MORNING KOMBAT WITH LUKE THOMAS AND BRIAN CAMPBELL - UFC Fight Night: Santos vs. Walker | Bellator 267 | Fight Announcements | EP 210

Episode Date: October 1, 2021

On Episode 210 of Morning Kombat Luke and Brian preview UFC Fight Night Santos vs. Walker and Bellator 267. Which fights are the guys most excited for? This week has been full of fight announcement so... the guys break down the latest (Dan Hooker, Dominick Cruz, Raquel Pennington). The guys close out the main topics by breaking down Claressa Shield's comments about Jake Paul and the state of boxing.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Starting point is 00:00:44 Reveley, reveveille, dogs. Look at us now, tip to tip. 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.
Starting point is 00:01:00 Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. Yeah. Friday, October 1st 2021 let me tell you guys you ain't got shit to do that's why you're right here watching the best show in combat sports period this is morning combat my name is brian campbell the american alpha back in the controls where some would say I have belongeth all this time, and back with a bang to set the stage for the weekend to come. In combat sports, particularly mixed martial arts, a lot to get into, fun and games news, touch and tips, all that, and then some tall, pale, and handsome, it is that man right here with the BDE, but let me, enough about me, right? Let's bring in my co-host, probably, probably,
Starting point is 00:01:49 probably the reason why you're really here. He comes from the state of Georgia. His name is Luke Thomas. I'm the devil in the Charlie Daniels song, BC. That's really what I am. Yes. How are you? Nice to see you.
Starting point is 00:02:04 I'm fine, Luke. I'm fine. Thank you. Yes. How are you? Nice to see you. Luke, I'm fine, Luke. I'm fine. Thank you. Luke, how are you feeling on this fine, beautiful New England crisp fall afternoon? Even though, is it still, no, it's in the fall. We're in October. It's a damn fall, bro. I think this is official fall season.
Starting point is 00:02:17 I have to say, I'm pretty excited because while we are going to give you a nice preview for the fights, both, actually like right after the show, basically, Bellator starts at 4 p.m. on Showtime in the East, and then we have UFC, I think, tomorrow. I'm not going to watch the UFC show tomorrow live. I am going to have a nice day off. So I'm excited for that. Hey, Luke, I am also off tomorrow night. I'm going to go see some live comedy.
Starting point is 00:02:40 How about that, bro? Who are you going to see? I forgot the fella's name. I should look it up. I'm seeing him at a small theater here in the old CT. No, he's like a real comic, though. You'd be surprised, bro. I mean, seriously.
Starting point is 00:02:53 But, you know, looking forward to that. By the way, that UFC Fight Night card, which we'll get into, is actually sleepy great tomorrow night. So, you know, look at that. Check out Bellator tonight, all that good stuff. Hey, Luke, speaking of the people, the labels that pay us, 30 days free of Showtime, like, that's not a bad deal at all. And if you want to watch Michael Venom Page versus Douglas Lima 2 while you're eating your dinner on the East Coast tonight,
Starting point is 00:03:17 you know, how about you do it for free? Head on over to Showtime.com. Get your 30-day free trial. Luke, I want to tell you something. I just started billions season one from the beginning I'm loving this shit you watch that I've seen all of season
Starting point is 00:03:32 one and for some reason I just stopped not because I didn't like it I don't know what happened life got in the way but so through season one yeah I thought it was awesome yeah I'm in deep right now I'm loving that you can only catch that on the Showtime app and so enjoy that shit Luke also our critically acclaimed documentary 5.0, aptly titled Healing. It hit this week.
Starting point is 00:03:53 And shout out to all our people for, I mean, not only is it on pace, Luke, commercially to be the best of our five docs. There are some late votes coming in that this artistically might be uh less than jake and tim the camera operators best work yet it's good it's good i watched it for the most part and uh it's definitely the best one since the first one for the most but you're telling me you're not saying much but it is saying something you're telling me you didn't even commit to 17 minutes and by the way the first one is like our fourth best one at this point okay so you you didn't even commit to 17 minutes. And by the way, the first one is like our fourth best one at this point. So you don't even know where we're at in this. It's so on brand, really. But please, if you love what we do every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at this time, 11 a.m. Eastern,
Starting point is 00:04:34 we've got plenty of bonus content. If you're new in this area, go to youtube.com slash morningcombat. You'll get the documentaries. You'll get Luke's new Monday extra credit project. You're not getting that live chat anymore. That, that business has been put on over on a rival network, but you're going to get, uh, my career retrospective of Manny Pacquiao's retirement this week, interviews and all that good stuff. So support us there. Check that out. But Luke, um, real quick last night was the world, uh, podcasting awards and you and i were up for best male podcast best sports podcast
Starting point is 00:05:06 and best podcast overall which is legitimately awesome we didn't win any of them but we did get recognized uh through fan voting as one of the um uh what's the title i'm looking for here influential the we were we were we were named one of five podcasts under the title of fan influential which means people listen to our show and they are influenced to want to start their own podcast i think or maybe want to maybe want to stop listening to podcasts altogether but either way luke that was the fans voting for us we appreciate that we'll still see what happens in voting season if we can bring home that world mma best mma programming award we'll see what happens in voting season if we can bring home that world MMA, best MMA programming award. We'll see what happens there.
Starting point is 00:05:47 2021 listener influencer of the year, and we were on a list of five. So there you go. So thanks, everyone. Thank you to our fans on that. Merch, you want merch? We got great merch. I was just talking to RJ Dunkelmaker about it, Luke. We got some great ideas coming.
Starting point is 00:06:02 But for right now, morningcombat.store Get your tie-dyed dad hat with MK on it. Get your hoodies. Factory Town MMA. All that good shit. There's a lot of fun stuff on there, Luke, if you dig. So check that out. morningcombat.store. The code, by the way. Oh, you want something for free?
Starting point is 00:06:20 How about 10% off of the price? How about you just test drive this, okay? Put a little bit of it on your skin. See how it feels. See how it looks. It'll make your curves vivacious. Live 10 today only is your code for 10% off at morningcombat.store. Finally, Luke, before we get into a fun weekend preview, this weekend isn't just fights.
Starting point is 00:06:41 The NFL is kicking up another notch. And we know you're already going to be watching the games on Sunday. So why don't you sprinkle a little cheddar on top of there? If you know where I'm going, our friends at DraftKings are continuing this incredible introductory deal for new subscribers to download the DraftKings Sportsbook app. Of course, if you don't know DraftKings, they are the official betting sponsor of both the NFL and UFC and many others. And if you download this app and you place at least a $1 bet on any football game using our special code, that's COMBAT with a K, you slide that code in, they'll slide $150 into your bank account to use on DraftKings bets. And you can use that money, by the way, on football, on MMA, on boxing,
Starting point is 00:07:29 whatever the hell you want. You want to bet how long it'll take before Luke and I implode and quit this show and start going separate ways? And I do my own live chat on Thursdays head-to-head, which is coming. Hopefully we'll get those odds on DK as well. Luke, give me a better deal than, hey, I never really bet on sports before. How about $150 to check it out? There doesn't exist one.
Starting point is 00:07:51 You use the promo code COMBAT, as you mentioned, with a K, and you get some great stuff. Two games, you know, those CBS games that I got my eye on. Two of the better games this weekend, Steelers-Packers. That'll be a 425 on Sunday. Packers should win that one. Steelers are a bit of a mess. And then Raven a 425 on Sunday. Packers should win that one. Steelers are a bit of a mess. And then Ravens-Broncos.
Starting point is 00:08:08 Ravens should win that. The Broncos are a mess. They're not the mess the way the Steelers are. But the Ravens are a very, very, very resilient, very good team, setting records for longest field goals in games and stuff like that. So two fun games to keep your eye on. But there's a bevyvy a slate of good games my uh Washington football numbers are going to be playing the Falcons at the coveted 1 p.m slot boy when you have most of
Starting point is 00:08:32 your games in that coveted 1 p.m slot that just tells you the NFL thinks your team is poo-poo so there you go yeah I'm going to be checking out that Ravens at Broncos game there at 425 on CBS that's Eastern time on Sunday. Should be a good one. Luke, also, you could bet on Tom Brady walking back into New England, walking back into Foxborough. You interested in that at all?
Starting point is 00:08:53 I don't want to say what I actually think, which is cruel and unusual in its punishment. I'll just say I hope that they both somehow lose. You're like, I hope they're drug testing for that one. All right, there's the DraftKings deal. DK and MK, what could go wrong, right? All right, yeah, that's great. Okay, that's all the business we've got for this week.
Starting point is 00:09:17 Thank you again to our great fans who support us, who click like on this video, who are willing to go as far as subscribing on our march to 100K. Guys, we're like at 98 and a half thousand. We are so damn close to Luke telling some awful story. Isn't that what the prize is, Luke, for 100,000 subscribers? I thought it was two, right?
Starting point is 00:09:38 Wasn't it? Wasn't it 200K? I think I'm getting a tattoo at 150. I don't remember that anymore. But this has been great. Please continue this relationship. And don't remember that anymore. But this has been great. Please continue this relationship. And also, Apple Podcast Review.
Starting point is 00:09:51 Some of you people are audio only, and I respect that. Must be fun doing Have You Seen This Shit. But I respect that. If you are, and if you're not either, you could really help us out by going to Apple Podcasts, doing a review. Five stars. Tell us what you like. Tell us what you don't like, okay? Just tell us right here this means
Starting point is 00:10:05 a lot to our employers and it could go a long way in bc and lt continuing look there's some talk about us hitting the road for vegas for canelo live shows i mean there are some fun things that we want to do with our people so do these little free things to support us so that we can ask you a serious question how much shit are we going to have to eat from our fan base for going to the canelo fight which you know is a showtime product and the number one pound for pound boxer in the sport instead of the ufc that weekend because our fans obviously like mma more than boxing what do you think surface level there'll be some shit sandwiches being cooked up but once they realize how in-depth and detailed we're going to preview that UFC card all week, how we are going to respond to every
Starting point is 00:10:48 big press event that week with a reaction video, how we are going to cover the balls out of that, Luke, they're going to be like, you know what? Those guys weren't even on the ground there, and I think they were the MVPs of the coverage this weekend. You know, if you like Doc 5, we're shooting Doc 6 that week
Starting point is 00:11:03 in Las Vegas. So, Luke, so much great stuff involving this show and those hardcore pearl clutch and mma fans who were like get that boxing out of this show you know they can um they can sit on a cactus and turn sideways look for all i care okay that's a good way of putting it we're gonna have our work cut out for us but i'm up to the challenge bc yes yes i've never backed down from a fight luke unless it didn't you know as long as it doesn't involve actually fighting and i'm i'm not backing down luke okay thank you very much good all right that's the show for us this week no we're just getting started with our first topic our biggest topic of the day let's do this thing where's my nose let's bang tooey yeah hey tooey let's my notes? Let's bang, Tooey. Yeah, hey, Tooey, let's bang.
Starting point is 00:11:46 Oh, look, this is a good one. Saturday night, Apex in Las Vegas, UFC fight night. A light, heavyweight banger of a main event. I mean, this has kind of gone under the radar. This will end up being the first time we're really talking about this. But former 205-pound title challenger Tiago Maheta Santos, who, by the way, just knocked up Yana. Congratulations to them.
Starting point is 00:12:08 Goes in there against fellow big-time highlight reel deliverer and fellow Brazilian Johnny Walker. Luke, since we haven't even really reacted much to this, when you see Maheta versus Walker, I mean, what are your expectations just from entertainment when these two guys touch off on Saturday night? I get vibes of Czech Congo versus Pat Barry, you know? Something like that.
Starting point is 00:12:35 I'm not saying it will end as spectacularly. That's not what I mean. But, you know, one guy getting rocked and then chasing the other guy and the other guy running into punches. It's not to say that they're not capable of more scientific fighting. They can be really good when they want to be. For example, if you think about Johnny Walker's win over Misha Surkinov, Surkinov is pressing, and then he gets intercepted
Starting point is 00:12:55 by a perfectly timed jump knee from Johnny Walker. He's just brilliant. And Tiago Santos, how many great knockouts has he had? Their resumes, in that sense, speak for themselves. Do you know, and the fans know as And Tiago Santos, how many great knockouts has he had? Like, their resumes in that sense speak for themselves, dude. But you know, and the fans know as well as I do, two questions. One, Walker claims to be a little bit more like, you know, trying to follow best practices. I think that's a work in progress because he didn't really do that against Ryan Spann, but still got the win.
Starting point is 00:13:21 Okay, so there's that. Then the other part with Tiago Santos is, dude, everyone and their brother was telling me with great certainty that fighting Jon Jones, despite having those, during the middle of the fight anyway, both knees completely torn was a good idea. Well, was it a good idea? Because now that bill is due.
Starting point is 00:13:41 And when the bill comes due, everyone wants to pretend that the bill is not due. If you want to argue, you should compete with catastrophic injuries that could absolutely shorten or even end your career in a championship fight fine then make that argument but you can't run from the other side of that argument which is if you're going to make it that means after that fight you might have some serious complications in your career and it looks like that might be the case for Tiago Santos who appears to have lost quite a step including explosivity along the way now he fought good fighters and he fought a guy in Rackage last fight BC who is completely different than Johnny Walker I mean he's big and tall and athletic but the point being is he was he's really good about
Starting point is 00:14:19 minding his range this way and he does a lot of fates and faking and he only really goes on minimal occasions you know Walker I think is just going to walk headlong into things and maybe he wins and maybe he doesn't so it makes Santos's chances of winning much better in that sense but dude these are guys where there's a lot of questions how good is Johnny Walker can Tiago Santos get back to the mountaintop I like this fight even though it's a little bit crazy look on paper it's it's it's batshit crazy that's why love it. And the fact that I think you identified it properly, that they're both kind of wounded, vulnerable action heroes in this one. And it's like Johnny Walker snapped that two-fight skid against Ryan Spann. But look,
Starting point is 00:15:00 he was on the way to getting beat up in that fight. I mean, if he had lost three in a row there, that would have been a catastrophic turn for his career. And now you've got a 37-year-old Maheta fresh off those injuries who is also fresh off three-fight losing skit of his own. So, Luke, Maheta badly needs this win to retain sort of an elite status. And it's tough because I agree with you. I don't think he's the same guy he was in that Jones fight. But I disagree on the do we look back and question the price and all that.
Starting point is 00:15:31 Dude, he was a late bloomer in a lot of ways after he moved up in weight and finally got confident enough and efficient enough. I mean, he's always been a slugger. But that build to the Jon Jones fight, he figured it out. That was his window. And, you know, he went for it. And on some people's scorecards, Luke, he had won that three rounds to two. And at the very least, he 100% disarmed Jon Jones
Starting point is 00:15:54 and made him fight a tactical, almost sort of like plotting, careful fight in a lot of ways and was scary as shit in big moments. You know, if he came back and was washed i still would have argued that it might be worth it to at least have on your record that you you know if he had pulled that off he'd been champion for a day at least he would have been beaten first guy to beat john jones cleanly okay it didn't happen he almost beat glover to share though in that comeback fight in which he had some big moments early. But things have not gone his way since. So this is the fight to tell us which direction he's really heading in. And I don't know if you listened to Johnny Walker on Ariel Helwani this week,
Starting point is 00:16:35 Luke, on the MMA Hour. Did you? I missed it. What did he say? He basically said, I need to go to hell. I want Tiago Santos to take me to hell because I want that for the fans to respect me because that's how I want to win this fight. He's like, I don't want to go in there and knock him out.
Starting point is 00:16:54 I want to come out of there with blood and guts and bruises. I mean, it was an intense sort of for a guy who's normally the circus clown. First of all, I give him credit for doing that whole interview in English. But second off, he was just like, I want to get dirty. And Luke, what's crazy is we're wondering, you know, Johnny Walker came out and almost had some
Starting point is 00:17:14 accidental huge knockouts in that early run where we're like, holy shit, this guy's an athlete, and he goes after it, but is he really that good? You could argue that he should be wanting to come out here and strike from the outside and work calf strikes against uh you know mehetta and try to be the younger more active guy and luke he's openly saying i want to i want to get into a war with this man nobody should ever want to get in a war with a guy with Thor's hammer on his chest. I mean, this is going to, to me, Luke, this only ups the ante that we're going to see
Starting point is 00:17:49 what we want to see. Absolute fireworks and huge swings of momentum from these two. Now, as we look at the odds, Maheta is a minus 155 favorite. Johnny Walker plus 135 underdog on the DraftKings app. Is that about right to you? I may have had it slightly the other way. I just feel like Santos is, I don't know. That's, I's, um,
Starting point is 00:18:29 I, I have a hard, I really have a hard time. I have a hard time coming to a conclusion about the method of victory here, dude, because you know, as well as I, not just knowing method timing of it. Uh, does it like, everyone's like, oh, this could be over in 30 seconds. Yes. And it could just as plausibly go the distance. Like, these two are very, very hard to pinpoint. Santos would have been a little bit easier to pinpoint a couple of years ago. But everything since makes it a little bit more difficult to understand.
Starting point is 00:18:58 Whereas Walker, I feel like he'll give... Yeah, Santos is the slight favorite, right? Santos is the slight favorite, yes. I will say Santos has beaten probably better opposition. And so for that reason, even with the lingering questions, he might still have more firepower, and he might bring the fight to Walker in a way where Walker's a little bit unassuming about it.
Starting point is 00:19:21 So in that sense, I can kind of get by on it. But dude, this is one of those fights where i was like you know we want you to bet with the draft king sportsbook app but i don't know if this is the one to put the whole 150 prize pot on you know what i'm saying i'm gonna spread the risk around a little bit yeah let's not forget the mojito was that guy who won eight fights and eight out of nine to get the john jones title. And, you know, he's finishing Blachowicz, Jimmy Manua, Eric Anders. He beat Kevin Holland. He finished Anthony Smith, Jack Hermanson, Gerald Mearshar, Jack Marshman.
Starting point is 00:19:52 I mean, that was a run. I just don't think he's that same guy anymore. But, Luke, if I'm hearing these quotes of Johnny Walker saying, you know, I'm just going to run in there and do my shit, dude, you might pay the price for that. Because last time I checked, Luke, Tiago Santos may be incomplete and not the same killer, but he's not easily hurt or stopped or, you know,
Starting point is 00:20:17 I mean, you come in there looking for this kind of fight, you're going to get it. I don't think, I don't know. Maybe Johnny Walker's got some tricks up his sleeve or maybe because we've seen him get spectacular finishes on, you know, surprise sort of knees and kicks and just, you know, I mean, look, it's almost like he just mortal combat style just runs out there and slams the buttons and something happens. But I think Tiago can withstand a storm like that. And, you know, to your point, we don't know. This could be a back-and-forth dramatic thing that goes full roundage
Starting point is 00:20:47 and then things like their ground game comes into factor. I tend to believe we're going to get what's promised, though, an early finish. And it's probably going to be not who gets who first, but who gets who best, Luke. You know what I'm saying? And I'm going to stand with the favorite because I think Thiago Santos, or I know that he needs this win, and I think there's still a little bit left in there.
Starting point is 00:21:10 Maybe not to win a title. You know, there was an edge. He had an edge in that John Jones fight. I mean, he was a live, freaking dangerous animal in that fight. I think we'll see him back. I think we'll see him back in another big fight. So he's got to beat this guy. And you're telling me this guy's coming at him?
Starting point is 00:21:29 This is why I bring up the Pat Berry and Chet Congo thing, BC, is because I feel like both guys have the capacity with one shot to end it. Not so much with pure punching power with Johnny Walker, but with some of the crazier strikes he can throw. And then Taco Santos can sit you down with one if he has to. But I just feel like there's going to be at least one scenario in this fight where someone does get hit, but it's not the one hitter quitter. It's where they put someone on skates, and then the Three Stooges skit
Starting point is 00:21:59 begins to catch into motion because that's what happened with Ryan Spann. And ultimately, it didn't work for Ryan Spann he over pursued and got hammer-fisted um along the fence into being finished like dude how he was winning and just until he wasn't so that's when that's one of these scenarios where like I feel like this is a little bit different but in many ways kind of similar to the Ryan Spann Johnny Walker fight Walker fight. Luke, what do you think? You know, I mean, the winner of this is going to be in the mix, but what's the future looking like at this weight class in your eyes when we have Jan Blahowicz defending against Glover Teixeira next? You've got Prochocka ranked 2, Rakic ranked 3,
Starting point is 00:22:39 your boy Anthony Smith coming off a win ranked 4th, and Mejeta's 5, by the way, and Johnny Walker 10, so you see the importance of this. Obviously the upside in the short term with a win is Maheta at number five to get back in there. How big of a name could he get off of this with a win? I still think that the UFC brass are probably going to, here's the thing. You can't just beat Johnny Walker, right?
Starting point is 00:23:04 If you get a win over him where he walks into something it's a nice win for tiago santos and it counts and it's it's not like it's in any way illegitimate but ufc brass probably have some question about the guy like what is left with him after everything he's gone through and the age he's at and everything else like i mean the surgeries he had dude he had both of his knees were completely destroyed it took a long time to come back from that and so again even though he was ready to fight maybe he actually wasn't ready it took some time so I think they're just trying to figure out what they've got you can't just beat Johnny Walker if you're getting bludgeoned and you throw like a eyes closed haymaker and it lands you gotta show that you got some life you gotta
Starting point is 00:23:41 show and by the way if he shows he's got some life, even in a loss where, you know, there's a way you could kind of say, okay, it didn't go his way, but I'm definitely seeing improvements. There's a lot of ways he can improve his stock, but it's going to take a,
Starting point is 00:23:54 it's going to take some time to get back to like, I mean, the rackage fight wasn't close, right? It wasn't close. So like to get back to a title shot, you're going to have to go through several. I think of these guys again, you know, I think for for uh for santos here maybe win or lose maybe you know
Starting point is 00:24:10 win or maybe lose but look good it's another man on a three fight losing skid who was once super elite and who we thought might actually have beaten john jones and that's dominic reyes number six in your ranking he's lost three in a row yes Jesus how did I not realize that well the Blahovic fight for the title and then he was in that absolute war with with what Prochazka right yes which Prochazka won um and that's that would be two so what's the third oh the Jones one well I thought he won the Jones fight but okay to your, to your point, yes, it's a three-fight losing streak. That's interesting. I hadn't really thought of it.
Starting point is 00:24:47 Yeah. Dude, it's in my mind so much that Reyes won that fight that I forgot that the count is a loss. It's a loss. You got to count it. So that's interesting. There was a period there, Luke, where I thought Johnny Reyes was climbing up your dick rankings, like, at almost an Anthony Smith level pace.
Starting point is 00:25:03 Like, you love Anthonyony smith you freaking love yourself some volkanovski and adesanya like these are the mount rushmore's of like on your ceiling when you lay down at night and you're just like man i fucking love these guys i thought it dom reyes was getting carved like they were carving out some face room for him up there whereas i got like rose and joanna and you know well i'll say i'll say this for dominic reyes i mean obviously he's got some work to do to get back to where he was. But the thing that I thought that was really, it was a two-part process that got me kind of sympathetic to him.
Starting point is 00:25:33 One was that I thought he fairly won. And then I thought the Texas judges did him no favors. And like, again, we go back to like, forget about the arrest, which I know you cannot. But let's, for just a moment, time out on that. And just talking about Jon Jones at heavyweight, everyone just assumed there was going to be this coronation like okay well the heavyweights aren't going to fight him exactly like Dominic Reyes but dude Dominic Reyes just gave him a shit ton of problems like this I and they didn't do all that great
Starting point is 00:25:57 against Anthony Smith and he didn't do all that great against Tiago Santos like this idea that he was just going to go to heavyweight and beat the fuck out of everybody as an assumed thing. I'm like, did you not watch these fights? Because they were close. And I thought he lost the right Reyes one. The other part was how Reyes did it, using motion to create openings and that kind of a thing. That was a really admirable thing that he did in terms of advancing his game. And he'd only been fighting professionally since 2014 or something.
Starting point is 00:26:24 So that was just a really standout performance to me that wasn't properly honored and sometimes you know you can assume that you can get a little ahead of yourself but I still think he's very talented he's got some big wins in his future so just to close on this fight when I know it's going to be crazy I do
Starting point is 00:26:40 tend to go with the guy I think who has the biggest weapon on the battlefield I think that's Mejeta here I'm going to go with the guy, I think, who has the biggest weapon on the battlefield. I think that's Mejeta here. I'm going to go with him to knock out Johnny Walker. Do you have a feel either way? I know you're a little bit of an absolute bitch when it comes to this part of the game, but do you have a feel either way?
Starting point is 00:26:59 Again, this is one you have to admit, dude. If you were betting, you might avoid this one, right? Yeah, yeah. Well, bet the under. Bet bet the under for sure i'll tell you that much i guess i will slightly lean toward no you know what i'll pick the upset i'll take walker i feel like santos is in trouble i recognize he could end it at a dude i completely recognize he could end it at a moment's notice but i'll take i'll take the uh I'll take the underdog here. What do you think about the reports that, this is true, Michelle Pedeta is in Johnny Walker's corner on his team ahead of this fight?
Starting point is 00:27:32 I mean, this is like they're just going to rub their crazy balls against each other. Luke, I don't know what we're going to see after this. Can't hurt to have a guy like that telling you what to do in that part of the game, but how much that will matter. Dude, it's like, oh, I've got this scientist in my corner. I've got this guy in my corner. I've got this expert in my corner. Right, but dude, the donkery starts every time one of y'all gets hit.
Starting point is 00:27:52 Like, what good are they? What good are they once the Three Stooges gets into fucking, you know, that kind of thing? Might as well add Coach LaTorre. You know, you're doing great, Mike. You're doing great. All right, you look great. Yeah, all right.
Starting point is 00:28:03 Luke, your co-main event are middleweights. Kevin Holland enters as a betting favorite at minus 165, despite a two-fight losing skid against Derek Brunson and Marvin Vittori. When he welcomes Philadelphia's own and the brother of heavyweight Chris Dawkus, it's Kyle Dawkus plus 145. Luke, this should be an interesting clash here. When you look at their styles what do you think we're gonna see I think I have a lot of respect for Kyle Dawkus I I think of well Chris
Starting point is 00:28:35 is making a better run for himself recently but I have to tell you like I feel like when you look at Dawkus's game it's well-rounded it's It's modern. He's big for the weight class. Kevin Holland is too. So you got both guys sitting at 6'3". But I don't feel he's really maximized his potential yet. And I think part of the reason why they made this fight is that Daucus has a lot of different tricks in a lot of different portions of the game. But one area where he can be a little bit behind the eight ball, I think to this point, is his takedown accuracy is not very high. I think it's like sub 30%. And so when that's the case, and by the way, that isn't like, oh, that sounds like so low.
Starting point is 00:29:16 Shouldn't it be 70, 80? No, Habib was less than 50. He was still high 40s. The point being is you don't have to get every single takedown attempt. And if you look at like Robert Whitaker's numbers, they're pretty low too, because a lot of those takedown attempts, they look like takedown attempts. Technically they are, but they're set up for strikes or just to turn you. They're not really designed to take you down. So even with that number, pump the brakes on what the implications are. Still, the tape shows it as well. It's not
Starting point is 00:29:41 his strongest asset. So if you're Kevin Holland and you've had wake-up call after wake-up call after wake-up call about the need to work on this, you have an opponent who still is probably going to try to take you down. That's not the best part of his game. He has other parts of his game, by the way, that you cannot lose sight of. I think he can stand with Holland, at least for short periods, if he can rough it up in the middle and then get a takedown or whatever over time. This is the right kind of fight for either guy
Starting point is 00:30:07 because one guy needs to level up past what they've been doing to beat the other guy. This is the one where it's like, okay, I've done my homework. All right, now you've got to do it on the pop quiz. Now you've got to show it. If you say you did it before, this is the time to bring that to bear. It's actually really smart matchmaking, and I like like it a lot i think it's a great fight yeah this is this is i mean we're not officially in put up or shut up time for holland he had taken fights last minute
Starting point is 00:30:35 i mean like he's he's a crazy man he'll fight anybody at any time but you're coming off a two fight skid against elite fighters now you're sort of taking a little bit of a step down here kyle dawkins just to you, has lost two of three against Brendan Allen and against Phil Dawes. So both could use a win. This is an opportunity for Kevin Holland to get back in the good graces of where he was in that opportunistic 2020, Luke, where he was fighting anybody at any time and putting together, you know,
Starting point is 00:31:00 one win after another. It was kind of a fun surprise story. This should be fun. The odds are close. It's telling you how well this is matched. And Luke, the fight right before this, a welterweight... I'll just say this for Kevin Holland real fast to end on this. Sorry to cut you off. Just very quickly.
Starting point is 00:31:14 You can say this very cleanly. Kyle... Excuse me. Kevin Holland has beaten better guys. That doesn't mean he's automatically a shoe-in for Saturday, but I want to give him credit. The wins that Dawkus has are interesting, and that loss to Brendan Allen, I think Brendan Allen's a very good fighter,
Starting point is 00:31:30 so it's like you can let that go. So is Phil Hawes, but at some point, you've got to beat one of those two to level up. He was getting beat, but Kevin Holland fucking knocked out Jacare, and he beat Darren Stewart, I think, as well. Those are good fighters he beat there Stewart I think uh as well like those are good fighters he beat there he won five times in 2020 I mean that was uh right that was uh you know welcome to the uh to the feature role here so you know I think that's why he's favored here better better
Starting point is 00:31:54 competition you know he's got he's got a little go get it too Luke and it's not that Dawkus doesn't I mean Dawkus's brother certainly has but this is but this is really a big opportunity for either one, I mean, in a co-main spot here. And Luke, I love the matchmaking and the welterweight tilt before that when the wild man Nico Price coming off a winless stretch in three fights, but a stretch in which he's trying to reinvent himself
Starting point is 00:32:19 post-quitting marijuana, Luke, and really dedicating himself at age 32. He'll be a minus 170 favorite against Alex Cowboy Oliveira himself on a two-fight losing skid. Plus 150 is Oliveira. Luke, Nico Price is one of those
Starting point is 00:32:36 dudes that, you know, you can tell me every fight that you're going to be a little bit more refined and serious and mature. But, bro, you like to bang. It's like, you know, it's like, look, in all seriousness, you know, one of the first times I knew John Jones was going to have issues, I think it was after the cocaine test. I interviewed him.
Starting point is 00:32:51 He came to ESPN and he's like, Brett Okamoto is not interviewing me. So they're like, oh, we got this other dude, this editor at BC, he'll do it. And then John was like, you know what, man, I quit the drugs and stuff, but I still just love hanging out at clubs with my boys. So, you know what man i quit the drugs and stuff but i still just love hanging out at clubs with my boys so you know we're trying our best to do it the safe way and i'm just like john like you can't
Starting point is 00:33:12 hang out at clubs when you got issues and it's like you know this is like nico price saying man you know whores are a bad thing for me but bro the architecture of these brothel houses like i just can't get away from it. Luke, this man will bang on Saturday against Cowboy Oliveira because that's what that guy does. You don't take a hooker out for dinner, Luke, okay? These two are going to consummate for our pleasure. It's a weird way of describing the fight, but what I would say is Oliveira just won't let him. Oliveira is not going to have a fight on the outside where they can just do their best Volkanovski impressions. You know what I mean?
Starting point is 00:33:48 He's going to get in his face. He's going to rough him up. And Nico Price knows what he's doing. Like, he, I'm sure, has trained all the very best practices that he needs. And obviously has enough experience at this point to bring these things to bear. And I think, in times, he really has. You know, losing to Luque or whatever,
Starting point is 00:34:09 like, you know, Luque's a tremendous talent. So, um, no harm, no foul there. But I, I think that Nico Price is probably the more talented of the two. And I tend to think he will win, but a guy like Olivera, dude, he'll do strange things. He'll try to jump on the back when he's not supposed to. And most of the time it won't work, but sometimes it does. Sometimes he'll pull guard. Most of the time it doesn't work but sometimes it does sometimes he'll pull guard most of the time it doesn't work sometimes it does he'll wing shots he'll spin when he's not supposed to but he can also be beaten by pressure he can be beaten by consistent effort he can be beaten by body work so this is really like a test of price like what kind of fight do you want to have and I think you're right PC either way fans are going to win either you're going to get a price who I think is going to be as scientific as he can and maybe he wins maybe he doesn't but
Starting point is 00:34:48 he's going to apply the game and I think these two are action oriented no matter what or you're going to get a price who just says fuck it man let's just see what happens when we go crazy and it'll be fun his last fight against Michelle Pineda you know it was a somewhat of a featured fight on the pay-per-view. Luke, I was there. It turned into... Was I there? Was I the hell there, Luke? What was that?
Starting point is 00:35:08 UFC 264? You might have been. The hell card was that? You remember? I don't. All right. I'll just hijack the show for that. That's fine.
Starting point is 00:35:17 Okay. Anyway, Luke, that fight turned into an absolute war. It was fun as shit. That's sort of what happens and he fought well in that but he came up empty in a decision i think he's better than cowboy olivera i know people are getting upset abc we want actual analysis not just consummation jokes but hey guys i follow the news cycle and luke did you see the news headline that came out of the build for this fight. Are you prepared for this? Father of 11 children, Cowboy Oliveira, was asked this week when he was told that Nico Price and his wife
Starting point is 00:35:51 were expecting their sixth child. Oliveira was asked what advice does he have for Nico now that he's getting up, you know, they got more than a starting five there in the Price household. Luke, quote, Oliveira said, get a vasectomy. Your thoughts. This is not a joke. This is, I mean, you can.
Starting point is 00:36:11 No, listen, can you imagine like the alimony if you split with your significant other on that? It's like, dude, you know, live the life you want to live, but I'm trying to hold on to my paycheck. All right, Oliveira was interviewed by MMA Fighting. His actual quote was, I'd tell him, if you can get a vasectomy already, do it, brother. I was sexist. Will it continue the same way after surgery? And I got 11 kids. If I had done surgery
Starting point is 00:36:33 before, I would have only had four or five kids. Yeah, but Luke, he wouldn't have had 11 times the joy. You know what I'm saying? You can't be like, all right, I wish I only had five, so let me pick out the six that I like the least. Right? Luke, you can't do that. You can't be like all right i wish i only had five so let me pick out the six that i like the least right look you can't do that you can't give them back no no you can't i wonder if you have 11 kids do you really love all 11 the same is that really true it's a fair question
Starting point is 00:36:57 your dad has three and we wonder that the same luke yeah i think i think it uh i think it wore off uh after after the, but we'll see. Luke, who do you think is your dad's favorite? It's got to be your sister, right? Yeah, for sure. My sister's the only one of us who speaks French because they lived in Paris when she was born. And she lived in Paris until she was eight or nine or something.
Starting point is 00:37:19 So they got a special thing going on. And me and my brother fucking run to the litter. Yo, bro, I know a quick way to win over your dad this late in life. Just learn Indian, Luke. Learn Indian? What language is Indian? The language that they speak in India, Luke. Yeah, they don't speak India.
Starting point is 00:37:39 I apologize for my comedic ignorance, Luke. Yes, I know. Okay, thank you. Thank you. You should go to Columbia and speak Colombian to him. What a comedic train wreck this show has become and always was. All right, I like Pryce in this fight, by the way. It's a really good opportunity for him to get a much-needed win.
Starting point is 00:37:58 Luke, how jazzed are you? I'm telling you, this fight night card bangs. How jazzed are you on this middleweight tilt pairing Misha Surkinov and Christo Jutko? Christof, sorry. Surkinov, both of these guys have a lot to prove. Jutko is in a different position because he's kind of always been... Jutko was the guy that... Jutko was the...
Starting point is 00:38:21 He's been that guy from Europe who you're just kind of like, oh yeah, he's like UFC level, but you didn't know if he was ever going to be more than just sort of a guy who had ability and was important for UFC's efforts into Europe. Like how could he, could he really become a top contender with a guy like Serkanov? Serkanov was a guy who came in with a ton of hype, trains with Faraz Ahabi the whole nine yards. Remember he broke Alex Nicholson's jaw trying to secure a choke. Like, he's got a fucking squeeze and a half. I think he's one of two fighters
Starting point is 00:38:52 with a Peruvian necktie finish. It's amazing, right? But he's had a ton of misfortune that I don't think, certainly I will candidly admit, I did not see coming. Dude, this is a get-right fight. For Jotko, this would be the best opponent I think you could make a claim he's beaten um maybe that's a little bit debatable but certainly it would be a
Starting point is 00:39:10 great win for him at a bare minimum and then for Surkinov it's like okay it's one thing to lose to some of the bigger names or to have you know the Johnny Walker fight kind of got you out of nowhere Jotko in theory should be one that Surkinov wins, but can you say with confidence, BC, you think that's going to happen? I mean, maybe, right? It'll be a fun fight, though. I like the games these two bring. They're going to bang. This is going to be fun. This card, it's well-matched, Luke,
Starting point is 00:39:37 and if you consider that this deep on the main card, we also have a women's bantamweight tilt that is very important here as Aspen Ladd, a top contender whose delay, layoff, has now extended almost two full years. Of course, she had reconstructive surgery on her, I believe, her knee. And then her comeback fight against Macy Chazon was canceled when Macy pulled out due to a leg injury. So now we're back at it on Saturday night, Luke, and how thin this Bantamweight division is. We've been waiting for some time to see if Ladd is for real. Yes, she had that very quick knockout loss to Jermaine Durandamy,
Starting point is 00:40:13 but she rebounded nicely to beat Yana Kunitskaya. And, Luke, there's a little bit of sauce entering this fight because Macy has heard the comments that Aspen talked about regarding her pulling out of that fight and now Macy's like this girl's gonna talk some shit that's classless I'm gonna make her pay for it and her quote was uh essentially that Aspen has done a lot of shit herself she's definitely pulled out of fights the day of um Luke does this add a little bit of um I don't know anything that can alter the outcome here as we look at Ladd being a minus 280 favorite against plus 225 for Chaison.
Starting point is 00:40:50 I don't think so. Chaison is big for the weight class. She's talented. I think that, you know, you saw Aspen Ladd, what, she was able to win on the ground against Kunitskaya with a big push towards the end of that fight, which is interesting. Against Chiesa, that's going to be much harder to come by. I think she's much better there. I think, again, from a frame standpoint, she's naturally bigger. So this is interesting for Aspen Ladd, who's been kind of like, oh, she's the next big thing. And, you know, to lose to Duran Dimee in the way that she did,
Starting point is 00:41:20 where you could argue the stoppage was a little bit early. But either way, you know, Duran Dimee is one of the best strikers ever in women's MMA and just a phenomenal talent who has improved herself. The winner of Kunitskaya was good, but I don't know that really answers the question. It's very good, but does it tell you that she's got the requisite skills to beat Chiesan, who I think would probably beat Kunitskaya the same kind of way, at least in theory? It's an interesting test. Plus, there's a huge reach disadvantage, 66 to 72 inches.
Starting point is 00:41:50 And as a height disadvantage, 5'6 versus 5'11. Like, dude, there's a lot of... This is a big test for Aspen Ladd. I'll put it that way, dude. You get past Macy Chiasan, who, you know, is she the best fighter in this division? I don't think she is yet. Maybe she will be one day.
Starting point is 00:42:05 But she's got a lot of different parts of her game with the height, the length, the skill, in terms of the ground specifically. I think it's going to give Aspen Ladd some real problems. I am very curious to see what kind of attack she uses to overcome these problems. I like Macy's cut, too. She's got the wild spike sort of sideways hair going on, Luke. She has a better haircut than you and I will ever have.
Starting point is 00:42:28 That is true. I am envious of her haircut. That is absolutely true. Macy's ranked 11th, Aspen led 3rd, but of course, the long layoff has some questions to answer. Luke, number one seed Jermaine Durandamy was supposed to be fighting Irene Aldana in November, but she pulled out of that fight.
Starting point is 00:42:44 We know Holly Holmes got a fight scheduled, so it's going to be interesting because although Amanda Nunes is fighting number five, Juliana Pena, you wonder if Nunes could be headed into a Shevchenko fight after that. So for Ladd, you're going to need to package some wins to kind of, you know, get back to that point where you're ready to find out how great you are, but she needs this one first. Luke, I'm not afraid to linger on this card i don't care you know you can tell me to keep going but there's 1144 i would like to move on but all right luke one of my favorite fighters of all time betch cohea is ready to say goodbye are we doing a betch breakdown seriously i mean the 38 year old banger who has already retired but now
Starting point is 00:43:22 is back trying to have one more to go off on her own terms luke she's a plus 375 underdog against carol rosa who's minus 510 luke um betch has won just once i believe in the nine fights since she lost to ronda rousey for the title when she lost her unbeaten record it's been not good since then for old betch goheo i remember when she lost her unbeaten record. It's been not good since then for old Betch Goheia. I remember when she talked Holly home some trash. She was like, come on, come on. You know, you're going to come, Holly. Come on, Luke.
Starting point is 00:43:51 And then she got head kicked to the other side of hell. But Luke, that celebration dance that she does, I mean, it's Shevchenko-like, right? Except it's a little more racy. It's actually a lot more racy. Luke, do you think we will see you bet you do that one more time probably not probably not I feel like when you're this late in your run uh and with all the known issues that she has we there's still a lot that is unknown about Rosa's upside that you know
Starting point is 00:44:19 I don't think they have any mutual opponents either uh so it's a little hard i yeah i'll go with carol rosa i i tend to think that betcha cohea is probably you know to be fair to bet she's days are probably over since the rousey lost in 2015 betches two and four with one draw so it's been uh it's been a difficult run there she had some split decision wins but not that great all right i'm gonna be tuned in i'm gonna be looking at that luke anything you're into i don't want to speak for what you're into i mean antonina shevchenko's back as an underdog against casey o'neill that moves me luke what moves you on this card um i would say the interesting one we didn't get to was the alexander hernandez mike breeden fight dude hernandez came in like a buzzsaw beating
Starting point is 00:45:01 benil dariush and i forget the other guy he was. Just knocked out in short order. And we were like, holy shit, this guy looks like the real deal. Then he called Cerrone day drinking Don and has been having a hard time since. Not just getting the wins, but finding his identity. He was kind of a come forward, in your face guy. And then he realized he's not going to get very far with that. So he has struggled to adjust to the next generation of his development. Which you can say, oh, well that means he, does that what does that mean exactly well it might mean he just
Starting point is 00:45:28 takes some time to get there uh breeden is a guy who's very good but if hernandez is who he says and believes that he is oh it was olivier aubin marcia because he could wrestle right that was the other one um hernandez needs to show that he can make the the he's trying to grow he's trying to become a better cerebral scientific best practices kind of guy this is one of those fights you need to win given the amount of time he's had to show improvement to prove that it's real this this is it right here you got to do it so big big doings for him yeah he's split wins and losses in his last five. Still just 28 years old, though, Luke.
Starting point is 00:46:07 So see if he can put that together. I'm loving this card. We'll check that out Saturday night. But Luke, our second topic of the day is tonight's Bellator 267 card. It goes down in London, Luke. Wembley Arena. This is the big deal. And you can argue the main event is our best fight of the weekend.
Starting point is 00:46:23 The main card will kick off 4 p.m eastern later today only on showtime so check that shit out uh i love this fight douglas limo your three time bellator uh welterweight champion coming in here on an interesting two fight losing skid both in title bouts though in a rematch with Michael Venom Page. And Luke, we all know they fought in 2019. It was a spectacular two-round fight. Lima wins it by knockout. It was part of the World Grand Prix in the semifinal round. You can see the highlights right here.
Starting point is 00:46:56 Lima got wobbled by a punch early, but MVP's somewhat exciting, reckless style kind of walked him into a knockout shot there after a slip. Luke the Key. And there's a slip. Luke, the key. And there's a spectacular trip and finish here. That's a kick. Yes. And it tripped him.
Starting point is 00:47:13 So in some ways you can split the difference and say it was like a trip, right? If I kick you and it trips you, Luke, I tripped your ass. Okay, just so you know. Yeah, but it's not a trip. Here's the storyline coming in. Do we have two ships going in opposite directions, considering MVP at age 34 has won five in a row, four by finish,
Starting point is 00:47:30 including against top contender Derek Anderson in Mohegan last time out? Is he the one who's ready to take the baton here and prove to us he's title-ready and legit? I think you and I did CBS Sports HQ earlier this week, BC. I don't know if you're exactly in the same mind I am, but I think we're pretty close on this one. Like, dude, this is a lot more interesting as a competitive bout than the first time they met.
Starting point is 00:47:56 First time they met, I was like, dude, you know, Paige hadn't really beaten anybody of significant note. Obviously, his style is very exciting. But Bellator had fed him a sort of a steady diet of guys who he could beat, which I don't begrudge them, by the way. I think Bellator and promoters should do more of that to some extent, but neither here nor there. It just, there wasn't that guy on his resume where you're like, oh, well, because he beat him, he stands a good chance against Douglas Lima, and then you could also sort of look at their styles and be like, it's probably a tough fight. Lima has fought and defeated much better guys. This time around,
Starting point is 00:48:45 dude, I feel like the tables, I'm not going to say they have completely turned, but they're not the same. Two losses in a row, and not just kind of worn down from it all does he need a break like what's going on in the training room that's creating this in the fight itself you have to kind of wonder about that and also dude mvp has been a lot more active since their first fight i think that's true even you want to say he's fought in less tough competition um and you know know, it's a hometown cook, not cooking, but hometown affair. It's in London. The thing that I just can't quite get over, though, BC, is that leg kick he got there. Dude, for a guy like MVP, he's got to be close enough to touch you. He does do some stuff with lower body strikes, but mostly he does his work with the hands.
Starting point is 00:49:20 He pot shots and then he goes. He's going to have to get close enough into kicking range every time against a guy like Lima if Lima is minding his p's and q's and goes to hammer the legs of MVP I just don't know what answer MVP is going to have for that so I don't want to be in this scenario where like I don't acknowledge the hardships that Lima has faced and what kind of like a poor performance he's had in them. At the same time, it would be foolish to look past Lima, a guy with just the right kind of style, to beat, frankly, a guy like MVP, but it's closer this time than it was the first by a lot.
Starting point is 00:50:00 It's very close. Very close. I mean, you look at the odds coming in here. Michael Venom page a minus 125 favorite as the hotter fighter you look at the odds coming in here michael venom page a minus 125 favorite as the hotter fighter peaking at the moment against a plus 105 lemur now that's more or less a pick them there with page as the the slight favorite but it's interesting like this is the defining fight for lima to show us where he's at at age 33 because he's the younger fighter by the way mvp's 34 he's older than you realize, considering the level of competition.
Starting point is 00:50:26 But you nailed it, Luke, on two accounts. One, the lifelessness is concerning. He started way too late against Musashi. He figured out some success late, but it was like too little too late in some degrees. And then against Amosov, he just never started, Luke. You didn't see the urgency. You didn't see the, oh shit, I'm getting dominated. I'm down three rounds here.
Starting point is 00:50:44 Let's go for broke. It was just sort of like't see the urgency. You didn't see the, Oh shit, I'm getting dominated. I'm down three rounds here. Let's, let's go for broke. It was just sort of like going through the motions. And I think, you know, if you look at MVP's quotes and we did interview him yesterday on CBS, CBS sports HQ with our buddy, Tommy Tran, and he believes that Lima's just had a lack of growth, that it's the same style, same, you know, same everything. And Luke, sometimes that can become, you know, if you're doing training the same way and you're just kind of, you can accidentally end up going through the motions in that regard.
Starting point is 00:51:11 And, you know, fighting MVP, whether you think he's ready and legit and going to be a title guy now next, or you think there's still some questions about this guy, that's not the guy you want to be coming in so stale. I mean, you look lima's last 10 fights luke yes he won six of them but he fought koreshkov three times he fought paul daly lorenz larkin mvp rory mcdonald and then the two title fights back to back that's all killer grinding fights every time out he went five rounds by the way in of those. So six out of the last 10 fights, Luke, you wonder if the grind is catching up.
Starting point is 00:51:49 But what makes it hard to just write him off in this matchup is that October of 2020, when he lost to Musashi, we entered that fight calling him, you know, maybe the best welterweight in the world. Maybe the best, you know, kept secret in all of mma a year later luke one year later and two defeats later could he really be on the other side of it you never know when that turning point happens in a fighter's career sometimes those turning points can be corrected you know with a rededication i don't really know what we're getting from douglas lima his comments coming in were Douglas Lima-like. They were respectable, but you know, a little stale, a little whatever. I'm a little surprised that MVP is the betting favorite, considering Lima won by knockout the last time. But I'm going to need to see, as you mentioned with those leg strikes,
Starting point is 00:52:40 which fighter can take the lead and set the tone? Because Luke, in rematches, a lot of times, especially if the first one was a little bit crazy, it's more refined and tactical. I think there's a shot here that this one goes the distance given the way Lima has fought of late. And I kind of want to see if MVP can win a fight on the outside using that five and a half inch reach advantage, using his jab and really trying to set up his explosive strikes. As much as, you know, you come to see him get the highlight reel finish, I want to see if he can go out there against a three-time former champion and beat him in a different kind of way.
Starting point is 00:53:18 That'll show me that he's ready for Imasov, that he's ready for the real smoke that comes after it. Because as much as we don't know which version of Limaa is coming in i want to see everything mvp has and that's not i want to see spinny shit that's i want to see the real fighter game plan hold the lead and control this fight and carry out what he's bringing in and if he can get it done uh mvp i mean this is the you want to talk about the most validating win of his career. The criticisms have dogged MVP for a while. Like you've not beaten somebody super, super special. You beat Lima. You get there. No doubt about it. The other part to think about here, BC, we kind of alluded to it, which is why did he lose the Amosov and Musashi fights? We're talking
Starting point is 00:54:00 about the gear he got stuck in, but the gear he got stuck in was in part because those guys just took the fight to him early and then just maintained the lead on him right that was a lot of grappling that was involved to do that so the question is can mvp a start strong like where he's hurting him and then keep keep a guy like limo on the back foot with whatever tactics and strategies that he employs right because? Because if you get a lead on Lima, he just kind of lets it, lets it roll. Stay right there.
Starting point is 00:54:29 Pause that. I was going to ask you when you call somebody a front runner, it's usually an insult that they can't win coming from behind that they can only win if the terms go their way. But, you know, remember that great fight Lima had with Rory McDonald, which he lost in their first meeting under the Bellator banner.
Starting point is 00:54:44 That fight was two,2 going into the fifth, and Rory just kicked it into a second gear, and he won that fight. I don't know if we've seen Lima rally or turn it on late. So, Luke, I think the success... Hold on. He turned it on late against Musashi, if you recall, but it was so little so late it didn't matter.
Starting point is 00:55:04 It was like he went into where his strategy should have been in round one in round four he didn't go for broke he just took control of the fight so right i think what musashi did luke and he's got a much he was a bigger body it was middleweight he used a thudding jab to really silence what lima brought in that's why i think mvp's got to take advantage of the length and really set that tone early that if this fight's going to go the distance, he's going to be the commander of where it's going, Luke. And I don't know. I mean, Lima could come out and wake up and show us exactly who he is, and this could turn into a war at some point. But I'm going to go with the
Starting point is 00:55:40 not younger in age, but the fresher, more confident seemingly guy in the hometown here of Michael Venn and Paige. Luke, this feels like it's going to be his moment. Wow, that's big. Pick an MVP to be Douglas Lima. That is a bold pick. I don't think it's crazy. I don't know how likely it is,
Starting point is 00:55:59 but I would have called you crazy the first time. Do you think I'm crazier when I tell you he's going to win by decision too? How about that, Luke? No, because, dude, finishing Douglas Lima is hard to do. It's hard to do that. But definitely the pick. That is a bold pick.
Starting point is 00:56:16 That's the pick of the weekend right there. Well, he's the betting favorite, Luke. So is it that bold? I don't know. We're going to find out, right? Yeah, I suppose so. You're going to lean in anywhere, Luke, or you don't really do that? I'll stick with Lima just for fun for the show.
Starting point is 00:56:31 I don't really know. Who the hell knows with him, dude? Those performances were so lifeless. Do you want to bank a lot on a guy who just kind of looks like, eh? No, I don't. He's got to come out kicking. You've got to come out kicking if you're Doug Lima, okay? Dude, you have to make MVP hurt.
Starting point is 00:56:48 Yes. Because if he doesn't feel the weight of what it's like to come and try to close distance, he's just going to come and pop all night long. You've got to make that guy suffer. Or I wonder if Lima will go for the takedown himself, having learned from the last two fights how important that can be to set the tone there. We'll see.
Starting point is 00:57:11 Main card starts at 4 p.m eastern time on show time today check that out luke leah mccord a women's featherweight co-main event big time favorite against jessica borga uh from there luke it's it seems like it's a lot of local folks on this card you know yeah the card itself is basically a regional european card with um a couple of decent fights at the top. The main event, quite good. But yeah, Bellator. Listen, Bellator was the last time they were in London. It was a long time. They're just trying to get the local shit going.
Starting point is 00:57:38 We'll see if Liam McCourt can enter what's becoming a crowded women's featherweight title discussion at the moment here, Luke, right? Or am I thinking of women's flyweight? I'm probably thinking women's flyweight, yeah. Yeah, all right. Featherweight is where Chris Sagborg operates. Yes.
Starting point is 00:57:55 She's the bantamweight champion, too, right? Wasn't that right? Just featherweight, 145, Chris Sagborg. I can never keep that straight, but you're probably right. Please get your shit together. Thank you. Don't dead-roll me just yet. Topic three, it might seem like a rehash,
Starting point is 00:58:12 but there's a lot of talk one week removed still going on about the state of Nick Diaz. Yes, in his late 30s, fresh off a third-round TKO, no-moss defeat against Robbie Lawler in their rematch. You know what your boy BC said about it, Luke, that I was uncomfortable, that given the comments from Nick, given that whole blaming on the manager for kind of tricking him into it, and given the dad bod, when it looked like he had abs just a week before, Luke,
Starting point is 00:58:43 I just didn't think he wanted to be there and i don't really want to see him moving forward well everyone is disagreeing i mean there's people that said they are never going to watch this show again because i made such a comment against the 209 luke i mean please to join the parade of those who are echoing his greatness dana white said quote nick looked unbelievable later saying he looks so damn good considering the layoff. Even Joe Rogan came around, Luke. He was less extreme, but he said, you know what? Nick didn't do that bad. All things considered. Uh, I'm sorry. Isn't that wild? I don't, Luke, I went back and watched the fight and and it's not like I'm going to say it wasn't exciting.
Starting point is 00:59:26 Of course it was. They went after it. And, you know, Nick got backed up, and he stood his ground and threw shots. But, dude, this was senior league MMA. And I know, look, dude, I'm getting people coming, Beastie's a fraud. He's always been a fraud. He's the hashtag old guy fight guy. You know, yeah, I am.
Starting point is 00:59:42 But I was sort of beaten down of late by holyfield and triller and all this other crap and maybe i just really care about the diaz's luke but i just didn't like this and didn't want to see it again it seems from dana to rogan to everyone they want it they want to do it again luke do you feel like nick wants to do it again and did your stance on this change at all after hearing how many people vehemently disagree with your co-host? I thought it was, I, you know, I didn't hear Rogan's comments, but I did hear Dana's. And Dana's was like, well, for being off for five years, when it's actually closer to seven, six and a half, you know, he looked good. Okay, for that amount of rust, fine.
Starting point is 01:00:25 Again, what did I say on Monday? I think I even said it to a degree on Saturday night, which is, if he wants to get in the right weight class, because I think we both agree, if he's going to come back, 185, I don't like the idea at this point. So if you're going to come back, 170, fine, very doable, under the right conditions. For a guy who runs triathlons, 170 is quite doable. I've seen him in person.
Starting point is 01:00:46 He can make it. And then there's the right opponent, then sure, give it another try. But like, you know, the days of like, oh, I'm going to be next for Kamaru Usman, like that's long past it. And I was trying to think like, you know, it's so funny, man, when Habib gets wins over like Al Iaquinta, who is a very, very good fighter, but obviously that was like the last second right and he didn't finish him he went the distance and everyone's
Starting point is 01:01:09 like oh how good could habibi be you know he had to go the distance with a late replacement and al and ally i think had had some losses nearby i'm like well first of all al's very good uh number one and number two you know we all know the story like when you take an opponent last minute like literal last minute you know the the person who's the a side there sometimes will fight with a little bit of reservation it can be hard to get the finish what i'm pointing out is here's a guy near the top of the game that people find every excuse to poke holes in for his game and here's another guy as kind of the bottom of the ufc roster just in terms of like ability and they're making all the other excuses the other way for and you know i get i get why he's revered he is popular he is well liked it's fine like again if he wants
Starting point is 01:01:52 to compete under a certain set of circumstances and whatever then then let it all happen it's okay but it just has been bizarre to me like for example yesterday on my live chat bc someone was like oh if nick had stuck around afterSP, would he have won the title? Like, no, no. Like, he did stick around. He lost to Carlos Condit. And because there's going to be a series of guys who are not going to play the game that he plays, whether it's Condit with the stick and move or wrestlers with the wrestling, Diaz was never the best guy in his weight class. What he had was, A, in certain respects,
Starting point is 01:02:26 he was ahead of the fight game with weaponizing pace and getting better boxing. The Diazes were just well ahead of the fight game. He has a certain kind of iconoclast, anti-hero style. And three, which I think we'd agree on, prime Nick on his best night could beat very, very, very elite fighters. When he was dialed in, not all the time, not every time.
Starting point is 01:02:47 It wasn't St. Pierre who was just going to beat the slate, but he could get that one win that would blow you away. Here's where I stand today, having thought about this overnight for just a second, BC. It's like, dude, I lived through, we did the resume review, but I remember living through that shit. I saw Nick, not in person, but I remember where I that shit i saw all the i saw nick you know not in person but i remember i remember where i was when he fought paul daly i remember where i was when he fought gomi i remember the jeremy jackson fight vividly i remember all of these things
Starting point is 01:03:14 like dude those days are over they're over right they're over they are over and so and so it seems to me that if you want to say there's a path forward for Nick, fine. But it should be said that with, okay, there's a path forward. It doesn't match this old one at all. It's a new one divorced from this old life. On that account, I can live with it. All right, a couple things here. One, you were dead wrong. He fought Carlos Condit before he fought GSP.
Starting point is 01:03:46 So he was in the GSP. No, no, no. But what I mean was, when did GSP leave the division? After the Johnny Hendricks fight. So yes, Nick was still around, but he wasn't fighting. He finally fought Anderson Silva. Okay. Either way, he wasn't going to beat Prime Lawler.
Starting point is 01:04:00 I don't think he could beat Prime Rory McDonald, the one before the Lawler fight. What would Rory McDonald do under the tutelage of Faraz Ahabi? They would take him down. They would take him down forever. So no, I don't think he would have been the best. To support what you're saying here is, and the argument against him beating elite fighters past a certain point, is Luke, we haven't seen him fight elite since 2011.
Starting point is 01:04:23 So I know he kept fighting five years through the Anderson Silva fight, or four years, excuse me. But, Luke, those four years included a lifeless performance against Carlos Condon, a largely lifeless performance against GSP, although, look, GSP closed all the doors on him, and a lifeless performance against Anderson Silva, in which he tried to lure these guys into his kind of fight. It didn't happen, and he sort of just was fine with the results
Starting point is 01:04:50 in terms of, okay, that's the way they're going to fight. We haven't seen him elite since 2011, so I don't even know, Luke, if the fighting spirit was still in him after that BJ fight to want to do this or to compete at this level. But that's not the real equation at stake. It's maybe I was too harsh because, look, people are like, okay, BC, we get it. He's not the same guy.
Starting point is 01:05:11 But you're basically saying you don't want to ever see him again. What I think the middle ground on here is, and maybe I can soften my stance a bit in this regard, is I think, Luke, people just want to see him in like a Guns N' Roses reunion type way. They want to see him go out on his own terms, happy. And look, if this is all a build toward like a retirement fight in which he gets another old wash guy and he can go out on his own terms
Starting point is 01:05:33 and have the proper camp and come in in shape, then that is fine. And oh, by the way, I think I would look back at the Lawler fight and be like, okay, he didn't get dominated. He didn't get overwhelmed. He stood in there and fought. I just don't know how everybody is overlooking the comments heading in about how he just didn't want to be there, Luke. He didn't want to be fighting. I mean, nothing about it screamed that he wanted to be there through him quitting. So that was really a large part of why I was just like, I don't think this is a good idea for him. I mean,
Starting point is 01:06:04 he got his nose shattered and he was like, that's it. And again, you know, he's been through the war enough. He isn't to win my respect. I mean, I respect that move he made right there. He knew he was done and he's done. But to me, that means you're done, Luke. But everyone else seems to go, whether they're looking at it through nostalgia only, or if you're UFC and you're going, hey, maybe we can make a buck moving forward. It seems like Luke, he's probably more likely to fight at least one more than he's not. Correct? Oh yeah, for sure.
Starting point is 01:06:29 Okay. So let's talk about that. Sean O'Malley came out on his podcast. I'm not going to lie. He had an interesting idea, which is more in line of what I'm saying. If you're building towards Nick to just get a payday and have fun, which is really,
Starting point is 01:06:40 I think the, why the fans were angry at my take, because no one's expecting him to come back and look great and be ready for Usman. That ship has sailed a long time ago. Sean O'Malley says, why not Mike Perry at middleweight? Luke, I don't hate this, Luke. I don't.
Starting point is 01:06:56 I really don't. Wait, Mike Perry at what weight class? Middleweight. Middleweight. I don't like the middleweight call. I really don't. You can have it at welterweight if you really want it. Yeah, fine.
Starting point is 01:07:08 Yeah, that's about more in line what i what i think is realistic i know people have said serrani uh i think it's another one like two legends at the end this is fine but this is also what folks just have to wrap their head around a little bit that's those are good ideas and i think doable i don't know if first of all let's see what nick wants to do i we had a shots for frank lester a a great, great coach, and a guy whose abilities I admire a lot. He was suggesting, like, you know, a middleweight, you could do Sam Alvey versus Nick. You know, respectfully, I don't think you can.
Starting point is 01:07:35 I don't think Nick ever takes a fight like that. I think he wants somebody who's produced a big name for themselves. And you could say what you want about Sam and some of the accomplishments that he's had, but he's not a hugely popular figure inside the UFC to date. And so that just doesn't make a lot of sense. So you could go with Cerrone. Perry is sort of controversial in that way. Maybe you could do that,
Starting point is 01:07:52 but this is the point I want to make BC. There's, there's a few, maybe a couple of permutations you could do with this, but dude, this is not what the UFC does. Well, that's part of my point.
Starting point is 01:08:03 Right. The UFC does not provide a soft landing for guys close to 40 who are at the end or you know close-ish to the end of their run I buy everything that people say about he was off for six and a half years and he didn't have a great camp and blah blah blah like he even said I knew I had this ass whooping coming he knew it he knew he did he knew it I I acknowledge that if you run it back in a few months when he's had a better chance to get right, you'll get a better product.
Starting point is 01:08:30 Fair enough. But we're talking about something at the end of the game where this is not what the UFC specializes in. You might find a couple of examples. He'd be much better off if you wanted a longevity tour, BC, doing boxing on the Jake Paul card or in Bellator where they could matchmake more appropriately for this kind of thing. In UFC, they're going to have a hard time finding all the right things that he needs
Starting point is 01:08:53 unless he comes out at 170 in his next fight and proves us both completely wrong and looks 10 years younger. I mean, look, let's be fair. 2021 has been all Triller and Paul brothers, and it did even test me, Luke, where I mean, look, let's be fair. 2021 has been all Triller and Paul brothers, and it did even test me, Luke, where I'm just like, you know, when you're UFC, like, you know, I never liked the
Starting point is 01:09:11 CM Punk experiment. You know, I didn't even really like Randy Couture, James Toney. Those are such, like, odd sort of black-eye, not black-eye, but just sort of like, what were we thinking moments? UFC is so far past that that I don't necessarily want to see that. Now, if you want to do Cowboy and I think Cowboy's tied with Jim Miller for most wins
Starting point is 01:09:30 in UFC history. And if you want to say, you know, both retirement match for both of Cowboy wins, he's the winningest fight ever. If Nick wins, he goes out on his own turn. Okay. Yeah, of course I can get behind that. Just like I got behind when it was like Diego Sanchez against Clay Guida late in their run or, you know, whatever, any sort of combination of old guys speaking of that combination of old guys luke our producer mikey more mile wrote in and said did we miss the boat because of conda carlos conda's recent retirement on just rematching those two guys together or is that just the same thing oh dude conda's done he's been done for a while that lawler i always go back to neither he nor lawler were ever the same afterwards um and you know you're talking about conda it's like
Starting point is 01:10:10 dude if you're pairing him up with dudes who had their prime 10 years ago what does that say like seroni is not in his prime condit is not in his prime lawler is not in his prime they might be legends to fans deservedly so don't take nothing from that but where are they now they are not they are at the end of the run um if all of your peers are retiring or in many of them retired you know uh that doesn't automatically mean you're in the same place but you're probably not far from it um do you think nick could compete in this celebrity boxing bubble like could he i think he'd make a fuck ton doing that dude but think about okay much better suited for that competitive wise did you see enough to show that he could box with
Starting point is 01:10:55 anderson silva he could box with jake paul or you would you be okay with that well i think he might give jake paul serious problems quite candidly but with anderson silva dude you wouldn't want to see a nick diaz anderson silva rematch in boxing yeah I think I think yeah you would do that's a totally different ball game to me I would pay good money to see that okay that's interesting Luke uh by the way I still get people that DM me and I'm not going to say they're wrong that say hey I respect that Luke loves Carlos Condit versus Robbie Lawler but the fact that he doesn't realize that Rory versus Lawler was a better fight just blows my freaking mind. Because it's not a better fight.
Starting point is 01:11:29 I get that so often that I'm actually willing to entertain some type of. No, there is this fantasy. No, no, hold on, hold on. Let this man speak. Some type of watch party where we do it live on YouTube and we watch both fights back to back. Would you agree to that, one? And two, when you find out that back to back, would you agree to that? One and two,
Starting point is 01:11:45 when you find out that you're wrong, would you be honest? Would you be like, look, I was wrong this whole time. Sure. We watch that again and I reconsider and it looks different upon reflection. Fine. I mean, what would I have to lose? Like we want to see you eat shit, Luke. That's the point. You pretentious bastard. We want to see it. Why it happen. Why am I pretentious for saying that Condit-Lawler, a fight that completely changed the course of their careers, was a better fight? Dude, that was a fight of the year candidate, which I realize many people like Lawler and McDonald more.
Starting point is 01:12:14 Dude, Lawler-McDonald is a phenomenal. I mean, it's not like I'm saying it's bad. It's very, very good. But here's the reality of it. That was a little bit more one-sided, obviously, with the way it ended for McDonald. And it had a little bit more one-sided obviously with the way it ended for mcdonald and it had a little bit more theatrical elements to it whereas condit versus lawler was more just a fucking melee it was a it was a barroom brawl versus this coordinated game boss at the end of
Starting point is 01:12:38 the at the end of the video game kind of feel to it but I think if you just watch the fight straight up without the narratives being imposed upon it, I think Lawler and Condit stand the test of time, almost any other fight in that weight class in terms of pure thrill. I'd love if we did some kind of blind taste test and the loser had to provide a haircut for the other one like that. We could really do some things with this, Luke, and our new set, get the couch involved. I am certain. i don't know like i don't understand what people want they there's this weird thing in mma where like something gets anointed as being great or worthy of revering and if you don't revere it in exactly the way in which you're supposed to all of a sudden you're some kind
Starting point is 01:13:22 of heretic no i don't think it's that for fucking opinion on this i think because you are and i'm gonna say this as a compliment so confident in your ways and just i mean you hold firm luke you hold fucking firm to what you believe motherfucker not respect aren't you supposed to but people really sometimes take that as arrogance that you're not willing to re-examine and wonder what were you wrong and in this case luke i think even this week i was like here's how stupid that is right here's how utterly fucking stupid that is even just this week on my post fight show for 266 right i had suggested at three in the morning or whatever it was two in the morning that i thought that nick diaz versus uh jorge mazdal was something you could do at 170.
Starting point is 01:14:05 And then I had people write me and then you brought it up on the show. What was the first thing I did? I walked it back. I was like, yes, upon reflection and people suggesting to it, that doesn't hold up. Even just this week, I had to really reconsider a bad opinion that I had, that I had made without fully considering it. I'll do it when it merits it. What people want to do is they want to float out bad arguments for stupid ideas and then when i reject it all of a sudden i'm not being open-minded enough no i'm just not willing to accept a low threshold of evidence or in a persuasive language around something that just doesn't really hold true so if you if you like lawler versus mcdonald better
Starting point is 01:14:46 i can't talk you out of it i cannot just i cannot say definitively lawler versus condit is better it's a matter of personal opinion but they are comparable in uh how great they are and if you go one way or the other that's fine if we're still friends at the end of your life when you're on your deathbed and we're there and you admit there is a God, I will hug you, Luke. Okay? I will hug you. I'll be like, get close, BC. These are my final words.
Starting point is 01:15:10 And I'll say, when you die, you just rot in the ground. Goodbye. You're like, my final words, Houston Alexander took a dive against Kimbo. Yeah, we knew it all along. All right. Final words. Okay, maybe there was a curse.
Starting point is 01:15:23 Goodbye. Goodbye. Final words. Okay, maybe there was a curse. Goodbye. Final words. BC, those documentaries fucking banged, bro, like a bus driver. All right. Yeah. All right, Luke. Maybe that.
Starting point is 01:15:35 Maybe that. Topic four, fight announcement and rumors. Luke, we've got a big story here at number one on fight announcements. October 30th, UFC 267. This man, Dan Hooker, fresh off a career saving. Is that too harsh? Victory over that guy that looks like Johnny Hendricks, Luke. He will turn it around and take on Islam Makhachev in a real big fight. And Luke, when you look a little deeper, this is Dan Hooker staying in the U.S.,
Starting point is 01:16:09 meaning he's not going to see his family for a very long time because this fight will take place at Fight Island in Abu Dhabi on October 30th on the pay-per-view. Luke, it's a great freaking fight on a free pay-per-view, by the way. I don't even, you could not favor dan hooker here although luke he turned it around with his wrestling against nas pack hawker parston has uh nasrat hack press against hazmat suit yeah so luke do you have the the respect of course you do you're you're you got it you got a ckb you got a city kicking boner, Luke. But seriously, what Dan Hooker's looking to do here, bro, wow. Wow.
Starting point is 01:16:50 Let me ask you a question. If he goes and takes this fight, which he did, it's an Abu Dhabi, right? So who knows how long it's going to be before he gets back. But let's say he wins this fight, which would be something of an upset. And let's say on top of that, he wins it Dan Hooker style, whatever that might mean, like, you know, big step through knee or whatever. I had said something similar to what I'm about to say now yesterday, but I want to change it slightly. If he does that, BC, question for you. Does he become something like the new Cerrone in MMA?
Starting point is 01:17:25 Wow. Wow. Wow. So how did Cerrone become Cerrone? He was a no-nonsense, not brawler. I mean, he was a brawler at times, but like a no-nonsense Budweiser drinking company man, fan man who would fight on short notice, fight anybody at any time, and fight like a badass. That's not Dan Hooker in personal spirit. But moves like this, Luke, they're doubling down. These are double-down badass moves.
Starting point is 01:17:56 It's basically saying, look, I just turned my career around with that performance. Why don't I just ride the momentum while it's hot? I mean, he's going in there against Makachev, who's on an A-fight win streak and looks like the next big thing straight from the Smash Factory, Luke. If he goes in there and wins it, are you just asking me if it's a folk hero type feeling we're going to get from it? Like the guy who, I mean, Cerrone did a lot of things, right? He had this sort of like, you know, the cowboy, right? So he's got a certain identity.
Starting point is 01:18:21 But that identity was matched with he showed up all the time and took fights whether he won or he lost you knew he was good enough to beat good fighters and he did like he's got wins over Eddie Alvarez and you can go down the list but he wasn't the best in that division but he was just he was there to show up he was there to fucking bang and uh maybe he doesn't beat all the best fighters all the time but he beats good ones certainly time to time and he just always is down for a fucking scrap i feel like hooker could slide into a similar ish kind of territory he doesn't have like the cowboy thing going on but i don't know he's getting pretty close the difference is that cowboy is a brawler with skills whereas hooker is a skilled fighter who loves to brawl that's the difference that might be true but don't you feel like with
Starting point is 01:19:05 with Condit gone and with Cerrone gone the fight game is missing a certain kind of guy not the best one in the division but the one that grabs the people by virtue of the way they fight on occasion their fighting ability and then their willingness to meet any challenges. There's something like that where I feel like Hooker could slide into that spot. It's like a Rocky Balboa meets badass wrestling character type of vibe. I mean, that's what made Cowboy special, right? Yeah. I don't think Dan Hooker has that personality, Luke, and I do think he's looking upwards with this move.
Starting point is 01:19:38 He's not doing this just to cash a check, just to please the UFC. I really think Dan Hooker knows what's inside of him, Luke, knows he's championship material, figured out through his own missteps by, you know, going to hell a few times against elite guys, and is now like, I'm taking advantage. But, Luke, I mean, he's not going to see his family for a long damn time. I don't know if he could send for them.
Starting point is 01:20:01 Can you send for them, Luke? I don't know how that works, dude. And I don't envy his situation. Wow. He's going for them. Can you send for them, Luke? I don't know how that works, dude. And I don't envy his situation. Wow. He's going for it. I mean, Luke, just real quick, style-wise, how do they match up? I mean, can the new hooker handle this man on the ground? No one
Starting point is 01:20:15 handles this man on the ground. No, on the ground, no. I think he's going to get completely overwhelmed. On the feet, it could be quite interesting. Obviously, Adriano Martins had his way with Mokachev a long time ago, whoever it was. I think itriano martinez um he did get the head kick ko you know maybe that's still there but i tend to think they're gonna he's gonna put listen it's a tough fight for dan it's a tough fight for dan if if islam plays ball at range then anything is possible i just tend to think that he won't all right luke i we had teased based on some social
Starting point is 01:20:44 media reports that dom cruz could be heading the way of Sean O'Malley. That is not true. UFC 269, a loaded December 11th pay-per-view, will now have Dominic Cruz versus Pedro Munoz at Bantamweight. Your thoughts, Luke? Love that fight. Tough fight for Cruz. I think Pedro Munoz is a leg kicker and a heavy hitter,
Starting point is 01:21:02 and a guy who's willing to take one to give one is going to be a tough matchup for this version of Cruz who's not quite as fleet of foot and nimble as he once was I think also people kind of figured out his game a little bit with um some of the leg kicking so it's a great fight for Pedro but also if you're Cruz you got to respect the fact that he is not shying away from a difficult challenge even in the twilight years of whatever he has left in his career. And winnable, still quite, quite winnable. Good fight. Great fight. I mean, Munoz has lost three of four.
Starting point is 01:21:31 He is 35, although against elite competition. And, you know, the problem for Cruz, Luke, is that style doesn't age well. It's like, you know, why did Allen Iverson stop being elite at like age 31? Like, you know, that style is built upon speed and movement and elusiveness. And when that goes, yeah, you can add the veteran tricks and be wily. And obviously Dom Cruz's story is different from anyone else because of how
Starting point is 01:21:53 hard he's worked to just get back out there after so many setbacks. But to you, what, to your point, this is a winnable fight for him, but it's got to go his way. Um, the,
Starting point is 01:22:01 the, in his favor, Luke, in his favor is he's tough as shit mentally he can take a punch and you know he's he's got a very sharp nose luke for for uh the musk of referees apparently all right luke let's keep it going december 18th headlining a fight night card rick kelp i'm sorry not headlining but rick hell pennington back quick against Julia Avila. Do you like that one at Bantamweight? I think Avila, if memory serves, could be wrong about this.
Starting point is 01:22:32 I think she just got her black belt. That's a tough fight for Pennington. That's a tough fight. I think that Avila is sort of a come forward, not brawler, but she gets to work. If you hang out in the clinch with rocky she'll piece you up but if you can stay on the outside you can beat her so it's good that's right i mean it's how holly holm got it done basically so uh like it but tough fight for rocky that same night your new main event is a rescheduling when misha don't call her cupcake
Starting point is 01:23:01 tate luke is in against ketlynira. So we'll finally see that one. You'd have to believe, Luke, with a win, she could be paired against Holly Holm if Holm wins her Norma Dumont fight coming up. I have some breaking news for you that I think you would like and appreciate. Guess who missed weight? Oh, no. Oh, no.
Starting point is 01:23:23 It's got to be UFC. It's UFC. Who is it? Kevin Holland? That's Kohea coming in at a whopping 138.5. Just make it an open weight fight. Look, we just want to see her dance one more, right? Who doesn't want to see Latina women do that?
Starting point is 01:23:41 I mean, it's just sort of an obvious thing. Look, let's be honest here. We talk about the cowboy swagger and persona. We don't have that too often or ever in the women's game. Somebody who's got that gunslinger, that's Betch Cohea, bro. We should put a little bit more respect on her name.
Starting point is 01:23:57 I agree. Final fight, Luke. This one is straight up the BC lane. November 12th, Cheyenne Bays, Luke, who's running hot after that 50k bonus taking on loma luke boonby the uh the uh what is she at what country is she from luke thailand thailand that's right and she's got those straight front kicks look this is an interesting matchup i think bays is going to get more attention than let's say her ability might
Starting point is 01:24:24 call for at this point because of everything we've seen with the fighter pay and stuff. But Luke, I think she's must-see. She's got a spunky attitude there. The wife, of course, of JP Baze. And I think she's someone to watch. So this is an interesting style matchup. Also, different styles of striking.
Starting point is 01:24:40 I think the overall more well-rounded fighter is Baze. But Luke boonme is a much better striker and i think is surprisingly strong for that weight class as well as losing certain positions that's a again dude the ufc matchmakers are doing a good job of putting together the right kinds of pieces of the puzzles for each of these fighters to solve and then you can make a better read about what it means after the fact i like this one as well yeah it's gonna be interesting all right our final main topic here, Luke, Clarissa Shields, the decorated two-time Olympic gold medalist, boxing champion.
Starting point is 01:25:12 Of course, we'll have her second pro MMA fight October 22nd at the PFL Championship event. Well, Luke, they had a press conference, and she had some very interesting words on a few topics. Let's go to the videotape to react to this first one please next question is for clarissa uh amanda serrano got on a jake paul card which was on showtime a lot of people watch that do you ever want to be on a jake paul card as well and maybe get that grand stages she got don't ever disrespect me i would never fight on the
Starting point is 01:25:42 undercard of a jake paul i'm a three-time division world champion two-time olympic gold medalist in boxing I would never fight on the undercard Jake Paul before I get on um on the undercard of a guy that's having a circus show you know like no disrespect to Tyronne Woolley no disrespect to Jake Paul but I'm a real boxer. Like I can beat up Jake Paul at the weight class I'm at right now. So no, I would never fight on an undercard of somebody who does not possess the skills or the accomplishment that I have. Luke, that's a,
Starting point is 01:26:19 them are some fighting words right there. Uh, your reaction to a very outspoken Clarissa Shields. I understand why she's saying that i mean dude if you're clear let me just sort of take a step back here like why is she an mma dude she's an mma because she can't get the respect and the payday she wants in her sport of choice you know she is a two-time fucking gold medalist and three division champion and has headline shows on showtime i've seen them you've covered them like you know and then
Starting point is 01:26:43 someone be like hey would you fight on the undercard of a guy whose brother filmed a dude hanging in a forest? I can understand why she feels insulted to a degree. I kind of get that. But at the same time, it's like, could you beat Jake? Obviously, she's the more skilled boxer, but with size and gender differences, I sincerely doubt that. And then's let's the point it's it's um i i i'll just say this i understand why she's insulted but there is a conversation i keep bringing this up bc and you don't want to have this conversation sometimes but i think you need to we need to have at least... I don't know that I'm right.
Starting point is 01:27:27 Really, especially on this one, I don't know that I'm right. But my feeling on this is sometimes, in most cases, you can have men and women's sports and they do the exact same things. And sometimes there can be the sports where they're different and they are not fair. Like when they gave women three-minute rounds as opposed to five in MMA. I remember, I lived through that era. I remember it. It was unfair.
Starting point is 01:27:46 Or when, even in tennis, like why do the women play three sets as opposed to five? Like there's lots of ways where we kind of gender the sport and make it unfair with these unnecessary handicaps against women. And I fully respect that. But one thing I always go back to is, dude, women's MMA is a lot more exciting than women's boxing. It just is. I don't know why MMA is a lot more exciting than women's boxing. It just is. I don't know why this is a controversial opinion. And I understand that we don't even see the best version of women's boxing by some of the systemic issues that make it limited in the way that it is.
Starting point is 01:28:15 But for example, while there are many sports where the men and women play under similar if not identical rules, in gymnastics, for example, the men and women don't do the same events. There is obviously a lot of overlap and it's still all gymnastics, but it's not the exact same things. We don't ask women, for example, to do the iron rings and the men, I don't think have the double bars, for example, because their bodies do separate things. Dude, MMA brings, I think the athleticism and the overall IQ of women's in a way that
Starting point is 01:28:44 the boxing, not so much the IQ, but all of the various weapons that they can bring to bear in a way that is just significantly more dynamic. I mean, we're getting there in boxing. It's at a point, you know, for the first time since the Christy Martin, Layla Lee run there on pay-per-view, we're getting there where there's paydays and placement. But I think, you know, what Clarissa Shane is, you know know for someone of her accomplishments is just not where it needs to be luke you can argue fair that that you know even even bigger than tennis mma might give women's sports the most respect compared to the to the men's side right i mean mma they're fighting the same amount of rounds the same feature you know i mean look seriously like the pay is high i mean women's
Starting point is 01:29:25 tennis gets a push you really think that the stakeholders the networks the fans the sponsors the community do you think that in mma that women get a bigger role because the fan base and the sponsors and the promoters and the television networks are just much more enlightened about the plight of women's sports that seems to me an obviously nonsense argument no not not at all it's a better product i don't know why i i don't feel that way on the men's side by the way i don't feel you can like mma or boxing however you want are we really going to argue that women's boxing is just as dynamic as high level women women's MMA? That seems absurd. It's not.
Starting point is 01:30:06 So I think it's the reason why the WNBA has made huge strides since its launch in 1997. But there's still a ceiling on that, Luke. There is. There's still a ceiling on that for a certain number of male fans who look at the overall difference between the games of the two, men's versus female, and aren't entertained on the same level.
Starting point is 01:30:26 I think, again, tennis and mixed martial arts is maybe where it's the most even in terms of your entertainment value and the way it's presented. Boxing, we're not quite there. But also, to be fair, women's MMA had some of the personalities that you need when women first started getting attention on Strikeforce, on Showtime. You had Cyborg, who was like the perfect scary villain. Gina Carano as your first sort of like, you know, good looking baby face come into your living room. And then, you know, that evolved into like
Starting point is 01:30:54 Ronda Rousey and Misha Tate and where we are now. You know, boxing hadn't had that for so long. And I can totally understand the Clarissa Shield saying saying I am that I am your homegrown decorated you know we finally allowed women's boxing in the Olympics I won two gold medals and you still won't give me love and I think it's why sometimes she can have a chip on her shoulder and she can be abrasive to people I've always supported the way she tells it like it is and I
Starting point is 01:31:17 appreciate that you know who else tells it like it is Luke did you hear the voice of the guy who asked Clarissa that question I did but i couldn't place it there's a man named darnell giovanni he goes on the twitter handle at mystic black mma he tweeted you and i last night and said i'm that reporter how about having me come on the show tomorrow and speak about it luke do you at least give darnell darnell right you at least give that man black mystic mma credit for shooting his shot luke what shot did he shoot he wanted to
Starting point is 01:31:46 come on our show today and talk about this topic oh oh yeah i guess so but we don't really do that kind of thing looks like fuck that shit no no actually luke didn't know i'll claim closing here um clarissa talked with our friend of the program danny sagurha of mma junkie in a one-on-one interview and she said quote i feel like i wouldn't have switched over to mf mma if i could have become a household name in boxing i feel like i did everything i could do in boxing to be that household name and get that million dollar check even with all my accomplishments it's still not enough and that's pissed me off but i decided instead of retiring from boxing and saying f this sport i'm going to keep defending my titles in boxing but I'm going to use my youth of being 26 and see what I can do by the age of 32.
Starting point is 01:32:27 See if I can become an MMA champion and become a household name. I'm already a household name in MMA in the past few months. So I've started MMA. So, Luke, essentially she says she wishes she started MMA sooner because of the notoriety is limitless there where she sees the ceilings in boxing and part of her I'll never fight on a Jake Paul card was sort of aimed at Amanda Serrano who was just by the way the first fighter signed to Jake Paul's new promotion you know or management company whatever it is MVP there and you know Serrano did make her biggest payday by far being on that Jake Paul co-main event on the Showtime pay-per-view. So interesting stance.
Starting point is 01:33:07 I don't think she's wrong on a lot of her points, Luke, but she's basically giving herself a six-year window here to do something in MMA. Luckily for her credit, she is young enough. I mean, Holly Holm crossed over much later, although she did have a kickboxing background. Yes, she did. And it will also be what kind of effort she puts into this, if it's still moonlighting or not. Like, you know, there's a lot of work that goes into learning how to wrestle it's not you know everyone from the if
Starting point is 01:33:29 you're just a fan and you watch UFC you're like oh it's a sort of reflex like they're all pretty good at it no you have it's it's it's very very difficult but you know I I I I love what she's doing to be quite honest with you like I don't agree with everything she says but I love that she speaks her mind I love her chip on her shoulder attitude. I think that's going to serve her very well in MMA and marketing herself and then having the right attitude towards training. She's with a good team.
Starting point is 01:33:52 Like, there's a lot of reasons to be confident, one step at a time. But, dude, I hope she finds what she's looking for. I wish she could have found it in boxing. But, you know, dude, like, tell me, as just just an example tell me which of her boxing fights any of them was more fun and more full of thrilling action than her mma debut which one none and i think she's right this is this is my point it's like dude why are we ignoring the she has had some fun fights but i think that they're largely crippled by the two minute round
Starting point is 01:34:25 setup it's like you know we've been down the road that debate just make it even and we can start making the pay even for the fighters that deserve it there you know all right whatever we'll see fair point again when she talks about the systemic issues that hold her back in boxing she is a thousand percent correct everything she says is true i just feel like we're not having the conversation that needs to be had yeah that's fair all right luke uh whether we're right or wrong on that debate luckily luke we have an email address where you can tell us morning combat at gmail.com your home for wednesdays fan subs and fridays dead wrong dead wrong seven different levels to devil worship and horse sex human sacrifices cannibalism
Starting point is 01:35:06 candles and exorcism a big meat call me larry hoover all right here's how it works you tell us what we got wrong but you better have receipts and we still might shit all over you number one here this is jordan from hawaii luke from the 50th state says, Aloha, this is a dead wrong for BC. On the UFC's 266 pregame preview with Chuck, around 18 minutes, BC mentions he, and he assumes I'm talking about Volkanovski, finished Pedro Munoz. He'll finish you if you walk into something, end quote. BC, first of all, Volk never fought Munoz.
Starting point is 01:35:45 Second, Pedro has never been finished. Not sure whom BC may have confused for Munoz. Maybe Mendes in his last finish. Love the show. Excited for the new things to come. Couple points here, Luke. Number one, if I said that, I was dead wrong. Absolutely.
Starting point is 01:36:02 Yes, I was 100% confusing him in the moment with Chad Mendez and as we've already put out there Luke at 43 I made a dire mistake by drinking four drinks in less than an hour and saying the words yo and bitch ad you know ad nauseum so you know I can only regret
Starting point is 01:36:20 a lot of what happened that night Luke we should just call that podcast yo bitch episode 2 real talk like men do that's what I want to call it regret a lot of what happened that night luke we should just call that podcast yo bitch episode two real talk like men do that's what i want to call it um no thank you for sending that in yeah i was dead wrong luke i'm getting a lot i'm getting a little bit of hate coming at me saying i always knew bc was that was a real bitch inside and he proved it in that cleveland indians box by not going you know i mean look there is there a little bit of kayfabe at play in some of these Doc moments?
Starting point is 01:36:48 You can decide which parts are that for you. I was also under the influence of of, uh, yeah, alright, Luke, okay? You know, I can also only drink a certain amount before. Listen, I was there in that room. You hoed out. Like, you
Starting point is 01:37:03 I don't know if I hoed out, Luke. There was a, you know, there was. You bitched out. hoed out like you i don't know if i hoed out luke there was a you know there was you bitched out you bitched out i i don't know more news at 11 one day okay luke in our patreon show i'll show you my bloodstream from that exactly exactly yeah all right uh number two luke this is from jordan on episode 207 at 37 minutes in bc wonders if the resume review will go to eight and0 if Nick Diaz loses. Please dead wrong me if I am incorrect, but I'm pretty sure that there have only been seven resume reviews. McGregor, Adesanya, Miocic, Woodley, Masvidal, Pitbull, and now Diaz.
Starting point is 01:37:38 You are correct, sir. In that moment, I hadn't had the number. Mikey, our producer, I think right after I said that, did send me a text. It's 7-0 with six stoppages up to this point. Hey, Luke, you know what we should do? We should consider trying one in boxing. What do you think? I think it's a good idea.
Starting point is 01:37:59 I think it's a good idea. What if we did one on Canelo? I mean, that would be a free. Canelo is a i think he's a minus 700 favorite right now yeah that would be a test of this thing a lot of people that were saying i i would that would be interesting that would be interesting there are a lot of people though that are saying first of all that same night as ufc and you've got a chance to to sting up colby but there's just as many people that are DMing me going, hey, if you want to test it, put it on Usman that night.
Starting point is 01:38:26 If you really want to test that shit, Luke. No, I think if you want to test it, you put it on Canelo because he's such an overwhelming favorite. Alright. I don't know who the favorite is between Colby and Kamaru. Probably Kamaru. I doubt he's a huge favorite. He's not
Starting point is 01:38:41 going to be minus 700 against Colby. I guarantee you that i can i can tell you the answer to that luke i have it right here if you're willing to hear it as of right now draft kings has colby at plus 245 minus 310 kamaru that's actually a lot higher than i thought it would be but even then not even close to minus 700 why don't we just put it on Weili? What are her odds? She's minus 105, and Rose is minus 115. Oh, I mean, it's hard to tell who's going to win that one. I mean, no way.
Starting point is 01:39:14 Yeah, that's interesting. All right, Joseph, Dan, and Hansel sent this one. No word from Gretel. Gretel? All right, hey, Donks. Hansel and Gretel. Onay's episode is that the the fairy tale where the where that old lady eats them or did i make that yeah dude they're putting kids and shit or whoever in ovens it's like that's like the holocaust yeah that's i'm not i'm not supporting
Starting point is 01:39:36 that joke at all luke uh hey donks on monday's episode while showing valentina's post-win group photo oh i got shit for this bc BC claimed Brandon Moreno was in the picture too, but that was not Brandon Moreno, just a pale guy with dark hair and eyes. Luke, I wish I had this guy's picture ready. Apparently if you go on that picture and click the names,
Starting point is 01:39:58 it links to this man's Instagram account. Can you please blow this up? I don't mean to sound like Mike Goldberg here, Luke, but if you look up the guy who that really is, virtually identical. I think that's a fair mistake. Look at that guy. I think it's
Starting point is 01:40:14 Whitey who thinks all people of a different nationality and potentially racial group just all look the same. Can somebody in the back quickly look up who that person is but yeah also why is uh why is steve bannon in her corner yeah why is ian anderson from jethro tall with the pit with the purple cravat standing there partying up with them yes all right yes apparently it's not brandon marino and i will i will take that l
Starting point is 01:40:44 because uh all right that made a lot of people upset. All right, let's go here. This is from Thomas, Michael, and Mark. Quote, I'm afraid to say that douchebag flexing on the subway was from Toronto. What can you say? Douchiness is borderless. Luke, we got a bunch of people saying this was not the New York City subway system, but because of those red seats and bars, that is Toronto.
Starting point is 01:41:07 That's fine. That's fine. I didn't know which one it was. I had said it was New York, but if you actually go back and I'll take the L. I definitely said it was NYC. You said it might be DC. You didn't know what we didn't know what it was. I had said because the seats, like if you go to New York City seats, they're always flat to the wall of the car itself.
Starting point is 01:41:24 They don't stick out from the side. The ones on D.C. do, but I know this is not D.C. Yeah, there's a yellow line in New York. I forgot. There's letters. And those have those seats, Luke. It's weird. It's awkward because there's that one in the corner that no one wants to sit in. That's fine, but I didn't know that was Toronto. Because you're basically sitting
Starting point is 01:41:39 in someone's crotch if you sit in that corner seat. Nobody wants to sit in the corner seat. I hate that. I hate that shit. Yeah, alright. Here we go go this wow about seven different people sent this in i'm not even going to read their names on monday's show at 124 15 when talking about john jones bc said connor did not get in trouble when he threw the dolly through the bus window and scared the crap out of joanna it was rose who got scared you big bitch this just proves that bc sits at his desk without pants on thinking about yoana all day long love the show and i hope that was enough to get on the show on friday it was and yes in the moment i was dead wrong ray board caught it to the eye
Starting point is 01:42:18 it was rose who got freaked out and somebody else got hurt too luke do you remember who it was michael kiesa. Yes, that's right. That's right. Okay, okay. He sued Conor, remember? That's right. Okay, yeah.
Starting point is 01:42:31 Conor, by the way, no sanctioning on him from the UFC at all. They're like, here, you want to make $30 million in one night for that? Let's use it to, yeah. Let's figure out a way. All right. Luke, your phone's buzzing. I'm sure you have to crap, so let's speed this up. Okay, this one's from Moe.
Starting point is 01:42:48 At 136.55, in regards to CKB moving to the U.S. and BC suggesting Kevin Lee, Luke states. You're taking a beating today, huh? Luke states, what can Kevin Lee benefit from CKB that he doesn't get from Extreme Couture? Luke is dead wrong as Kevin Lee trains at TriStar. I also agree with BC. Kevin Lee trains at Extreme Couture and gets occasionally cornered by Faraz. It is
Starting point is 01:43:14 not true. His home gym is Extreme Couture. Oh shit, Moe. What are you going to do with that? Moe also says... He does train at TriStar on occasion. For sure, for sure, his home gym is Extreme Couture. I know that for a fact. All right, Moe says that he agrees with BC that Lee would benefit from a move there
Starting point is 01:43:32 because TriStar hasn't been having consistent success for a long time, and they turn fighters into a generic jab-centric fighter with not much else. Only fighting doing well there since Rory and gsp is arnold allen tri-star is where fighters with individual styles go to die end quote from moe luke you're not gonna agree with that shit no that's a complete oversimplification yeah you don't know shit moe all right yeah all right greg slides in first dead wrong was when the King of Connecticut, B.C., was discussing round four of Gastelum Adesanya, claiming Kelvin executed a near-fight-ending submission attempt. As a matter of fact, the submission attempt came in round five,
Starting point is 01:44:15 and it wasn't Kelvin who nearly scored it. It was Adesanya who locked up the tight triangle that Kelvin barely managed to escape. Okay, that's fair fair i was dead wrong i forgot it was back and forth it was the best fight i was ever at live though look you'll never forget it except when you do you know one time in an interview i was like izzy i just want to thank you for that fight and look he was like touched and i didn't expect that okay that's good journalism from you to be like yo bro that shit was rad yeah that shit was
Starting point is 01:44:45 off the hook finally luke greg brian and adam are here to say don't worry luke i saved you for last the real life brian griffin was dead wrong during the odds and ends of the show when discussing the current title picture at 135 claiming that tj dillashaw once held an interim title in the division i know i got killed for this. Don't mean to be blunt, but TJ never held interim, bro. Never, never. He's a two-time Undisputed Champion. For some reason, yeah.
Starting point is 01:45:12 For some reason, dude, I assumed, like, I mean, I lived through all this, and I can't get it right. He beat Burau, and for some reason, I thought that it was still – I fucked it up. Like, yes, I'm wrong. He believes that you were thinking of Burau. I must have been. I must have been.
Starting point is 01:45:29 All right. It's amazing you can live through all this, and then like five years later, like, wait, what happened? Dude, I lived through Gastelum Adesanya. I forgot which guy had the damn choke on. Luke, we always close Friday show to send you off on the weekend with a little bit of advice, a recommendation, just a blunt, bare, naked tip.
Starting point is 01:45:49 And then we rub it together. It's called Tip to Tip. Tip to Tip. This is where we touch tips. All right, Luke, what do you got? What do you got? You got anything? I'll go first.
Starting point is 01:46:02 Yeah. So during the middle of the pandemic, most people didn't pay attention to this in fact when it came out i was shocked at how no one paid attention to it so with the u.s withdrew from afghanistan and it was a shit show and everyone had a take about that but there had been reporting uh during the middle of the pandemic that had presaged that and there's a one guy at the post at Washington post where I subscribe, who has been doing a lot of work to this effect. His name is Craig Whitlock. Um,
Starting point is 01:46:29 the, the reporting was so good that they, they put up this huge feature. And again, no one paid attention to it, died on the vine in the middle of the pandemic, but it ended up being so important that they turned it into a book. Uh,
Starting point is 01:46:40 it was in the plan to be a book even prior to the withdrawal, but, um, they, they still put it all together. So here's a book recommendation for you. It is called The Afghanistan Papers by Craig Whitlock. Let me pull it back a little bit so you can see the cover and it does not all blurry. There you have it.
Starting point is 01:46:56 This is the definitive account of all of the ways in which the United States government and the military leadership involved all knew that this was a disaster waiting to happen, that there was no way once we left there was ever going to be any kind of stable democracy. It was always going to go back to the Taliban and that everyone lied to the American people along the way across four different administrations and two different political parties. There you go. There's a definitive account. Craig Whitlock's The Afghanistan Papers. this is the definitive account of what happened seems like a riveting read luke yeah well if you're into learning things yeah yeah i'm into being entertained by music luke and i hit up one of my favorite local i've got this vinyl from this dude you never heard of it goes on four hours of him just farting into a flute. So I was over at Seabug's record store in East Windsor, Connecticut the other day,
Starting point is 01:47:47 and Luke, I had trouble finding this thing on vinyl locally for a while, and I was so pumped up. So Luke, you know I love me some Crosby, Stills, and Nash. I'm addicted to essentially acquiring every solo album from all four members. It's going to take time, especially with Neil Young's prolific nature. But Luke, even though David Crosby is largely considered the face of CSNY, all four members it's going to take time especially with neil young's prolific nature but luke even though david crosby is largely considered the face of csny and really the birds when he was there he's kind of like overrated historically from the standpoint that he's not a great songwriter he
Starting point is 01:48:19 doesn't have a bunch of hits in fact his solo career is largely non-existent much of his solo career was really a duo with him and Graham Nash. They went under the group name of Crosby and Nash, but he does have an epic album, his solo debut, 1971, that no one ever freaking talks about and is so unique and different and weird and awesome that it is worth anyone's test drive if you're into this type of shit. It's called If I Could Only Remember My Name. First of all, the album cover is fantastic.
Starting point is 01:48:51 Could his nose be bigger? I mean, what are we doing? Now look, Crosby's an asshole in real life, and he's one of the most notorious drug users of all time. In fact, if you remember, Luke, before, he only agreed to go to rehab in 83 if they let him shoot up heroin on the helicopter ride there but as a harmonizing vocalist he's incredible but this
Starting point is 01:49:14 is his solo work of songs he wrote and what makes this album so insanely good is it's it's extreme psychedelic rock and it's in it was recorded in 1971 which came after the psychedelic rock. And it was recorded in 1971, which came after the psychedelic boom. Yet it's a mixture of psychedelic and folk. And what makes it so super special are the session players on it. This was essentially him opening up the studio to all of his friends.
Starting point is 01:49:37 So you have basically the entire Grateful Dead, including Jerry Garcia on slide, the members of Jefferson Airplane, the members of Santana, the other members of CSNY, and Joni Mitchell interchanging on each song. And it is just an incredible journey, especially in the headphones late at night, of just really the final stand of that genre, psychedelic rock, but with that folk influence. And it's a special mix right there. It's one of the forgotten great classic rock
Starting point is 01:50:05 albums maybe largely because Crosby doesn't really have much of a solo career and he's much more well known for the projects he's done with others but uh this is a great great one and maybe that's the kind of shit I'm into these days and maybe you're not but if you stumble across this piece of vinyl and your name is Aaron Bronstetter you will will not be disappointed. So if that's a conversation for one, that's a fantastic album that I'm happy to add to my collection. Luke, I am just becoming one with my turntable. I rock a 1982 Quasar and
Starting point is 01:50:33 you know, sometimes my wife wonders if that's the only woman I need in my life, you know? Pair of headphones, plug it in. Yeah, I don't think that's true, but it's not the worst way to live. Yeah, that's where I'm at, at age 43. Yeah, I don't think that's true, but it's not the worst way to live. Yeah, that's where I'm at, at age 43. So thank you very much.
Starting point is 01:50:50 Luke, that's our show for this week. Hopefully it was entertaining. What a week for us, Luke. New doc, bonus content, new segments. We got a lot of good shit hitting you. So head on over to youtube.com slash morning combat to check out what you missed. If you care at all about Luke Thomas,omas you can check out thursday's live chat which was moved back to his personal channel on youtube for the first time but you know that's more just
Starting point is 01:51:13 trade or commie bullshit you want to be doing mk stuff follow us at the social handles below like and subscribe to what we're doing here on the road to 100k buy our merch at morning combat dot store and you can get 10 off to help yourself there using our code live 10 do that right now and you can get yourself outfitted nicely and and some good shit look remember that couple there were two couples and they were in the living room and they all had shirts on they were watching us yes they said thank you for helping us make our house a home what did we do just by putting they said thank you for helping us make our house a home. What did we do? Just by putting, they said, so this is what this dude says.
Starting point is 01:51:51 I respect this dude. He says that his girl and his buddy's girl, they hate fight sports, but every time they all hang out, they put on our show because they love the banter between us. They feel like they are the other friends in our friend circle. That's cool. That's actually a really nice compliment uh it's definitely not true but you know it's nice do you think after watching our show that the that the couples intermingle at all i just wish you would i wish you would like mk is like an aphrodisiac in that way look you're the you're the worst osama bin Campbell, here we go again.
Starting point is 01:52:25 All right. Speaking of great relationships that consummate to the tune of big-time successes, MK and DK, we encourage you, when you're checking out the NFL action this week, why not put at least $1 on one game? Well, what do you get for that? If you put in the code COMBATWITHAK, you'll not only be supporting our show,
Starting point is 01:52:44 but our friends at DraftKings for first-time subscribers who download the DraftKings Sportsbook app, you will get $150 to use and bet on how you like. You want to bet some NFL? You want to use some of that on some UFC or boxing? Join the revolution of what's going on on DraftKings and support us at Morning Combat. Even if online betting is not yet legal in your state and it's coming to Connecticut any second, please download their fantasy games and their apps and enter for a chance to win $1 million. Luke, this is the deal of a century. I'm proud to be offering it to people and no, I will not make any MK and DK further jokes beyond that because I want to keep this sponsorship, right? I'm glad. But yes, go bet.
Starting point is 01:53:28 Go have fun betting. You don't have to put down a lot. Obviously, bet responsibly and bet where it's legal and all that kind of good stuff. Combat with a K. You put $1 down maybe on the CBS games, the Packers and the Steelers, the Broncos and the Ravens. And yeah, you're going to get $153 to go just fuck around with.
Starting point is 01:53:47 I mean, what could be better than that? What about the people that say every Sunday, I usually put $1 down on the stage at my local gentleman's club? God bless them, but I don't believe they put down just one. Well, here's the deal. They put NFL games on the screens usually right next to the boobs. So, you know, you can really combine. You can have your, you know.
Starting point is 01:54:09 I can actually say quite confidently I have never been to a strip club on a Sunday. I can say that very easily. You've done that? Like, hey, I'm going to go catch the Washington football game and get the tater tots at the strip club buffet? You know how there's big-time moments in sports history, and you're like, I remember where I was during that. going to go catch the Washington football game and get the tater tots at the buffet you know there's big time moments in sports history and you're like I remember where I was during that you know I was at my buddy's house or I was on a plane or whatever yes Luke do you remember in the
Starting point is 01:54:33 snow when Vinatieri hit that field goal against the Steelers to lift the Patriots yes I was in a I was in a dark dingy uh place with a big stage that night. Yeah, I'll never forget that, Luke. Damn, you are a DJ. Do you know what they had, though? They had ice chips in the urinals. Bro, there is no... You know what your tip of the week is? If your club puts ice in the urinals... Luke, there's something just...
Starting point is 01:54:58 Wait, did they put ice chips in the urinals? Or more likely, the guy who was cleaning the bathroom who finds the glasses there, chucks it in the urinal before he collects the glass to go be washed again. No, no. There's a dude who just comes by with this giant ice bucket and just refills the urinals. And when you go to take a whiz, Luke, it's just, I don't know,
Starting point is 01:55:17 it makes you feel more like a man. It's really a, you know, if you know what you want. I'm going to use my hot piss to melt these ice chips. I also saw the tuck rule game. Was that the same game? No, that was against the Raiders. I also saw that in the same establishment. I'm sorry, Luke.
Starting point is 01:55:29 That was a dark period of my life, okay? I can tell. Jesus Christ. Even I haven't done something quite like that, but I've done some terrible things. Yeah, yeah. That's what we do here on Fridays on Morning Combat. We admit our terrible things.
Starting point is 01:55:41 Luke, do you have any weekend plans beyond covering some great fights and taking Saturday off? Got some fun plans in the city they're going to shut down a three mile stretch of a major thoroughfare here for no cars so it'll just be people for miles and miles quite literally and there's going to be street fairs and stuff i think i might check that out i'm gonna do uh i'm gonna spend some time um lifting in the front yard now that the weather is nice again. Yeah, it's going to be nice. It's going to be nice and chill.
Starting point is 01:56:12 And by the way, on the 23rd, the All Blacks, the New Zealand rugby team, are playing the USA rugby team here in D.C. I'm going to go to that on the 23rd. I don't see color, Luke. Well, that's their name, the All Blacks. Yes, yes. Enjoy your rugby. Hope you and your family have a great weekend. You said Pepe's moving out, right?
Starting point is 01:56:26 Not till January, but yeah. Okay. Will he ever appear on the show in any form? No. All right. Well, he's got a fan base. They don't even... My family to this day, like even this morning,
Starting point is 01:56:38 will be like, what time is your show? They just don't. It's not... You know Damien the Donk with those satanic tattoos? He's got a podcast where all they do is break down Pepe's potential, like what he's putting down. I mean, it's wild. Shout out to Damo there in the 209.
Starting point is 01:56:55 We're a big fan of that dude. Shout out to Damo O'Hara who wrote that incredible I Can Be Your Co-Host Baby song and recorded that. That was great shit. Love our people. Shout out to our great staff here at CBS Sports, Showtime, Amalka, Gaff Pierre running the show today. We appreciate you.
Starting point is 01:57:10 Luke, there's not much else to say here, okay? May all of your ex-lovers hopefully stay satisfied. Not by you. You want to know why? Because you're old and washed. And so are we. Leave us a five-star review on Apple Podcast. We out.

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