The MMA Vivisection & 6th Round Podcasts

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.comLet’s face it, friends, UFC Vegas 82 is a miserable card, as most Apex events are. Zane Simon certainly picked the right week to go on vacation, so that he could be spared of this nothingburger of a card. But never fear, fans of sanctioned violence, the boys have a brand new episode of The MMA Depressed-us and it’s a hoot!Bloody Elbow is fighting for th…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.comYou read that headline right, folks. Conor McGregor, who was expected to headline UFC 300 (never official, though) is no longer on the card according to his longtime coach John Kavanagh. In an interview with Ariel Helwani, Kavanagh revealed the UFC was the decider in this latest delay of McGregor’s return to action.Bloody Elbow is fighting for the sport…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.comUFC 295 is a damned good card, all the way through. Are there fights you can pass on and not feel bad about? Sure, but the majority of these contests are solid as a rock and look like they’re barnburners just looking for a place to happen.Bloody Elbow is fighting for the sport, the fighters and the fans. If you share our mission, please consider becomin…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.comWoohoo! We’ve got a terrific main card and the boys are here to tell you all about it. As the title suggests, Jiri Prochazka is back and taking on an equally dynamic athlete with not much mind for anything but violence in Alex Pereira. And it’s for the belt! We. Are. Happy.Bloody Elbow is fighting for the sport, the fighters and the fans. If you share o…

We’ve got a special episode today, a preview of the last Grand Sumo tournament of the year, the Kyushu basho, with Bloody Elbow’s Tim Bissell. We go through quite a few topics, which I’ll list below, but if you require more in-depth analysis, Tim has a great feature that you can check out here.Bloody Elbow is fighting for the sport, the fighters and the fans. If you share our mission, please consider becoming a paid subscriber today.Now, let’s get cracking on that listicle.* General terminology* Why Mongolia is so important in Sumo* How to attend one of these tournament matches* What NOT to do when you’re a Sumo wrestler* Will a new yokozuna be crowned* Who is the ‘angry hamster’?* Ozeki jitters* All about Atamifuji* All about Hokutofuji* What’s up with Wakatakakage?Thank you for reading this article and listening to the podcast. Please consider subscribing to the Bloody Elbow Substack to enjoy our daily premium content. Your paid subscriptions are helping build our new site and keeping hope alive that our staff will remain intact. If you haven’t already, please pledge with a paid subscription today. If you have, please share this post far and wide.Follow us as @BloodyElbow on twitter, facebook, instagram, and at BloodyElbow.Substack.com & BloodyElbowPodcast.Substack.com.Thank you for listening to the Level Change Podcast. This post is public so feel free to share it. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.comLast week, big news hit combat sports media circles. Well, actually two things happened:* The UFC’s appeal to the antitrust case was denied by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals* The release of every UFC athlete payout from 2011-2016That release of the athlete payouts gave John Nash and Anton Tabuena plenty of fodder to go through, and the long and the shor…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.comThe boys are back in town! The boys are back in town! And they’ve got a brand new episode! This week features intense discussion on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals denying the UFC’s appeal in the antitrust case. From important dates to the standard operating procedures of the courts and how the next series of events in this case could play out. Blood…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.comAfter being absolutely ravaged by late cancellations and replacements, UFC Sao Paulo saw a mixed bag of results. Eduarda Moura announced herself to fans in a big way with her sensational debut and Vitor Petrino might have rearranged Modestas Bukauskas’ memories with the crushing left he hit the 29-year-old with.Angela Hill got back in the win column wit…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.comThat’s right, Elves Brener will be back in action against Kaynan Kruschewsky, the late replacement for Esteban Ribovics. Will the Elves keep his winning streak intact? And we cannot overlook the intriguing pairing of Angie Hill and Denise Gomes. Denise is riding a two-fight win streak and Angie is coming off a loss to Mackenzie Dern. There’s plenty of a…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.comYesterday, news broke that the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals denied the UFC’s appeal to the antitrust lawsuit, so of course we had to record in the dead of night to bring our listeners all the details. John explains all the upcoming dates the honorable Judge Boulware has set forth and what happens next.Bloody Elbow is fighting for the sport, the fighte…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.comPhew! We’ve got 13 fights to look forward to Saturday and you know what? They’re pretty good. You can probably guess why, though. It’s right there in the title, UFC Sao Paulo…as in not at the Apex. Are all the fights great? Nope. But a good many of them are, and that’s a decent way to set the table after a weekend off. And we have the added benefit of D…

We had a special guest drop in this week, TUF 30 winner Juliana Miller gave us 20 minutes of her time to discuss the surgery that’s taking her out competition until sometime next Spring, the external sponsors she’s managed to acquire, training at Sikjitsu and more. I had toyed with the idea of making this our bonus content, and in the episode, that is what you’ll hear, but in practice, I am making the entire episode free so everyone can have access to the interview. Bloody Elbow is fighting for the sport, the fighters and the fans. If you share our mission, please consider becoming a paid subscriber today.We also weighed in on Francis Ngannou’s big weekend and the impact it’s had on combat sports and what we’d like to see next from “The Predator.” Finally, we made our picks on four fights from the main card. Spoiler alert: This is not a bad card! There are plenty of potential bangers on UFC Sao Paulo. Rejoice! Let’s take a look at the fights we selected to preview:UFC Sao Paulo* Jailton Almeida vs. Derrick Lewis* Caio Borralho vs. Abus Magomedov* Rodolfo Vieira vs. Armen Petrosyan* Ismael Bonfim vs. Vinc PichelHEADS UP! IT’S FREE EPISODE WEEK!! THIS ONE IS ON THE HOUSE!!Thank you for reading this article and listening to the podcast. Please consider subscribing to the Bloody Elbow Substack to enjoy our daily premium content. Your paid subscriptions are helping build our new site and keeping hope alive that our staff will remain intact. If you haven’t already, please pledge with a paid subscription today. If you have, please share this post far and wide.Follow us as @BloodyElbow on twitter, facebook, instagram, and at BloodyElbow.Substack.com & BloodyElbowPodcast.Substack.com.Thank you for listening to the Level Change Podcast. This post is public so feel free to share it. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.comFrancis Ngannou’s boxing debut was nothing short of incredible, and even though he didn’t get his arm raised in victory, many in the combat sports world felt he DID do enough to get the nod, but the judges instead scored it in favor of reigning lineal heavyweight champion Tyson Fury. The tally would see “The Predator” take a split decision loss—in his f…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.comEddie Mercado has been interviewing fighters for years and he does a darned good job too. This week, he was able to sit down with UFC veteran fighter-turned broadcast team member Din Thomas. Din answered lots of questions, mainly about things he’d change about the sport if he could. It’s a great episode that you won’t want to miss.Bloody Elbow is fighti…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.comYep, the title says it all. We think Fury-Ngannou will not be competitive. Is there really any other sane way to look at this? The training footage Ngannou released over the last several weeks has not been encouraging, to say the least. Is Tyson Fury even training for this fight? Bloody Elbow is fighting for the sport, the fighters and the fans. If you …

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.comTwo Bunkers in one week! What’s going on? Did we hit the podcast lottery? The answer is yes, you did. Let us explain why we gave you two episodes this week.Bloody Elbow is fighting for the sport, the fighters and the fans. If you share our mission, please consider becoming a paid subscriber today.It’s not every day our fearless leader gets bona fide MMA…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.comThis week, Nate opens up the MMA Bunker for one of his patented tête-à-têtes, this time with Icon Sport founder T Jay Thompson. Thompson reminisced on what those early days were like in Hawaii as one of the first promotions in the sport not named UFC. He also discussed the downfall of fighters that were once on his roster like Phil Baroni and Jason “May…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.comUFC 294 had quite a few shakeups along its journey to Abu Dhabi, but the card was solid, even if punctuated by some weird moments. The physician in attendance was responsible for questionable ringside manner as well as numerous raised eyebrows. The way he handled Victor Henry’s low blow and Johnny Walker’s injury was bordering on egregious. Bloody Elbow…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.comThe undercard for UFC 294 is pretty robust, like the main card, and features some intriguing pairings. The one that’s really got our attention, though, is Mokaev vs. Elliot. Elliot is a savvy veteran grappler who depends on split-second adjustments and scrappiness. Mokaev is the exact opposite, often demonstrating control and technical wrestling. In his…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.comUFC 294 might have lost two of its key players, but we still think it looks great. There’s some definite action fights, two titles on the line and some shakeups leading up to the event in the last few weeks that saw opponent changes and some injury dropoffs—all leading to possibly a better card than the original lineup.Sure, Chimaev vs. Costa was a good…

A few weeks back, we told you all a rumor that Showtime Sports would be closing its doors for good by the time 2024 rolled around. Unfortunately, that rumor proved to be true, with confirmation hitting the community today. All 38 employees, including Stephen Espinoza, will have their positions terminated. Dan Rafael reports that contractors and freelancers (including Luke Thomas and Shakiel Mahjoury) will not be affected by the regular staff cuts.We take a look at Tim Elliot’s extreme haterism, just how well the Misfts promotion is doing, and how Dillon Danis manages to keep failing upward. We also spent some time looking back on UFC Vegas 81, as well as providing a mini preview of the UFC 294 card via the four fights we chose for our picks and predictions. Let’s have a look at those:Bloody Elbow is fighting for the sport, the fighters and the fans. If you share our mission, please consider becoming a paid subscriber today.UFC 294* Islam Makhachev vs. A. Volkanovski 155 lbs * Kamaru Usman vs. Khamzat Chimaev 185 lbs * Magomed Ankalaev vs. Johnny Walker 205 lbs * Tim Elliott vs. Muhammad Mokaev 125 lbsHEADS UP! IT’S FREE EPISODE WEEK!! THIS ONE IS ON THE HOUSE!!Thank you for reading this article and listening to the podcast. Please consider subscribing to the Bloody Elbow Substack to enjoy our daily premium content. Your paid subscriptions are helping build our new site and keeping hope alive that our staff will remain intact. If you haven’t already, please pledge with a paid subscription today. If you have, please share this post far and wide.Follow us as @BloodyElbow on twitter, facebook, instagram, and at BloodyElbow.Substack.com & BloodyElbowPodcast.Substack.com.Thank you for listening to the Level Change Podcast. This post is public so feel free to share it. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.comWe’re just coming from a damn good card that should have been given an audience in an arena not named the Apex. What an absolute downer it was to not hear a crowd going bonkers over the action fest that was Edson Barboza vs. Sodiq Yusuff. There were other great moments on the card, as well. Terrance McKinney needed just 20 seconds to get the job done an…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.comAs with the main card, there is some name value to be noted on the prelims, too. But what made us scratch our heads was that Darren Elkins is riding in the featured prelim spot. Okay, but are we to ignore that Darren has only won three fights in his last nine? We actually have a ranked fighter on the prelims in Chris Gutierrez. Why wasn’t that fight in …

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.comAn actual good card at the Apex?! It DOES happen, just not very often. We’re not here to look a gift horse in the mouth, though. We’re here to celebrate the great things about the event. Let’s start with the obvious: There are three ranked fights AND a seventh ranked fighter—seven fighters ranked on a single card? Yes, we like this a whole lot.Then, as …

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.comFor the last few days, “pundits” from all over the MMA and boxing communities have been weighing in on the lawsuit against Dillon Danis, launched by Logan Paul’s fiancee. Every one of them seems to think it’s Logan himself that’s initiated the suit, but it is indeed Miss Agdal responsible for the litigation.Sonnen, Schaub and McCarthy all seem to think …

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.comUFC Vegas 80 is officially in the books and what a quick end to Grant Dawson! Bobby Green needed less than a minute to put Grant Dawson away before attempting to bring his dog into the cage for the post-fight interview. Daniel Cormier had to talk him down as he was summoning his corner to bring the pooch in. Between that and Vanessa Demopoulos leaping i…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.comThat’s right, folks, there’s just a single ranked fighter on the prelims. Karolina Kowalkiewicz will be doing all the heavy lifting Saturday night. There was another ranked fighter on the prelims, Chris Gutierrez, but his opponent, Montel Jackson, withdrew with an illness, so the fight was scrapped from this show.Now, Poland’s shining star has the weigh…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.comUFC Vegas 80 isn’t a completely terrible card. It’s got reasonable fights on it, even if there are only two ranked fighters across the whole of it. Bearing that in mind, we are left to wonder where the main event is. Surely it can’t be Grant Dawson vs. Bobby Green. That’s hardly the stuff headliners are made of and further, it’s hardly the stuff that ge…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.comThis week’s UFC card is quite possibly the most APEX card we’ve ever seen and that’s saying something. It started with just three ranked fighters (not fights) out of 12 fights. Then the unfortunate news came that one of those three was having their fight scrapped thanks to his opponent’s sudden illness. So here we are, with the biggest promotion in the …

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.comOver the years, John Nash has reviewed contracts from all the major MMA promotions and several big boxing contracts, as well. We’ve been able to see just how restrictive, and at times, draconian, most of the MMA agreements between promotions and athletes truly are. The UFC set the standard with their boilerplate contract and with new changes, have made …

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com“A young man trapped in his apartment with a swarm of creatures outside his door must find a way to survive the night and escape from apartment 213.” That’s the synopsis IMDB gave this movie starring Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone. Watch along with us as we try to make heads or tails of whatever this movie is trying to achieve. Spoiler alert, the movie makes n…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.comThat’s right, folks, Showtime Boxing is rumored to be shutting down after their 2024 schedule. Reports of everything from dwindling viewership and rising costs to online streaming have surfaced as contributors to their reasoning for the closure. Here are some of the other headlines we discussed:Bloody Elbow is fighting for the sport, the fighters and th…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.comIt’s been a busy couple of weeks in the world of MMA business and finance, but we tried to cover all the most pertinent topics. Front and center is the new filings that came out last week on the UFC’s first half of the year. We also discuss the latest rumblings of a Bellator buyout by the PFL and what that could look like in the future. Here’s a list of…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.comUFC Vegas 79 saw a spate of decisions on the prelims with just one official finish (vintage Tim Means!) and a DQ stoppage as the most notable moments. The main card, on the other hand, saw all fights end in a finish with the exception of the co-main event, which was a good fight. The headliner would end early, but not on a high note. Unfortunately, as R…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.comWe’re kind of having a hard time believing this is even an Apex card. We have three ranked fights and tons of recognizable names on the bout sheet—even across the prelims. This is the exact opposite of what we’ve been getting. Is this the beginning of a new era? One where the matchmakers show that they appreciate the insane amounts of money we fans dump…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.comUFC Vegas 79 isn’t too bad. No, really, we mean it. Let’s start with the fact that we got THREE ranked fights on an Apex show. They aren’t fights that are going to set the world on fire, but they’re solid and more importantly, they’re inside the Top 15. It’s also an event that seems to not have been ravaged by injury cancellations and bout reshuffling, …

This is FREE episode week!California’s athletic commission is experiencing what appears to be a slow death. Fight Opinion’s Zach Arnold wrote extensively about it on Bloody Elbow and the word he used was “atrophy”. That seems like a perfect word to describe what happens when higher taxes, mergers, attempts to force sanctioning for promotions like Power Slap and a spate of other factors create the perfect storm for collapse. Aside from a few Bellator shows and a Top Rank boxing card here and there, there’s not much action happening on California’s sunny grounds. We discuss it.We also dive into the WWE-UFC merger that left over 100 people without jobs thanks to a gutting of WWE’s office personnel roster. We looked back on the highs and lows of Noche UFC and we looked forward to a few fights on the UFC Vegas 79 card—weak as it may be. Here’s a look at the three fights we chose:Bloody Elbow is fighting for the sport, the fighters and the fans. If you share our mission, please consider becoming a paid subscriber today.UFC Vegas 79* Rafael Fiziev vs. Mateusz Gamrot 155 lbs * Bryce Mitchell vs. Dan Ige 145 lbs * Marina Rodriguez vs. M. Waterson-Gomez 115 lbsThank you for reading this article and listening to the podcast. Please consider subscribing to the Bloody Elbow Substack to enjoy our daily premium content. Your paid subscriptions are helping build our new site and keeping hope alive that our staff will remain intact. If you haven’t already, please pledge with a paid subscription today. If you have, please share this post far and wide.Follow us as @BloodyElbow on twitter, facebook, instagram, and at BloodyElbow.Substack.com & BloodyElbowPodcast.Substack.com.Thank you for listening to the Level Change Podcast. This post is public so feel free to share it. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.comListen, that main event was a really good fight—maybe the best of Valentina’s career, but it should not have been a draw. We felt Grasso took three rounds but we’re fine if you scored it the other way. How one judge scored round 5 a 10-8 is beyond the realm of comprehension.Bloody Elbow is fighting for the sport, the fighters and the fans. If you share …

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.comNow before you get upset, we want to preface this with the fact that this card was positively ravaged with cancellations and late replacements, hence the title. And to be fair, there are still some interesting bouts at play here. Tracy Cortez vs. Jasmine Jasudavicius is an amazing matchup between two tough-as-nails women. Lupita Godinez vs. Elise Reed i…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.comThat’s right, folks, a UFC title will be contested on TV with no PPV purchase required. Valentina Shevchenko will attempt to reclaim her belt from Mexico’s Alexa Grasso this Saturday night and we are pumped! Even Connor has begrudgingly admitted an admiration for Valentina aka the object of his ire and disdain for several years now.Bloody Elbow is fight…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.comNow that the UFC-WWE merger is complete, the new company, TKO Holdings has been creating a stir since the move was first announced. With a joint valuation of more than $21B, far exceeding that of any other sports property, the venture has the potential to see even more dominance across the sports entertainment spectrum. During the official festivities M…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.comA lot has happened in the last two weeks. The court gave a date in the antitrust suit, the defendants requested an appeal, the plaintiffs responded and we’ve got all the pertinent details. Spectrum and Disney have been in a battle over rising rates to broadcast Disney’s content—specifically ESPN. John opines on how that could affect the UFC.Bloody Elbow…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.comUFC 293 had some wild moments, for sure. Whether it was Charlie Radke and Manel Kape hurling homophobic slurs, Alexander Volkov snagging a rare Ezekiel choke over Tai Tuivasa or Sean Strickland taking the belt off Israel Adesanya, there was quite an array of instances that none will soon forget. Bloody Elbow is fighting for the sport, the fighters and t…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com*Note: Due to a technical issue, the first 39 seconds of the episode are missing. The issue has since been resolved. Thank you for your understanding.UFC 293 is here and from the looks of things, it’s not the best card. Sure, there’s definitely a few fun fights but you wouldn’t know which end is up by looking at the bout sheet order. Did we really need …

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.comUFC 293 is a card that seems like it was cobbled together from the leftover parts of a better PPV. We’re not saying it’s bad, but we’re not going to go as far as to call it great. We did notice the matchmakers clearly didn’t put much thought into the bout order, and setting the Tafa-Lane rematch for the main card rather than Mullarkey-Makdessi seems kin…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.comUFC 293 is just around the corner and despite a lot of criticism, we like the card. It’s not heavy on fights that will make a sizable impact on the rankings, but where it lack importance in that regard, it makes up for it with entertainment value. What’s not to love about Carlos Ulberg vs. Dan Un Jung? Manel Kape may be fighting a late replacement but F…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.comUFC Paris looked awful on paper but in practice, it worked out well. The finishes outweighed the decisions and the ones that went to the scorecards were mostly fun fights. As the title notes, Cyril Gane had an easy night. Serghei Spivak, for whatever reason, decided not to engage with the Frenchman. He was easily bullied around the cage, continuously on…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.comFor a quick minute or so earlier this summer, we were lulled into a sense of security by the UFC. Just hear us out for a second before you get out the butterfly nets. We already know Apex cards are the “it’s okay to miss” events, but we knew when a show was targeted for anywhere else, it would end up with better matchmaking. Yet here we are, in Paris, w…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.comYep, UFC is treating Paris to an almost good card. Fight cancellations and reshuffling definitely wreaked havoc on this event but there are still some bright spots worth noting. Rose Namajunas vs. Manon Fiorot is one of them. Namajunas will present the toughest challenge to date for Fiorot and the winner here could end up facing the champ or possibly go…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.comNate Quarry might be most famously known for his fight with Kalib Starnes or for his comeback fight against Pete Sell, but he is doing much bigger things these days. These days, he’s known as one of the original plaintiffs in the UFC antitrust suit, but because he was part of the identity class, which was denied class certification, he is no longer a pl…