Combat Sports Talk

We're discussing the events surrounding the signing of Jorge Masvidal to replace Gilbert Burns at UFC 251 this weekend.  We're going to talk about the impact of COVID-19 on the MMA world, including Khabib Nurmagomedov's father, cancelled fights, and other headlines before we make our picks for UFC 251.

It was another UFC Fight Night from the APEX arena in Las Vegas, NV where lightweight contenders Dustin Poirier and Dan Hooker put on a fight of the year performance and Platinum Mike Perry shocked the world in dominant fashion against Mickey Gall with only his girlfriend in his corner.  Get the latest on Fight Island, headlines and more, on this episode of Combat Sports Talk.

The UFC returned to the APEX Center in Las Vegas, NV for their next event featuring Heavyweight Contenders Curtis Blaydes and Alexander Volkov. But the show was stolen by the co-main event Josh Emmett and Shane Burgos. Get the latest on Fight Island, the results from this weekend and a variety of topics making waves in the MMA world, then get our picks for this weekend's event featuring Dustin Poirier and Dan Hooker.

Amanda Nunes added to her legacy and made the case for being WMMA's contribution to the GOAT discussion.  In her dominant performance against Felica Spencer at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas on Saturday night, the Lioness made history in being the only two division champion to have defended her title simultaneously in both divisions.  In addition to recapping the action, we discuss the continued conflict on Fighter Pay, Conor McGregor's third retirement in 4 years, and we share some perspectives on the protests against police brutality in the wake of George Floyd's killing.

We are reeling from the events of the past week where George Floyd, a black American, died at the hands of law enforcement. Arms bound behind his back, and an officer’s knee on his neck he struggled to breathe. He died that day. In many ways, so did we, and so we are going to discuss our thoughts and feelings about everything going on. Discretion is advised as strong language may be used.

***Exclusive Interview with Arjan Carlos Moreno*** Joe Rogan lands $100M Podcasting deal with Spotify, the UFC plans its next event at the APEX center in Las Vegas for Woodley vs. Burns on May 30, and we talk to Muay Thai coach and president of the American Muay Thai Association, Arjan Carlos Moreno, who talked to us about the state of the MMA world and fighter safety.

Two more fights followed UFC 249 in Jacksonville, FL completing the trifecta of events in seven days.  On Wednesday, Anthony "Lionheart" Smith looked for normalcy after surviving a home invasion with a main event battle against Glover Teixeira, a hardened veteran at 205lbs. And on Saturday, Walt Harris returned to the octagon following the murder of his daughter to face Alistair Overeem in a heavyweight contendership battle.  Get this supersized episode with lively debate, smart discussion and a bit of humor sprinkled on top.

UFC 249 is in the books! Hosted in Jacksonville, FL, the UFC hosted their first  Pay-per-view event since the pandemic forced cancellations of every sporting league in the United States.  With a stacked card, the UFC treated the world with two title fights and a list of featured bouts that could be main events in any other card.  Get our take on the Henry Cejudo announcement, the results from UFC 249, key headlines on this week's news and our picks for the two upcoming cards this week.

There's more than just two championship belts on the line this weekend, the health and safety of fighters is on the line, and the reputation of Dana White and the UFC are all on the line as the criticized promotion attempts to host the biggest card of the year UFC 249 in the midst of a COVID-19 pandemic.  We discuss the implications of the event, key headlines in the MMA World, and make our picks for the entire UFC 249 card.

"Fortune Favors the Bold" and Dana White is boldly going where no promotion has gone before by delivering not one, not two, but 3 fights in one week to bring back MMA action to battle-starved fight fans around the world.  Get the latest on Fight Island and hear discussion about UFC 249, Halle Berry getting broken bones and speaking of bones...a debate about the duality of Jon Jones.