The Valor Hour

Valor Fighting Challenge matchmaker Tim Loy and Justin Watson are joined by Jeff Hobbs and Greg Hopkins to open the show recapping the great night of fights last Saturday night in Knoxville, TN at Valor Fighting Challenge 54. The guys recap the full card, the impressive knockouts, and some of the surprises for the night.

First up in the interview portion of the show, one half of the main event at Valor 55 for the Lightweight Championship at the Cotton Eyed Joe on February 2nd, the undefeated Joseph Long joins the show to preview his fight and talk about his training leading into his fight against Joe Bradley. He’s fought and lost to Bradley in the past so he’s certainly looking for redemption. He feels confident as long as he looks out for the submission and stays in control of the fight.

Trevor Peek checks in next. He’s battling for the Welterweight Championship at Valor 55 against Tevin Brown, a guy he’s very familiar with after a huge battle against him last year. He says he’s looking forward to the fight to show his progress and put on another show with Brown. He also talks about his fight strategy for the fight and whether it will change or not, being more confident for this fight than the last, and whether or not he’s considering going pro.

To wrap up the interview portion of the show, Brandon McMahan touches base with the guys. Brandon makes her Bellator debut this weekend in Los Angeles at Bellator 214 against Adel Altamini. The fight is at 145 lbs, which plays to McMahan’s favor since he’s taking the fight on short notice. He says that everyone would love to get a full camp and the last few weeks have been a whirlwind; the short notice won’t play a factor in the fight. When it comes to his training for the fight, he says he never trains to his opponent. He trains to improve himself because once the fight starts, it’s all about instinct.

Finally, the guys wrap up recapping the UFC Brooklyn fight card and share their thoughts and make their picks for Bellator 214 Saturday night.

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Valor Fighting Challenge 54 will take place on Saturday in Knoxville, Tennessee and get a complete preview of the fight card on this week’s episode of The Valor Hour. 

Valor Fighting Challenge matchmaker Tim Loy and Justin Watson are joined by Jeff Hobbs, Mark Laws, Greg Hopkins and Charlie Alexander to preview the entire fight card. Now before they get into previewing the fights, Tim explains why the matchup between You Tubers Andy Warski and Tonka Saw is not taking place on Saturday night at Valor Fighting Challenge 54.

After the guys go through all of the fights that will take place on Saturday in Knoxville, they turn their attention over to the UFC and preview Saturday’s UFC Brooklyn card, which will mark the UFC debut on ESPN. They discuss various aspects of the fight card and give their picks for the fights.

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This week on The Valor Hour, Valor Fighting Challenge matchmaker Tim Loy and Justin Watson open the show discussing the stacked UFC 235 card that features Robbie Lawler and Ben Askren. Even though it’s isn’t until March 2nd, the guys take an early look at the card and discuss what they are looking forward to. They get into the relationship between the UFC and ESPN and how they will really push the thought of a monthly subscription for ESPN+.

Before the interview portion, the guys also discuss whether a Jon Jones/Luke Rockhold fight could happen in the future.

Andy Warski joins the show to discuss his MMA debut that’s happening at Valor Fighting Challenge 54 January 19th in Knoxville, TN. Andy is a 12+ year YouTube personality and has well over 250,000 followers who started out as stand up comic but he has beef with his opponent, Tonka Saw, another YouTube personality. The two former friends can’t stand each other and Andy says that essentially anyone Tonka has heat with, he threatens to fight them but no one has called him out….. until now. Andy says he’s absolutely taking this fight seriously, has been training hard, and is now addicted to the sport.

Tonka then joins the show to tell his side of this YouTube battle and the relationship with Warski. He’s also making his MMA debut and talks about how the fight came to be. He says it’s kinda weird that this is actually happening because he expected Warski to back out of the fight. He talks about why this fight is so personal and it’s going to be fun punching him in the face.

Next up, Tim has the opportunity to chat with Dre Miley, who is also fighting on the Valor Fighting Challenge 54 card January 11th. He’s battling Marquise Johnson, a late replacement for Anthony Yost. Dre talks about the challenges of having a change of opponent this late in the game but he says he’s good to go. Normally a flyweight, this fight is at bantamweight so he says it’s been nice being able to keep the weight on a bit while he trains. Coming off a quick win in his last fight against Ned Spears, he talks about how he knew what was coming and was able to get him into the standing guillotine and put him to sleep.

“The Black Widow” Jessica Borga, half of the Main Event at Valor Fighting Challenge 54, touches base with Tim to talk about her upcoming fight against Shanna Young. She talks about her background, her life growing up, and how going into MMA just seemed appropriate. She jokes about originally wanting the nickname “Tornado” but her coaches had another idea. Coming off a win in her last fight this past April, she talks about having a long layoff in between fights but she’s been training nonstop in spite of the break. She says that Shanna is very skilled, respects her a lot, and she can’t wait to get into the cage to play the heel in the fight. 

Finally, Tabatha “Batgirl” Watkins battles the debuting Milagros Carmen Carbajal next weekend in Knoxville. She talks about her background, her training in Michigan, starting her training in jiu-jitsu, and working hard to get noticed. Zamora is known to be a grappler and a wrestler but Watkins says that she’s excited for the fight and she’s gameplanned accordingly. She knows it’s going to be great if the fight goes to the mat but she says not to sell her striking short. She also explains how she got the nickname “Batgirl” and how she wants to have her own “Bat Signal” as she comes to the cage one day. 

Valor Fighting Challenge 54 is next Saturday, January 19th at the Knoxville Civic Center. Get your tickets at Ticketmaster.com.

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This week on The Valor Hour, Valor Fighting Challenge matchmaker Tim Loy and Justin Watson open the show by recapping UFC 232. The guys talk about a great night of action that saw a few surprises, Cat Zingano take a toe to the eye, BJ Penn lose in what may be his final fight, Amanda Nunes win her second title, and Jon Jones win the Light Heavyweight Title in a fight against Alexander Gustafson.

Next, David Robins joins the show to talk about his next fight at Valor Fighting Challenge 54 in Knoxville, TN against Daeshaun Middleton on January 19th. David talks about his win in his last fight, which was his pro debut, how he wants to keep the momentum rolling, his expectations for the Middleton fight, being excited to fight at The Coliseum in Knoxville, wanting to kick 2019 off with a bang, and so much more.

“Big Sexy” Billy Swanson checks in to talk about his fight against John Hall in November where he won the title. He also talks about his upcoming opponent, Harry Hunsucker, who has more pro experience than Swanson but he doesn’t seem overly concerned. Swanson went so far as to say the he likes John Hall and you saw what happened to him. He has no relationship at all with Hunsucker so just wait and watch.

Finally, “The Asian Persuasion” Jason King touches base about his last fight against Nick Jewell. He said that he wasn’t real happy with the fight in spite of getting the win because he entered the fight more dinged up than he let on. He talks about rehabbing and recovering from his injuries before his upcoming fight against Jason Wolfe at Valor Fighting Challenge 54.

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This week on The Valor Hour, Valor Fighting Challenge matchmaker Tim Loy and Justin Watson kick off the show discussing UFC 232’s move from Las Vegas to Los Angeles due to the Jon Jones situation with USADA. Controversy seems to just follow this guy and the Nevada Sports Commission will not clear him to fight. California has cleared him to fight but the fact that things are at this level late in the game is just insane. There seems to be conflicting stories as to what is really going on with the USADA tests that Jones tested positive for. More importantly, the situation just sucks for the other fighters on the card and the fans who have already purchased plane tickets and hotel rooms to spend the New Year’s weekend in Vegas.

They then move into their interview portion of the show as they chat with the husband and wife tandem of Christina Ricker and James Adcock about their upcoming fights at Valor Fighting Challenge 54 in Knoxville, TN on January 19th. Ricker is battling Hayley Turner and Adcock battles Brandon Grimmett. Adcock talks about not being comfortable fighting at 135lb and how his prep is coming together for the fight. Ricker talks about finally getting to fight as a pro at home after being an amateur and how tough the fight is going to be. It’s also the first time that a husband/wife combo has been on the same fight card.

Reigning M1 Global World Featherweight champ Nate “The Train” Landwehr then joins the show to talk about his big win at M1 with a third round TKO over Andrey Lezhnev. He said fighting him is simple, “either finish me or get finished. Period.” He also says that he’s got one fight left with M1 and then you never know what could happen in regards to the UFC.

Then, the guys get back to UFC 232, preview the full fight card, and share their picks (full card listed below) and wrap up with their “Best of 2018” Year End Awards for Valor Fights.

Here is the entire UFC 232 fight card:

EARLY PRELIM CARD (UFC FIGHT PASS)

PRELIM CARD (FS1)

MAIN CARD (PPV)

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This week on The Valor Hour, Valor Fighting Challenge matchmaker Tim Loy, Justin Watson, and Greg Hopkins recap both Bellator 212 and Bellator 213 events and UFC Milwaukee from last weekend.

They start out with Bellator 212, which really didn’t have too many surprises. Even though Brent Primus took a loss from Michael Chandler, Primus took him the distance and proved he belonged. On the other hand, it was really tough watching Frank Mir, with his daughter in his corner, tap out the way he did.

Moving onto the stacked Bellator 213 card, the guys break down Neiman Gracie’s upset victory over Ed Ruth, Liam McGeary’s upset victory over King Mo, and Ilima-Lei Macfarlane’s submission win over Valerie Letourneau to retain her Women’s Flyweight Championship.

The guys then jump into UFC Milwaukee, which is the final UFC on Fox event as it transitions to ESPN for their next card. The guys were all over the upset by Mike “Slo” Martinez and tell you that he’s a guy that you need to keep an eye on. They also discussed the horrible loss by Jim Miller at the hands of Charles Oliviera and the decision in the main event that saw Al Iaquinta knock off Kevin Lee.

Finally, Tim, Justin and Greg gives a quick sneak peak at UFC 232, main evented by the returning Jon Jones battling Alexander Gustafsson.

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This week on The Valor Hour, Valor Fighting Challenge matchmaker Tim Loy, Justin Watson, and Greg Hopkins start the show recapping last weekend’s UFC 231. The guys were really impressed with the main event, especially Max Holloway, and asks if we could be in line for a Conor McGregor/Max Holloway rematch. Speaking of McGregor, the guys talk about his future, what weight class his next fight may be at, and if he does fight Holloway, what’s in it for Max.

Then, the guys chat with “The All-American Kid” Sid Wheeler, who battles Leon Aliu December 22nd at Brave CF in India. He talks about how much he loves fighting at 185 lbs, how trying to get down to 170 lbs was just too much, and then he focuses on Aliu and his preparation for the fight.

Finally, the guys preview all of this weekend’s action at Friday night’s Bellator 212 and Saturday night’s Bellator 213 and UFC On Fox 31 full fight cards.

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This week on The Valor Hour, Valor Fighting Challenge matchmaker Tim Loy. Justin Watson, and Greg Hopkins start the show recapping last weekend’s UFC action. They look at both The Ultimate Fighter 28 finale and the UFC Adelaide card and discuss what everything that stood out to them. The guys also discuss the future of the Welterweight Division in the UFC and whether Ben Askren will face Tyron Woodley.

Then, the guys preview the card for Saturday night’s UFC 231 from ScotiaBank Center in Toronto, headlined by a UFC Featherweight Championship match between the champ Max Holloway and Brian Ortega. The guys break down the entire cards and share their picks for each fight.

Here’s the full card:

Main Card

Prelim Card (FS1)

Early Prelim Card (Fight Pass)

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This week on The Valor Hour, Valor Fighting Challenge matchmaker Tim Loy and Justin Watson start the show recapping last weekend’s UFC Beijing card as they look back to see how their picks for the card played out. Also, before getting to UFC fighter Jason Knight, they guys also share their thoughts on the Chuck Liddell/Tito Ortiz fight from last weekend as well.

Next, they chat with UFC featherweight fighter Jason Knight, who is not only overcoming a loss to Jordan Rinaldi at UFC 230 but also a horrible case of strep throat, discusses the Rinaldi loss and what his gameplan was going into the fight. He said that he never wanted to get into a wrestling match with Rinaldi but that’s just the way the fight went. He also discussed his future with the UFC, how many more fights remain on his contract, possibly changing weight classes, the new gym he’s opening in his hometown, how he stays grounded at home, and so much more.

Finally, the guys are joined by Greg Hopkins to preview and share their picks for The Ultimate Fighter 28 Finale and UFC Fight Night 142 on Saturday.

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This week on The Valor Hour, matchmaker Tim Loy and Justin Watson start the show with a brief recap of Patricio Pitbull’s title defense at Bellator 209 and head straight to UFC Argentina. The guys dissect the entire card, go over their picks from the event (it wasn’t pretty), and talk about Santiago Ponzinnibo’s big win in the main event.

They wrap up by previewing this weekend’s UFC Beijing card that can be seen only on Fight Pass. Here’s the card:

Preliminary Card

Main Card

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