The Co-Main Event MMA Podcast

Just a few months ago, it seemed like we had a lot to look forward to in MMA. You had Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano set to do the damn thing in MVP’s inaugural event. You had the UFC getting ready to go big at the White House. You even had the much-anticipated, loooooooong-awaited return of Conor McGregor. Today? Well, you’ve got Islam Makhachev vs. Ian (whispers: Machado) Garry and Mackenzie Dern vs. Gillian Robertson coming up in mid-August but, other than that, there’s just not a lot on the schedule.

Last weekend, Magomed Ankalaev went out there and did Magomed Ankalaev stuff (which is to say, not much) to score a potentially meaningless win over Bogdan Guskov (who did even less!). Next week, you’ve got Uroš Medić vs. Daniel Rodriguez and the week after that it’s Mateusz Gamrot vs. Quillan Salkilld. So, this episode we discuss being mired in the dog days of MMA summer and what we might have to look forward to coming up in the fall and winter.
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Well, turns out Conor McGregor blew out both his ACL and meniscus when he tried to do that flying kick against Max Holloway at UFC 329. Pretty much broke his whole shit, which means he’s probably out until at least next summer. As Dana White is quick to point out to everybody who has asked, Conor’s knee is so “fucked up” (his words) that it’s not even really worthwhile discussing what might be next for him until he’s healed up and ready to go again. Oh, and in case you’re wondering, Conor has decided it was actually GOOD that he destroyed his knee and lost to Max because, had he won, something much worse might have happened. No, we are not kidding you.

Plus, Dricus du Plessis did pretty much what we thought he would do to Kamaru Usman en route to a unanimous decision victory Saturday at UFC Fight Night in Oklahoma City. Maybe the biggest surprise was it didn’t seem like it was Usman’s knees that cost him the fight.
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Things did not go well for ya boi Conor McGregor in his big return fight against Max Holloway at UFC 329 on Saturday. “Fight,” in fact, is probably too strong a word for what happened, after McGregor led off by sprinting across the cage, trying to throw a leaping kick at Holloway’s head and ended up blowing out his own knee on re-entry. Cue the sad trombone for the Notorious One. It goes without saying that this, at 37 years old, after already coming off a serious leg injury and five years of very ugly personal behavior away from the cage, casts serious doubt on McGregor’s fighting future. And you know what? Maybe that’s a good thing.

This week we discuss all things McGregor, including the steroid scandal and sexual assault verdict nobody wanted to talk about during fight week.
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For being one of MMA’s all-time most talked-about fighters, it sure feels like Conor McGregor is a big, fat unknown headed into his return fight Saturday at UFC 329 against Max Holloway. Don’t know if you’ve noticed but up until about a week ago, the storylines surrounding McGregor have been almost exclusively TERRIBLE … and also NOT about fighting. So, as he prepares to come back to the Octagon for the first time in more than 1,000 days, let’s just say there are questions.

Holloway seems like a bad stylistic matchup for McGregor under the best of circumstances. Will Conor show ring rust? Will he show the desire? Will he have evolved at all? Or will he show up looking like a 37-year-old guy coming off a major injury whose life has skittered into a tailspin due entirely to his own horrific actions? Keep in mind, he didn’t look great BEFORE the broken leg and becoming an adjudicated rapist.

We discuss.
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Old guys seem to be having a renaissance in the UFC right now and, as gentlemen of a certain age, we frankly couldn’t be happier. Shout out to Mike “Bad To The” Bohn for pointing out this week that the older fighter has won the main event of every numbered UFC PLE so far this year (Volk and Gaethje, both 37; Chuckie Olives, 36; and Uhlberg and Strickland, both 35). That’s right, 2026 so far is the UFC’s Year of the Unc. But what's really goin' on here? Fighters aging better? The move away from USADA 👀? No decent young athletes want to get into this sport anymore? We discuss.

Plus, how does the Paramount+ app suck so bad yet still somehow be better than ESPN+? And y’all see Rafael Fiziev kick that dude upside his head? Dang.

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