The Craic with Petesy Carroll

On the latest episode of The Craic, Petesy is joined by Uncrowned’s Chuck Mindenhall to discuss the cultural resonance of The Rumble in the Jungle on its 50th anniversary. 

Legendary father and son duo Richard and Jack Shore join the show from Edmonton ahead of Jack’s bout with Youssef Zalal. 

Denis Geiko from Russian-focused MMA publication, Red Corner, returns to The Craic to talk Khamzat Chimaev opening up on depression, Islam Makhachev possibly facing the winner of Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway and the Russian contingent at UFC 308 (06:45). 

Lerone Murphy also joins the show to discuss how he feels his ring name has negative connotations and to look forward to the biggest test of his career against Dan Ige (40:08). 

U.K. MMA legend and head of talent operations for PFL, Dan Hardy, joins the video debut of The Craic to give insight on Francis Ngannou and all things PFL: Battle of the Giants. 

Paul Hughes also joins the show ahead of the biggest test of his life when he meets A.J. McKee in the opening fight of the main card.

This week’s episode takes a look at English Premier League giants Arsenal revising its post-match protocol after Conor McGregor found his way onto the pitch for an impromptu kick about with Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka. 

The great Philip O’Connor returns to discuss why the English football club are taking this so seriously, if the club really thought McGregor could injure Saka and how the former double champion missed an open goal by not challenging Rice on changing his international affiliation from Ireland to England. 

Also making his return to the show, the north star for fans and media on all things related to the UFC’s class action suit, John Nash gives us the low down on the latest motion in the case that saw former fighters give morbid insights into their post-fighting lives as they urge the judge to settle the class action suit for the latest offering of 375 million.

The Craic is back and this week Petesy is zooming in on all things UFC 307. 

Fresh off cornering Merab Dvalishvili to bantamweight title glory, John Wood will look to upset the apple cart again when he leads Khalil Rountree Jr. into battle with another promotional golden goose, Alex Pereira. Wood joins the show to discuss embracing underdog status, being bolstered by Merab’s win and much more. 

The Man in The Hat, Chuck Mindenhall is reunited with his 3PAC brother to apply his untouchable theory to Alex Pereira. According to the theory, when a champion is perceived to be at their most powerful state, against an unassuming challenger, all kinds of crazy can occur. But is Chuck picking against his fellow Danbury native? 

Petesy talks about difficult selfies, growing a beard and gives his pick for Underdog of the Week.

The Craic is back and this week Petesy is zooming in all things UFC Paris. 

One of the foremost voices for the French sport, Guillaume Duseux of trailblazing podcast La Sueur, joins the show to set the table for the big card in the City of Light and explains the explosion in popularity the sport has witnessed in the country since MMA’s legalisation in 2020. 

Following his underdog pick of Merab Dvalishvili bringing home the first perfect parlay for the new era of The Ariel Helwani Show, Petesy speaks to his “Underdog of the Week” Kevin Jousset, who takes on Bryan Battle at the Paris Event. The 2-0 UFC welterweight explains why he went to Scotland to learn to speak English, training with Alex Volkanovski in Australia, moving to City Kickboxing and his pursuit of Ian Machado Garry. 

Petesy details his experience covering an MMA event in Paris and explains why he thinks the popularity of the sport in the country is difficult for the English-speaking community to comprehend.

The Craic with Petesy Carroll goes behind the scenes at the soft launch of The Ariel Helwani Show at the Venetian Sportsbook in Las Vegas, the day before UFC 306. 

A host of the big names from the all-new Uncrowned roster feature with appearances from the man of the moment, Ariel Helwani, his loyal lieutenant New York Ric, the biggest baby face in the industry Conner Burks, the legendary bard Chuck Mindenhall and Uncrowned editor-in-chief, Shaheen Al Shatti. 

Petesy recaps all the thrills and spills of a magical launch in Sin City.

Former PR guru for the UFC, Las Vegas resident and star of the record-breaking Spotify Live show, Ant Evans, returns to The Craic to whet appetites ahead of the UFC 306 card happening this Saturday in Sin City. 

Although Ant has issues with some elements of the promotion of the UFC 306 card, he explains why he is excited to see the capabilities of the Sphere in action, having visited the venue of numerous occasions previously. As a former cornerstone of the UFC promotional team, he gives his take on how Dana feels about lowering the ticket prices and whether the UFC will return to the venue…all while getting chased out of our recording location by on-site security. 

Petesy gives the lowdown on his trip so far.

One of the most beloved fighters in Scotland, Chris Bungard returns to action this weekend where he is seeking redemption for his last outing at Braehead Arena against short notice opponent, and arguably a tougher assignment than his original dance partner, Andrey Augusto. 

Bungard talks about juggling his many roles in life as he frequents duties as a professional wrestler, a podcaster and an actor onto of his fighting career. He also discusses being the elder statesman of the growing Scottish MMA movement, the adoration he receives when he fights at home and describes how he got suspended from school for applying Bret Hart’s patented sharpshooter to classmates back in his school days.

Chisanga Malata of Sun Sport returns to talk about a host of news stories generated from the U.K. scene. 

Is it possible that Paddy Pimblett will be fast tracked into a title situation in a similar way to Sean O’Malley? Is Mo Mokaev’s return to Brave CF slightly underwhelming? And how does Dana White’s continued praise of Jon Jones keep getting weirder?