The Co-Main Event MMA Podcast

Stefan Struve, Alexander Volkov, Demetrious Johnson and Amanda Nunes are all discussed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mayweather-McGregor wrap up, plus Jon Jones breaks our hearts all over again. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mayweather-McGregor is finally upon us! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mayweather-McGregor, UFC 217's new main event and whether UFC fighters should still be considered independent contractors. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

UFC Fight Night 114, plus Conor McGregor's budding feud with Paulie Malignaggi. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ben and Chad talk UFC 214. Bones Jones. DC. Brock Lesnar? Yep, Brock F'n Lesnar. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Results from UFC on Fox 25 and a look ahead to a stacked UFC 214 card. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Can you hear us, Co-Main Event Universe? Look, we realize you may be confused since A) This episode of the CME is dropping a day later than normal and B) Your ears may still be ringing from last week’s Floyd Mayweather-Conor McGregor press “world tour” but here--in all its glory--is episode 264 of our little podcast. In it, your guys Ben and Chad spend a while talking about the silliness of the May-Mac Press Excursion and whether the sometimes ugly rhetoric will help or hurt pay-per-view sales. They also talk about a big win over the weekend for Santiago Ponzinibbio (of all people) at UFC Fight Night 113 and then turn their attention to next weekend’s UFC on Fox 25. At that event, Chris Weidman faces Kelvin Gastelum in a main event that shapes up as a must-win, lest Weidman complete a fall from grace that can only be described as “Johny-esque.” All that, plus AYFKM and Just Saying Stuff. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Well, Universe, Robert Whittaker and Justin Gaethje both had pretty damn good weekends, huh? Amanda Nunes? Maybe not quite so hot. On this episode of the Co-Main Event Podcast, Ben and Chad look at Whittaker’s big win over Yoel Romero at UFC 213 to become UFC interim middleweight champion. They also talk a fair amount about Gaethje having his Octagon debut in a fight-of-the-year caliber victory over Michael Johnson the night before at the TUF 5,476 Finale. Then there’s Nunes, the UFC women’s bantamweight champion, who had to bow out of a scheduled title defense against Valentina Shevchenko due to on-going sinus troubles. So that was bad and maybe casts her future with the company into doubt. Oh, and speaking of lacking futures with the company: Gegard Mousasi. Where did that dude go? Oh, there he is! In Bellator! All that, plus AYFKM and Just Sayin’ Stuff. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s International Fight Week, CME Universe, and you know what that means: The UFC will produce back-to-back events this weekend--both of them from the same building in Las Vegas, which makes you wonder about the “international” part, but whatevs. Why spend time hashing out the details when there is so much honest to goodness MMA action to discourse? On this episode of the CME, Ben and Chad talk about the expectations for former WSOF champion Justin Gaethje, debuting in the main event of the TUF: Redemption finale on Friday opposite Michael Johnson. After that, they look ahead to Saturday’s UFC 213 and inspect the co-main events (get it?), where Yoel Romero takes on Robert Whittaker for the interim middleweight strap and Amanda Nunes defends her women’s bantamweight title in a rematch against Valentina Shevchenko. All that plus AYFKM, Just Sayin’ Stuff and MasterTweet Theatre. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On paper, maybe it looked like kind of a ho-hum weekend in the world of mixed martial arts, but in practice--boy, howdy--it brought the weird. In other words, Bellator: NYC and UFC Fight Night 112 are both right in the Co-Main Event Podcast’s wheelhouse as far as discussion purposes are concerned. On this episode, Ben and Chad do their best to break down near everything that happened at the Bellator PPV, including but not limited to: Chael Sonnen and Wanderlei Silva both looking old in their own ways, Matt “Mattrione” Mitrione and Fedor Emelianenko almost pulling off the rare double knockout, Michael Chandler being awesome even as his foot forcibly separated from the rest of his body, and Zach Freeman’s awesome email skills. Oh, and Heather Hardy, who seems nice. As far as the UFC event is concerned? There is slightly less to talk about, though the weirdness surrounding Michael Chiesa vs. Kevin Lee would be fine on its own in the wake of a normal weekend. Buckle up, internet, it’s gonna be a ride. All that, plus AYFKM and Just Sayin’ Stuff. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Whoa there, partner! This is part 2 of episode 260 of the CME. If you haven't listened to part 1 yet, you'll want to double-back and do that. If you have, proceed. If you haven't, no need to be embarrassed. It's an easy mistake to make. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After another week where the Co-Main Event Podcast was off again, your dudes are back in full effect this week with a super-sized episode of the CME. On this show, Ben and Chad are in a mad scramble to touch on all the stuff they missed while taking a week off. Turns out, there was a lot of shit going on. For one thing, the long-discussed boxing match between Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor actually got confirmed. So, that was kind of a big deal. On top of that, two UFC events are in the books, with Mark Hunt defeating Derrick Lewis and Holly Holm taking out Bethe Correia, respectively. Then, there is this weekend's Bellator PPV card to try to get our arms around AND a Sunday UFC event to discuss. Oh, and on top of that the Mixed Martial Arts Journalists Association finally went public too, and both your dudes are on the interim board of directors. As a result this episode of the CME will be broken into two parts for your listening enjoyment. Don't forget to download both parts! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The world has a new "undisputed" UFC featherweight champion, as Jerome Max "Blessed" Holloway rolled up to UFC 212, took the best Jose Aldo had to offer over the course of two rounds and then laid out Jose Aldo via third round TKO. In addition to that, Mighty Mouse Johnson waited until Monday to blast his UFC bosses for what he called "bullying" tactics around booking his next fight. Ben and Chad talk about all that and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After a week off to collect themselves--and in Ben's case go on vacation with his family--the Co-Main Event Podcast is back with a vengeance. It doesn't hurt that there are oodles of high-level MMA happenings to discuss, either. That's right, we said oodles. This week, Ben and Chad take a look at Alexander Gustafson's 21-minute beatdown of Glover Teixeira at UFC Fight Night 109, which may have rekindles Gustafsson's title hopes after a few rough years. They also talk about Germaine de Randamie's declaration that she won't be defending her women's featherweight title against Cris "Cyborg" Justino and what that means both for the future of GDR and the division at large (spoiler: nothing good!). Lastly, they discourse on the upcoming main event of UFC 212, where Jose Aldo and Max Holloway look to unify the men's featherweight title and finally move that weight class away from Conor McGregor. All that, plus AYFKM and Just Sayin' Stuff. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

UFC 211 was a barnburner, Universe, and this week’s Co-Main Event Podcast has your wall-to-wall coverage. Stipe Miocic’s first-round TKO over Junior dos Santos to put a second successful defense of the heavyweight title in the bank? Check. Joanna Jedrzejczyk foiling the brute strength of Jessica Andrade by breaking a bunch of her own already insane UFC striking records? Yuuuuup. Demian Maia eking out a split decision win over Jorge Masvidal and reportedly sewing up that long-sought-after welterweight title shot by turning himself into a human backpack for 15 minutes? Got that too. All of that, plus AYFKM and JSS. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Not gonna lie to you, Universe, parts of this episode of the Co-Main Event Podcast don’t sound great. This week’s recording session was beset by technical difficulties, mostly with Ben’s microphone. Fact is, the ol’ Behringer C-1 may be on its way out. Can’t blame it, really, what with Fowlkes sitting there breathing on it for 256 episodes. In any case, you’ll run into some terrible hiss, which gets gradually worse toward the end of the first half of the show. Good news is, it gets a little better from there. If you can force your ears to stand it, you’ll hear Ben and Chad discuss this weekend’s UFC 211 main event, pitting Stipe Miocic in a rematch with Junior dos Santos, Joanna Jedrzejczyk's title defense against Jessica Andrade and Yair Rodriguez taking a massive leap up in competition to fight Frankie Edgar. You know what? We’ll go ahead and get this audio situation figured out before next week. How’s that? All that, plus AYFKM and JSS. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Another relatively slow week in mixed martial arts means another #aintshitgoinon episode of the Co-Main Event Podcast. This week, Ben and Chad fill an hour, 15 minutes with almost nothing but your listener mail questions. Well, your listener mail questions and one episode of MasterTweet Theatre featuring the inimitable Sir Nigel Longstock. So buckle in for that. Per usual, you guys bring the heat with your questions, slanging fire queries about Justin Gaethje’s move to the UFC, whether Yoel Romero should use this lull in the middleweight division to challenge Daniel Cormier and whether it’s OK to like to watch bad people fight and more! Oh, yeah, and did we mention MasterTweet Theatre? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Artem Lobov didn’t beat Cub Swanson on Saturday in the UFC Fight Night 108 main event. In fact, at no point in their five-round fight did it even look like Lobov was about to win. Still, dude did better than a lot of people--including Ben and Chad--thought he might do. Does that mean Lobov will be back in an Octagon main event again? Ehhhh … I guess that’s why they record the podcast. In addition to Swanson vs. Lobov, your guys talk about Ragin’ Al Iaquinta knocking out Diego Sanchez and then shouting out his own real estate business. They also discuss where Sanchez goes from here which, yeah, that is as depressing as it sounds. Oh, but did you hear the World Series of Fighting is rebranding itself as the Professional Fighters League? So, that’s more accurate if nothing else. All that, plus AYFKM and Just Sayin Stuff. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Just in case you needed a reminder how comparatively shitty you are at whatever it is you do for a living, Demetrious Johnson fought last weekend. Johnson, the UFC’s inimitable flyweight champion, painted what might end up being considered his career masterpiece in a defeat of Wilson Reis at UFC on FOX 24. It’s kind of humbling to watch the dude do it, really. Johnson is so far ahead of his competition, it’s as if he’s been sent here from the future to teach the world a new brand of fighting. If that’s the plan, though, it still needs some work, seeing as how the world somehow still doesn’t really like to watch Johnson fight. In any case, Ben and Chad talk about all things Mighty Mouse. They also discuss Robert Whittaker’s reluctance to embrace the “Bobby Knuckles” nickname and Rose Namajunas teeing up another title shot. All that, plus AYFKM and Just Sayin’ Stuff. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There was simply no end to the hijinks, controversy and out-and-out skullduggery surrounding Saturday night’s UFC 210. In other words, it was an event tailor made for Ben and Chad to discuss on the CME. From Daniel Cormier getting a little help from a beach towel at the official weigh-in to Pearl Gonzalez being ruled out and then ruled back in due to breast implants (WTF. SERIOUSLY, NYSAC?) things had gotten weird before the fights even started. Once they did, fans got to see Gegard Mousasi’s co-main event bout against Chris Weidman ruined by … situations beyond our control … and then saw Anthony Johnson abruptly retire inside the cage after losing to Cormier a second time. This one was a doozy, my dudes. Oh yeah, and NEXT week we get UFC on Fox 24, featuring a card chock full of sure-fire goodness. What could possibly go wrong! All that, plus Just Sayin’ Stuff and AYFKM. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Muhammed Lawal and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson ran it back on Saturday at Bellator 175, renewing their rivalry of 2014 by putting on a second fight that looked nearly identical to the first. Except that this time King Mo managed to get the better of the third round and salt away a unanimous decision win. As another wrinkle to this already stimulating match-up, turns out this was the last fight on Rampage’s Bellator contract. So you know Ben and Chad aren’t going to miss out on the chance both to break down this fight and to speculate about where your guy Q-Jack might be headed next. In addition to that, they look ahead to the top two fights on this weekend’s UFC 210 card, pitting Chris Weidman against Gegard Mousasi and Daniel Cormier against Anthony Johnson. The latter in a rematch for the 205-pound title we all assume those dudes are just keeping warm for Jon Jones. All that, plus AYFKM, Just Sayin’ stuff and MasterTweet Theatre. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ain’t shit goin’ on, you guys. Aside from Tonya Evinger getting that sweet, sweet revenge on Yana Kunitskaya at InvictaFC 22 over the weekend, it's been a fairly quiet couple weeks in the MMA Bubble. You know what that means. That's right, Ben and Chad turn the programming of this week’s Co-Main Event Podcast over to all the little Co-Mainiacs out there. It’s listener mail for the whole hour on episode 250. Per usual, that means the guys touch on a number of different topics, including but not limited to: the chances of Evinger closing out her career with a UFC run, Cyborg challenging Ronda Rousey to a rasslin’ match, what Bellator needs to accomplish on pay-per-view and how to internally justify being a fan (or drawing a paycheck) from a sport that leaves so many broken bodies in its wake. No, really, it’s fun. You’ll like it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Will UFC Fight Night 107 be remembered as the evening in London when Jimi Manuwa stomped into the collective consciousness of the light heavyweight division and announced he wasn’t there to make friends? Perhaps. Perhaps. What is an undeniable fact, at least according to Ben and Chad, is that Manuwa did about as good a job utilizing his screen time on The Fight Pass Dot Com as anyone could have imagined on Saturday. First, Manuwa put Corey Anderson to sleep with a left hand, then got on the mic to call for a title shot, then went to the press conference to say Jon Jones tarnished his legacy with steroids. So, yeah, all in a night’s work for The Paper Boy. In addition to that, your dudes discuss Gunnar Nelson’s win over Alan Jouban and also, goddamn it, they were just kidding about having Kelvin Gastelum fight Anderson Silva. All that, plus AYFKM and Just Sayin’ Stuff. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At Saturday night’s UFC Fight Night 106, Vitor Belfort lost to up-and-coming middleweight Kelvin Gastelum in such lopsided fashion that even Belfort himself thinks it might be time to set an end date for his career. Maybe. Depending on how things go. On this week’s Co-Main Event Podcast, Ben and Chad look at Gastelum’s victory as well as Belfort’s loss and discuss where these two fighters may be headed on obviously divergent paths. In addition to that, they turn the page to this weekend’s Fight Night 107, where Jimi “Paper Boy” Manuwa takes on Corey “Beastin’ Overtime” Anderson exclusively on The Fight Pass Dot Com. So, yeah, you could say it’s a full show. All that, plus AYFKM and Just Sayin’ Stuff. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Yeah, that UFC 209 main event between Tyron Woodley and Stephen “Wonderman” Thompson pretty much stunk up the joint, huh? Just a couple of dudes out there walking in circles for 25 minutes. And this after the unceremonious, last-minute removal of Khabib Nurmagomedov from the card on Friday and the cancellation of his interim lightweight title fight against Tony Ferguson. Aside from that, though? It was honestly a pretty good card. On this week’s CME, your guys Ben and Chad breakdown the particulars of the welterweight championship clash between Woodley and Thompson, such as they were, Nurmy’s inability to show up on fight night and then look ahead to next week’s action, featuring Vitor Belfort taking on Kelvin Gastelum at UFC Fight Night 106. Al that, plus JSS and AYFKM. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With an actual, honest-to-goodness interesting pay-per-view card coming on Saturday at UFC 209, the Co-Main Event Podcast has much to talk about. Tyron Woodley and Stephen Thompson prepare to rematch over the welterweight title, after their initial meeting at UFC 205 ended in a hard-fought majority draw. In addition to that, Khabib Nurmagomedov takes on Tony Ferguson in a bout that feels like a No. 1 contender fight long in the making--but is actually another weirdo interim title fight, since the UFC seems to have no idea what is going on with its regular 155-pound champion. The evening’s curtain-jerker will feature Mark Hunt and Alistair Overeem as they attempt to have the perfect UFC heavyweight fight. So yeah, Ben and Chad are ready. Let’s do this. All that, plus AYFKM and JSS. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The President’s Day episode of the Co-Main Event Podcast is exactly what you might expect: slapdash, thrown-together, even less organized than usual. See, what had happened was, Chad had to take his 4-year-old daughter to a birthday party Monday morning, so he didn’t have the chance to give this episode of the CME its normal, meticulous planning and brainstorming session. So, when Ben rolled in that afternoon smelling like booze and dirty strippers they decided just to do an All Question Considered episode of the show, anyway. And you know what? It comes off pretty OK. This week, the guys take on Derrick Lewis’ come-from-behind victory over Travis Browne, the last-minute cancellation of Fedor Emelianenko’s bout with Matt Mitrione as well as a host of other timely topics. Seriously, you’ll like it. We were just kidding about it being disorganized. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ooof, UFC 208, right? That was rough. This week the entire Co-Main Event Podcast Universe is likely reevaluating how it spends its Saturday nights after shelling out $60 for the worst pay-per-view fighting event this side of WFA: King of the Streets. You better believe Ben and Chad gots some shit to say. From the overall depressing nature of the fight card itself and what it might mean for the immediate future of the UFC to how we’re supposed to come to grips with Anderson Silva so gleefully getting old, this is an emotional ride you won’t want to miss. Oh also, did you forget that Matt Mitrione is fighting Fedor Emelianenko in Bellator this weekend? That is also discussed. All that, plus AYFKM, JSS and MasterTweet Theatre. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

UFC Fight Night 104 ended with decidedly divergent fortunes for main and co-main event favorites Chan Sung Jung and Alexa Grasso. Jung returned from three years away from the cage to triumphantly knock out Dennis Bermudez in the first round, while Grasso--yeah, we’re not totally sure what happened there. In any case, this week’s CME podcast takes a look at Jung’s return and Grasso’s tepid unanimous decision loss to Felice Herrig. In addition to that, Ben and Chad look ahead to this weekend’s UFC 208, including Anderson Silva taking on Derek Brunson (we know, weird, right?) and Holly Holm fighting Germaine de Randamie for the women’s featherweight title originally meant for Cyborg Justino. All that, pus AYFKM and Just Sayin’ Stuff. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Octagon touched down in the Mile High City on Saturday for UFC on Fox 23 and things went well for some people and … not so well for others. On this week’s Co-Main Event Podcast, Ben and Chad look at the surging Valentina Shevchenko and her presumed women’s bantamweight championship meeting with Amanda Nunes, after Shevchenko dispensed with Julianna Pena over the weekend. They also talk about the strange career of Donald Cerrone and what--if anything--we are to make of his momentum shattering loss to Jorge Masvidal. Also, did you know Conor McGregor had a pay-per-view event where he just talked? So that’s weird enough to be discussed here for free. All that, plus AYFKM and JSS. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tito Ortiz and Chael Sonnen had the MMA spotlight all to themselves last Saturday night at Bellator 170 and the two of them delivered a fight that can only be described as a complete stinker. Sonnen’s performance especially was so bad that some observers were left crying “fix!” though the Co-Main Event Podcast does not necessarily condone such heedless accusations. Ben and Chad discuss the outcome of the fight, Ortiz’s send off into retirement and what exactly honchos at Bellator can do with Sonnen now. In addition to that, they look ahead to Saturday’s UFC on Fox 23 and its women’s bantamweight title eliminator main event, pitting Valentina Shevchenko against Juliana Pena. All that, plus JSS, AYFKM and MasterTweet Theatre. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A new beginning for Yair Rodriguez, perhaps a sad end for BJ Penn and another weekly episode of the Co-Main Event Podcast. With Rodriguez’s second-round TKO over Penn still fresh in the minds from Sunday night, Ben and Chad spend a couple of rounds on this week’s show discussing each guy. Rodriguez seems like he has all the potential in the world, but is he also a fellow UFC matchmakers might have to protect a bit as they build his legacy? Penn, meanwhile, finds himself likely at the end of the road in the UFC. Your dudes both agree it wouldn’t be bad at all to see him walk away after a legendary career, but both admit now somebody has to go convince BJ of the same thing. In addition to that fight, this week’s CME looks at Saturday night’s Bellator 170 main event between Chael Sonnen and Tito Ortiz and wonders, “What was Chael thinking when he saw Tito smash that juice box?” All that, plus Just Sayin Stuff and AYFKM. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Naturally, this episode of the Co-Main Event Podcast was recorded just as the announcement that Tyron Woodley will face Stephen Thompson in a welterweight title rematch at UFC 209 was going down. Which is just about typical, right, you guys? Fortunately, this episode of the CME is also an #AintShitGoinOn installment, so while Ben and Chad discuss in passing what next will happen to the UFC 170-pound title, it’s far from the focus of the entire show. So take THAT breaking news curse! As usual, the CME Universe comes particularly strong with its emails this week. Ben and Chad’s only regret is that they can’t sit there answering email questions all day. But an hour and 15 minutes ain’t bad. Yeah? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It was a weird weekend in the world of MMA, Universe. For starters, we saw perhaps the final fall of Ronda Rousey as she collapsed into dust under the pressure (and the fists) of women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes at UFC 207. Where Her Rowdiness goes from here is anyone’s best guess. You know who else was surprising? Your boy Cody Garbrandt, that’s who. After spending a week or more looking completely ill-prepared to fight Dominick Cruz on Friday night, he came out of the gate appearing, shall we say, VERY FUCKING PREPARED INDEED. Long story short: new champion. So Ben and Chad spend this episode of the Co-Main Event Podcast talking about those things. Oh, yeah, and they do it all while choking back tears over the loss of their beloved Baruto to Mirko Cro Cop in the Rizin Open Weight Grand Prix. Such is life. All that, plus AYFKM and JSS. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The world won’t be hearing much from Ronda Rousey in the final days before her UFC 207 comeback fight against Amanda Nunes. During the Christmas holiday we found out Rousey had been excused from participating in the standard media obligations prior to the event. Kinda weird, considering just earlier this year the fight company tossed Conor McGregor off UFC 200 for skipping a press conference. In retrospect, will Rousey’s low profile prove to be a genius strategy? Or will it have been the obvious giveaway of a broken and damaged fighter? We won’t know until after she wins or loses. But your guys Ben and Chad talk about Rousey’s reticence on this episode of the CME. In addition to that, they also discuss Cain Velasquez’s removal from that event and Dominick Cruz’s impending bantamweight title fight against Cody Garbrandt. All that, plus AYFKM and JSS. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

UFC on FOX 22 scored decent ratings but at least a few of the fight results didn’t pan out in the way matchmakers perhaps wanted. Ben and Chad spend the bulk of this episode of the Co-Main Event Podcast discussing those outcomes and arguing about what they really mean. From Paige VanZant’s first-round choke out by Michelle Waterson to Sage Northcutt’s second-round choke out at the hands of Mickey Gall, it’s all here. In addition to that, they look back on the career of the newly retired Urijah Faber and look ahead to the debut of the UFC women’s featherweight division. On that latter point they wonder, where Cyborg at? All that, plus AYFKM, JSS and MasterTweet Theatre. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Finally, the UFC featherweight division has its (interim) champion. The good news? He seems like a likable sort, comes bearing hashtags and impeccable taste in reflective neckties. The bad news? He’s not the only guy trying to lay claim to the throne. Not even close, actually. Perhaps the very best thing about Max Holloway’s third-round TKO over an overweight Anthony Pettis at Saturday’s UFC 206 is that it puts us one step closer to Holloway vs. Jose Aldo. At least, that’s the best Ben and Chad can make out of a confusing situation at 145 pounds right now. In addition to that conundrum, this episode of the Co-Main Event Podcast finds them discussing Donald Cerrone’s potential change of heart about his involvement with the fledgling Mixed Martial Arts Athlete Association (MMAAAAAAAAA) in the wake of his impressive victory over Matt Brown. They also look ahead to the upcoming UFC on Fox show, which features another duet from The Paige N’ Sage Show. All that, plus AYFKM and Just Sayin’ Stuff. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Did y’all watch crazy-ass Tim Elliott give Demetrious Johnson a run for his money on Saturday night? Hopefully you at least DVR’ed the damn thing, Universe, because--hoo boy--that was some shit. If you did--or didn’t and need to catch up--then Ben and Chad are here with all the instant reaction you could ever want. If by instant, you mean a few days later and delivered via carefully recorded and produced sound recording. In addition to that little ditty, this week’s Co-Main Event Podcast discusses the creation of the new Mixed Martial Arts Athlete Association (or MMAAA, if you nasty) and Anthony Pettis tumbling head over heels into an interim featherweight title shot against Max Holloway. Should be fun. Ready? Break! All that, plus AYFKM, JSS and MasterTweet Theatre. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Well, Universe, Conor McGregor is no longer the UFC featherweight champion. Just like we always knew it would, the announcement that McGregor had “relinquished” the 145-pound title (totally willingly, we assume) came like three-and-a-half hours into a six-and-a-half hour UFC Fight Night event live from Melbourne, Australia. With McGregor now merely the UFC lightweight champion, the ripple effects will spread through the featherweight division. That includes having Max Holloway fight Pretty Tony Pettis (really?) for an interim 145-pound champion while Jose Aldo is promoted to “completely undisputed God of all he surveys” or something like that. So Ben and Chad talk about all that on this episode of the Co-Main Event Podcast, while also dipping into Robert Whittaker’s victory over Derek Brunson last Saturday and next weekend’s TUF 24 live finale, where the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter on the planet of Earth takes on a reality show winner. All that, plus AYFKM and JSS. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Things get back to normal for this week’s episode of the Co-Main Event Podcast. Or, at least, as normal as they ever get in this sport’s unending news cycle. Ben and Chad spend the CME’s normal three rounds discussing last weekend’s fights and looking ahead to next weekend’s too. That means Gegard Mousasi’s big win over Uriah Hall takes center stage, along with Michael Chandler’s successful defense of his Bellator lightweight title against Benson Henderson. Derek Brunson vs. Robert Whittaker also gets some airtime, and Ryan Bader’s victory over Roger Nog is also discussed. All that, plus AYFKM and JSS. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

UFC 205 is in the books and it was a doozy, folks. The fight company’s debut at Madison Square Garden and first trip to New York since 1995 was so big that it throws the normal format of the Co-Main Event Podcast into chaos. There’s no way to break this baby into coherent rounds--whether it be 3 or 5 or whatever--so your dudes Ben and Chad have no choice to chuck it all and dive in anyway. Call this episode’s format a tribute to new featherweight and lightweight champion Conor McGregor. The guys just keep it flowy, for a single, uninterrupted conversation about the things that still stick with them about UFC 205. Like a couple bros at the park idly swinging pool noodles at each other, they discuss McGregor’s shockingly easy win over Eddie Alvarez, the goodness/weirdness of Tyron Woodley vs. Stephen “Wonderman” Thompson and Yoel Romero’s brain-rattler over Chris Weidman, among many other things. All that, plus AYFKM. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bad news, CME Universe, with just a few days to go before UFC 205, Ben and Chad probably just jinxed the whole thing by recording this episode of the Co-Main Event Podcast. See, the trouble is that this is a very thorough discussion. On this week’s show, your dudes break down each of the event’s three title fights, including Conor McGregor vs. Eddie Alvarez, Tyron Woodley vs. Stephen Thompson and Joanna Jędrzejczyk vs. Karolina Kowalkiewicz. So basically those fights are now doomed to fall apart due to the parameters of the well-known CME curse. If we had to guess, we’d say the bodies likely start dropping on Tuesday. Because it’s always Tuesday. On the bright side, Ben and Chad also spend some time discussing last weekend’s TUF: Latin America season 3 live finale, including Tony Ferguson’s rad win over Rafael dos Anjos and Diego Sanchez’s victory over Marcin Held. There is also some talk of Phil Davis taking the Bellator light heavyweight title from Liam McGeary. Since those fights have already happened, they can’t be wrecked by the curse, so at least you have that to look forward to. All, that, plus JSS and AYFKM. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Feeling refreshed, CME Universe? After a three-week break from UFC events we hope you are bright-eyed, bushy-tailed and ready to dive headfirst into the end of the year push. Ben and Chad certainly are, as they tee-up a very spooky Halloween episode of the Co-Main Event Podcast. For starters, there is the Rafael dos Anjos vs. Tony Ferguson main event at this Saturday’s live finale of The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America 3 (who knew that was even a thing?). Since next weekend’s UFC 205 card is also so jampacked with hot fights, they begin to look ahead to that, too. In addition, they go over the series of stories Ben and his MMA Junkie colleague Steven Marrocco have been publishing providing an inside look the finances of the recent UFC sale. So that’s interesting. All that, plus AYFKM and JSS. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Never thought Ben and Chad would do a largely juice-box themed episode of the Co-Main Event Podcast, but that’s the situation after Tito Ortiz made good use of props during his live “debate” with Chael Sonnen during last weekend’s Bellator event. In slightly more sobering news, last week also brought some fairly significant layoffs at the UFC front office, which raised interesting questions about where exactly the company’s WME-IMG era is headed. Also, Jon Jones potentially got some good news in his defense against a recent positive test for banned substances. So, discourse? Of course. All that, plus AYFKM and JSS. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

And here we thought it was going to be a slow week. Turns out, the MMA news cycle really does never stop churning out its wonderful goodness. As a result, this week’s Co-Main Event Podcast is chock full of not only Name Brand News but also happenings Ben and Chad feel will be extremely relevant to your interests. For starters, Ronda Jean Rousey is back and set for a title bout against new women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes at UFC 207. There’s also the bombshell dropped by Georges St-Pierre on Monday’s episode of the MMA Fortnight, wherein he declared himself a free agent after “terminating” his UFC contract. So that’s interesting. Also, you guys hear about this guy Greg Hardy? He says he wants to build a new career for himself in MMA now that he’s officially been deemed too big an a-hole for the NFL. The CME has some stuff to say about that. All that, plus AYFKM and JSS. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What to even make of Michael Bisping at this point, Universe? That’s one of the questions that weighs heavy on the mind of Co-Main Event Podcast. After watching Bisping retain his middleweight title and become the Octagon’s all-time wins leader on Saturday at UFC 204, Ben and Chad have a hard time getting their arms around just how history should remember the swaggering Brit. The same could be said for Dan Henderson, who came up just short in his quest to end his own career by adding the 185-pound title to his already considerable list of spoils. Never fear, however, because the next several months should tell us a lot about how to think of Bisping as there’s pretty much no way he avoids fighting a legit Top 5 opponent early next year. You know who will be watching the upcoming middleweight smorgasbord with considerable attention? Gegard Mousasi, that’s who, after the Young Vagabond got a big win in his own right over Vitor Belfort on Saturday. All that, plus JSS, AYFKM and MasterTweet Theatre. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nothing like watching a couple of 135-pound dudes try to rearrange each other’s faces for 25 minutes to get you primed for another week of talking about mixed rules fighting, right, Universe? Oh, yeah, and by “135-pound dudes” we mean 135-pound-ish, since by now you all know that John Lineker showed up overweight for his main event bout against John Dodson at UFC Fight Night 96. This makes five times that Lineker has missed weight for a UFC fight, and in two different weight classe--which is like truly some lifetime-achievement type shit when you think about it. Speaking of lifetime achievements, also on this episode of the Co-Main Event Podcast, Ben and Chad talk about the surprising success of Michael Bisping headed into his UFC 204 title defense against Dan Henderson. Oh, also, did you hear Conor McGregor found himself another fight? You won’t believe what happens next! All that, plus AYFKM and JSS. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A couple days after watching Cyborg Justino do Cyborg Justino stuff to Lina Lansberg, the Co-Main Event Podcast still has questions. Did Cyborg really make weight? What’s the endgame here? Is Lansberg OK? On this week’s episode, Ben and Chad take on those topics and more. You didn’t think they were going to let Charles “Krazy Horse” Bennett dominate the news cycle at Rizin FC and not talk about that, did you? DID YOU, CANDYLEI? Oh also, there’s another one of those somewhat middle-of-the-road UFC Fight Night events coming up this week, which near as your dudes can figure are put on these days largely to advertise the NEXT middle-of-the-road Fight Night event. But this one has John Dodson vs. John Lineker, so that’s cool! All that, plus AYFKM and JSS. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s like, one night you go to bed secure and comfortable, everything normal and when you wake up—zounds!—the world’s gone crazy. Of course, we mean Chael Sonnen signing with Bellator MMA, right CME Universe? Now that was some left-field style shit, right there. Your boys Ben and Chad did not see that one coming, and so at least part of this week’s Co-Main Event Podcast is spent discussing how it happened as well as the possible fallout. There’s also UFC Fight Night 94, which turned out to be a fairly typical UFC cable TV event in that it felt nearly endless until the last two fights, which ended in first-round knockouts of the slightly funky variety. Oh and next week Cris “Cyborg” Justino fights a random opponent at a random weight on another pretty random UFC fight card. All that, plus AYFKM, JSS and MasterTweet Theatre. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices