The Valor Hour

Busy show this week on The Valor Hour as Valor Fighting Challenge matchmaker Tim Loy, Justin Watson, and Greg Hopkins recap UFC Philadelphia, talk to Emory Norred and Carter Beekman who battle each other Friday at Valor Fighting Challenge 57: Fight Night At The Joe in Knoxville, and preview the full fight card for VFC 57.

Emory Norred, one half of featured amateur welterweight bout at VFC 57 against Carter Beekman, joins the show to talk about the process of getting ready for this fight. He fills you in on how he got his start in MMA following a collegiate football career at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga. Norred enters the fight 2-0 but just had his first fight less than a year ago. He’s been training for his future in MMA for quite sometime dating back to his days as a wrestler in high school. He talks about his preparation for the fight against Beekman, his expectations, being versatile, and how he’s feeling very comfortable heading into to Friday night’s battle.

Next up, the other half of that fight joins the show as Carter Beekman checks in to talk about the fight against Norred. Beekman talks about how he got started in MMA as a wrestler in middle school and high school and as a street fighter. He said he’s always been around 170 lbs so he’s comfortable and ready to rock for this fight. Beekman says he’s a ground and pound fighter and expects a slugfest against Norred. He shares his expectations for the fight, talks about picking up the pace and being very aggressive, and he’s ready for Norred’s Muay Thai strikes.

Finally, the guys recap UFC Philadelphia and then are joined by Mark Laws, Jeff Hobbs, and Roy Sanders for their VFC 57: Fight Night At The Joe picks panel.

Here is the full card:

Subscribe to The Valor Hour on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn Radio, and Google Play

The post The Valor Hour: Emory Norred, Carter Beekman, and a VFC 57 Preview appeared first on Radio Influence.

This week on The Valor Hour, Valor Fighting Challenge matchmaker Tim Loy, Justin Watson, and Greg Hopkins open the show chatting with Andrew Sturdivant, who battles Silas Reynolds for the vacated Featherweight Championship in the amateur main event at VFC 57: Fight Night At The Joe on April 5th in Knoxville, TN.

Andrew talked about getting his start in MMA following a successful high school wrestling career where he qualified for States twice. He talked about his win against Garrett Sharp at VFC 55 and how he “found himself” during that fight. Everything seemed to come together for him during the fight and it all just clicked. He then about how he’s training and preparing for Silas Reynolds and he’s just going to fight his fight and not do anything really different. Both guys are looking to get a finish so it should be a phenomenal matchup.

Then, the guys recap all the action from UFC Nashville and look ahead to UFC Philadelphia Saturday night at the Wells Fargo Center headlined by Edson Barboza and Justhin Gaethje.

Subscribe to The Valor Hour on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn Radio, and Google Play

The post The Valor Hour: Andrew Sturdivant & UFC Philadelphia Preview appeared first on Radio Influence.

This week on The Valor Hour, Valor Fighting Challenge matchmaker Tim Loy, Justin Watson, and Greg Hopkins open the show recapping last Saturday’s UFC London card and look ahead to UFC Nashville at the Bridgestone Arena coming up Saturday night, headlined by a welterweight battle between Stephen Thompson and Anthony Pettis.

Gina Elliott then joins Tim and Greg to preview her upcoming fight at Valor Fighting Challenge 57 on April 5th at the Cotton Eyed Joe in Knoxville against Shamir Peshawa. Gina talks about her history in Invicta and her career as one of the pioneers in women’s MMA. She says her intention was never to really get into MMA but she got into it when she started taking Muay Thai classes at her gym and her then four year old son started taking jiu-jitsu classes. She also talks about her philosophy going into the fight with Peshawa and warns her not to sleep on her striking ability.

Subscribe to The Valor Hour on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn Radio, and Google Play

The post The Valor Hour: Gina Elliott and UFC Nashville Preview appeared first on Radio Influence.

This week on The Valor Hour, Valor Fighting Challenge matchmaker Tim Loy and Greg Hopkins are joined by Shamir Peshawa to discuss her upcoming MMA fight against Gina Elliott at Valor Fighting Challenge 57 on April 5th in Knoxville at the Cotton Eyed Joe. Shamir talks about the knee surgery that she had last March that’s kept her out of action and why she took her time rehabbing as opposed to rushing back and possibly suffering a setback. She talks about being thankful for the time off because she was able to work on her technique. She also talks about her expectations for the fight, knowing Elliott well, and her training heading into the fight.

Then, the guys recap last weekend’s UFC Wichita event and look ahead to Saturday afternoon’s UFC London fight card.

Subscribe to The Valor Hour on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn Radio, and Google Play

The post The Valor Hour: Shamir Peshawa and UFC London Preview appeared first on Radio Influence.

This week on The Valor Hour, Valor Fighting Challenge matchmaker Tim Loy, Justin Watson, and Greg Hopkins recap last weekend’s Valor Fighting Challenge 56 at the Cotton Eyed Joe in Knoxville, TN as well as taking a look at the latest UFC news.

Lightweight Micah Downs kicks off the show fresh off of his victory over “The Sea Goat” Anthony Cochrane last weekend at Valor Fighting Challenge 56. He talks about the victory, what he was thinking going into the fight, being a relatively unknown fighter from a small town in Alabama, and kidding that he couldn’t get beat by a guy nicknamed “Sea Goat.”

Next, Titan FC Featherweight Champion Juan Puerta checks in before his title defense next Friday night in Ft. Lauderdale against the guy he won the title from, Gustavo Eddy Balart. Puerta talks about getting his start in the MMA game, being a finisher, how he beat Balart to win the title and what he intends to do in this fight, the beef between he and Balart, and going to high school with our very own, Greg Hopkins.

Coalton Dunn touches base to discuss his upcoming fight on April 5th against James Arden at Valor Fighting Challenge 57 at the Cotton Eyed Joe in Knoxville, TN. Coalton discuss his family lineage in the MMA game and growing up in the fight game around his mom Brandy Davis. He also talks about his last fight, a first round TKO of Javin Hill, the slobberknocker the first round of the fight was and his disappointment that Hill didn’t come out of his corner for the second round, taking the fight on April 5th on short notice, and what his expectations are head into the battle with Arden.

The last guest of this week’s show is CJ Tallent, who scored a big first round TKO over Chad Finnerty at Valor Fighting Challenge 56 last weekend. Tallent talks about his start in the fight game, knowing he was entering the fight as an underdog and relishing it, his long term goals, and more.

Finally, the guys recap the full Valor Fighting Challenge 56 card as well as UFC 235 and the questionable decision by Anthony Smith to continue the fight in the main event against Jon Jones after Jones hit him with an illegal knee. They also preview this Saturday night’s UFC Wichita card.

Subscribe to The Valor Hour on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn Radio, and Google Play

The post The Valor Hour: Micah Downs, Juan Puerta, Coalton Dunn, CJ Tallent, & VFC 56 Recap appeared first on Radio Influence.

This week on The Valor Hour, Valor Fighting Challenge matchmaker Tim Loy and Justin Watson are joined by Greg Hopkins, Mark Laws, Roy Sanders, and David Robins to recap UFC Prague, and preview both UFC 235 and Friday night’s Valor Fighting Challenge 56: Fight Night At The Joe from Knoxville, TN.

Before the guys get into all that, they are joined by one half of the co-main event for Friday night’s Valor Fighting Challenge 56 card, Jordan Weeks. He’ll be battling Charlie Alexander in Knoxville at 160 lbs. Jordan talks about having to cut weight to make the fight and although the two have been on the same fight card in the past, they’ve never squared off before and Jordan guarantees it’s going to be an entertaining fight. He talks about how he’s training for the always aggressive Alexander and how he’s looking to get back into the win column.

From there, the guys recap UFC Prague and really go in depth on Saturday night’s UFC 235, headlined by Jon Jones and Anthony Smith.

Finally, the guys spend the majority of the show previewing Friday night’s full fight card for Valor Fighting Challenge 56: Fight Night At The Joe in Knoxville, TN.

Valor Fighting Challenge 56: Fight Night At The Joe Fight Card

Subscribe to The Valor Hour on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn Radio, and Google Play

The post The Valor Hour: Jordan Weeks, UFC, & Valor Fighting Challenge 56 Preview appeared first on Radio Influence.

This week on The Valor Hour, Valor Fighting Challenge matchmaker Tim Loy and Justin Watson are joined by Jeff Hobbs and Greg Hopkins to recap last weekend’s MMA, preview this weekend’s MMA and they have conversations with Valor Fighting Challenge 56 fighters “Slick” Nick Gehrts and “C4” Charlie Alexander.

At the beginning of the show, Tim brings on “Slick” Nick Gehrts to preview his fight against Nick Martino in the main event of next week’s Valor Fighting Challenge 56. Following the conversation with Gehrts, Tim brings in “C4” Charlie Alexander to discuss his fight against Jordan Weeks in the co-main event of Valor Fighting Challenge 56.

After the interviews, the guys take a look back at what happened last weekend at Bellator 215, Bellator 216 and UFC on ESPN 1. They give you their thoughts on what happened on those fight cards and then they preview this weekend’s Bellator 217 and UFC on ESPN+ 3. They give their picks for the events and tell you about a listner contest for Saturday’s UFC fight card.

Subscribe to The Valor Hour on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn Radio, and Google Play

The post The Valor Hour:”Slick” Nick Gehrts and “C4” Charlie Alexander appeared first on Radio Influence.

This week on The Valor Hour, Valor Fighting Challenge matchmaker Tim Loy is joined by Greg Hopkins and Justin Watson to recap UFC 234 and preview all of this weekend’s UFC and Bellator action.

Before the guys get to their picks though, Chase Boutwell checks in with the guys to talk about his decision win over Corey Champion at the first Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone’s Fight Series. He said that the fight was super close but that he wanted to take advantage of the pro rules against the former state champion wrestler. Boutwell went on to share what Cowboy Cerrone said to him after the fight and to say that his next fight will definitely be as a pro but he’s taking a little time off to prepare.

Next up, Nick Martino joins the show to talk about his upcoming Main Event fight against Nick Gehrtz at Valor Fighting Challenge 56 at the Cotton Eyed Joe on March 1st. Martino says that he respects Gehrtz a ton, really admires his fighting style, and he knew that their paths would cross eventually. Martino adds that you can’t blink when fighting Gehrtz because of his strong striking skills but when it comes to training for the fight, his main focus in on really improving himself as a martial artist. The “Battle Of The Nicks” is sure to be a lot of fun for the fans because both guys are coming into the fight to put on a show.

Christina Ricker chimes in to discuss her Invicta FC debut Saturday night against Caitlyn Sammons at Invicta FC 34. It’s a very quick turnaround for Ricker as she just defeated Hayley Turner at Valor Fighting Challenge 54 on January 19th. She talks about her strategy and expectations heading into this fight against Sammons and how incredible her experience with Invicta FC has been.

Finally, the guys wrap up the show recapping last weekend’s UFC 234 card and sharing their picks for both Bellator 215 and Bellator 216 as well as UFC Phoenix.

Subscribe to The Valor Hour on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn Radio, and Google Play

The post The Valor Hour: Chase Boutwell, Nick Martino, Christina Ricker, & UFC Phoenix/Bellator 215 & 216 Previews appeared first on Radio Influence.

This week on The Valor Hour, find out what happened last Friday night at Valor Fighting Challenge 55 as Tim Loy and Justin Watson are joined by the picks panel to recap what happened inside the Cotton Eyed Joe in Knoxville.

Now before the picks panel joins the show, Tim and Greg Hopkins chat with one of the winners from Valor Fighting Challenge 55, Anthony Cochran. He recaps his victory against Ethan Robinson and talks about what’s next for him.

Then the picks panel joins the podcast to recap everything that happened at Valor Fighting Challenge 55. Hear their thoughts on all of the fights and following the fight card recap, the guys get you ready for Saturday’s UFC 234 pay-per-view.

Subscribe to The Valor Hour on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn Radio, and Google Play

The post The Valor Hour: Valor Fighting Challenge 55 Recap appeared first on Radio Influence.

This week on The Valor Hour, Valor Fighting Challenge matchmaker Tim Loy, Justin Watson, and Greg Hopkins open the show recapping last Saturday night’s Bellator 214 card that saw Ryan Bader knockout Fedor Emelianenko, in what could be his final fight, as well as looking ahead to this weekend’s UFC card on ESPN+ from Brazil.

The guys kick off the interview portion of the show chatting with Trevin Brown, who is battling Trevor Peek for the Welterweight Championship at Valor Fighting Challenge 55: Fight Night At The Joe, in his first main event fight. Trevin says that he feels great and is really excited to be having his first main event against a guy he’s very familiar with. He talks about the weight cut he’s gone through to get down to 170 lbs for the fight as well as what his cousin, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, told him going into his first title fight.

Next up, Chris “No Love” Buttry joins the guys to talk about his fight against Rodrigo Martinez at Valor Fighting Challenge 55. Chris talks about preparing for the battle, working on his ground game, and being proud to be a banger. He hits on losing his last few fights, what he has to do to turn things around, and having the ability to cross train with a bunch of different fighters to prepare for Martinez. He says he’s surrounded himself with the right people and he’s ready to go.

Joe Bradley, one half of the co-main event at Valor Fighting Challenge 55 Friday night, battles Joseph Long for the vacant Lightweight Championship. Bradley talks about his background, some of his prior fights, and coming into this fight knowing that one of these guys will leave the fight not being undefeated. He said that Long presents a great matchup and they’re very similar in style.

Chloe Padilla wraps up the interview portion of the show talking about her MMA debut at Valor Fighting Challenge 55 against Mary Rosenbeck. Chloe has been a trainer for years at Frankie’s Body Shop and has a back. If the Padilla name sounds familiar, she’s the daughter of Frankie Padilla, the owner of Frankie’s Body Shop. She talks about how she’s prepared after being a part of so many other fights she’s helped other prep for. Padilla is a natural competitor, having been a part of fitness competitions for years. She found MMA through Jason King after falling out of love with the fitness game due to politics. She talks about the challenges of training other fighters while training for her own fight, preparing for the fight, and what to she expects to see from Rosenbeck.

Finally, Jeff Hobbs, Mark Laws, and David Robins join Tim and Greg for the Valor Fighting Challenge 55 Picks Panel as the crew previews the entire fight card and shares their thoughts on what will be a great night of fights at the Cotton Eyed Joe.

Here’s the full fight card:

Subscribe to The Valor Hour on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn Radio, and Google Play

The post The Valor Hour: Valor Fighting Challenge 55 Preview With Trevin Brown, Chris Buttry, Joe Bradley, & Chloe Padilla appeared first on Radio Influence.