Rashad, I wouldn't want to get out of here without touching on this light heavyweight tilt with Ankalayev in there against a rising Johnny Walker. And I want to frame it like this. The division, that's your division.

And it's wide freaking open. And every title fight is savagery right now. Is Uncle I have the strongest horse in that overall stable? We just haven't seen it yet or not. You know, what are you looking at for him entering this matchup of Johnny Walker? I like Uncle I and I think that he has potential to be that guy. But I haven't seen anything in his ability that kind of separates him from the rest of the pack and even in his mindset when it comes to being the guy who you

know because it seemed like many times a couple times where he was kind of handed a position where it was like okay this is this is uh this is a layup for you you know what i'm saying and um he just didn't really pass those tests so the truth truth of the matter is, I don't really know if he is that guy. I think he has that guy in him, but I don't really know if he is that guy. But I think, you know who's surging? I think Johnny Walker is surging. And listen, BC, I know how you feel about Johnny Walker, but listen, he's surging. He's got his clownish ways. He's kind of calmed down a little bit and he's kind of got a little bit more reserve and really started to tap into his abilities more and just, you know, smarter, fight a little smarter. And I think that, you know, I think that he might be able to give Uncle Ive the business just because of the fact that Uncle Ive sometimes he doesn't fight the smartest. He's not the fight smartest fighter out there.

And with a guy like Johnny, if you get yourself anywhere where you're not being consistent in the game plan, he will find a way to seize that opportunity. I mean, he's aggressive. I don't know if you've heard, Rashad, but Paul Craig was on this show and he said that, you you know when Johnny Walker was training out there in Scotland that he penetrated the entire village like he on like a cowboy Olivera level he was just like like Kurt Angle with the milk hose just I mean you know where I'm

going you got to be careful freshman year college in the dorms if your girlfriend's on his floor you know what i'm talking about here is he that same threat to the title where it's not probable that johnny walker gets into a title fight but he might fuck around and end up there like really you know what i mean 100 100 i mean you know when you look at johnny walker he does have that goofiness in him but he's got some true some true talents and some attributes in his physical body that makes it so that he can be a true threat to this division. He's really long, and he's got some power, and he fights really well all over, and he's lost enough fights to understand how to win.

And by that, I mean this. Sometimes you've got to take those lumps. Sometimes you've got to shed that fear of losing and being in a fight where you're losing in order to understand how to come back and how to work your way through those difficult situations i'll just say this uh can he stop shaking his hips every time to the goddamn octagon please i just you know spare me i didn't go to thunder from down under, all right? Yeah.

I mean, his twerking during the prep point. I mean, Rashad, what's your mindset like when you get to the prep point? His mindset is like, I'm at the club. I don't understand that. Yeah, you know what it is? It's just him just trying to let go. And the thing is that you try to do something silly. You try to do something that makes you feel like you can be you, you know?

And that's the thing because so many times you try to do something that that makes you feel like you can be you you know and and that's the thing because so many times you get to the to the fight and you're just kind of in the deer in the headlights and you're thinking about everybody watching you think about what's going to happen and you just forget the fact that you're just there to really let go right really let go and just trust your training and and and free yourself it's a freeing moment but sometimes when you have your dreams and your aspirations tied up in what you want you kind of tend to clinch up and sometimes you got to shake your hips loosen it all out baby i used to grab my nipples i was gonna say rashad if I was trying to be free and loose in the prep point, I don't think they'd let me watch pornography and shopping.

All right. Last one for me, Rashad, before you go. Last one for me. I will say this. So the John Jones-Dominic Reyes fight was what? February of 2020, if memory serves. And this division still hasn't recovered. They still haven't figured it out.

They still haven't established a hierarchy. Now, basically, three, almost four years later. Pretty remarkable. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, that's truly remarkable. And it kind of reminds me of the time when it was like that when I was there, you know, it went from, uh, rampage to, uh, Forrest Griffin to myself, to Machida, to Shogun. And it was just, uh, just a smorgasbord of the top challengers, just changing the belt. And, uh, it's like that right now, but then there's, there's going to be one,

there's going to be one that separates himself from the pack. I don't know who that Dark Horse is. I feel like Prohaska does have the ability, but he's so much of a wild card in the way that he moves. He leaves a lot of meat on the bone for his opponents to really take a bite out of if he makes that mistake in the area with the Seize

upon it. I don't know who's going to walk away with the Game of the Thrones, but I feel like it's going to be definitely decided within the next, the next few months. Wow. Wow. Can't wait to see that. It's going to be there. All those fights right now are spectacular at 205. It's a really fun, weird, wild time. Rashad to close here. We do appreciate your perspective as always. And there was sort of a big headline with UFC getting out of the USADA business but then pivoting quickly to a whole new drug testing program there's been debates there's been you know a lot it almost feels political in a way in some of the debates but from a fighter's

perspective how big is this news is this a positive development how do you frame all this you know I feel like it's big news uh definitely big news from a fighter perspective because of the fact that there was so much weight put on everything what you saw it being able to have your whereabouts and being able to abide by those rules and make sure that you were a clean athlete so i feel like now it kind of throws fighters in in a weird space where they're like okay like truly what is this all about? You know what I'm saying? Because they, they, there's been rumors and, and, you know, there's been talk about the reason why the USADA and UFC deal didn't work out

because of the USADA didn't want to bend on, you know, UFC wanting to give special allocations to certain people. So, you know, fighters are kind of maybe a little shaken by the whole, the whole, the whole sincerity of the whole, you know, the drug testing thing. So I feel like it kind of throws fighters into a weird place. And I've heard fighters make some comments that just kind of like, you know what, man? I mean, they just, they're going to do them, you know? There it is.

There it is right there. Sugar. How about that? Rashad Evans. Yeah, take USADA and shove it. I want Ubering back, okay? there it is there it is right there sugar how about that rishad evans yeah take you silent and shove it i want i want ubering back okay there's still time to make a comeback sugar rishad evans we love your work as well on uh espn during the ufc post fight desk uh hope to continue to see you there as well thank you for joining us let's not be strangers we love you're on these parts all right love you guys man i love being on the show and uh have me back anytime indeed give me some of

those mushrooms rashad how about that i got you hey go to get humble.com i got you all right yeah get our address for some samples there we go sugar rashad evans 294 uh great chatting with them luke back to that 294 main event we do have some sound on the topic of rehydration which I think has fueled a lot of the argument between Volk and Islam. I'd love to be able to play this sound and then we can close

out on that topic. Mikey, hit it Volk, do you realize that in a Saturday night you will be fighting with another Islam Makachev? He will be stronger, he will be tougher than he was in Australia. Why? Because, uh, why? Because he is in a better shape in February.

Why, you're telling me that him rehydrating for 30 something hours isn't enough? He's going to be stronger with 40 hours? Is that really what we're relying on over here? You don't back your skills? I don't get it. I show everything. I don't get it. I back my skills.

That's the difference. I really don't get it. I show everything. You're going to show what? Be patient. Be patient. I show you. I show you my power and everything Saturday night.

So you didn't have that power February? Yeah, I don't. Because you only had 30 something hours. Not 30. That wasn't enough. Not 30, man. That's 30 hours, mate. 30 hours. No, no, not 30. 30 hours, mate. No, no, no. You don't need time. I don't know what world you're living in, mate. I don't need more than 30 hours to rehydrate. I'm a fighter. I'll turn up and I back my skills. That's why I'm here today. 12 days. Luke, based on those comments, based on hearing Rashad break down

what it would mean to Volkanovski's legacy to do this, against this guy, short notice, all that, but adding in the idea that Volk is telling us up front, I'm coming in there to knock him out, basically. Like, this is almost calling your shot. Like, this is getting Herculean, this whole thing.

But I feel like he's the guy. You know they haven't fought yet, right? I mean, for the second time. I feel like he's the guy putting the hair in the blue. You're, like, ascribing this achievement. I mean, look at this, what he has achieved. I'm like, he lost the first one. They haven't fought the second second calm down okay all i'm saying is he's got a in in like he's

got a boner luke of of what he's bringing to the table here he's cocksure he's ready yeah um damn if he pulls it off in this manner like by knockout by calling your shot this guy's the baddest motherfucker we've ever seen i mean this is incredible yeah i mean it'd be one thing it'd be it'd be dude if he got a split decision i'd be amazed you know what i mean like yeah if he eked it out i'd be like how the hell did he do that if he fucking goes in there and finishes islam that's just another level of you know borderline impossibility that you would just I mean we already said it right it's he's already probably the most talented featherweight we've ever seen you could maybe make the case for greatest since we've been over this debate whatever

but he's the guy uh and then if he goes in there and in a rematch finishes off the other guy who has the pound for pound claim on short notice, just straight up just demolishes him. You know, he was already going to be put in the pantheon of all-time greats just if he won. You do something like that, where BC, like, I'm not saying a run at 155 would be likely, but could you imagine if he defended the 155-pound belt, like, one or maybe two more times? Against Conor next, and against Conor McGregor at UFC 300.

This is what I'm saying, though. Like, if he defends, even, even dude even if it was like a justin gaethje man dude just think about that for a second volkanovski versus justin gaethje be like what that's fucking crazy and imagine he won so i mean we're putting things that haven't happened at all into motion but the world you're exploring there is not implausible and the world you're exploring there is one where volkanovski truly puts his place as one of the absolute very best to have ever laced up the gloves no doubt and part of me wants to go okay we need to learn to pump the brakes like when Izzy was about to fight Blachowicz not only were we

giving Izzy the win in advance we were like okay so he's gonna fight John at heavyweight to become a three division champion right and we romantically wanted to buy in on that prospect and it was there. Things happen in this game. Blachowicz won a strategic fight and we tempered that. Except in this case, I did see Volk in that first fight not fight on even terms because I didn't score it against, I didn't score it for him any level that I watched it so far in multiple replays, but I have the respect to know that it was close enough in certain areas that this is possible. And that's what this fight is all about, Luke, is this guy so confident, so talented,

and so just mindful of this moment that there's almost some McGregor magic sprinkled on it that like man if i buy into the romanticism of what he's selling in fact luke i've bought it i'm in oh yeah you've bought in i'm in i want this to happen now it feels all warm and tingly you know weird right yeah i mean again i may the best man win we'll talk about our okay bet picks here in just a second but you got to give i will say this it makes sense for him to play up the angle that he's playing up like this whole thing. Like I'm betting on my skills and you're betting on your weight cut. Well, yes, because weight cuts have enormous influences on how fights go. So yes, it would

be stupid to not be mindful of this weight cut, given how much he is trying to get down and Bukhanovsky is like, I'm going to win on on my skills independent of weight. It's a great angle to play. It's a great angle to play. It's just that, you know, while a great sales angle, it doesn't mean much for the fight itself. It's just a way to present his cause. Yes, and apologies for any choppiness, by the way, in my McDonald's Wi-Fi here, Luke,

but I am Sully Sllenbergering this this whole broadcast luke right now it's fantastic sully sullingberger a lot of broadcast can we just have one flight that doesn't crash land into the hudson can we it's like is the is the real storyline what's the real message from this film that this pilot keeps saving the day or that this pilot keeps causing all of these fuck up shit. It's like, it's like Sully stop hitting the fucking birds, man. Stop hitting the birds.

Well, look, this topic is the perfect transition into what we do every Friday. When we go head to head five picks a piece and the vaunted segment, that is okay. Bet. And by the way, this okay,

bet segment we're about to watch. It's brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook. Make every moment more. Buckle up. It's this close right now atop the leaderboard. Get ready. It's time to OK Bet. Yeah.

Yeah. Luca, quick recap of last week. You went 2-2. You had a canceled fight. Are you doing six this week or no? I didn't. I can do another KO or sub today if you want. I have one written down.

I can do another one that you didn't pick. Okay, you went 2-2 last week. I went 4-1 for the first time. The lead changed hands. I am in first place at a 500 record of 74 74 and one luke has dipped to 71 72 and four uh ky you know this guy k luke the fellow who yeah the fellow who we had on fan subs he is a couple ahead of me right now he thinks he's playing against us right now all year luke and I'm about to welcome him into this journey with us, all right?

He's not playing against us. I had to explain this to the live chat audience yesterday, BC. I guess we didn't explain this. Folks don't realize. So if you go in, this doesn't count for the main event, right? For the main event, we can both pick, you know, whatever, same guy or not. But for the rest of them, if you pick one, I have to pick a different one. Yes.

And so if k was actually playing with us there would be a slim pickens kind of choice at the end you're just playing separately the same game yes like k you've worn condoms this whole time and like brandon roival we've been raw dogging it all right you know what i mean like that felt weird to be i bet you johnny walker just hates condoms he must be like like, those fucking condoms are just the worst. Here we go. Luke, I have champion's choice here for the first time, meaning I could have vetoed any if we had similar picks.

I would have had first veto. It also gives me the idea to go first or second. So, Luke, I'm going to go first. Here we go. Main event is the UFC 294 lightweight title rematch, The Clash, Mahachev versus Volkanovski. Your updated odds right now on FanDuel, plus 205 Volkanovski and minus 260 Mahachev.

And yes, Luke, I'm drunk on the red wine. It's red panty night. I am all in on this idea. Many people would not take this fight. Volkanovski is right what he says even smaller is there a list of people who could pull this off it's just that this guy is on that list he is the list right now he is an all-time great in the you know probably the tail end of his of his prime here at 35, but not only does he still have it, he's still evolving and getting better. The evolution of his wrestling last time out was incredible.

He also had moments on the feet. Is it extra crazy to say, okay, now you've set yourself up where you basically need a knockout as well? How freaking crazy is that? I don't know what it's going to look like. Maybe he does have the ability to gut out five round cardio and has just enough to win a split decision. I don't actually know how it's going to happen, Luke, but I'm done for missing out on what we're watching here is a special fighter in the midst of a special career. And he came really close last

time out to pull it off. and now they gave him another chance. And even though it's 12 days, notice he had some control in this. He threw himself at the opportunity. He's overly confident. It's got to be for a reason right here. I don't doubt that he might be playing up that he wasn't in deeper shape than he actually is. That could be part of this equation too.

All I know is, as great as Machev is, this guy's the only one in the sport who's actually greater, who actually can land this plane. So I'm taking Sully Sullenberg and Orovsky, Luke, by upset across the top, and I'm hooked on a feeling. Don't mention the Dremel Charlo. No, this isn't a trend, but I'm all in okay I'm all in alright I gotta say that's the longest

winded pick where your whole justification is vibes you could have just said vibes I'm gonna go Makachev for my main card pick the first fight was very very very very competitive but in the end I thought Makachev

won four of those rounds, three without dispute, and then really all four. But I think that if this were a case where both teams had a full camp, I would feel probably somewhat differently. But I just believe that Makachev having adequate time to rehydrate. He made Wade look good actually. I mean they don't look amazing. But he looked pretty good all things considered for the weight cut this time. And I think that there are ways man. Don't get me wrong.

Is Volkanovski a live dog? He certainly is. But there is just not enough appreciation for how difficult it is. What he is attempting in real world terms to do this on short notice after having surgery it's just so far from ideal in terms of circumstances so I expect it to be close I expect it to be competitive again I just don't believe he's going to win three of those rounds give me Mokachev to retain his lightweight title yeah you know what I've decided not to be conservative

despite getting the lead for the first time because, Luke, if I'm going to win, I'm going to win on principles. I'm going to win on vibes. You know what I mean? I'm going to win on directions. To be clear about this pick, we should be honest, man. Volkanovski is hard.

Picking against Volk is like picking against, you know, it's not exactly the same, but it feels a little bit like picking against Bud Crawford a little bit. You're like, you're going to pick against that guy's talent, you know? Because one thing, sorry, one thing you said about Volkanovski when we were identifying like the stakes of this whole fight and the storylines was the idea that his legacy would surround that he has elevated elements of the game right along with his success so you

know he's leaving an impact he's changed you know he's he's challenging those that on his level to to basically raise their game you know i mean he fought max three times and won all three i mean that's insane he that it's like i don't i don't want to be the one who didn't think he could do this you know what i'm saying like because if anyone can it is this guy man it is i didn't want him to be this good luke i was cheering for tega to keep that shit tight okay turns out he had an alien in his armpit luke this guy's not real okay yeah but i have a feeling that the people who are now big on volk missed the real volk window the real volk window was when he was beating jose aldo and chad mendez that was when you should have been on it and then watched it because now asking him to do the most superhuman

thing of his career it's like this is in terms of his technical knowledge the best he's ever been but the prep could not have been you know so so so so unideal again i want to say it one more time you see if this was full camp versus full camp i don't know i don't know that changes it for me but it's not and so for that reason you just got to go market maybe that's i don't know all i'm saying is there i think there was something strategic about like you can say that's all bullshit because they probably offered him a lot of money and he probably really knows how this game works and realized this fight may never happen. Blah, blah, blah. I just think them being so excited to accept it under these circumstances means there's something to that to them in the strategy.

Like if we can catch Mahachev off guard, that could be an advantage toward us. And Luke, say what you want about the 12 days. I know Mahachev was ready and in camp for Oliveira and he he's a badass mf or mahachev he is but you are catching him off guard this there's there is an element of that that could be advantageous for a mind like volkanovsky look i was trying to think like who do i respect on like the overall fight iq just genius party there's a bunch of geniuses out there right right? Or fighters that have had genius runs, you know? And Adesanya had a freaking genius run. But I think like Henry Cejudo is the only guy who I esteem

on the Volkanovski level of just being, you know, two, three steps ahead. Yeah, but his wins in my mind, I mean, he's got the two belts in the Olympic champion, but like if you just look at the names as his best wins, the best one is Demetrius Johnson, which was highly disputed. Obviously, he pasted Dominic Cruz. But, like, I would actually say Volkanovsky's got better names on his resume overall. Yeah, I mean, Demetrius Johnson in this type of conversation too, Luke. I mean, these are the legends of legends, man.

You know? That's what it is. Let mean, these are the legends of legends, man. You know? That's what it is. Let's keep these picks rolling, though, huh? Well, I'm just toiling in this pool of romance that I'm leaking. I see that. I'm just drinking the bathwater. I don't want to drink the bathwater. Okay, there we go.

Yeah, there we go. Second one, Luke, is going to be a favorite. And, dude, I'm off the menu here. I have gone off the menu. I don't know where BKc 52 is taking place this weekend luke and i don't know if it's tonight or tomorrow but i do know in the main event reggie barnett jr will defend his bkfc bantamweight title against keith richardson i've done enough research to tell you luke that uh barnett is a minus 130 favorite to the minus 115 Keith Richardson so

this is basically a pick'em fight I mean I think it's pick'em anyway on this level of BKFC but I'm gonna take the favorite here Reggie Barnett Jr. I love I love the spiciness of putting something ridiculous on this okay bet lineup Luke and this is pretty ridiculous so I'm going to take the champion to defend minus 130. Okay I for my favorite I have Anshul Jubilee beating Mike Breeden. Anshul Jubilee joins us by our friends at FanDuel as a minus 280 favorite he came from the contender series and then won his last contest on the Lewis Spivak card looked pretty well rounded a little bit green uh but you know reasonably well rounded aggressive you, has good balance striking, decent control on the ground. He had a gift wrap kind of ground-and-pound actually to finish off, or nearly finish off, his last opponent. Mike Breeden's done a lot, I hate to say it, but he's done a fair bit of losing through the course of his UFC career.

His record sits at 10-6, but he lost in the first round to Terrence McKinney he lost a decision to Natan Levy and then he got finished off in the first round by Alexander Hernandez which of course was his UFC debut I think this is going to be a chance for Jubilee to look pretty good of being comprehensively better I'll take him all right Luke we'll see if this pans out for you we're going to go to the underdog now I'm going to take the local favorite here. Mohamed Yaya will be making his UFC debut and he's a plus 140 underdog here. I'm trying to remember his opponent here. It's Trevor Peek. Excuse me. So it's a lightweight tilt, Luke. It's the debut for the Dubai

product here. And, you know, this is kind of just let's roll with the storyline here. Let's roll with the theme. Trevor peak is decent. He can get it done. Luke he's country strong, but, uh, I'm going to, I'm going to play on the, uh, the storyline angle here in the romanticism and he's going to make this home debut in the UFC and his, I mean, it's going to be special Luke. All right. It's going to be like Friday night lights. It's going to be just, you know, a clean, clear eyes, pure heart luke can't lose you know very good okay i like that idea bc for

me for my underdog pick you know i actually had some folks say they got they were kind of bitter at us because we didn't talk more about sheriff putin magomedov are you aware of who this gentleman is is that the guy who uh has like the reddish like teen wolf looking vibe going, he's got an eye way out here because he had to get, I think, something like eight or so surgeries, maybe even more than that on his eyes. So he's on this card, Luke, you're telling me. Yes, he's opening the show, actually, against Bruno Silva. Now, for my underdog pick, I've got Bruno Silva. I should say, for folks who don't know who Magomedov is in this particular case,

he won a fair number, I think, of national Muay Thai titles as a kickboxing background he puts punches and kicks in combination well together he is very aggressive he's got a lot of showmanship when he competes he also appears to be a real piece of work bc there's video of him like harassing and like slapping a couple in Russia at a mall who were having what I would consider very minor public displays of affection he punched a guy who submitted him in a grappling tournament who was much better than him. So he seems like he's got some real issues as a person. However, as a fighter, he's got some abilities as well. He is your favorite. Bruno Silva, though, kind of went toe-to-toe for a little while with Alex Pareda. Didn't win, but certainly looked

reasonably good for the while now he has had some issues since then but uh if we're going to have to pick underdogs it's about as good as one I can find on this card which by the way this card has a lot of lopsided fights from an odd standpoint unusual for UFC cards indeed but Luke we don't talk about Bruno in this space I think you are making a mistake running directly into a rising comet because I don't know much about this guy that you're explaining but I've seen a lot of him across my timeline so the the the hardcore you know backbone of this fan sport Luke has been fired up for this guy for a while maybe he comes in like a badass villain with like Drikus Duplessis

vibes and just starts walking yeah I mean I wouldn't it's like the problem is this I don't like any of the other underdogs it's not like I love this choice I don't love it I do think that Mega Madoff is gonna win uh it's just like what's the best of a bad choice that I have I mean there might be some other ones you don't care whether that dick lives or dies just like the MK audience, Luke. Just like you. Just like your liver. All right. I'm going to go down to the over-under now, Luke,

and there's a DAZN UK-based boxing event. It's Jack Catterall, who you may remember, appeared to pull the upset of Josh Taylor, but really got an unfavorable scorecard and never got a rematch here. He's going to welcome 38-year-old Jorge Linares, who is always in impeccable shape and is really talking into and playing into the romanticism. I keep using that term today, but really in this case of this old gunslinger

coming back for one more run. The problem is it's at 140. Linares has been KO'd kind of brutally by Pablo Cesar Cano at this weight class before. Chin is always an issue with this guy. Impeccable boxer. World-class heart. All of that. Cataral's going to do some damage, Luke.

I'm going to say this doesn't go the distance. And old Jorge, they kind of have to remove him. You know what I'm saying? I hope it doesn't go there. But it's trending that way Saturday. Yes. It certainly is. All right, so for my pick on this one, for over-under,

I'm going to say that Ikram Alaskarov and Warley Alves will not go the distance. Warley Alves has been on a bit of a slide of late. He lost to Nicholas Dalby via split decision earlier this year, and then before that he got finished off inside of two rounds by Jeremiah Wells has been kind of up and down but he got finished by Randy Brown and he got finished by James Krause all the way back in 2018 and then 2019 respectively so he's got some issues he's not really been on top of his game since he defeated Colby Covington all the way back when and Ikram Alaskarov is a fucking destroyer from the future sent back in time to terrorize us i think he's going to run over this guy um give me alaskarov to win inside the distance yeah this

is a to not go the distance i should say this is a bone air fight for one luke thomas this is a get ready world how many how many erections can we fit into a pair of dungarees type of fight luke and i'm here for it you know i'm definitely here for it let's go to ko or sub hey let's go to the co-main event of ufc 294 usman versus chemayev i don't know fully what to make of the whole popping situation but either way usman's in a situation where he may be on an extreme slide and it's not like an extreme slide. Like there's nothing left, but not on this level, not against this guy, not one division up. I kind of feel like the preexisting questions were already enough to put him in potential peril in this matchup without the idea of a popping knee.

So let's even remove that video. Let's just talk about 36 year old Usman trying to pull this off. I'm just not feeling it and I think he's going to try to push the pace like Rashad said and make it maybe a bit of an action fight but you bring that on I don't think he's gonna like the ending Luke I got Chemaia by KO I win if it's a KO either way but I say this three round fight ends early and it's by knockout yeah I don't think that's I don't disagree with a word of that. I think that's – it's the same way.

Like, people are feeling it with Volk, right? But they're just – you just don't feel that way about Usman's chances. I mean, I don't see a lot of evidence of that anyway. I will say, Luke, the combination of super fans on X on Twitter, I'll never say X. Just don't say X. It's fucking stupid. Yeah, it's pretty lame. I mean, I will say, Luke, a lot of people are like,

I saw Danny Segura had a very romantic message. A lot of people, to them, Usman Shamayev is their Super Bowl, and I could see it, even if it plays out the way I think it will with Shamayev stopping him in kind of an action fight, it's going to be fun watching it get there. You know what I'm saying? Because I think Usman's going to go for it. Yeah, that's right.

He's going to go for it. I don't think anyone's like, oh, Usman sucks. I hope no one's saying that. I mean, I'm sure there's some idiot out there saying that. But people aren't believing he'll get the job done. I hope no one's saying that. I'm sure there's some idiot out there saying that. People aren't believing he'll get the job done. Not that he's some fucking scrub. There's a big, big difference.

The thing is that people feel like Volk will rise to the occasion. Again, of course he might. But I feel like most of the vibes, so to speak, are definitely in Chimaya's favor. For good reason. And also because he hasn't fought in a long time he's like this like this crazy contender now so there's a lot of reasons why things are happening the way they are no you're right and also like i don't know um it's gonna be hard to do for usman it's gonna be hard to do and i feel like when we saw woodley when it when it fell apart for woodley or you know the most recent champion before Usman like those last couple

resuscitation attempts like there was just nothing there like there was some disconnect for Woodley he wasn't kind of going all balls out and then he did go balls out that one fight and it was it was fun but he ended up getting stopped but um like when it was over dude it was over I don't think it's over for Usman but I think it's trending that way that's all I'm saying all right very good I mean dude he look at him I mean he's not I mean look how big Chimaev is bro yeah fuck he's looking at Kamaru like he's lunch yep this is the wrong time Luke it's this is the wrong guy at the wrong time for the cut for this for this comeback right now wrong guy what I feel really happy the fighters are getting paid to wear the rock shoes you know that's a nice yeah little touch yeah you know yeah duane the rock i mean that yeah do you think that guy uses us dollar bills as toilet paper look he's he's on that

level probably yeah yeah i mean i'm sure he is like literally cried into bags of money uh all right uh just just sneeze into that hundred over there you know yeah uh okay for my last pick ko or sub give me dudakova winning via sub bc this has got to be one of the fights you care the most about around in terms of where your pants are at we have a blonde russian victoria dudakova that's such an unproven theory luke i mean that is i don't think it's unproven at all she's taking on jenny fray jenny fry i never remember how to pronounce her name who has been on a slide unfortunately right so she's lost three in a row to vanessa demopolis pollyanna viana and elise reed she did have a couple wins before that but it has been up and down in general dudikova is the

one who uh threw the other girl to the ground, the other competitor, Estella Nunez. I remember she dislocated her elbow on the Apex card. It was really gross. Dudakova was the one who was fighting her. She won on the Contender Series before that, but she's had a bunch of submissions in her career. She's a big favorite here. I think she's going to win no matter what.

The question is whether KO or sub or, of course, decision. I think it will get stopped, BC, and so for that reason, I'll take a flyer on sub all right this is going to get juicy this okay bet it's going to get juicy do you want me to do a sixth pick to make up for last week yes yes mikey if you can give us a thumbs up on that luke what are you picking here all right so i've been thinking about this one a little bit i'm gonna say i uh do i do i know which category am i picking the last one you can pick any category you want any category so give me cedric i believe that's how his name is pronounced duma uh versus abu azaitar not gonna go the distance i'll take the

under on that okay there you go i like that luke i have one final question on this card who is going to make a bigger headline at the end of the day is it going to be ikram al-askarov is it going to be javid basharad or is it going to be shara but then magomed off who is opening the card who's going to have that place that that atop your you know your your phallic staff luke probably it's going to be mega made off probably of the three because the thing is basharad i think is going to shine but victor henry's a real game opponent i know that i know that basharad is heavily favored in the odds and i understand that but i do think victor henry will put up a stern resistance uh but i but the thing about mega made off is he wins kind of spectacularly.

Like there are like highlight reels, you know? So I suspect that if anyone will shine among the three you've mentioned, it's him. All right. This okay. Bet segment has been brought to you by fan dual sports book. Make every moment more enjoy the fights this weekend,

folks, and follow our okay. Bad path here to forcing somebody to go to a concert that, man, they just don't want to be at. They just don't want to be seen at. They don't really want to be close to that. You know what I mean? They'd actually do anything but be there, really.

You know, like they're there against their will. They're there like they are vetoing the public idea that they are okay with this situation. That's the level of passion, Luke, that we're putting into this segment. You look so drunk and bloated. Good news, BC. You're now reminding us of Belushi. I'm like, oh, yeah, really?

They're like, yeah, like the ending. Lutarski, 0.0. There it is okay hey luke we got a couple quick topics here to review of breaking not breaking but latest news here uh and topic number one is bkfc has them a big time main event it's going to go be go down december 2nd salt lake city bkfc 56 get this mike perry BKFC 56. Get this. Mike Perry versus Eddie Alvarez atop the pay-per-view. Also, Ben Rothwell versus Todd Duffy, I believe, for the heavyweight title. Christine Ferreira is back against Beck Rawlings. I think that's a rematch. There's some history there. A couple other names if you actually follow the BKFC. This is a loaded card. Luke, your reaction to Perry versus

Alvarez December 2nd dude they put it in Salt Lake City too now I don't think that'll mean much for Perry and Alvarez but they got heavyweight fights on this motherfucker in altitude like yeah just you know turn up the dial for maximum sloppiness um I mean if you're into BKFC, this is a sick card, right? How can you say it's not? Mike Perry continues to be one of the very few guys who has carved a MMA adjacent path, not inside MMA at all, but still staying very relevant in the sport and very relevant in combat sports, certainly, and doing great things and winning big fights.

Here's another one. Eddie Alvarez also, I think, Here's another one. Eddie Alvarez. Also, I think if you're a team Eddie Alvarez, you're probably asking, well, how many more big fights does he have left? Some, but probably not a lot. This is a big one. If you were to get one, it would set up a lot for him, but I suspect that Mike Perry is about to do Mike Perry things.

So, yeah, great. If you like BKFC, man, I mean, this seems like your Superbowl a little bit. Yeah. There are parts of BKFC that I really like their ability to tell stories, the kind of trashiness of how they tell those stories too. And also certain members of this fighting corporation, like put on really entertaining, compelling, dramatic fights that feel like stories are being played out. Mike Perry against Luke Rockhold was one of those, even though it was like this quick beatdown, it was like, holy shit, Mike Perry has elevated himself to something different out here in the

Indies, you know, not with the UFC anymore, but like bigger than ever. And now this is a perfect matchup, just putting two brawlers that we love but based on experience and size and everything we know about them luke you gotta lean heavily on mike perry which i sounded like you were already doing in this case right the thing is eddie is you know eddie eddie is just one of the more remarkable competitors we've ever seen but he is long in the tooth at this point and mike is not you know so mike's in his prime man i mean he he looks he's killing it dude he's absolutely in his podcast breaking all that news around ufc 294 like mike's doing well for himself indeed uh do you have any thoughts on a rothwell duffy kind of

weirdo match up here it's it's i mean they're gonna throw bombs luke but i actually like both of these guys a lot i'm sad to see them fight but it's gonna be I don't I don't I don't you know take the under on that one right take the take the under that one ain't that one's probably not built for the whole distance I don't think you know Rothwell give him this Luke I'll give him this since coming to bare knuckle he's had to show extreme heart in some fights like he's kind of like he's all in on this you know what i'm saying like he's any undefeated in bkfc yeah and he had a gut through when one in particular he had to show a lot of character and um he's he's he's ready for this luke it's it we've already seen it's not for everyone some people can really turn it into something he might be one that can do

that at this level because he's got quick hands and he's kind of awkward so we'll see there let's go to number two topic luke we got a stream of interesting fights how about ufc 296 josh emmett versus giga chikadze bang bang yeah dude poor josh emmett man he had a rough go with um with with yair he had a rough go with ilia and then right into giga chikazi that's a fucking tough i mean you can imagine that it's like you're gonna fight yair and then you're gonna fight to pour you and then you're gonna fight giga chikazi it's like bro they're not giving you they're not giving you tune-ups i'll tell you that much they are just they fed him to the lawnmower i mean it's all killer no filler dude that is right like at the end of his career

people are gonna there's gonna be some fucking asshole out there who's gonna look at his resume and be like oh you lost to this guy and this guy and this guy whatever and maybe he beats giga we'll see but you what you cannot do is look at his resume and be like oh you didn't fight anybody bullshit he fought all the fucking hammers man so um that's a great fight for what's left of josh emmett's career giga chikazi had that rebound that was semi-inspiring against uh our friend in you know uh with in name alex casares and uh but this is a whole to get a different challenge for giga as well right i mean josh emmett still has nuclear melt you one punch power no matter what else has might have been taken away with age or or with damage fun fight fun fight and he has underrated tattoos

luke some of them are underrated so the coloring was really good in person i will say that also ufc 297 are you moved by mike malott versus neil magny Mike Malott, the Canadian dude out of Team Alpha Male, also has a big punch. Seems like he's still trying to figure some things out with his defense. Yeah, he wants to smoke, Luke. That might be a negative thing if he wants too much of it, you know? What do you mean? He wants big fights.

He wants to throw bombs. Like, he wants to live. He's almost like Frivola. And I know Frivola uses a lot of skill in there, and that's what makes him dynamic. But they're also going after it.'s right that's exactly right and so with with this one it's a big i think they're trying to see what they have with this canadian guy like is he is he really going to be somebody for us that we can build behind neil magny uh you know not what he once

was but still not going to be an easy test for anybody even in 2023 or 2024 so um it's a good test but the one that you know of all of these bro come on it's the next one tell them what it is this is the one for all the models december 2nd is ufc austin benil darius versus arman saruki and there's a lot of man in there that night damn this has some feeling of a potential crossroads-y-ish fight but Darius is not going to go silently into the night Luke he's he's poised and primed I'm sure after you talk to him for another huge run but I also think Saryukian's ready to make that turn for real now you know what I mean like he's close this is it because here's the thing remember Saryukian went tooth

and nail with Gamrot. Gamrot won. That's somewhat disputed, but Gamrot won. And you can also very easily make a case for him in that fight. And then Gamrot went up against Darius and didn't have much for him. Darius was clearly better than him. Was able to negate most of the wrestling. Was able to work through scrambles. And was simply better on the feet than in other places as well.

So if Saryukian, you don't want to play MMA math, but if Saryukian's going to do something in this fight, through scrambles and was simply better on the feet and in other places as well so if sorry you can you don't play MMA math but if sorry you can's gonna do something in this fight man if he's gonna really turn into the prospect he looks like he could have been I should say the contender from the prospect that he's been this is the this is uh I mean this is as clear and invaluable a challenge and clarifying uh a fight as they basically get so yeah huge fight in austin on december 2nd cannot wait for this one big yeah that has like that has like extra bubbles of energy on top of it it's like massive stakes massive stakes yeah please i'll have people sleep on benil dariush i was saying how good he was i had people write me being like oh he's not that good y'all are out of your fucking mind no I was late on him too I was late on Bilal I mean

I've been late on a few guys where you sort of sometimes miss that one part of that I was late on Bilal as well or maybe you're looking for that one part of them that explains it all but really for everyone there's not one thing that ties it together some people are just sort of really well rounded and rise at the right time and sort of lean on whatever they need to lean on in the moment, and that can be sometimes hard to recognize when you're especially looking at others who are way flashier and you can miss it along the way. Yeah, I mean, listen, he didn't have a great fight against Charles, right?

I mean, I think he'd be the first to tell you that. It just didn't go very well. He didn't look very great in that contest. But I think if you have any eye for any eye for detail you look at how thorough his anti-wrestling is and wrestling health of his jiu-jitsu that's where the world he comes from there's something called the dariush guard and the striking under javier cordero has become aggressive and and very good in combination he is highly experienced dude that's a yes a, yes, Charles is Charles, but

Benil Darius is hard to beat. Trust me. Trust me. Hell yeah. All right. Let me take you back to that UFC 296 card. So it was officially confirmed and announced by UFC, even though we've known the fights for a while. It's December 16th. It's the last pay-per-view of the year in Las Vegas. I believe it's Colby Covington and Edwards, Luke, along with Pantoja making his first title defense as the main and co-main. Is it against Royval, Pantoja, I believe? That's right. Correct.

I think I got that right. So also on that card is Josh Emmett, Giga Chikadze, which we already mentioned. Shamil Gaziev versus Martin Boudet is on that as well. Does that move you at all, Luke, or no? No okay well what about this one Cody Garbrandt is going to continue the comeback against Brian Boom Kelleher former MMA beat panelist Luke at this UFC 296 what do you make of that matchup because there's going to be a lot of hunger in that one, too. Kelleher had neck surgery that they had to do from the front to fuse and fix something in the back of his neck,

and that is not a simple recovery. It's not an easy recovery. You know, he's a guy who's been a good UFC fighter, has had ups and downs, you know, has never really, I think, entered the top 15, but is, like everyone else in this fucking division, very tough to beat, and obviously has some great wins. He's is one of 100 azure is one of my favorite wins for him but the point being was there's some questions about him and his age and where he's going

and then cody garbrandt need i tell you more about like what the fuck's going on with him so you've got a bunch of guys here who are trying to figure out if there's going to be a future and if so what it's going to look like they got to get past the other guy here. Massive questions on both sides and very, very big stakes in this contest. You know divisions are really strong when you've got guys who basically, I think, are both unranked, and yet you're still like, this means a lot for both these guys and tells you a lot about how strong the division is that you can be in these kinds of elevated and relevant positions and still not be anywhere near the front of the pack it's crazy i'll have to tell you luke uh brian boom keller is a fun follow and he posts a lot of his

uh surgery recovery and it's and it seemed like it was a quick turnaround and he's been you know he's been at it so you know let me say this though have you seen his terrible haircut you know i don't you know this is getting he boss tattooed level i mean isn't like the thought and you know and where he's at and isn't that enough luke what is this let me say this he calls it the skullet because he's balding on top so then he grows a mullet while he's bald on top. And I just need to tell people giving bad haircuts names doesn't make them good haircuts. I don't know if people know that or not. That's the joke.

As long as you frame it as a joke, it still can get over. No, no, no. You still have a terrible haircut. Yeah. You still look like you lost a bet.

And this is the ass end of the losing of the bet. I don't get to shave dicks into my beard and be like, oh, this is called the Christmas tree. No, motherfucker. You just have dicks on your face. That's it. That's the whole story. You can't just brand your way into it.

You know what I'm saying? I don't think that would fly in the boardroom. I'm sorry, sir. You just have dicks all over your face. You have dicks all over your face. Yeah, we call this the Christmas tree. No, we call this getting fired. Get the fuck out. You know what I'm saying?

People will just brand terrible things and like, now it's good. No, no. All right. What do you make of this, Luke? There was a bunch of suspensions from the Nevada Athletic Commission. Walt Harris gets one year for a positive drug test. D-Rod Daniel Rodriguez gets suspended until 2024 for a positive Osterine test. Yes.

And Myra Bueno Silva, her win over Holly Holm is no more that's now a no contest and she gets suspended do we make conspiratorial connections to the usada ending or am I out of my ball am I out of my league here Luke no I think some of these had been in motion for quite some time and these are Commission uh issues so the Commission's not going to get around to it very quickly they're just getting around to it now i think the d-rod one is relatively minor um i have not reviewed the walt harris case my understanding about the bueno silva stuff is it's related to adhd medicine um which she did not properly declare declare and disclose and so therefore the they're overturning the win i don't know how fair that is, but you guys know my opinion on drugs.

Yeah, drugs win. The drugs war. They will always win. Luke Thomas, 2023. Luke, we're going to say goodbye on UFC roster cuts. You hate to see it, but some names of note in here. Former title challenger Jennifer Maia. You've got Portugal's Andre Fialho.

Hannah Goldie. J.P. Bays. Carl Deaton, A.J. Fletcher, and the veteran John McDessie. Anything of note there, Luke, that you want to reflect upon? The love triangle with J.P.? No, we're done with it. No, not really. The mcdesi one is interesting he'd been in the organization a really long time i think something like

nearing 15 years some absurd amount of time uh and this i don't know if it's related at all to him putting out the the pay stub essentially after fighting in australia uh i don't know if it's related or not uh but uh but that's a long run that he had that was celebrated for many, many times, but I think it's over now, obviously. All right. Well, Luke... And I know the Hannah Goldie one

has you just despondent of the results. I mean, this is... Luke, I've become typecasted. You know what I mean? I'm a cartoon figure in a cartoon... Yeah, here we go. Okay, let's keep it going is, Luke, I've become typecasted. You know what I mean? I'm a cartoon figure in a cartoon. Yeah, here we go. Okay, let's keep it going here, Luke. And I'm talking about keeping going from the idea of, like, look,

we know how old we are. We know the mileage we have, the scars we carry. It doesn't mean we have to be fully washed, Luke. You know what I'm saying? We have a responsibility in this game, and that responsibility is staying fit for Tukey, Luke. You know what I'm saying? We have a responsibility in this game. And that responsibility is staying fit for Tukey, yo. You know? Yo, listen, let me tell you something.

Here's a true thing. I've been studying this a little bit. And studying is not quite the right word. Reading about it. They're trying to figure out what are some of the metrics. Sports scientists, what are some of the metrics that most over, which ones tell you the most about people who suffer, who experience the highest quality of life past the age of 60 or 65. And for men, the number one thing that they can find is muscle mass, muscle mass. You have to

maintain muscle mass to keep quality of life as you age. And BC, if you don't use it, you're going to lose it. Movement is medicine. Don't forget that boys and girls that's what i'm talking about and you know what else i'm talking about luke i am talking about fit bod because everybody knows working out is full of positives like sleeping better looking better man how about just feeling better right that's right as you get stronger sticking to the same old routine can lead to uh plateauing and the results yeah you got to keep your momentum going and your progress positive. And you can do that with FitBot. The app creates personalized workouts based on your goals, abilities, gym setup, while helping you track and visualize your progress along the way. Yeah. All right. BC, I love the app and I've been consistently using it. My results are what

keep me coming back to the app. In fact, FitBot has helped me push through that, if I could be honest, I wasn't sure I was going to get through. But with the app, I was able to get it done. There you go. Whether you do it in your house like a normal person or right in your front yard, FitBot's powerful technology understands your strength, training, ability to study your past workouts. They adapt to your available gym equipment. They're basically setting it up for you. Yeah. It's like this. It's, it's, it's somehow, if you can believe this, it is actually smarter than the PFL smart cage. The app intelligently varies your intensity and volume and tracks muscle fatigue and recovery to design a well-balanced workout plan.

And the app keeps your gym sessions fresh and fun by mixing up your workouts with new exercises, rep schemes, superset circuits. They got it all. And Luke, it's never been easier to get the results that you've always wanted. Tell them why they should check out FitBod, bro. Right now, get 25% off your subscription at FitBod.me slash combat with a K. Yeah, that's F-I-T-B-O-D dot M-me slash combat with a K. Yeah, that's fitbod.me slash combat with a K.

Don't have the wrong lettering in there or you'll be subject to being all dead wrong. How about this for a transition? Every Friday we stand trial to the sins we may or may not have committed behind this microphone. Health products from Tuesday. Yeah, here we go.

We're trying not to die. We're trying to stay alive. But we give you the chance to email morningcombat at gmail.com. Mikey Mormyle is the arbiter on the other end, so that we don't have to accidentally see a stick pic or anything. I don't want to be that close, Luke. Okay? You know what i'm saying not until not until i identify your body with missing organs and we're like you know it's tragic but it's shakespearean at the same time right that's one way to put it i don't think shakespearean is quite the right word but you know all right all right uh this one's called dead wrong yes all right luke i may have to re-watch uh habib versus al raging al because people are killing

me for my representation here's from owain he says sorry not sorry bc is once again in deep shit for his terrible takes or dementia i'm not sure which is the point He says, outstruck nearly two to one in both of those rounds according to fight metric with nothing of no really landing in favoring ayakinta how many i quit how am i supposed to pronounce that luke can you so i think because it's a he's italian it's quinta it's definitely not i've never heard i if it was spanish it'd be iakinta it's yeah maybe i'm thinking of like uh la quinta like motels luke maybe yeah well um so how many times do we have to teach you this lesson old man all right here's what i'm saying i definitely didn't correct you in real time i wasn't really listening very intently obviously but uh yeah i'll go back

shit i'll go back and re-watch it and you know yeah we subject sometimes to misrepresenting our memories on fights we i mean we watch every fight lu, Luke, okay? That's what it is. And we also have early onset brain damage, apparently. But sometimes we miss it. But I think everybody's fighting the argument that I claimed Al won both rounds clearly and beat the shit out of Habib. I may have been incorrect in the exaggeration of my memory of what I was trying to say.

What I was really trying to say was that it surprised me that suddenly Al was finally connecting and a couple of them looked big. And at the same time, it did look like Habib was kind of like not out of gas, but really managing his gas tank. And, you know, I probably have never watched the fight a second time so speaking of possible blinded ignorance but I wasn't going the full Monty of like he was on the verge of pulling a split decision upset you've been wrong about Habib a couple times you were like oh Justin Gaethje was one leg kick away okay like no that's you just don't know that you just don't know that there's audio from both that that I believe i have to do a little research but

i believe if this was like a court case like a high court was back in session with the dishonorable chuck mendenhall that i believe i actually have quotes from them in evidence where i can piece together a very credible defense without the shadow of a doubt luke yeah i don't think you can but either way you've been wrong about habib the truth is this though there was there was a thread you were pulling on which was remember we all it was supposed to be habib tony then it was habib max remember that it was habib max holloway for a while and then it was habib pettis people forget it was habib pettis for like there was a few and it ended up with ayah quinta he was also on the card and blah blah blah everyone thought oh habib's just gonna run this guy over and of course you know it was one-sided but iaquinta went the full distance of memory serves

right and went to a decision and there are people be like he couldn't he couldn't finish him off and then you know iaquinta had i think a spirited fifth round i don't know if you want it or not but you know he certainly made through a very difficult situation like something of a decent account of himself and that's what i think you're remembering but it wasn't like he was getting his ass whooped and then just well i got thrown into the fan of habib fans who are aggressively over correcting and i'm not saying this as a negative i believe there's a lot of habib super fans who believe like he's in discussion of the you know greatest of all time and don't feel that he gets the respect for whatever reason. And they're jumping into a lot of battles of trying to protect where in that case, I wasn't necessarily framing this as that proves Habib's not all that.

I'm just saying that I always use this to set up toward the Conor fight. In hindsight, it's almost comical to myself that I picked Conor would knock out Habib. But I used whatever I saw at the end of that Al fight. If I'm looking for any thread to pull or whatever, I think that's what I'm pulling on. I just think there was an overcorrection of outrage. But I'll take the L here because I got to go re-watch it so um then i'll speak with more clarity and you know if you already don't think i'm not yet you know whatever all right i'm dead wrong this is where i'm like he is saying quote this might be one of the most emails we have gotten and comments on youtube people were and

he put yeah because i think they think i'm i think they think i'm tearing down Habib when in reality, I'm willing to make that argument that even though Habib didn't fight everybody that we wished he could have and all that, that he's at the top of that table in that discussion. He's in discussion, Luke. Is he better than? No. Jon Jones is my go. But Habib's not out of that discussion. I've always made that case. Do you know what i'm saying yeah i think what i would say is um you have consistently undermined habib a little along the way every time like in the

moment and i think folks have you know rightly picked up on that but you're not wrong in the big picture about some of the like the fair points you can say about habib's resume like obviously it's amazing but it is short-lived relative to john jones or something like that in me in me keeping alive what i do believe is truth the idea that gaethje was potentially one more cap strike away from putting habib in peril that's not me saying that you know there's this gaping hole in habib's game game dude, Habib had two major injuries that he hit and just fought through in that. And still, when the moment called for it,

put Gaethje away in the snap of his fingers. But I do believe that those kicks were adding to the pain that's already there. And Gaethje was closer than people realize. But Luke, maybe i'm just a white belt uh co-host you know so you see you picked connor to beat him you thought gaethje was one leg kick away you thought ayah quinta pieced him up and you wonder why habib fans might think you've lost your fucking mind i mean did they watch high court episode two luke i fought for that man okay yeah i i would i would say that you're a Habib hater.

I'm not a Habib hater. You know what's true, though? I've always been like Habib's got maybe my favorite game. Which fighter's game, when you watched it play out, were you just like, holy shit? Habib was kind of that guy for me, and so i've always really liked his game and so for that reason like habib fans have never really come for me because i don't think my takes have ever you know set them off i in general i have you know really nice things to say about habib uh you on the other hand have shown on team habib dude i don't understand this no but what i'm saying is wouldn't you agree his fan base and then to an extent makachev's fan base

dude they're like uh they'll come for you. You know what I'm saying? They collect scouts along the way. Yeah, I respect that they mount up and they're like, because look, if you're Habib, you should, again, you should play that angle and fight for that respect. We never saw that guy lose.

I mean, the Tebow fight was weird, but we never saw that guy lose. Okay, Luke, you know what I mean? We didn't. And too bad we never saw the Tony fight. Let's keep going on the dead wrongs. This one's from Christian. On episode 499 at two hours,

34 minutes during Have You Seen This Shit? BC showed the tremendous lung capacity of Justin Gaethje, who took a killer dab rip from an avatar glass and WJC Customs collaboration Starship bong rig.

Luke estimated this piece to be in the price range of $1,000. I'm here to tell you you're dead wrong. While I can't find a source for this particular piece, a Reddit post describes it as valued as $20,000, perhaps a dubious source, so I've linked the glass shop listed in the original ig post which has a similar piece priced at an astounding fifty thousand dollars it turns out these are one of a kind pieces that take months to produce luke step up your knowledge bro you know what i'm saying

i i guess i'm not doing drugs you know advanced enough i i'm not sure you're not doing enough drugs for drugs to win this is true so like you can go to these stores here so dc's weird right so yeah technically marijuana is decriminalized here and some possession is allowed right but that you're not supposed to be like then there are designated you know i've got mine here i got mine here i'm gonna put it way back but your boy has his own you know card right that i use to get into the joints for the dispensaries, right? The thing about it is they have these other stores that just open up and sell weed because it's in this legal gray area. So you don't need a card.

You can just go in and you can buy all the weed you want. And I went into one of those stores and the dude working there was hitting a gravity bong. And it was the most insane bong I'd ever seen in my life. And then I asked him how much it was. And I think it was going to be like 500 bucks. And he was like, this one is $2,000. And I was like, I never even heard of bongs being $2,000. I literally never even heard of it.

So if there's $50,000 b bongs just bury me with that just give me that and let me go you know what i'm saying just okay just shoot me into the sun and let me hit that on the way okay if you took the same rip that gaethje did in that video would you pass out within within a minute and a half you think i'd vomit first and then pass out yes yes again he went out doing what he loved so um wow uh mikey is saying signing bonus for the next contract fifty thousand dollar bong or the leaf blower weed thing bc shows all the time on happy yeah i want one of them joints i want someone with a hair dryer with marijuana smoke blasting me like a dog sticking his head out of the car

window you know what i'm saying yeah yeah if we get the the squirrel bait guy you know that's right guy and he brings like some app razz but then he's gonna wear the american flag on his like a true american luke and he's gonna disgrace the flag in your eyes and then we'll have like a true American Luke and you're, he's going to disgrace the flag in your eyes and that, then we'll have like a debate and then, you know, we'll be storming the steps with uncle Pat Luke probably. Hey, one more dead wrong here from Daz. Aloha donks during episode five Oh one,

uh, one hour 53 BC and referring to his own image on the Scooby-Doo themed average Joe art shirt said, I'm like scrappy. Basically BC while you might be scrappy average joe art clearly drew you as shaggy scooby's best friend and not scrappy scooby's nephew mahalo and congrats on 500 episodes it's daz uh mahalo right back at you daz but i guess i am i'm dead wrong in that case luke it's not scrappy it's not Scrappy, it's Shaggy, of course

it is. It's Shaggy. Shaggy, who was an incel, who probably listened to Kiss, but he did drugs and he was chill. He didn't get any fistfights, you know what I'm saying? And then he went on to be Shaggy Too Dope and sang Klonpas, probably, and drank a lot of I like how you can name the

lead rappers of ICP, but you don't know who Scooby-Doo's handler is. Yeah, yeah. Also, Luke, you know, we're just, that's why we have an accountability segment like Dead Wrong, because they allow us to just, you know, just speak in front of these microphones. Just blather, Luke.

Just, you know what I mean? Listen, you bloated, drunk Lithuanian. Move on with the segment. That's it. That's the end of the segment. That's the end of the show. Thank you to FanDuel Sportsbook for sponsoring our OK Bet segment. We're going to go head-to-head again, and I'm ready, Luke.

Okay? I'm ready for it. Let's do it this week. I'm going to take you downtown. UFC 29 294 are you gonna go live local in late breaking as soon as that abu dhabi affair ends saturday ladies and gentlemen there is only one place to be youtube.com morning combat as soon as that main event for ufc 294 is over, come right back here. We'll have results, analysis, your questions answered. The whole nine yards.

Join me. The 294 Morning Combat Post-Fight Show. Love it. Love it. Mikey said there were extra dead wrongs that were actually Mikey's fault, Luke. He had gotten called out for misspellings on the air and wrong records on OK Bet. So, yes, Mikey gets R. Kelly'd every once in a while, luke but that man gonna pee on you that's what you're gonna do yeah you're in luck yeah all right there we go uh shout out to mikey more mile behind the scenes

that's luke thomas hey do you know who cameron is the rapper? Yeah, kind of, yeah. Okay, so Cameron is one of my favorite rappers. Like, I love Cameron, okay? And he does a show with Mace, the other guy. I remember Mace, the rapper. You mean Mason Betha? Well, he became... The show is called... What the fuck's the name of that show?

It's a play on words for, like... Anyway, do you know who their football correspondent is no oj simpson no for real oj simpson is their football analyst i was like what oh yeah it is what it is is the name of the show it is what it is dude cameron might be the funniest fucking guy on the internet okay he is genuinely hilarious do they deadpan oj or do they like sling at him too they definitely do bits and skits and bits with him they definitely do skits and they do murder bits with him oh no are you serious do i need to like drop everything not quite not quite but you know they definitely kind of lean into hey oj remember when you killed those motherfuckers like they kind of lean into it a little bit

it's like the weirdest shit but cameron is cameron is a genius he's he's fucking funny yeah well shout out also luke to my morning jacket for tearing ass last night just all white folks huh just i bought the poster too look i even bought the poster, too. Look, I even bought the poster. I was so in. You know what I'm saying? Could you tell the difference racially between a My Morning Jacket audience and a Klan rally? Is there racially any difference? Wow. That's such an aggressive leap.

That's not even like. Listen to me. Listen to me. Listen to me. I'm not saying that the people there are racist. Far from it. What I'm saying is just doing a head count on who's there. Could you tell the difference between that and a Klan rally?

This was not a recruiting event. Wow. I can't believe you would go there. But also morningcombat.store is our fantastic merch home. And don't forget Average Joe Art 2.0, the collaboration. It's still there. It's back. There's new items.

You've got to check it out. Morningcombat.store. You see Luke's chest right there. I'd say that's my favorite Average Joe one. But the wrestling mask one is now on there. Check it out. Please, everybody, check it out. You see see i will tell you that the pantera audience they a lot of people who look like dog the bounty hunter you know what i'm saying a lot of people a lot of people yeah i think that guy's fascinating

despite the whole other i mean he's the original tiger king you know i mean he's not really wheeling and dealing with tigers but he just treats poor people like that you know he was always like the hulk hogan of bounty hunters but then he like followed that idolization all the way to the n-word and it was just it was it was shameful he was like i'm just gonna just gonna let the n-word fly he's like i'm just method acting you know i'm just following terry's lead here yeah no no no dog no duane yeah remember when his son was like an m fighter for a hot second, Luke? Yeah, he was. He was actually an MMA fighter when dog was really popular.

I used to get down with that show in like an aggressive level, Luke, okay? I could be wrong about this. I don't think he fought on the prelims of an Elite XC show, but there was a parent company that owned Elite XC as well as other properties called Pro Elite and I think he did fight on the prelims of a Pro Elite card. I believe that's right.

And his boxing coach was that dude Sonny who got into that fight with was it Don Fry that was captured on camera and like beat the piss out of him? You know what I'm talking about? Alright, some people, those that know was it Don Fry that was captured on camera and like beat the piss out of them you don't know all right some people those that know certainly know they know that that's the show for the week so you've heard all of our sellings anything else I'm missing here Luke just just that reminder

tomorrow the content continues we're gonna have you covered post fight UFC 294 join me we're gonna be I love these afternoon cards because I still have energy i'm not doing it at one in the morning i'm gonna be doing it at five in the afternoon absolutely and we have big energy renewed spirit we're coming we're coming guys this let's go this is why you vote for us for awards so we can do big shit we're gonna start doing some big shit luke let's turn this life around okay up my liver first you need to bring your equipment. I think that's a first. Yeah, I should work on the sound. My liver numbers are in a great place. I mean, Luke, let's go.

Let's get to the next level of living. Are you ready? Are you coming on this journey, Luke? Let's bang these hoes. Let's get out there and bang them. I'm feeling these margaritas, Brian Campbell. Yeah, exactly, Brian Campbell. Thank you very much.

That's Luke Thomas. I am Brian Campbell. Tip your waitresses. That's Luke Thomas. I am Brian Campbell. Tip your waitresses. Take care of your head. And don't forget our post-show Saturday, UFC 294. And that's the show. We are out of here.