The Co-Main Event MMA Podcast

What a tease this guy, Big Fran is. Here he is posting this video to his socials last week promising us that on Tuesday he's going to tells us (what we hope is) his final decision on free agency. We're not sure what he's going to say -- Will it be a boxing announcement? Will it be MMA? -- but that sure won't stop us from wildly and irresponsibly speculating. Plus, Jailton Almeida tapped the Bigi Boy, Matt Brown had a record night and Ian Garry continues to be a problem. This episode is brought to you in part by NordVPN. Get your Exclusive NordVPN deal by going to nordvpn.com/comain or use the code comain. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jailton Almeida isn't keeping his gameplan too close to the vest when it comes to this weekend's UFC on ABC main event against Jairzinho Rozenstruik. The fast-rising heavyweight prospect says he's strong where the Bigi Boy is weak, and plans to take him down and submit him. That's no surprise, considering six of Almeida's last 10 wins have come via sub. On the other hand, Rozenstruik has never been submitted. And you could argue HE is also strong where Almeida is weak. So, what if Almeida can't take him down? Plus, in Power Rankings, GSP says the UFC didn't have his back on drug testing, Dominick Cruz will cut a bitch (because he says the rules force him to), and Nate Diaz finds out Texas might test him for weed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Economist published an interesting feature story about how UFC veterans Abu and Ottman Azaitar -- who you may remember from that UFC 257 fiasco involving an alleged "bagful of potatoes" -- have parlayed a friendship with the 58-year-old king of Morocco into pretty sweet lives for themselves. To hear the article tell it, King Mohammed VI (who was never that into ruling, anyway) has become completely disinterested in running Morocco and only wants to hang out, travel the world and party with the Azaitar brothers. Abu and Ottman, for their parts, appear to be making the most of the money, power and influence that come along with being the king's besties. They have access to sports cars, private jets, military aircraft (!) and apparently whatever else they want. So, now the people of Morocco are sitting around wondering where the king at and also if the rest of the Moroccan government might do something about it. Plus, in Kraken Up, we await game five in Dallas, with the Kraken and Stars tied 2-2. Here's the link to the economist story: https://www.economist.com/1843/2023/04/14/the-mystery-of-moroccos-missing-king Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's pledge month at the Co-Main Event Podcast. As a totally independently produced podcast, we rely on the generosity of listeners like you to keep this thing rolling. Here's a free sample of our weekly Wednesday Live Chat, where we spend an hour (usually a little longer) taking questions from our beloved patrons. If you like what you hear, consider joining us at: https://www.patreon.com/comainevent Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You know how some fight cards that look pretty "meh" on paper turn out to be unexpectedly great? Yeah, UFC 288 wasn't really one of those. Headlined by an important but perhaps not best-selling men's bantamweight title fight between Aljamain Sterling and Henry Cejudo, this one didn't really appear to live up to the high standards set by some of the UFC's other PPVs this year. There was nothing wrong with Sterling's unanimous decision win over Cejudo and there was nothing wrong with Belal Muhammad's UD over Gilbert Burns. But this card didn't blow our hair back and these wins probably aren't going to get Sterling and Muhammad the respect they deserve. Speaking of not getting the respect he deserves, Demetrious Johnson looked as good as ever in (yet another kinda nondescript) unanimous decision win over Adriano Moraes in One Championship. Johnson took the trilogy and was Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's not every weekend that the eyes of the combat sports world fall squarely on BKFC, but with the UFC giving new meaning to the term Just Some Fights and no other MMA to speak of, that was the case on Saturday. A bevy of recognizable names -- Mike Perry, Luke Rockhold, Eddie Alvarez, heck, even Conor McGregor -- essentially made this BKFC's Super Bowl. Both for better and for worse. Plus, with UFC 288 right around the corner, we look at the main event and co-main at that pay-per-view. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to the heavyweight elite, Sergei Pavlovich. Ya boy went out there and starched Curtis Blaydes in just over three minutes on Saturday at a UFC Fight Night event to become the consensus No. 1 contender in the heavyweight division. Could a lot go wrong between now and when Pavlovich might conceivably fight the winner of Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic? Sure. Did Blaydes engage in kind of a bizarre strategy in this fight? Yes, he did. But is Pavlovich now arguably the most interesting figure in the 265-pound division outside of JBJ and Stipe? Undoubtedly. Plus, Bellator had a pretty good two-night stop in Hawaii, Nate Diaz fought some jabronis on the streets of New Orleans and Bobby Green had a pretty bad Saturday night. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You think the UFC will stop sending its top men's featherweight prospects to Max Holloway? Because so far when they do, all they get back is a box of bones. Holloway continued his up-and-comer ass-whipping tour on Saturday, dispatching Arnold Allen via unanimous decision in the pair's UFC Fight Night main event. This fight was 95 percent Holloway stylin' on Allen with his speed, pressure game and counter-punches and five percent Holloway eating Allen's hardest shots and walking right through them like a man out on a Sunday stroll. So, your basic Max Holloway shit, in other words. Plus, Nate Diaz is gonna fight Jake Paul in a boxing match at 185 pounds. What could go wrong? And Jon Jones teased us with retirement, while the UFC lines up a potential No. 1 contender fight between Sergei Pavlovich and Curtis Blaydes. This episode is brought to you in part by NordVPN. Get your Exclusive NordVPN deal by going to nordvpn.com/comain or use the code comain. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Once it was over, you could kinda tell Israel Adesanya had been thinking about this one for a while. He had his bow-and-arrow celebration all planned out. He did every dance he knew how to do. He had his postfight interview scripted in his head. It's been a long time coming for Adesanya, but he finally got one back from Alex Pereira on Saturday at UFC 287. Adesanya is once again your UFC middleweight champion, which is great but ... what now? Plus, Jorge Masvidal calls it a career (maybe) in a pretty weird way. And, holy shit, Max Holloway vs. Arnold Allen is next weekend. This episode is brought to you in part by NordVPN. Get your Exclusive NordVPN deal by going to nordvpn.com/comain or use the code comain. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There we all were, just minding our own business, tying to enjoy our weekends when suddenly Endeavor just casually drops that, oh yeah, they're going to buy WWE and roll it into a single, publicly traded company with the UFC. Say what now? As you might imagine, this rather mind-blowing news quickly put to rest any notion of us talking about PFL, Bellator or GameBread Boxing 4 on Monday's episode of the Proper. So, here are our initial reactions to Vince McMahon and Dana White becoming co-workers and (we're just guessing here) best friends. Plus, there actually is a lot to say in advance of Saturday's UFC 287, where Israel Adesyana faces what is almost certainly his last chance to defeat Alex Pereira in literally anything. This episode is brought to you in part by NordVPN. Get your Exclusive NordVPN deal by going to nordvpn.com/comain or use the code comain. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Cory Sandhagen and Holly Holm (or, Holly Holmes, if you prefer) both looked pretty good at the weekend's UFC Fight Night event. Both veterans dispatched challengers who were looking to break into title contention. Sandhagen took advantage of a slow start by Marlon "Chito" Vera in cruising to an impressive unanimous decision in the men's bantamweight main event. Holm mixed in some wrestling to go with her already formidable striking skills and overwhelmed Yana Santos in the co-main. Theeeeeeen, Holm got on the mic and said some bizarre stuff about how we need to stop "sexualizing children." And somehow, we doubt she meant putting an end to child beauty pageants ... This episode is brought to you in part by NordVPN. Get your Exclusive NordVPN deal by going to nordvpn.com/comain or use the code comain. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Leon Edwards went into Saturday's welterweight title fight against Kamaru Usman at UFC 286 as both the champion and a bit more than a 2-to-1 underdog. As of Monday morning, he's now one thing, but not the other. Edwards pitched a masterpiece against Usman in their third fight against each other, ultimately retaining the gold via majority decision and proving that the oddsmakers had no clue what they were talking about. Plus, Justin Gaethje ain't done! He rebounded to also score a majority decision win over Rafeal Fiziev in the UFC 286 co-main. Get this, Gaethje salted away the third round using his jab and an uppercut. Guy has skills! This episode is brought to you in part by NordVPN. Get your Exclusive NordVPN deal by going to nordvpn.com/comain or use the code comain. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Leon Edwards and Kamaru Usman are going to do it again, brother, for the third time on Saturday at UFC 286 in London. The champion is going off as a fairly significant underdog and conventional wisdom says this time around Usman just needs to NOT get kicked right in his head and he probably reclaims the title. Yet Usman has also reportedly been plagued by hand problems and he'll turn 36 years old a couple months after this PPV. Is it possible Edwards can get lightning to strike all over again? UFC 286 also amounts to the third time in about a month the fight company has asked fans to pay $80 to watch some fights. This time, it goes down just a week after Merab Dvalishvili turned in what will surely be one of the year's most dominating performances against Petr Yan for free (relatively speaking) on ESPN+. Will the people dig into their pockets one more time? Oh, and did you guys see Bellator? Or hear about it, at least? Usman Nurmagomedov retired Benson Henderson and Michael Page did something absolutely horrendous to Goiti Yamaguchi's knee. This episode is brought to you in part by NordVPN. Grab your EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal by going to nordvpn.com/comain or use the code comain to get one free bonus month as well as their exclusive 30-day money back guarantee. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Goddamn, he made that look easy. During the week leading up to UFC 285, Jon Jones said he expected people to be shocked by how effortlessly he'd beat Ciryl Gane for the heavyweight title. Jones said it would be a mismatch and we were all like, well, I don't know if I'd say it's going to be a mis--oh, holy shit. It took Jones all of two minutes, four seconds to choke out Gane and now JBJ is the UFC heavyweight champion, which sounds both outrageous and somehow totally fitting. After it was over, he literally bleated like goat. But IS he the GOAT now? Is he gonna fight Stipe next? How big a shadow does Francis Ngannou's absence cast and do we want to see that superfight even more now? Plus, in the oh, holy shit category, we also present to you: Alexa Grasso. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode takes a deep dive into a thing we once thought would never actually happen: Jon Jones' move to heavyweight. This Saturday at UFC 285, the greatest light heavyweight of all time finally takes that walk, gunning for the vacant heavyweight title against Ciryl Gane. You know ... maybe. It's Jon Jones fight week, after all, which means anything can happen. It's sort of impossible to forecast how a 35-year-old Jones, more than three years removed from his last appearance in the cage, training with a new team and moving up a weight class will fare in this battle, but we do our best to prognosticate. Can Jones thrive in a division where he may not be able to play the bully? Has Gane shored-up his wrestling defense? Will the specter of Francis Ngannou hang over this thing like a shadow? Oh yeah, and the rest of the UFC 285 card is pretty great too ... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Erin Blanchfield jumps up to the No. 2 spot on the UFC's official women's flyweight rankings this week after her drubbing of a short-notice Jessica Andrade Saturday at a UFC Fight Night. Hard to say she doesn't deserve it. Blanchfield looked outstanding en route to a second round submission and now has duly earned her chance to compete with the division's elite. Plus, some gnarly shit happened at BKFC Knucklemaina and, speaking of women's flyweight elite, Tatiana Suarez returns this weekend! This episode is presented in part by NordPVN. Grab your EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal by going to nordvpn.com/comain to get a Huge Discount off your NordVPN Plan + a Bonus Gift! It’s completely risk free with Nord’s 30 day money-back guarantee! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Islam Makhachev and Alexander Volkanovski had themselves perhaps one of the greatest fights on all time on Saturday at UFC 284. For all the hoopla about a superfight and the Nos. 1-2 pound for pound fighters on the planet squaring off, these dudes delivered. Makhachev was a better striker than we anticipated, Volkanovski a better wrestler. And while Islam won the fight, did Alex actually win our hearts? Plus, it wouldn't be MMA without a little controversy. Public opinion seemed to be divided over the judges decision -- Volk 2, 3, & 5, dog? -- and then Dan Hooker had to go and accuse Makhachev of illegally using an IV to re-hydrate after the weigh-ins. So, sigh, that part is exhausting. But now it seems Volkanovski is set for a bout with new interim men's featherweight champ Yair Rodriguez, which will undoubtedly be very cool. This episode is presented in part by NordPVN. Grab your EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal by going to nordvpn.com/comain to get a Huge Discount off your NordVPN Plan + a Bonus Gift! It’s completely risk free with Nord’s 30 day money-back guarantee! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We thought it was weird from the start that Fedor Emelianenko wanted to have his retirement fight against Ryan Bader. It was. Friends, Fedor looked every single day of his 46 years on this planet on Saturday in the Bellator 290 main event. The greatest MMA heavyweight of all time barely threw a punch en route to a first-round TKO victory for Bader. Yep. Sad. And strange. But at least Bellator seemed to understand the magnitude of the moment. Also, UFC 284 is this weekend, featuring a bonafide superfight main event where Dana White can't remember one his champions names. So that's hilarious. Plus, Conor McGregor is back. He's just gonna ease his way back in (to the USADA testing pool and also to competition) by coaching TUF opposite Michael Chandler. This episode is presented in part by NordPVN. Grab your EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal by going to nordvpn.com/comain to get a Huge Discount off your NordVPN Plan + a Bonus Gift! It’s completely risk free with Nord’s 30 day money-back guarantee! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We are led to believe that Saturday's Bellator 290 will include the last fight for The Last Emperor. The 46-year-old Fedor Emelianenko will do the damn thing one more time in a rematch against Ryan Bader. Do we really believe this will be it for him? That's hard to say. If we had our druthers would Fedor's swan song be a rematch with Bader? Nah, not really. But this man was once a phenomenon and he might still be the greatest heavyweight of all time. We guess that means he gets to write his own ticket. Plus, yet more layoffs in the MMA media world and Derrick Lewis finally meets up with Sergey Spivak. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jamahal Hill answered all our questions against Glover Teixeira on Saturday night at UFC 283. Could he handle the step-up in competition? Yes. Was he ready to go hard for the full 25 minutes? Indeed. Would he be cowed by having 13,000 Brazilians chanting for his death? Hell no. Hill emerged with the clean sweep unanimous decision over Teixeira and -- sort of out of nowhere -- also the UFC light heavyweight title. So, what will the Jamahal Hill Era look like? We have some guesses. Plus, Brandon Moreno gets the last laugh on Davey Figgs. Or does he? And Jose Aldo is going in the Hall, brother. This episode is presented in part by Nord VPN. Grab your EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal by going to nordvpn.com/comain to get a Huge Discount off your NordVPN Plan + a Bonus Gift! It’s completely risk free with Nord’s 30 day money-back guarantee! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Well, he did it. Francis Ngannou waited-out his UFC contract while rehabbing from knee surgery during 2022 and now he's a free man. There's never been a better time to be a free agent in combat sports and Ngannou seems like he's in a unique position to capitalize on it. What will he do next? Where will he go? And how much will he make? Meanwhile, Dana White is still sitting in front of microphones telling obvious lies about why fighters increasingly choose to depart the UFC. His claims seem especially hilarious when he's talking about Ngannou, though, right? With the real champ gone, the UFC will now stage Jon Jones' long-awaited heavyweight debut against Ciryl Gane for the vacant title. Hooray? This episode is brought to you in part by NordVPN. Grab your EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal by going to nordvpn.com/comain to get a Huge Discount off your NordVPN Plan + a Bonus Gift! It’s completely risk free with Nord’s 30 day money-back guarantee! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Well, fuck, you guys. We had just hit "export" on the latest episode of the CME when we refreshed Twitter to see the planned UFC main event between Nassourdine Imavov and Kelvin Gastelum is off and now SEAN STRICKLAND is in for an injured Gastelum. That's certainly unfortunate ... but a lot of this week's episode still stands up. It's still fight week and we still feel a weird pressure to stop talking about Dana White slapping his wife in the face at a club in Mexico on New Year's Eve and start talking about fights. Plus, there's still some stuff to unpack about Jake Paul signing with PFL for some MMA fights. Just, you know, do a find-and-replace in your head for "Strickland" every time we say "Gastelum." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With video of Dana White slapping his wife in the face in a club in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico on New Year's Eve now spreading across the internet, we are forced to frame this week's discussion around whether MMA is edging ever closer to a world without the longtime UFC president. Regardless if White skates on this incident the same way he's skated without any real consequences so much in the past, it feels like he's getting closer to the exit, doesn't it? How would that effect the UFC? Maybe not at all, honestly. Plus, where do we see the UFC's product headed in general during 2023, perhaps the last year of its broadcast deal with ESPN? How are our personal fan relationships with this sport holding up? And what is in store for the Bellators, PFLs and One Championships of the world? All that and more on the first CME of 2023. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Conor McGregor didn't fight. Jon Jones didn't fight. Francis Ngannou fought once, in January, and then spent the rest of the year rehabbing from injury with perhaps one foot out the door. Nate Diaz left. Israel Adesanya lost the title. It was a weird year for stars in the UFC. But was it also a preview of times to come? We discuss on the last CME Proper of the 2022. This episode is brought to you in part by NordVPN. Grab your EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal by going to nordvpn.com/comain or use the code comain to get one free bonus month as well as their exclusive 30-day money back guarantee. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Paddy Pimblett somehow messed around and was awarded a unanimous decision victory over Jared Gordon on Saturday at UFC 282, in a co-main event bout almost everybody who watched live thought Gordon won. To say there was some, um, discussion about that afterward would be a bit of an understatement. Basically people lost their shit--and they hadn't even seen the main event yet, where Jan Blachowicz and Magomed Ankalaev fought to a split draw over the UFC light heavyweight title. So, yeah, judging is on the table this week. Also, what on earth is the UFC gonna do with Pimblett now that he has proven to be a star who is also maybe not that good at fighting? Plus, after the title fight draw, the promotion needed two random-ass light heavyweights to fight on a random-ass night in Brazil for the belt. So it picked Glover Teixeira and Jamahal Hill. This episode is brought to you in part by NordVPN. Grab your EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal by going to nordvpn.com/comain or use the code comain to get one free bonus month as well as their exclusive 30-day money back guarantee. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Score one for the old dogs at Saturday's UFC on ESPN event. Not only did Stephen "Wonderman" Thompson emerge victorious over an injured Kevin Holland in the main event, but Clay Guida, Rafeal dos Anjos and Angela Hill also got wins. So that'll teach these young whippersnappers a thing or two! Plus, it's UFC 282 fight week and we are sad to report that Robbie Lawler is out and his fight against Santiago Ponzinibbio is scrapped. Still a pretty fun card though, all things considered. Also, James Krause, what you doin', baby? This episode is brought to you in part by NordVPN. Grab your EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal by going to nordvpn.com/comain or use the code comain to get one free bonus month as well as their exclusive 30-day money back guarantee. The CME is also present in part by the Draft Kings Sportsbook. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800- GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537) (IL/IN/LA/MI/NJ/PA/TN/WV/WY), 1-800- NEXT STEP (AZ), 1-800-522-4700 (CO/NH/KS), 888-789-7777/visit http://ccpg.org (CT), 1-800-BETS OFF (IA), 877-8-HOPENY/text HOPENY (467369) (NY), visit OPGR.org (OR), or 1-888-532-3500 (VA). 21+ (18+ NH/WY). Physically present in AZ/CO/CT/IL/IN/IA/LA(select parishes)/MI /NJ/ NY/PA/TN/VA/WV/WY only. Void in ONT. $150 in Free bets: Valid 1 per new customer. Min. $5 deposit. Min $5 pre-fight moneyline bet. $150 issued as six (6) $25 free bets that expire 7 days (168 hours) after being awarded. Bet must win. Stepped Up: Void in NJ. Valid 1 Profit Boost Token per customer. Token must be used on 3-leg same game parlay bet for UFC 282. Max. $50 bet. Token expires at the start of the main card fight and must be selected before placing bet. Profit boosted 50% on net winnings. Net winnings is the total payout less original bet amount. Profit Boost Tokens have no cash value and are valid only on DraftKings Sportsbook. Ends at the start of the main card fight of UFC 282. See eligibility & terms at sportsbook.draftkings.com/mmaterms. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Well, this is a new one. After months of speculation on exactly what he was up to when the UFC apparently let him opt out of the USADA testing pool while recovering from the horrible leg injury he suffered at UFC 264, Conor McGregor appeared to admit in a flurry of tweets that he took a bunch of PEDs. He also appeared to say "how dare you" to anybody who questioned him about it. Frankly, we're not sure if this is stupid or genius, but it certainly gives us a lot to talk about. Plus, Larissa Pacheco forces game four against Kayla Harrison and the UFC is back with a pretty OK looking TV card this Saturday. This episode is brought to you in part by NordVPN. Grab your EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal by going to nordvpn.com/comain or use the code comain to get one free bonus month as well as their exclusive 30-day money back guarantee. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We have once again reached an odd inflection point where Bellator MMA could lay conceivable claim to having the best fighter in the world in a particular weight class. This time it's light heavyweight champion Vadim Nemkov, who put on a remarkable performance Friday night against Corey Anderson in the delayed final of the Bellator light heavyweight grand prix. Nemkov went and did the thing we're always asking MMA fighters to do: he closed the specific holes in his game necessary to win this fight and walked away with the lopsided unanimous decision win, the giant check and the gold. As ever with Bellator, though, the question is: Will anybody care? Plus, Derrick Lewis got the tummy troubles and PFL will offer its first ever pay-per-view event. This episode is brought to you in part by NordVPN. Grab your EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal by going to nordvpn.com/comain or use the code comain to get one free bonus month as well as their exclusive 30-day money back guarantee. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, we take listener questions on all things UFC 281. Will Israel Adesanya get an immediate rematch against Alex Pereira after dropping the middleweight title in a fight he was probably on his way to winning on the cards? Should we actually be giving two-time UFC champion Carla Esparza more credit, despite this most recent drubbing at the hands of Zhang Weili? Did Michael Chandler earn his Dundasso blackbelt before getting choked out by Cool Dusty P? And what on earth has happened to Dominick Reyes? This episode is brought to you in part by NordVPN. Grab your EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal by going to nordvpn.com/comain or use the code comain to get one free bonus month as well as their exclusive 30-day money back guarantee. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As has become customary for pay-per-views, two title fights are on the docket Saturday at UFC 281. One is a hotly anticipated middleweight championship match between Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira that everybody is stoked for and where nobody seems to know what will happen. The other one? Not QUITE so much intrigue. In the evening's co-main event, Zhang Welli challenges Carla Esparza for the strawweight belt in a bout that most assume marks the end of Esparza's reign as champion. Then again, we didn't think Esparza was going to beat Rose, now did we? So, maybe there's a chance? Plus Cool Dusty P and Mikie C. in a banger and ... Amanda Lemos upsets Marina Rodriguez at a Fight Night. This episode is brought to you in part by Draft Kings. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800- GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537) (IL/IN/LA/MI/NJ/PA/TN/WV/WY), 1-800- NEXT STEP (AZ), 1-800-522-4700 (CO/NH/KS), 888-789-7777/visit http://ccpg.org (CT), 1-800-BETS OFF (IA), 877-8-HOPENY/text HOPENY (467369) (NY), visit OPGR.org (OR), or 1-888-532-3500 (VA). 21+ (18+ NH/WY). Physically present in AZ/CO/CT/IL/IN/IA/LA(select parishes)/MI/NH/NJ/ NY/OR/PA/TN/VA/WV/WY only. $200 in Free bets: New customers only. Min. $5 deposit. Min $5 pre-fight moneyline bet. $200 issued as eight (8) $25 free bets. Bet must win. Stepped Up: 1 Token issued per eligible game. Opt in req. Min $1 bet. Max bet limits apply. Min. 3-leg. Each leg min. -300 odds, total bet +100 odds or longer. 10+ leg req. for 100% boost. Ends at the start of the main card fight of UFC 281. See eligibility & terms at sportsbook.draftkings.com/mmaterms. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Two things can be true at once: Is Jake Paul just using these aging MMA fighters to make himself a series of huge paydays from relatively easy fights? Yes, obviously. But did Paul and Showtime also celebrate Anderson Silva better both before and after their scrap on Saturday night than the UFC did at the end of Silva's MMA career? Also yes. So, that seems notable. On top of everything else, Silva and Paul went out there and had a pretty fun fight, even if it didn't end the way most inside the bubble would have liked. Plus, Calvin Kattar's knee came apart and Jon Jones is suddenly in a big hurry to fight, huh? This episode is brought to you in part by NordVPN. Grab your EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal by going to nordvpn.com/comain or use the code comain to get one free bonus month as well as their exclusive 30-day money back guarantee. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We did not think it was going to go like that. Both figuratively and literally, our money was on Charles Oliveira to once again become lightweight champion at UFC 280. As it happened, Islam Makhachev was absolutely dominant, rolling to a second-round submission victory. Now, it seems the powers that be will set him up with a champ-champ fight against Alexander Volkanovski. That sucks for all the other lightweights, but you can absolutely take all our money for it. Plus, who's to blame for TJ Dillashaw showing up to fight a title fight he had absolutely no business fighting? And whether or not you thought Sean O'Malley deserved to win the decision, he kind of put it right in our faces with his performance against Petr Yan. This episode is brought to you in part by NordVPN. Grab your EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal by going to nordvpn.com/comain or use the code comain to get one free bonus month as well as their exclusive 30-day money back guarantee. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Let's face it, Charles Oliveira vs. Islam Makhachev seems like a heck of a fight for the "vacant" UFC lightweight title. Factor in that this event goes down in the middle of a Saturday afternoon (can't argue with mid-day fights!) and the UFC has efficiently increased our hunger by feeding us a steady diet of garbage Fight Nights in recent weeks and we are pumped. Are we actually a little bit TOO pumped? This episode is brought to you in part by Draft Kings. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800- GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537) (IL/IN/LA/MI/NJ/PA/TN/WV/WY), 1-800- NEXT STEP (AZ), 1-800-522-4700 (CO/KS/NH), 888-789-7777/visit http://ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-BETS OFF (IA), 877-8-HOPENY/text HOPENY (467369) (NY), visit OPGR.org (OR), or 1-888-532-3500 (VA). 21+ (18+ NH/WY). Physically present in AZ/CO/CT/IL/IN/IA/KS/LA(select parishes)/MI/NH/NJ/ NY/OR/PA/TN/VA/WV/WY only. Eligibility restrictions apply. Free bets: New customers only. Min. $5 deposit. Min $5 bet. Bet must win. $200 issued as eight (8) $25 free bets. Profit Boost: Opt-in req. 1 profit boost token issued per customer. Min. 3-leg same game parlay bet. Max bet $50. Profit boosted 100% on addt’l winnings. Ends at the start of the main card fight of UFC 280. See terms at draftkings.com/mmaterms. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's been a few weeks now since news originally broke that Conor McGregor apparently hadn't been drug tested by USADA since the third quarter of 2021. Yet ... still nothing. It doesn't appear those reports served as a wake-up call that perhaps the UFC's anti-PEDs partner should put some agents on a dingy and have them motor out to McGregor's yacht with a sample cup. And in the absence of more robust testing, well, these rumors aren't going away. Cue Justin Gaethje, who speculated this week that the Irish fella has been "off doing steroids" during his time away. So, uh, can somebody please drug test this man? Plus, speaking of our old buds from the days before robust drug testing, Alistair Overeem is still out here nabbing wins in kickboxing. Oh, and there's another garbage-ass UFC Fight Night this week. Are they doing this on purpose to get us excited for UFC 280? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

So, Dana White lied right to our faces and it turned out the reason no fans or media could attend Saturday's UFC Fight Night event WAS because Mark Zuckerberg wanted to be there, after all. And even if Dana White tries to claim later that he didn't lie due to some semantic bullshit, we all know the truth now. Zuck just had to be there to watch Mackenzie Dern ... who unfortunately lost a majority decision to Yan Xiaonan and then felt the need to apologize if she "made anybody sad" with her performance. So, fuck, was that some super disheartening late-stage capitalism stuff? Yes, it was. Also, though, Bellator turned in a pretty fun event that included Brandon Gibson desperately trying to get Aaron Pico's arm to snap back into its socket between rounds, so at least there was some good stuff to be had. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ben Rothwell is set to make his first post-UFC appearance this weekend, taking on -- say it with us now -- Bobo "The Bible Belt Brawler" O'Bannon in BKFC. You know what, call us crazy, but considering his size, skills and experience, we kinda think Rothwell might do OK in BKFC. Plus, Melvin Manhoef calls it a career (but not before getting pounded into the Black Lands by Yoel Romero) and this weekend's UFC Fight Night event seems like ... well ... straight trash. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If we remember UFC Fight Night 210 at all, it'll likely be as a damn bloodbath. Cory Sandhagen got a much-needed win in a men's bantamweight contender bout against Song Yadong, after springing open an early cut that had multiple ringside officials nearly peering into Yadong's brain. There was also a grusome cut in Gregory Rodrigues' comeback win over Chidi Njokuani in the co-main and in his win over Bill Algeo, Andre Fili said his ear so filled up with Algeo's blood that it "felt like I jumped into a swimming pool." So, uh, yeah, nasty. In addition, we reflect on the UFC/WEC career of Jose Aldo and look ahead to Friday night's Bellator event in Dublin. This episode is brought to you in part by NordVPN. Grab your EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal by going to nordvpn.com/comain or use the code comain to get one free bonus moth and their exclusive 30-day money back guarantee. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Well, that was fuckin' crazy, eh Mainiacs? Here we thought Nate Diaz and Tony Ferguson were both headed for demoralizing losses in odd match-ups against heavily favored opponents and then -- Boom! -- Khamzat Chimaev screws the whole shit up. Instead of seeing Diaz ragdolled by Chimaev, Nate lucks into a far more advantageous bout against Tony Fegurson ... which Diaz WINS and now exits the UFC into free agency with, like, ALL THE MOMENTUM. And Chimaev? Well, ordinarily, a guy who missed weight by 7.5-pounds -- thereby causing the UFC to have to rebook an entire PPV card -- would be in deep shit, but this guy seems like he's going to skate without suffering a single consequence after his own favorable match-up against Kevin Holland. So, we have a lot of thoughts about all of that. This week's episode is brought to you in part by NordVPN. Grab your EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal by going to nordvpn.com/comain or use the code comain to get one free bonus moth and their exclusive 30-day money back guarantee. We are also proudly presented by Draft Kings. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800- GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537) (IL/IN/LA/MI/NJ/PA/WV/WY), 1-800-NEXT STEP (AZ), 1-800-522-4700 (CO/NH), 888-789-7777/visit http://ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-BETS OFF (IA), 877-8-HOPENY/text HOPENY (467369) (NY), visit OPGR.org (OR), call/text TN REDLINE 1- 800-889-9789 (TN), or 1-888-532-3500 (VA). 21+ (18+ NH/WY). Physically present in AZ/CO/CT/IL/IN/IA/LA(select parishes)/MI/NH/NJ/ NY/OR/PA/TN/VA/WV/WY only. New customer offer void in NH/OR/ONT-CA. $200 in Free bets: New customers only. Valid 1 per new customer. Min. $5 deposit. Min $5 wager. $200 issued as eight (8) $25 free bets. Ends 9/19/22 @ 8pm. Early Win: 1 Early Win Token issued per eligible game. Opt in req. Token expires at start of eligible game. Min moneyline bet $1. Wagering limits apply. Wagers placed on both sides of moneyline will void bet. Ends 1/8/23 @ 8pm ET. See terms at sportsbook dot draftkings dot com slash football terms. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's pledge month over at the CME Patreon. If you haven't yet signed up to join the team, we'd love it if you'd consider lending us your support at: https://www.patreon.com/comainevent This week, we set about getting primed for Saturday's UFC 279 fight card. Or, rather, we set about trying to guard ourselves against heartbreak, as Nate Diaz vs. Khamzat Chimaev AND Tony Ferguson vs. Li Jingliang BOTH go down on this card. Dude. Who's idea was THAT? Also, we reflect on Ciryl Gane's third-round TKO over Tai Tuivasa at UFC Paris last weekend, which won Ben a lot of money, perhaps scuttled Chad's heavyweight prophecy and put Gane in line to receive ... well ... something. This episode is brought to you in part by Draft Kings. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800- GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537) (IL/IN/LA/MI/NJ/PA/WV/WY), 1-800-NEXT STEP (AZ), 1-800-522-4700 (CO/NH), 888-789-7777/visit http://ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-BETS OFF (IA), 877-8-HOPENY/text HOPENY (467369) (NY), visit OPGR.org (OR), call/text TN REDLINE 1- 800-889-9789 (TN), or 1-888-532-3500 (VA). 21+ (18+ NH/WY). Physically present in AZ/CO/CT/IL/IN/IA/LA(select parishes)/MI/NH/NJ/ NY/OR/PA/TN/VA/WV/WY only. New customer offer void in NH/OR/ONT-CA. $200 in Free bets: New customers only. Valid 1 per new customer. Min. $5 deposit. Min $5 wager. $200 issued as eight (8) $25 free bets. Ends 9/19/22 @ 8pm. Early Win: 1 Early Win Token issued per eligible game. Opt in req. Token expires at start of eligible game. Min moneyline bet $1. Wagering limits apply. Wagers placed on both sides of moneyline will void bet. Ends 1/8/23 @ 8pm ET. See terms at sportsbook dot draftkings dot com slash football terms. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The UFC touches down for the first time in Paris, France this Saturday, with Ciryl Gane and Tai Tuivasa set to do the damn thing in an allegedly important heavyweight contender bout. Is it still a big deal when the UFC is able to break into new territory, as it will do this weekend? And if so, a big deal for whom, exactly? Plus, in Power Rankings, everybody keeps talking like Big Fran will be back in the UFC, Conor McGregor maybe posts a video of himself receiving oral sex on his yacht and, man, do you ever wonder what MMA would be like today if Greg Jackson hadn't KILLED THE ENTIRE SPORT 10 years ago this week? Join here: https://www.patreon.com/comainevent Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One Championship took advantage of a UFC-free weekend and made its debut on Amazon Prime Video over the weekend. You know what? It was pretty good. Can recommend. Would do again. Plus, One maybe kinda lucked out getting a resurgent Demetrious Johnson as its flyweight champion at this event. Now, the biggest question is, can One and Prime make a splash in the American MMA market? And how much of that comes down to whether Prime really wants to invest in live sports? Plus, we look ahead to UFC Paris. This episode is brought to you in part by Draft Kings Sportsbook. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800- GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537) (IL/IN/LA/MI/NJ/PA/WV/WY), 1-800-NEXT STEP (AZ), 1-800-522-4700 (CO/NH), 888-789-7777/visit http://ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-BETS OFF (IA), 877-8-HOPENY/text HOPENY (467369) (NY), visit OPGR.org (OR), call/text TN REDLINE 1- 800-889-9789 (TN), or 1-888-532-3500 (VA). 21+ (18+ NH/WY). Physically present in AZ/CO/CT/IL/IN/IA/LA(select parishes)/MI/NH/NJ/ NY/OR/PA/TN/VA/WV/WY only. New customer offer void in NH/OR/ONT-CA. $200 in Free bets: New customers only. Valid 1 per new customer. Min. $5 deposit. Min $5 wager. $200 issued as eight (8) $25 free bets. Ends 9/19/22 @ 8pm. Early Win: 1 Early Win Token issued per eligible game. Opt in req. Token expires at start of eligible game. Min moneyline bet $1. Wagering limits apply. Wagers placed on both sides of moneyline will void bet. Ends 1/8/23 @ 8pm ET. See terms at sportsbook dot draftkings dot com slash football terms. This episode is also brought to you by NordVPN. CME listeners can grab their EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal by going to https://nordvpn.com/comain to get up a Huge Discount off your NordVPN Plan + 4 months for free! It’s completely risk free with Nord’s 30 day money-back guarantee! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In what has to be the most shocking ending to a UFC pay-per-view card in recent memory, Leon Edwards kicked Kamaru Usman right in his damn face with less than a minute remaining in the fifth round of a fight Usman was about to win on the cards. Thus, UFC 278 and Usman's title reign both came to a close. We're almost certainly running this one back, so gird your loins for a third fight between these two dudes. In other news, Luke Rockhold somehow made it through a three-round war with Paulo Costa even though he looked hella sleepy, capping it by rubbing his head-blood all over Costa's face. And if we told you Merab Dvalishvili was going to go 0-16 on takedown attempts and still win a decision over Jose Aldo, would you have believed us? This episode is brought to you in part by NordVPN. CME listeners can grab their EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal by going to https://nordvpn.com/comain to get up a Huge Discount off your NordVPN Plan + 4 months for free! It’s completely risk free with Nord’s 30 day money-back guarantee! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Saturday in Salt Lake City (man it still feels weird to type that), Leon Edwards' long, strange journey to a UFC welterweight title shot finally comes to a head. Edwards will fight champion Kamaru Usman in the main event of UFC 278, where Edwards is going off as close to a 3-to-1 underdog. It's been such a long slog, with so many broken promises and missed opportunities, how will Edwards react when he's out there for real? Plus, Dom Cruz looked OK right up to the point Marlon Vera kicked him in his damn face. And Rory MacDonald walks away. This episode is brought to you by NordVPN. CME listeners can grab their EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal by going to https://nordvpn.com/comain to get up a Huge Discount off your NordVPN Plan + 4 months for free! It’s completely risk free with Nord’s 30 day money-back guarantee! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

So, Mike Tyson is big mad at Hulu for producing a mini-series about the boxer's life without any of his input. He's happy with Dana White, however, who Tyson says turned down a lot of money to advertise the new show on the UFC. We ask: Is Tyson right to be peeved? Is this a new business niche for Hulu, since they allegedly did the same shit to Pam Anderson earlier this year? Is that shady or nah? Plus, in MMA, Jamahal Hill out-brawled Thiago Santos and Geoff Neal out-dueled Vicente Luque at Saturday's UFC Fight Event, each winning fighter now planting his flag as a prospect we should probably be giving our full attention. A couple of new TUF champions were also crowned. Oh, and it turns out Dominick Cruz is gonna fight Chito Vera next weekend? Knock us over with a feather. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

More than merely making some physical adjustments in the wake of her title loss to Juliana Pena at UFC 269, it seemed like Amanda Nunes just flat vowed to show the world she was still the women's MMA GOAT on Saturday at UFC 277. And, yeah, mission accomplished. Nunes battered Pena from pillar to post for 25 minutes in their main event fight, duly recapturing the 135-pound title and reminding us all that we probably don't appreciate her greatness as much as we should. So, sorry if we ever doubted you, Amanda. Also, Brandon Moreno continued to be a badass men's flyweight and a true delight as a human being. Plus, we circle back to touch a bit on the stuff we missed from UFC London. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There are two primary questions we hope to have answered by the UFC 277 main event. Firstly, did Juliana Pena merely catch lighting in a bottle when she took the women's bantamweight title off Amanda Nunes during their first meeting at UFC 269? Secondly, is Nunes still about that life? If the answer to one or both of these queries is yes, then we figure we've got a good chance of seeing Nunes recapture the title on Saturday in Dallas. If not? Things could get dicey. And in the co-main, while Davey Figs eyes two-division supremacy, the UFC is just gonna go ahead and establish an interim belt at men's flyweight. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Yeah, so Brian Ortega and Yair Rodriguez were just getting down to what was shaping up as a pretty fun main event on Saturday's UFC on ABC card when Ortega's shoulder popped out of joint while he was trying to escape an arm bar. So, that was a very specific sort of bummer that might only happen in MMA. Now, you gotta try to explain to your non-MMA buddies what a shame it was that this guy's arm popped ... at a time when we didn't think it was going to pop. Also, Dana White doesn't seem like he wants to talk about Nate Diaz anymore and UFC London is actually kind of a stacked card! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Where to start with this guy Rafael Fiziev? The technique? The power? The composure? How about the takedown defense? Poor Rafael dos Anjos spent 15 minutes trying everything he could think of to get Fiziev down and almost none of it worked. Then, in the fourth round, RDA has a little success, actually lands a couple takedowns and you start to wonder if things are gonna go Dos Anjos' way. Answer: NOPE. Fiziev storms out in the fifth and KOs him in 18 seconds. DAMN. Add ya boi Fiziev to the already crowded list of lightweights knocking on the door of title contention. Plus, Israel Adesanya isn't just gonna sit here and accept your criticisms. And T-City, El Pantera and ABC? Yes, please. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On one hand, you gotta hand it to Israel Adesanya for beating Jared Cannonier in the UFC 276 main event without really seeming to try that hard. On the other hand, man, it really didn't seem like he was trying that hard, did it? I guess when the Undertaker-inspired entrance gets better reviews than the fight, maybe that's not a great sign. At this point, it's pretty obvious there is a wide gulf between Izzy as advertised and the Izzy who actually shows up. If that's the problem, though, maybe kickboxing nemesis Alex Pereira has arrived as a middleweight contender at exactly the right time? Plus, Alexander Volkanovski kinda wore Max Holloway around like a hat. And TWO MMA retirements in one night? Many of us, it would seem, are getting too old for this shit. This episode is brought to you by NordVPN. Grab your EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal by going to nordvpn.com/comain or use the code comain to get a Huge Discount off your NordVPN Plan + 1 additional month for free + a bonus gift! It’s completely risk free with Nord’s 30 day money-back guarantee! URL: https://nordvpn.com/comain Code: comain Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's international fight week and UFC 276 looks pretty stacked. Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway are gonna go out there and try to make their series one for the ages. Robbie Lawler's gonna be there. Cowboy Cerrone's gonna be there. Sean O'Malley. Uriah Hall. If you recognize any of these names it should be because they're some of the usual suspects the UFC generally calls when it wants to pull off a blockbuster pay per view. This main event pitting Israel Adesanya against Jared Cannonier, though? It doesn't feel overly critical to say hopes don't seem particularly high for that one, right? This episode is brought to you in part by Draft Kings. Download the DraftKings Sportsbook app NOW, use promo code COMAINEVENT, bet FIVE DOLLARS on any UFC 276 fighter to win, and get ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS IN FREE BETS no matter what. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1- 800-GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537) (IL/IN/MI/NJ/PA/WV/WY), 1-800- NEXT STEP (AZ), 1-800-522-4700 (CO/NH), 888-789-7777/visit http://ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-BETS OFF (IA), 1-877-770-STOP (7867) (LA), 877-8-HOPENY/text HOPENY (467369) (NY), visit OPGR.org (OR), call/text TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN), or 1- 888-532-3500 (VA). 21+ (18+ WY). Physically present in AZ/CO/CT/IL/IN/IA/LA/MI/ /NJ/NY/ PA/TN/VA/WV/WY only. New customers only. Min. $5 deposit required. Eligibility restrictions apply. See http://draftkings.com/sportsbook for details. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices