Level Change Podcast

It’s rough to stand out in the UFC these days, but it’s gotta be extra tough when you’re stuck on a Fight Night card at the Apex. Add to that the compounding factors of not being advertised and being placed on a card that’s utterly unappealing, and well… they’re not giving us their best.

While it was an event we dreaded talking about at first, we had some fun digging in and giving some insight into it. We certainly hope you have as much fun listening as we did discussing it. In fact, that’s almost a guarantee with Stephie arguing about whether or not the odds have been read yet.

We do what we can, because we’re tired and they’re not giving us much. But there’s some fun to be had on the card even if it’s a lot of “who’s that“ fighters being matched against “oh, that guy?“ fighters. It was a slog that became a pleasure. Maybe UFC matchmakers will get a chance to listen, considering they’re clearly not working on giving us a better product.

Anyway, it’d be swell if you shared the love and let others know what we’re cooking with over here. Check out the fights below and some fun factoids:

UFC Vegas 95 Main Card Bouts

* Marcin Tybura  vs.  Serghei Spivac 265 lbs

* Chepe Mariscal  vs.  Damon Jackson 145 lbs

* Danny Barlow  vs.  N. Veretennikov 170 lbs

* Chris Gutierrez  vs.  Quang Le 135 lbs

* Yana Santos  vs.  Chelsea Chandler 135 lbs

UFC Vegas 95 Prelims

* Charalampos Grigoriou  vs.  Toshiomi Kazama 135 lbs

* Karol Rosa  vs.  Pannie Kianzad 135 lbs

* Karl Williams  vs.  Jhonata Diniz 265 lbs

* Jarno Errens  vs.  Youssef Zalal 145 lbs

* Stephanie Luciano  vs.  Talita Alencar 115 lbs

UFC Vegas 95 Fun Factoids

* Ranked fights: 3

* Ranked fighters: 6 (Tybura #8 / Spivac #9 / Santos #12 / Chandler #14 / Rosa #8 / Kianzad #11)

* Fighters coming off losses: 6

* Contender Series alumni: 6

* Debuting fighters: 3 (Veretennikov, Le, Luciano)

* Road to UFC alumni: 1

* TUF alumni: 1

We sincerely hope you enjoy the episode and that you'll give us yourpatronage with a subscription, and that you’ll continue listeningevery week. If you have questions, comments or suggestions, pleasefeel free to reach out. Thank you all so very much. We appreciateevery one of you.

Please consider becoming a paid member for bonus episodes and other fun perks, as well as for some ice cream money. Because we love ice cream.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit levelchangepodcast.substack.com/subscribe

This week for episode 312, we recover from a wild night of UFC action in which Cory Sandhagen and Umar Nurmagomedov had a clinical back and forth that really tested both fighters. But the rest of the card had some really fun offerings as well. A serviceable co-main with a work-in-progress Shara Bullet, preceded by a straight banger between Deiveson Figuereido and Marlon Vera.

But that’s not all. We carve into some topics that made headlines this week, such as Conor McGregor’s about-face on Donald Trump, who confirmed that Khabib Nurmagomedov is his favorite fighter. This sent the Irishman into an online frenzy that’s equal parts hilarious and tragic.

We also address UFC head honcho Dana White and his curious claim that he doesn’t pay attention to Jake Paul after he lost to Tommy Fury, of all people. Is he listening to our podcast? We won’t mind. We also won’t mind if he just happened to buy a founder’s subscription. Or a regular one. We’re not choosy.

You like paying for ESPN+? Hope you like forking over more of your money to the Mouse. And we also address the absolute debacle that happened this past weekend in what should have been a celebration of Terrence Crawford’s skill and resilience with both Turki Alalshikh’s bizarre honorary induction into Nevada’s Boxing Hall of Fame, as well as the media treatment just minutes before the event was slated to begin. Oh, and that Canelo fight? He says he doesn’t want it anymore.

Huh. Alrighty, then.

Here’s how the fights went:

* Umar Nurmagomedov def. Cody Sandhagen (UD-5)

* Sharabutdin Magomedov def. Michał Oleksiejczuk (UD-3)

* Deiveson Figuereido def. Marlon Vera (UD-3)

* Michael Chiesa def. Tony Ferguson (Sub, R1 - yikes)

* Mackenzie Dern def. Loopy Godinez (UD-3)

* Sedriques Dumas def. Denis Tiuliulin (UD - who care)

We sincerely hope you enjoyed the episode and that you'll give us yourpatronage with a subscription, and that you’ll continue listeningevery week. If you have questions, comments or suggestions, pleasefeel free to reach out. Thank you all so very much. We appreciateevery one of you.

Please consider becoming a paid member for bonus episodes and other fun perks, as well as for some ice cream money. Because we love ice cream.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit levelchangepodcast.substack.com/subscribe

It’s a great week for UFC action, as they head back to the UAE for a banger of a Fight Night event. It’s already hot enough in the desert, but this should take things over the top. Victor’s back from vacation, and Stephie’s got so much goodwill and energy this week as Cory Sandhagen will attempt to solve the riddle that is Umar Nurmagomedov.

Also, Shara Bullet returns, and we get some solid bangers in the form of former flyweight champ Deiveson Figuereido vs Marlon Vera and newcomer Jordan Vucenic vs Guram Kutateladze.

UFC Fight Night: Sandhagen vs Nurmagomedov

* Cory Sandhagen  vs.  Umar Nurmagomedov 135 lbs

* Shara Magomedov  vs.  Michal Oleksiejczuk 185 lbs

* Marlon Vera  vs.  Deiveson Figueiredo 135 lbs

* Tony Ferguson  vs.  Michael Chiesa 170 lbs

* Mackenzie Dern  vs.  Lupita Godinez 115 lbs

* Joel Alvarez  vs.  Elves Brener 155 lbs

* Alonzo Menifield  vs.  Azamat Murzakanov 205 lbs

* Mohammad Yahya  vs.  Kauê Fernandes 155 lbs

* Shamil Gaziev  vs.  Don'Tale Mayes 265 lbs

* Guram Kutateladze  vs.  Jordan Vucenic 155 lbs

* Victoria Dudakova  vs.  Sam Hughes 115 lbs

* Jai Herbert  vs.  Rolando Bedoya 155 lbs

* Sedriques Dumas  vs.  Denis Tiuliulin 185 lbs

UFC Abu Dhabi Fun Factoids

* Ranked Fights: 4

* Ranked Fighters: 8

* Fighters Coming Off Losses: 17

* Contender Series Alumni: 6

* TUF Alumni: 3

We sincerely hope you enjoyed the episode and that you'll give us yourpatronage with a subscription, and that you’ll continue listeningevery week. If you have questions, comments or suggestions, pleasefeel free to reach out. Thank you all so very much. We appreciateevery one of you.

Please consider becoming a paid member for bonus episodes and other fun perks, as well as for some ice cream money. Because we love ice cream.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit levelchangepodcast.substack.com/subscribe

The Nagoya basho is over, but it certainly delivered some surprises. From the winner of the tournament to the gnarly injuries, there was quite a lot going on at the last ever tournament at this godforsaken, un-air-conditioned arena. We saw a few new faces (at least to me) that were returning to action, as well as all the usual suspects. What’s going on with our yokozuna? Which ozeki(s) have been demoted? Listen up to find out!

Tim Bissell, our favorite Sumo analyst dropped in to give us all details. Make sure you follow his work over at the Sumo Stomp and be sure to subscribe. He provides consistent, top-notch coverage of every tournament along with plenty of animated gifs and video clips for those immediate gratification types that prefer to see some of those amazing finishes straight away.

We sincerely hope you enjoyed the episode and that you'll give us your patronage with a subscription, and that you’ll continue listening every week. If you have questions, comments or suggestions, please feel free to reach out. Thank you all so very much. We appreciate every one of you.

Level Change Podcast is a reader & listener-supported publication. Please consider becoming a paid member for bonus episodes and other fun perks, as well as for some ice cream money. Because we love ice cream.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit levelchangepodcast.substack.com/subscribe

The Nagoya basho is well underway and Terunofuji is looking like a billion bucks. Yes, that’s billion, with a B. The only yokozuna in Sumo is kicking ass and taking names and we are here for it. All the other top-tier wrestlers are having a bit of a struggle although Kotozakura (our good friend Double-Boob) is doing well, so far.

Tim Bissell, long-time Sumo analyst and pundit, routinely stops by to break down all the action from all the bashos, so we’ve got plenty of updates to get you through, just in case you haven’t had the opportunity to check out the tournament. You could also go to the Sumo Stomp where he uploads gifs of all the matches and gives a good rundown of the results. Be sure to check back next week for the final tally from this tournament.

We sincerely hope you enjoyed the episode and that you'll give us your patronage and keep listening every week. If you have questions, comments or suggestions, please feel free to reach out. Thank you all so very much. We appreciate every one of you.

Level Change Podcast is a reader & listener-supported publication. Please consider becoming a paid member for bonus episodes and other fun perks, as well as for some ice cream money. Because we love ice cream.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit levelchangepodcast.substack.com/subscribe

Every time I think the UFC’s Apex lineups can’t get any worse, they go and prove a gal wrong. And it’s not that there’s anything inherently wrong with putting on a bunch of prospect fights (only one is ranked and doesn’t fit the classical “prospect” mold"), but when it’s nearly every event, it begs questioning if UFC really is the Super Bowl of MMA. Sure, they’re the 800-pound gorilla of the community, but are they showing that they have all the top talent? Not consistently, and they certainly can’t seem to get Conor McGregor steadfastly booked, so maybe, just maybe, it’s time to put a concentrated effort in molding Alex Pereira the bona fide superstar he is destined to be.

Which brings me to this event, which has no superstars, nor potential stars in the making. That’s not a bad thing, but when ESPN is laying off staff because their numbers aren’t exactly where they need to be and UFC keeps dropping regional level cards that don’t have a hook to bring in those fresh subscribers…you get where I’m going with this.

There ARE some really fun fights here. I cannot lead you astray in that regard. I just am reminded of Luke Thomas’ old show, Promotional Malpractice, and everything the UFC does at the Apex screams promotional malpractice. But I digress. Let’s take a gander at what the contests look like and some fun factoids to really illustrate just how little the biggest and baddest promotion on Earth cares about fan satisfaction.

UFC Vegas 94

* Amanda Lemos  vs.  Virna Jandiroba 115 lbs

* Brad Tavares  vs.  Jun Yong Park 185 lbs

* Steve Garcia  vs.  Seung Woo Choi 145 lbs

* Kurt Holobaugh  vs.  Kaynan Kruschewsky 155 lbs

* Cody Durden  vs.  Bruno Silva 125 lbs

* Doo Ho Choi  vs.  Bill Algeo 145 lbs

* Hyder Amil  vs.  Jeong Yeong Lee 145 lbs

* Brian Kelleher  vs.  Cody Gibson 135 lbs

* Miranda Maverick  vs.  Dione Barbosa 125 lbs

* Loik Radzhabov  vs.  Trey Ogden 155 lbs

* Luana Carolina  vs.  Lucie Pudilová 125 lbs

* Mohammed Usman  vs.  Thomas Petersen 265 lbs

UFC Vegas 94 Fun Factoids

* Ranked fights: 1 (main event)

* Ranked fighters: 3

* Fighters coming off losses: 12

* Contender Series alumni: 7

* TUF alumni: 4

* Road to UFC alumni: 1

We sincerely hope you'll give us your patronage and keep listening. If you have questions, comments or suggestions, please feel free to reach out. Thank you all so very much. We appreciate every one of you.

Level Change Podcast is a reader & listener-supported publication. Please consider becoming a paid member for bonus episodes and other fun perks, as well as for some ice cream money. Because we love ice cream.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit levelchangepodcast.substack.com/subscribe

The denizens of the Mile High City get the honors of playing host to the UFC this weekend, with local former champ Rose Namajunas (ranked #6) in a headliner against flyweight dynamo Tracy Cortez (ranked #11).

Namajunas (12-6) seems to have had some struggles as of late, especially with that very strange bout against Carla Esparza in which she lost her strawweight title. upon moving up to 125lbs immediately after that, she struggled against French threat Manon Fiorot in a decision loss. While she finally was back in the win column with a win over Amanda Ribas, it’s not unreasonable to wonder if we’re seeing some decline in her overall game.

On the other hand, Cortez struggled to make weight and did so after an emotional ordeal in which she had to cut her hair. It’s been a tough road since Cortez was scheduled to fight next week, but she is stepping in for Rose’s original opponent Maycee Barber. She only lost by submission once in what was her pro debut against Cheri Muraski way back in 2017, and looks to continue her undefeated UFC run and to break into the top ten with a win here.

But there’s some other good stuff on this card. Muslim Salikhov faces Santiago Ponzinibbio, and blazing Brazilian prospect Jean Silva meets Drew Dober. Joshua Van has been a breath of fresh air, and he’s got a stiff test against Charles Johnson at flyweight.

There’s some… less interesting stuff here that the Denver crowd will have to pay a hefty ticket fee to watch, but at least it’s not an Apex card. Listen as we try to be as kind as possible with what’s on offer and genuinely hyped for some actually great fights. Download, listen, enjoy, and be ready to give Mick Maynard a pat on the head for doing a not-bad job this time. Sean Shelby can get a pat too.

Let’s take a look at the bouts and some fun factoids:

UFC Denver

* Rose Namajunas  vs.  Tracy Cortez 125 lbs

* Santiago Ponzinibbio  vs.  Muslim Salikhov 170 lbs

* Drew Dober  vs.  Jean Silva 155 lbs

* Gabriel Bonfim  vs.  Ange Loosa 170 lbs

* Christian Rodriguez  vs.  Julian Erosa 145 lbs

* Cody Brundage  vs.  Abdul Razak Alhassan 185 lbs

* Joshua Van  vs.  Charles Johnson 125 lbs

* Jasmine Jasudavicius  vs.  Fatima Kline 125 lbs

* Montel Jackson  vs.  Da’Mon Blackshear 135 lbs

* Luana Santos  vs.  Mariya Agapova 125 lbs

* Josh Fremd  vs.  Andre Petroski 185 lbs

* Evan Elder  vs.  Darrius Flowers 170 lbs

UFC Denver Fun Factoids

* Ranked fights: 1

* Ranked fighters: 3

* Fighters coming off losses: 11 + 1 NC

* Contender Series alumni: 9

* TUF alumni: 5

* Debuting fighters: 1

We sincerely hope you'll give us your patronage and keep listening. If you have questions, comments or suggestions, please feel free to reach out. Thank you all so very much. We appreciate every one of you.

Level Change Podcast is a reader & listener-supported publication. Please consider becoming a paid member for bonus episodes and other fun perks, as well as for some ice cream money. Because we love ice cream.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit levelchangepodcast.substack.com/subscribe

As you’ve noticed, we’ve moved our base of operations here to Substack. This will be our permanent home moving forward. We hope you enjoy the episode and will give us your continued patronage here.

Today’s episode is our latest with Sumo analyst extraordinaire, Tim Bissell. If you’re familiar with our podcast, Tim is a staple, and guests frequently to break down all the details of the tournament with us. The current tournament, or basho, is the second summer tournament, also known as the Nagoya basho, begins this coming week, so we took a look at the biggest storylines as well as the highlights from the last basho.

Follow Tim’s excellent work via the Sumo Stomp and continue checking out the Level Change Podcast right here on Wednesdays and Saturdays. As always, we appreciate everyone that takes the time to listen and subscribe, be it free or paid. Thank you.

Level Change Podcast is a reader and listener-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit levelchangepodcast.substack.com/subscribe