The Herd with Colin Cowherd - THE W.A.D.E. Concept - WEEK IN REVIEW - Jon Jones Vs Dana White CHAOS & Kamaru Usman is BACK!!

Episode Date: June 15, 2025

This week on THE W.A.D.E. Concept: WEEK IN REVIEW, Wade goes off on Jon Jones AGAIN, Usman DOMINATES Joaquin Buckley, Boxing's NEW running rule and more! 💥Join The WADE Concept Media Team to get access to EXCLUSIVE perks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJb9AgsGZvAIGxP6AGUORAw 💥Subscribe to The W.A.D.E. Concept on YouTube!! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJb9AgsGZvAIGxP6AGUORAw 💥Check Out All of My Content in Audio Form On Spotify & Apple Podcasts!! Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0UAOy35GkG9gqmRpQyr6Fr?si=e3ce2c880ba64e3a Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/the-w-a-d-e-concept-with-wade-plemons/id1807106061 💥 FOLLOW Me on Twitch!! https://www.twitch.tv/wadeplem 💥I Have a PO BOX!! You can send me things here: "The WADE Concept" 27758 Santa Margarita Pkwy Box 581 Mission Viejo, CA 92691 Follow me on Twitter and hit me up with any questions or feedback on the videos:https://x.com/WadePlem  ✅ Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wadeplem ✅ For business inquiries email me here: [e-mail] ✅ #Herd  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Hey guys, it's us. The Jonas Brothers. I'm Joe. I'm Kevin. And I'm Nick. And guess what? We created our own podcast called, Hey Jonas.

We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. We get to ask other people questions because we're sick and tired of being asked questions. Well, sick and tired is a strong way to put it. But, you know, tired and sick. Tired and sick.

Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you. you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smygel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo, and every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headline. And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment, and the stuff nobody can. gets to hear. Listen to Sports Slice on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your

podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slicelife 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Winning on Clay is an art. The rallies are relentless. And at the French Open, only the toughest survive. I'd know. I competed there for decades. Join me, Renee Stubbs, on the Renee Stubbs' tennis podcast for no nonsense breakdowns of the biggest matches, the toughest players, and the moments that define Roland Garris. Jen she'll win. Yeah, she's an outsider to win the French friend. And she likes Clay. Listen, Leonard Rabakina is arguably the best player in the world right now.

And I actually can win on any surface. Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis podcasts on the Iheart Radio app. Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. The John Jones saga continues. And I just, I don't understand it. It doesn't make sense to me. It doesn't make sense to anybody outside of a couple things that maybe you can say.

But as of today, June 10th, 2025, we still have, I don't want to say. say no answers, relatively no answers on John Jones in his whereabouts and where he will be as far as the UFC's concerned in their heavyweight division. The most important division in combat sports. There's some developments. They don't really answer any questions, but Dana White finally was in front of the media. So this is the first time we've heard him speak about the whole John Jones and what's going on with what happens next with Jones, what happens next with the heavyweight division, and some things that even Aero Hawani is saying, and by the way, I've seen this recently and I'm kind of just like, what has happened to people online? There's this like

lack of trust in Ariel Hawani's reporting when he breaks news or when he says things that are happening behind the scenes that eventually will come out. I don't know where people are like, oh, I can't trust Ariel. I can't trust Ariel anymore. Like if you don't like Ariel's opinions because he does from time to time offer opinions that aren't based on reporting or they're not based on his reporting. They're just based on the way he sees a fighter or the way he sees a fight, whatever. But when Ariel reports stuff, it's pretty much dead accurate. I don't remember the last time Ariel missed a big story. I really don't get it. Like, you don't have to like Ariel. I personally do. He's a good friend of mine, I would say. And this week, he had this to say, I guess on his show,

that John Jones, because we all asked the question, you know, is John Jones running from Tom Aspinall? Is the UFC just not making the fight? Apparently it's not what John has been saying in the public, that the UFC knows his stance and they can strip him if they want, that he's willing to vacate, that he has no problem getting rid of the belt, that this thing is already said and done, because that seems to not be the case. According to Ariel Hawani, John Jones had initially agreed to fight Tom Aspinall, then went back on his word and backed out of the fight. Quote, Dana White said John Jones was offered the deal and accepted the deal.

The problem is, he didn't tell you the whole story. He didn't tell you how he went back on his word, eventually that point. part will come out. So this to me changes a lot of things from it just being the UFC's not doing their job, not doing their job. And again, I'm still on that bandwagon. The UFC needs to do something about this, but this is a clear duck at this point. Point blank, period. There is no other way to say it. John is completely and utterly ducking Tom Aspinall. And the UFC's letting him get away with it because they're trying to, I guess, make a second attempt at making this fight. But if you've already met the man's demand, and he says yes, then says, no, what else is there to say? What?

What else is there to even go back and forth with? It's over. You've gotten to the point where he is not willing to cooperate. And instead of taking hit your belt back from him, you'd rather just do this, leave everybody in suspense. And again, you can say yes, Wade, it's because of the 2026 TV rights deal. And yeah, okay, that's fine. But when they get a new deal, are they going to give John more money?

Is that what the thinking is? Because let's say they get the new deal, then they strip John. What was the point the entire time? John's name is going to probably drive up the deal to. some degree, but enough to completely stall your heavyweight division for two years? It's easy. Just take the belt off him. But the more incredible part is how, I don't even know how to describe, aloof. Dana White seems to the whole thing.

Like he's just bad, like, bizarrely surprised by what's been going on with John Jones. This will start to affect his legacy. Now, now you get to the point where you start to tarnish things because you had an opportunity to just say no, and I want to go out the way I went out. with my win over Steppe and having the two belts and all of that. And your legacy's fine. Or you had the opportunity to play your game with the UFC. Ask for your 10 to 20 to 30 million.

See if they'd bite. And then ultimately, if they did, we have the fight. But when you say yes, okay, that's the number I want. I'm ready to go. And then say, you know what? Never mind. That starts to me, it just is like, okay, you clearly are either scared or you don't like this fight. It's hard to start seeing you as, or I guess keep seeing you as the goat when you don't want to fight, yet you don't want to give the belt up.

Anyway, here's Dana press conference Saturday night after UFC 316 talking about the fight. I want to ask you about something else outside of tonight. It's a conversation we've had many times now, the Tom Aspinall, John Jones fight. It's a bit different now, right, because John's been tweeting a lot about the fact that he's told you his plans, he's ready to vacate the belt and all the rest of it. He said he's ready to vacate the belt? He said he doesn't care if he strip him, but he would vacate the belt. it. Fucking crazy.

Yeah, I've been busy. I haven't been keeping up with the gossip. He comes back. He's either back today or came back yesterday or whatever he, you know, he's in Thailand. So he's home. We'll be home tonight. And Tuesday, we'll figure this out. It is Tuesday.

We better figure it out. Here's the other thing. Dana just seemed baffled by the fact that John has come out and said, oh yeah, they can strip me if they want, I'll vacate it. They can strip me, I'll vacate it. That's not a guy that seems like he has heard the same thing behind the scene. He's like, oh, that's fucking crazy. Now, he could be lying about the whole, oh, well, I didn't see any of that stuff online or whatever.

But that was a genuine reaction like, what the fuck? That's not what we've been hearing. That's what I got out of that. And this is where I think Dana starts to turn on John Jones a little bit. Not turn on John Jones, because that's a whole different conversation. I mean, flip the script on John Jones. Because it seems to me, like this is becoming not just for the fans, not just for the media, not just for the division, but for the promotion, a headache, like more than it's worth to deal with.

Like they're on their last legs of saying, all right, man, we're really trying to make this, this fight with John, but even we're getting fed up with this. Because that doesn't seem like the same answer he has gotten from John John. Because he also called out Francis and Garno. He said he'd rather fight Francis, which I see. Who did? John. Yeah.

Okay. Not that interest in that then. But if he doesn't fight Tom Aspinall and he does walk away, do you think he's ducked him? Tom Aspinall's the guy. He's the guy. I don't know. Yeah, we'll have to see how this place. Listen, if the guy wants to retire and doesn't want to fight, nothing you do. I didn't want Habib to retire. I didn't want.

I thought D.C. should have stayed in it longer. So it's none of my business. I'll do what I can to make the fight if we can. If he's talking that crazy shit, I didn't realize that. Again, I'm a little baffled. Now, I know that Dana just can't keep track of John in all instances. You would think that he has people that would let him know where things are going or let him know what's being said on the internet versus what's being said behind the scenes.

But the point is, there's clearly some miscommunication going on. Clearly. And it seems like it's from the side of John Jones. Shocking, I know. But again, you hear the way Dana's responding to this. It's not like, let me just play down the question and move on. There's parts of that. But it's also like a frustration.

level growing as these questions or as these quotes from John Jones keep coming out. You hear him right there. Well, if he's talking that crazy shit, then yeah, I don't know. This is something that's clearly, again, to me, the UFC has taken a stance now. They're like, listen, we're getting tired of it. That's what I hear when I listen to Dana White, outside of the croaky voice and all that. Last one on this, I remember the time when GSP announced he was walking away after the Johnny Hendricks fight, and you said he owes it to the belt and the company to at least defend it against the guy that Whitefish should fight for it. Do you think that's kind of the same

here with John? Yeah, yeah, but John's been, John's been John since he walked in the door here. Ooh. And yeah. By the way, Oscar stuck it on him. Holy shit. This is something I said in my video a couple of weeks back about how Dana reacted to George St. Pierre potentially floating the idea of retirement right after the Johnny Hendricks fight and how he's approached, or how the UFC's approached this talk with John Jones. It's been completely different. John's been John since he walked in the door here. That doesn't mean anything, by the way. All Dana means when he says that is that John's tough to deal with. Whereas GSP, he could probably snap his fingers.

And GSP because he was a good guy and a company man would oblige. Dana knows that John is tough to deal with. And oddly enough, Dana's always had a soft spot for John. Even when John was the biggest fuck up in UFC history as a champion, Dana still would have allowances. And he's honestly, again, because John's the greatest of all time, he's had some of those allowances with Connor McGregor. not that they're on the same level but Connor throws the dolly through a bus window

gets arrested they make the fight we all wanted to see it so it happened and yeah I was younger then really shit doesn't go the way you would like it to go all the time Dana what did you make a picture I was younger then and the relationship doesn't go the way you want it to all the time

no idea what that means all that tells me is that Dana has like lost his fastball as he's gotten older that's what it tells me I was younger then like it's not wisdom to not put your sport above people playing around with your belts. That's not wisdom. You know what I'm saying? Dana being like, well, I'm older now and I get the business. He does get the business better than I do, but what does that

mean? You gotten older and by virtue of the wisdom you've gained, you're just letting John run a muck in your heavyweight division? I want younger Dana. If that's the case, I want the data that's going to go, listen, you're running around with our belt. That's the UFC's belt. And if you're not going to defend it, it's step up or step aside. It's really simple. We appreciate you for being the goat. We appreciate you for doing what you did. We don't need you. And that's the The reality is they don't need John. So, yeah, okay, the fight would be great if Tom and John could get on board. Maybe you don't want to bury that relationship for the fact that potentially John could turn around and say yes.

But at what point, at what point do you start looking like actual clowns? And we're past that. I wonder, is there anything that PFL or Francis could do to make that a realistic option for you guys? Or are you fully focused on Aspinon? Yeah, it's Aspinall's fight. I mean, we've been talking to this kid forever about it and it's his fight. It's his fight. Listen, you can't make people fight.

If John doesn't want to fight, we can try to make him fight. We can throw things at him that inspire him to want to fight. But we'll figure it out. I mean, number one, no. Dana is not going to do a deal with the PFL and Donde. Did you guys see, and this is one of the dumbest things I think I've ever seen out of a promoter. Not because, you know, it's just tacky to. do, but just because it's insane to think this is how you should deal with Dana White,

who clearly already does not disrespect, does not respect the PFL, shits on them, and you expect this to be a serious thing. Don Davis came out when Francis was going back and forth with John and Francis still signed with the PFL, Don Davis decided he was going to make a proposal winner take all. Yeah, this sounds great, sure. It's never gonna happen. Why in the f*** would the UFC ever do that? 100% of the profits go to the PFL if Francis wins.

100% of the profits go to the UFC if John wins. This is not what serious people do. The UFC has, and again, I'm not trying to be a boot lick or whatever, but the UFC has no reason to work with the PFL. All they have to do is wait the PFL out. That's all they have to do until they eventually either go under or lose their funding or whatever else that happens because the PFL is not in good shape.

Then yeah. It was kind of crazy how much interest. John showed in the Francis Inganu fight, like there was some tweets going back and forth. What would happen if he came to you and says, like, I'll fight, but I won't fight Aspinall, I would fight Angano. Would you even be interested in that or no? I don't have Engano on her contract, and Aspinall's the guy. Right. If you were put in the position, would you maybe try to get Ngano back under contract or no?

Probably not. Yeah. Understood. In other words, he looks at the PFL like a fucking joke because they have treated themselves that way for a very long time. He's not going to promote a fight that he doesn't have a fighter under contract for unless it's in a promotion that he doesn't necessarily run like boxing. And also, Tom is the guy.

These are all good things to hear from Dana. But then if Tom's the guy and John has the belt, we either make the fight or make Tom the guy for real. Not just lip service. You need to make him the guy for real. Yeah, one more thing on just John. I know you said you can't make him fight Tom and it's ultimately up to him. I know you've basically been on every wave in this sport.

In your heart, do you believe that this is just the process or is it ultimately you'll get him to fight in your mind? It's definitely the process with John Jones. I've been going through this since the day you started here. And it's, yeah, it's definitely the process. Do you believe in ultimately will happen though? Him and Anderson Silva. the every time, you know, throughout the history of being a business with those guys, when it comes time to get them fight, it's like dealing with artists.

John Jones agreed to do the fight. So, um, John Jones was offered the deal and accepted the deal. How does John accepting the deal, accepting the fight, and then turning his back on the entire thing? When he gave you his word and he's not doing it, how does that make you feel better about the fight happening? How does that make you feel like it's going to happen? I get it. John's a tough guy to negotiate with, and he plays games and negotiations, and you're dealing with an artist. At a certain point, it's just game. But there's just, there's always been problems with John, but this one's unique in the fact that John is saying he will make the fight happen and then not make it happen, whilst also not making any effort to actually get a fight done.

Like, this is insane. It's it. It's over. To me. But Dana's still holding out hope. Again, the only thing I can see is that what's being left unsaid here is, the TV rights deal I don't know why no one asks him about that Like the media did a good job here

Of really sticking it on Dana And really asking him some tough questions But why is no one asking about that? Like okay Dana What is it that you're waiting on? Is it the TV rights deal? He might not, he would find a way To probably skate around that answer

But I think that's That's the one thing that's not being asked And I don't know why We got some answers there Apparently John did You know say yes to a deal And then completely reverse position And turned it down

Which is why you need to strip him of his UFC belt. At this point, it's fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me. Dana, you're doing it to yourself for short-term potential gain and long-term potential loss, I think. It's going to be of detriment more than it's going to help

because I don't think John is coming back. But what happens with John Jones and Dana White in the UFC, in this Tom Aspenol situation, will he, won't he fight? We're all tired of it, but the news keeps slowly, painstakingly slowly rolling in. We have some new information, but really nothing new to go off of as far as the fight actually happening. Do I think it will?

No. I think it's time to move on from John Jones. But that's just my opinion. What happens next? I guess we'll find out. Today we have some breaking news in the boxing realm. We had heard rumors about it. We'd even heard, you know, somewhat unofficial announcements about it.

But Canello v. Crawford is now official, ladies and gentlemen. It's officially happening on September 13. live on Netflix. This one is a banger. They're calling it the fight of the century. It's definitely the biggest fight in boxing right now. And I am so pumped for this thing. Now, we're going to get into the minutia of it

and all the stuff that's going to be happening and all the press conferences and everything else that's planned around it. But before we do, let's go to H.E. himself. The big H.E. had a message about this fight. And we're going to take a look and see. what Turkey Alashik is saying with this official announcement. Canella Crawford. 13 of September in Las Vegas.

Thank you for everyone. Thank you, Canello. Thank you, Crawford. Thank you, Netflix. Thank you, Wade, maybe. I don't know. Maybe thanks to Wade. I don't know.

I was here. I didn't get a thank you. Come on, AG. You're right. I didn't have anything to do with this. We continue. Billah. Thank you.

Thank you all your team in Netflix. Thank you, Nick Khan, TKO. Thank you, Dana. My brother, he will promote this fight with me. Thank you for... Okay, before we... I love Turkey, man. Look at this pose.

It's amazing. So before we go on... Yeah, a lot of people had had some thoughts about potentially Dana White and Turkey not promoting this together because Dana White's name was not on one of the recent press releases. But I didn't think that he was, I didn't have any insight sources, but I didn't think that that was the case. I figured if Dana had signed his name onto something and that

Riyadh Seism is going to be doing this deal with TKO to make, you know, they haven't really named it yet, but TKO boxing, whatever that's going to be, that they were going to follow through with it. It is interesting, though, because Dana White will have a hand in promoting two major combat sports events on the same day. And I don't think that they cancel out business the way that everybody else thinks that they potentially will. I think people put too much stock into people picking and choosing. This may happen, but with Netflix being involved, and because boxing audiences are far different from MMA audiences,

you can look at my channel and see that. Like, it's not, they're not the same audience. Most people that enjoy MMA watch MMA. Most people that enjoy boxing, watch boxing, and the crossover between the two is very minimal. Honestly, the crossover between the two might be the Jake Paul fights. You know, the crossover boxing fights. But this one will have mainstream appeal.

I do think that it being on Netflix is going to help, which is why I think Dana was more on board to do it, because two pay-per-view events running against each other. It doesn't hurt his pockets, but it may potentially get in the way of business for somebody. This one and UFC 317, I don't think, are going to really, they may overlap time-wise, but they're not going to really do much as far as running into each other.

Thank you for everyone. Thank you, Canelo. Thank you, Crawford. In your city. Thank you, Net. Netflix. Yeah, Canelo Crawford will be free because, yes, you'll need Netflix to watch. But this is the same playbook that Jake and Mike Tyson used on Netflix. I think it's a good idea. There's going to be a ton of eyes on it.

That's why I said it's the biggest boxing event of the year. American audience, I think, desperately need it. Because right now, American boxing, especially with having with Kishan Davis last weekend, we have, you know, younger guys like Abdullah Mason. We have Emiliano Vargas. We have those guys, Richard Torres. but American fandom in boxing right now needs to grow. And this could be a way to potentially do that.

The buffering issue, we'll see. I think that that was a first event thing. But then again, I think the NFL might have had some issues with it as well. But I think the Netflix platform is such a good one for people that are on the fence about buying a boxing pay-per-view. And let's be honest, for years, boxing cards have been astronomically priced for pay-per-view. The UFC does it too now, but there are some of those five.

that just aren't worth pay-per-view. Like, they're not worth the amount of money charged. And I'm not singling out any fight or fight promoter, but it's just in general, sometimes they are way too overpriced here. And in other countries, it's a lot cheaper. So for this, this is a big deal for American audiences who are used to paying 50, 60, $70 to watch a fight. To now get that fight for, you know, whatever it is,

your Netflix subscription, $10, $15 a month. But you're not paying anything on top of that. Essentially, after that it's free. This is a massive deal. The Ring Magazine. Thank you, Wade. Thank you for everyone. This is the biggest fight in boxing and in history in the last 10 years and maybe more.

Thank you, Sheffert, from the team of Canello. Thank you. Hey, it's us, the Jonas Brothers. And guess what? We have some big news. What's the news, new? Huge news. We created our own podcast called, Hey, Jonas.

We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to a... We're the first people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there. but this one's extra special. So how do we actually come up with a name Hey Jonas, guys?

I honestly don't remember. I think it was on a call about what we should call it. Well, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band before Jonas Brothers. This is how you guys remember it going down? Yes. I have a very different memory of this.

We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast where people could call in and say, hey Jonas. And then I wrote down on my little notepad Hey Jonas and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast. But thanks for remembering that, guys. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an acapella band,

with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Last night, a blown call changed a game.

This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise. Breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines.

We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down,

give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice. On the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slice Life 12

and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests.

I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are possession of the thing and we're still chasing it and we don't know when we've done enough because people scoreboard watch life becomes about wins and losses Steve Burns Dustin Ross because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth or are you a good person because you're afraid because that's two different intentions bro absolutely and that's two

different levels of trust I want you to just really be a good person join me Kear gains is we have real conversations about healing growth fatherhood pressure and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Is this the biggest boxing fight in the last 10 years? I mean, again, if you take away Jake and Mike Tyson, which numbers-wise is not going to be beat, probably.

I mean, the numbers they're going to get on Netflix are going to be huge. If they surpass Jake and Mike, that would be insane. I don't know, though. I don't know that they're going to get there, but what they can do is surpass pretty much every other number. They're going to surpass Eubank Ben. They're going to surpass any of that. Maybe not.

When was Connor and Floyd? We're coming up right at the end of that Connor Floyd thing. Floyd and Manny was before that. But of the last decade, this will probably be the biggest one. And the reason that you put Manny and Floyd and Connor and Floyd in there is because their numbers were behind the Paperview wall, right? Like you can't really compare numbers on Netflix to the amount of numbers they drew on pay-per-view.

That was crazy. But they certainly will do. I mean, I don't want to put a number out there and be wrong, but I'd be surprised if they didn't do at least like 10, 20, maybe 30 million, right? I think you could definitely get 20 to 30 million people to watch this. And this is very good opportunity for the talent in boxing. We will make the undercard, all the undercard about talent. Because we have the biggest fight.

We don't need big fight in the undercard. For that, we will give the chance for the talent. If you think you are ready to be in the undercard of Canello Crawford, come talk with us. That's it. Me and Aaron the Plummer, Undercard. Let's go, dude. Okay, so realistically, this is an interesting, like jokes aside,

this is an interesting take from Turkey. He's like, we don't need to sell this fight anymore because the headliner sell it. We just want talent. Now, the question I guess I would have is, where does the intersection between talent and hype differentiate for Turkey? Because he has a bunch of ring ambassadors, right? He has Moses Atalma.

He has Abdullah Mason. He has Kishon Davis. He has a lot of these guys, Shakur Stevenson, which is probably going to be a little bit of a tight window for Shakur, but you never know. There has to be a way to get talented guys that potentially can be stars on that card. I think Abdullah Mason should be on that card.

He's super talented. I'm also a fan of Emiliano Vargas. You guys know this. That would be great. I don't know if he has something going on with the ring or not. But Moses Atalma is fighting very soon, I think, in the middle of July again. Bam Rodriguez, sure. I'm down with it.

But I guess what he's trying to say is we want talent to expose the talent to new boxing fans. But at the same time, the most talented people are the, you know, fighters on the rise as it is. But I like, I don't mind prioritizing talent on the undercard because you're trying to use this card to build interest not only in, you know, the sport, but also in some of these fighters that don't have the name Canelo has, right?

You're building interest in the main event just by it being the main event, but the fighters themselves that are, you know, and their rise to the belts or just got a belt or whatever, they can definitely use from this exposure. And again, the only thing we have to compare it to is the Jake Paul Mike Tyson card.

And some of the fighters on there have massive benefits from being there. Like Katie Taylor, Manasarano, already were big names by the time they were the co-main event, but they had 50 million people watch them, 60 million, whatever it was in that co-main. Mario Barrios, even though he didn't have a great performance on that card, he's getting Manny Pacquiao in his next fight, right?

He's still the champ. I think it was a draw that he had on that card, but he's getting a Manny Pachial fight after being on that, you know? Name value, talent, there has to be somewhere in the middle, but again, it's just mostly because the talented guys are the ones rising in the sport and creating a name from themselves. as it. I think what Turkey is saying is like we don't need Anthony Joshua on the card, right?

We don't need Tyson Fury on the car. We don't need like some of these higher level to the casual audience big names on this card. We want the younger talent to come through. Thank you and see you on Vegas the 13th of September. Inshallah. There we go. September 13th, you will see Big H.E. Dana White. And of course, that absolutely stacked main event. Speaking of Dana White, here's what he had to say on the announcement. Quote, Turkey Ella Shake wants to make the biggest fights that fans want to see in boxing, and this is right up my alley. Are you kidding me that the first boxing fight I'm going to promote is Canello versus Crawford. It's literally a once-in-a-lifetime fight live on Saturday,

September 13th, streaming globally on Netflix. Two of the greatest boxers in the sport will meet in an historic fight from Las Vegas. Now, this was originally supposed to be a Friday fight. And Netflix does do a lot of Friday events. Um, I think it's probably because they have, you know, American sports that they run up against on Saturdays. But this one is different. They're going to do it on a Saturday. And I have a feeling that's because of a couple of different factors. Number one being Canello is a Saturday fighter. He wants his fans to be able to see him. And he is the big draw of this card. Let's be honest. He is the biggest draw, probably outside of, you know, Anthony Joshua in the or Anthony Joshua Tyson Fury in the UK. He's probably the biggest drawing box. He's going to have some say. And I think that probably he was like, I'm not doing this Friday thing where my fans can't come out. We're doing it on Saturday. So that's Dana White's thoughts on it. I am super interested to see Dana in boxing and how that whole thing is going to go. Another big update that we got today as well from the Ring magazine is that this will be a three press conference tour right at the end of June here, essentially all in the span of one.

week from Friday to Friday we have three press conferences for Canello and Terrence Crawford three different cities one will be in Riyadh one will be in New York and one will be in Las Vegas in the T-Mobile arena now oh this is at fanatics fest too ooh okay I like this I like this fanatics fest in New York this is where again taking Mike Tyson did their press conference and it was rowdy up in there right New York's always got some rowdy fans. I hope that all of these, I don't know how the Riyadh one's going to go, but I hope that most of these at least are in front of fans. Not that these guys have like generational beef and that they're, you know, either of them are massive talkers, but

you want some juice. You want some energy for this, right? I think you want a little energy. So putting it in in front of fans at Fanatics Fest, that's good. And the T-Mobile, that's more location than anything else. So that's more information. But we actually have the official article, the official news bulletin drop. This was dropped three hours ago. Canelo Alvarez versus Terrence Crawford lands on Netflix, Vegas to host a super fight. Now something I'm not seeing so far is a venue, right? We know the date. We know the city, but we don't have the venue yet. And I think speculating, because I don't have the answer, I guess we'll find out, but I think it's because they're trying to negotiate or trying to find a way to get Allegiant Stadium. I have to

think that. Although, I don't know what's, if anything's going on in T-Mobile Arena on that day, if they try to get the sphere. I mean, sure, that too. Part of me, though, wants to have it in a traditional boxing setting. You know, I don't know. Part of me just wants it to be in T-Mobile. The Terrence Crawford, the Knoll Aalvers, Terence Crawford Super Fight for the Ring, and undisputed Super Middleweight Championship

will take place September 13th in Las Vegas be streamed globally on Netflix at no additional cost to the 300 million plus subscribers. Yeah, if they hit 30 million to 60 million people watching this, that would be a massive number. Alvarez is boxing's top star. It will defend his 168, crown against Crawford, a fellow future Hall of Famer, will climb two weight classes

for the biggest challenge of his career. Again, I've talked about this. I don't think that the weight is going to be that big a difference. Maybe Terrence fighting at that weight will make a difference to him personally, right? Like, it's just not going to feel the same or it's going to be a little bit to maneuver. But Canello is not, like, Canello's size does not scare me if I'm a Terrence Crawford fan, because I've seen both of them. During fight weeks and out of fight weeks and there isn't much of a size difference there. Terrence looks maybe even like bigger frame-wise. Alvarez is the ring's number eight pound for pound boxer and owns the ring magazine championship at 168 pounds. This will be the Mexican icon's 10th defense of his

ring magazine super middleweight championship. Quote, I'm super happy to be making history again and this time on a Riyadh season card that will be broadcast on Netflix said Alvarez 34. Jesus. Canello is only two years older than me. I have done nothing in life. my goodness. On September 13th, I am ready to show once again that I am the best pound for pound fighter in the world.

And then we had a quote it looks like from Terrence Crawford. He says, My perfect record speaks for itself. I'm the best fighter in the world and no matter the opponent or weight class, I always come out on top. Crawford said on September 13th,

my hand will be raised once again as the world watches greatness. Okay. So, yeah, again, we just, we don't have the one thing, which is the place, right? The actual location of the bout.

That's the only thing really missing at the moment. But other than that, listen, I love this fight. Obviously, David Benavides right now is the fight. I think in a lot of people would, you know, in a pie-in-the-sky scenario, want to see. But I love this fight. I'm not going to complain about it because it is two of the best in the world going at it. And yes, weight class is a little bit different for Terence Crawford, but he's not fighting what I would consider to be a normal 168-pound fighter.

Canello is not that, right? Canelo has moved up multiple weight classes to get to 168. So they're really, I mean, again, you look at them standing toe to toe here. You don't see a massive size difference for Canello. In fact, you kind of see the opposite. Wade, how do you see the fight playing out? Right now, I'm leaning Terrence Crawford. I'm leaning Terrence Crawford right now,

not just based on Canello's last performance, but based on Canello over the last few years, if I'm being honest. I just, I haven't seen the Canello of the entry into 160. that was able to be defensive while being in front of you, that was able to not just throw power punches, but his jab was there. He was able to set things up. And again, he's done that,

but it's just the punch line, no pun intended, hasn't been there for Canelo. I'm sure he dropped Berlanga, but he wasn't able to stop him. Dropped Mungia, wasn't able to stop him. And maybe those are, in retrospect, good wins, but I don't know. I think he's going to need a little more than just the power punching to beat Terrence Crawford.

All right, so we are back on the way concept, presented by the Ring Magazine. And today I saw a very interesting debate going on. And it all stems from modern boxing, right? What do people say is the biggest problem with modern boxing? Maybe some people would say up until recently, we don't get the fights we want to see, or maybe some people would say,

modern boxing has favored fighters that look to win on the judge's scorecard versus go out and win a fight. Win a match versus win a fight. Now, I don't think that's as black and white is the statement I just made. I think there's a lot of gray area in there. And because of recent performances like Times Square with Devin Haney and Jose Ramirez, Ryan Garcia, Canelo Alvarez, Williams, Skoll, and others, there has been a little frustration in the way fights are going and the way fights potentially can go

and how to fix fights that are considered boring or fighters that are considered runners or match winners, not fight winners. And recently even another YouTuber named Showbiz the Adult, shout out my brother. has introduced the no running rule, in his opinion, to stop some of the lackluster performances in boxing guys that are, again, trying to win on the cards, not trying to win a fight. And today, Berke-Ella Shake laid down the hammer.

He said no more running will be permitted on his events. And the internet kind of lost their minds. But I think he might have been taken out of context a little bit. And I understand how this is going to sound because I'm working with the ring. But also, I kind of agree with him. And showbiz. And I'll explain why the breakdown

Let's go. All right, so let's go back to where this all started. Showbiz, the adult, after the performances, I assume, of Devin Haney, of Ryan Garcia, and of William's skull over what should have been one of the biggest weekends for boxing in modern history turned out to be one of the more lackluster and kind of wet fart performance-wise. Weekends of boxing, shout out to Inouye for saving the weekend. It was just last month that all this happened, but... Showbiz had enough of it, and he implemented something called the no-run rule, or at least

a petition to change.org to potentially change the sports of boxing through the no-run rule. And listen, I'm sure that the internet has already let showbiz hear it about how running is not what Devin Haney was doing or running is implemented in the sport of boxing because two guys standing in the middle and trading blows in a gladiatorial fashion isn't necessarily the sweet science. But I do think the sweet science has been bastardized a little bit to mean something that it never was supposed to mean and we'll get into that. But at the end of the day, this is one man's opinion in showbiz. And I think it's a good one, but you don't have to agree with it. No need to go after him or anybody else as a casual of boxing or don't know what they're talking. None of that stuff,

because let me tell you, showbiz, more than most people in the sport of boxing than have a platform, including myself, knows the sport inside and out and the history of it. So let's take a look at this. I just wanted to put that out there because let's all just relax a little bit. Let's engage in the conversation. Everybody's passionate, the people, especially that are the hardcore boxing fans, we know you're passionate, but let's just engage in the conversation without getting personal with it. Here is the issue. He says, I've been passionate about boxing for years and as a devoted fan, and now as a contributor to the sport, the thrill of seeing two fighters engage in a battle of skill, strength, and strategy is unmatched. But recently, an issue has overshadowed this excitement.

The tendency of some fighters to prioritize excessive movement, running over engagement. This is why I am advocating for the introduction of the no running rule to ensure the essence of boxing is preserved. Now, just off the first paragraph, showbiz is specifically talking about running. Now, when he says the prioritization of excessive movement, I consider that, yes, running, but I also consider it strategy to win a fight

by winning on the Marcus of Queensberry rule set or on the judge's scorecard. The sweet science, as now it's been referred to, the problem that I see with boxing right now, Much like in basketball, when Steph Curry decided he was going to pull three-pointers from 35 feet and he could do it and it was effective and he was consistent. He changed the game of basketball. Honestly, in my opinion, for the worst, because now guys that aren't Steph Curry,

even though they can be great quality shooters and spurts and even though teams like the Celtics hit a bunch of threes from time to time, the NBA has foregone a more fluid game of basketball, a game that includes both short range, mid-range, three-point range, and defensive presence along with a big man I could go on, in lieu of essentially putting four players, maybe even five on the floor that can potentially, in some cases, shoot the three and jacking up about 50 to 60 of them a game. What does this discussion have to do with boxing?

The same principle almost lies true with some of the greatest fighters that could do everything but chose in certain instances to do the thing that we now call running or the thing in their version or in their way that they could get away with, that other fighters can't. It's much like we talk about Floyd Mayweather protecting the O, right?

The 50 and O mark for Floyd and how fighters want to move like Floyd did because he changed the sport. He also, in some ways, changed the sport in the ring. And not to say that Floyd was the first person to box on the back foot and look to move laterally to win fights when his hands broke and he was not as sure of a puncher

moving up in weight. Other fighters did that as well. He didn't Muhammad Ali, for example. Yeah, he was. He had performances where he was a lateral mover or, you know, the George Forner performance where he just took a beating on the ropes, but, you know, fought very defensively. There's been other fighters throughout the history. Sugar Ray Leonard and the Marvin Agler fight was very much lateral movement. But that's the greatest of the great of all time.

And they did it in spurts, not entire performances, entire careers made off of fighting that way. This is kind of what I mean when I say the greats sometimes did things so well that it spoiled other. fighters into thinking that was the specific way to fight. Now again, you can't really tell people how to fight, but I think the point that showbiz is making here is somewhere along the lines, fighters saw that this was a easier way to win fights, stay safe, make money, and continue to move forward in their careers. And I guess you can't really blame them when it's allowed to happen, but as spectators of the sport, as fans of the sport, it made the sport less interesting to watch. And make no mistake about it, whether we want to call boxing the sweet science or not,

This is a spectator sport And you can be damn sure that people do tune in To watch fighters fight each other They don't tune in most of the time To watch a stalemate And even someone like Giermo Riggedow Who was a defensive master

Didn't have a lot of fans that would tune in to a bunch of TVs In fact he was kind of blackpalled off TV Off pay-per-view at least Because his style was just not interesting for people to watch It was a defensive boxing presence of the highest order But it just wasn't conducive to building a fan base, to building the sport. It worked for him, but again, as an exception to kind of what the sport is meant to be,

which is, yeah, a fight. Boxing is not just about hitting and avoiding punches, thank you. It is a testament to the courage and tenacity of its athletes. However, many consecutive rounds of excessive avoidance of engagement undermines these qualities and affects the sports integrity. Quote, the no running rule would serve to discourage fighters from resorting to constant movement as a strategy to avoid fighting. This rule would allow.

referees to deduct points for excessive movement, but the intentions to avoid engaging instead of fighting, similar to the penalties given for excessive clinching. So showbiz here is advocating for an actual rule set to be developed where fighters are discouraged from excessively disengaging from action. This is a little bit controversial, to be honest, but there is warnings about excessive clinching, which is in effect the 180 degree version of the no running rule, as it were, as it's here, right? Referees will get upset with you and will warn you and potentially will take a point while calling fights. I've seen this happen before where referees will give you know multiple warnings and even sometimes take a point for excessive clinching. Now the question you have to ask is why are they

taking those points? And the answer is simple. Widers are holding on to their opponents so that they don't have to fight. So the other opponent won't hit them and they don't have to hit the opponent. They can rest. They can recover without taking damage. And that's kind of what he's upset about and providing this whole petition for is the opposite of that. but kind of the same thing. Hey, it's us, the Jonas Brothers, and guess what? We have some big news. What's the news, news?

Huge news. We created our own podcast called, Hey Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to our... We're the first people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there. But this one's extra special.

So how do we actually come up with a name, Hey Jonas, guys? I honestly don't remember. I think it was on a call about what we should call it. And we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band before Jonas Brothers. This is how you guys remember it going down? Yes. I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast, people could call in and say, hey, Jonas.

And then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast. But thanks for remembering that, guys. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform?

We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athletes themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real.

From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaders to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. SportsSlice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to SportsSlice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slic Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast. Learn the hard way with me. your host and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience

in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing and we're still chasing it and we don't know when we've done enough.

Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth? Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person.

Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose. On my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Fighters. disengaging from all action and moving laterally without a plan to really engage at all, just simply to avoid taking damage. And in the very small pockets of windows, they can land a punch, they will, and continue moving.

This does absolutely turn fans that either you want to call them casuals or people that may have an interest in getting into boxing. They turn away from the sport. And it's so easy to see. it's not even close to like watch a fight from the 1960s, 70s, 80s, or 90s between, again, the heavy weights of the 60s and 70s, the middle weights of the 70s and 80s or the heavy weights of the 90s and go, oh yeah, no, this is completely different from the fight we see today, especially in the lower weight classes. I mean, watching guys like Wilfredo Gomez and Salvador

Sanchez, like, it's night and day different from watching some of the guys in the lower weight class of today's boxing. Again, the simple point is excessive avoidance of fighting in a fight turns fans off to watching what has happened. And loses not only that fighter fans, but potentially fans of the sport in general or potential fans of the sport. The objective is clear to maintain the dynamic and engaging nature of boxing. This aligns with existing regulations such as those that penalize excessive clenching and would enhance the spectacular experience by encouraging continued action and engagement in the ring. This is not about diminishing defense or movement to avoid punches,

which I like that he said that, and we'll get into in just a second. This is about fighters' intentions to avoid fighting by prioritizing excessive movement over many rounds of a fight, reducing the expected experience from fans, the fighters' careers, and the status of the sport. I really like that he included the part about, like, this doesn't mean I want a war, and I want guys to stand with one foot in a tire

and just swing until someone falls completely. completely flat on their face on the canvas. That's not what showbiz is advocating for, and I think this is where the discussion overall is being lost by pretty much everybody online. But we'll get back to that. But again, let's just keep in our minds as we continue to read through this.

This doesn't mean you can't be defensive as a fighter. It doesn't mean you can't move as a fighter. Again, this is a frustration by a fan and now contributor to the sport, and I think he speaks for a lot of people when he says that there's an excessive and purposeful avoidance of action from a fighter that just does not want to engage. It's not about being defensively sound and then capitalizing. It's about continuously avoiding any sort of interaction with another

fighter in lieu of excessively moving and staying away from danger until again you can land a handful of punches per round. That's a boring way to fight and fans know it. I know it, you know it. You can hide behind the veil of, this is the sweet science, this is what technique is. And sure, okay, you know, by the letter of the law, I guess you're right. But it ain't interesting and it ain't growing to sport fighting that way. We keep going. Backing for this initiative comes from the numerous fans and stakeholders. Who have witnessed, wait, stakeholders is interesting.

Who is he talking about there? I mean, he could have been talking about turkey right here. Stakeholders, you know what I said? Who have witnessed this trend and share concerns about its impact on boxing viewership and appeal. Statistics reveal that boxing viewership tends to drop when matches are perceived as less engaging. True. Ensuring active participation in the ring is in the sport's best interest. I call upon the regulatory bodies to consider this proposal seriously and engage in a meaningful discourse with athletes, referees, and fans together.

We can preserve the vitality and attraction of this historic sport by supporting the implementation of the no running rule. Shout out to showbiz. If you guys want to go side it, I think the link is in his Twitter or in the subscription of his channel. And maybe I'll put it in the description of mine as well. By the way, look at that picture of showbiz. He kind of looks like Ashton Hall there. And everybody on the internet's had their say about that petition, but now H.E. is weighing in. And as everybody knows, he's come in and, you know, completely disrupted the sport and has done things to bring boxing into a mainstream audience.

Once again, not only the Canelo Alvarez, Terence Crawford fight happening on Netflix in Las Vegas. We had the Times Square card. We had Usik and Fury two times. We had Better Beev ambival two times. He's making fights people want to see. And now he's agreeing with showbiz on this. specific thing. Maybe not about, you know, how to implement the no running rule if it were a rule, but he agrees that people need to stop doing this. And in fact, he is kind of putting a mandate down today,

or I guess yesterday now, weed it out from this point on, I don't want to see any more Tom and Jerry type boxing matches where one fighter is running around the ring and the other is chasing. Maybe he meant to say we can no longer support these kinds of fights with Riyadh season and the ring. We want to support fighters who leave it all in the ring and fight with their heart and process. And the internet went crazy. Now again, I agree with him. Tom and Jerry type of fighting is rough to watch, especially when it's not done with the purpose of finding ways to finish the fight.

If there's one fighter that's looking to move forward and one fighter that's consistently just not wanting to engage at all, it makes for a boring fight. It just really does. Like if there's a fighter not engaging or moving to set up the engagement, right, sliding laterally to catch an angle or get out of the corner or turn the corner and then reset the action and fight. That's not what he's talking about.

He is speaking specifically about fighters that are consistently moving away from the action in lieu of trying to capitalize on a fighter walking forward by engaging them and knocking them out. And there's, again, a bit of a mixed bag, as it will be with the internet. BJ Flores, I agree with Turkey. Antonio Tarver, I agree. The New Day in boxing. I'm only trained skill of fighters. You have some people that don't like and still boxing.

You can't control how fighters fight to win. We all want a good scrap, and unfortunately it's not your gift to decide how a fighter comes to win. Messages like these start to make you bit controlling. Make the fights except some might be shit. This isn't power slap. So, I mean, that's true. Turkey can't control how people fight. That's 5,000% true.

That's never something he's going to be able to do. But, again, I don't think this is Turkey trying to control fighting. It is him trying to encourage fighters to fight, again, to win fights by fighting, not winning boxing matches by running or moving laterally excessively or trying not to engage. Again, we go back to that point. But again, I think people are mistaking what Turkey wants to see. He wants to see offense and defense, but done in a way that fighters can engage in the fight. Defense doesn't mean completely disengaging from your opponent.

It can happen in certain points, again, to reset the action, to reset footwork, to cut an angle, to turn the corner, to get out of the corner, whatever it is. But those are moments in a broader context of trying to hit the opponent while also not being hit. It isn't, at least it shouldn't be, in my opinion. Touch the opponent, hit the opponent once, maybe twice, and then completely get out of dodge until the next time you want to engage the action just to do the same cycle over and over. And engaging the action is just one or two punches because any more would leave you in the pocket

to be countered so you have to completely disengage. Defense and boxing, yes, is multifaceted. But a high-level defensive artist is one that not only, only can make you miss without always completely disengaging from the action, but also can make you miss and make you pay. That is the sweet science to me. To me, offensive boxers are only heightened by their defensive ability. A guy like Canelo Alvarez, while yes, his output hasn't been great lately, he's one of the better defensive to offense transition boxers I've ever seen. His ability to make you miss and make you pay is unlike any other. And someone that

later in his career might have been faulted for running too much was Floyd Mayweather. One of the best forward-moving counter-punchers there was. He would make you miss in the pocket and hits you with a pull right hand and make you pay. That is what defensive boxing is to me. Your offense is heightened by your defense. If you're able to make someone miss and encounter them, the punch impact increases. Your ability to land flush increases. The damage increases.

You get more entertaining fights and so on and so on. But for the people that say that Turkey can't control how fights happen, they're right. He can't. What he can do is discourage a certain type of fighting by partnering with fighters that share the same vision, fighters that want to fight. People have to get out of their mind that, I mean, let's just be honest, the Devin Haney style of fighting in the Jose Ramirez fight is what defensive boxing at its highest level looks like. It's not. What makes for a great fighter is to have that in their bag if things aren't going their way, if they need to reset the fight. But also to be offensively dangerous and defensively responsible in the pocket.

But we're talking about a select few fighters, and those select few fighters, some of them have been considered the best in the world while fighting a very timid style. And it makes them not pay-per-view friendly. It makes them not entertaining for fans. And unfortunately for them puts them in a position where they're not big stars and really no one is paying attention when they fight. So yeah, I don't know. It's just that their careers become this here today, gone tomorrow kind of surface level.

Oh, hey, yeah, that guy fought, I guess. But no one's really resonating with that. No one's eager to see it. In fact, most of the time, they're just eager to see someone get knocked out because they hate the way they fight. But again, I think that people are really focusing on this point that Turkey is saying, I don't want runners. Which to them means that Turkey is saying,

I want people to stand in the middle of the ring and swing it out until someone hits the canvas, which is not true. Lomachenko, just retired, had insane footwork and movement in the pocket. You didn't see Lomachenko moving backward at a time. You saw him shifting in the pocket. And, you know, ironically enough, one of the better fights that Devin Haney had is one where he had to dig in and fight another fighter that could move. He had to. Because Lomachenko just had as good a footwork as he did.

You couldn't get away from Lomachenko. He brought one of the best fights out of Devin Haney that we've seen. And Devin won the fight. Even if you don't agree that he won, whatever, on the cards, Devin won that night. And it was because someone had the ability to make him fight. And for people trying to make this like, oh, you're just talking about Devin, Chiqu. Those are the two names that come to mind because of the performances in recent memory. But I just saw a fight in the UK, and I can't even remember the guy's name.

That's how unmemorable the performance was. But he did the same thing. I think he ended up getting beat because of it. I don't know what happened. But it was just so boring and it was so just disengaging, not only in the fight, but as a fan just being like, all right, bro, well, I'll go do something else now because clearly one guy wants to fight and the other guy does it, so why would I watch this? You know what I'm saying?

When it comes to Turquiala Shake, he can kind of empath. something like this where he looks at fighters and says, I like that style of fighting. I want to bring them on as an ambassador or on a ring magazine card or to Riyadh season. And whether you like it or not, he does have a lot of leverage. And that may be the one thing that changes the way fighters fight. Is if Turkey is signing some of the biggest fighters, he's signing some of the biggest fights and you want an opportunity over there. You may have to change the way you fight if you're not necessarily doing that. And Turkey's like, well, I just, I'm not interested in signing you.

then I have no problem with that. And I don't think any fight fans should. That's what the free market is. That's what everybody enjoys about boxing that they're frustrated with with the UFC or some of these other companies is that there is competition out there, right? You have the ring magazine.

You have these other promotions. If you don't like that Turkey doesn't like that, then your favorite fighter can go fight on matchroom or they can go fight on PBC or somewhere else. Ultimately, that is his decision. So no, Turkey can't change the way fighters fight, but that's not what Turkey is saying. He's giving you all the message

that if certain fighters, and I'm sure they know who they are. If they don't, then maybe they'll find out. But if they continue to disengage, if they continue to skate by, if they continue to try to win matches and not fights, they won't find themselves on a ring magazine card, and they won't find themselves on a re-out season card. That's what I think.

You guys let me know in the comments where I get it wrong, and let the debate continue respectfully, please, on all sides, because at the end of the day, everybody, we all love the sport. It's just a matter of making it the best it can possibly be by providing what it is that we think is wrong. or what fighters or commentators or contributors or fans or whoever else promoters can do better because I think we can all do better that's what I think though you guys let me know in the comments

what happens next is showbiz going to actually get a no running rule implemented are you going to see ring magazine or re-od season cards a little different based on who is fighting in a certain way and who's going to be on them I don't have any of those answers yet but as far as this avoidance of contact in a combat sport goes it's got to change that's what I think but guess we'll find out. He was and still is the boogeyman of the 170 pound division of the UFC. And folks, I'm talking about Kamaro Ustman, bad knees and all. He says y'all need to shut the F up because he can still do what he does and he did just that in the main event of UFC fight night in Atlanta. But Kamauzman also rewound the clock showed you that 38 is just a number

that happens to be his age, but does not affect that he is one of the greatest 170 pound fighters of all time, still potentially mounting a comeback for that goat status. What happened in the main event and throughout the entire card of UFC Fight Night Atlanta, the breakdown, let's go. All right, so main event, we'll get to, but let's talk about this card in general. The UFC Fight Night Atlanta card was a bit of an odd one. Started out really well. I'm not going to talk about every fight on the prelim card, but there were some good ones.

came back from the brink of death pretty much in his fight and won by TKO stoppage. Malcolm Wellmaker who was at the tender age of 32 yet somehow is still a prospect in the sport of MMA. That's kind of where we're at. He was 9 and 0 coming into this thing and he fought a familiar face to USC fans. Well, maybe not because his face was so battered the last time we saw him. Chris Moutinho. That's right, the man that Sean O'Malley gave a 10-piece chicken nugget to.

Sean beat the shit out of him, but he found a way to hang in. Didn't go so well for him tonight, though, because Malcolm Wellmaker, who, again, is 32, but I consider a prospect, gave him a right hook to the jaw off a faint of a front kick, and absolutely sent him to the shadow realm. That was something I did not expect to happen, but I also didn't know much about Malcolm Wellmaker. And what a performance, what a moment probably should have if he didn't get knockout or performance of the night. Jose Ochoa, big time win versus Cody Durden. Nasty punches there, put him out like he was on a stretcher. And then as we got closer to the main card, listen, this Paul Craig Hadoffo Bellato fight was insane.

Bellato was seemingly winning the fight and then put on an Oscar-worthy performance by flailing about after, yes, getting hit with an illegal upkick. That kind of hit him in the jaw, kind of hit him in the shoulder. But he looks at the referee as he's falling down almost, again, Oscar-worthy cinematics. And he's like, ref, you're going to do anything about this, hits the ground, closes his eyes, thinks for a second, and then starts spasming and flailing about like a fish out of water. And then suddenly, almost as if it was scripted, he wakes up and starts defending takedowns against the referee and starts to act as though the referee's trying to get into his half guard.

He's got to get frames on him. It was a joke. I mean, if we could see the pictures online, maybe there is some that we can find really quick. I mean, this is the best way to describe it. You see him looking at the referee while falling and then all of a sudden he's dead. he faked being seriously injured by a headkick. And usually I'm not the guy to say, all fighters are faking things to try to get a win

or try to get out of a fight. But that one was pretty clear that it did not affect him in the way that he put on that it did. Maybe I'm wrong. I hope that I am, but that looked clearly a bit, a bit stagey. But anyway, that was just kind of the weird part of the card, and it kind of started to snowball from there because then Alonzo Minifield,

as a plus 500 or plus 550 underdog, beat Omar Sy, who was undefeated in a three-round not very much going on decision. This was one of the slowest fights maybe I've ever seen. I don't know why it happened to go that way, but it just did. And Alonzo Meadowfield cashed for all the underdogs. I should have put money on him.

I didn't. Mansour Abdul Malik versus Cody Brundridge was next. And again, this was a weird one, because Cody Brundridge could have been up 2 to 0 in this fight. Going into the third round, it could have been a 1-1. Back and forth kind of, you know, lackluster fight. And then the third round starts, and we got fireworks. Brundage moving forward, throwing big,

time punches swinging for the bleachers mansurs swinging back and all of a sudden we got a firefight on our hands and somewhere in the middle of the firefight they separate and come back together and there's a head clash and the head clash from mansor to cody brundage puts brundage down a legitimate head clash and then mansour follows up with ground and pound and wins but it was really because the head clash and a fight that otherwise would have been a draw 36 seconds into the third round the referee gives a technical decision victory to mansour for reasons that I don't really understand. The damage that happened to cause Brundage to fall down and to clasp at his head was a clear head clash. And you were only 36 seconds into the round. How do you determine who won that round?

Very odd. But, you know, I thought we could have seen a draw there or no contest, but that's not what happened. And then a fight that I thought was going to be the start of the resurgence of the once again reminder that Cody Garbrant is yet to make his second title run. Unfortunately, was not meant to be. Tony Barcellos comes in and, you know what?

He beats Cody Garbrandt in a decision, but this was a typical Cody Garbrant fight. He rocked Barcellos in the first round, put him down, and instead of capitalizing on it, he pulled out a hand sniper and kind of pointed it at him and then did like a Fonz, double click and finger guns and danced for a little bit. And Barcellos got to his feet and recovered. And Cody got tired. He started getting hit to the body in the second round. You saw some of the bad habits of Cody Garbrandt creep back in, which I say creep back in, but they never really left.

His head never moves off the center line. He ducks into uppercuts and knees. And his striking just hasn't gotten better from the kind of short arm, furious punching blitz that we saw all the way back when Cody was making his run in 2016. It just, that's what it feels like. It feels like Cody Garbrandt has never gotten better from his peak of 2016, 2017, going from unranked to win in the world championship. He has some swagger, yes, he has some ability, yes, he's got fast hands, he's got power, but defense, his variety, his thought process, and his decision-making just have not gotten better as a UFC fighter.

And you know what? Congrats to Marcellos for the win. It really does show you how good Umar and McAmenov is for how nasty he treated Barcelos. But he is my goat of just complete chaos and opium that some tau he will be better than he previously was. Never the case. It never works out that way.

I hate it for Cody Congrats to Barcelona. Then we had our co-made event. Miranda Maverick versus Rose Nomi Unis. Another fight that had its moments. Rose landed a nasty left-took and dropped Maverick at one point. You could argue that Miranda Maverick won the first round and the second, which is why I wasn't really understanding of a 30-27 decision for Rose.

But regardless, she did have the one knockdown. She did land two takedowns. The striking department did go Miranda's way. All in all, a somewhat close fight. One that you could argue Miranda should have. potentially won with the first couple of rounds, but I'm fine with Rose winning that. What she does next, I have no idea, but Thug Rose is clearly back. Can she make a run back at the belt? Can she get the belt back? Can she find that? I'm the best. Form once again, we'll see.

But then you had the main event, and on a night where things were just a little bit off and a little bit weird, especially leading into the main event where walking Buckley was having trouble even entering the venue, security would not let him in for a moment for his main event spot. You figure this main event might be a little bit odd. It might get a little hairy. It might get a little sketchy. And that just didn't happen. Unless you're a Joaquin Buckley fan.

And a lot of people in the MMA scene did pick Joaquin Buckley. I actually didn't make a prediction video. So I'm not going to toot my own horn when I just flippantly threw out there yesterday that I thought Kamar Oussman would win this fight because that's not really fair to do. For people that actually did breakdowns and predictions, even if they got it wrong, I'm not going to claim I got it right. And also, who gives a fuck if you got it wrong or if you got it right. You guys are out there claiming MMA expertise. because you picked a fight right, you're f*** dumb.

Kamara Usman, Joaquin Buckley, five-round main event, and this one right here was a reminder. Even for a guy like me who has seen Kamara Usman come up through the ranks of this sport, right after he started being called Marty Usman, but after he was Marty Usman from Nebraska, but before he was close to a world title when he was smoking people like Emil Meek and John Strickland

and others at 170 pounds and getting on the microphone after performances that some people didn't like and some people did, talking about that's only 30% watching his rise and eventual championship run where he was least you forget laughing the division that means beating contenders over and over and rematches and three matches there was no three matches but it sounded fun to say anyway tomorrow had fallen on some hard times recently lost the hamzachamaya fight obviously lost both the leon edwards fights and you thought okay 38 years old maybe he's done for you know maybe it's it's time to go ahead and say hey it was been a

legendary career, but just like every other legend, your time ends at a certain point. And especially off those three losses and a 600-day layoff, what was it going to look like at 38 years old for Camaro Oussie. And on the other side of it, Joaquin Buckley was riding a however many fight winning streak. Let's take a look. He had five-fight winning streak coming into this fight with the most recent two being a nasty K-O over Stephen Wonderboy Thompson and a K-O-T-KO over Colby Covington. Now, what he did to Joaquin Buckley tonight, ladies and gentlemen, was pure domination of the highest order. And no, it wasn't the most flashy. And it wasn't the most intricate game plan in the world. He walked forward, looked for Joaquin Buckley to throw big, powerful fast punches,

level change, got underneath it, took him down, used his ground and pound, used his wrestling control, and fucking Joaquin Buckley up off the top position on the ground. That's what happened. Round after round, his control time, his elbows, his punches, his maneuvering, his experience, and his ability won him this fight. Nasty elbows in the first round cut up Joaquin Buckley's eye. From that point, it wasn't a ton of like eye-opening, devastating damage coming from Camaro in those top positions, no. But he was land and he was scoring and he was keeping Joaquin Buckley on the ground while he was able to land. And also he was taking him down time after time. In the second round, he shot a takedown from what felt like a mile away and landed it on Joaquin Buckley.

And that'll probably be the most frustrating part for Joaquin Buckley fans tonight is like how going into a fight with Kamara Usman had you not worked on more wrestling? Or is it just that Kamara Usman had great timing tonight? He got to Joaquin Buckley's hips. He was able to get Hans class and he was able to turn the corner on him multiple times before Buckley was able to even try to defend. There were multiple moments on the feet where Joaquin Buckley was clearly the more dangerous fighter. Camaro did a good job of not committing too much. There were times where he got a little

reckless, but not committing too much to the exchanges on the feet, stayed behind his jab, which is still, I think, a very good jab for MMA. He tried to frame and circle out a lot, but for moments where he got a little greedy and showed some of the big holes in Kamaro Usman's game, which are, you know, his combination striking, him standing in the pocket, looking to exchange with a guy like Joaquin Buckley, who is a very good combination striker. Usman would dip his head, kind of do the old duck and chuck, and it didn't look great. and even sometimes ducked the head and look for the Moy Thai Clinch, and you'd see Buckley look for the lead head uppercuts or the flying knees,

and they were the right ideas. They just weren't landing as clean in the first, I would say, two rounds, you could say. Buckley potentially took the third because he did land some nasty punches in the third round. I think one of the right hands that he had from the South Paw position, clipped Camaro, and as soon as Camaro got clipped of the big shot, immediately single leg, take down, I'm taking this fight back over, we're not doing that shit.

Those were the moments where Camaro Usman started to, win back the fight. Those were the moments where Joaquin Buckley's striking ability didn't matter anymore. As good as he was on his feet and as good as he could have been in this fight. Like if Joaquin Buckley had better takedown defense, this fight was going to be a problem for Kamarro Usman. Absolutely. But he just

didn't have it. He just did not. Until the fifth round, and it wasn't a matter of Joaquin Buckley all of a sudden learning takedown defense. But he stuffed, I want to say, five or six takedowns in the fifth round, which shockingly enough was his most successful round because he didn't have to get up off his back. He did have to use some effort to

defend takedowns, but surely it's less effort than trying to get up off your flat back on the ground. And once he was able to sprawl and once he was able to defend takedowns, he was able to get more shots off. And in turn allowed him to land some big, heavy significant strikes. Fair play to Camaro, he had a f*** chin because he was getting tagged with some of that stuff in the fifth round. I saw something online. People are like, he just learned how to do takedown defense in the fifth round. No. I mean, yeah, definitely he started to find patterns. and what Kamar Usman wanted to do, and especially Kamaru started just looking for a single leg and not going power double legs. It's tiring to do, and that's another part of it.

But Buckley saw patterns. He was able to use that muscle memory to start to get his underhooks. That was another thing. He started to actually use underhooks. More of what I think happened in the fifth round was that Usman had shot a ton of takedowns. He had used a lot of energy to control Buckley on the ground. And they were both sweating profusely, and the takedowns became more difficult. and Buckley got some confidence.

He had not had any confidence outside of that third round where he landed some big time punches, but he had no confidence in stopping Kamara Usman from doing whatever he wanted, and it was fading round by round. But the more he defended takedowns and the more he was able to start sensing patterns, he started to develop a little bit more confidence,

a little bit more swagger, and that all turned to him being more successful on the feet. I think there's a lesson to be learned. That's the famous quote, right, from Connor McGregor and now kind of used pretty much everywhere in fighting. You don't, it's win or learn, not win or lose. And I think for Buckley, he's humble enough as a guy

to be able to go, you know what? Mara Usman's still that guy at the top of the division and this was a dominating performance for at least three of those rounds, potentially four. But Joaquin Buckley is by no means done at 70s. He's 31 years old. He can definitely get better for everybody online talking about, oh, he's never getting better.

He'll be just fine. This is the first time he's experienced this kind of wrestling domination. but he'll be just fine. I think he'll come back and be just as devastating. Look, you look at the numbers here, too, by the way. It's not like the numbers show a crazy dominant fight. For Kumar Usman, outside of obviously the total strikes,

but you look at significant strikes, and Buckley had a lot. He defended nine takedowns. Like, that's not on paper as dominant as it actually was, but there's moments there of hope for Joaquin Buckley to go, you know what, I can if they do put him in there with another grappler, like a Sean Brady or someone, like that, that he has an ability to stuff take downs.

And when he's on his feet, he's fucking dangerous. And so, Kamar Uzman got on the mic afterward, very emotional. I think some of it has got to do with personal stuff that he's going through, but some of it's got to do with us. The MMA online community talking crazy shit to him, talking about he has no knees and he can't do it and he's washed up and he's old.

And yeah, you know, all those things, for the most part, as a general consensus when you're 38 and you're coming off three losses and you haven't fought in 600 days. And that stuff would lead you to believe that the show is probably over. Pack it up, let's go home. Once again, Kamar Oussman is not your regular UFC fighter. He's not even your regular UFC former champion. He is one of the greatest 170-pound fighters that's ever lived.

And it's time to just shut the fuck up and say, respect legend, you just did the damn thing once again and reminded everybody who the fuck you are. That's it. That's all you could really say about that performance. Now, as far as what's next, well, as Kamaro is going to tell you what he thinks is not necessarily a great matchup, but what I think is the only match to make for him right now.

Below Muhammad quickly tweeted, see you soon. I know your eyes are on a title fight, but if the UFC comes to you, that's also a pretty big fight, former champ for former champ, a lot of backstory. Is that something you would entertain if the UFC, you know, came to you about it? Who is it? Belaw Muhammad. Who is it? Former welterweight champion, Belal Mohammed.

Next. I forgot it. Next. Thanks, champ. Remember the name, but he forgot it. Now, I don't know if that's very clever, like, fight set up from Kamaro Oussman. I have a feeling he genuinely is like, I don't really give a shit about fighting Malal. But here's the thing.

Maro Ousman and Belal Muhammad have a brewing rivalry right now. They have a rivalry based on the fact they keep chirping each other. You heard it there. There's this apparent missing podcast. footage of Balal and Kamaro legitimately getting into a fight on Kamaro and Henry Sehudo's podcast. The message from tonight's card, it was an odd one, it was a bit of a clunker, it had some moments, it had some bright spots, then it had some lull, but at the end of the day,

it had a reminder. Camaro Usman is the exception to the rule when it comes to former champions aging out of the division, aging out of the sport, and going on a downhill slide to eventual despair and unfortunate retirement. That is not his story. It's history he's trying to make, but that's not his story. His story, ironically enough, will be history in the making. I think that Kamaro has much left to offer this sport. I've seen some people say, that didn't show me he can beat anybody in the top four.

Maybe not. But I'm not going to doubt Kamarro anymore. Most recent losses he has are to Leon Edwards and Hamza Tchaimai. One of which is not in the division. And at the time he lost to Leon, it was challenging for the belt. And then he was defending the belt and then trying to rechallenge for it. And also the first fight, he was dominating Leon Edwards and then got headkig. So I think there's a lot more parity still left for Kamara Usman. I think it needs to be Bilal Mohammed so he can either forget or remember the name next.

But regardless, what a win, what a performance for Kamara Usman. And I think Joaquin Buckley's going to be just fine. I still think he's super dangerous. I think he's just got power and speed and ridiculous timing in his hands. He just needs to get some wrestling defense, some takedown defense, and get his back to the cage, get underhooks, and find ways to circle back to the middle of the octagon where he can really do damage. I think he can still do that.

But you guys let me know what you think. Down in the comments below, this is my recap review. 4. UFC Fight Night Atlanta. I guess I'm doing this MMA thing again, man. I am. I'm still doing the ring magazine content. We still have boxing cards that I'm going to commentate coming up. And I'm kind of bouncing back and forth.

Call me combat sports concept at this point because I'm all over the place with this shit. But yes, you guys let me know what you think down below. What do you think of the card? What do you think of the main event? What happens next for all the fighters? I don't have those answers, but this will find out. Hey guys, it's us

and the Jonas Brothers. I'm Joe. I'm Kevin. And I'm Nick, and guess what? We created our own podcast called, Hey Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We get to ask other people to do podcasts.

We get to ask other people questions because we're sick and tired of being asked questions. Well, sick and tired is a strong way to put it, but, you know, tired and sick. Tired and sick. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it.

Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter.

Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the I-Heart Radio app. Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. And nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where SportsSlice comes in. I'm Timbo. And every episode, we're cutting through the noise,

breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headlines. And we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment, and the stuff nobody gets to hear. Listen to Sports Slice. on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slicelife 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok.

Winning on Clay is an art. The rallies are relentless. And at the French Open, only the toughest survive. I'd know. I competed there for decades. Join me, Renee Stubbs, on the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast for no-nonsense breakdowns of the biggest matches, the toughest players, and the moments that define Roland Garris. Jench can win.

She's an outsider to win the French fame. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lennarabakina is arguably the best player in the world right now and I actually can win on any surface. Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis podcasts on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHart Women's Sports. This is an IHart podcast.

Guaranteed Human.