The Co-Main Event MMA Podcast

AJ McKee pretty much annihilated the competition during the Bellator featherweight grand prix, including Saturday's championship finale, where he stopped Patricio Pitbull in just a minute, 57 seconds to win the title. Ratings for that event weren't stellar, however, and McKee has now essentially cleaned out the 145-pound division by virtue of winning the tourney. It brings up the question: Is Bellator capable of making McKee the star he deserves to be? Plus: we look ahead to UFC 265. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

TJ Dillashaw surprised a lot of people--including your humble co-hosts--Saturday night by emerging with a split-decision victory over Cory Sandhagen in Dillashaw's return after a two-year JPD suspension. Did Tilly Dills actually deserve to get the nod? Ehhhh ... maybe not, but he still put on a hell of a performance. During this week's show, we discuss how far the former champ can go now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Miesha Tate perhaps benefited from some friendly matchmaking Saturday night as she returned to the cage for this first time since 2016, but she still made it look pretty easy against a retiring Marion Reneau, en route to a third-round TKO. The win immediately makes Tate a player at 135-pounds again. Will the same player-status ultimately be bestowed on that dude Islam Makhachev? He certainly looks the part, but will have to fight somebody first. Plus, what does Tyler Jeffrey Dillashaw have left to give? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Conor McGregor broke his whole leg shit on Saturday night against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264. The good news is, Poirier will probably now get to fight for the title while McGregor convalesces. The bad news? Yeah, depending on a bunch of factors, we're probably gonna have to sit through Poirier vs. McGregor 4 when he comes back. Also, Tai Tuivasa stole the flippin' show at this biggest PPV of the year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This weekend at UFC 264, Conor McGregor returns to the octagon for just the fifth time since 2016 to complete a trilogy with Dustin Poirier. At this point, we've got so little recent intel on McGregor as a fighter, do even hardcore fans know what to expect? Also, so the UFC went and pissed off new heavyweight champ Francis Ngannou by setting up a interim title fight between Ciryl Gane and Derrick Lewis, huh? Sure, that sounds like a great idea. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kind of funny that we all, as MMA fans, are going to look down our noses at these boxing vs. MMA crossover fights until we win one, and then suddenly we're out here in the street lighting couches on fire and ordering bottle service in the VIP. All jokes aside, however, Anderson Silva's win over Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. provided a nice moment "The Spider" absolutely deserves. Plus: Chan Sung Jung back and a heavyweight doubleheader on tap Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Honestly, Brandon Moreno kinda stole the show at UFC 263, what with winning the men's flyweight title in overwhelming fashion while simultaneously seeming like the nicest damn person in the world. In this episode, we react to The Assassin Baby's win, the reality of Leon Edwards winning 24 minutes of a fight and Nate Diaz winning one minute and Israel Adesanya blanking Mad Marvin Vettori in the evening's main event. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Israel Adesanya defends the middleweight title Saturday at UFC 263 against Marvin Vettori, in a championship fight that feels like it's happening just because. Does that make this a sneaky trap fight for Adesanya, who has already defeated Vettori once? Also, can Davey Figgs and the Assassin Baby have another slobberknocker? And are Nate Diaz fans gonna come out of this one, like, suuuuper bummed? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Cris Cyborg battered Leslie Smith for nearly the full 25-minutes to retain the Bellator women's featherweight title on Friday night and the following evening Rob Font did something close to the same against Cody Garbrandt in the main event of a UFC Fight Night. We talk about those bouts and then take your questions on this week's episode of the CME. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Charles Oliveira is the lion of lions. He weathered the early storm against Michael Chandler, won the vacant UFC lightweight title via second round TKO and then smeared blood on Dana White. Not a bad night at the office. Plus, what's next for the elite in the 155-pound division and will Tony Ferguson still be part of it? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There's no doubt that Bellator's Friday night event on Showtime was the best MMA card of the weekend. With MVP's whole-shit-broke KO win, Rumble Johnson having a fun one with Jose Augusto and Young Serg upsetting Juan Archuleta for the bantamweight crown, we packed a whole lot of living into this event. But with the UFC now firmly entrenched on ESPN and cranking out content every weekend--cough, Rodriguez vs. Waterson, cough--how much does it matter when Bellator steals the show on a single night? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Just two fights into his UFC run, it sure looks like Jiri Prochazka is closing in on a light heayvweight title shot. And hey, if we're being honest, anything that keeps this suddenly Jon Jones-less division fresh is probably a good thing. Also, Thursday and Friday nights are STACKED with non-UFC action and Saturday night is ... well ... what's the opposite of stacked? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From seeing Chris Weidman's leg shatter against Uriah Hall's leg to a trio of stoppages--at least a couple of them fairly shocking--in the event's three title fights, there were a lot of mood swings during UFC 261. An emotional toll was exacted, you might say. If nothing else, this won't be one we forget for some time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Given the assembly-line nature of the UFC content these days, you can't blame MMA fans, boxing hardcores and casuals alike for being interested in Triller, which is (if nothing else) EXTREMELY different. So, when that dude Ebenezer Paul knocks out Ben Askren in under two minutes, it's going to be kind of a big deal. We discuss that and look ahead to UFC 261. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Marvin Vettori defeated Kevin Holland in the main event of UFC on ABC 2 on Saturday, but it turned out to be the sort o fight that didn't really help either guy's standing in the middleweight division. Plus we talk about last week's efforts from One Championship and Bellator as well as look ahead to Robert Whittaker vs. Kelvin Gastelum. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Patricio "Pitbull" Freire advanced to the final of the Bellator featherweight grand prix Satuday night during that promotion's debut on Showtime, by choking Emanuel Sanchez to damn sleep with a quickness. Now, as he prepares to take on AJ McKee for all the marbles, how good is Pitbull's claim to being the best 145-pounder in the world? Plus, the "Right Guy" Championship fight is now official and the UFC readies for its second broadcast on ABC. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Francis Ngannou pitched damn near a perfect game on Saturday at UFC 260, stopping Stipe Miocic via second-round KO to claim the heavyweight title. By all rights, Jon Jones should be next, but somehow it feels like the UFC is going to screw us out of that one? So, what happens? A rematch with Derrick Lewis? A trilogy with Miocic? We talk our way into the Francis Ngannou Era on this week's CME. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The UFC heavyweight title rematch between Stipe Miocic and Francis Ngannou is set to go down this weekend. The featherweight title scrap between Alexander Volkanovski and Brian Ortega? Not so much. Plus, Kevin Holland drops a unanimous decision to Derek Brunson and suddenly we DON'T think it's cool that he talks through all his fights? Huh, OK. Seemed like that was one of the reasons he found himself in a UFC main event to begin with, but whatever. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Well, fudge. That's not how we wanted it to go. That's obviously not how Belal Muhammad wanted it to go. Dare we say, that's not how Leon Edwards wanted it to go, either, though his suggestion that maybe we just let it go and book him a title fight anyway was--yeah. no, that's not how this shit works. This week? We discuss the eye poke, which makes it three DQ/NC results during the last two weeks of UFC action. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Israel Adesanya's foray into the light heavyweight division did not go as planned, courtesy the Legendary Polish Power of Jan Blachowicz. Oh, Janny Blackjacks, you never stop surprising us. Plus, Amanda Nunes still ain't nothing to fuck with and ... PETR YAN WHAT ARE YOU DOING??? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Knock on wood, people: Five UFC titles are scheduled to be on the line during March, including this weekend's UFC 259 and its triple bill of championship bouts. Can Israel Adesanya end Janny Blackjacks' Cinderella run with the light heavyweight title? Is Petr Yan the guy we thought he was? Is there any way Megan Anderson beats Amanda Nunes? We discuss. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The current moment in the UFC belongs to the big fellas. With Derrick Lewis' KO of Curtis Blaydes last weekend and the Biggi Boy vs. Ciryl Gane coming up next, the heavyweight division is taking center stage. On top of that, it looks like Stipe vs. Big Fran II is actually gonna happen. So, get hyped, America. Now let's just hope Jon Jones didn't put on all that extra weight for nothing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After a first round where it looked like Gilbert Burns was on the verge of capturing the UFC welterweight title, Kamaru Usman put his foot down. The power jab, the low kicks, the third-round TKO victory--all these things served to make Usman look like an ever evolving puzzle for the rest of the 170-pound class. All things being equal, Usman would probably be a much bigger star. Unfortunately, we know that's not how it works in this sport. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Both Alistair Overeem and Frankie Edgar had rough nights at Saturday's UFC. Alexander Volkov busted Overeem's nose en route to a second-round TKO. Corey Sandhagen put Edgar's chin into the stratosphere with a KO-of-the-year-candidate flying knee. So, that was hard to watch. Plus, Ben watched BKFC and we look ahead to UFC 258. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alistair Overeem fights Alexander Volkov this Saturday during Super Bowl weekend, but you already knew we weren't going to spend the entire show talking about that. Instead, we take listener queries in another one of our All Questions Considered episodes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dustin Poirier walked out to James Brown's "The Big Payback," stopped Conor McGregor in the second round and then declared himself the uncrowned champion. A pretty nifty piece of business from The Diamond all the way around at UFC 257. Now, we ask what should be next for Poirier, McGregor and, oh yeah, Michael Chandler in a suddenly Khabib-free lightweight division. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Max Holloway amazed us all with his performance at Saturday's UFC on ABC card. Never one to rest on its laurels, however, the UFC ramps back up for two events this week. (We see you, Michael Chiesa vs. Neil Magny!) And as Conor McGregor prepares to return at UFC 257, any effort to figure out what he has left just feels like guesswork. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The UFC returns to network television this week for the first time since 2018, as Saturday afternoon it presents its debut broadcast on ABC. What to make of this, especially after the fight company's tenure on Big Fox started with a bang and then slowly petered-out over the lifetime of that deal? And what can we surmise from matchmakers using Max Holloway vs. Calvin Kattar as the first main event in this new series? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the first episode of The Proper since mid-December, we've got some catching up to do. So, we're going All Questions Considered this week. What's up with the UFC raising PPV prices? Have we witnessed the fatal flaw in Greg Hardy's MMA evolution? And what's the UFC really doing with its "Performance Center"? Those questions and more ... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Let's be honest, ain't nobody doing any work the week of Christmas. This episode, we present (or, uh, re-represent, as the case may be) our year-end awards. Plus, Sir Nigel Longstock stops by to read the best tweets of 2020. We pop champagne and hand out white elephant gifts. You'll like it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno threw DOWN on Saturday in the main event of UFC 256 and, while it probably wasn't the fight of the year, it was perhaps the greatest majority draw of all time. In the co-main, Charles Oliveira wore Tony Ferguson around like a hat. Don't look now, but on the heels of a crackerjack pay-per-view card last weekend, there's another potentially dope card coming up this week. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The UFC says its release of perennial title contender/lovable weirdsmobile Yoel Romero is one of about 60 cuts it will make before the New Year to trim its "inflated" roster. Inflated, huh? That's an interesting, hey-this-was-nobody's-fault kind of way to say it. So, that's a bummer. We also talk about Marvin Vettori's recent win over Jack Hermansson and preview UFC 256--a fight card that looks fun enough to make us feel uneasy with six days still to go before fight night. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ben watched the Mike Tyson-Roy Jones Jr. exhibition boxing match on Saturday night and gleefully reports that he got his money's worth ... of entertainment, if not exactly top flight boxing action. Meanwhile, the UFC scrapped Curtis Blaydes vs. Derrick Lewis at the the last minute while simultaneously shuffling the line-ups for its next two events as well. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

UFC 255 was definitely a thing that happened, as Deiveson Figueiredo and Valentina Shevchenko retained the men's and women's flyweight titles, respectively. This week on an All Questions Considered episode of The Proper, we talk the greatness of Figgy Small and Shevy Chenks, as well as A.J. McKee pulling off a heretofore unseen submission in the Bellator GP. Plus, a lot of other odds and ends. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Paul Felder didn't beat Rafael dos Anjos Saturday night, but it still feels like Felder's choice to step in on short notice for a five-rounder against a former champion was the right thing to do. Plus, the Bellator 145-pound grand prix deserves your attention, while UFC 255 maybe ... well, you make the call. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

So, Glover Teixeira pretty much handled Thiago Santos in their main event fight Saturday night. This week, the CME turns its attention to the most vexing questions facing the 205-pound division, including: In a world where Jon Jones is absent, could Teixeira be the best light heavyweight in the UFC? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Anderson Silva lost to Uriah Hall on Saturday via fourth-round TKO. It wasn't great. It also wasn't terrible. But, jeez louise, Dana White sure showed up at the postfight presser in a shitty mood. He says Silva still has one fight left on his UFC deal and White will NOT be offering it to him. So, what happens next? Plus, Isreal Adesanya will fight Janny Blackjacks for the light heavyweight strap (wait, what?) and this weekend we finally get to see the Covid Cup. You know unless something bad happens. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Khabib Nurmagomedov called it quits on Saturday after UFC 254 in what has to be considered one of the most emotional retirement announcements in MMA history. Naturally, we got a lot of mail on the subject. This week's All Questions Considered show talks Khabib's legacy, his performance against Justin Gaethje and what now to do with the vacant lightweight title. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brian Ortega returned from his first career loss and an extended absence from the cage looking like a new man on Saturday and straight-up put a whipping on Chan Sung Jung. Sup with that??? Plus, we look ahead to UFC 254's man and co-main events. Hype level is high! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If what you want out of your UFC content is a no-strings-attached experience where one semi-anonymous dude might do something unbelievably awesome (and terrible) to another semi-anonymous dude then, brother, Saturday night was your JAM. We discuss that and other stuff on this week's CME Proper. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Holly "Holmes" Holm and Carlos "Conduit" Condit both went out there and reminded us who the fuck they were on Saturday. But what now for our two old pals? Plus, the Jon Jones-Israel Adesanya beef gets capital "W" Weird and--oh, look!--another fairly low profile UFC event this weekend. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Here's a taste of Chad's new podcast: Death in the West. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Israel Adesanya froze Paulo Costa like a statue, battered him with leg kicks from range and then toppled him with strikes to the dome piece in the second. It was, in short, exactly the kind of performance you'd want from a budding UFC superstar. Speaking of stars, how about your dude Janny Blackjacks? How long can we reasonably expected him to hang onto the strap? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Colby Covington pretty much shut down Tyron Woodley en route to a fifth-round TKO victory on Saturday night. Then Covington opened his mouth and spewed awful racist bile all over the place during the postfight. You know, like he does. Plus, Donald Cerrone draws Niko Price and, hey, UFC 253 is this weekend! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There were a ton of fights this weekend, and the CME will forego its normal three-round format in order to talk about as many of them as possible. We discuss Michelle Waterson's win over Angela Hill, Ed Herman's Dundasso and those terrible low blows in Bellator, among other things. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alistair Overeem's late-career dream continues, in the form of a fifth-round TKO over Augusto Sakai. All the props in the world to Overeem for remaking himself as a crafty veteran, but how far can he continue to roll at age 40? Plus, Nick Diaz back? Fight Island back? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Anthony Smith made a somewhat short turnaround after his high-publicized de-toothing by Glover Teixeira back in May, just to return Saturday night to get outpointed by Aleksandar Rakic. Chances are, Smith's not going to be happy with that. Plus, are we seeing the end of the Brutal Bob Lawler Era? And Chad invents a time machine and sends Ben on a mission with an important message for 2010 Alistair Overeem. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Frankie Edgar finally made his bantamweight debut on Saturday and ... well ... it looked a lot like what we've seen from him at every other weight, which is to say quite good, but also prone to producing fights that could go either way. Plus, Ryan Bader finds out why you don't tempt the MMA Gods and--what's this???--some actual UFC vs. Bellator beef? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Stipe Miocic will continue being the man after his unanimous decision victory over Daniel Cormier at UFC 252 concluded that pair's heavyweight title trilogy. As for Cormier? We're not totally sure, though we hope it's something good. Plus, just to add to this event's weirdness, Sean O'Malley's leg went kablooey. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Stipe Miocic and Daniel Cormier fulfill the trilogy this weekend. Kind of feels like it snuck up on us, no? Plus, we love Derrick Lewis, but is he trying to do too much? And shouldn't some MMA company just give Michael Chandler whatever he wants? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices