The Ariel Helwani Show - Paddy Pimblett’s next fight, UFC lightweight division matchups, Alex Volkanovski top 10 P4P? | The Craic

Episode Date: April 16, 2025

On a special Wednesday edition of The Craic, Petesy Carroll is joined by Chuck Mindenhall and The Sun Sport’s Chisanga Malata to discuss what the future holds for Paddy Pimblett following his dominant win over Michael Chandler (5:24).They dive into Pimblett’s backstory and reflect on how unbelievable it is that he’s reached this level, before exploring the potential matchup teased by his post-fight callout of Charles Oliveira (18:19).Next, they unpack the release of Ilia Topuria’s highly anticipated interview with Joe Rogan, and weigh in on Khabib Nurmagomedov claiming Arman Tsarukyan would be tougher competition for Islam Makhachev than Topuria (30:14).Chuck and Petesy then break down the official Uncrowned pound-for-pound rankings, including the controversial omission of Alexander Volkanovski—despite his record-breaking reclaiming of the UFC featherweight title (36:32).To wrap up the show, the crew discusses the golden opportunity the PFL has to make a splash this weekend with no UFC card on the schedule (43:38).

Welcome everybody. It is Peter Carroll. I did not get swept away by a tidal wave. I have not got lost chasing an ice cream truck. away by a tidal wave. I have not got lost chasing an ice cream truck. I've not fell into a great pothole, but I am very thankful for Ben folks and Chuck Bendenhall for covering my behind last week. I had some things to get done and the boys were there as always. Legendary show from the lads. I appreciated those in the comments that were like, we miss pizza. We made that agreement a week before and you just followed through. I really appreciate it. Well, we're still in the throes of reacting to UFC 314.

Obviously, Paddy Pimlet got the biggest result of his career and a fantastic performance to back it against Michael Chandler and the talk around the European scene is what's next for Paddy Pimlet. As well as that, it seems like the biggest success of the show is the fact that the show is being broadcasted on the same day, the same day, the and a fantastic performance of back it against Michael Chandler. And the talk around the European scene is what's next for Paddy Pimlet. As well as that, it seems as though the lightweight title picture has become more of a conundrum as Habib Nurmagomedov has said that Armin Serukian is the most challenging matchup for Islam Makashev

as we all wait with bated breath for that Ilya Toporya for the Islam Makashev fightated breath for that Ilya Topuriyev, the Islam Makachev fight to be made. Ilya has reacted. He has actually gone on the Joe Rogan show, which as far as I know hasn't been released yet. We were going to try and cram it in had it been released today, but as far as I know, not out yet.

Looking forward to what he has to say there and might develop his side of the story a bit more. But as I said, we have a lot to talk to still in the reaction phase after 314. And we have the great Jessica Malata, who, of course, all of you know and love and the wonderful Chuck Mendenhall here. Jessica is only going to come in for the first few. You know what I mean? He's got very casual. He's just like, oh, you know what?

Staying around for the whole show, I don't want to do a pizza, but I will pop in for a few minutes. I will bless you with my presence for about 25 minutes exactly. And then I'll check out. So we're going to be hearing from the lads. Maybe we go welcome them in there. And we have the great New York Rick producing the show today on here. Jordan, would you believe in the air once again on vacation?

Who's shocked? Not this guy. I'll tell you that much. Um, but yes, I believe we can bring in to sangha and Chuck. Um, if they're there, that would be, ah, look at these beautiful men. Yeah. We are here. One of these times we're going to have to open up the pocketbook and get

just sangha here for a full episode, man. This is only afford half an episode right now, but soon. What's going on? What do we have to do for you to grace us with the full hour? Once again, that's what we want to know. Oh, I mean, it's been a while. I mean, I think I haven't done the full hour since the since the move to Yahoo. So yeah, I know you guys at Yahoo have got a bit of money. So send it my way and you'll have the full, uh, full to sign the Malaya experience, which, uh, we sounded weird.

You're saying that, but, uh, yeah, pay up, pay up. The good news is after today, you will have been here for one full episode. I think if you pass it all together, so that's good. That's fantastic. Well, uh, to Sanga, I got to ask, man. Big win for Patty Pimblit, a man we've both been covering for a very long time. But you have the unique location there in the UK and you'll be feeling the the after tremors of 314, maybe a lot more significantly than me and Chuck.

So tell me like how big of a deal is this in terms of the Paddy Pimlet brand? We saw that big win at 304 Manchester. He set the place on fire in the middle of the night. I think that was a real star making performance. But what has this done in terms of his stock in the aftermath? I think this has taken him to the next level, especially with the casual mixed martial arts audience. Like all I saw on my Twitter, the people who don't really talk about mixed especially with the casual Mixed Martial Arts audience.

All I saw on my Twitter are people who don't really talk about Mixed Martial Arts and only chime in when Conor McGregor has invariably done something wrong is this Patty the Batty is the next face of the UK, even though we have Tom Aspynall potentially playing John Jones in however many months. But I think it's skyrocketed, skyrocketed him, sorry, to new heights. And the heights I think will only get higher if he gets matched up very well in the next few months. Just saying, has it been one of those situations where

you're noticing people being like, yeah, I knew it all along, like Patty was going to do this, or is it more like the reality, I think in the States, at least the people I've talked to where it's like, I didn't think he was that good, man. I'm a little surprised that he got here. Yeah, I think it's more of the latter because, and I don't want to make the comparisons between Connor, but obviously they're extreme parallels.

There's always been that doubt from the very first fight. I believe Patty's first fight was Luigi Vendromini. I think it was. Yeah, I think it was. And I like everybody who brings up that guy's name has to think about it. Like, well, who was that guy? I was doing it last time. Yeah.

And, uh, from, from the jump, everybody said, as soon as he gets matched up with an elite fighter, he's going to crumble. His flaws will be exposed. He'll lose, but incrementally the challenges have been getting harder and harder and he's been passing them with flying colors. And what's more impressive for me is that he's seemingly been fixing the holes in the game that he had when he came into the UFC. Fair enough that first fight with Luigi Vendromedia I think maybe you can forgive him for being a bit wild he wanted to make a statement I believe was that in the world famous apex 24

Benjamin I think it was I think it was great yeah well yeah I forget exactly that's it that's a statement making arena if ever but uh his striking wasn't as Christmas Tim was in the air some of the the hooks were coming from the hips and what have you. But you fast forward how many years now? Were it two and a half or three? I can't remember. And his striking looks a lot better, his judgement distance is a lot better and he's a lot more methodical.

So I think UFC have, they saw the, obviously they saw the star talent years and years ago, they tried to get him several times obviously, he declined and decided to keep honing his craft in cage warriors. But the matching, the strategic matching up has allowed him to tighten up some of those flaws. And yeah, you saw the result against Michael Chandler. It was like a truly masterful performance striking wise, and especially considering we all know that grappling is a spread of butter. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. No, it was, it was, it was the best version of Patty I've ever seen. He looked fantastic. Um, I get the, the, of course, and you're right, there's obvious parallels between Patty and McGregor. There's no doubt about that. Um, but I did see Ben Foulkes run an article just, I believe it was yesterday. It was published yesterday anyway, and he likened it to Bisping. And just in the way, in terms of a lot of guys thought he was done, right?

Like there was, there was various points in Bisping's career when people were like, Oh, well, he's never going to be elite. You know, like this guy, you know, he's going to get to a certain point. And at that point he'll fall off. And then of course he goes on to be middleweight champion. Do you, do you see that as a, as a kind of a good comparison, Chuck, in terms of like you were on the ground going then of course he goes on to be middleweight champion. Do you, do you see that as a, as a kind of a good comparison, Chuck, in terms of like you were on the ground covering Bisping when he was making noise here. And I think when he beat Luke Grockhold at one 99, it was a massive, massive moment.

A lot of people were doing the I told you so thing, but can you see that comparison? I could see it to an extent. Yeah. I was just going to say, I could see that to an extent. The only thing I would say is, uh, you know, Michael Bisping, when he did it, it was because we'd seen a huge sample size of his career. And I mean, to the, to the point where you thought that he was leaving it the altar, he was never going to get that shot.

He would never get over that hump. Um, so it was like, there was an astonishment that he could persevere to that extent and actually win in the twilight of his career like that. The Connor thing is actually probably the closest only in the sense that it felt like a trial run each time, right? Like, okay, Dennis Siever, let's see if we drop the lights on him. Let's see how he handles, uh, the next guy, the next guy, Chad Mendez, this seemed like a certain doom for him, he gets by that, you know what

I mean, it felt like this escalation in that sense. I feel like that it's that kind of pins and needles with just in a healthy amount of doubt, just a healthy amount of doubt where you think that he's being overhyped to that extent. Right. When he comes through with flying colors, that's kind of what feeds into that weird it factor. It's like, okay, wait a minute.

And we, he's better than we thought. And then it becomes like he's, he meets the spotlight bigger than we thought. Um, and honestly, he, his poise is what strikes me, man. Like you mentioned that Luigi, uh, Vindramini fight originally, he just seemed like he had a lot of jitters, you know what I mean? Like, and he was, he didn't know how to kind of contain himself. And you get into what he just did in this one, the biggest fight of his career was supposed to be like the, uh, you know, the litmus test to see where he's at and he passes it with

flying colors. So I think it's that weird thing where you see him, it's like a video game, you know, you get through one level, very difficult. And now what do you do? What can you do at this level? And it's just, that's when it becomes fun when they get to this point in their career. Cheers.

I'm in complete agreement. So ask your next question. Sorry, I was just going to ask, um know, you mentioned Aspinal at the top there and we know he's a massive, massive name, a huge draw. Like we've seen what he done in London. Leon, as we know, has lost a title. He's had another loss after that. Where would you put Paddy? Like in terms of the traction he's getting now, has he surpassed Aspinal in terms of a clicky guy for like, you know, from a media perspective, like is he is he now like the flavor of the month with the younger crowd, like he is now the guy that they're latching their hopes and their dreams to because he's so

outlandish maybe in comparison to Aspinal? I think so, a hundred percent. Like he's got, he's got the look, he's got the brashness. And this has been him throughout his career since day one, since back in the day when he became the cage Warriors by the way, champion. And I actually, it came up on my feed the other day. Do you remember when he threw up in the cage after, what did he drink? I think he downed chocolate milk a few hours before.

It was Julio Nrosa, wasn't it? It was Julio Nrosa for you. I believe so, I believe so. And even that clip is endured, endeared himself to that, to the younger generation. As you say, he, for example, I'll, I'll give you the insight into my own personal YouTube metrics. I put up a YouTube short and Patty Pimlet just in the post by press conference. And it's my best performing short that I've And it's my best performing short that I've ever put out there. So that just goes to show you how many people, um, I'd say particularly

casual fans are intrigued by, by Patty the baddie. And in terms of numbers from our website, like the story, the Chandler fight report did, what was one of our, I think it was our second best story of, uh, over the weekend. So that tells you everything. That's wild, man. Yeah. It's huge weekend of sport too. Like my favorite thing about it is our second best story of, uh, over the weekend. So that tells you everything you know. That's wild, man.

Yeah. It's huge weekend of sport too, like McElroy and all that stuff. So that's crazy. Exactly. The UK Dublin, Matt crazy. You fellas think that like, you know, when you look at him, so much of his backstory, obviously like the soren, the soren back thing where he, you know, he loses and he was very depressed and I think it's crazy because that could be defining, right?

That could be a defining characteristic for just a normal fighter's career where they would talk about something like that throughout. It just starts to fit into layers and chapters of this guy's career. Like there's, he's still kind of bringing new storylines, new narratives in with him, but becoming a father and just kind of like all of the stuff he's handling himself a little differently. Do you think this all plays into it? Because I almost feel like he sees the game a little from a little more

elevation than he did maybe a few years ago. Yeah. Um, it's interesting. You mentioned that back fight. There's a whole story to be told. And I'm sure Chisanga knows this. In the aftermath of that fight, Patti didn't know if he'd ever fight again.

He was, his hand was in such a bad way. He fought that fight with a broken hand, and he came so close to finishing back in the first round when he kind of had him in this arm entanglement. And after that, it was like Patti was like, I'm selling out on this arm bar. And if I don't get this arm bar, I'm just gonna have to be in here. And if I don't get this armbar, I'm just going to have to be in here.

And he just basically for 20 minutes was just in there, just taking it off back. And afterwards, everybody was kind of like, well, the bubbles burst with Patty. This is over. But what was happening for so many years was he was in such a rush to get to the UFC. He was putting themselves in the fights damaged a lot. But it was only at this point that it was like, man, you've done some serious significant damage to your body. You also have to remember at this point, he's, he's a very young man. I'd say the back fight is 23, but he's years before that he'd already been famous.

So he's walking around Liverpool at 20 years of age with everybody trying to drag him into a bar. Oh, party the bit party, Patti the baddie's here. He's going to every Liverpool home game. So he's become like this iconic Liverpool character at this stage already. And then at 20, I think it was like 22, 23. It's like, oh, mate, your career might be over. And there was these series of restarts he kept on trying to do.

Like he he he went and he fought Stephen Ray. He was a great fighter in his own right. But went and fought him in some grappling competition. He got subbed by Ray and everybody was suddenly like, Oh, wow. Like completely disrespecting Ray's own stellar ground game, right? But they were like, this is a huge sign that it's all off for Paddy. And just somewhere along there, he just relit that fire. He got his body back together and he went on this run that inevitably ended up in

the UFC. Like, I don't know. Like I talked to Paddy a lot at that time and it was dark, you know, he'd be like, I don't know if I'm coming back. This thing that was his whole identity from a young teenage years that made him an icon in his hometown. Suddenly it's just been taken away from before he even got to the end goal that he wanted, which was getting to the UFC.

So the reason why I'd say this is unfathomable, it's not even about ability. It's just about how can you overcome these series of events where you're nearly like, so it's kind of like Paul Hughes and that like, doctors are probably telling you like, you're probably never going to fight again, mate. Then you add that to the celebrity element of it, where you're doing whatever you want. You are like, you, every eyeball is on you in every room you walk into since you're 20 years of age, but then 10 years later, you end up here on the verge of a title fight, like that, like on the verge of a title conversation at

the very least. I think that's why it is. What do you think? I think that's why it's so unfathomable that he's here at this age. Cheers. What do you think? I think that's why it's so unfathomable that he's here at this age. Yeah. And can you imagine being that age being essentially the man, the man around town, right? On cloud nine, literally the world is at your feet. And then you almost have you, but you essentially have the rug pulled out from underneath you. And then you're in the depths of depression. I mean, we've talked about the advancement in his physical abilities, but the mental fortitude that he's shown over the years,

not only to get to the point where he is now, but just to get back fighting is something that many people, the type of fortitude that many people can't exude and they can't do it. So I mean, I'd probably say that's his best asset, his mind, his ability to overcome and his ability, his mental fortitude will probably lead him to success later on, later on down the career, which I'm sure we're gonna talk about probably next. Not to mention, man, like you go through like understanding almost existentially your rise to celebrity

and stuff like that earlier in life. Then you go through depression. Imagine those depths that you're already kind of packing in by the time you get to 30 years old into your prime. And I think his handling of the, so you can remember like even Barstool sports, so many people latching on and I know they were even still there, but it's like his handling of the spotlight at this point

is becoming more and more masterful because come on, fellas, like leaving out Ilya's name when you're in the, I mean, come on. But it's like his handling of the spotlight at this point is becoming more and more masterful because come on fellas, like leaving out Ilya's name when you're in the, I mean, come on. That's other level. I forgot about him. I know. I was like, that is other level stuff right there. I thought that was brilliant.

Yeah. Well, well, look, you're bringing it up. The subject of our thumbnail, which we know is incredibly important in this land of YouTube. And Patty, Patty kind of makes a show for Olivera afterwards. And as I said on our post fight show, Chuck, I think that's a great show because there has to be an odd man out in this total conundrum. And we'll be talking about more about that after just saying it leaves us because he's given us the UK perspective. We'll get into all that Habib, Ilya stuff after that.

But just just hang it. He, he, he put himself in a great position by being like, I'll fight Charles, who everyone thinks will be left out. It will be Ilya and Islam fingers crossed. All the fans hoping for is he like, is that a good kind of trail of breadcrumbs to leave for the UFC matchmakers to be like, don't worry about Armand Sarukian. Patty Bimblets, the guy I'm going to fight Olivera. And also, if he managed to get a result there, he is the next guy in line, right?

Yeah, picking a universally loved fighter in Charles is brilliant, brilliant from Paddy. And I think the UFC will be inclined to make that matchup because it seems by all accounts that they promised Charles Olivera next with Islam Makhachet but it also seems that they've done the same for Ilya Tafuriyar. Why else would he vacate an undisputed title to jump into a number one contenders fight? It just doesn't make sense. So for the UFC I think that kills a massive problem for them. But personally the fight I want to see him in,

and I think the most winnable fight is the Justin Gaethje fight. Stylistically, Gaethje struggles with people on the ground, and the version of Paddy Pimlet that we saw on Saturday night beats the version of Justin Gaethje that we most recently saw against Raphael's Pizzi. I think Gaethje is on, respectfully, I, he's on, on respectfully. I think he's on the way out. Um, I think he's almost eluded to that, uh, ahead of the perceived fight saying that he only has a few more left. So I think now's the time for Patty Pimla. If he wants to get a huge name on his resume, make a statement

and get that title shot. I think Justin Gage is the guy to do it against. He's plugged into all the math too, right? Like he's been in that top five space for so long. Now he's fought everybody. It just makes sense because I think, you know, coming off that last win where he beat a physio again. You know, you're not going to get a better moment to kind of take

guys juice and, and, and jump into that space than you would with Justin Gagey. So I've been back and forth on this, man. I would love to see the Ilya. Like I've mentioned this a lot of times, but I think the fight that makes the most sense is that Gagey fight for those reasons. I also think that he would be catching him exactly at the right time. You know, just like just saying, I'm saying I'm like, to me, I think that his style and the size he shows up in would just be like these, these factors that

Justin would have a hard time with. I want to just look, I agree with you. I like to just them for you. If they go with that Justin would have a hard time with. I want to just look, I agree with you. I like to just, if they go with that, I'd be more than happy to see that. I think it's, I think it's great. I think whatever happens with them next, I feel like it's going to be a very significant test and I do believe Gage is still a significant test. I was wondering, um, he made some comments at the post-fight presser and it's interesting because I feel like we're unpacking these comments

in a very different way than we would have, say, a month ago, because I can remember when he first started calling for Ilya, Ilya was on the rampage. Paddy had some performances like the good one and the garden one. And people weren't too happy about it. And they were kind of giving out about it. And the idea of him having this beef with Ilya, people were like, you would get destroyed by Ilya, Ilya is going to destroy you. Paddy says afterwards I would use the same game plan I've used against Chandler against

Ilya and I would work against him and look I'm not saying that I'm not the conversation isn't about is Ilya a better fighter than Michael Chandler because I think we'd all agree that he is but I was wondering Chiz do you think a similar kind of game plan being very, very intelligent with what he's putting out there, his leg kicks, et cetera, using his length? Do you think that would work against an Ilja Toporia or do you think this guy just has too many wrinkles to his game to get away with that against him? I think it would to a certain extent. Ilja Tupouria as he showed in the Max Holloway fight, he's very, very heavy on his front leg

and Patti absolutely obliterated Chandler's and Bobby Green's lead leg. Let's not forget that. He forced Bobby Green to, so much so that he forced Bobby Green to shoot for a crazy, crazy take down. Me and you looked at each other like one- Sorry, his name is King.

I'm gonna have to, sorry. I'm gonna have to correct this god yeah all right what the fuck mate okay that's all right in green yes you know all about the monarchy man come on this king if I speak my opinion of the Royals I'll be I'll be deported anyway but no I think the game plan to a certain extent would work against Ilya Taboriev. And what Patti did very, very well against Chandler, it was he timed Chandler's dipping, level changing when he comes into entries. Like when he shifts his weight, he always comes down like that.

And Ilya Taboriev, as you see, he likes to move a lot before he sets up his strikes. Granted, he's not as reckless, and I say that in the most respectful way as Chandler when he comes in terms of his entries. But I think he's somewhat right when he says that that's potentially a blueprint to the Ilya. But also you then have to watch out for Ilya's slick slick boxing and like devastating power punches. Yeah I think yes and no to answer your question. Yeah it's still a very very sizable task over them because as I just mentioned there Toporia's boxing like most Chandler's shots you can see coming a mile away and to poor you, those hands are together.

There's no, there's no extra fat on them. There's no telegraphing the shots. So I think that would be a difficult thing for Patty to, uh, to negotiate. We, uh, we saw the, the great Colby Coventon. I mean, no, we know it's a nod to popularity, right? Wait, Colby's exactly what he wants is just talking about. Yeah. I just, because we're so full of praise for Patti today, I felt like we should

bring in a counterbalance and Colby offered one. Um, I believe Rick has the comments here. Yeah. You're fighting scrubs guys who are two and six. Hey, you're a bum. You be guys who are two and six. Remember that. Remember that you're a scrub. You're you were two and six. Remember that. Remember that you're a scrub. You're a fraud.

Is there anything to exaggerate is two and five after the, in the UFC, right? Like that extra loss. He's a, he's obviously taken some issue with the young Pimlet and he's kind of highlighting like all these guys are facing, we're on the, we're on the downside. Is there anything to do with that joke? Is there anything we can take from that and say, I'm going to say one thing. You guys, I went back and looked at Colby Covington seventh fight in the UFC. It's Brian Barbarina.

Come on. I'm not saying he's a scrub, but come on man. Michael Chandler, you know, yeah, that's right. I don't think he has a, I don't think he has a foot to stand on here. Yeah. Look, we've, we've, we've solved who's next. We offered a counterbalance, right? She's saying, can we have given the counterbalance?

We have. Yeah. But with Colby, like talk about Paul Kettle black, I mean, on his ascension to interim goal through DDB, he'd be an aging Robbie Lawler. And then he'd be an undersized RDA at welterweight. I mean, yeah, okay. Well, black that that's the last day of that. True journalism.

We covered it all sides guys. Yeah. Yes. Just two more quick ones. I know we're reading into our Malata time here, something serious. Do you believe he can be a face of the UFC, like one of the big superstars of the sport now? Is he already? I think he is over here, but globally I think he can become the face of the UFC. I really do. He's got the profile, he's got the personality, and so far he's most importantly, he's backing it up. I didn't think he'd beat Chandler so easily. I thought it would be

a tougher litmus test than it ultimately was. But with each fight he's showcasing such improvements, he's improving in such a short space of time that I mean, I'm not saying that he wiped the floor with Gai-Chi or he wiped the floor with Olivera, but if he was to finish either of them at this stage I wouldn't be shot. I think the UFC have a real, real star in their hands and this matchmaking Tuesday, I don't know if they're going to be doing it right now, or they probably will be doing it right now because of the eight hour time difference in Vegas. Yeah, I think they've got to be very strategic with who they, with who they put Patty against. They have to put them against the name now because you can't beat a Michael Chandler and then go and respectfully fight even in a harm in Zoroastrian.

I mean, meritocratically it's a, it's a step up, but in terms of name value is all the path to start well and truly. Do you think he's Dariyaachuk? I think he is. You know, I was in Miami early fight week. I went to a heat game out there and they had, Patty was just kind of their special guest. They had a kid doing some trivia who was supposedly like a UFC fan in there. So it's kind of mixing up basketball and fighting and they're asking him the

questions. He missed the first UFC when he got the basketball and the third one was like his nickname or something was the baddie or something. And the kid's like, baddie, baddie, baddie. You know, immediately in the crowd. And then they bring out Paddy, the crowd goes crazy. And I was like, that's when you kind of see it, right?

Like you see it in weird moments where it's kind of non sequitur, but just the very mention of the name and like, you know, him showing up becomes almost like a little bit of a magic to the environment. I could see it. I think, I think he's there already. Well, before you go, Chiz, big UK presence on this PFL card this weekend.

We're going to take a quick look towards the back of the show. Fabian Edwards is there. Mark Jocase is there. Mike Shipman is there. Is it Fabian's time to step out of the shadow of Big Brother Leon here? Do you think he can get it done against Impec Asaganai and go on and take that tournament gold? I mean, it's always going to be difficult to step out of the shadow of a UFC champion. But I mean, I think it's very difficult for Fabian because the memory of the back to back losses to Johnny

Evelyn are there. You know what I mean? And he didn't get finished but he got dominated twice in both fights. But if you can keep this fight with Impec-Kasangune standing, I think technically he's the better striker but Impec is also such a big guy. I wouldn't be surprised if he just closed the distance, kept him against the cage and frustrated him. But I'm going to go with my boy, Fabian Edwards, who gets spectacular victory and reignite his, his own title hopes.

I'm adamant that's going to happen. Appreciate you holding back that bias there. tight loops. I'm adamant that's going to happen. Appreciate you holding back that bias there. You better get back to work. Occasionally I'm allowed to have a real life. Yeah, of course man. We all do. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Well, man, it's been a pleasure as always.

Thank you for gracing with your beautiful presence as always. And look, we're going to shoot for that full episode one of these days. Gentlemen, it's a pleasure as always. I will be billing you for these extra three minutes. Those are three minutes. I could have been making money, but, uh, in all seriousness, gents, it's a pleasure to speak to you as always and hopefully get to speak to you again soon. You're the man. Cheers. Thank you so much, dude. Have a great day. See you again soon. You're the man. Cheers. Thank you so much, dude. Have a great day. See you, babe.

Just me self and yourself now again. Huh? It's a just the two of us. It's beautiful. Yeah. Okay. Right. We just New York, Rick has given us some information here.

Okay. And it's a subject of the conversation is going to go towards this lightweight conundrum. Um, so Ilya to Puri, we've got the first news bit from his appearance on JRE. And thank you again, New York, Rick. I'm glad somebody else is sifting through the three hours or whatever that's going to be. We need it all in the next 30 minutes.

This is from championship rounds on Twitter. Ilya Toporya reveals his walk around weight while fighting a featherweight was around 180 pounds. Holy shit. That's a lot. That's a lot. And I mean, this is why I was always a little bit like, okay, yes, he should get a title shot if he goes up to 155, but if he simply says, I just can't make 145 anymore, it's not the same,

right? It's just saying like, I can command what I'm going to get at 155. It's more like, I have to move there. I would love a title shot. I, it takes a little bit of the leverage out of it. I know who he's like, how big he is and all of that stuff, but that was something to consider. I just don't think that 145, I didn't, you know, I just don't think he wanted

to or could possibly make that anymore. That's a big boy, man. Cause he's like, he's five, seven. I know he's obviously in ridiculous shape, but, uh, one 80 walking around like, Oh, 35 pounds over the course of six weeks. Yeah. Jesus Christ. And he's, he's shredded, man.

Oh, um, yeah, that's really, really interesting. We're, we're hoping, as we've said at the top, we're really hoping that this JRE appearance gives us his side of this situation because we've been hearing so much, we've been hearing that Islam Makashev is going to wait for UFC 315. Wait to see what happens with Bilal and Jack Della Maddalena as Chazanga. He referenced earlier, it seems as though both Charles and Ilya believe that they're next in line. And meanwhile, the champion is looking at 170, which is very, very interesting. We had another, we added another little bit to this yesterday.

I saw it online. I believe Rick has it there for us. A quote from Habib Nomaga-Madoff in terms of, yeah, well, he doesn't think it's either of those as far as he's concerned, but I think it online. I believe Rick has it there for a quote from Habib Nomaga Madoff in terms of. Yeah. Well, he doesn't think it's either of those. Yeah. As far as he's concerned, I think Armin is more serious fighter than to Puriya.

The Puriya is a good fighter at 145. Good. But we haven't seen him at 155. I believe Armin is more competitive for Islam than to Puriya. Armin is more competitive for Islam than to Puri. Um, we will react to that first before we get, um, to Puri is either this, but is this causing more obstruction to the fight that we want so much Chuck? By his own, like is it by his, his own logic?

Okay. Then at this, I'm, I'm assuming that Islam can be echoed through Habib here and this is kind of the camp's idea or what they're presenting. But by that own logic, is he basically saying that he doesn't deserve a shot at, you know, if Adela Maddalena wins the fight, he's never fought at 170. It's not like he's, if you're saying that the guy, it doesn't, you know, he has no proof that he's any good at, you know, 155, you're basically defeating your own point of what you're waiting to see play out. If you're going to make the leap. This is hypocrisy, baby.

Can someone ring the hypocrisy bell for Christ's sake? I can't believe we're here again in the fight sport. It is funny though, because he's got, we're, we're holding up two divisions basically, um, as Islam peaks over what's, whatever's going to happen in Montreal. But at the same time, there's now presenting arguments that would be counter to what they're pursuing. That doesn't make much sense to me. No, you're right. And I didn't even think about, to be honest, when he said it, I was just like, Oh no here it's happening again. The fights that we want. People are throwing shit all over my dreams.

And we have, we had a, I think we have a, we have a tweet from Ilya, right? Um, his, his reaction to this, Habib knows I'm the one to take the belt from Islam. Only reason he doesn't want Islam to fight me. Damn. I mean, I love this guy. He doesn't fuck around at all. I mean, that's elementary, like kind of comeback, isn't it? It's like, you know, that's like what you might say in sixth grade, you know,

but I love it. It's very direct. I love it. Yeah, it's such a weird situation, dude, like that we're, we're here and we kind of saw it coming with, with Tom and John and you know, it seems like things are more positive than they were there. And you know, I have, my doubts have been cast aside for a while. I think they're going to make that happen.

But now we were kind of saying, we hope you get one of these. And now suddenly this one is, is all over the gaff, right? Like, I don't know. I'd love Islam to do an interview. It's great that Eli is talking, but I would love Islam to be like, look, this is where, this is what I'm looking at lads and said, are these kind of tweets coming out like reports from the camps? Say Habib says, I want to know what Islam is planning here.

You know? I just don't know why it matters. Like, you know, we've beat these other guys who come up from form 145, we think they can overthrow me and we batted them back. Okay, fine. But what difference does it make to you? You know, like in that sense, like I don't think any, I don't think it really reflects too

poorly on Islam makchup to beat guys like Volkanovsky, who at the time, you know, was considered a pound for pound best. Like he was right up there. In fact, he was probably above if we were, you know, to go back to whatever the pound for pound rankings were in the day. Like he was probably above where Islam was at that moment. So it's like to have these guys with this momentum and everything that they're bringing up to you, especially in a permanent move, this isn't like, this isn't like he's a, he's going on a lark to 155 holding the belt.

He vacated the belt. He's coming up. He clearly wants to be in that division. So I don't know what it matters to Islam in his camp, if there's a guy who legit is coming for you and that's what the USC thinks should be the guy. And if that's a big fight, unless he's playing

like some kind of hard to get through the press, I mean, I think that he should welcome this fight, you know? Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. Um, you mentioned, uh, the, the pound for pound rankings when Islam did fight folk, it was one and two, right? Like that was the whole thing. It was bulk one Islam too, wasn't it?

Or was it the other way around? Yes. Back in the day. Yeah. Yeah. So that's the way it was going into that fight. Yeah. We should, um, we should look at our own, uh, pound for pound rankings here

from the uncrowned staff, the only rankings that matter. Um, buddy, there it is. Look at that. I mean, what else do you want? You've literally got the best two pound for pound fighters in the world sitting right there. You know what, you know what I, uh, I know exactly. Look at that.

Like it's just, it's, you rarely can get a situation where all logic, all matchmaking, all, all people aboard, everybody wants to see this fight. Um, you're not going to get a better opportunity and you're both guys still have that sheen right now of just invincibility when you spread it out to a casual audience, especially right? Like they just seem like bulldozers. You got to do it. Right.

I mean, you risk it if you don't do it. I'm kind of like, like I was obviously, I wrote an article, I think in February saying like, all right, it's time to start worrying about Aspinal and Jones. I know we haven't got it yet, but I don't know. I'm just, I don't know why I'm optimistic all of a sudden, but I suddenly think like, this is all bullshit. We're getting both of them. Like it's all just, you know, tickling our balls for the moment saying this guy's going this way. I don't really know what has me feeling this way. Because as I said, Habib's thing cast like kind of cast more doubt in the situation, but I don't know. Habib saying cause like kind of cast more doubt in the situation, but I don't know. It just feels too much of a, an open goal. I wonder, you know, we kind of talked about this with the Tom and John thing as well.

Um, obviously on Tuesday, I believe that was the negotiation period the UFC had with ESPN, but as we know, they're going to have a new broadcast deal by the end of this year. I wonder if that's factoring into any of this, like, Dupouria, Islam, you know what I mean? Like it's just that big of a fight that that would be the right way to kick in the door. I mean, you go back to, um, you know, when they're going to sell the company, some of the movements back in 2016, like some of the things were very strategic. They were doing, um, to boost value. I, I could see that being a case, you know, like maybe they want to, maybe they want to make it as big as possible when they get to this moment.

So we'll, we'll find out, but I'm with you. I'm with you a hundred percent. I think we get both those fights. It would kind of be, it would be a poor reflection on the, on the kind of like motto of the UFC that we put on the P the fights people want to see if you can't put these fights together. I mean, look at us, like what, what are you talking about? Don't look, we are to upbeat optimistic guys.

I don't care what anyone says to people. I was like, you guys are dragging them. Blah, blah, blah. Here we are. I don't know what it's like out in Ireland, but it's spring out here, man. Everything's reborn optimism renewed. Well, you know, it was, we were in the dregs until Tucker Carlson came over and now like, you know, he has redeemed our spirits.

Thank God he was down the black forge. You just moved us right back into pessimism. Interestingly on those rankings, right. Um, you know, we've talked about like an all time, an all time fighter. Volk is the greatest featherweight of all time by some people's estimation, not featured in the top 10 chuck. And you, yeah, I mean, you're the guy who goes through these and you know, our brains are strange, strange brains, how they work.

Were you surprised that he didn't get back in there with this? So I'd already like, as I wait for everybody to send in their rankings, you kind of work out like your, you know, your header, like what you're going to call it. I already had put Lokenowski returns to the top 10, you know, you put all this. And then I write the intro kind of to that, you know, to that point, like Volkonoski's back, you know, and then you do the, uh, and realistically, like, I think half of us voted him in and some of us kind of hide. The problem was that he wasn't existent from other, the other half, like he's

not even voted number 10. So it's, it's a point system and his points just didn't add. In fact, he was 13th. So, um, there were, there were two guys, even like, if, even if you went to the top 15, he would only have showed up 13. Um, so I mean, we run a tight ship over it on ground, man, like, you better be doing something spectacular if you want to be in that top 10. How much of this article did you have written before you got these emails?

The intro, like, so the intro was like, before you get into the blurbage, you know, it's like, um, down at the, like with each guy, I'd already written the whole intro, it was like, it was ready to roll. I was just going to, you know, it was more of a matter of where is he nine, 10, like, where did he break in? But no, man, we kept him out. Are we, are we fatigued by his dominance? Like, like, I don't think I had him in.

Funnily enough, I think every time, right. I'm putting a new guy in. Yeah. I'm, I'm trying, I put them against everyone in the top 10. And I look back through their most recent fights. Like, is it just simply a hangover of coming off these two, like KO losses and basically saying like, this is, can we realistically put them ahead of these guys? You know?

Yeah, that's, I mean, honestly, it's a good, it's a good situation. It means you've got a lot of, a lot of guys. I think New York, Rick has, there's a couple of people that have like, um, they, uh, bigger belief, right. And to one of the fighters then. So I believe, and I could be wrong here. I know Rick is on the, on the controls here, but, uh, he has Homsot way up there.

That's right. Yeah. So even if you don't have Homsot, like he gets like a lot of points for being like three or four, wherever Rick has them, it keeps him in that space. You know, like he might sneak in at number 10. Um, so it's really how you value these guys and it's tough, man. You guys, you know, Pantoja and just, uh, you know, Du Plessis and these guys that are kind of in that, you know, six to 10 range, including in

Ghanu and guys like that, it gets really tough. Who are you going to move out? You know, who are you moving out to put Volk in there? It becomes like a very difficult thing in that, like eight through 10 spot for me. Yeah. I have it up here. Excuse me. Alshadi has Volkka 10, Connor Brooks, the great GC has him at number eight.

PZ Carol. Oh, I missed them there. And it doesn't seem to be there. Ben folks has him at 10. New York, Rick has him here. No, Rick is the same as me. Doesn't have them in there has homes at number three as you referenced earlier. More. Yeah.

I do too. Rick, this is not a judgment. Chuck Mendenhall has him at eight. Same as GC. Drake rigs. He doesn't have them in either. Yeah. The great Drake rigs, a man who was stolen your crown on top of the picks.

We don't have a pick. We're tied. We're tied. Oh, you're talking about him again. But he has it. You have to take the belt from him. I think Connor's the other guy. All three of us are now.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Well, that's what you got to sometimes wait, right? The pressure comes when you're holding it. Like you're the top guy. That's when you find out what they're made of and he could not hold that spot for, for even one extra go round. So here I am back, man.

Look, man, I never doubted, you know, that Chuck, I was like, you know, this guy's a generational talent when it comes to picking he's absolutely unbelievable. Um, there's no UFC this weekend, Chuck. There is WrestleMania. There is a cage where he was carried from Glasgow. Uh, but my, one of my favorites, Chris Bungard, the man who had me out on the tiles with Shane Gillis that night. He's got himself a fight, big stuff going on there, but it's an opportunity for the

PFL and not to get into the card as much, but obviously we know that they're at the Universal Studios and, and you know, a lot of people have said like, this is not a great environment for these big fights. Like, look, I mean, as we said, Fabian Impa is happening at the weekend. And it just, I think that environment doesn't lend itself to something that feels so big, but could this be an opportunity for the PFL in the absence of UFC this week? Couldn't hurt. I mean, if you, if you're suffering, the bigger problem honestly is just that so much is going on.

You know, it's spring breakout here where we're at. And there's so much going on, like you got the playoffs and both hockey and basketball, um, revving up and there's other things that kind of step in. And some people are just fight fans. That's where probably who we're talking about here. And I think that that's, this could be a good thing for them, you know, um, you mentioned kind of being,

what is it called that they're out there? Let's say they're we're talking about here. And I think that that's, this could be a good thing for them. You know, um, you mentioned kind of being, what is it called that they're out there? Let's say they're at Universal Studios or something like in Orlando, like they're at some kind of soundstage. The problem with it is at this point, don't you just, it's like, it's unfair to the PFL to, to, to make the comparison, but like we were already talking about just how you get like a diminished version of the UFC when it's in the apex and we've been talking about this for a while. I know Ariel has been harping like, yeah, the apex let's get back on the road

and put them in live venues. That thing has, you know, way overdue over at least a year, maybe two years where you're like, why are they still doing this? And there's something about that, that transfers and it gives that feel. I don't really love it. I want to see, like there's enthusiasm that you catch. Like I'm, I always point this out when you were at that Dublin card, when McGregor was there, obviously that's a very different circumstance, but

I felt like I was there. There was something that was so transferable to just even, um, the stream that you're like, man, this is crazy. This is crazy. Cleveland was like that at UFC two Oh three. Like you could just kind of feel the energy coming off the room. I think that these live environments do trans like they do translate. And I would love to like, given the, where the PFL is, I just, I wish

we could see that to be honest, man. It would be, it would be a lot better if they could kind of give you that energy as well. Yeah. Like I kind of, I saw that with the, when the GFL thing happened, where I wasn't on last week, and I know you and Ben had talked about it last week and I kind of just shared on crowns, um, the graphic they put out with, with the council across it. And I had so many fighters, like UFC fighters or PFL for it is in my comments,

like replying to a going, Oh, come on. Are you surprised all this kind of stuff? But I'm like, no, like we kind of need someone to fucking challenge here. Like, like the UFC are so out ahead and they're so, so polished compared to all these guys that, you know, you just wanted a competitor. You want options there for fighters. And it's crazy to me that you mentioned it. The European cards, like Paul Hughes was fighting him on May 10th in Belafonte. It's going to be fucking crazy.

I know it is. I've, I've seen Doom Bay as I've referenced so many times on this show. I've seen him in France. It's absolutely insane. And these aren't particularly big cards, right? Like these usually aren't world title fights, things like that. I just don't get how you can have such a, a massive, massive moment and a massive kind of celebration in these countries that

they're going to include the Middle East when Hughes fought Usman and Magomedov. That was an incredible place and just not have anything in the U S it's like, it's like they found it so difficult to snag the audience there, right? Compared to everywhere else. It's just, it's just not happening for them for whatever reason. Yeah. I don't know.

And it's, it's crazy because, you know, the, the Bellator back in the day, right? Like Bellator would go to Mulvane, Kansas and, you know, Thackerville, Oklahoma, they'd go to these weird places and you'd be like, what, where is that? You know, Lake Charles, you know, these places, but they, but there's something to be said about the, is the live venue. It's still like, you know, when they can pan a shot of fans, kind of looking in whatever they're doing, just bleed and all this stuff. You're like, well, that, that just lends something to it.

That's all it is. Um, I saw, I do think that like, it's not the end all. I mean, I know that they're going to be going like, once they get past these quarterfinals, right, they then enter into the thing. I think they possibly they just on their last, I pointed this out before, possibly they needed to make huge shifts. This is probably what they had to do. And you gotta take some, if you want to see that, what you're

mentioning, kind of the competition, you got to take them out their own merit here and, uh, and hope that the fights themselves deliver and for some reason we get interested, right? Like that's really the key. It's not going to be exactly about the crowd, but I think that that would help. It's really going to be about the fights. Can they, you know, can they give highlight real finishes? I think you got to, this is a good card comparatively.

I think that of the three that they, the, the, this is the third one, right? Like of the three, this is the best one in my mind. So, um, I'm actually kind of looking forward to this one. Yeah. Like, like I'm genuinely though, are you intrigued? Like that, this is an issue, right? Because I'm talking to MMA people, um, some like, you know, talking to guys around the European scene, like about Fabian and blah, blah,

blah. And they're like, yeah, I wish that fight was on early so I could just watch that, you know? And I'm like, shit, like this is weird. We're the MMA crack heads. We should not have to be like G-ing ourselves up. We should be automatically, we know who is, we know Fabian is, this is a great fight. The winner of the tournament is probably going to come from this fight. This is a big moment for Fabian. Can he step out of Leon's shadow? Is this his moment?

The most promising amateur on the scene when he went pro is this his moment to do it and people are just kind of like, man, yeah, hope he wins. Is that in part like just, especially out there? I mean, even, even, even in Europe, I'm like, is part of it just fatigue at some point? I don't know. I mean, we, we go round and round with these types of things, like at some point you're like, ah, more fights.

It feels to me, a lot of times what fuels, um, fight interest is the emergence of gambling. You know, like just sports gambling. I feel like a lot of people then suddenly, oh, it's a, you know, I can make a bet and know the outcome in 15 minutes, you know? And I think that that suddenly, oh, it's a, you know, I can make a bet and know the outcome in 15 minutes, you know? And I think that that, you know, feeds its own libido, right? Like, it's like, people are like, let me, let me jump in.

So a lot of times when people talk to me about fights, it has to do with, and I know fighters complain about this all the time, like don't come up to me and say that I busted your parlay, you know? Um, so that's, that's a big part of it, but I think if you're just a diehard fan, it's just so much, like occasionally we get these weekends off and you're like, ah, you know, I can exhale. So I never know if it's helpful to throw, to fill in that blank, um, with an event or, or if it's not, to be honest, you don't want to go head to head with the UFC,

but like sometimes I'm like, I think people are like kind of looking forward to their breaks when they get them. Yeah. Yeah. No, that's true. And Lord knows we need some breaks. God damn it. These fights are coming thick and fast, but I don't know, dude, it's just so

important for there to be a PFL. Yeah. Do you know what I mean? Like it's so important that it's there that it does not just one option of be all and end all, but just the presentation of these fights in that kind of atmosphere and look, you're right. They will be going on to a bigger venue and then not to bring up one of Ariel's battles, but like, geez, like when Don Davis, before even Ariel got back to him,

I saw that I was like, man, like you're going to get body favors. I know you're, you're going to get bodied. Like it's like to come after Ariel and be like, you're not a good journalist or whatever it was like you're leading people. It's like, he's going to say something to you. Something like that. Yeah. You can't, you can't.

Okay. Listen, man, if you're going to come at somebody, you can't go after their integrity, if that's what they're built on, like you can't, I know that people, like this is the whole thing. If you're a fight promoter, you can't, I know that people like, this is the whole thing. If you're a fight promoter, you can't, you can't publicly attack one of the best journalists, the sport, you know, we could go through this many times, 14 times that he's won the award. You can't go at him publicly about his integrity and not expect, you

know, for him to fire back. And I mean, I thought he was well within his rights, but I think that guys like Don Davis, um, you wonder like in the Bjorn and Rebne sense, and they're very different people, but do they hurt their brand, you know, in some point and that's kind of what's happening. There's a defiance building up around their league that you don't want to see. Like you do not want to become, you know, a brand that is either a laughing stock or is considered a clown show or anything like that based on the faces that you're presenting to the public.

You just don't want to do that, man. Yeah. Yeah. Look, I hope they start to know. I think, man, whatever it is about what they're doing in Europe, it's insane. I don't know if they can somehow inject that into the US thing. Like whatever the fuck it is, like, like it was mind blowing to attend events here. Like even, even Bellator right.

And Ireland, like it did go stale eventually, but they had a good thing going. Peter Quilley, people were fucking going crazy over there to see it. Like, I don't know. I just really hope they can sort it out. Maybe Ariel's been talking about the tournament situation too. You know, maybe that needs a rejig. I just don't know. I wish there was clarity.

I mean, the biggest thing that keeps happening, I pointed this out in a column I wrote a couple weeks back, but if you get Dakota DeCheva, like in this situation where she becomes like, I thought she was easily the breakout fighter of the year. I think we all voted her, right? Like it was kind of one of those, but you can't go dark this long afterwards. You know, you got to keep it rolling.

Like one of the brilliant things that we've seen within the UFC is always, what's the, the transfer of the dangling carrot onto the next thing, right? Like it's always onto the next. And that has been a problem at Francis Ngannou. Like what's happening? Are you, what are we doing with this guy? Um, Johnny Eblund, I mean, the list is endless. This is, it's one of those things like Eblen is like one of those guys who we

were talking about Fabian, obviously like that's the nightmare matchup. And honestly, man, I didn't get a chance to say this, but Fabian should treat that. Like you got a bad taco, man, get that out of your system. You know what I mean? Like don't, because Johnny Eblen is not going to make it pretty for anybody. You know what I mean? But that is a guy that you can get behind because I think you could make the argument that he could beat most guys on the UFC roster, right?

That's what you want. You want to have these guys anyway. I wish they could just, the movement of the, you know, just the movement of these, of their stars and I wish they could build it, build it like they, like, I know this is their best path is to get these stars across in a bigger way. And it's just, it just not going fast enough, man. It doesn't keep up. Yeah.

It's just with the champions, you're worried about all of them because it's just been this pattern, right? The Corey Anderson's this and that. And as I said, like, I'm a fan of what they do here. I, I watch all these cards. Like I said, like, I'm a fan of what they do here. I, I watch all these cards. Like I am genuinely in, I'm in already. I want this to succeed. Um, it's just tough sometimes to, uh, you know, we, in a way we, we are telling

people why they should be excited about these things. And sometimes it's just not, uh, it's just tough to do sometimes. Right. Speaking of things. Well, if you say, if you say something like, guys, I've got to watch PFL tonight. They think you're being paid or something at this point. And it's like, they think you're, and I'm like, no, this card is actually, if you, if you fought it, like, let's say you're a UFC centric person, there's plenty of names on this that you would recognize.

It's not like this is some anonymous card, like last week's a little bit more, where you had to kind of dig to know this is some anonymous card like last week's a little bit more. We had to kind of dig to know who everybody was, but like Nick, Nick Maximoff, isn't he on this card? The old Diaz brother. He's kind of returning. He's, he's kind of, he's been undefeated since he left the UFC. Guys like that.

I'm like, there's, there's weird intrigues in this, um, in these tournaments that I think Mads Brunel, right? Like he's in this, he's in this thing too. Like guys like that. I'm like, I love that. You know, I love to see these other platforms for these guys to make their names. Like, uh, Oh, what was his name? Um, who's the kid? Oh man.

Oh, this is a good advertisement. We're already Aubin Mercier, that guy. Like, you know what I'm talking about? He, uh, yeah. So that dude, back to back you know what I'm talking about? Oh yeah, Aubin Mercier, yeah. Yeah, yeah, so that dude. Back to back champion. What I'm saying, like, he would have never, like, if there's not a place for him to go do that, he just kind of fades out and nobody's even, instead he left the game on his terms with a lot of money.

I'm like, I think it's cool to watch these guys have another venture that might be their big one, you know? Yeah, well, look guys, tune into the PFL this weekend. I don't think we could have set the bed better than that, but, uh, I will be watching of course, uh, WrestleMania as well this weekend, Chuck, we've got a, we've got a special preview with our fantastic wrestling writers on Friday, I believe it's going out on this very channel. So make sure you tune in. It is the event like you want to dabble, right?

Like so a lot of people don't watch an NFL match and then they watch the Superbowl. This is that the equivalent of that. This is the moment. Yes. And if this one's held out in Vegas, no, is this Vegas or is it LA? I don't have a clue. Anyways, I think it's, it's somewhere out there, but, uh, I always tune in for it. Um, I find that it's kind of fun in the sense like, uh, like we have a, uh, you

know, like a Slack channel and I feel like most uncrowned, like the enthusiasm really shows up and it's like big wrestling things. It's like the rest of us are just like, Hey, uh, you know, I'm talking to Elliot Toporia, you know, whatever, but it's like, these guys are like, who's going to be the big, who's going to emerge? Is it going to be CM Punk? You know? So in that way, like the, the, uh, the enthusiasm is infectious.

And they hooked me with that fucking John Cena shit. Like I was all over that, like that, that kind of heel turn he did. I watched the whole thing. I think it was somewhere in Europe or Germany or something where he walked out and the crowd were doing them and shit. Like I was like, ah, I'm in, I'm in, I want John Cena to win. I mean, I don't know if, I don't know if you will. I don't know how this works. Apparently there's a whole thing about passing the belt to a guy who's returning.

You can't do that. I don't know. I'm just listening to Ariel talking. Um, who do your nuggets have in the first round of playoffs? Oh man. We have the Los Angeles Clippers and are they good? I mean, they're good. Okay.

So traditionally they've never won a title and they traditionally fizzle out of the playoffs, but it's always scary. And I think they were coming on at the right time toward the end of the season. So, and the nuggets were like, obviously they're in a state of a little bit of turmoil. We'll see how they, uh, you know, losing the coach and the GM just like a week before the playoffs. So we'll see kind of how all this plays out, man. But, um, I think that first game will tell us quite a bit about our, our, our mindset and our ability.

Um, it's in Denver, they got the home court, so we'll see how it all plays out. Saturdays when it begins. If you were going to recommend to a guy like me who doesn't watch basketball one series, what is the series I should zoom in for this, this leg of the playoffs? Pro, well, geez, the Warriors Rockets is going to be good. Um, just given that that's a two seed, the Rockets and I think the Warriors, you know, they've got some championship caliber players, right?

Like, and they, Is he a Butler there? Is he me, but yeah, he just played in the planet. I have, he had a big ass game. I don't know, like 40 points or something, but, uh, yeah, it's going to be, that's a good one. I think that the Pistons and Knicks. That's a fun series, man. The Pistons were garbage last year.

They've turned it up and they've got a physical team. I know Ariel was like, we need to get tougher. You're going to find out if you're tough enough right away. Cause this team will, this team will, uh, bang down in that paint, man. Well, look, it's, uh, I'm looking forward to this. This is the time of year I get involved with the NBA Rick, of course, Cleveland Cavaliers, he was, he was shouting his confidence across. Like before this, this, uh, love show started, you want to hear Rick.

He was talking mad shit. The calves are going to do it. I will bet my life. I will bet my life on the calves. All this kind of said three times. And like, uh, I think it was two sentences said lock, they use the word lock. That's a lock. Boys write it down.

That's a lock. It just kept on showing. It was crazy. Anyway, enjoy the PFL this weekend, guys. I hope you enjoyed the show today. And the great Shazanga Malata joining us from Sun HQ in London. We have Chuck Mendenhall joining us from Myth HQ in Connecticut. Listen to this. I mean, New York, Rick doing a great job.

Well, on air, Jordan, causing sons himself on some Portuguese beach. Unbelievable. Oscar Loseff here. Always helping us with the beautiful audio. We love you guys so much. Have a wonderful weekend. Enjoy WrestleMania. Enjoy the NBA playoffs. But most importantly, enjoy the PFL. We love you Let's go Nugs