The Craic with Petesy Carroll

The Craic with Petesy Carroll

Irish MMA journalist Petesy Carroll talks to the biggest names in UFC, PFL, Bellator, Cage Warriors, boxing, and more. New episodes every Tuesday and Thursday morning.

Episodes

August 22, 2025 82 mins

On a special Thursday edition of The Craic, Petesy Carroll tackles the week’s biggest stories alongside Chuck Mindenhall and Ben Fowlkes. 

They kick things off by debating whether Khamzat Chimaev’s recent middleweight title victory over Dricus Du Plessis has fueled the perception that he’s becoming a boring fighter (2:15). 

Alongside Khamzat Chimaev in the main event, UFC 319 was also set to feature Bryan Battle vs. Nursulton Ruziboe...

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With UFC 319 right around the corner, Petesy Carroll joins forces with Ben Fowlkes to break down the card’s biggest talking points.

After reacting to the weigh-in results (7:23), they dive straight into the main event. Is this Khamzat Chimaev’s coronation, or are fans once again underestimating Dricus Du Plessis? The boys tackle it all (11:03).

UFC 319’s co-main event, Lerone Murphy vs. Aaron Pico, is another intriguing matchup. Pete...

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The Craic is back! Petesy Carroll is joined by Craic regulars Chuck Mindenhall and Ben Fowlkes to break down the week’s biggest headlines.

The first is Charles Oliveira’s return against Rafael Fiziev. The crew debates whether it’s too quick a turnaround for Oliveira after his KO loss to Topuria just three months ago (6:12).

One fight fast approaching is Driccus Du Plessis vs. Khamzat Chimaev. With UFC 319 just a week away, the boys g...

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Petesy Carroll is joined by Chuck Mindenhall to discuss the latest in combat sports, beginning with a reflection on the legacy of the late Hulk Hogan (06:46).

They then dive into Tom Aspinall vs. Ciryl Gane. What are the key storylines heading into the matchup, and could this be the start of the Aspinall era? (21:36)

Looking ahead to UFC Abu Dhabi, Robert Whittaker takes on the streaking Reinier de Ridder, and Shara “Bullet” Magomedo...

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With a stacked combat sports weekend ahead, Petesy Carroll, Chuck Mindenhall, and Ben Fowlkes kick things off by debating which fight carries the highest stakes (6:22).

One of those matchups is Max Holloway vs. Dustin Poirier. The crew dives into their favorite storylines surrounding this trilogy clash (14:03).

Arguably the biggest fight of the weekend is Oleksandr Usyk vs. Daniel Dubois. Can Dubois upset the applecart? The trio brea...

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Live from Madison Square Garden, Petesy Carroll and Chuck Mindenhall give their immediate reactions to Katie Taylor claiming victory in her trilogy fight against Amanda Serrano. 

Soaking up the energy from the live arena, The Craic transports you to cage side with live sound from the fighter announcements and results, followed by the duo breaking down the biggest storylines from the bout. 

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The Craic is back! Petesy Carroll, Chuck Mindenhall, and Ben Fowlkes return as usual, and kick things off by breaking down Ilia Topuria’s newly minted no. 1 ranking in the official Uncrowned pound-for-pound sweepstakes (4:03). 

Shifting to what’s next for Topuria, Petesy and the gang weigh in on Paddy Pimblett, Justin Gaejthe, and Arman Tsarukyan as potential contenders for the lightweight champion (10:30).  

Conor McGregor is back i...

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The Craic returns! In a special Wednesday edition of the show, Petesy Carroll is joined by Chuck Mindenhall and Ben Fowlkes to break down the latest evidence surrounding Jon Jones’s recent criminal charge, including Jones’ seemingly self-incriminating posts on X (0:38).

Jones’ retirement disgruntled a lot of MMA fans, including Andy Aspinall, father and head coach of newly crowned undisputed champion Tom Aspinall. Petesy discusses h...

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The Craic is back with its usual trifecta! Petesy Carroll, Chuck Mindenhall and Ben Fowlkes get the show underway by unpacking the fallout from Conor McGregor’s latest nightclub scandal (4:23).

It wouldn’t be a Craic episode without a Jon Jones segment, and this time it’s his appearance on the Nelk Boys podcast. The boys discuss his latest comments, which unsurprisingly don’t inspire much excitement for the potential Tom Aspinall ma...

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This week on The Craic, Petesy Carroll calls on Ben Fowlkes and Drake Riggs to talk combat sports’ biggest and weirdest headlines.

They open the show by debating whether the inevitable Amanda Nunes vs. Kayla Harrison bout could be the biggest women’s MMA fight of all time (4:09).

Next, the trio turn their attention to this weekend’s UFC Fight Night main event: Kamaru Usman vs. Joaquin Buckley. Petesy and the boys unpack the key narra...

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The Craic is back! Petesy Carroll is joined by Craic regulars Chuck Mindenhall and Ben Fowlkes. The boys open the show by breaking down the UFC 316 weigh-in results and analyzing which fighters looked sharp on the scales (5:14).

 

One fighter who had no trouble making weight was Kayla Harrison, who challenges Juliana Peña for the bantamweight title. The guys explore each fighter’s path to victory and debate whether the betting line i...

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On this week’s edition of The Craic, Petesy Carroll is joined by Ben Fowlkes and Drake Riggs. Kicking off the show, they dive into breaking news: Maycee Barber has missed weight for her fight against Erin Blanchfield, along with several other fighters on this weekend’s Apex card (4:02).
 

Another UFC product that returned this week is The Ultimate Fighter. The guys discuss why the show feels underwhelming, even with fan favorite...

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Petesy Carroll is joined by The Craic alum Chuck Mindenhall and Ben Fowlkes to discuss whether Dricus Du Plessis is being overlooked against Khamzat Chimaev, more bad news for the PFL, and the UFC super-fights that still aren’t getting made.


On this week’s show, Petesy Carroll is joined by The Craic alum Chuck Mindenhall and Ben Fowlkes. After a brief tangent discussing Petesy’s dream journal, the fellas dive into the biggest s...

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Petesy Carroll is joined by familiar faces Chuck Mindenhall and Ben Fowlkes to talk all things UFC 315.

The lads kick off the show by breaking down the fallout from Jose Aldo’s weight struggles, including how it could impact his chances against Aiemann Zahabi (3:02).

After debating whether the tail end of Aldo’s career is being mishandled, Petesy shifts the focus to this weekend’s main event. The trio discuss Belal Muhammad finally e...

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The Craic is back! Petesy Carroll is joined by the usual suspects, Chuck Mindenhall and Ben Fowlkes, to break down all the latest headlines. They kick things off by discussing Ilia Topuria, who’s set to fight at UFC 317 on June 28th — but who’s his opponent? The lads weigh in on who they think would make for Topuria’s most exciting matchup (03:58). 


One of those opponents is Islam Makhachev, but does Makhachev want to fight Ili...

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Petesy opens the show by teeing up the biggest stories of the week, then dives into an exclusive sit-down interview with rising Irish star Paul Hughes (06:17).
 

Hughes kicks things off by sharing how it feels to headline his homecoming fight at the SSE Arena in Belfast. He and Petesy take a trip down memory lane, reminiscing about Paul’s roots in the local amateur scene.

 

The Irishman gets real about his hopes for a rematch with...

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On a special Wednesday edition of The Craic, Petesy Carroll is joined by Chuck Mindenhall and The Sun Sport’s Chisanga Malata to discuss what the future holds for Paddy Pimblett following his dominant win over Michael Chandler (5:24).

They dive into Pimblett’s backstory and reflect on how unbelievable it is that he’s reached this level, before exploring the potential matchup teased by his post-fight callout of Charles Oliveira (18:1...

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With Petesy Carroll away from the helm, Uncrowned’s Chuck Mindenhall and Ben Fowlkes man the ship to preview UFC 314.


The duo kicks things off by reacting to the weekend’s weigh-in results, where all main card fighters successfully made weight (01:15).


Chuck and Ben then break down the key paths to victory for main event fighters Alexander Volkanovski and Diego Lopes (02:30), and weigh in on whether a loss could spell retir...

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Sean O’Malley is getting a second shot at bantamweight king Merab Dvalishvili, but some people aren’t happy about it. Petesy Carroll, Chuck Mindenhall and Ben Fowlkes kick off the show discussing the UFC 316 rematch (4:40).

With Manel Kape’s meeting with Brandon Royval being the only fight announced for UFC 317, the big international fight week card, the lads contemplate a potential super fight between Merab and Alexandre Pantoja, w...

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There was a lot of negativity around last week’s London event, so it was only fair for Petesy and Chuck to have veteran U.K. journalist Chisanga Malata back on to give his firsthand impression of what it was like to be in The o2 to witness Sean Brady’s dominant win over Leon Edwards, that put the cherry on top of a rough night for the Brits (1:50).


 

Following the UFC London debrief, Chuck and Petesy give their thoughts on the l...

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