Ciryl Gane is officially the undisputed UFC heavyweight champion, and Josh Hokit is next at Madison Square Garden. Chael breaks down the heavyweight picture, including why Alex Pereira vs. Alexander Volkov is already done - they just haven't told you yet. Then: Chael predicts Justin Gaethje wants Arman Tsarukyan, and why that makes perfect sense. Joshua Van just beat Alexandre Pantoja again and looks like something different at flyweight. And Gable Steveson got knocked out - here's the one lesson a wrestler can never forget. Plus: a man fought an actual robot. Chael has thoughts.

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Chael is in Miami and the UFC just called him with breaking news: Josh Hokit fights Ciryl Gane for the undisputed heavyweight championship at Madison Square Garden. He was so excited he forgot to ask any questions. Alex Pereira was just photographed in the UFC offices with Hunter Campbell looking very happy — Chael thinks he knows why, and it likely involves Alexander Volkov and a number one contenders match on the same card. Then Arman Tsarukyan vs. Mauricio Ruffy is a legitimate number one contenders match for Justin Gaethje's title, and Chael lays out exactly how he thinks it plays out and why. Ariel Helwani thinks he can feel something in the air about an upset. Chael disagrees and explains. Ask Uncle Chael covers Anderson Silva vs. Daniel Cormier, the oblique kick debate, Palantir stock, fighting Jon Jones with a broken toe, scary ring walks, USADA vs. the current testing protocol, Vanderlei Silva's one weakness, and the five things Chael would tell his son to make the high school wrestling team. Plus, Blaine Natal gets his day.

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Tom Aspinall vacated the UFC heavyweight title at 1am and Chael was up at 5am to bring you this. Aspinall's statement was real, not PR, and Chael gives him full credit. Ciryl Gane is now the undisputed heavyweight champion without throwing a punch to get there. Jon Jones didn't want to fight Aspinall. Does he want Gane? That question is now very much alive. Josh Hokit is the rightful number one contender and Chael makes the case. Lerone Murphy said what a lot of people are thinking — Volkanovski's best days are behind him. Chael isn't sure and explains why Volk deserves more credit than he gets. Then Tommy McMillen. Could he be the second biggest star in UFC history behind Conor McGregor? Chael thinks it's not crazy. Plus the Ilia Topuria rematch debate. Chael still thinks it's the right fight.

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Chael makes the case that Ilia Topuria deserves an immediate rematch with Justin Gaethje and everyone resisting it is wrong. Salahdine Parnasse knocks out Dan Hooker in his UFC debut and calls out Max Holloway. Chael says Max has to accept. Not that the fight gets made. That Max has to accept. Ian Garry publicly predicted Carlos Prates can beat Islam Makhachev. From the guy who hugged Islam three times during their title fight. Chael wants Ian to explain himself. Michael Morales is in a dogfight for the number one contender spot and his management team doesn't seem to know it. Then Chael just got back from Moscow. Alexander Karelin, Khamzat Chimaev, Islam Makhachev all in the same room.

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Tom Aspinall is still a mystery. Eddie Hearn says he is back at full training. Josh Hokit says that is a rules violation. Chael has heard from teammates and none of it adds up the same way. Ciryl Gane and Alex Pereira keep the rematch conversation alive and Chael still is not sure it needs to happen. Justin Gaethje has all but said his next fight is his last. Chael believes him and breaks down who that fight should be against and why Ilia Topuria getting an immediate rematch is the wrong call for everyone. Salahdine Parnasse just knocked out Dan Hooker in Paris in round one and Chael says he should be the one welcoming Usman Nurmagomedov to the UFC. Arman Tsarukyan and Parnasse as a number one contenders fight is the biggest draw on the card and the winner should get Gaethje's final. Ian Garry looked around the welterweight division, did the math, and called out Michael Morales. Chael explains why that was a chess move not desperation.

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Chael is in Moscow with Luke Barnatt on Zoom. TUF 17, Chael's first pick, now a promoter, Octagon commentator, and the most well-dressed bouncer in MMA history. Andrew and Tristan Tate are in a Miami detention center fighting UK extradition and Luke has been in their corner for years. He breaks down the political case and why if they touch down on UK soil it is over. Chael asks the one question everyone wants answered: is anyone protecting US citizens from being handed to a foreign government? Tom Aspinall is not coming back. Luke is close to people close to Tom and he is hearing nothing. That is not a small data point. Ateba Gautier, the Cameroonian middleweight destroying Vegas gyms, gets a proper introduction. Luke announces Spirit Fighting Championship, a new MMA promotion launching in Africa on UFC Fight Pass. Ask Uncle Chael covers wrestling technique, Anderson Silva, and how to deal with stupid people.

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Khamzat Chimaev is calling out Sean Strickland, Dricus du Plessis, Nassourdine Imavov, and Caio Borralho all at once. Chael sorts out which of those fights actually happen and which one is a waste of a callout. Usman Nurmagomedov is UFC-bound and nobody in the top 15 wants that phone call. Dan Hooker is the only one raising his hand. Chael explains why that's exactly right and why every other fighter in the division is leaving opportunity on the table. Then Song Yadong knocks out Umar Nurmagomedov as a massive underdog in Shanghai, and Chael doesn't think the better fighter won. He breaks down the millisecond that decided the fight, why the Nurmagomedov team style was always going to get caught, and what Song completely failed to do in the post-fight interview that could cost him everything. Usman jumps the cage to get to his fallen brother. Against the rules? Yes. Awesome? Also yes. Henry Cejudo demands an immediate rematch. Chael pushes back hard. Muhammad Mokaev won a championship and wants back into the UFC. Chael says the door might be open and explains why the path there is one of the hardest roads in the sport.

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Tom Aspinall just put out a statement saying he's not leaving the UFC. Chael breaks down what that statement actually says versus what it doesn't, and why the difference matters for the entire heavyweight division. Ciryl Gane is the interim champion. The division has two belts and the worst-selling pay-per-view of last year. Where does this go? Then Paddy Pimblett vs. Arman Tsarukyan is being billed as a number one contenders fight for Justin Gaethje's title. Chael was in Philly, interviewed both men, and came away with one very confident quote from Tsarukyan and one very measured answer from Pimblett. He explains why the sport needs to honor what this fight is supposed to be. Tyson Fury says he didn't train for the Francis Ngannou fight because it wasn't a real fight. Chael explains exactly why that story doesn't hold up. Ask Uncle Chael covers the difference between a hardcore MMA fan and a casual, the state of WWE with Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns, and why collegiate wrestling is the single biggest advantage any fighter can have.

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Chael just got back from Real American Freestyle in Cleveland and it was the best event they've ever put on. Bo Nickel, Jordan Burroughs, Jason Nolf, Gable Steveson, and Merab Dvalishvili all on the same card. And Merab steps on the mat with two-time Olympic gold medalist Henry Cejudo and loses. Chael explains why that result means more than people think.  

Then UFC Sacramento: Anthony "Fluffy" Hernandez loses to Gregory "Robocop" Rodrigues in a war, and Chael makes the case that losing like Fluffy did is its own kind of win, and that he's still one of the best guys in the division who keeps getting passed over for the opportunity.  

Paddy Pimblett rehydrates to 190 pounds and gets called a weight bully. Chael thinks that's exactly backwards and explains why. Then the big story: Paddy Pimblett, Max Holloway, and Gable Steveson all climbed the cage after their UFC 329 wins and the Nevada State Athletic Commission withheld their pay. Daniel Cormier says leave them alone. Chael disagrees, and has the receipts. A broken cameraman's leg and Dan Henderson's torn ACL are exactly where this rule came from.

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Chael isn't ready to hand Islam Makhachev the GOAT title just yet, and he's got a name nobody's talking about that might have a better argument. Shavkat Rakhmonov is undefeated, has finished almost everybody, and already beat Ian Machado Garry. So what exactly did Islam prove Saturday night? Chael has opinions. Then there's the Ian Garry hug situation.The pre-fight hug, the mid-fight hug, the post-fight hug, and the post-fight lecture Garry gave Michael Morales backstage that nobody asked for. Carlos Prates says he was promised the next title shot and signed an eight-fight deal on that basis.  Josh Hokit and Alex Pereira get matched up, on paper anyway, while the heavyweight division tries to figure out if Tom Aspinall and Ciryl Gane are actually fighting or not. Then, Ask Uncle Chael covers Team Quest, Homer Moore, marriage, bicep curls, GME, and whether the GOAT label means anything at all.

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