The Ariel Helwani Show - Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul Post-Show: Did it disappoint? Taylor vs. Serrano robbery?

Episode Date: November 16, 2024

On the Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul Post-show, Eric Jackman and Conner Burks react to Jake Paul's decision win over Mike Tyson and whether the fight lived up to expectations. Was it a success for Netflix and who will Jake Paul fight next (00:42)?Then, they recap another instant classic fight between Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano, including the controversial scoring and refereeing (25:10).Finally, they end by reacting to breaking news related to UFC 310 and the new co-main event between Shavkat Rakhmonov and Ian Machado Garr (33:47).

All right, welcome in to the Unground Post Show. You just were with us for the entire Mike Tyson, Jake Paul watch party event out in Dallas. You know, normally on these we throw to Mr. Ariel Hawane to get his reaction from whatever UFC card just happened. He was just in the ring with Jake Paul and Mike Tyson just a few seconds ago. So guess what? You get us. I am Connor Burks. I am joined alongside Mr. New York Rick. But you know that. Look at this rebranding. What just

happened here? Look at that rebranding. The graphics look great. Graphics look great. Bug looks great. We got the new thing in the screen. And that's that. That is a wrap from Jake Paul, Mike jake paul defeats mike tyson via unanimous decision in a you know ho-hum ho-hum unexciting fight that's that's how i'm gonna put it it was not exciting at all uh there was really no moment of danger for either

fighter uh and in my opinion jake paul pitched a shutout eight rounds to none but it's nice to see mike tyson make out Tyson make it out healthy. Yes. I think the age showed throughout the entire fight, 58 years old against 27 years old. I think Jake Paul could have probably finished that fight at any point if he had wanted to. And, you know, it's on to the next one.

Yeah, the fight itself, as you said, ho-hum. You know, it became clear to me at a certain point that Jake Paul was not fighting Mike Tyson in the same way that he knock him out because he would use his own aggression against him. Or the second option was going to be Jake might carry Mike Tyson to the end. And if you ask my humble opinion, that is what happened. I believe that Jake Paul carried Mike Tyson to the end. He may say different. He said he was trying his hardest. I'm not sure I believe that.

I think he was too close to Mike Tyson, respects Mike Tyson too much, and wanted to see him there at the end unharmed. I am in complete agreeance with you. I think there were some moments where it looked like Jake Paul was maybe attempting to finish the fight. And it just seemed like... Not too hard, though. It wasn't like he would press it, press it, press it. Press it. Press it. It just felt like with the threat that Mike Tyson gave to Jake throughout the entire fight, and just like the speed advantage and the power advantage that Jake Paul seemed to have over Mike Tyson, he could have finished the fight. And I'm with you. I think it was a respect to a legend, a respect to a 58-year-old man that got in the ring with him,

that had the stomach ulcers back in July, and that the fight got canceled, but they still made good on him. An idol of his. An idol of his. An idol of his. An idol to the entire boxing community. Jake Paul knows that he's a villain now. You really become a villain if you completely ice a 58-year-old Mike Tyson.

Yeah, and so a lot of things came to mind while the fight was kind of playing out. For me, one of the first things that came to mind was with the benefit of hindsight, the whole, is he too old to be in there? Jake Paul is going to kill him thing really felt academic, right? Because if we knew ahead of time that Jake Paul is just going to kind of spar with Mike Tyson, ultimately, like that concern might not have been as big a deal. But then the fight wouldn't have been as big a deal, right?

A lot of the stuff this week was Mike Tyson reminding people that he's scary, that he's bad, that he's coming with cruel intentions, and he's trying to hurt Jake Paul. He's slapping him at the weigh-ins. I think it was great selling, but ultimately what we ended up with was not, like, a very vicious fight, right, from either side. I didn't think that Jake Paul was particularly stepping on the gas. There were some flurries that maybe I think if there was an opening

he was trying to finish, but ultimately I don't think he stepped on the gas in the way that if that was Tyron Woodley, if that was Nate Diaz, if that was any of these other opponents, he is coming for blood. If I'm not mistaken, I think it was in the third round where it looked like he might finish him. I think he rocked him at one point, maybe wobbled him a little bit, and then he just kind of got sort of passive with it again.

I think that the whole idea in his head was just like, unless Mike was coming at him and being aggressive, trying to finish Jake, landing big shots, then I almost feel like Jake the entire time was just going to get in there and do what we saw. Yeah, that's a great way to put it because Jake was not threatened, right?

If Jake got threatened, maybe this fight goes differently, right? Maybe if Mike Tyson is actually threatening Jake Paul, then we get something where Jake has to respond and has to kind of do something that might not be what he was ideally looking to do. Again, this is just my perspective. He's going to have to speak on this. He's going to have to tell us what really happened in there. I don't think he was as aggressive as he would normally be. If Mike

pressed him, then maybe that changes. The other thing I instantly thought about is if you are Canelo Alvarez, if you are somebody who is the next name that's on Jake Paul's lips or just any boxer out there, is that the performance that you go, I need to fight this guy now? Personally, I don't think that Canelo would want the fight after that. What makes you say that? Because it was just like a fairly pedestrian affair that was somewhat boring in that I'm not on Twitter right now. I'm not on socials. I don't know how our chat is reacting to it. But the glimpses that I did see was people just being like, oh, that fight was ass. That was bullshit. Yeah. To me, it comes down to a few things. I think of Canelo as a championship level fighter, one of the pound for pound greats,

one of the best ever. And somebody who is looking for true challenges, I don't think he views Jake Paul as a challenge, nor do I believe he should, right? There is a size difference, but I don't believe he views Jake Paul as a credible challenge. On the heels of that fight, if I am Canelo and I then jump into the ring with Jake Paul instead of, say, David Benavidez after a performance where Jake Paul clearly did not press on the gas to finish Mike Tyson, it has a stench to it that I don't know if Canelo necessarily wants to get into. I suppose that's true, that there are fights waiting for Canelo Alvarez. It's not like he's sort of just chilling in this neutral mode where it's just like, ah, there's no one really for me to fight.

I'll just go get this massive payday and, you know, get a huge check, get a W, give this guy a loss and move on with my career. Jake said that Canelo needs him. I would argue, I don't think most people believe that, but I would argue very strongly the opposite way. Jake Paul needs legitimacy right now. On the heels of this one, which I think people will view, I'm sure there will be people who

say like fixed. I don't think anything was fixed here. Dude, I don't think anything was fixed. I think it was a 58 year old man fighting a 27 year old man. The outcome was expected. Everyone texting me and everything being like, who do you think is going to win? Jake Paul. Really? You you think so i know so we we placed a massive wager on jake paul i could not believe it was even minus 200 this is a 58 year old man we're talking about the old this is professional

boxing a person who trains religiously in jake paul the oldest man to ever win on the pga tour is 52 years old and that's a sport designed for old people and he's 52 years old that like you just can't hang around in professional sports it every professional sport is a young man's game yeah and like Father Time Undefeated as the famous Father Time is Undefeated and it's definitely undefeated for 58 year olds trying to compete with guys in their 20s so like it just it this almost feels like maybe the most damning performance for Jake from the perspective of just like, man, like he really just fought a 58 year old and they just like kind of sparred to a decision. Yeah. And I say that to say Jake needs legitimacy, right? On the

heels of this, the thing that Jake Paul needs the most right now is to face credible boxing opponents. Because to this point, there's always been excuses. And I will say, I will admit, I think it's kind of unfair. I think Jake Paul gets a certain level of unfair criticism. I think the level of opponent that he's facing at this point in his career is significantly higher than the typical opponent that a boxer is fighting at this level in their careers. That said, there always seems to be something. With Anderson Silva, he's older. With Mike Tyson, he's older. With Tyron Woodley, he's too small.

There's always something that people will pick at when it comes to Jake Paul's wins to kind of remove that credibility. He needs that opponent that can be across from him that is even matchup. I think the closest we've gotten is Tommy Fury, right? And we saw he lost that fight. He needs more opponents like that. When he's aiming for Canelo, that would grant him maximum credibility. But I think it's a bridge too far. I think he's jumping, trying to jump too far ahead. And I don't think Canelo is interested in that at the moment. Now, I could be wrong because what we also have to admit, outside of the fight and how

it played out itself, Massive Gate, they have said $20 million, the biggest in boxing. I think we'll obviously need to have that confirmed and kind of see what the final numbers look like. The massive audience that watched this on Netflix cannot be ignored. The magnitude and promotion around this event cannot be ignored. The fact that Jake Paul is now partnered with Netflix in this endeavor and could easily say, I can promote these events and put on another event for you cannot be ignored. If those things are enough to bring Canelo to the table, then I can see the fight happening.

I just don't think it's what they both are looking for at this point in time. For Jake, as I said, I think he needs Canelo for some credibility, but it feels like a jump just a little too far in that direction. Yeah, I think he has options. What would you like to see now? I mean, the plan that we threw out of Jake Paul, Conor McGregor, Katie Taylor, a man who's thrown a three at Croke Park, that is a fairy tale land. I think he could try for the Canelo fight, but I don't think that's what's going to happen.

I think he could try for another big-name MMA guy. I don't think that's going to happen. But if I'm being totally honest, he said he can get whoever he wants. I wasn't expecting a Mike Tyson fight like he might something out of left field he might be thinking of something that we're not thinking of i don't look i'll watch a tommy fury rematch because i do think that's probably the best competitive boxing match we can find for jake paul at this moment i don't love it i. I just feel like Tommy's not the good foil for Jake. They kind of don't engage well. I'm not a fan of that.

Also, the fight wasn't thrilling the last time. But I do think it's competitive. I do think it's fairly matched. Conor McGregor would be an absolute pipe dream, but I think that would be a lot of fun, and the promotion would be... It would dwarf even this one. It would turn this one to nothing,

what they could do that's the biggest thing you can get but what i really want to see jake paul logan paul that's the fight now there will be people who will say we just saw him have a sparring match and carry mike tyson what's to say that they will actually box I think there's probably a little more animosity than maybe like they let on and I think they would actually go to war with each other because they don't want to lose the bragging rights yeah that's the other one for me the Jake Paul fight that I'm most interested in right now is Jake Paul versus Logan Paul I think they could sell that too just because I think they would both just be like I love him

whatever it is 20 minutes we're going to go to war and that's going to be that and I'm not going to hold anything back I'm going to kill him yeah I'm going for tonight we're not brothers for tonight we're going to go to war the other thing is

consider the promotional arm consider what they would be able to do with the hype around that fight with their own platforms. If they partner with somebody like a Netflix, the magnitude of what they'd be able to get out there, just sheer volume and eyeballs would be massive. I mean, honestly, as long as he's fighting someone that is a celebrity counterpart to his, I think the fights are always going to be massive. I don't think tonight he gained any fans. Like, I don't think anyone's just like, I got to tune into that next Jake Paul fight. But he just has this way of creeping in and being like, yep, I'm fighting. And people like, they just always seem to tune in. Like, he just gets eyeballs

on him. And I guess a lot of it is maybe people wanting to watch him lose. But, like, I don't think he's, like, gained a massive fan base tonight. So I just, like, I feel like his best route is to just keep fighting people of high stature, whether it's a Canelo, whether it's his brother, whether it's a Conor McGregor, whether it's someone that we're not thinking of, whether it's an old MMA fighter that just has a big name on their belt. Like, the Ryan Borland, the Andre August days are just completely over. Tommy Fury, I guess. I don't know.

Would I be that excited about a Tommy Fury fight? I wasn't excited about the first one. Is it just like we kind of just sit back and just wait and see who he's fighting, and then we go from there? Any interest in KSI? The KSI fight is still there, but I guess how interesting is it? Because I didn't think of it until you just said it now. Maybe it's just because it's late

and we've been on the air for almost four hours. The KSI fight would do numbers, especially with the younger generation. You're talking about the YouTube fans, the streaming fans. They're going to tune in to see who's going to win it and they're going to sell the shit out of it. They both have massive platforms on social media and on YouTube.

They're going to sell that fight. They do it on Netflix as well. Any interest in top 20 ranked fighter in his weight class? No, not even a little bit. The only thing I'm not interested, I've said this all along. I know we've talked about this many times on the show. I'm not interested in Jake Paul, the boxer. What I'm interested in is what we saw tonight. Now, granted, again, I need to make it clear. I'm not interested in that product,

in that main event. The fight itself is not what I'm interested in. But what I do recognize is Jake Paul is one of the only people who can make the events like we saw tonight happen. There are very few people who can do that. Even the best boxers in the world. Like, in a way, right? Could, in a way, have made this fight happen? Absolutely not. No chance in hell.

I'm not even sure Canelo can. So, there are very few people who can make something like what happened tonight happen. I'm interested in Jake Paul driving the sport forward in that way. I want to see that. He has this perfect formula of like Mike Tyson isn't taking the Canelo fight because Canelo would punt his head into the row.

It was like this perfect medium of like Jake is a big draw. People are going to watch him. And he's a boxer but like he's not that level of a boxer. Everybody who signs up thinks they're really going to beat him. They really think they're going to beat him. It's not just the paycheck.

Showing up against Canelo, everybody knows they're going to lose. You're going to lose that fight. You know that. Not only does every boxer that signs up to beat Jake Paul think they're going to beat him, the fans think it too. The fans think this is the time we're really going to get to see Jake Paul get his clock cleaned. And so that's why I go back to 20th ranked boxer

might be Jake Paul's next move just because I think he cares more about the legitimacy than he cares about the spectacle. He has now done one of the biggest shows that you could possibly do in boxing. He has been very clear about this. I want to be a championship boxer. Maybe that's the route

he goes. Maybe he avenges the loss to Tommy Fury. Or maybe it's just some guy who's actually ranked and he's like, I'm going to try to be a champion in boxing. I could see it. I mean, we saw Francis Ngannou fight Tyson Fury off a loss and then he was a top 10 heavyweight in the world. Maybe Jake starts making the path to the rankings in a legitimate way and starts making his quest to becoming

a championship boxer. Now, I guess one risk in that is you've always said it doesn't matter how much he loses, people are going to tune in. It's all about just the spectacle of it. If he starts trying to make a run to be a championship boxer, you can only lose so many times before it's just like you're out. You have no chance of ever getting to the title. Yes, totally.

If he starts to lose one going down that path, I expect he would quickly return to the MMA fight. I think it might be one loss. If he goes and fights Danny Johnson, the 17th ranked. I know, but he lost to Tommy and he found the path back. And even after that, it wasn't exactly like the marquee matchups that

you'd expect. I'm not saying completely be done with the sport or anything. I'm just saying would ditch the gold. Yeah, and just start doing big fights. I can only know if he tries it. Ultimately, I'm not interested in those fights, though. And I think a lot of people would be the same.

It's really going to depend. Is he more interested in pursuing what he views as a career in boxing, or is he more interested in chasing the career in big fights and entertainment? Because he is very good at that one. I'm not so sure he'd have so much success in the other one. He's only 27. He's only 27. He's got time.

But is this a fight where you go, man, I really saw the improvements from Jake Paul. That is what I'm trying to say. I don't think he gained a single fan from this because it's just like the people that tuned in and wanted to see him get knocked out by Mike Tyson are just like, that sucked. The people that tuned in and wanted to see him get knocked out by mike tyson are just like that sucked the people that tuned in and wanted to maybe see like him put on like a master class or something didn't get to see that people who just tuned in to want

to see an exciting fight didn't get to see that and like the fight just was it was oh hum it was very forgettable we really took nothing from it i just don't know how like we move from here and more people are clamoring or he really starts to build like a a die-hard fan base behind him the the people who want to see him get knocked out that is a renewable resource oh that's the part i'll say always well they will be there and so if you can say this next person is actually going to knock him out by the way they did a great job convincing people that Mike Tyson was going to be that guy. Oh, they did a fantastic job. If you can do that again, they might be there. The best part about the Canelo fight is not only the size and the spectacle of it, but there's your chance. We're talking about being shocked at Jake Paul being a minus 200

to Mike Tyson. Canelo is like a minus 1,000 against Jake Paul? If it was, there's a ton of value there. Canelo wins the fight. He should be minus 15,000, 100,000. Canelo will win that fight. So it's just like, tune in. I'm going to get my ass beat by Canelo, or he's going to become a world champion.

I'd watch the Canelo fight out of spectacle i i ariel seems more um more gung-ho about that being like a real option i don't see it because i don't believe canelo will want it not yet not yet not yet i could i could see it in the later years uh i said i haven't been looking at social media anything on twitter uh on air jordan telling me we've got some tweets some reaction. Terrence Crawford, I love Mike Tyson, but they've given him too much credit. He looked like trash to train that long and only throw 97 punches. The whole fight is crazy.

I'm just glad he didn't get hurt out there. My defense of Mike Tyson on that Terrence Crawford is, Terrence, you are not 58 years old. You don't know what it feels like to wake up in a 58-year-old's body. It is not easy, dude. I'm not 58 either, but I can't imagine it is easy to try and go toe-to-toe with a 27-year-old at that age. I will also say, I think that is more on the promotion, right?

In thinking that Mike Tyson can do this than it is on Mike Tyson himself. Mike Tyson's in there trying his best. Yep. And that's what he did, man. He tried his best at his age. I think at one point it was Roy Jones Jr. in like the seventh round.

And he was just like, Mike just doesn't have it. Mike doesn't have it. He just doesn't have it, man. You can't beat Father Time. Like, you just can't, man. Undefeated. What other tweets we got? Stephen A., I love Mike Tyson.

Always have, always will. But 58 is 58. Plus the legs just wasn't there. Old is old. Thank God he didn't get knocked out. Now it's time for Jake Paul to get in the ring with a top 10 fighter. Or hell, a champion. No more b-ball players.

No more strikers from MMA. No more old men. It's time for Jake to get into a real fight. He's good enough. Make it happen. I'm doing the, I'm doing the, the, the Leo pointing at the TV screen. He actually feels exactly how you feel in the fact that, Mike, 58 is 58.

You're a legend. Nice. We're moving on from that. That was no need for that. Doesn't need to happen again. Jake, fight a real fighter. Fight a real fighter and he'll buy it. So there is a crowd out there that wants to see Jake Paul actually test himself in boxing.

Stephen A being the mouthpiece for that, the voice for that. What else we got? Give Mike his money and don't no one bother the guy anymore. Yeah, I don't want to see, I mean, we haven't talked about that yet. I don't want to see Mike boxing. I do not want to see Mike, yeah. If you weren't watching the post-fight interviews as they were

going back and forth, Armani in the middle and forth, Mike Tyson talked about a potential fight with Logan Paul. Logan Paul responded, I'll kill you, motherfucker. They kind of had a good laugh. In all seriousness, I have no desire to see that fight. We just saw that fight. No desire to see Mike fight anybody.

I'm good. Yeah, retire, brother. You're 58. Like Stephen A said, 58 is 58. Right off into the sunset. Yeah, it's all good, man. You guys just got a massive payday. Give him the bag and... Peace, brother. Have a good one, man. Nate Diaz won every round.

It ain't not wrong. It is not wrong. That's what I'm saying, man. Like, that was not the Jake Paul from the Nate Diaz fight. That was not the Jake Paul from the Mike Perry fight that we just saw back in July. Dude fought Mike Perry, the king of violence, who was down to scrap and knocked him out. That was not the Jake Paul from the Mike Perry fight that we just saw back in July. Dude fought Mike Perry, the king of violence, who was down to scrap and knocked him out. That was not the

same Jake Paul, man. He carried Mike Tyson to that. And I understand it. Oh, Conor McGregor. A 16-minute spar in sparring gloves. Fuck off. Pretty much, yeah. I think a lot of people are going to feel that way. With your fine ass.

Who's he talking about? I'm probably just going to say proper 12 was, you know, involved. No problem, man. Yeah. Oh, Mike Tyson's fine ass. God, do we have the picture of the ass any chance? God, it was so good. It was so good.

If you also did not follow that, Netflix had Mike Tyson's bare ass because he was wearing a jockstrap. You have to set it up better. He got interviewed by his son. He kissed his son. Good luck. Everything's great. Then he walks off and the camera kind of zooms out and Mike Tyson's ass is just on camera. It was so good.

One of the best things I've ever seen. Alright, so official prediction then. We've seen the fight now. What is next for Jake Paul? Jake Paul versus top-ranked boxer. Okay. I just don't see a better option. I know Canelo seems viable because of the scope and scale and magnitude of this.

And because Jake Paul tends to be in only big fights. I want to see him in big fights. I just don't think Canelo will be as interested as Jake will be. Again, I think Jake needs him more than Canelo needs him. I think the path is legitimate top-ranked boxer. I also think if Jake can beat a top-ranked boxer, I was going to say, I think Ariel kind of teed him up to do a call out of Canelo on the microphone, and he was just sort of like, Canelo needs me. It is what it is. I think you beat a top 10 boxer, and then you get on, and you say, Canelo, brother.

You know what could be really fun? Let's hear it. Our boy Jake's been teasing that MMA debut for quite a while. Wow, we really go out of left field, and we go to PFL. DFL debut in 2025. Plant some roots down in the DFL. Who do we fight in PFL? Nate Diaz? Yes, makes in VFL? Nate Diaz?

yes, makes the most sense Nate Diaz, Jake Paul MMA it doesn't seem crazy no it does not seem crazy you wait for the Canelo thing to potentially happen maybe Canelo clears Benavidez maybe now we've got the runway

for it that could be something there's fights out there for Jake Paul. There is, but the problem that he's going to have is he keeps elevating, right? He keeps going up and up and bigger and bigger. And now you've reached

Netflix, Mike Tyson, everybody in the world is watching. How do you go up from there? Yeah, but remember, we did see him go back, lull down, fighting in ballrooms in Orlando against Andre Alguer

and the Ryan Borlands of the world. To get here, and so maybe it's that back. I think he can, you know, all I'm saying is there are fights out there

that is not the last time we saw him fight. We're going to continue to see him make these big fights, these big spectacles that people tune into, and yeah,

I think we go like 35 and under. I think that's another rule. Let's keep them young. Let's keep them competitive. All right. We have talked about that fight. Yes. Now let us talk about the true fight. The real fight. The real fight. The one that we all wanted to see. Co-main event, if you did not watch it, Katie Taylor defeated Amanda Serrano by unanimous decision, 95-94 on all three judges' scorecards. Controversial? I would say so.

Again, if you were not watching the watch party, I scored it that way. I had it 95-94-KD, but no part of me was sure that that was going to be the final score. Absolutely not. The fact that it was unanimous is odd to me because I expected a split. I expected the scorecards to be all over the place

every single round. It was a very difficult score. I'm curious if the judges all arrived at the same rounds themselves. Yeah. The fact that there was the headbutt and the cut, actually multiple headbutts and the cut, is always going to be part of this fight and something that people are going to use as a way to say, Katie Taylor didn't really win this fight and that Amanda Serrano was hampered. The referee didn't do enough. There's always going to be a reason for them to detract from

the performance. What I saw ultimately was Katie Taylor was leaning in way too much with her head, but that is for the referee to enforce. That's not for Katie Taylor to enforce. That's not for Amanda Serrano. That's not for Amanda Serrano's corner to enforce. If the referee feels like this is being done intentionally, they are the one who have to adjudicate that. The referee took a point away from Katie at one point after what seemed like leading with the head. And the fight still went, scored in Katie's favor. So ultimately, I think this played out the way it was supposed to play out. But it has these kind of like spots where you feel like you can point to if you're looking for something to criticize.

Above that, forgetting the scoring for a second, we got a second instant classic between Katie Taylor taylor and amanda serrano and you don't have to convince me to run it back a third time hey katie didn't really win great let's see it one more time because i've got no problem watching these two fight forever the like just the pure excitement that happens in those 20 minutes when they fought both times, the fight before that, a 36-minute men's title fight. Yeah. They threw, like, over 1,500 combined punches. And the commentary team is just like, can you believe this? They threw over 1,500 punches in this fight.

And then in 16 less minutes, Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano do the same thing. Like, it is just pedal on the gas. Despite how much clenching there was, know a lot of it started by initiated by katie taylor despite how much clenching there was and only having two minute rounds and only being 10 rounds they still threw over 1500 punches and like just like the exchanges where they would get in there and just throw and throw and throw and they're both just landing and the toughness and the durability and the endurance from both of them it It's just like, it's just such a exciting spectacle every time they get in there. We need to see a third one. Don't care if it's 2-0 Katie Taylor. Both have been razor close. I thought this one was going to be a split decision.

We need to see a third one. I feel like it should be a main event. Like, I don't want it to be a co-main to a spectacle. I know I mentioned Conor McGregor, Jake Paul earlier, but like, they deserve a main event spotlight wherever that may be. Katie Taylor's up 2-0, so I guess you do it in Ireland. But the fight is just... There's no bigger fight to make in women's boxing. Not a single one.

I don't think there's anything close. Not even close. I can't even think of anything. These two are top of their game, all-time greats, and continue to put on these classics every time they meet. And to be honest, the other fights that they're fighting don't even seem to reach this level. That pairing, those two together, have something clearly that is magical. And it is the highest levels of boxing.

I'm not even going to say women's, men's. It doesn't matter. This is fight of the year material, men's, women's, whatever. Every doesn't matter this is fight of the year material men's, women's whatever every single time they just go to war and it's fantastic and I hate that

this fight is going to be looked at controversially I hate that the first time Amanda Serrano felt like she got a raw deal and now she feels like she got a raw deal again

because she deserves better than that but I ultimately do feel like Katie won the fight but could you make the argument for Amanda Serrano? of course 1000% not even she deserves better than that. But I ultimately do feel like Katie won the fight. But could you make the argument for Amanda Serrano? Of course. 1000%. Not even.

We live scored it. And I put an asterisk by each round that was just like, dude, flip a coin. I have no idea how you're going to score that one. And it was the middle eight rounds. Like it was like only one and 10. I think I scored for Amanda. I had the fight 95, 94 for Amanda Serrano.

It was just like two through nine. We're just like, I don't really know who won that round. That's why I was so shocked to see all three judges end up at 95-94, Katie Taylor. And I wish we could see, I can't find it anywhere online right now, how they got there. But yeah, man, I mean, I would say controversial, but obviously in no world was that a robbery. No, not even close to a robbery. As close as the scorecards would suggest, depending on who you're rooting for, depending on who you're seeing it for, it goes one way or the other. But they have to do it a third time, right? That has to be the fight. I was just going to say, there's no point in even getting into this, like, what's next? What's next?

Like, maybe the biggest loser from this fight was Skye Nicholson because she's always calling out Amanda Serrano. That fight ain't happening anytime soon, and Amanda Serrano's only getting older at this point. And, yeah, it's a no-brainer. It's Amanda Serrano, Katie Taylor 3. Katie Taylor mentioned it. Do it in Ireland. It's a no-brainer. It's Amanda Serrano, Katie Taylor 3. Katie Taylor mentioned it. Do it in Ireland.

It's a no-brainer. You asked me a really interesting question on the watch party, which was, if you're Amanda, do you do it again? Because you do feel like you probably aren't getting a fair shake every time you fight her. And if you go to Ireland. And if you go to Ireland, do you even do that? Now, maybe it just doesn't take place in Ireland. And maybe then you do sign up for it.

Ultimately, I just think the money, the spectacle, the prestige, it's all there. Let's just do it one more time. I wonder if they just go, as much as I love the fight, do I want to do it again right now? Maybe I'll do it down the line. But I don't know how many fights each of them has left. They've been fighting for a long time. They've been at the top of the game for a long time. I would not mind ending on a trilogy, even if that's not the end.

Let's get that in before they both call it a career. I would love to see it one more time. I'm in 100% agreeance with you. I don't think you can make any argument otherwise. Yeah, it's a shame. It's a truly, truly special fight and a truly, truly special pairing that I hate that it is going to be marred by this. But, you know, look, objectively, Katie was leaning in with the head, no doubt. Yeah.

But that is not for her to decide. That is not for her. She got a point taken, too. She got the point taken. The referee has to control that. If it's accidental, it's accidental. There's not something that needs to be said beyond that. One other tweet that we didn't put up, but I just had to read. Conor McGregor, a solid buttocks, nipples like cigars, Knockout power. Mike is truly God's creation. God bless Iron Mike.

I love it. Conor McGregor, very impressed by Mike's physique. All right, so we're in agreeance. Incredibly close scorecards. You could score it either way. Got to do the trilogy. That's that. Yeah, anything else from the card?

I mean, you know, decisions on the card, but ultimately like... Yeah, 7 for 7 on decisions is also not a great look on a first Netflix card. A lot of people are finish hungry, me included. You always like to see finishes. It just makes it more exciting.

It makes it more definitive. You don't have to talk about the scorecards. That raises one big question for me. Please. And we can end on this almost. If you're Netflix,

was that a success for you? I think that is decided in the back rooms with all the numbers, all the spreadsheets. How much money did we make? How much money did we lose? What was the impact? How many subscribers did we get? I don't think they really give a shit about the actual fight and how it took place. I think all they care about is the numbers, the revenue, the subscribers, everything like that. Can you replicate that? Can you produce live sports? Can we produce live sports again? Can we do live sports? I think they're testing everything.

This, the NFL being on it. WWE is going to it. Yeah, WWE. I think they're really trying to become a power player in live sports. There's the potential for them to kind of fill that void that was HBO, it was Showtime. Fill that void of this is the new spot for massive boxing fights.

Before we go, we got some important breaking news. Oh, yes. From UFC President Dana White. I believe from UFC President Dana White, but on-air Jordan, correct me if I'm wrong about that. Shavkat Rakhbanov versus Ian Gary is the new co-main event of UFC 310. Yeah, wow. And no interim title on the line, yeah? Well, yeah, because it's the co-main.

If it was, it would have been the main event over the flyweight title. Shavkat actually quote tweeted it, said, I'm very disappointed in our division. Bilal, Leon, Colby, Kamaru, Jack, Sean, you've all let the fans down. The only one who backed up his words is Ian, and I respect that. But make no mistake, Ian, Gary, I'm coming for your O. And we'll fight for the belt after. I've got to admit, this is the fight I wanted.

I'm not going to lie. This is O versus O. Someone's O's got to go. This is the fight I wanted. I liked the Kamaru-Usman option. That was fine. That was great. Preserving the Bilal fight would have

been fine with me. I wanted to see Ian versus Shavkat. Now, I will admit, I really would have liked if it was five rounds because I could see a world where we're pushing round three and then go, I really wanted more, right? Like I wanted to see it as five rounds, but I'll take what I can get here. And ultimately, like, I like it. What I'm interested in is what Shavkat said, what you read on the tweet. Because it seems like everybody's about the action until they're not about the action. And Ian Gary is actually about the action. To the point where, right as this was happening, Ian Gary had a fight announced against Joaquin Buckley. And is now stepping into this fight. So it wasn't like

he was just sitting on the sidelines. He was getting ready to fight somebody else and then comes circles back to it. Shavka called out Bilal, Leon, Colby, Kamaru, Jack Della, Sean Brady. You've all let the fans down. The only one who backed up his word is Ian. Yeah. And honestly, to your point, you mentioned he had a main event the following week at UFC Tampa against Joaquin Buckley. And this is a great scenario for Ian Gary because if you're about that life, you're about that life.

He goes from fighting the number ninth ranked fighter to the guy that had the title shot against Bilal, like this was supposed to be for the title, and the number three ranked guy in Shavkat. So you win and you're in, Ian Gary. You win and you will be fighting Bilal next for the title. You have to imagine that, yes, he would be next for Bilal. I mean, to me, there is no other way. Like, it's like Shavkat was about to fight for the title and then Ian Gary beats him.

Like, now he's the undefeated guy who beat Shavkat, who took Shavkat's O. Of course he's going to get the title shot. It's a lot easier said than done. Respect to Shavkat because I had the title shot. I had a title shot. No interim. Just fighting Ian Gary who is a very dangerous

opponent. However you feel about him. Both these guys deserve a lot of credit. Kudos to the UFC for putting the fight together because, you know, there is a world where they just go, hey, we've got this flyweight title. This is what we're going to do on the main event. They put together a great co-main here. Important to note, Covington, Colby Covington, also part of the news, Colby Covington is filling in for Gary to fight Buckley.

Wow, that is huge news. I didn't hear that at all. That's crazy. That is the main event now. Wow. Colby Covington back, main eventing UFC Tampa against Joaquin Buckley. Apparently so, yeah.

That was a bit of a payday, huh? I feel like it's hard to get Colby off the couch. It's a good fight, right? If you're Colby Covington coming back, you go, I'm getting a ranked guy, I'm getting a contender, I'm getting somebody that people view highly right now. He was going to fight Ian Gary, me back you go i'm getting a ranked guy i'm getting a contender i'm getting somebody that people view highly right now he was gonna fight ian gary but maybe it's not kamaru leon guys i've

already fought so i i like that bro if you're remember if you're joaquin buckley like now you get a huge name in colby covington but massive in in the same you know the things that ian gary was going to do for him in terms of notoriety and name and all those things, that's what he's now getting. I'll say, Joaquin Buckley posted today, a lot of fake news out there. Hashtag take the throne, hashtag fake news. And it was like a promo for his fight with Ian Gary. But now Ian Gary is.

Yeah, so it was not fake news. Yeah. So that's crazy. UFC 310, that'll be happening December 7th and then UFC Tampa the following week on December 14th.

That's that. What a crazy night. Mike Tyson fought Jake Paul. Shavkat and Ian is happening. Yeah. And tomorrow we've

got UFC 309. We'll be right back here tomorrow night 945 Eastern UFC 309 watch party. They'll just be just a few blocks away at Madison Square Garden, but we'll be right here with you watching the entire

main card, all five fights beginning to end, followed by a post show. You know what it is. Yeah, crazy night. Netflix, they did it. Big fight. Really curious to know the actual numbers on viewership. I bet it was insane. And that is it for us.

My man, Rick. Four hours, 20 minutes. Shout out. On the air. I am Conor Burks. Thanks so much for joining us. See you tomorrow night. UFC 309.