Unbeaten MMA prospect Chris Gonzalez takes on decorated veteran Roger Huerta at Bellator 255. The lightweight bout goes down on April 2nd on the event's preliminary portion.

Gonzalez came on the show to discuss several subjects including: -pandemic training adjustments
-some sparring partners at Team Alpha Male (ie/ Sage Northcutt, Andre Fili, etc)
-working with a guy like Clay Guida over the years
-if he's received anecdotal information from Guida on Huerta after their 2007 classic
-signing a new four-fight deal with Bellator MMA and this being the first bout on that deal
-the life balance he has from dating UFC fighter Jessica Rose-Clark
-if there's any focus on the Pitbull vs Sanchez main event since Pitbull is still lightweight champion
-the funny situation with the aux cord at the gym and Urijah Faber's high school playlist

Aaron Jeffery makes a bid for the Cage Fury FC middleweight belt against titlist Collin Huckbody at CFFC 93. The main event bout goes down on Friday, March 12th, and broadcasts on UFC Fight Pass.

Jeffery came on BTB to cover a myriad of topics with me ahead of this high-stakes fight.

-The necessary adjustments needed for training amid a pandemic
-Working with a core group of quality martial artists from Niagara Top Team
-Working with the Brock University Wrestling team and Marty Calder
-Having NTT teammate Jasmine Jasudavicius on this same CFFC card
-His prior loss under the CFFC banner as well as the differences between Aaron then and now
-Finishing Andre Petroski in the LFA 93 main event during his last contest
-All of the UFC talk around him and the utility that has had for his ability to remain hyper-focused
-Fighting at the old ECW Arena and having CM Punk on the call
-His older brother getting him into MMA and seeing Aaron's journey as a fighter
-Jeffery's overall placement in MMA's mullet rankings hierarchy and his girlfriend styling his mullet
-Aaron's food fascinations with cereal, hot sauce, and slop

Jasmine Jasudavicius takes on Ashley Deen at CFFC 93 on Friday, March 12th. The flyweight fight goes down at 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and broadcasts on UFC Fight Pass.

-The tumultuous nature of training amid a myriad of COVID guidelines
-Roommate and teammate Aaron Jeffery main eventing the CFFC card she's on
-Working with the Brock University Wrestling and her Niagara Top Team compatriots
-Why "MMA is life and life is MMA", kitchen sparring, and living room grappling
-The lessons she learned from her CFFC strawweight title bid and the razor-thin nature of the fight
-Sampling multiple Philly Cheesesteak places during her last trek through Philadelphia

Adam Assenza takes on Sean Connor Fallon at HR MMA 118. The bout goes on February 26th and the lightweight affair is the co-main event.

-Adapting to the challenges of the pandemic to facilitate training
-Coming off of beating UFC veteran Cody Pfister the last time out at BTC 9
-Past difficulties getting fights and DMing a variety of MMA matchmakers on Instagram
-The Assenza assessment of Sean Connor Fallon ahead of HR MMA 118
-The additional regulatory aspects of a pandemic era fight week
-The pros and cons of certain necessary workarounds with modern MMA training
-Being part of the BTC/ Grungy Gentleman Fashion Show
-The adaptability of those at BTC Fight Promotions and the Ontario MMA scene's possible future
-Watching PRIDE FC with his uncles as a kid and still following Japanese MMA nowadays

Sasha Palatnikov came on BTB after his UFC debut win.

Palatnikov made history as the first Hong Kong fighter to score a win in the octagon when he finished Louis Cosce at UFC 255. He covered a myriad of subjects on the show.

-Accomplishing a decade-plus long goal to be the first Hong Kong fighter in the UFC
-His familiarity with short notice turn arounds for fights
-Overcoming COVID-19 and his mountain scaling methodology
-Enjoying seeing his name on a UFC betting line but being surprised he was an underdog
-Getting in work with Syndicate MMA and staying ready for his sophomore UFC effort
-His background in rugby and football before transitioning to mixed-martial-arts
-Watching PRIDE as well as K1 as a kid and maintaining his fandom as a pro fighter
-The mutual connection myself and Sasha Palatnikov have to my hometown of Oshawa, Ontario
-The music Sasha Palatnikov is partial to training to

Rising pro-MMA fighter and seasoned kickboxer/ Muay Thai practitioner Justin Condie is an Ontario, Canada fighter presently training in Texas amid a rare blanketed snowfall that has resulted in mass power outages.

Condie covered a myriad of topics when he was a guest on BTB.

-Canadians bringing the winter storm to Texas and this being one of the worst storms there in years
-His last performance in Peak Fighting after a lengthy competitive hiatus
-The generally enjoyable experience of the trip overall training at Genesis Jiu-Jitsu
-The tentative nature of the March BFL date due to the uncertainty of the world nowadays
-The Lindsay, Ontario connection with guys like James Clarke as well as Kalsamrit camaraderie
-Starting his career with a losing amateur record to being an undefeated pro-MMA fighter
-An inspiring talk in the fighter hotel during TKO fight week from Jesse Arnett
-The nascent days of bringing gloves to high school for boxing bouts

Sunny Sareen is the CEO of Unified MMA and I spoke to him shortly after Unified signed a multi-event broadcast deal for UFC Fight Pass. Sareen came on BTB to cover a myriad of topics.

-The timeline for discussions regarding Unified MMA broadcasting on Fight Pass
-How this multi-year deal could not have come at a better time for the company
-The difficulties regional MMA promoters have faced with the pandemic
-Working on Spring 2021 for Unified MMA's first show on UFC Fight Pass
-The importance of the River Cree Resort and Casino to Unified MMA
-The wealth of talent that has come out of Unified MMA over the years ie/ Tanner Boser
-The vibrant grassroots MMA scene in Edmonton and how it stacks up on a global scale

Decorated Muay Thai star and ONE Championship standout Jonathan Haggerty came on BTB to cover a myriad of topics.

-His win over Taiki Naito at the end of 2020 in ONE Championship
-Training out of his own facility with the backdrop of the recent lockdowns
-The rich history of Team Underground that he has trained at since he was seven years old
-Haggerty's pair of bouts w/ Rodtang and what his path back to the ONE flyweight belt looks like
-What it was like to compete during the pandemic era with the lack of fans in attendance
-Going from sending DM's to ONE Championship to becoming one of their featured names
-Capturing the ONE flyweight belt being one of the biggest highlights of his career
-Continually finding himself in the role of underdog and thriving in those moments
-Battling the career perception that he's being rushed by rising to the occasion often
-Wanting Petchdam next and believing that he can stop him
-How MMA will be his last go to after conquering the Muay Thai world
-Aleister Black being a fan of his and being a massive WWE fan as a kid
-What genres of music that Jonathan Haggerty gravitates towards

Andrew Sanchez came on BTB a few weeks ago to discuss his upcoming UFC 257 bout on Saturday. El Dirte also covered a myriad of other topics too.

-Getting a finish in his last outing after years of being a self-professed "decision machine"
-The turning point where his confidence as a martial artist was galvanized
-The benefits of cannabis in his MMA endeavors
-Ardently drilling the 1-2 and having that boxing sequence inform his last finish
-Enjoying the pandemic era, competition environment without fans
-Turning around his pessimistic viewpoint on going to Fight Island
-His level of familiarity with his opponent and his tape studying methodology adapting with time
-Getting in work at Tristar and the personal growth of martial arts
-Sanchez's placement within MMA's pound for pound mullet hierarchy
-Being the MMA tag team champions of the world with Eric Spicely
-Sanchez's musical side of going to Danzig concerts and playing in various bands of fellow fighters
-Veronica Macedo gifting him a sweet Bosnian guitar

Nate Maness came on the show to talk about his recent win over Luke Sanders at the UFC Fight Night last November. The UFC bantamweight/ former TKO champion also covered a myriad of other topics on this BTB installment.

-Overcoming adversity in the Sanders fight and garnering an underdog, comeback win
-Who Maness put in the work with ahead of his Sanders fight
-Finding his stride in the octagon after putting together back to back UFC wins
-Being a Fighting For Autism ambassador and using his platform to enact change
-The timeline for his next UFC bout and aiming for a top twenty opponent
-Being part of a banner era for bantamweights in MMA
-Getting the call for his UFC debut while he was on a lunch break with his construction job