This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com

UFC Nashville was not a bad card on paper and it wasn’t bad in practice—for the most part. It had the right mix of name value and compelling contests. It saw a rising prospect looking to claim the first rung on the contender ladder taught a valuable lesson: the last men on the totem pole are the lowest tier gatekeepers to the inner sanctum. Those guys t…