Ep 328: UFC Fight Night Recap. A Look Ahead To 2026. Latest News.

Episode 328: Arman Tsarukyan rolls through Dan Hooker and Ian Machado Garry takes care of Belal Muhammad at UFC Fight Night.  What's next for them?  We look ahead to expected big announcements for 2026. Plus, all the latest news. 













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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:04):
Hey, everybody, welcome back to MMA after Hours. It's Michael
Carlisle and Micah frankl Micah. Happy Turkey week man, how
are you?

Speaker 2 (00:13):
I'm doing all right? I'm Serukian that this past weekend's
event was awesome.

Speaker 1 (00:20):
UFC has an arm in Serukian.

Speaker 2 (00:21):
Problem is it? Is it a part the way? Is
it a problem?

Speaker 1 (00:27):
I think it's a problem if your date a white.
I mean, I guess you could just ignore the problem.

Speaker 2 (00:34):
What's the problem? It's Thanksgiving, There's about to be a
load of turkey. You just came off of. I'm guessing
an event that they were handsomely paid for Cuz I'm
not trying to knock the UFC. I love the product,
but that arena looked much more reminiscent to a couple
of pro wrestling promotions that we kind of question their

(00:58):
viability there. There were a have been of holes even
through the main card. That might be the only thing
I'd be upset about from this weekend. But I'm sure
the arena was a sellout before they ever got there.

Speaker 1 (01:11):
I'm certain they were not concerned about any pockets of
empty seats. That they got paid handsomely. No that the
issue would be Armaisrukia made it awful damn hard to
say he's not next for a title shot. Now I
don't think he's next, but I think he's next next.
But that seems to be something that maybe Dana White's

(01:33):
not in favor of. And he just made it really
hard to say no.

Speaker 2 (01:39):
I saw not an armins aar Yukian problem, but I
was pleasantly impressed. I saw a a not a revelation,
but I saw a lot of signs to be happy.
I mean Armin's are Yuki in we were there. He
kind of held on for dear life against Charles Olavera

(02:03):
to survive that fight. And that's when you had a question,
is this dude justin athlete? Does this rich boy really
want to fight? Does he have a dog in him?
Because we all knew one thing or not, Dan Hooker
is a fucking dog. This man has fought at heavyweight
all the way down to try to kill himself to

(02:23):
make featherweight. Dan Hooker will fight, and Armin sar Yuki
and came out there and most impressively to me, landed
some damn big shots. The threat of the takedown open
up the striking game and sar Yuki and was able
to use that threat to land some big shots to
then get the fight to where he wanted it and

(02:43):
dominate from there. I thought we don't have an Armin
Saryuki on problem. I thought we had a lot of
Armin star Yuki in answers. We finally had somebody that
is displaying a complete game and doesn't feel like he's
just one dimensional. Can be successful and not be a
fighter in this game, and he proved that he has

(03:04):
that want to be a fighter.

Speaker 1 (03:07):
No, look, I agree with you, and I don't think
we have an Armin Seroukian problem. But if Dana White
the UFC is still upset about the back issue that
he pulled out of a fight, they don't feel like
they can trust him, they've got a problem. Not only that,
if he does get a title shot the armand Serouki
and we saw on Saturday, I believe beats Iliot Taporia

(03:30):
and I don't think that's a path UFC really wants
to go down either. So I think that's really going
to be and we'll talk more about the fight itself,
but just the Seroukian problem, if you will, I think
that's an issue that UFC is going to have to
have to figure out. Now. Look, if we're being honest,
deserve it it or not. I think Patty Pimblet's next

(03:51):
for Taporia, and I think that probably gets announced next week.
I think you probably. I think there's a chance you
see that on the first paramount card. Maybe not, but
we'll see on that. But after that, unless the Poria
is moving up, I don't know how you tell Armin Serukian.

Speaker 2 (04:10):
No, the lightweight division can go in many different directions
at this point. I I don't know the amount of
trust that the UFC has built right now. This is
amazing because whether it's Illiots Aporia fighting Patti Pimblet or

(04:34):
Justin Gaegee does seem to have been the two names
speculated a bunch that announcement's coming next week, and I'm
a little surprised that the latter, whicheveryone's not getting the fight.
If you're right, surprise Justin Geige hasn't announced his retirement already.
He was kind of steadfast than that and complaining I
don't know who he's gonna fight, that they're gonna smooth

(04:57):
this over with him. I almost think it's Justin Gatchee
and Patty Pemblet realizes maybe I'm one fight away. Maybe
Michael Chandler really isn't the end all be all to
me to get a title fight. Maybe there is something
to Dana White was like, you weren't supposed to bring
Patty Pemblet in the cage. I'm not sure Armins are Yukian,

(05:21):
though You're probably right, some way or another earned himself
the opportunity to possibly have his next fight a title fight.
But that won't be the next title fight. But as
you said that, Dana White may be upset with him.
My biggest question to you is who do you think
controls Nina Drama Because to me, she is a UFC employee.

(05:47):
The content that she produces is directed from someone else
within the UFC. Hey, this week, we're sending you to
hang out with so and so. This week, I need
you to hang out with so and so. Maybe some
of these guys she's closer to than others. But if
the UFC was anti promoting Arman, I don't think they

(06:11):
would be sending one of their bigger, more general influencer
shills to the audience to make content with him.

Speaker 1 (06:22):
Wow, you just came out guns blazed and with your
tinfoil hat on this morning. Oh my goodness. Look, if
I'm gonna be completely honest, I don't spend a lot
of time thinking about the moves of Nina Drama. And
I'm not knocking her. I'm just saying I just not
on my radar whatever whatever.

Speaker 3 (06:41):
I If she pops up as I'm scrolling, I do
take that as a hint from the UFC on who
they are trying to promote, because her audience attacks in
a different way. I do not believe, I think to me,

(07:02):
and I could be really wrong here, I think you
grossly overestimate the handling of the media that way her specifically,
and maybe I'm wrong on that.

Speaker 1 (07:16):
I think that's who she wanted to talk. And by
the way, I don't think they're anti promoting Arman Serukian.
I just think they're anti giving him a title shot
and putting him in a spot like that where if
the back flares up, if something happens and he has
to pull out, then you're screwed. I think that's really
what us see is more anti than just anti Serukian.

(07:39):
But I do think it's something that could keep him
away from a title shot. But you have performances like
he had on Saturday, and it's really hard to say, dude,
look fucking awesome.

Speaker 2 (07:51):
Man, he looked phenomenal. It's hard to deny when you
look at the names that he's put on the resume.
At this point, I think that he has hit all
of the requisite marks if this was a meritocracy to
say he has earned a UFC title shot. But this

(08:12):
isn't a sport where you earn things. This is a sport.
This is a business, excuse me, where you are given them.
And I don't know if the UFC is going to
give him that opportunity, maybe before you have to jump
through another hurdle. I mean, there is a world where
you're right, Patty pimblet iliot Typoria already in the works

(08:33):
for January twenty fourth at the Team multibl Aria A
led specutively, Guys, I'm not making the announcement just in
case anybody tunes in all of a sudden the middle
of the show. And in that world you could say,
justin Gaechee, you're fighting Armin Serukian. That's how each of
you get a title shot. You have to do it
one more time, or maybe you tell Arman, heck, you
gotta fight Max Holloway. That's all a possibility. But at

(08:57):
this point it feels like he has done enough to
have climbed that mountaintop to say I deserve to fight
the king. Now if you say, well, this is a
business and we can't trust him because of the back,
because of this, or because of that, he had never
pulled out of a fight before that, right, and then
he has made four dates in a row this year,

(09:20):
three not on your behalf, but he showed he was
healthy and he was able to make it incompete. So
I get your upset because UFC three eleven got a
little bumpy, but it's the UFC Mega machine and it's
not like that actually really stopped or hurt anything. You

(09:43):
just threw, not the Miicano in there. We ran him
over and we acted like that was the greatest thing
that Isla Majas Chef had ever done.

Speaker 1 (09:53):
Well, I think that to see now we're jumping other things.
I think that just continued Maha Chef's run. I also
don't think Taporia is long for the division. You do
the Pimblet fight or if it's Gaechy, and if that

(10:14):
goes well, I think he's moving up to take on Islam,
which maybe opens things up for Seruki And at lightweight.
Maybe it doesn't. Maybe you go to different right. Maybe
whoever doesn't get the title fight fucking takes on Holloway,
or it takes on you know, ola Vera is always
in the mix. I mean, I could see scenarios where
you're and I'm not saying they will, but I could

(10:35):
see scenarios where Seruki and is still left out in
the cold, even if you're filling a vacant title. If
to Poria vacates to move up, do.

Speaker 2 (10:47):
We think Iliot's to Poria is gonna fight? Do you
think you're tires before the end of the year. No,
I feel like it's really short slided move. Then for
all this conversation to be that he's gonna drum up
to one point seventy to take on Islam, the UFC
is not into doing champions holding up two divisions at

(11:08):
this point. The lightweight division has always been healthy and thriving,
and there's just something to me where if Ilia gets
by Islam, some of these matchups just become ridiculous. Where
you're taking on a shavkt rockmanav where you're taking on
a uh Michael Morales, where you have a five foot

(11:29):
eight lightweight against these six foot three middleweights that are
ripping their bodies to get down there. It feels very
short sighted to leave the lightweight division, and let's let's
let's say he's not successful. Does Ilia just then get
to go right back to lightweight and reclaim the kingdom?
I mean, it's a fifteen pound move that you got

(11:50):
to put on muscle for. It feels like the the
hell Mary in your career. This is the last second
on the clock. I'm going up here for this big five?
What's the next move are we talking about?

Speaker 1 (12:03):
Now?

Speaker 2 (12:03):
Eliot is gonna go up to one eighty five if
he beats Islam, He's gonna go take on CHIMAIV next, Like,
where is the division that he is gonna make this
all time run at. He's still I believe South the thirty.
So that's why I'm wondering, why are we rushing to
chase Islam. You still got Patti, you got Arman, you

(12:25):
got Justin. We can have him busy with with as
unoften as he fights, unoften as he fights for two
years just with the lightweight division.

Speaker 1 (12:36):
Oh I don't disagree with any of that. But if
Taporia makes the convincing argument, if he wants to move up,
it makes a convincing argument, he probably gets his way.
By the way, it's low risk, high reward for Taporia.
You go up, you're unsuccessful. All right. Everything you just

(12:56):
said fifteen pounds is my body is so different. It
didn't work out. I'm twenty eight years old. I'm moving
back down to lightweight and I'm gonna reclaim my title
and I'm just gonna own this division. Now. Will UFC
be inclined to do all that? We'll have to see.
I think there Honestly, I think there are plenty of

(13:19):
matchups for Islam at welterweight as well as, like you said,
Iliot Toporia at lightweight. You don't have to do any
of that. But you also don't have to give Kamaro
Usman a title shot against Islam either, and that could
be something that's in the work.

Speaker 2 (13:36):
So what you.

Speaker 1 (13:38):
Should do and what you do do aren't always and
then I just say do do They aren't always the
same thing. But I think it's interesting. I think we'll
see not just straight too far away, but all right,
sick argument. If Seroki is truly in the doghouse. Taporia
beats Pimblet. I one is I'm going to vacate the belt.

(14:01):
I'm moving up, all right. We got to fill that
shot at that spot. Is Serukian automatically one of those
two guys in that fight for the vacant title. I
don't know he should be, but is he?

Speaker 2 (14:17):
Yes? Because you're not running back Gaichie versus Holloway. It
was that dramatic of a finish. There is no need
to see a rematch. But that would be the ultimate
middle finger to sar Yuki and would be Holloway giche
My most likely scenario would be one of those two
men fighting sar Yukian in that vacant title fight scenario.

(14:41):
I don't know if you agree with that or not,
but those would be the three names I think that
we realistically have in the title mix at this point.

Speaker 1 (14:49):
I would not sleep on Charles Olivera. Again, I'm not saying,
and I realize two fights ago he lost his Tuporia.
I realize he's gotta lost his Serukian. I'm not saying
he would be most deserving. I'm just saying I would
not sleep on him being in that match, in that
hypothetical scenario either, I think again, though, what started the

(15:12):
whole conversation. I think you have a hard time calling
up Seruki and looking him in the eye whatever and
saying we're not giving you a title shot. I think
that's a really hard thing to do based on his performance.
I get it if he is in your doghouse. I
can sort of understand the reasons why. But if that's
the case, and it's really that bad, maybe you don't

(15:37):
keep him around. If there's a shelf, if there's a
ceiling for him and he can't break through that ceiling,
I don't think you're doing anybody any good. So I
don't I think it's interesting. This probably plays out way
differently than how we're speculating, And maybe we're jumping the
gun a little bit on some of this speculation. But

(15:57):
I just if he was in the doghouse going into
this fight despite the performance, which I don't think we
can question, I don't know that he's out of the
doghouse now.

Speaker 2 (16:09):
Is the doghouse as hard to get out of as
the top five?

Speaker 1 (16:16):
I believe it is.

Speaker 2 (16:17):
See, now we've seen it. You can be almost inactive.
You can lose some fights as long as you'll lose
to a guy too far below you. If you beat
the guys below you. It seems like a few of
those questions are going to be hard to answer because
we don't know. But at this point, Arminsar Yukian hates

(16:38):
his back because that has cost him in a dear
way to score in the UFC, Like you can literally
commit crimes and have to ask a judge to get
an ankle monitor off so that you can get to
the octagon and not be in the doghouse that armins
Are Yukian's back put him in. But if you ever,

(16:58):
I'm not.

Speaker 1 (16:58):
To say, but put it like this. Do you believe
Dana White when he continually says John Jones is not
fighting on the White House card. That is not happening.
We cannot do that.

Speaker 2 (17:10):
John Jones wants to fight on the White House card.
Connor McGregor fights on the White House card. What I
continue to believe is we're not going to have a
card that has both of them, but we will have
a card that has one of them, and I'm not
sure which one it's gonna be.

Speaker 1 (17:25):
If you believe Dana and I do, then yes, I
think that that gets back to your doghouse question. You
agreed to fight Aspinall, then you said fuck it, I'm retiring.
In a week later you said I ain't retiring. I
want to go fight to the White House. I'm not
rewarding you for that. I understand what Dana says, we
can't trust him. It's a big moment, something happens leading

(17:46):
up to the fight and he has to pull out. Well,
that's John Jones. Every goddamn fight, Micah, whether it's msg Vegas, Buffalo,
the White House, or what have you. You have that
scenario as a possibility for every single John Jones fight,
and you're willing to live with that. So I think

(18:07):
that's more doghouse for screwing us over on Aspinau and
retiring and then unretiring. So I brought all that up
to your point about is it that hard to get
out of the doghouse? Yeah? I think it is real quick.

Speaker 2 (18:22):
Dan Hooker said it we both suck, So let's do
it hun up the way, Conna, how'd you like that call?

Speaker 1 (18:30):
Well, we both sucked thing. I don't know if that's
the greatest selling point, but I get where he's coming from.
I don't hate it.

Speaker 2 (18:39):
I think that'd be a fun one, a nice one
for both of them to be able to possibly headline
a fight and I get a really nice spot on
a pay per view card with that one and possibly
put together a nice little brawl. Neither one of them
is I think getting back in that title mix anytime soon.
But it just be a nice fun scrap between you two.

Speaker 1 (19:02):
But yes, I don't hate that. For Hooker, we'll see.
As far as Serukian, if you're just talking about working
the cage, fighting and all that, there's not much else
he can do to show that he deserves a title shot,
And quite honestly, I would be very shocked if he
takes a fight that's not a title shot for his

(19:25):
next fight. Now again, it's almost certain that Tuporia is
going to defend the title before that. But if you're Serukian,
I don't know what else you need to prove am
I wrong on that?

Speaker 2 (19:39):
You're not wrong on that. I don't even know how
I'm like, would I feel like ben Lo Saintani is
too far down in the rankings to say would you
fight him to make this a little more or would
you want to fight ben Lo Saint Denise so that
you can stay active.

Speaker 1 (19:58):
I don't know.

Speaker 2 (19:59):
I'm thinking of out how far down they would go
to find a name who would be willing to fight
Sir Yuki in who's not injured or not already campaigning
for a title fight. There's not much of a reason
to run back the Olavera fight right now, and it
feels like Max Holloway might be injured. I think he's
recovering still from a hand to ailment. So if it's

(20:21):
not Gaigie, it's not Pimblet, like you said, Olivera, I'm like,
do you fight someone to stay active? I don't think so.
It'll be interesting to see what plays out in the
lightweight division at this point. Do you think it's Pimblet?
Are you thinking it's Gaichi that they announce at the

(20:43):
big press conference.

Speaker 1 (20:47):
I think it's Pimblet, but I would not be shocked
if it's Geiche either. Real quick on Seruki and then
we can move on. If I'm armin, the only fight
I'm remotely entertaining for my next fight that's not a
title shot, it is Holloway, and that's only because of
the name value, and that's just a big fight and
that's not knocking gae Chee or Pimblet or anybody else, Penwa,

(21:11):
Saint Denis other names that you just threw out, but
any of those rex him with the loss that the
Holloway thing at least that that's a big time sounding fight.
If you want to throw some BMF implications on it,
you could, And again, I don't think he takes that either.

(21:32):
I think it's title shot or bust at this point.
And if I'm him, I'm willing to sit out and
prove my point. But that would be the only one
if I were him that I would even remotely entertain.

Speaker 2 (21:45):
He's done enough to earn it, right. I hear what
you're saying about the Holloway fight, and I can see
that materializing if it ends up being, like we said,
a vacant title fight, and too, Poria is moving up
to one point seventy pending success in this next upcoming
title about. But it's a weird cluster I think in

(22:06):
the lightweight division.

Speaker 1 (22:08):
It is, by the way, the welterweight division starting to
get really interesting as well. Your co main event ian
Machado Gary gets the unanimous decision over Balal Mohammad, and
all of a sudden, Gary finds himself second in the
UFC welterweight rankings, and we'll see what happens as far

(22:29):
as next title shot, but certainly Gary has solidified his spot.
Is Hey, why not me?

Speaker 2 (22:40):
I want to take you in a different direction real quick,
because Okay, I have a new nickname, Machado Gary. I'm
gonna change it up a little bit. New nickname ian Ipoker. Okay,
does that feel appropriate after what he did in the fight?
I mean he had some John Jones surreal gone type

(23:03):
defense on display for a good part of the fight.

Speaker 1 (23:13):
I think that's mean, a little bit mean, A little
bit mean.

Speaker 2 (23:17):
It would have been It would have been meaner because
I don't display dispute that Ian Gary won this fight
just in my mind. In my mind after I heard
these I must have been hallucinating.

Speaker 1 (23:30):
Man.

Speaker 2 (23:30):
I don't even go on the kind of trips to
Conor McGregor does. I'm sure we'll get to that later,
But I swear we had a meeting about reinforcing eyepokes
and the necessity to get control of this foul that
was overtaking constant major fights, and somewhere around the second

(23:53):
ipoke that causes the first elongated stoppage. My mind just
goes with, oh yeah, that was the second iput of
the round. There's a warning backstage, there was a point taken,
and well it was a masterful performance of managing distance
and mitigating danger against blow Muhammad. I see Ian Gary
winning a majority decision because we just got to get

(24:15):
a hold of these damn eepokes.

Speaker 1 (24:22):
I'm all about getting a hold of the ipokes. I
would argue not all eyepokes are created equal, and sometimes
that they truly are accidental. Now again, if they keep happening,
accidental or not, you gotta do something to stop them.

Speaker 2 (24:35):
Right three in the fight. Yeah, no, I hear you.

Speaker 1 (24:39):
I do, But I mean.

Speaker 2 (24:46):
Referees are scared to make calls. I call them cowards
on this platform many times, and I stand by that statement.
Great job maintaining distance. The oblique kicks absolutely damaging, not
allowing allowed to maintain distance. He did get some good
overhands in on their marvelous work at stuffing the takedowns

(25:06):
from Ian Gary for them and are you gonna argue
with me on this one? For the most part, Ian
Gary won how we would expect him to win day
at distance, volume of strikes, and taking this one to
the decision.

Speaker 1 (25:21):
No, I think you're hundred percent right.

Speaker 2 (25:23):
That's why I was shocked to see people clamoring for
a title fight with this victory. He was the favorite.
I thought he was going to win, and he won
the way he was supposed to. It wasn't anything that
we couldn't have predicted last week.

Speaker 1 (25:39):
I think we did predict it last week.

Speaker 2 (25:42):
We did exactly. So that's why the reaction to it
is more than I expected, because I was already matchmaking
last week, like I expected him to have overcome this
task and did what he done. And also I think
that people are a little too hard on the UFC

(26:03):
thinking Ian Gary, why hasn't he made evented yet? Why
hasn't he made event he yet? He hasn't made invented
because he doesn't. He hasn't been paid for a five
round fight, and I think that that has been his
whole intention. Pay me for a five round fight and
then I'll get into it. Don't just offer me a
main event fight.

Speaker 1 (26:19):
Right, But it almost sounds like you want to, and
maybe I'm wrong on this, that you're wanting to punish
him for doing what he's supposed to do.

Speaker 2 (26:28):
No, no, no, no, I'm not punishing him. I'm just
not making him the next I'm just jumping a topic
and saying he's not the number one contender. I didn't
make him the number one contender last week. I thought
that if we're going in a meritocracy fashion, it was
easily Michael Morales, shaf Cott, Rockmanov. If not, I think
that they're gonna go with the business route and that

(26:49):
ali Al dallas Ease is gonna do everything he can
to force the Camerou Ousman matchup to happen. That doesn't
really make a lot of sense for me. Ian Gary
versus Shavcott, Rochmanov. I called for it last week, and
there's nothing that changes that thought for me. That's it.
I'm not punishing Ian Gary. It's a bravo, it's a

(27:13):
golf clap. It's just if you would have knocked out
Balleel Mohammed, then you jump the pack doing what we
expected you to do. Gets what I suggested last week,
what I expected, a number one contenders fight against the
guy that was already offered a title fight. You get
to run that one back, your one loss, but with

(27:33):
a full camp. I think that that is what the
performance suggested. That's my only problem with it. I think
that Morales knocking out Brady after Brady absolutely crushed a
former world champion that spoke more volumes to me than
Ian Gary doing what we expected. My thought is just

(27:54):
we should have been talking about Ian Gary islamahashev last week,
then a lot more because nothing happened this week that
surprised us. That's it. No disrespect to the performance of
Ian Gary. I want to start talking disrespect. We could
start talking about some of the verbal that comes out
of his mouth that just feels like it's scripted and

(28:14):
over selling.

Speaker 1 (28:15):
Yeah, look, I agree with you on that. I also
agree with you on your take. Yes, Ian Gary moves
up to two in the rankings. Yes, he certainly should
be in the conversation. No, I do not see a
scenario where he is next. I think it's either Shovcat
or you're going the Kamaro Usman route, And quite honestly,

(28:36):
it's probably the Usman route.

Speaker 2 (28:39):
It feels weird to say that Usman's falling down in
the rankings. Yeah, and all of this feels really you
don't feel good about it. The meritthocracy would say that
it's Rockmanov. If it's not Rockmanov because he's been on
the shelf for a year, then you bring in the
Morales possibility. We see that Ian Gary. Honestly, if we're
just talking about from a promotional standpoint, you scratched my back,

(29:01):
eye scratch yours. He's done a lot to jump in
the short notice fight rock mona jump in the short
photos fight with protes to have earned Hey a favor.
But also this was a guy that denied this fight
being the main event. He didn't want five rounds against
bellel he didn't want five rounds against Sean Brady.

Speaker 1 (29:22):
Let me ask you. Let's and I'm not saying this happened.
Let's operate on the assumption that they're announcing the next
wel Droeight title fight next week. Is shaf got ready
to go into camp and start training for that fight.
I mean, I don't know where he's at healthwise.

Speaker 2 (29:39):
I'm assuming he is because it appeared that he was
healthy for Osma Asume Alabayah. We'll get to him in
a moment. For his camp, he was there in the corner.
We have heard that he is back. If the knee
is not healthy, Yeah, that throws a wrench into the plans.
And then you wonder again, is they're a Morales. We're

(30:01):
most likely thinking there's ousman is there eating Gary. They
all become opportunities. I just don't know if there's one
that is so much more deserving than the others. I mean,
if you're talking about Morales to Gary, what Gary has
on his side is that he's jumped on a bunch

(30:22):
of short known as fights. Morales has just destroyed guys
so quickly that we don't know what his ceiling is.
It's like he hasn't been tested yet. But you start
to look at the resume and you're like, well, he
is eighteen and oer and he is just destroying everybody.
I guess we're getting our answer.

Speaker 1 (30:40):
Vulcan O's Demir and the light Heavyweight featured fight takes
care of Alonzo Minifield.

Speaker 2 (30:47):
We knew he was a better striker. He just went
out and went after it. That felt like the vulcan
Osdemir that did debut in the UFC. He went out
and he just took this bull by the horns, made
it his fight. Poor Alonzo Minifield, the guy had been
back in her groove and he just never got a
chance to get started.

Speaker 1 (31:07):
Or Abaia makes quick work of jack Er Manson.

Speaker 2 (31:12):
Or Obaia, we don't need to flirt with the idea
of going back down one fifty five. The wayco is
way true, dramatic. I've seen him beat some big guys
at one seventy in the LFA. I feel like, well,
that wasn't the skill level. It was the right size
level to test yourself against. And we saw the punching
power is there at one seventy Jacker Manson, Unfortunately, the

(31:33):
ability to absorb damage is just diminished to a point
of I don't know what you do for him.

Speaker 1 (31:39):
Waldo Cortes a costa what a week for him? Takes
that fight on short notice, hops on a plane. We'll
set aside for a moment. His goings on before getting
the call twenty one hours, steps off, he knows he's
two pounds. Oh, he goes it, works out, he makes weight,

(32:02):
and then goes out and earns the performance of the night.

Speaker 2 (32:07):
Hey m, that man hits hard. That fastball comes down
and he gets it right on the in the zone,
finds the chin smille g as I have. We didn't
even get to talk about this fight because of the
short notice come together of it. Quite the story, huge
win for Cortes the Coast. He says he wants to
fight again in December. Nick Parkin charges Blades, Derrek Lewis,

(32:30):
I don't know, just throw a heavyweight in there. They
might not even be anybody in the rankings at this point.
Just give Cortez the Coast to another fight.

Speaker 1 (32:37):
Unless somebody pulls out. I don't see him fighting in
December because you've only got a couple of cards. But yeah,
we'll see. He does move up to five in the rankings,
and fair or not, right or not, you take a
short notice fight and you go out and deliver. UFC
remembers things like that, he's up to five in the rankings.

(32:58):
Who knows what the hell is going on in the
heavy division these days, But all of a sudden, court
Teza Costa has to at least be in the conversation
when you're trying to figure it out.

Speaker 2 (33:09):
There's an eye patch, he saws a boy. There's now
a dramatic story. He has on a meteoric rise. It's
all good for Waldo. Court Testa Coasta. Where's Waldo? He's
climbing what else.

Speaker 1 (33:22):
Did you want to hit on? Mikah from UFC Fight
Night and Cutter.

Speaker 2 (33:27):
Oh, come on, we can't not talk about the flyweight division.

Speaker 1 (33:32):
Koigi Horra.

Speaker 2 (33:33):
Gucci went to Rizin, he was away from the UFC
for a decade, had a back and forth tug of
war of dominating that Japanese lower weight class with Kai Osakara.
He overcame Osakara. Osakara ends up coming over to the
UFC with a lot of luster after a couple of
farewell knockout wins that weren't in title contention and rising

(33:55):
or a Gucci we're testing him, We see what it has.
I'm enthralled because, oh my god, it's going bad. It's
every worst nightmare. Anermakam Metov train ulam Bekov is on
him wrestling big ass fly weight, taking down horr Gucci,
making it a horrible first round, and then oh shit,
that weight cut took effect, the skill, the technique, the

(34:18):
speed shines through and eventually it's horror Gucci just bullying
ulm Bekhov to the ground and taking a rear naked choke.
He rear naked choke a dog is Dandian fighter. Holy shit,
is that a statement that puts a real fighter in
this to horr Gucci, because I think that Asakara had

(34:39):
the UFC not putting Horgucci in a doghouse, but in
tempted water to start out instead of in a nice
warm bed to get a nice introduction. They were like, oh,
we got to learn who this is. We can't make
this mistake again. And he passed the test.

Speaker 1 (34:55):
He passed the test. But do you think that means
he's next for the winner of Van Pantosia.

Speaker 2 (35:03):
It depends. The UFC is an international entity. Do they
return to Japan? That would be massive to give Horgucci
a title fight. You're keeping Asikara in the promotion for
a reason. They've added a lot of Chinese fighters. Do
you have a return to Japan in the works. That's
just speculation, that's just me saying. But when we look
at the reality, we do have in December Pantosia versus Van,

(35:28):
and we do have roy Val versus Moreno. Right, Morena No,
I believe it's cap and I'll comp is it? Yeah,
Well that's on the I was just talking about the
two headliners. I know that Moreno is also fighting. We
do have a a title Arinos.

Speaker 1 (35:45):
Fighting tyar Yeah, that's right, yeah, yeah, yea yea yeah,
that's Suya Tyra.

Speaker 2 (35:49):
So we have the top five going against each other.
Really in the flyweight division at this point, we're gonna
have a nice ultimate bracket off. There is a opportunity,
depending on the schedule, depending on injuries, that Kouigi Haragucci
earned himself a title shot. There's the backstory with the
shared camp of American Top Team. It wasn't a bad

(36:11):
call out. I'm not saying this is absolutely title worthy,
but it gets him into the conversation deplanning on depending
on how things play out, because if roy Vaal wins,
if Moreno wins, if Pantosia wins, I think that could
signal Hora Gucci getting right back in there. Kiss how
many rematches are we going to do? A Manel Camp victory,

(36:33):
a Tatsuya Tyra victory, and things get a lot more interesting,
especially if, especially if Pantosia retains, If Joshua Vam pulls
off the upset, we don't know, if there's a rematch,
we don't know. If Pantosa goes up to one thirty five,
it's a great time for the flyweight division. And Kouchi Haragucci.
I think that at least enough good to bypass Tim Elliott,

(36:55):
to bypass some of those more dangerous veterans. Yeah, and
jump into the.

Speaker 1 (36:59):
Mix that I'm with you on title shot. Now, Look,
you lay out an interesting scenario. If you're going to
Japan or somewhere close, maybe maybe we'll see. We'll see.

Speaker 2 (37:12):
Well, especially I think if Moreno and Roy Vall pull
off the victories, I think there could be a little
rematch fatigue and you could end up seeing a hor
Gucci being a fresh matchup possibility for Pantosia. Do you
feel that theory or do you think that's a little
more far strung.

Speaker 1 (37:30):
I mean it's a fresh matchup and there is something
to be said for that. I don't know. I just
hate seeing you know, the rankings don't matter at all,
and I realize, Look, the rankings are what they are.
But even with the win, make sure I'm not lying here. No,

(37:52):
he did debut, he debuted it it ate in the rankings. Oh,
Horagucci did, so there is at least that. But yeah,
how many times do we need to see Pantojio Moreno,
Roy Val Marino or Roval Pantosia. I don't know. I
am all about the fresh matchups.

Speaker 2 (38:13):
Also want to point out on the prelimbs we did
have Awesome Alabayev overcome Alex Petz. He jumps on a guillotine.
I'm sure that that saw him crack the top ten. Uh,
you were just looking at the flyway division.

Speaker 1 (38:31):
I was, I just had to go back to it.
Who did you just ask me about?

Speaker 2 (38:38):
I'm sorry, Awesome Alabayev the one who got the jumping
on the next standing yotine of Alex pettis competitive couple rounds,
but I thought he was behind on the eight ball,
needed that final drive and score and got it. I
mean that was going against it with your back against
the wall.

Speaker 1 (38:54):
Yeah, he moved up a spot to seven.

Speaker 2 (38:57):
So there's some interesting matchups. Yeah, movement from this weekend
in the featherweight division. And I don't know if that
poor Gucci al of IV matchup becomes something that happens,
but just saying pointing him out. Also from the prelimbs
in the flyweight division that we had movement this weekend.

Speaker 1 (39:15):
We did? We did? Uh? Speaking of movement, well at first,
before we move on to speak of movement, anything else
from this past weekend.

Speaker 2 (39:25):
Abdul rock Mond Yaka ie. Light heavyweights are just like heavyweights.
We need more of them. I thought I was confident
he would get the victory, oh for Rafael Sekuria, but
he came out and did that shit in thirty three
seconds and made us all jump up. That head kick
was awesome. It literally had me shout out in my house. So,

(39:47):
yaka Iev, do.

Speaker 1 (39:51):
We want to get into this now?

Speaker 2 (39:55):
Which thing?

Speaker 1 (39:56):
A superstar athlete going to fucking TI in Mexico to
get hallucinogenic treatment to fix what ails.

Speaker 2 (40:04):
In real quick before we get there. Before we get there,
there is speculation of a fight announcement for January twenty
fourth that Nikita Kriilov will be fighting with Eska Slukowskis.
That's ranked light heavyweights and a later edition Actually to
the December twelfth Fight Night card, the last card of
the year. Former Bellator welterweight champion Yaroslav Almislov, coming off

(40:28):
of an impressive win at UAE Warriors, will be taking
on Neil Magni. He is getting the not litanus test,
the Magni test right out of the gate. One of
the last bodies from Bellatour that a lot of us
will recognize. Those were the fight announcements from this week.
And now I guess let's head to h Wanna if

(40:49):
you tea.

Speaker 1 (40:53):
Look, I don't want to be smirch anybody or any
place or I just I don't know that Tijuana, Mexico
is the hotbed for cutting edge medical treatment. But that's
where Connor McGregor went and says he saw his own death.
He met Jesus. It was a thirty six hour psychedelic

(41:14):
drug treatment, which he says saved his life.

Speaker 2 (41:18):
Oh shit, you meant that guy that went to Tijuana.
I thought you were talking about the stem cell treatment
that Kenny Florian went to for his ailing back. I
saw him post that on the X recently, and when
you were talking about Tijuana medical facilities, I was like, Hey,
stem cells came from Columbia, dude, I'm not trying to
judge any of these stem cell clinics. Oh you're talking

(41:40):
about Connor McGregor, and real quick, it's hallucinogens. It was
a psychoactive substance. Did you know how to pronounce that
actual word that I'm seeing? I don't that ibo gain.
I'm off on that one, guys, that's gonna I'm a
lot better at my trying to figure out Polish fighters
and understanding what this says. But a thirty six hour treatment,

(42:04):
he saw God, he saw his own death, and he
said he woke up himself again at thirty seven years old,
and the time that Connor McGregor has been away from
the fight game. For the human that Connor McGregor is,
for the businessman that Connor McGregor is, for the husband
that he is, for the father that he is. If

(42:26):
this treatment is able to work and is able to
help him get past some of the trauma, to help
him battle some of the addictions that allegedly he is enduring,
it's all for the better of Connor McGregor. I hope
it worked. But yeah, Gunna Tia wanted to get away
from your vices. Isn't what most of us grew up

(42:47):
in the Southwest hearing.

Speaker 1 (42:49):
I think he checked out a Donkey show wayle was here.
All right, Let's phrase it another way, Micah.

Speaker 2 (42:58):
If you probably try to jump in.

Speaker 1 (43:01):
If you went to Tijuana for medical treatment and you
had a little downtime between seeing God and witnessing your
own death and all that would you pop in and
check out a Donkey show? Never, huh interesting, not the

(43:23):
answer I thought I was gonna get.

Speaker 2 (43:28):
Not not not not.

Speaker 1 (43:30):
Even we can move off. Look, I'm all about anybody
doing what they can to help themselves. I don't And
if I'm being fleet like, I don't know enough about
this treatment to to really be able to say, oh, yes,
no this works, or oh this is a sham. It's
just it seems a little odd to me. But you

(43:54):
know what, if it works, more power to.

Speaker 2 (43:56):
Him, exactly, more power to him. If this helps him,
it seems like this would be something more for his
personal life. So we're all encouraging people to to search
for change that is positive in being the person that
you want to be. And then again there's also like

(44:18):
people like John Jones that joined new clubs. Did did
you see that? He joined the club that includes Justin
Gaechee and Henry Sejudo and Kamara Usman.

Speaker 1 (44:27):
What club would that be?

Speaker 2 (44:29):
The I go hang out with dictators and warlords, I
mean alleged dictators and warlords in Chechnya club.

Speaker 1 (44:36):
I did not see that.

Speaker 2 (44:37):
Now, Oh yeah, he's there chumming it up with Chimiv.
Great guys. He's a he's a real and John threw
out the N word in there. He's my real Yeah,
John Jones, like fresh off of a striking tour Madrid, London, Paris. Yeah,
now in Chechnya, hmm.

Speaker 1 (45:00):
Interesting.

Speaker 2 (45:00):
I'm sure he's getting paid a handsome some to be
there to hang out. No, literally, I'm sure he's being paid.
I but I'm just I'm very confident in stating that I.

Speaker 1 (45:14):
Really want to be critical of all that. But he
ain't the first guy. He ain't the second guy, he
ain't the third guy. It's almost like we're kind of
desensitized to things like this.

Speaker 2 (45:26):
That's why I'm trying to not desensitize that they're all icky.
It lowers what they are. It's it's you know, it's
it's funny to any of them to have any conversation
about American politics because they don't care about what are
alleged just killings and massacres and other countries that they're
willing to visit the people that facilitate such actions. I mean,

(45:48):
it's what it is. Like Dana White said, he's just
a businessman, and and they're just businessmen, and they're just
doing business, not really caring about the morals of the
people that they're dealing with.

Speaker 1 (46:01):
That's probably fair. That's probably fair.

Speaker 2 (46:04):
I mean, and then you get offended if like a
Francis and do you believe Francis and Ghana got physical
with Dana White. Dana White was gonna box Tito or
tease and he was just like punking your hands off me,
Like like, you don't think they were gonna throw right
down in the office.

Speaker 1 (46:18):
I would it shock me if it happened. No, I
don't know, and she is.

Speaker 2 (46:28):
I'll tell you it really doesn't matter. It's the fight game.
It's a rough business. I mean, if you tell me
things got heated in a conversation and negotiation and an argument,
like Dana White said, he's not there dealing with with choirmen.
These aren't businessmen. These are fighters. And if you tell
me it comes down to physicality, well, we've seen guys

(46:51):
need ankle monitors cut off so that they can attend
their fights at the UFC event. You're telling me this
is the kind of guy that's gonna take a verbal
conversation to a physical level. It's not a surprising theory.

Speaker 1 (47:03):
Do we know what the hell Francis and Ganu's contract
status with PFL is not.

Speaker 2 (47:08):
A damn all. But we do know he was a
part of a video package that alluded to he would
be fighting this year.

Speaker 1 (47:17):
I do know it was a multi fight contract he
signed with them, and correct me if I'm wrong. He's
had one fight with them, so I would assume that
means he's got at least one more fight left on
his deal. But did the multi fight thing include them
lending him out to Saudi princes for boxing matches. I

(47:39):
mean maybe it's a maybe. Yeah, I don't know.

Speaker 2 (47:43):
None of us know. No, it's that's a big mystery.
Next time Francis and Ganu talks will be the first
time in a while, and uh or at least on
that level, and the next time a fight's announced, it
would be a long time since the fight was announced.
All we know is that he was at least contacted
about the Jake Paul fight and reportedly laughed that off.

(48:05):
I don't I'm guessing that he mma wise is somehow
can contractually still obligated at for at least a few
months at least a little while for PFL as they're
talking about him. I do know one heavyweight that's a
free agent. And I don't know if this even appeals
to you or not, but rico vern Hooven, who was
who literally right now we would have to put on

(48:27):
the malt rushmore of heavyweights from kickboxing over a decade
of dominating Glory kickboxing. He was a part of the
Tom aspinall camp is now a free agent.

Speaker 1 (48:42):
I'm mildly intrigued by that. I'm way more intrigued by
another former kickboxer moving up to heavyweight. But look, with
the state of the heavyweight division in UFC right now,
I think it would be foolish to say they have
no interest.

Speaker 2 (49:01):
With the state of the heavyweight division as it is.
Let let's just be honest, real quick, and realistic when
you look at it. Jonathan Ganes came in off a
milely successful kickboxing record. He did work his way up
through MMA a little bit on the regional scene, but
he was able to get to the top ten. There's
a talents and tashera mildly successful kickboxer makes his way

(49:26):
up into the top fifteen. I think that if a
rico Vernhoven makes this train, this crossover and now one,
it gives you an extra name to help philip an
arena in Europe because he is definitely one of the
biggest stars that they have there where kickboxing actually matters.
If they're ever going to go back to Holland, my gosh,
what the business they would do having him on the

(49:47):
roster and you probably give him three, four or five
manageable fights and then we're really seeing what he has
to offer. I don't think that you're bringing him into
the spotlight immediately, but with the shallowness that here is
in the heavyweight division, this is a name that could
create a big fight post Alex John Tom Drama. I'm

(50:11):
thinking past the current state of a name that two
years down the road, possibly three is our next big megastar,
because that's what we're lacking. I know the heavyweight division
will always produce one, but I like having a bullpend
with a guy that we might be able to count on,
or at least a farm system, whatever you want to
call it.

Speaker 1 (50:34):
With the holiday, Micah, no UFC this weekend. We know
next week is UFC three twenty three in Las Vegas.
We also expect to get dates and matchups for at
least the first few fights of twenty twenty six and
some of the things out there. Wanted to get your

(50:54):
thoughts on it's speculated we might get Kayla Harrison versus
a man to Nunez January twenty fourth. Thoughts on that one.

Speaker 2 (51:06):
I hope they announce it. It seems like there's been a
lot of speculation of hesitation on is Amanda Backer or not?
So the better, the sooner the announcement, the better. Also,
real quick, real quick, do you believe that we are
gonna take five weeks off? Do you believe that the UFC?

(51:29):
It feels like if you're gonna do it big. I
guess we're gonna do it big. But there's a lot
of talk that January twenty fourth is gonna be the
first event. We know it's gonna be the first pay
per view event, but do you believe that it's gonna
literally be the first paramount event.

Speaker 1 (51:47):
I'm gonna say yes. And here's why, because if it's
not your first two events, maybe three events are in
the Apex because nothing's been announced, right, so if you're
doing fight nights leading up to the twenty fourth, they
would almost certainly have to be the Apex. Look, not
that there's anything wrong with that, and fight fans are
used to apex fight nights, but I don't know that

(52:09):
that's how you own a debut on paramount if you're
looking to make the big splash. So I mean, maybe.

Speaker 2 (52:18):
Five weeks off, just if you can't imagine that everybody,
this is going to be a marathon. The UFC maybe
in some holidays sometimes you maybe see a weekend off.
If we literally go five weeks off, three weeks in
the new year, take away fifty two weeks, drop that

(52:40):
to forty nine for forty two events, this is going
to be a MMA marathon. I tend to agree with you,
though people have not reported licenses being approved in the
other states or even in Vegas besides that January twenty
fourth event, So it's gonna be a massive one then,

(53:03):
and massive. We've been waiting for Kayla Amanda forever. That
is an absolutely huge fight. Is it comin event or
is it feature fight?

Speaker 1 (53:14):
It could be comin event. Look, that's a fight that
could absolutely headline a pay per view or whatever. We're
calling him out. I guess we'll call them premium live
events like WWE does. But it's also speculated that we
get the announcement Alex Perreira and Carlos Olberg for that
date as well, and that would almost certainly be your

(53:36):
main event. I could also see that one being announced
for your February Premium Live event. I don't know.

Speaker 2 (53:46):
Just tell me that illiots Steforia is gonna get a
fight announced for January. That's that's all I really want.
The lightweight title needs to be defended. He took care
of Charles Olavera in such fashion. It's not that I
don't love Alex, It's that I feel like we just
saw Alex. He broke his foot in there. He is
the ultimate company man, and I guess you could turn

(54:06):
around really quickly and fight Carlos Holberg. It's diylistically not
threatening of a takedown. I would like to have a
healthy Alex for that fight because he does have to
move around taking on a fellow kickboxer. But yeah, let's
hope that one goes for February.

Speaker 1 (54:24):
And it could. But I think what you're seeing is, look,
obviously Alex's health will determine when that fight happens, But
get the fight out of the way now and be
free and clear for the White House should you decide
to go that way, which would get us to are
we getting an announcement on aspinag gone the rematch. I

(54:47):
don't know what the held the state of Aspinall's eye
is these days, but you assume sooner than later you
get that announcement as well.

Speaker 2 (54:57):
I guess so I don't know the the state of
tom Aspinall's I you know, the UFC would love to
run that one back quickly. I just don't know if
Aspinall is going to be in the position to jump
right back in there.

Speaker 1 (55:11):
Yeah, I'm actually with you on that one. The Taporia,
whether it's Pimblet, whether it's gae Chee, whether it's somebody else.
You assume that announcement's coming sooner rather than later. Does
that happen? You know, Look, all these fights can't happen
July twenty fourth, because then you've shot yourself in the

(55:32):
foot and you're gonna need to take another five weeks
off because about two months down the line you're gonna
run out of fighters for the top slots on cards.

Speaker 2 (55:42):
But well, go ahead at the press conference. I believe,
at least as you're saying this, I think we do
get January February March main events all announced, and in
that I'm gonna throw a name that you haven't said,
Alexander Volkanowski and his next opponent. Their date will be announced.

Speaker 1 (56:04):
Who's his opponent?

Speaker 2 (56:08):
I have seen many eclipse continually across the internet that
John Annik keeps saying he does not hear that it's
going to be Laurent Murphy. I believe that most are
EVILOV will get the title fight.

Speaker 1 (56:26):
Makes sense. Look, I'm with you. I think we get
the next several premium live events announced. Look, if you're
taking five weeks off, you're taking five weeks off, that's fine,
but you got to start getting stuff on the books,
especially things outside of the APEX, because you gotta put
tickets on sale. So I agree with you. I think

(56:48):
these announcements are going to start coming next week, and
we probably do get several, but my point was they're
not all going to be January twenty fourth. So but
we do think we're getting most all of these announcements
much probably next week, and maybe not the case of
of Aspinall gone because again I don't know where Aspinall

(57:09):
is with the eye injury, but you assumed that was
also going to be on the cards for somewhere early
in twenty twenty six, because I think you'd like to
do even if John Jones isn't a part of it,
You'd like to have aspinall at the White House, whether
that's against Alex or whether it's against somebody else.

Speaker 2 (57:30):
It feels like Kayla Amanda, that is a great comin
event for January. In my mind, it makes sense that
it would be Ilia an opponent because of the time
that Ilia has had off, Yeah, and that Alex just fought.
And as we're saying that Volkanovski is chomping out the
bit to get back in. I know points he was

(57:51):
talking about want in a fight in December. It would
make sense as we're laying out this card for me
or this first quarter of the year, that Volcanov's fights
in February actually, and then Alex fights in March. And
I think we're actually pulling the thought of him fighting
from the White House because, like you told us earlier,

(58:13):
we don't really trust John Jones. You don't you got
to have a a he can't have it a sar
Yuki in let's star Yuki in situation. I think that
John is close to Dana's doghouse. Yeah, I don't think
we have to worry about Alex being ready for the
White House. I think we need to worry about Alex
being healthy, and then International Fight Week a month later

(58:37):
in July, maybe August. Even you get Pereira versus Jones
as a possibility at heavyweight, where we're still seeing when
that Aspinall gone situation clears up. So my four fights
for those three months of title fights is we're going
Ilia an opponent with Kaylin Amanda January February, we've got

(58:59):
vultn opponent. In March, we've got Alex in Ohlberg.

Speaker 1 (59:05):
You could be one hund right on that. Here's where
I would disagree, And again, the eye injury is gonna
gonna play a lot into this. I think you would
love to have Aspinall and Alex at the White House. Now.

(59:26):
You might also like to have that International Fight Week again.
I don't know that Aspinall is ready to fight in
six weeks, twelve weeks, whatever. It might be much longer.
There are other things you can do without. I I
like what you threw out there, John Jones versus Alex
at International Fight Week. Honestly, I think that's a bigger
fight than than Alex in Aspinall or Jones Aspinall for

(59:49):
that matter.

Speaker 2 (59:51):
And as you're bringing up Aspenall a gun, I think
that one probably happens April. We give him six months
from when the eye injury happened.

Speaker 1 (59:58):
Maybe and you probably throw him a bone. Uh And
I guess we'll know when they start announcing days. When
are you headed back to London?

Speaker 2 (01:00:09):
Exactly? Do you give asthma All a home game? I mean,
even with Gone being French, I mean I think they
both be happier with then.

Speaker 1 (01:00:17):
Vegas or Brooklyn or fucking Nebraska to go to Australia. Yeah,
it's somewhere international. Probably makes a lot of sense for
that fight exactly.

Speaker 2 (01:00:32):
I think you can all break down in a really
interesting scenario. That's why I think some of those other
matchups may maybe get postponed.

Speaker 3 (01:00:41):
Now.

Speaker 2 (01:00:41):
The one champion that we haven't talked about that I
feel like we need to do we pencil hamsat Cheem
I have for May. Do we just pencil him in
right there because we're not bringing him up? Or is
Shaun Strickland still on suspension? Do we not know what
we want to do with the middleweight division.

Speaker 1 (01:00:59):
I think strickland suspension is either up or is about
to be up.

Speaker 2 (01:01:04):
Uh, and it feels like the name recognition, some of
the luster came off that division. Our DR's momentum just
kind of got stifled, and she might have has been
suspiciously quiet on social media. It's like we've forgotten Asergina
Mavov exists, do we do?

Speaker 1 (01:01:25):
She might have.

Speaker 2 (01:01:27):
Ivov just somewhere, or because we forgot about both of
them just despite just becomes Sean Strickland's because we'll remember
who they are when you see Sean Strickland.

Speaker 1 (01:01:37):
That's that's very possible. One name we know is not
going to be announced as fighting anytime soon. That's Kaikara France,
who says he's going to take a year off. Is
this a good move for him? Bad move for him?

Speaker 2 (01:01:50):
If you feel that you need to do it. I
heard that some of it was personal reasons. I did
not look at his record, but I know he lost
his last fight. You're fighting at the top of the
division at this point. You're all in where it's title
fight or nothing. You're already fighting the best guys in
the world in the biggest division in the world. If
you feel that you have to search to find yourself,

(01:02:10):
go do what you need to do to be the
best Kaikarra France that you can be, to get your
head right.

Speaker 1 (01:02:16):
He's dropped three of his last four. Now look that's
Moreno and Pantosio were two of those. He beat Steve
Versig in there as well. But I mean it's it's
not like he's losing the dogs. But yeah, recent times
it's not been kind to him. If there's personal things
going on as well, certainly you don't want to put

(01:02:38):
those on the back burner. Go take care of your business.
The fight game is going to be there, but you
do have to take care of yourself exactly.

Speaker 2 (01:02:48):
So all the best to Kaikarra France, an all action fighter,
an all action fighter, who's a guy that's been a
lot of fun for as long as we've had him
in the UFC. It's unfortunate, but that does piggyback on
Hunter Campbell announcing that the UFC will now be releasing
fighters or removing them from the rankings if they remain
inactive for a prolonged period of time. What a novel idea?

Speaker 1 (01:03:17):
You mean, like if they retire and then retire a
week later.

Speaker 2 (01:03:20):
Yeah, you know, something like that. You know, if they're
just like on the sideline. If if you're having to
go all the way to down Dan Hooker to hear
healthy lightweight say no, I'm not fighting Armin sar Yuki in.
Maybe those guys don't want to be in the rankings.
I don't know. It's a little hard though, to understand
the sentiment of if you remain stagnant, we're gonna release you.

(01:03:41):
I'm pretty sure I know a lot of guys at
the bottom of the carts that I ran into, and
I want more than one fight a year. I don't
know why I've been gone for so long. I don't
know why I've been on the shelf, Like we don't
know why Reneer Deer Ryder just like fought three times,
like back to back to back, and you won't wonder
when is this gas ain't gonna run out? Oh shit
it did? You just asked why?

Speaker 1 (01:04:05):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, look it. I don't think they're
gonna go out go around releasing a lot of people,
especially bigger name fighters. But yeah, look, if you haven't
fought in a while, if you're taking time away what
you probably shouldn't be in the rankings. Let's at least
pretend like the rankings mean something.

Speaker 2 (01:04:27):
L Asmen, Lucinda, I don't know if you saw this
week suspended for a year, she has the number seven
ranked women's strawweight that was an in house whatever the
you saw the program is now. I'm not even sure
what the right terminology for their anti doping program is.
But she has blamed a tainted supplement, gone for a year.
Not sure if you have a reaction on that one.

Speaker 1 (01:04:51):
She's still in the rankings, in the.

Speaker 2 (01:04:53):
Rankings, I'm not sure why I saw this news come through,
but she's still in the ranking. So maybe they're appealing
the decision because of the tainted supplement, and maybe it
will end up being removed if she's able to prove
her case.

Speaker 1 (01:05:09):
Yeah, she was supposed to take on somebody the thirteenth, right,
Jillian Robertson. Maybe was that who she was.

Speaker 2 (01:05:16):
Jilly is still now on the car right fighting up right, right,
right right. Uh.

Speaker 1 (01:05:21):
It's it's unfortunate for her for sure, especially if it
truly was attainted substance. If it was, hopefully that's something
they can prove and she at the very least can
can get some relief on that suspension. But it's it's unfortunate,
but that's this ain't the first fighter we're talking about

(01:05:43):
getting suspended and blaming attainted supplement and again not saying
that that's not what it was, because I honestly don't know,
but but she probably won't be the last fighter we
talk about this, you know, situation with either.

Speaker 2 (01:05:56):
It's a slippery slope. And I'm surprised, well not surprised,
because back when there was the ZUFA and there was
the Ziance, it seemed like the UFC was doing a
lot of their own product making. Now with the TKO
and the corporatization, I don't feel like they're going specifically
in that direction. They're more advertising and bringing in companies.
But still kind of surprised that there's not a direct

(01:06:19):
UFC supplement provider, a brand that hasn't, you know, taken
the responsibility that the company hasn't teamed up with in
some fashion to try to mitigate this problem as much
as possible.

Speaker 1 (01:06:32):
The only reason I can assume there's not is if
God forbid, you partner up with a supplement company. These
are the supplements. We trust these people. Nothing's going to
be tainted. It's all going to go great. And then
you pop positive and you blame the supplement and come
to find out it was a supplement and oh my god.

(01:06:54):
So so at that point you're getting suspended, you're losing money,
and then you're like, well, I did what the USC
told me to do. I'm getting suspended. Usee owes me
some money. Then you're looking at the possibility of lawsuits
and things like that. That would be the only reason,
because otherwise it would make too much sense for UFC
to either have their own in house supplement company or

(01:07:16):
partner up with someone.

Speaker 2 (01:07:19):
Also, before we go away, there was the name I
wanted to bring up to you because there's a fighter
who could be moving weight classes. It's been a while
since we've seen Arnold Alan. He has spent the year
away with a shoulder injury, and in their recovery from
that injury, he says he's put on so much muscle
mass that he doesn't believe that he will be able

(01:07:42):
to functionally make featherweight again. Arnold Allan talking about moving
up to lightweight. What do you think about seeing that
name Alan? Last time we saw on O remind everybody
ended a two fight, Skin lost, a Holloway lost to Avilov,
bounce back beating Giga Chakat. Say, if he moves the vision,

(01:08:06):
I think that's the name that you do give a
top fifteen fight to right away, probably in that ten
to fifteen range.

Speaker 1 (01:08:14):
I don't know that it goes well for him, but look,
if you're jack to the point where you don't think
you can make the weight cut anymore, then yeah, don't
put your body through that trying move up. It makes
a lot of sense. It'll be I think next year
will be a very interesting year for him, and we'll
see how it goes.

Speaker 2 (01:08:30):
And if that move does happen, I think that opens
up the door for Steve Garcia al Jermaine Sterling because
we're starting to look at names and I could see
that one coming together, just because it doesn't seem like
the UFC wants to intersect the Law and Garcia the
two prospects. They're not trying to let them each make
their own way up the division.

Speaker 1 (01:08:50):
Yeah, we'll see how it goes.

Speaker 2 (01:08:53):
I also believe that there's been a lot going on
in MMA. This has been a crazy couple weeks. Was
the Qatar event and I might be overshooting it. The
best fight night in recent memory. I don't know if
it was the best of the year, if I'm going
too far in saying that one. But to have three

(01:09:14):
guys that were able to sit here and talk about
the week after in real title contention, it was a
irregular fight night.

Speaker 1 (01:09:26):
Yeah, It's it's tough for me to rank the fight
nights because they're not all created equal. And it almost
felt like, even though you had a huge main event,
that some of this was flying under the radar. I
will say this, outside of maybe the opening fight on
the pre limbs, there wasn't a boring fight on the card.

(01:09:51):
And if you want to tell me you enjoyed the
first fight as well, I mean that's fine. I won't
argue with you, but but I know I thought this
was a very good card. And you're right, look at
the amount of time we spent on Seruki and and
I and Gary. You know at the top end, what's
next for them? What should be next, and what's actually next?
And you know what, I thought you were a little

(01:10:13):
loopy talking about Horigucci being next in line for a
title shot. You kind of talked me into it, or
at least certainly in the conversation, maybe another fight and
then being there, So no, I think you're one hundred
percent right. I think what you said, three guys stake
the claim for we should be entitled contention conversation and

(01:10:34):
not just another three or four fights, but we could
theoretically be next. So yeah, from that standpoint, yeah, absolutely.

Speaker 2 (01:10:43):
So many guys could be next in that flyweight division,
some guys could be next in the welterweight division, so
many guys could be next in the lightweight division.

Speaker 1 (01:10:53):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:10:55):
The new note, I was looking for a update in
the women's battom division. We had heard the name Rock
cal Pennington in forever she had had next surgery, and
I saw that just this week she has actually returned
to training. So in case because we had brought up
her name before, what had happened to her where she's
been in the division. There was a nex fusion surgery apparently,

(01:11:18):
and she is now returning to training. So I'm guessing
maybe late twenty twenty six we could see the return.
The neck is nothing to play with, but she's returning
to training. I'm assuming that we will see Rock cal
Pennington in the year, but something to be cautious with.

Speaker 1 (01:11:38):
Yeah, for sure, And unfortunately, I guess for her even
though she currently sits two in the rankings, probably not
all that close to a title shot, just based on
you assume we're getting Harrison Pania. I mean, excuse me, Harrison,
nunyaz Pania not going anywhere. Harrison's talked about wanting to
fight Valentino Shivshenko if she beats nun Yez, So it

(01:12:03):
seems like, you know, look, we could spend all day
talking about the women's bandon weight division and the deficiencies
of it, but it seems like, at least as far
as the top of the division goes, there's kind of
a plan in place.

Speaker 2 (01:12:16):
We're not to the end of the year, but the
new year is already looking like it's gonna be a
lot of fun.

Speaker 1 (01:12:21):
Tell everybody how they can keep up with you, Micah.

Speaker 2 (01:12:23):
Cageminds dot com is the website, Cage Mindscombat Sports News,
Facebook and YouTube, Cage Minds Underscore CSN across the rest
of your social media, because I know there's a lot
of it.

Speaker 1 (01:12:36):
Get the show on X at MMA after hours. You
can find me at Real Mike Kurlisle. Enjoy your Thanksgiving holiday.
We will talk to you next week for another episode
of MMA. After Hours here on the After Hours podcast network.

Speaker 2 (01:12:53):
Love Combat Sports. I have a website for you, cageminds
dot com. That's c D E, D M I N
d S dot com. Fight news from around the world,
in depth interviews, live event coverage covering combat sports for
over a decade. Established in April twenty eleven, That's cageminds

(01:13:16):
dot com.