MORNING KOMBAT WITH LUKE THOMAS AND BRIAN CAMPBELL - UFC Signs Exclusive Deal w/ Paramount | Hernandez DOMINATES Dolidze | UFC Vegas 109 | PFL Africa

Episode Date: August 11, 2025

Reveille, Revellie Donks! Luke Thomas and Brian Campbell are back for a Monday edition of Morning Kombat! First up, the guys discuss the new exclusive deal the UFC signed with Paramount early this mor...ning to broadcast all 43 of their live events beginning in 2026. Next, Fluffy Hernandez scored the best win of his career and eighth in a row as he brutally stopped Roman Dolidze in the fourth round via rear-naked choke. Just how impressive was this victory and does he now jump the line ahead of the winner of Caio Borralho-Nassourdine Imavov? Steve Erceg scored a unanimous decision victory over Ode Osbourne, but the fight nearly got out of hand several times. Should this lackluster performance be viewed as Erceg dealing with nerves after three consecutive losses or are there bigger issues with Erceg's development and overall skill level? And more results from UFC Apex 109, including Elijah Smith's slam KO of Toshiomi Kazama! Plus, the fellas recap the results from PFL Africa and the implications, including Francis Ngannou's no-show.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Starting point is 00:00:00 This is an I-Heart podcast. Revely, Revely. Look at us now, tip to tip. Oh, Jesus. Oh, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. Do you want a margarita? Oh, my God. It's us doing what we love.
Starting point is 00:00:33 It's time to bang. Oh, yeah, the UFC has a new broadcasting home for the next seven years in morning combat is here to break it down Monday, August 11th, 2025. Welcome on in. I am the freshly dyed hair of Brian Campbell. I just got younger. Wow. Next to me is gray and old balls, Luke Thomas,
Starting point is 00:01:02 and we are here for a fantastic Monday morning show, remote, but still on fire and in your absolute face hole. As morning combat brings it to you. Welcome on in. Luke Thomas, certainly massive breaking news that we're going to get to in full detail in a few seconds,
Starting point is 00:01:21 but how the heck are you outside of that? You had a weekend away with the fam? You got a little tan? Yeah, I got a little tan. I had a dude. I know you were we were texting about it the other day you know sometimes you have vacations and they go great and sometimes they don't go well and it can be a mix this year man because i didn't take much of a vacation last year um well that's not quite true but it i didn't spend my my family took one vacation without me because that was the same weekend that we had ufc 300 and garcia haney remember that oh yeah so i didn't get to spend a lot of time with them when i wanted to and this time i did and it was amazing i do want to say one more thing too man tuki is six now and you You know, when she, it's going to sound a little weird, right? But, like, I didn't know how to play with kids when I had her because I never had kids prior.
Starting point is 00:02:07 I never had, like, cousins that I played with all that much. And, you know, I didn't know what it meant to have fun with your kid on the kids' terms all that well. Well, now I do. And it is, dude, it's joy beyond joy. It is the best thing ever. So I had a great time. Hey, I love when your heart is joyful, Luke. It's always good to be a kid again.
Starting point is 00:02:28 And it's always good, by the way, as well, to support this show by liking us on YouTube, by subscribing, by following our social channels and our extended YouTube personal channels in the MK Universe. Welcome to everybody watching on the Draft Kings Network, live on YouTube, or maybe podcast only in your earhole. I also want to tell you about some merch. I'm fresh off of CBS Sports HQ, so I'm dressed nicer than normal. But you know I'd be wearing something for MorningCombat.com. dot shop and our August exclusives brought to you by average Joe Art. How about the M.K. Beavis and Butthead shirt?
Starting point is 00:03:03 How about vaping is for closers? And of course, our autographed posters this month's exclusive, Super Wash Dads. And oh, by the way, I'm told, just five signed posters remaining. These things are hot and flying off the shelves over there. They'll last until they last, folks. Your August exclusives are right there.
Starting point is 00:03:24 Go to morningcombat.combat. shop right now we've also obviously got some evergreen shirts hats some other stuff you can check out outfit your children today because mk like wu tang is for for the children yeah yeah there you go let's say hi quickly to the third member of our team a producer a director the son of an australian he's a podcaster as well on the main card minute mr luke long island no ceda what's up boys you know mystery bet hit again this weekend anthony fluffy hernandez sub over three and a half rounds plus 800 this is the fourth time in a month that the mystery bet is hit during the streams has that ever happened before yeah dude it's 14 and 75 lifetime
Starting point is 00:04:06 i've placed almost 90 mystery bets and it's up like 25 units because the ones that hit are so juicy it's awesome you called it a sub i called it a mad eh all right up with fluffy down with georgia there wow what a main event on saturday that of course we are going to get into in a big way big fans of you guys thank you for prioritizing to be here with us on mk um l t what else did i want to say this morning anything else um i don't know you definitely did get younger with the hair dye job you know what i mean how how much younger could i get five years a lot a lot especially if you do it right so i usually put the just for men in for like 10 minutes and it doesn't do much more it's like no you got to go 30 and look look at the difference i mean it's been sitting on my
Starting point is 00:04:50 counter for about two months, but I finally had a reason, like Hubistank, to, uh, to turn this around. You know what I mean? By the way, on the, on the drive to the beach, we put on Spotify 90s hits, 90s, brother, a lot of seven merry three, a lot of gin blossoms. Brother, we were rocking out like some honkies. Yeah, very cumbersome of you, Luke. I like that. Combersome. Home to have that too. Oh, there we go. All right. I know I had something else.
Starting point is 00:05:21 I know what it is, folks. No Friday episode this week, but this Thursday, live, 11 a.m. Eastern from Meadowlark Studios in Manhattan and live on YouTube, of course, Morning Combat presents UFC 319 pregame preview. Yeah, real talk like men do as we get you ready for DDP versus Hamza and the top to bottom pay-per-view from Chicago. It's L-T. It's B-C. The L-I-L behind the window. But Luke Thomas, we have a celebrity third man coming in for this show. Who we got? Who we got? We got UFC Hammer, Matt Frivolta. By the way, former guest
Starting point is 00:06:00 on our room service diary series, and we brought him back because we needed someone who could deliver the boom. And we feel like, also, I mean, here's the reality. You got to book a fighter, right? who can have a little bit of fun and i feel like he you know he connects all those dots for us right he does connect all those dots for us so you said he brings the boom just like big justice and a j look okay but uh he's also a new father he represents long out i think look out look does he live in your damn town can't you just pick him up on the way in i was going to say that's the
Starting point is 00:06:36 reason we got him because my car is broken down i need a ride to the studio that there is shout out there it is so shout out to frivol uh he did survive that fight against bSD it was I won't bring that up on Thursday or maybe a few times you never go yeah it was very vicious but you know what he's also delivered some knockouts himself so we gotta you know very true he's a game fighter all right we got five topics for you we got have you seen this shit and your DM still to come but breaking news right off the top do we have any jingle or song to hit that up with please just into the mk newsroom hey guys seriously, 2006, the new broadcasting deal for UFC is a record-breaking, massive one.
Starting point is 00:07:19 UFC signs an exclusive deal with Paramount to air 13 premium live events, no call and pay-per-views, and 30 fight night cards live on Paramount Plus with the potential future of some live streaming on CBS as well. And when you want to talk about money, how long did we say we are looking, for $1 billion per year. They're going to get a little more of that as this seven-year deal will cost upwards of $7.7 billion,
Starting point is 00:07:53 a massive deal. Now, this also brings to the end for the first time since UFC launched in 1993, the idea of pay-for-play, pay-per-view. As in this deal, Paramount also reported they will not raise the prices on their streaming service. I think it's $1299 or $8.99 with ads. everything the UFC is offering. No Netflix, no ESPN, and this certainly on this Monday morning
Starting point is 00:08:20 was a monster surprise in terms of breaking news. Luke Thomas, first and foremost, what does this mean to the sport, to the fans, to the fighters, to everything following such a surprise curveball in the UFC rights negotiation? Well, we have to unpack those piece by piece because I don't think they mean the same thing for every entity. But let's just start with who we are as fans. And I don't know how getting rid of pay-per-view and putting everything under, I mean, everything's kind of already under one umbrella, but the basic idea is everything under one umbrella and getting rid of pay-per-view. I mean, the pay-per-view is how the UFC was birthed in 1993. It is how it has made, I mean, if you grew up in the, you know, pre and certainly the post-ultimate fighter era,
Starting point is 00:09:08 A pay-per-view was everything. It was the dominant way in which they made money. It certainly is the number of events are still more key events, obviously. That hasn't changed necessarily. But it's been the linchpin of that business for basically as long as it's been around, perhaps up until recently. But the costs have obviously been a lot. And as we know, UFC is not the only combat sports game in town. Boxing is in pay-per-view.
Starting point is 00:09:32 BKFC is in pay-per-view and all the different, you know, misfits boxing and everything else. All these different things are for the most. part and one way or the other, often behind pay-per-view, not exclusively, but often. And it just becomes overwhelming and piracy has become itself as a consequence overwhelming. It was always a problem, but I think now it's been now a different level. BC, we have this fresh quote. This came to us, by the way, from TCO chief operating officer, Mark Shapiro, quote, the pay-per-view model is a thing of the past, he writes.
Starting point is 00:10:01 What's on pay-per-view anymore? Boxing, movies on direct TV. It's an outdated, antiquated model. So it was paramount to us, forgive the pun, where it's one-stop shopping, especially for our younger fans and flyover states. When they find out, wait, if I just sign up for Paramount Plus for $12.99 a month, I'm going to automatically get UFC's numbered fights and the rest of the portfolio. That's a message we want to amplify. It's a on this level alone, BC, on this level alone, the end of pay-per-view is a model. Monster W for, I think, the fans.
Starting point is 00:10:40 And I kept paying pay-per-view. I know a lot of folks didn't. There was one time I certainly had to pirate when the UFC 301 was a mess behind ESPN Plus's paywall. I'm sure everyone on some level has pirated now and again, which speaks to that point, but not having to pay extra beyond what you had to pay for ESPN Plus, because remember, you had to pay that subscription fee plus what it cost on that end to do it. Now, I do have a question about that, though, BC, which is obviously paramount. and CBS are a bigger company than DeZone.
Starting point is 00:11:11 DeZone is a, you know, a minor entity relative to that. But I do recall DeZone getting into the market saying we're done with pay-per-view, that's it. And then, you know, a year or two passes and you've got to pay for a pay-per-view even on top of what you get for DeZone. Could there be a world, B.C., where they realize, uh-oh, this doesn't make a lot of sense because, as our intrepid producer pointed out, this deal is worth $7.7 billion. As it stands today, Paramount's market cap is $6.6 billion.
Starting point is 00:11:40 So the deal is worth more than the company itself. Now, of course, you're saying, well, yeah, they're making a bet that they'll make on the back end, you know, through the life of this deal. Then they will, you know, paying essentially upfront for it. Yeah, fine. I'm sure that's the gamble that they're making. But if you just do the math, and again, not all events are created equal, they're getting basically $25 million an event.
Starting point is 00:12:04 that's the average 25 million an event are you going to make all that back on viewers and sponsorship from what you sell on CBS and linear or on on digital ads again i don't know the answer to that it's huge but that's paramount's problem to figure out that's the executives on the on the consumer side massive w no doubt and look this is a major splash for david ellison of skydance fresh off of the merger to acquire paramount from the redstones and this like you see said is really, I mean, a lot of ways it's about putting Paramount Plus in a huge way on the map in the streaming wars. And they're certainly going to raise that, raise the image of that, the reputation of that in such a big way of this. And you just look at it as the ESPN deal,
Starting point is 00:12:50 which will end at the end of this calendar year, that was five years, $1.5 billion. This is seven years, 7.7 billion. So it'll be $1.1 billion per year. Now, as it stands right now, this is just United States that this covers for UFC event or maybe North America. I'm not officially sure, but one thing that was interesting in the CNBC story that that was part of the breaking news of this is that Paramount is interested in buying UFC's international rights to pair with the U.S. rights. The company said in a statement, Paramount will have a 30-day exclusive negotiating window for each country's rights when they're up for renewal, which is something Mark Shapiro said in the CNBC stories. So that's showing you that Paramount is not just in for a little bit. They're all in.
Starting point is 00:13:37 And Luke, you know, we got to give credit to people, as you did on Twitter, like the, the, uh, MMA draw kidnade over there, Zach Arnold. They were ahead of the game and saying that Paramount was in these negotiations when everybody else was. But I think a lot of us thought it would be a portion of the deal or maybe they're using one company to raise the price. Dude, this was fairly shocking to wake up to on this Monday morning as a CBS Paramount. employee to see that they've got the full boat moving forward. So I think I said it earlier. It's 13 PLEs.
Starting point is 00:14:09 It's 30 fight nights. No word yet on where Dana White's contender series is going to go, on where Zupa boxing is going to go. Chris Manix of Sports Illustrated did report, according to a source in TKO, that those are going to be separate deals that they're still looking to make moving forward. But for the UFC, for TKO, for Paramount, even, this is so massive. This is so record-breaking. Luke, do you think that we really have a chance of elevating the sport with this deal?
Starting point is 00:14:38 And I say that cautiously because the UFC being on ESPN was massive for exposure, having SportsCenter lead with it, having, you know, the desk on the ground out there. But now you're eliminating pay-per-view, which I really do think is the biggest aspect of this news, along with the selling number, the price that it took to get there. But do you see this as being a potential bridge to the casual, fans to really push the UFC brand and the sport moving forward. Well, I don't know about that. I mean, that's a little harder for me to say.
Starting point is 00:15:09 I mean, okay, so it's a great. I actually think that's one of the more important questions. It's like, people like, oh, you know, and we'll talk about the fight or pay component because I do think that's a big one, right? If for no other reason, then they just can't literally do it the way that they used to do it, right? They're not, there's no more pay-per-view points unless they tie it to ratings, but anyway, separate conversation.
Starting point is 00:15:28 How big is it to be on CBS? obviously a very big deal. I mean, dude, CBS has had a really interesting history with MMA. The Strike Force Nashville brawl took place on CBS, and now they're in the 1.1 annually million dollar, billion dollar business, I should say, with the ultimate fighting championship. It's a big network, but that's only for, as I understand it, let me pull up the press release, because I read this earlier and I was like, am I imagining this? I don't know that I am. Here's what it says on the press release. Starting in 2026, Paramount will exclusively distribute UFC's full slate of 13 marquee numbered events and 30 fight nights via its direct-to-consumering platform Paramount Plus with select numbered events to be simulcast on CBS.
Starting point is 00:16:14 They're not even saying all the numbered events are going on CBS, BC. They're saying some of the numbered events. Yep. can you really beat ESPN's mainstream casual fan exposure on Paramount? You can definitely do it on CBS. Yes. Can you do it on Paramount Plus? I don't think the answer to that is yes.
Starting point is 00:16:40 And they're saying that some of the numbered events, what we now commonly understand this pay-per-view, are going to be aired there. So I don't, like, it seems to me that the big play here is Paramount wants Paramount plus to be bigger than it is. You can get some NFL games on there. I watch, I already have a subscription. I already watch Champions League on there. They're trying to get something that is seasonal, or sorry, I should say not seasonal. It's year round. And which, you know, UFC fans are very, very loyal to UFC, at least historically speaking. They're trying to, they're trying to raise
Starting point is 00:17:11 the profile. But are you going to a place if you're UFC that already has a bigger profile? Well, for CBS, sure, I can buy that. For everything else, I don't think the answer today right now is yes. Let's see if they can grow the pie to maybe change that equation. Dana White will be on CBS Sports HQ, by the way, today at 3 p.m. Eastern time to talk about that more. Crazy because so many of us thought that Netflix was going to be a big part of this deal, that they were going to continue the recent trend of major big boxing events and not signing an exclusive deal with a promoter, but being in a situation to potentially do
Starting point is 00:17:48 six to eight UFC paper views. I hope for what you just said that CBS will end up simulcasting, you know, a few of these really big shows to help that push across there. But, Luke, this is very interesting for TCO's continued really takeover of the sports business, you know, media and broadcasting rights environment here. Because if you're a WWE fan, you previously paid a subscription for the WWE network to get everything. Then that moved to Peacock.
Starting point is 00:18:19 And if you subscribe to Peacock, you got all the pay-per-views or PLEs, what have you. Now, the W.W.E and TKO just signed that massive deal with ESPN, where you now have to pay, you have to pay the ESPN plus subscription. And then additionally, you have to pay for pay-per-views, basically. It's like a reverse of where the model was for the last 11 years. And now you've got UFC flipping that around completely. So definitely, MMA fans are going to win big hair because you have to believe that Paramount could have, could have.
Starting point is 00:18:48 jacked up their subscription price. And maybe over time, it will grow like ESPN Plus did. But first and foremost, Luke, I got to get your reaction to not needing ESPN Plus anymore after you feuded with that streaming service for years. And I do want to get your reaction at Netflix not being a part of this. Well, I mean, I was sitting here puffing my chest down on Twitter being like, I can't wait to cancel my subscription. But then I thought about it.
Starting point is 00:19:11 I'm not so sure that I can right away. Let's talk about that. First of all, we don't know where Road to UFC, not that I watch. the ultimate fighter, but I'm curious to see where it ends up. But certainly one thing that would be of interest to me is contender series. So just those three alone, like do they go to fight pass? Are they also going to be on
Starting point is 00:19:28 Paramount for an additional amount of money or they're just going to throw in with a deal later? Or are those properties staying on ESPN Plus? I don't know the answer to that. More to the point, BC, what about PFL here? Now, if you're a PFL, you've got a question you've got to ask yourself.
Starting point is 00:19:44 Is it better that UFC is gone because you could say to yourself, well, now we are the only MMA game in town and, you know, we're going to be obviously much less costly than UFC and maybe there's a deliverable there that they like. On the other hand, if you're ESPN and you're out of the UFC business, why do you want to stay in the MMA business?
Starting point is 00:20:06 So like, there's a real question there about what's going to happen. Plus, Chris Mannix reported earlier today that this has nothing to do with the TKO boxing deal. So if your TKO, you already have, starting in, I guess, 2026, as you indicated, WWE going over there, right? Maybe contender series and some other properties stay over there. And it's possible that TKO boxing, or sorry, Zufa boxing ends up back over there. In which case, I don't know that you can readily just get rid of it right away.
Starting point is 00:20:38 I think there's a question for it. But, B.C., if I don't have to pay 80 freaking dollars every month, you know it makes it a lot more tolerable long term even if I recognize that the ESPN plus service sucks the backside of my balls you know what I'm saying you your pay lot toes yeah what do you make of Netflix not not jumping in after looking like they were going to be the premier carrier of the biggest fights I don't know what to make of that I think we need some additional reporting like it was weird that they were everything everyone who was talking to people on the inside of the story was like, okay, it's going to be some ESPN Netflix arrangement.
Starting point is 00:21:19 I think we even said that on Friday show that seems like that's the closest arrangement. We had known from the MMA draws reporting in some other places that, you know, Paramount was an outside player, but we didn't know, like, you know, that the equation had changed so substantially. I don't know what it says about Netflix, B.C. I mean, they're still in the WWE business, right? and they're going to be, I guess, for a little while longer on some level, the Jake Paul business. So it's not like they're out of combat sports.
Starting point is 00:21:51 Well, they're in the raw business in the U.S. And then Netflix has the full WW package internationally. Internationally. Okay, fair enough. But I guess what I would say to that is it's hard for me to not notice that they had this momentum for a deal they were building and that it all got blown up. with some kind of turkey getting sideways with the female Netflix executive, and then nothing was really ever the same after that exactly. So I don't know.
Starting point is 00:22:25 I mean, look, who knows? Could Contender Series end up on there? I seriously doubt it. I think they're looking for more marquee stuff. But it's just funny, dude, like they, you think it's good. Dude, never forget, never forget. Before the UFC signed with Fox, Dana White put out a video on the UFC's YouTube channel saying,
Starting point is 00:22:45 folks, man, I remember this. I remember this very distinctly, saying that the UFC was going to sign a deal with ESPN and it was going to change the face over the future of MMA forever. And then they didn't sign one. They actually went instead and signed with Fox Sports. Like there's always these last minute direction changes
Starting point is 00:23:01 that can come out of nowhere. And besides, man, like based on what the numbers we were hearing, 1.1 billion versus what I was hearing and reading was, you know, 7 to 800 million annually for the, what they were looking. at between all the different properties for ESPN. I mean, dude, it's a no, I mean, how do you turn the, dude, how do you turn down $1.1 billion annually? That's such an enormous sum of money that you don't have to share with the fighters. Like, how do you, how do you turn that down?
Starting point is 00:23:33 It's just, it's game changing amount of money. I mean, no word yet on what this means for the fighters, but loss of paper viewpoints, pay is probably stagnant, moving forward, right? Well, I mean, let's talk about the pay component because I don't know what to say here. I think that two things I would say, first, if you're a UFC entrant or, you know, you make 50 to, you know, 200K-ish somewhere in there for a fight, I don't think this deal affects the way you get paid at all, right? I mean, again, we'll have to see long term.
Starting point is 00:24:06 I don't know, but right away, nothing strikes me. The question that is more interesting to me is the high end. I think that's where I'm like, what does this mean? Now, someone might noticeably say, well, weren't pay-per-view buys so down that, A, the UFC just got rid of them, and B, it wasn't. So for folks who don't know how pay-per-view points works, they can change this up per deal, but let me give you an example of how it works. It's a ladder, okay? So any buys that, let's say, Ilya fights on pay-per-view, and I'm going to make something up, BC. sells a million pay-per-view buys how does that work well he gets in a certain dollar amount from
Starting point is 00:24:45 zero to 200k buys and then he gets a higher amount from let's say two to 300 and then an even higher amount for three to five and then usually after that or certainly after seven or 800 it just becomes i think like a flat fee not flat fee but you know the number doesn't keep going up at that point it gets to a certain level and so it's an escalating tier and so where you fit in that tier is how you get paid Now, as I indicated, the pay-per-view bias have apparently been so low that many fighters weren't even getting the, you know, the next tier up triggered in their deal. And so in a case like that, what, you know, how does this change? What does this change mean? The answer is maybe nothing, but they're going to have to calculate it differently, right?
Starting point is 00:25:25 You see, like they're at least going to have to figure out a new formula for how that goes. And I don't know the answer to that. And by the way, I want to be clear here, like they're signing this deal, you know, This is the second part about it. I mean, if you're an NBA player and the NBA signs a $1.1 billion deal, the players are going to get up front 49% of that. They're going to get 49% of that. Up front, the UFC fighters are going to get nothing, right?
Starting point is 00:25:53 Nothing, not a penny. And, you know, this is where I go back to. I don't know what the right answer is to preserve all of the interests of fighters. Is it the Ali Act? Is it unionization? I don't know. And even if they had formed a union BC, it's not clear that they would be able to extract a 49%, you know, rent from them. But what I will say is, even if it was 25%, you know, let's just say, so that's a conservatively what, closer to 300 million annually that would be distributed to the fighters.
Starting point is 00:26:22 That would be a game-changing amount of money. And they don't get that because they couldn't even be bothered to do that. So this is the fruits of their lack of labor. They get to enjoy an absolute nothing burger on a $7.7 billion deal. Congratulations, fellas. You really out did yourself with that one. Yeah, yeah. Shout out to Hainado Moikano or as Schaub will call him McConnell for giving back the cash that was rightfully his.
Starting point is 00:26:54 Wow. Wow. Wow. Final question on this, Luke. And then we'll get into our rundown and all things. Luffy. Shout out to Anthony Hernandez, by the way. Wow. Kicking off, if we assume that this deal will start in January and they tend to go big in their intro, obviously the first UFC on Fox card, which was head to head against Pachio Marquez 3 on pay-per-view and boxing,
Starting point is 00:27:17 gave us the heavyweight championship, Kane Velasquez versus Junior Dos Santos Part 1. I don't remember offhand what the first UFC on ESPN card was. Wasn't it T.J. Dillishaw. It was the one in Brooklyn. T.J. Dillishaw Henry Seh It was on ESPN Plus, technically. So, wait, wasn't that a pay-per-view? And then the first on ESPN linear was Kane versus Francis? Yes, but the first one of the ESPN era. I was at that card.
Starting point is 00:27:42 It was at the Barclay Center. I was there. So those are very big events. If you had to knowing the UFC schedule of who might be available or maybe who you think they would like to really launch this with, who would make sense to kick this off. Conner's back in the pool. John's back in the pool. we try not to talk about those guys too much anymore what do you think well by the way i mean just
Starting point is 00:28:04 think about it logically that white house event's going to be on cbs right has to be if they have it i mean is i still don't know if that was like part of a negotiation ploy you know what i mean like hey yeah who knows all right well to the extent that they have it it'll be it'll be uh on pay-per-view but um uh it's it's the same question like with the white house thing like you know it's a little early to tell. I mean, I guess we're not too far from January. I don't know. It'll be a title fight. I'll say this. Say what?
Starting point is 00:28:34 Do put it on Jan 6. Is what I'm saying, Luke. All right? Let's just go for it here. No, no. But it will be a title fight. Like, it will be a title fight. I don't know which one it'll be, but it'll be a title fight. I think you should get to Poria, but then again, he's got to get a second fight at the end of this year, right? Yeah, well, I mean, that's right. I mean, they might use them for a December pay-per-view or like, you know, how do they, or to that point, who do they save
Starting point is 00:28:55 for that next end deal and then they punt on at the end of this one it's gonna be really interesting to see I don't know the answer to that it's a tough one yeah this is this is huge dude I don't know what this even means for me it could be huge or they told you nothing
Starting point is 00:29:08 no no one knew that okay no we did hear whispers that again we heard whispers internally that it was possible that our company could be part of the extended deal no no idea that it would be exclusive that it would be for this much money that there would be a
Starting point is 00:29:25 CBS simulcast option built in like, dude, for me as a CBS sports and Paramount employee, this is massive. This is really, really big. Let me say this. Again, for this is, I'm just reacting live. So forgive me. TKO, C.O. C.O. Again, Mark Shapiro, the chief operating officer told CNBC this morning that the deal with Paramount was originally BC just for the 30 fight night events. Then the Skydance, Skydance, excuse me, the Skydance Paramount merger was approved. And they struck a new deal within 48 hours to bring everything to Paramount Plus, including the end of the pay-per-view model. So part of the, this is why, I mean, you know, I'll speculate here, BC, and that's all I'm doing is speculating. I don't know what the answer is, but I do wonder to what extent, you know,
Starting point is 00:30:11 this FCC allowing the merger between Skydance and Paramount, A, it allowed Paramount to have a lot more cash, right? And then that changes the equation about what they want to do, because I want to be clear about this. Folks have asked like, hey, didn't they say when they got rid of you that they were out of the combat sports business? And they were like, you can ask the producers on staff who were showtime. They had a big call and they were like, we're just out of the combat sports business. Yeah, showtime boxing had to die for this, Luke, unfortunately. Showtime boxing had to die. And so, you know, I'll say this, though, if you're getting into business and combat sports and you're a broadcaster, right? You're a broadcast entity. Getting the,
Starting point is 00:30:53 UFC rights package as opposed to a hodgepotch of different boxing podcasts, podcast, I'm sorry, boxing events and, you know, operators in the space, it just makes a ton of sense, right? You get the whole thing streamlined right there, boom, easy to use. And obviously, as we indicated, UFC fans are going to be, for the most part, pretty loyal about where they go. I would also add BC, you know, it's hard to not notice that, like, UFC got rid of pay-per-view and is going to be on linear television at the
Starting point is 00:31:23 same time top rank couldn't even secure an 80 million dollar renewal on ESPN um you know there's no denying that if you're not in favor of the boxing revival act for what it might mean for you know boxing monopolization i think that's fine i am however there's no defending the status quo yeah you just can't do i mean you're right i'm not i'm coming around i'm coming around only on the idea that like we tend to ignore how broken boxing actually is and focus on you know as a hardcore boxing guy and focus on the big things yet guess what wba just had a card on the own over the weekend from bengazi uh libya in which they gave out even more extra bullshit titles and it's like this is the shit we regularly deal with by the way they even have an
Starting point is 00:32:12 announced team on that card they just streamed like the live event from a outdoor stadium i I mean, it's insane. It's wild. But we'll see where it's all going to happen. Obviously, ESPN's going to have a lot more money now if they want to go big in combat, whether that's boxing, whether that's Zupa boxing, whether that's doubling down on PFL. So a lot of fallout because, as you already know, Luke, everybody in combat sports, every promoter and network was waiting for the results of the UFC broadcasting deal to then figure out where they fit in in a larger landscape.
Starting point is 00:32:43 So big, big news. All right, let's carry on with our regularly. schedule program and that's certainly topic number one ufc fight night from the apex warehouse over the weekend gave us a very interesting result in this main event anthony fluffy hernandez scored the best win of his career maybe more importantly eighth consecutive win maybe more importantly than that in a fight where he was finally healthy unlike his last bout and a rematch against brendan allen where he did in his own words just enough to get the job done while ill, he brutally bullied, beat down, gassed out, and then stopped Roman Delizze in round four
Starting point is 00:33:26 via rare naked choke and as disrespectful and brutal a process, not disrespectful in terms of taunting, just in terms of impact in how he did it, constantly taking Deleadze down, letting him get back up and just brutalizing him with big right hands and even more takedowns. Luke, we owe fluffy an apology in terms of where our expectations were, even though he was the betting favorite, I don't think any of us saw this coming. Just how impressive was this victory? And considering it's a crowded title picture with the belt being defended this Saturday, with Reneer DeRitter needing a big fight, and oh, how about Kyle Barajal against maybe the
Starting point is 00:34:06 most deserving contender, Nasir Dean, Imov, Boholio, I'm sorry. How impressive is this? And could you actually see him cutting the line after this when he did the discount double check in the ring? I got to tell you, we had both predicted that Fluffy would win, so we were not on the wrong side of this one, but I definitely predicted they would go the distance. I did not think he was going to get the finish.
Starting point is 00:34:30 And I still have some issues with the performance. I want to be very clear about that. However, what I will say is this is easily the best he's ever performed that I've seen. You can find fights that he won more. more quickly than this one, BC. So, you know, folks all was like, oh, well, this one was a little bit more dominant, right?
Starting point is 00:34:49 But here's the difference for me. Number one, he got the finish and the finish itself, BC. Oh, my God. He looked like a bouncer dragging a drunk out of the bar. And that's not who, I'm not trying to demean Dele-Za. I'm trying to, like, paint a picture of the viciousness with which he closed the show there. That's the first thing I'd say. But more to the point, B.C., this was what I really noticed.
Starting point is 00:35:14 I had mentioned that at times Fluffy can be a bit of a slow starter or, you know, he doesn't really get cooking until a little bit later in the fight. Dude, he was up in Delizze's grill from the opening bell, whoop right across in front of him, walked over there. And, of course, there were times where Delizze would land a nice shot or, you know, would attempt something and it would push Fluffy back. But then he'd get right back and close the space. There was an urgency to his game that I hadn't quite seen to the same.
Starting point is 00:35:44 same level before and there was a cohesiveness to his game it felt to me bc maybe you disagree maybe you agree that his game had kind of gelled a little bit now there were parts i did not like as i indicated he missed on the one two to close the show or to close the distance basically every single time like his range management was a little bit off in that regard but but the the presence of mind the forcefulness of it the relentlessness of it and the urgency right off the top made such a big difference. Honestly, B.C., I think it would be unfair for him to jump the line if, let's say, Imovov beats Kyle Bhalio. I do think that would be a little bit premature. However, I wouldn't cry about it. I really wouldn't. He's doing special things. He's
Starting point is 00:36:34 the middleweight marab. I saw someone say he's like a middleweight Sean Brady. No, he's not. Sean Brady's got much more technical finishing jujitsu and top pressure. That's really not quite accurate. But BC, from his front headlocks to his cradles to his snapdowns to everything else, Fluffy is a tremendous talent and his guillotine, some of the best in the UFC. Dude, he fought like a demon. And I think that was a big part of it. It wasn't just jumping all over Deleuze. It was visibly showing a lack of respect for what Deleuze brought. Even when Deleuze would at times fight for survival encounter, Fluffy just took it. He put his hands down. He'd take some shots almost Majorga style to send a message. It's insane. And I do.
Starting point is 00:37:13 have to say one thing. Maybe we wrongfully categorized Fluffy as not being a finisher when we previewed this fight because that was the feeling we got when that performance against Brendan Allen in the rematch where he won, he pulled it off, but we felt like maybe there was something lacking of an extra gear. We found out he was really ill. And then some people pointed out to me, actually look at his finishing statistics, which makes me not want to compare him to Marab. Right now, Fluffy Hernandez as a pro has 15 victories, 12 have bend by stoppage. So Luke, I need to take that back. The man is an active finisher. He just doesn't do it with a big knockout punch or with a well-timed early submission. He beats you
Starting point is 00:37:54 into submission ultimately is where I'm going because there was a lot of playing with your food here, even though I did like the analysis from Dominic Cruz about why there were times he wasn't putting in the hooks, why there were times he was just purposely gassing Roman out and just almost embarrassing him dude this was just so there was so much like oomph behind it so much like mean spiritedness and again not from a taunting standpoint just from i'm going to show you that you don't belong in here next to me i mean look at best roman delise who was ranked number nine coming in was sort of a dark horse title contender right three fight win streak but he is further in age but dude that guy's durable as shit and it wasn't just gassing out he was
Starting point is 00:38:39 getting hurt regularly, caught below both eyes. And Luke, you said something about his range management and the one-two's. I thought that right hand was fairly consistently a big part of how he would slightly hurt the leads a and open up rooms for easy, easy, easy takedowns, one after another. Well, let me, let me, let me debate that a little bit with you. So the answer to that is yes. I think your observation is correct because there was a relentless, a relentlessness with it where at times it would graze or at a bare minimum, it would force a kind of reaction
Starting point is 00:39:08 that he could then build offense off of, right? So he's slipping or it's punching or he's, it was in some way disruptive. I mean, dude, even just getting a person to move off their base can be disruptive. So yes, but the amount of times it flat missed or, you know, he was trying to land it and he got a little close, but not,
Starting point is 00:39:25 like it's the volume of times that he missed that was a little frustrating for me. So I think there's a, you know, there's a, any time a guy is making a volume play, they're inherently telling you, they're not trying to be accurate with everything, right? So it's not even like you can say that this is some like terrible part of his game. It's just that my point is,
Starting point is 00:39:47 if he could tighten that up a little bit, he wouldn't even have to have as much volume that he does. Does that make sense? Yeah. Like he can, he, dude, he got the job done. I mean, you got the job done well. I'm saying he might have been able to stop that even sooner if he could have tightened up a few of those right hands. It felt like he could have stopped it.
Starting point is 00:40:05 If he went for the sub in like the second or third round, if he actually aggressively went after it. Didn't it feel like he could have gotten it? Yes. And also there's a question about like, you know, should Deleiz have come out for round four? Or should Eric Nixick have let him come out?
Starting point is 00:40:18 Yeah, should Eric? And obviously I love Eric Nixick and I'm not here trying to second guess the coach and say that I know better, but I'm asking a question. Yeah. Because here's what happens.
Starting point is 00:40:27 A lot of times fighter coaches will let it go during a fight. And then I'll talk to them later and they'll be like, you know what? Maybe I shouldn't have done that. So you want to give these guys, guys, you know, on one level, you want to be like, hey, was it, did you make the right decision? If you didn't, there's a level of criticism. I think that is owed. On the other
Starting point is 00:40:46 hand, I do believe in a little bit of grace because a lot of times it occurs to them after the fact. And that then informs their judgment for the next time out. So, you know, something to keep in mind. Let's see a tweet from Henry Sehudo that was a similar thought I had and a lot of others where Sehudo said Anthony Hernandez looked like a future UFC champion tonight. And I don't think that's too aggressive to say because the lead day was sort of, you know, in the outside, but in that title picture largely. Now, maybe the problem here is that Hernandez was ranked 10 coming in. So to make that leap all the way to the title in a very crowded division is somewhat tough to do. I do think we have to wait for what happens with Kyle versus Nassardine to see who maybe
Starting point is 00:41:29 could make that leap. I did hear, of course, Fluffy saying, look, I just want to fight for a title of some form, whether that means the winner of the 319 fight this Saturday, or he even brought up a BMF idea against RDR, which I don't necessarily need, by the way. But I do need to him to get a big fight off of this. First, let's hear from Fluffy Hernandez talking about why he had a big scare. He came in a half pound over that limit there of 186 pounds for a non-title about had to come back to the scale a second time. Here's Fluffy talking about it. I guess I just got to fucking pay more attention to be honest you know what i mean like i'm not going to lie i didn't even know who the fuck was on the card so like i really don't pay attention like i have a great team i show up
Starting point is 00:42:12 to the airport they're there and i just follow them and the rest kind of works itself out like bro i really don't pay attention i'm usually like a high as shit so you know i just i like violence bro the only thing i'm good at so i guess we know how you're celebrating tonight oh for sure i'm fucking token big yeah fuck yeah got like four joints rolled already Dude, hashtag relatable, and even D.C. said to him in the interview, you're now my favorite fighter. Like, I think a lot of us felt like that, right? Yeah, if we bring back Room Service Diaries, BC, we have to get high as shit with Anthony Hernandez, yeah. We also need to go to Juan Archeletta's family's weed farm up in the hills in California one day. Can we do that?
Starting point is 00:42:51 Yeah, by the way, I have somewhat breaking news. I'm sorry to bring us up, PC, but it's just a crazy day, if I may. Please. Just a quick note. I'm sorry, just a quick note. but it just got announced. ESPN and Fox are going to now launch a combined streaming bundle starting October 2nd. So the dominoes are falling in a bunch of different directions. And now I don't know what the name of this thing is going to be. But yeah, the ESPN and Fox are going to be getting together to bring you one streaming service, obviously for sports, right?
Starting point is 00:43:20 So crazy times. Do you think that's the same product that ESPN was teasing the other day, their new like WWE $20 a month product? I don't know. That's a good question. I don't know. I don't know yet. Further talk here about this title picture and what he could get. We have some more sound from Fluffy. We're going to throw that to a second. But, Luke, if it was RDR next, I don't think we'd be upset even though he won eight in a row. What about this sneaky thing that people are throwing out there?
Starting point is 00:43:46 Give Fluffy a big main event against Israel out of Sonia with a crowd. What do you think about that? Say that again? If Fluffy couldn't get the title and if you didn't want to do RDR next, what do you think about an idea to raise his, you know, brand more, fight somebody like who's coming down, like an out of Sonia in a big, you know, a big fight night card or something.
Starting point is 00:44:06 I mean, this is the way the fight game works. You feed the, I mean, obviously, he's not old in that sense, but you feed the elderly to the young. So sure, give him. I think clearly he has to have someone inside the top five, right? I mean, I think we're all in agreement with that. And it, that leaves you with somebody with a name.
Starting point is 00:44:26 Now, B.C., could they feed him Whitaker? Would you be okay with Whitaker? No, because Whitaker's lost a bunch in a row to, not consecutively, but a bunch in a row to big name guys. I'd read, well, so was Izzy, too. Yeah, I mean, I guess. I mean, dude, this is where it is. I mean, the end of your, this is why guys like Habib and GSP, they called it quits at a very,
Starting point is 00:44:46 you know, oh, it was so early for them. Yeah, but like, look what it preserved. That was father's wish. That was father's wish. Okay. All right, but GSP, you know, basically called it quits when he could barely beat Johnny Hendricks arguably didn't and then took a four year five year hiatus however long it was i'm just trying to point out like if you fight late enough this is what awaits you is the anthony
Starting point is 00:45:08 hernandez is just coming downhill on you you know this is this is where we are all right let's say nassardine imov win or let's say either of one kio or nassardine gets a big win there like r d rluffy would be great also like if that's the worst case scenario for fluffy rdr versus you would be a hell of an interesting task. Oh my God, that would be amazing because the jiu-jitsu between them would be ridiculous. That'd be a lot of fun.
Starting point is 00:45:37 But you know, you haven't asked me about this, and I was hoping that you will, but we've got to bring it up. All right, boxers are briefs, Luke? Right now I'm freeball. No, I'm teasing. I'm wearing boxers. Just letting my balls sag. Why didn't Deleadze go to the body? A known weakness
Starting point is 00:45:57 of Anthony Hernandez, why didn't they go there? I've seen some criticism of Deleidze as well as some of the cornering that happened in that fight. And I have to admit. He was overwhelmed off the jump. But like if you want to resist,
Starting point is 00:46:11 dude, the guy has known, it's a little bit like Seroni in that regard. Like, you know, tough out. Like, you know, obviously he's going to beat good guys. And again, I want to be clear, like Hernandez was favored to win. Like the odds makers thought he was going to get it done. I'm simply saying like you didn't go
Starting point is 00:46:24 to the most obvious kind of known weakness. real big question about Deleidze's game plan, I think for me, for this one. I'm with you. I'm with you on there. Sometimes I think, though, you are who you are at your core when you're in it. And he was in it right off the top, right? So sometimes you're essentially just fighting for survival. And I'll give him credit.
Starting point is 00:46:47 He bit down and tried to brawl with it with Fluffy. Like he tried his best to find some ways to get him off of him. But I think once at the end of that second round, it was clear that the gas tank was going to be gone soon. I mean, you're in full survival mode at that point. You're trying to stay upright and he's just getting tossed to the ground. I mean, I don't think Roman DeLizadezay needs to walk away even though he's 37. And they were polite afterwards.
Starting point is 00:47:09 Roman came up and congratulated him and hugged him. But I've never felt more like, I've never seen a one side had finished like, I mean, maybe Anderson Silva Forrest Griffin where it's just like, oh my God, that guy should maybe never fight again because it was like so overwhelmingly conclusive on every level. I mean, it's rough, dude. It was rough what Fluffy put him through. Let's hear Hernandez talk about where he thinks he fits in in this title picture. Rear naked choke is what it goes down in the books.
Starting point is 00:47:35 But that was like statement there too, right? There's rear naked chokes and there's just dragging another human being across the cage by their neck. I mean, what's going through your head in the moment? And were you like, I'm going to try to make this as violent as possible rather than just sit and squeeze? I almost lost my cool. No, I don't know. I just, I was pissed off and saw the neck and I was just like, fuck you. but at the end of the day
Starting point is 00:47:57 hats off to Roman he's a tough motherfucker I got nothing but respect for the guy he's fucking super awesome was super nice all media day it's like I just like I don't know when I get hit and shit when I start fighting I get fucking I lose it and I get mad and I want to kill you but it's like it's nothing personal
Starting point is 00:48:13 to you it's just fuck you for hitting me you know what I mean last thing for me I mean do you book a plane ticket to Chicago for next week and that's what I'm hearing I'm flying to Chicago so yeah seems like the number one container fight in Paris. There's you, there's RDR. If you do have to fight again, would have to fight with like Sean Strickland? I really, like when I say I don't give a fuck who I fight, yes, I'm serious about that shit. I don't give a fuck who I fight. I think it'd be cool if there was like a contender
Starting point is 00:48:42 BMF belt or like something like that, but I want the fucking title. That's like, that's the only reason I do this shit for is to get that money and change my family's life. You're going to Chicago. Is that something UFC said to you or is that something your team has no i just was told that in the back right now that they're gonna fly me out so i'll be looking forward to that hell yeah so wait is he trying out to be the backup or just to to be there to to like face off against the winner like what he didn't say but either i think probably insurance too they need someone to promote uh you know i could i don't know if he barely made weight for this one i don't know if he can make weight again but it seems like he could have some promotional
Starting point is 00:49:19 muscle to add to the whole uh intrigue of what's already a the best fight on the fucking calendar. So, yeah, Strickland is. Dude, can you believe how great middleweight is right now? This is just as interesting an option, even though it seems like Strickland's trying to get a long-term Hamza fight going, but he has lost two of his last three, both to DDP. The one thing I'll say is like he's never had more leverage or brand power than he has right now. I hate when people say, I'll fight whoever. I like that he hedged it with, I want to fight for the title. I need to fight for the title. Dude, stand on business. You did the discount double check. Tell them, you're the man for the title next say to people i'm going out there to chicago to get in the face of the
Starting point is 00:49:58 winter like that's the spirit i want to see look out of him you're what i'm saying yeah i fully agree with that um you know he's not if there's something to be said for fluffy that i think is holding him back a little bit and it's not a it's not a personal attack i'm not saying his personality sucks i'm saying he's not a natural self-marketer right i think it's pretty fair to say and then obviously being a very good self-marketer pays enormous dividends in this sport. So he has to earn it the hard way. But he's earning it the hard way. He seems quite likable. And, you know, if you just like fun, exciting entrance into a division who are, you know, seemingly near the peak of their powers, I present to you
Starting point is 00:50:38 Fluffy Hernandez as an exhibit and easy to like kind of fighters. I'm with you. Becoming one of my favorite fighters overnight instantly. Like I'm glad I was wrong at his, what his ceiling is. I'm glad he showed us coming off a fight. He was sick who he really is. Also, People laughed to me last year when I said middleweight was potentially the sexiest division because you had a title picture with a lot of new guys and then a lot of big names like Whitaker and not of Sonia. I'm glad that it still is. I think welterweight's a little more interesting and a little deeper, but middleweight is fun as shit. And we're going to see that this Saturday, of course, at UFC 319 with DDP versus Hamzad. Now speaking of UFC 319 this Saturday, hey, now's a good time to remember the story where Tequila's story truly began.
Starting point is 00:51:22 I could get that correct because you already know this Thursday brought to you by Cuervo you're getting pregame preview for morning combat UFC 319 BCLT and UFC lightweight Matt Fravola 11 a.m. Eastern on the YouTube's but tequila story goes all the way back to 1795 when Cuervo invented tequila and since then to Quervo has stayed true to its roots same family same land yeah that same passion too 230 years later quervo still here on top in every pour and every margarita in every celebration so enjoy the tequila that started it all quervo the tequila that invented tequila proximo quervo dot com please drink responsibly and look we're just three days out from getting that devil's reserve going if you know what i'm talking about
Starting point is 00:52:09 hell yeah with the one and only matt frivola by the way i think he's a new dad as well bc uh yeah i've said that earlier yes yes i do oh yeah sorry that's no problem luke it's a busy day okay you're guy you just got back from the beach boy i'm trying to see all this breaking news from mark shapiro that's coming down from cnbc so it's yeah i i heard a snippet of him in ari on cnbc where they where they kind of made it sound like there would be a lot of ufc cards uh simulcasted on cbs yeah so what he is saying what he did okay one thing i didn't even mention here is that one thing he's saying is um he said he didn't say it was definite but he did say it was likely that all the number of events so you know UFC 30 whatever will air on CBS wow so so does that mean like pre
Starting point is 00:52:58 pre like early prelims and prelims and then we go who knows who know i mean dude if you're if you're david ellison now of paramount and you want to make a big move and a big splash with this which they did put that on big cbs let's go i mean there's you know the this is the same issue that they run into when they were on fox and it's something they run into when they're in ABC which is with some exception now of course there's exception if you're on fox sports one they can just move whatever's off there for ufc if they wanted to right there's almost nothing that airs on fox sports one except like maybe they have a contractual obligation for like a baseball game but you know it's not so crowded that they can't move it around whereas bc let me ask a question what is cbs's slate
Starting point is 00:53:43 of college football and n nfl playoff games pretty aggressive cbs It's pretty aggressive, right? The Big Ten deal. They obviously have been in business with the NFL showing you aFC games for, you know, many decades. Yeah. So this is what I mean. As big as the UFC is, and it's big, they're going to have a tough time competing
Starting point is 00:54:06 with the NFL playoffs or big time college football. Dude, big time college football. B.C., what does that do? Like 15, 18 million viewers? Oh, it's big. It's really big. But so, I mean, look, they might pick their battles during that part of the season, right? but like let's see what they do on the on the to tell also some stuff just materializes like they can't move all big fights off of football season which by the way goes from freaking august until basically the first week of four second week of february you know what i mean like it's a long time how they play that it's going to be interesting obviously paramount plus can how's everything no problem but if you've got one cbs you've got to be real deliberate about what goes on there that part could get but bc remember this first time they aired on a
Starting point is 00:54:48 Fox, they had a full card. They showed one fight on Fox. Could we get to a place where during football season, they just show the main and co-main on CBS? Could that happen? It could be wild because that time would be after your local news, right? Or, you know, right around that time and Exactly. And if Cole Bear's not there anymore, right? Well, I mean, he's weekdays and also, like, his show was bad, you know what I mean? Can we say that out loud his show was bad? Who There we go. There we go. Hey, let's get to topic number two, which was the co-main event on Saturday's UFC fight night card from the apex. A ban on wait last minute bout between two fly weights and Steve Ursaac, former title challenger, who's gone from three straight wins in the UFC to get a title shot to three straight defeats nearly made it four as he was a big betting favorite against O'Day Osborne and he would go on to score a three-round unanimous decision on 29, 28, 8. sorry, 29 to 28 scorecards across the board.
Starting point is 00:55:50 But as I tease, the fight nearly got out of hand several times, including when Osborne dropped him with a beautiful straight right hand. Luke, there's almost more questions than there were about Erseg coming in, even though he scored a much, much needed win. Should this lackluster performance be viewed as Erseg dealing with the nerves that come with three straight losses and the potential of four, which for all we know could lead to unemployment or are there still bigger issues in ursac's development and overall skill level as an elite flyway
Starting point is 00:56:23 I feel like that's the central question after watching that fight all right he got the job how did you score it 2928 for him yes but I feel I felt like there was an argument on that second round like it could have gone two to one third round definitely ursig third yeah he was he was in mount basically the whole time I mean it was one time he got up and they put him back down uh long out Luke how did you score how did you score the co-made. I had a 2-1, but I didn't think he looked good throughout it. You did not. Well, in round three, he looked pretty good. I just, like, from going from losing the last round against Pantosia to here, I feel like there's a big gap of. Right. Okay. So that's where I'm at. So I,
Starting point is 00:57:00 by the way, if Osborne had won, winning rounds one, obviously, and then maybe round two, I, I, I would not have complained. In fact, I thought, Ersec, I'm not going to say he got lucky BC, but, you know, the wind kind of blew a little bit in his direction such that he was able to get it done. So I'm glad that he was able to like stop the bleeding. And I just don't think you can look at this and divorce the two. I mean, he even admitted, I think we have audio to this effect. I will play it here, I'm sure, in a minute, which he was feeling the heat on this one in terms of all the losses that he had.
Starting point is 00:57:35 Nevertheless, this guy pushed Pantoja to the point where I'm going to say it one more time. If he doesn't go for a takedown in the fifth, he's probably the next UFC. flyweight champion and he was struggling with Ode Osborne. He was getting cracked obviously a bunch in the first and even in the second round he had a hard time closing distance and
Starting point is 00:57:56 setting up his strikes. What saved him in the end was basically the ground game. That was what he was able to do and obviously he really took over in the third. So he was able to win and he was able to win by being more well-rounded but he does not look like a
Starting point is 00:58:12 better fighter than the guy who beat Matt Schnell. He does not look like a better fighter than the guy who faced off against Pantoja. He doesn't look like a better fighter than the one who fought against, frankly, Brandon Moreno for crying out loud. He looked like, until we see a few more fights, I cannot fully declare what's happening here in terms of regression versus just the jitters of the moment. but what I'm going to say is he's got a lot of climbing to do to remove himself from consideration that he's regressed like it's so far back that you know several fights are going to be necessary to even get back to where he was yeah I'm with you on that confidence seemed shot let's hear
Starting point is 00:59:02 urseg talking about the struggles mentally that came with the idea of that losing streak and I mean, Martin Boudet just got good when he's seven and one, so you never know if he was going to come back, although shout out to Boudet getting the Octagon MMA deal. Here's Ersick. How much pressure did you have on yourself coming in this fight? Yeah, heaps, obviously, like, doubts run through your head, like, was I for all along?
Starting point is 00:59:24 Do I really belong, like, deserve to be here, all that nonsense? So it's good to our fight a tough guy in the UFC. Been here for ages and get a tough win. When the judges read the scorecards, were you confident? that you won the fight? Yeah, I thought I did enough. I mean, you never really know. But I thought I had he back in the second.
Starting point is 00:59:43 I had he back on the third. So I thought I did enough. Yeah, tough break for this guy right there, Luke, because he did what he had to do in round three with almost desperate wrestling to constantly pull Osborne back down and keep him there. Really, my biggest question is,
Starting point is 00:59:58 did Osborne fly home or take a train? I like how the news is so big that you're distracted, quite visibly on your phone. Yeah, it's wild. And yet, you still have time to make a Osborne joke seamlessly, seamlessly.
Starting point is 01:00:18 Do you feel like he ever gets back to a big fight, Luke? I mean, what do you think? It's just too early to tell. I mean, again, he didn't die in the Sarlack pit, B.C., but I don't know if he's going to make it to Jedi. You know what I'm saying?
Starting point is 01:00:32 He extricated himself from the worst-case scenario. we can say that. That's it. He did. He did indeed right there. So Ersweg survives in advance. We'll see what his future,
Starting point is 01:00:44 what his future looks like here in the flyweight division. But UFC 319 is blowing back to the windy city this Saturday for the first time in six years. Hey, how about you download that PICS app from Draft Kings right now, the official partner of UFC to get in on the action and win real big cash? It's crazy simple. We talk about it all the time. You pick two or more fighters.
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Starting point is 01:01:31 Yes, it is right for just $5. So what you're going to do, boys and girls, what you're going to do is download the Draft King's Pick Six app right now and use the code, combat. That's Combat with a K. One more time, new customers, play $5 and get $50 in bonus picks instantly. Ride the upside where a few bucks can turn into a bag only on Draft King's Pick Six. The Crown is yours. Gambling problem. Call 1,800 gambler.
Starting point is 01:02:00 Help is available for problem gambling. link call 8888-9-777 or visit ccpg.org in Connecticut must be 18 plus age and eligibility restrictions vary by jurisdiction. Pick six not available everywhere, including New York and Ontario. Voidware prohibited one per new customer bonus awarded as non-withdrawable pick-six bonus picks that expire in 14 days. On August 24th this year at 2025 at 11.59 p.m. Eastern time. Terms at pick six dot draftkings.com slash promos. Thank you very much, Luke Thomas, for your efforts. Topic number three is going to take us to the rest of what we saw at UFC Apex 109 or
Starting point is 01:02:44 whatever you want to call it there. By the way, did Hunter Campbell just say publicly that they're looking to expand the apex to five, maybe 10,000 seats? That would be a big upgrade. But we're talking right now about this undercard. Luke, I want to pick off the menu and go down to the prelims. Did you see what Jocelyn Edwards did to Priscilla Kachewara? We do not get KOs this nasty in the women's game.
Starting point is 01:03:05 I'd love to show you the highlights, but they would certainly take us down for that. Basically a three-punch combination that might legit be in the KEO of the year category. And when you add in Jocelyn Edwards, somebody we don't talk about a lot on this show, that's three straight wins, all three by stoppage for the women's band-em weight.
Starting point is 01:03:25 Is this potentially like some life injected into one of the worst divisions in the sport? Yeah, there's no question. I mean, dude, when she started out in UFC, first of all, she had one fight in LFA, which she lost. And then she makes it to the UFC with a 9-and-2 record. She beat Wu Yanan, who I don't know if she's fought since then. She loses to Carol Hosa and then Jessica Rose Clark pretty convincingly. She gets a few wins along the way and then loses again to a bunch of fighters,
Starting point is 01:03:52 including Eileen Perez. But the last two of these BC, the last one, obviously against Priscilla Catchware this past Saturday, and Chelsea Handler, before that two. two back-to-back first-round stoppages. Chelsea Chandler, Luke, let's not, you know, I mean, what are we doing here? Chelsea Handler. Oh, Chelsea Chandler.
Starting point is 01:04:08 She's been 50 cents. I mean, that was pretty good, but, you know. Yeah, yeah, yeah. All right, fair enough. I apologize. Chelsea Chandler. Either way, the point I'm trying to make is she got two back-to-back first-round stoppages, yes, but it's the what you indicated.
Starting point is 01:04:20 You see that three-punch combination here on Catchware. Her hands have gotten visibly better. She's 29 years of age now, Edwards is. And it just looks like the parts of her game that needed maturates. and there was a lot of them, they're getting it. Like, she's starting to know how to, like, sit down on her punches. Look at the result as a consequence. There's just much more forcefulness to it.
Starting point is 01:04:41 There's much more accuracy to it. There's much more thoughtful, I should say, shot selection behind it. She did not start out in any way an impressive figure in this division. And, you know, still a ways to go, B.C., but the way she's looked more recently, it just seems like, you know, everyone kind of, you know, hits their stride at a different point in their career. Some are, you know, shout out of a canon and they're good from the, from day one. But guys you like were not necessarily like that.
Starting point is 01:05:08 You know, Max, Paul, Max Holloway, excuse me, did not start out necessarily as a, as a terminator, but he just eventually became one. I'm not saying Edwards is going to do that, B.C., but she is definitely rounding a corner. Yeah, in a big way. Shout out to Jocelyn Edwards on that breakthrough. Elsewhere, Luke, Elijah Smith, Slam, K.O of Toshiyomi Kazama brought back memories of old school MMA. If Jocelyn Edwards belongs in the K.O. of the year discussion for that three punch in a side of disrespect, where does this slam K.O. from Elijah Smith fit in? So it's definitely one of the best KOs of the year. I mean, there's no question about it. But let me ask a question
Starting point is 01:05:48 that people have been pitching to me that I, I don't know, hadn't fully thought about much, which is how much do you think K. slams like this should be illegal because you can't punch the back of the head, but I can lift you up and then slam you to the mat and it's the same area being affected. Why would that be tolerable? I mean, I felt the same way when Jessica Andrage did that for Rose where it was like, damn, that could have been like career ending. Yeah, I don't know. I mean, I tend to think that like MMA is sort of diminished when you get rid of creativity like this. But at the same time, time you know it rules to see you know i mean it doesn't it instantly feel like 19 or 2002 pride or you know what i mean like it instantly brings you back to a different era when you see that it's so rare that it happens it's again mma is built on oh shit moments right that's what it's built on and that is clearly an oh shit moment so if that doesn't win uh k of the year it better be a very good one that does yeah you're right let's hear from elliot smith talking about
Starting point is 01:07:01 his slam where he let the boys be boys? I could feel like with every shot he was like breaking, breaking. And that's when he threw up the triangle and the rest is history. I'm going to be honest. I didn't believe he could give me in a triangle. So I'll give him again. I'll give him his flowers for attempting and getting close to it. I promise the next time I won't even get close to that.
Starting point is 01:07:22 But, you know, I've just been in jihitsu tournaments where I've been, I have video of me like when I was younger and where guys got a triangle and I lifted them up in the same way. And always, my dad always told me, I remember that one time he was like, if this was a fight, man, you could have definitely slammed the, you know, sugar honey ice tea out of him. And this time I finally had the opportunity to do it. I can't do it against training partners. I love my guys. But, you know, when it's somebody random that you don't know, and it's for, you know, everything is on the line, oh yeah, you're about to get slammed. You're about to get slammed on your dome piece. This was definitely, in my opinion, this was the statement that I
Starting point is 01:07:58 needed to prove to myself that Elijah you can go out there and you could go get a finish you can go get that highlight knockout you know go viral and uh you can do that you're more than capable but when the time when the light shine just do it man just be you be elijah swift smith be somebody who who you always been your whole fight career and uh yeah it's just so crazy how how it all played out that's elijah smith shout out to me calling him elliott yeah elliott smith yeah Well, singer, songwriter who stabbed himself in the heart, unfortunately. But Elijah Smith, pretty funny, Luke, in that interview. I want to see and hear more from this guy, you know?
Starting point is 01:08:33 He seems like a lot of fun. Great, great. Talk to me about touchy-feely here. He owes win-loss, win-loss for about a 10-fight streak, scores a close split decision over Christian Rodriguez, but he wasn't into that Holloway bit with point at the ground, Luke. Well, play the audio first, if we have it. We had like 10 to 20 seconds left, and he looked at the clock and then looked at
Starting point is 01:08:54 and pointed down like the Holloway point and I said no fuck you and I just stuck it and I kept sticking and moving that's that's what happened I'm not doing that like I said diapers are expensive groceries are expensive I've had lots of fights where I could prove that I'm tough I think that fight was exciting I hope it was an exciting fight but I don't I don't need to I don't need to stand there go okay point at the ground let's go first of all no one does it right max is the only person that does it right where you plant your feet and you swing and I'm not saying I'll never do that, but I'll probably never do that. If I ever fought Max Holloway again, which I'm not gunning for that, I love Max,
Starting point is 01:09:31 and I really have a lot of love for him. But if I ever fought Max Holloway again and he pointed the ground, I would say the same thing I said tonight, no, fuck off, leave me alone, and I get back to sticking and moving. So you're one of those that would agree with the assessment Dustin gave after they asked him about the final 10 seconds with his fight. Doug, have you seen how that's worked out for a lot of people? I'm cool like we could gamble later after the fight bro I'm not here to gamble I'm here to be I'm here to be sharp I'm here to be a world-class fighter and I'm here to collect two to three checks and I'm here to make my people proud I'm not here to plant my feet and throw unless that's part of the game plan more power to people
Starting point is 01:10:11 I'm actually pretty honestly I got the mic so you guys got to listen to me right now I'm pretty fucking sick of people doing the point and the dog if you're going to point at the ground and you're going to say let's go for the last 10 seconds and you're to try to do what Holloway does no one else can do it it's only he's the only one that does it right you got to plant your feet and throw it's not plant your feet throw twice and shoot or plant your feet and clinch it's plant your feet and throw and if i ever do it i'll do it right i mean that's fair it is getting old right i actually fully agree with him do you know what i mean like i get that people want to adopt it because oh max did an awesome thing i want to participate in an awesome thing it's like i don't think people realize how special
Starting point is 01:10:52 Max is. You know what I mean? Like, you know, even very good fighters don't benefit from that. He is a unique, it comes from him having a unique makeup and, and frankly, like, not identity, but composition about who he is. And you can't just take that and be like, oh, I'll do the same thing. It doesn't work that way. So, um, I did think that the scoring was a little bit weird in this one, right? Because you had 29, 28, 28, 29, and then 30, 22. long island luke how did you score this one i had a 3027 feely i think the judge who scored it for sea rod was like i don't know how you i agree i agree i thought i had a 2928 i thought that was a pretty fair score dude serod is weird right because he'll beat anybody who's an undefeated prospect and then they match him up
Starting point is 01:11:44 with like a veteran guy and he's just kind of left wanting as a consequence and you know it tells you like there was MMA on point did a video a long time ago where they were saying like, you know, the sports getting older and like older guys are doing better later now. And it feels like Crod is kind of like a victim of that. Like if you're not on the level, he'll find out. But if you're an experienced veteran, then, you know, they're going to be doing some teaching, it seems like. And it's a difficult problem for some of these guys.
Starting point is 01:12:10 Yeah, you reach Luke. We teach. That's how it works. Talk to me about Christian Leroy Duncan, who damn near sent Eric Anders to hell. And now the only losses for Duncan are against Hobocop and Armand Petrosian. Did he give you the feeling considering Anders is a durable, consistent veteran here that he's on his way to viable contendership at 185? You know what? I would not have said that before this fight.
Starting point is 01:12:36 I wasn't even sure who he was on the roster, but this was such a nice win. And Eric Anders is a limited fighter, but he's a tough out. And he, you know, has found relevance over the course of time by grinding out wins. and you know he's won some he's lost some but you know kind of being there as a consistent presence and he got handled in this fight like when was the last time what was the last time eric anders got handled um i don't football field i don't know look let's see here uh i mean he so he was stopped by a spinning back elbow and then the punches that followed up he got sub by andre muniz in 21 but okay he got stopped by elbows against mahetta in 2018 but it's a very rare sight
Starting point is 01:13:17 see what i'm saying like it's not a common thing for him and then by the way is this is this is this is only first round uh striking stoppage probably yeah i believe so right this is what i mean like this was such a nice performance that i don't it's the same thing i'm going to say with ursac but in a different way like i didn't know he's got to climb back out but with with this case i was so impressed by it that i'm like okay let's see more let's see more but it's very rare to beat a durable veteran like oners the way that duncan did and that, to me, signal something potentially interesting. Long Island, Luke, you are a marauder, marauder of the early cards for UFC on your main
Starting point is 01:13:57 card minute podcast. We didn't get Red Rocket Rhonda on this one, but did we get anything else that moved you? I did see Red Rocket Rhonda just got booked. I can't remember against who. But Earl Smetich, how about that, dude? He gets dropped about 10 seconds into that fight. And you're like, oh, this dude's getting finished. And then he just sends Gilbert Urbina to hell.
Starting point is 01:14:15 That was pretty sick. uh got to give a shout out to juicy j i believe his nickname is julius walker is that his nickname or julius rosa is his nickname i knew he had a cool nickname sorry juice box julius walker and raphael sechera or hafail secure they they put on a fun fight it was a slob knocker light heavy wave fight but i enjoyed it yeah gilbert abina looking like those people that who get their being i hit with the machete on his farm you know what i'm talking about maybe not all right that was the ufc a look you're done with UFC Apex, right? Yeah, I mean, hey, listen, there was some phenomenal KOs on this card.
Starting point is 01:14:50 I didn't watch it live. I'm not going to say, well, I watched the main event live. I did watch the main event live. But, you know, it was a pretty fun fight night card for what it was. Friend of the program, Cody Brundage, getting a last minute split decision loss in the curtain jerker, unfortunately. But shout out to Eric Mokonico. Maconico. Mechanico.
Starting point is 01:15:12 I will say that was kind of a robbery. too most people thought brundage won that fight so just i thought yeah i thought the same i haven't butchered that name bad badly since kio in that time i called him dick riko remember that guy luke yeah right he loved the media yeah that guy loves the media all right topic number four hey i got shut up pfl because even though i don't like that they do regional promotions all over the world and there's a tournament for everything and belts for everything when they put on cards people get brutally finished pfl africa from johannesburg over the weekend took place uh the bigger story here is certainly don davis and engano and we'll get to that look i wish we could show
Starting point is 01:15:51 particularly two of the highlights did you see the just the vicious chaos that this card produced bro i could not believe how good they were that jumping knee where the guy when he did you notice the guy who got caoed in the jumping knee one arm went like this and then the other arm went like this you know how like when family guy when people die and fall over their arms are all twisted like it reminded me of like the characters and family guy getting their bodies all twisted i could not believe how good it was and there was a question mark kick there was a bunch of them those two were probably the best dude they've had two events in south africa in about a month or whatever the mid three weeks or something like that and they were both sellouts and they both produced
Starting point is 01:16:32 a ton of great response this card did not have great names but it was a home run in my estimation. It really was and people are starting, okay, what do you make? I forgot the journalist that tweeted it out, but somebody tweeted out that like, we got us try to turn our criticism around a bit
Starting point is 01:16:51 because what is actually happening inside the cage at PFL, the smart gauge, excuse me, this calendar year has been fairly consistently good. Would you say that, Luke? And you think it's fair to say that despite how many times from a PR level they've shot themselves on the foot?
Starting point is 01:17:06 I think that they're doing, in terms of their in cage product dude they're killing it right now to be perfectly honest with you like you cannot in good faith look at the results of what has happened watch the contests and then come to the conclusion that they're you know this is a failing promotion in that regard now you can make a question about like can they succeed long term i'm not talking about that i'm saying are they when they show up on fight night are they delivering i would argue not just good mma but in certain cases and certainly would like Dakota Ditchieva and other ones, you know, relevant MMA. The answer is yes.
Starting point is 01:17:40 The answer is yes. Like these events are fantastic and they have been fantastic. And then to say nothing but what Thad Gene has done, we've talked about it ad nauseum already. Like, dude, they're in cage. This is why it's so important to me that we say this out loud, right? Because if we're going to say that the PFL, you know, they got a new executive coming in, a new CEO coming in, they just hired Jamie Pollock, who was like head of, Latin America for UFC. Now he's going to be head of Latin America for PFL. You know, they're bringing in
Starting point is 01:18:12 talent. I think bringing in Dan Hardy has been a fucking game changer for them because his sensibility about what works is almost exactly correct every single time. And just look at the product now. They've simplified it. It's better. They've got better names from, you know, not everyone from the Bellator takeover, but they got some addition to their roster from that. And it's been, phenomenal as a consequence. And so the reason why it's important to say that is not to just give them a pat on the back. It's to say this promotion is making good decisions, right? I mean, they made a lot of bad ones, but now they're making good decisions. What fruit does that bear long term? Does that get them? Are they going to be the only show in town in ESPN? Are they going to
Starting point is 01:18:59 get a big push now? Exactly. Good question. What does being a number two promotion that makes good decisions get you we're going to find out who does number two work for right that's what i want to joseph a bank yeah yeah two show two sold out shows in south africa and less than a month we know what they've been doing packing crowds in europe i wish they would do a larger better job at simplifying who their true core of marketable fighters are and then marketing them aggressively i like coachman in the speaking role so we'll see however this pfl africa car had a little bit of controversy surrounding the fact that Francis Ngano, who of course was signed as a massive free agent,
Starting point is 01:19:42 not just to be a fighter as a heavyweight, although he's only appeared once in the cage since signing that deal after two consecutive big-time boxing opportunities. He was also going to be a board, like on the Fighters Board of Directors, going to be the head of their PFL Africa movements. But he didn't show up to this card. And Don Davis took to Twitter to really express how disappointed he was, with Don with 2N said, quote,
Starting point is 01:20:07 I'm not going to hide it. I expected him, meaning Francis. This is part of his vision so that all those fighters out there don't have to leave the continent like he did. We worked for two years. I'm disappointed. Luke, we've said a lot of really good things about Francis and Ghana, who I largely believe is a very good soul
Starting point is 01:20:29 and somebody I cheered for to get out of his UFC deal and get what he wanted, which is better treatment, big money and boxing. But I can't act like he's been a boon to PFL. I can't act like he's gone out of his way to help PFL. He didn't even hang around when they wanted him to face off Hennon for Hade of that time ahead of the big fight that they ended up booking right there. Do you believe Don has a point?
Starting point is 01:20:53 And would you go as far as saying, and Ghanu hasn't kept up his end of the bargain? I think Don Davis is, correct. I think he is well within his rights to say this. And I, Francis, okay, listen, we don't know what's happening in Francis's life or, you know, personal life where perhaps there were a set of circumstances that just made going to this for whatever reason impossible. But it's not like Francis made a big to do about not being there, like trying to make amends with the organization in some kind of way. He just didn't post. You know what I mean? It's not like he contacted
Starting point is 01:21:37 PFL and was like, hey, guys, I'm dealing with something, you know, I'm imagining something, some kind of scenario that he had to attend to that, you know, precluded him. Like, dude, the PFL has been patient with him. They gave him everything that he asked for. They let him go box. You know what I mean? They created this whole subdivision for him and he doesn't even have the decency to go there. And it turned out that it was a phenomenal event that was actually a pretty big success on what it will do for pfl africa long term i don't really know but you know on that night did they do did the event deliver in the way that it was intended to absolutely and it did it absent his participation like you know the guy made a big big stink about oh it's not just you know
Starting point is 01:22:19 like him even if he had said nothing else him leaving ufc to go to pfl to maximize his contractual rights that alone is a win for fighter advocacy right he didn't need to do the other stuff but he chose to do the other stuff. He chose to make a big deal about this global board. And he chose to make a big deal about PFL Africa. And he chose to make this a part of his identity. He willingly went through with it. And then they have their launch. And the one guy who is central to this. And the point that Don Davis raises is, like, so guys don't have to leave the continent like he had to. Remember Francis obviously had to go through this incredible journey just to get to a gym where he could become what he ultimately became. You know, again, I don't know what the situation is in his personal. life, but I'm guessing that Don Davis saying this is evidence of the fact that there wasn't really much necessarily that precluded him from going. He just simply chose not to for, you know, again, for whatever personal reasons that may end up being. Yeah, dude, he let PFL down. Like, we are very pro fighter on this show, but that doesn't mean we're always going to take their side. If a promotion does this kind, dude, this deal that he got,
Starting point is 01:23:29 what other fighter in MMA history has gotten a deal like this? it is novel has he been under contract for like two plus years he's got once he didn't enter a tournament he doesn't show up to other cars to promote like it's it's weird man it's it's they did all of this for him and i listen you're i'm gonna i'm gonna make something up here i'm going to speculate okay my speculation is that he probably had a lot of high hopes for what it meant to go to the pfl when he left ufc and you know and maybe like other guys they'd be able to sign and it hasn't really happened and you know he doesn't really believe in the life of this deal anymore. okay fine nevertheless man they gave you a great deal like they they gave you a deal unlike any other deal in the history of mama i don't know man seems kind of shitty he didn't post i think don't davis has a point here i don't ask this question because we got shocked this morning that paramount is now the official rights holder beginning in 2006 in the u.s for ufc but could you see a scenario where maybe dana was right and i thought dana was being a dick this whole time constantly saying Francis is a bad guy at every turn because when
Starting point is 01:24:38 Dana has a grudge with somebody that can happen. I mean, I wonder if he's right now, Luke. I don't know. I don't know the specifics, but I wonder if he's right. Is it fair to at least say we may change our tune on that one day? I mean, is Dana right that Francis is a bad guy? I don't know of one event makes him a bad guy or what the full scope of it is. Also, why would Francis be a bad guy because he wanted, you know, to get, uh, the best deal imaginable. Like, that doesn't make him a bad guy. That might make him someone you don't want to do business with, but that doesn't make him a bad person, right? Um, and so, you know, I mean, listen, everyone is going to make mistakes and everyone's going to make poor judgment. And Lord knows, I've got a life filled with,
Starting point is 01:25:23 uh, incidences like that. But I just think on this one issue, could Francis have done more to be a willing participant to a company that, you know, I mean, rolled out the red carpet and then some for him. Yeah, he could have, dude. He could have. I think Don Davis is really right on this one. Yeah, where's Jake Paul, too? Well, that's not Francis's fault. I mean, he can't, he can't fix that. I get that. All right, let's go to topic number five. A reminder, we will not have a show on Friday. We're going to have our pregame preview on Thursday. So now's the only time to talk about this. There is big time boxing this Saturday, whether it should be a pay-per-view on DeZone and the U.S. is another argument.
Starting point is 01:26:02 But 20-year-old heavyweight prospect, Moses Atama from the United Kingdom. Dude, I just did a video deep dive. This phenom is totally on the verge of being a very legit thing. 12 and 0 with 10-KOs, somehow just 20 years old. And he's got a big fight against 37-year-old Dylan White, excuse me, this Saturday. We know White is battle tested, just three losses all on the elite level. And this will just be Atomah's. 13th pro fight.
Starting point is 01:26:31 The bout will take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. White might be 37, but we don't really worry about that in heavyweight, and he's got an incredible amount of experience having faced the likes of Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury, knocked out Joseph Parker. So we're talking about, you know, split those fights with Alexander Povietkin, and he's fighting a kid who's 20 years old. Luke, does it feel like this is too much too soon for Retama, who has fought only 25 rounds in his career or after you watch the tape after you listen to him speak which i did uh this week
Starting point is 01:27:06 it's going to be an interview on my channel does that change anything for you to the idea that is this kid ready for this fight and if he wins it you already know turkey wants to put him in there against usik so we're not talking about the future the future's going to be right now i think he's the most exciting prospect in combat sports sports. Wow. Whoa. Wow. Okay. If I'm, okay, who is more exciting as a prospect than him? I mean, that's the question, right? That's the damn question. I mean, maybe you could say Gable Steveson, if you're really projecting, but we don't, I mean, we don't, we have so little to go on, you know, that we're just looking at his wrestling and we don't know exactly what that will mean,
Starting point is 01:27:52 you know, um, but Otama is, do you look at him on tape? He's, he's fast. I feel like his body just naturally flows in, how do I say this exactly? There are some people who can learn how to box, and there are some people that seems like boxing naturally flows through them, and he seems like the latter of those. Now, I obviously have questions, B.C., less so in whether he can beat Dillian White. However, to the point you raised, which is, okay,
Starting point is 01:28:23 well, let's say he goes up there and he just smokes Dillion White, right? Inside three, four rounds. Well, then what? They're going to give him Usik. Now, that seems like a bridge too far because while I, the kid, the kid can't even legally buy a beer in, in the United States. That's how young he is. He can't even do that.
Starting point is 01:28:40 He couldn't vote here. I mean, obviously he's British, but you know the point I'm trying to make. Like, he wouldn't be old enough. He ran the car anytime soon, Luke. That's right. Whatever, whatever, you know, demarcation line you want to use for being 21. He hasn't crossed it yet. And so it just seems like we're rushing him so quick.
Starting point is 01:28:56 But, like, dude, think about. Moses Itama's rise versus somebody like an American fighter like Richie Torres. Now, Richie Torres is good, B.C. He's a good fighter. He's not Moses Itama. I mean, he's just not. He just cannot do what that kid can do. He doesn't move like he moves. He doesn't hit like he hits. And Torres is a good, you know, accomplished fighter. So I feel like the hype on him is, that's more than just real. It's in many ways justified. I guess it's the same thing I worry about in MMA.
Starting point is 01:29:27 you get someone who's young and they're killing it. They're like front of the line. And that can mess up everything thereafter. So I guess we'll just have to see how it goes. But do I believe in his upside? Yes, I firmly believe in his upside. So he's not going to break Mike Tyson's record as the youngest heavyweight champion in history at age 20. He'll turn 21 in December, but obviously he has the potential to be pretty darn close.
Starting point is 01:29:51 He was born in Slovakia to a Nigerian father and Slovakian mother moved to the UK when he was four years old. I also didn't want to believe that this was all real, right? But he has fought some durable old contenders and blown them away. His hand speed, the variety of his offense. These are, these are, he has phenom level abilities in there. Obviously, the questions we don't have answers for is he's gone the distance twice in six round fights early in his career, never been past six as a pro, has knocked out so many fighters as he's climbed the ladder in the first, second, and third
Starting point is 01:30:24 rounds so i chat with with him we're going to hear this you can check out this interview in full on the brian campbell experience i believe tomorrow but let's first hear from moses atama talking about just that dealing with the pressure of potentially being the next big thing at age 20 pressure is always a thing but press is a privilege pressure allows you to show you your metal so um i use this moment to kind of use it to my advantage and um and i'm 20 years old but i try not to think like a 20 year old i try to i'm trying to think like as if i'm where my competition's at you know what i mean because i don't ever want to use my age as an excuse i didn't beat him because i was 20 years old
Starting point is 01:31:14 no you didn't beat him because you wasn't good enough i don't want to use that excuse so um Dylan White, big fat, and if I knock him out, it's going to be a big statement. No doubt about it. I also asked him about this crazy fact. Like 10 years ago, he's in like the fourth grade watching this current heavyweight era kick off with the legs of Anthony, Joshua, Tyson Fury, Deonté Wilder, all fighting for their first world title around that time. 10 years later, he's on the verge of potentially fighting most of those names if he gets that opportunity, right? How does he deal with that fact, fighting his boyhood heroes? Here's he, Tom.
Starting point is 01:31:53 You're coming in at the end of what I think is one of the most fun, one of the greatest heavyweight eras of all time. You've got guys like Fury, Joshua, Wilder, Parker, Usick, all at or around age 40. When they first came on the scene and came on top, you were in like, what, fourth or fifth grade? How weird is it that you literally could end up fighting all of those guys or a bunch those guys and it could be in stadium title fights do you pinch yourself is that crazy to you yes and no um i don't know how the great system works in america obviously in england we have years but i remember when anthony joshua when he boxed um dillian white i was 10 years old and now i'm boxing
Starting point is 01:32:39 dillian white to get what i mean but you know people don't really give me credit because like boxing dillian white is a big thing if dillin white was to box josey parker that's a big thing If Dylan White was to have a rematch with Anthony Joshua, that's selling out 02, maybe even more. I'm fighting Dylan White at 20 years old and people ain't, that people ain't giving me like no credit for that. People, matter of fact, saying I'm going to knock him out in inside whatever rounds. But it's funny because the same people that think that I'm going to knock Dylan White out saying I'm not ready for Uzik's. Parker's them, them type of names, but then they don't think that them type of names will knock out Dylan White in two rounds. So it's like, it's a cycle of, like, so look, he went the distance
Starting point is 01:33:31 twice and six round fights, as I said. All 10 of his other fights have not made it out of the second round. Atama promoted by Frank Warren, who had a quote that said, Moses can be the flag bearer for British sport internationally, not just as a boxer, but I think it can be a cultural icon internationally. When you think about people like Tiger Woods or LeBron James, he is one of those guys, end quote. Luke, you just heard how mature and sophisticated he seems to be. He's got his head on straight. His trainer, Ben Davison, will not stop talking about his ability to listen and how mature he is. Do you think these comparisons from Frank Warren are fair, standard promoter hype? Or are you getting the feeling, too, that even though we don't have all the answers to
Starting point is 01:34:15 how good he is, that there's something truly special at. I mean, in the end, LeBron had a lot of hype coming out of high school, but it's because he was doing incredible things. He did incredible things from his first game in the NBA onwards. And Tiger Woods was doing incredible things as a young phenom. But I guess the point I'm trying to make is they didn't really become LeBron James. They didn't really become Tiger Woods until they had something in their back pocket to show that, like, this is what the hype meant to crystallize it.
Starting point is 01:34:44 And to this point, we don't really have that. So, like, is it a little premature now to say that? Certainly, it could backfire if Fetoma goes out there and gets wiped out by Dillion White or something like that. But I think I would say this, B.C. If there's anybody I've seen in boxing as a candidate to do something like that, I mean, LeBron's obviously something kind of special, and so is Tiger, right? So, I mean, you know, it's still an exaggeration.
Starting point is 01:35:08 It's still an exaggeration no matter what. But I guess I would just say is you just don't have a lot of prospects in boxing, irrespective of weight class at 20, who you feel like can move as fast to the top as this guy can. You know, everything else is very incremental. And partly that's because heavy weights a little bit more wide open, but the fact that he's just bulldozing his way into it, so effortlessly is kind of speaking to that effect. I just want folks to say, whether or not it's a Tiger Woods or it's a LeBron thing, you know, you can decide. But is there something seemingly special about him? I don't think that much is really
Starting point is 01:35:44 up for debate. Yeah, Southpaw, huge hand speed. He said the only heavyweight that might have faster hands than him is Andy Ruiz, who certainly has fast hands reaching for the food lately. I hope Andy can get back in gear and still get a big fight. But dude, he, he offensively is just a different level of a heavyweight we've seen up to this point. White's going to be a sturdy test, three and oh since that 2002 knockout loss to Tyson Fury. And look, the interesting thing is Gillian White's been caoed three times all on upper cuts. So we're going to see if that could be a much Otama can use. And finally, here for Moses, if you're wondering what styles of which fighters he will follow growing up kind of came together to make the style that he brings out
Starting point is 01:36:25 now, the list is fairly decorated. Let's listen. I read that you were a big fan of the great one, Prince Nassim Hamid, as a youngster. How much did he, in what ways, influence you as a boxer? Like, I went through, like, a spurs of fighters. Like, Nassim Hamid was the first fighter I loved watching. Then for, like, a long period of time, it was Floyd Maywever. It was Golofkin, and then for a long time, it became Lomachenko. Then Giovante Davis and whatnot and blah, blah, blah. Then George Fullman was won for a long time also.
Starting point is 01:37:07 I'm going to steal this from me. with her. I don't want to be like a fighter. I want my own kind of style, my own identity. And my own identity is a mixture
Starting point is 01:37:22 of all these fighters. There's fights where I've gone into them and like, for example, the fight against me versus Marius Wag, people are saying that I look like the heavyweight Mani Paco.
Starting point is 01:37:37 And then obviously, when it comes to fights like Dempsey McKin or Mike Balagun I think that's Moses Italma style to get what I mean like just confusing them. Obviously it didn't it didn't originate from me
Starting point is 01:37:52 there's nothing that I do that other people haven't done it's just the fact that I managed to mix it in so well we're going to find out on Saturday this might be completely too much hype too early but from what we've seen of him it's super super impressive. I can't wait to see it on Saturday.
Starting point is 01:38:11 I'm hyped. Again, I'm not really, to me, Saturday's result is not so much in question. I guess we'll see, but let's see what it happens afterwards. Are they going to strap a rocket to this kid's back and make him do stuff before he's ready? I don't know. I don't know. Or maybe, or maybe he's ready. Who knows, you know? He's a 10 to 1 as high as a 12 to 1 betting favorite against the durable, Dillian White. So we're going to see and, you know, he said to themselves to me, he said, look, I might not deserve Usik next if I win this because he meant,
Starting point is 01:38:38 mentioned that Joseph Parker and Adjit Kabayel have, you know, done some big things lately, but he said, it's not about what you deserve. It's about what you negotiate. So we'll see if Turkey picks him out of the group and puts him up there. We'll check it out. This podcast, this morning combat episode, of course, is brought to you by Total Wireless, the official wireless partner of UFC, whether you are streaming the fight or looking to send those takedown highlights to your boys. You need a wireless provider that keeps you close to the action. With Total Wireless, you're covered by the Verizon 5G network. So you have to worry about the connection being K-O'd at the biggest moments.
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Starting point is 01:40:00 Monthly rate on the total base 5G unlimited plan for new subscribers applies only to the monthly rate for your plan. additional terms apply see the website for more details time to get into a fan segment for this monday where every sunday night at morning combat on x and instagram we offer you an opportunity to get your questions answered and maybe hear a donkey ejack this is called deems from donks very regrettable sound there let's hear from our first fan what do you got for us folks this one's from tactical underscore athlete underscore motivation with luke's comments about fluffy potentially uh fighting for a title in 26 or 27 this is of course
Starting point is 01:40:49 anthony hernandez do you think it might be expedited with the dominance of delizzee maybe early 26 now we hit that off the top luke but you're telling me you would not be shocked if he fights the winner of saturday's main event how can how can you how can you look at what he did to leads a and be like oh it's inconceivable he would fight for a title soon like obviously that now is very much brought into um clear view like he's one of these guys who can do it so uh it's just a question of you know again the the other part of here bc and part of why part of why i was hesitant was i wasn't sure about his upside um and then the other one is again we talked about earlier he's not a great self-promoter these things affect you these things affect how you can get picked but you know bc
Starting point is 01:41:34 like if they do another noche card where would he fit on that? You know what I mean? Like there's ways in which he could fit in to a broader set of circumstances that he could get the knot. I just don't see how he doesn't fight for a title at some point. I really don't. Do you like his tats? The one on his
Starting point is 01:41:50 I'd have to take a closer look. A bunch of them I don't. I don't like owls on the chest. I'm not a big owl chest guy. You're more of like chippanzi on the chest? Is that you on Tatee? I don't even talk about Connor? Yeah, I am talking about Connor. That's a gorilla. That's not a chimpanzee.
Starting point is 01:42:08 Sorry, Luke. Okay. I mean, you know, where I come from, it's kind of close, similar, right? Yeah, I mean, okay. Yeah, I mean, they're animals, Luke. It's where I come from, all right? I mean, you know, crocodile alligator, same thing to me, okay? Really? Uh, yeah, no, I mean, I, yeah, that's it. Okay, there you go. Second one here's from Pat McCann 34.
Starting point is 01:42:30 Echoing my thoughts exactly. Luke has middleweight become a top three UFC division with the young talent coming through top three i don't know because what do you got you got 45 55 i like 55 and 70 as the two best yeah and then i would put 70 yeah 145 to 170 i think is the sweet spot ban on weight still kind of rules right ban on weight is also ban on weight you could throw band and weight in there as well so like to me it's 35 to 85 is 85 is obviously where mma is great everything after that is just long out look what do you got for top three i was just looking I want to be like, featherweight's kind of stagnant right now. Or so bandam weights kind of stagnant right now, but stagnant's a strong word.
Starting point is 01:43:12 Bannam weight, I stand corrected. Because you got Marab taken on Corey, but then like Marab's beat everyone after that. And it's kind of just like, it's all the same guys. Yeah. You know, it's a really bad division. Heavyweight, women's bandam weight, women's feather weight, women's straw weight these days. Light heavyweight. There you go.
Starting point is 01:43:32 third one's from short underscore fluke which iteration of ufc's hundreds do you think will be the last you cover as okay so they're talking about these sort of anniversary big number cards like ufc 100 or 200 which one will be the last that we each cover as media 400 500 600 or 1,000 i mean definitely not a thousand you can write that one off um these these come on quick pretty quick with 13 a year don't they not that quickly i mean ufc 100 was 2009. UFC 200 was 2016. UFC 300 was 2024, right? No, no, no, no, when was UFC?
Starting point is 01:44:11 I'm sorry, when was UFC 200? That was about a year or two ago, 24, April of 24? No, no, no, 200, 200. Oh, 200 was July of 16. Yeah, so you have 2009, 2016, then 2024 was three. Yeah, I mean, it might be a while. I mean, for four, I'll probably be there. I don't know after that.
Starting point is 01:44:29 I don't know after that. Okay, well, what will you be doing at? UFC 500, watching from home, Luke Thomas gets political, or maybe Luke runs for local office by that. Yeah, Luke Thomas runs for office and loses and then just moves to a cabin in the woods, never to be seen again. You should be full John Fetterman when you do run for office and just like wear like sweats and just cropped us to everybody as you walk by and stuff. Just look like a useless ogre everywhere I go. Yes, that's great. That guy's an American hero in so many ways, although I don't even know about his politics. Did you support that man's politics,
Starting point is 01:45:00 no he got brain damage and then turned it to a fucking idiot so okay here we go there's a little preview of luke thomas getting political our next one's from a an MVP in these parts flannels and jits a jizzuter himself what inspired you to start covering mma and boxing was there a particular fighter event that made you fall in love with the sport as a fan like i said i grew up watching it in the late 90s i didn't catch it early mid mid to late 90s i caught up with it it kind of fell out a little bit during college and then picked it back up right after that and then moved back to D.C. and started training. And then that just set off a revolution in my life. I said my life has never been the same sense. I had very early boxing fandom from
Starting point is 01:45:48 the Rocky movies through a very important fight, which was Sugar Ray Leonard against Marvin Hagler in 87 that my dad, not a sports fan, bought the pay-per-view, had a party in my grandparents' basement, invited all his friends from work so i got to feel at the age of like seven or eight that that big fight feel and uh and see a you know a contentious decision that people were debating but you know i came in and out as a fan for years i think i don't it was i always say it was me putting on the gloves and the headgear and sparring regularly in 2004 that that that reactivated a hardcore thing that led me less than a decade later to writing about boxing on a you know on a full time level or not a full time level at that point but on a large level at ESPN so i'm totally going
Starting point is 01:46:32 to credit that path ufc like you luke i was watching the on on the legal cable boxes the early paper views like ufc 3 4 56 like that um i didn't ever thought i'd be a you mMA media member but here we are you know you never know life takes funny turns yeah uh why are we covering it because it's our passion it's our life this is the spirit we bring to the show you know that's right i can't believe that has to be explained but there you go number five i our last one from probably Brian, who spells it like a Y, which is just absurd. Who are your top three musical artists to listen to, let's say in general, like of this modern era, who are your top three artists?
Starting point is 01:47:12 I can only listen to say who I'm listening to in rotation now. How about that? Okay. The new clips album is unbelievable good. I can't believe how good that album is. It's so slick and well-produced. Um, so there's that. I'm going to say harm's way is kind of like this sort of like hardcore band that I found
Starting point is 01:47:34 that I really like. Throwing it a little trapped under ice is another one that I like a lot too. Um, and then what's a third one? You know what? I've been digging back into the crates, B.C. It's, it's, I've mentioned this many times on MK, but it, you know, it just never seems to go out of style. Cameron.
Starting point is 01:47:50 I'm a big Cameron guy, dude. I mean, I just, there's so many hits that have so many gems in the, in the lyrics. That's where I'm at these days. All right. I'm listening to Bright Eyes obsessively again. I was a big fan 20 years ago. Now I can't get out. I'm massive on Deep Purple.
Starting point is 01:48:09 I'm deep diving from start to finish. They change a lineup every three years. It's wild and aggressive. I love it. And I would say, you know, I'm a massive traffic fan with Steve Winwood, Luke. You know, I live in the 60s and 70s in my basement. So those are maybe Joe Walsh and the James gang as well. well has been a big part of my life lately but i'm all over the place i got genres coming out of
Starting point is 01:48:33 genres but these are these are the lives we live we love music is my life live okay it's your passion it's my passion thank you very much all right uh that's our our dms from donks a reminder that you can reach out to our program at morning combat at gmail dot com we won't have fan subs or dead wrongs this week but you people have been on fire with the fan subs so keep up the great work we'll be back with those next week. Don't show Mikey your butthole. Thank you. All right.
Starting point is 01:49:01 Show him your cock and balls. We got one more segment for you. And I mean, it's fan friggin'tastic because every Sunday I scour the globe for the highs and lows, the good, the bad, the ugly, from the worlds of combat sports and beyond. This one's called
Starting point is 01:49:17 BC's Feces. Luke, would you say I've been on a run lately or what? Are we stagnant? Where are we at? You know, you're above UFC Apex, but you're not pay-per-view. All right, let's see what grade you'll give me today. Weekend combat roundup time. Angela Hill had a moment at the way-ins, Luke.
Starting point is 01:49:43 Let's watch this. I mean, she's trolling, but this is interesting, Luke. What do you make of it? Handing it to the old white guy. He'd probably sniff those things. Pulling those fake little, uh, bra implants out and then acting embarrassed she's a she's a treasure even though she lost yeah she lost but you know what a unique personality in the sport to be to be sure and that was a fun little action
Starting point is 01:50:07 fight and she's 40 years old she's going to like redefine longevity in the female game right for sure already already has yeah holly home as well um although she's getting back into boxing now uh bkfc edmonton happened and check out this way in between people named santiago and stew What a good time we're going to have tomorrow. As you can see, ladies and gentlemen, the fireworks and getting these two apart. It looks a lot trickier than it is in the middleweight division. Drew Stovie and Will Santiago. This looks like a fight you do not want to miss.
Starting point is 01:50:50 Now, we did miss it, but did that make one of the ones? Jerry. Yeah, you're right. It does have those vibes. Did that make you want to watch the fight or no? No, no, I have a family. All right, all right. Let's go to Chinese regional MMA where, yeah, anything can happen.
Starting point is 01:51:05 Luke, watch this gentleman try to celebrate a win. What do you think is going to happen here? Okay. All right, guys. All right, guys, don't concuss yourself in a sport where you get concussed. Please listen to me. Luke, remember unsaid by the bell where they had that recurring bit where screech would be like the locker and then they'd open the door and he'd say something funny and they'd close it.
Starting point is 01:51:30 They do that in the UFC now. Watch. Your thoughts? If you're not five. How was that funny? Okay. All right. Here's question. If you're not five, how is that funny? Um, I don't know. Look, I don't know. You know, I used to be certified with a jack in a factory and a forklift. Watch this fella get all jacked up. You know, he's moving big product. All right.
Starting point is 01:52:06 All right. He's got the little. Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, my God. Oh, God. Wow. Yeah. Yeah. Where's OSHA?
Starting point is 01:52:16 Jesus. Wow. That was awesome. Luke, would you say, Babe Ruth, still has an argument to be baseball's goat or to Barry Bonds eclipse him? Yeah, I think Barry. Shohay O'Hon. Showh's on his way, too, yeah.
Starting point is 01:52:28 Let's check out this Babe Ruth moment. Now batting, number three, Babe Ruth, here's the pitch. Strike one. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, blue. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Why is the pitcher black? I mean, that's just, you know,
Starting point is 01:52:49 it's a fair recreation if Babe Ruth had played in modern times, right? He would be asking questions, you know. Yes, he would. All right. Well, speaking of baseball, it's time to head out to the old ball game. Watch this Indians fan try to catch a home run. Okay, he gets halfway through, then douses that lady. Yeah, yeah, take that, Bion.
Starting point is 01:53:09 Yeah. Do you think that's his significant other or just some broad, Luke? Just some broad. He's just pointed out. Take that. Yankees had old timers day over the weekend where Mario Ravariano Rivera tore his ACL, but we also found a new mythical creature called Wash Johnson. Johnny Damon, Luke, tell me about that.
Starting point is 01:53:29 Is that Johnny Damon? It really is, bro. No. Literally unrecognizable. Dude, why is his face the size of the moon? It's the size of my head. I mean, it's insane. Yeah. Dude, I'm not even kidding. It looks like someone put a rubber mask on a pumpkin. He's eating good, Luke, with that caveman hair. That's insane. I mean, I can't, I mean, after, you know, after going to Portugal and then the beach,
Starting point is 01:53:55 I've been eating like it's going on a style too so I can hardly talk. But he's, if you had told me that's Johnny Damon, I would not have, like, I just that is, that's a real fat man right there. Yeah, I hope he's not sick and now I'll have to feel bad for showing that Luke, but you know. Fuck him.
Starting point is 01:54:12 I once went to, when I was a high school sports reporter for a newspaper, I once had a game in Stanford, but then it rained out. So I just kept driving to the Wemette's game. I bought a six pack and drank it on the way. And then I went to a game alone, moved my I see around spent $200 on food and then got ejected for talking about Jose Mesa's mother while he was warming up in the bullpen and he gave me the blowjob sign to try to, and then he called on the bullpen phone security to remove me. That reminded me of this clip with pirates
Starting point is 01:54:40 Tommy Fam. Yeah, yeah, take that fans, right? That's how we greet each other in the Thomas household. Make no mistake. I mean, look, is that lame at age 22 to go to a game alone and get loaded? the far where you admitted on camera just now to drinking and driving was a little much like when i got to the parking lot yeah right right right not on the way for sure i mean we would do that in 2001 i mean that'd be so awful uh luke let's go to a uh we unlocked a new comic book hero for you his name vulcanus he strikes with living lava yeah this is me after taco bell yeah yeah that is uh or is he just shitting blood we don't know that could be just like you right there uh let's go over to new york city they got construction check out this sign cock and balls i mean you don't
Starting point is 01:55:38 hate that right come on new york is the best i fucking love new york look would you say the worst place to be is anywhere near nfl fans yes i mean and you go to an nfl game you're white trash i'm sorry all right check out this fight between a ravens fan and two commanders fans so i actually have a story about this. This is an old one. This was after the commander's. Yeah, this after the commanders. So this dude in the Ravens jersey, they found him. Oh, wow. And he was charged with multiple crimes for doing this. Would it surprise you, BC, that he ended up being a finance, bro, and a trust fund kid? Would that surprise you? Was he part of this WNBA Dildo Crypto scam or what, Luke? Yeah, he looks like he would be the first guy at the front lines of an NBA, WNBA,
Starting point is 01:56:22 a dildo crypto scam. But he got his. The law enforcement got him. So shouts to that piece of shit. All right. Would you hang out with these New England Patriot fans by any chance? I'll make an exception in their case. That guy in the tie-dye.
Starting point is 01:56:41 That's incredible. I'll make an exception. Dude, I like how they didn't even bring like a pen. They just brought pure flour and then Jerry rigged the Mikulov Ultric bottle to get it done. I have done that in the upper deck of Yankee Stadium before. I mean, have you really?
Starting point is 01:56:57 Yeah, of course. I mean, I brought the pen to the stadium before, but I've never brought flower, never. Okay, okay. We're different people, Luke. Let's go to Cowboys Wide Receiver. Here's an NFL bonus clip. CD Lamp. Watch out for that referee, bro.
Starting point is 01:57:12 CD Lamb. Oh, okay, I see. Turn off the lamp now, Luke, lights out. Wow, that is fantastic right there. I don't really watch much. NFL these days. Okay, Luke Suffolk County in New York. He's only one of the stars of the NFL, but okay. Luke, Suffolk County of New York is getting excited about USA's 250th celebration come this July 4th. This was actually a press conference. Listen in. This is my county, by the way.
Starting point is 01:57:41 It's going to be a gang bang like you have never seen. We're going to send off the rat rockets. We're going to enjoy our independence. Thank you. Hell, yeah, brother. Hey, long out, Luke, you're going to go to the gang bang? Yeah, me and for Volo both be there. Did he sound like Bob Arab? Never screwed so many women in my life. Never screwed so many broads in all my life.
Starting point is 01:58:08 It was a two-day orgy. It was great stuff. All right. What else we got here? Let's go down to, hey, the Hulk Hogan tributes continue. Did you see the day of his funeral that the clouds look like it was doing the Hogan pose? You didn't see that?
Starting point is 01:58:22 uh once again i'm not five oh sorry okay well here's the hard rock cafe paying tribute to hulk ogan hard r okay that's pretty good that's pretty good got a good little pop from me there you go time for your chaos of the week nascars coner zillish caoed himself and broke his collarbone after winning an xfinity series race i've never seen anything like this before luke oh my god what the fuck yeah that's right maybe they should get nascar doors that open how about that guys okay why are we doing duke's a hazard style dude did he tear his knee go show it one more time did he
Starting point is 01:59:04 he tore his knee too broke his collarbone and and was knocked out okay so watch it oh he slips there by the way he slips on that rubber already and then sure enough slips again whoop oh good lord oh he did the he did the he i'm not trying to i'm you know i'm not trying to hate but he did the Tua Tunga Viloa fencing bit, you know? Yeah. And he's supposed to be like a really good, um, broadcast too. So they, uh, they were,
Starting point is 01:59:29 the commentators were like awkwardly like, oh, uh, just got away from it. Let's go to commercial. Yeah. All right. Luke, watch this motorcycle debut to dispute, excuse me. It looks like South America, but it gets wild. Hey, oh, yeah, and not the past with me. What do you take you?
Starting point is 01:59:51 Hey, that guy came All right That guy That guy came back to life Did you see that shit? Somebody had to get it though He was like He just hit the guy with the crutches
Starting point is 02:00:06 Somebody's gonna get it That's insane All right, good news this week Do you remember former morning combat Social Media engineer Brendan Lynch? Of course He's like a poor man's Gordon
Starting point is 02:00:18 But he's like ripped his shit he got his Brazilian Jiuz's black belt this weekend in Los Angeles. Look at that handsome tan fellow. And in the comments, congratulating was not only Christian DeGiro of amateur MMA fame, but A.C. Slater. And here's a picture of Mario Lopez and the aforementioned Brendan Lidge. Hey, shout out to that fellow, right, Luke? Amazing.
Starting point is 02:00:43 I think he was like a blue or purple belt when he worked with us. So he flew up the ranks. Good for him, man. I hope he gets chicks too. I mean, that guy, wow, well done, Lynch. Why don't you go have sex with him and Brett Okamoto? You desperately wish to you want to be in the human centipede between
Starting point is 02:01:00 the Okamoto's and the lynches. Well, currently I'm the meat and a Saul family sandwich, but I'm also married, look, please. Okay, there you go. All right, thank you. Luke, let's honor honest Abe, maybe my favorite president, Abraham Lincoln. You a big fan of him? I don't give a fuck.
Starting point is 02:01:16 Okay, well, here's an impression of him. This is my impression of Abraham Lincoln carrying two very full cups of water. Or wait, hold on. Shock, wait. Sorry. That's good. Come on, right?
Starting point is 02:01:40 Not bad. I don't know where he ranks in your favorite president countdown, but here's somebody who's ranking Lincoln just the same. Ranking every U.S. president. how much I want to go to the theater with them. Coming in at last place, we have Abraham Link. That guy gets me every time. Apparently, I'm alone.
Starting point is 02:01:59 All right, clothing items of the week. Here's the best T-shirt I can find. I may not go down in history, but I'll go down on your... Okay, Jesus, fucking. Here's the runner-up, Luke. Do you like this better? War bad, boobs good. Yeah, I mean, this is a platform.
Starting point is 02:02:15 I think we can all get behind, right? Okay. Yep, and here's your hat of the week, which, of course, is honoring 2001, Luke. I must be an 18-year-old in 2001 the way I'm ready to die for Bush. Luke, speaking of the good old days, do you ever think about like acquiring old toys that you played with in the 80s and being like, Tuki, this is what we used to have. You know what I mean? Sort of, but I mean, it's hard to do that with a little girl, but yeah. All right. Do you remember viewmasters that you put them on your eyes and you put in the thing? You've got to get these for Tuki,
Starting point is 02:02:46 look crime scene photos well you know i mean that's aggressive faces of death okay okay do we have one more i don't know okay okay all right all right all right all right all right all right all right speaking of never forgetting luke check out this tribute tattoo this is not a joke this is a a real thing are you for it or against it i'm against that that is a shit tattoo if ever there was one all right i mean do you think people can honor or not 9-11 or is it always
Starting point is 02:03:18 I mean it's possible to honor that all right check out this Japanese restaurant they are honoring 9-11 here on the sushi menu of course with the we can zoom in a little more oh the twin tower roll luke you into that what was on it can we see one more time here long is there a way to pause it
Starting point is 02:03:37 I don't know if there's a way to pause it there's not a way to pause it it it said shrimp tempera and eel I couldn't get the ass yeah well okay I mean I'd eat it I'd eat it it uh speaking of food tributes for 9-11 luke check out this pancake place i took down the towers in under okay in under i mean that's aggressive there i don't i don't support there was a debate raging on twitter like political twitter like a month ago and one person was arguing like guys i don't know if you know this but like 9-11 humor is everywhere and everyone in the comments was like
Starting point is 02:04:09 that's absolutely not true and i'm like uh i know for a fact it's true i couldn't believe that there people like aggressively saying that it wasn't true yeah i don't i don't understand it at all to be honest all right let's go to this guy's wedding here watch the best man luke he's the large this one we saw this one yeah this is a rerun his pants fall down oh god see no i'm getting caught in the reruns all right it was a good moment then pants up fella father finally luke we know that you're like the late coby bryant you are a hashtag girl dad you ever just race toks just you know just for fun sure okay watch this dad he's a great great out here.
Starting point is 02:04:47 Come on, Lane. Wow. Wow, Luke, that's all the shit I can handle this week, all right? What he's going to be. I mean, come on, that's a B plus. That's a B plus with my shoe. That's B plus.
Starting point is 02:05:07 Yeah, that's B plus. I'll give you that. Here we go. For sure. All right, one more reminder, folks. Morning Combat's August exclusive merchandise available right now exclusively at Morning Combat.shop until the end of the month or until they last. You can get the Morning
Starting point is 02:05:20 Combat Beavis and Butthead T-shirt. The vaping is for closers and ho. How about the autographed Super Wash Dads posters with BC and LT's signature on there? We have less than five to go to get those off the shelves and get ready for next month. Also, we've got some evergreen items. You can get hats. You can get a lot of things. And most importantly, folks, in this era of MK merch, you can change the colors on the T-shirts to match your personality check it all out at morning combat dot shop great shit right there look anything else you want to tell these fine people um see all thursday see all thursday yeah pregame preview ufc 319 11 a m eastern time on youtube this thursday live from manhattan ufc lightweight
Starting point is 02:06:06 matt frivola joining us you can like and subscribe by the way if you haven't please this does help the show go a long way we'll see what the paramount era of ufc looks like but you know we're going to be there along the ride with you uh you can check out our extended channels and luke uh luke of the long island fame like are you pretty fired up for frivol of this thursday or what pretty fired up for that i'm even more fired up for ufc 319 and contender series starts tomorrow i'll be doing a watch along for that if anyone wants wow so shout out to contender series l t your thoughts on his boyfriending he's the worst boyfriend i've ever seen okay i mean you know i mean you know i mean
Starting point is 02:06:45 War Machine wasn't great, to be fair. You know what I mean? Ray Carruth, not a good boyfriend, right? Not a great boyfriend. Not a good. Oh, there you go. All right. For Long Island, Luke and L.T. on BC, thank you very much for joining us.
Starting point is 02:06:59 Luke Thomas, do you have any special 319 content this week for the people? Yeah. I mean, I'm going to be doing a watch-along for the full thing, the full main card on Saturday. I'll have a, I think I'm working on a, I mean, there's a lot of shit going on now, but working on a bit of a breakdown for that. I'll definitely have one after the fight So yeah, stay tuned A lot of stuff coming your way
Starting point is 02:07:18 If they ever asked you nicely, would you attend Just Bleed Radio? Yeah, sure. Shout out to Lazy. Close mouth, don't get fed though, you know. Danger Mouse and David Sandeen of expensive women fame. All right, that's all we got.
Starting point is 02:07:34 We love you guys. Take care of yourself. Take care of it up here. That's it, the end of the show. See you later. Ah, come on. Why is this taking so long? This thing is ancient. Still using yesterday's tech, upgrade to the ThinkPad X1 Carbon, ultra-light, ultra-powerful, and built for serious productivity,
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