The Co-Main Event MMA Podcast

• Episode 637: Was Magomed Ankalaev really that boring at UFC 313?

  If we told you going into UFC 313 that Magomed Ankalaev would go 0-for-12 on takedown attempts in his light heavyweight title fight against Alex Pereira, would you have thought that shaped up as a win for Ankalaev? Yeah, we wouldn’t either. That’s what happened, however, with Ankalaev using a surprisingly effective striking attack coupled with a suffocating clinch game to take the strap from Poatan. And look, we get it. Everybody loves Pereira. We do, too. Literally nobody (besides his friends and family) is excited for the Ankalaev Era. But was Ankalaev’s performance really as boring as some people are saying? Or is that just our sadness about Pereira getting the best of us? Plus, Dana White says a rematch is probably next for both guys. Is it, though? And we all know Justin Gaethje’s got that dog in him, but we shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that he’s also really, really, really good. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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• Episode 636: Alex Pereira faces the worst kind of fight at UFC 313

  What’s the worst kind of fight? A tough-ass matchup against an opponent nobody cares about. That’s exactly what Pereira has on his hands against Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 313 on Saturday, so much so that everybody involved (except Ankalaev) appeared put it off as long as they possibly could. But, here’s Poatan, at 37 and sitting on the brink of cleaning out the light heavyweight division, facing his fourth fight in just under 12 months against the man some say shapes up as his stiffest test at 205. Ain’t that just the way? Plus, Rafael Fiziev seemed to surprise even himself by getting the call to step in for Dan Hooker in the co-main event fight against Justin Gaethje.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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• Episode 635: Henry Cejudo gets the ol’ 3 Stooges (plus a ton of news!)

  Doesn’t Henry Cejudo know that when somebody tries to go full Moe Howard on you (looking in your direction Song Yadong) all you gotta do is throw the hand up in front of your face to block it? Guess he missed that day in Greatest Combat Sports Athlete of All Time School. We kid, obviously. Still, though, shoutout to Cejudo, Song and Jason Herzog for reminding us this week that sometimes the shortest distance between you and winning the fight is just to gouge your opponent’s eyes out. Plus, a ton of fight booking news! Topuria goes up! Hooker drops out! Volko and The Fallout Boy are in! That Boy Good can’t go! Muhammad gets Jackie Flat Nose! Oh, what a rush. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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• Episode 634: What now, Jon Jones? WHAT NOW??

  Would somebody please get this goddamn Jon Jones a hobby already? You can just about set your watch to this shit. Give Jones a fight, give him something to train for, some structure, some direction in his life, and it seems like this man is unstoppable. Give him like EVEN ONE SECOND of downtime and he’s liable to get intoxicated and film an Instagram live video about how he wants to kill somebody. WHICH IS EXACTLY WHAT HE DID OVER THE WEEKEND. Who was Jones talking about? What precipitated this behavior? Was he speaking literally or figuratively? And WHY ON EARTH would he FILM this shit on Instagram? In other news, Jared Cannonier refused to go quietly into the domain of the gatekeeper and stepping stone and, you know what, fucking good on him. Also, Henry Cejudo and Song Yadong are gonna mix it up in Seattle this weekend and the oddsmakers don’t LOVE Henry’s chances. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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• Episode 633: Sean Strickland turns into a pumpkin at UFC 312

  UFC 312 seemed to signal a community-wide awakening on Sean Strickland. After watching him go out with a whimper against Dricus Du Plessis (again!) it felt like everybody had kind of had enough of his bullshit. Sure, the visionaries on this podcast have been saying for AWHILE that what Strickland advertises prefight (a bloodthirsty maniac!) is quite different than what you actually get inside the cage (a careful point fighter, who came into this bout apparently having made like ZERO adjustments). After this one, however, it felt like fans knew it, other fighters knew it and even his own corner sort of seemed to know it. So, that feels like curtains for ya boi Sean. The irony is, of course, that Strickland actually DOES feel like a psychopathic lunatic in all other aspects of his life. Just ... not when he's fighting. Plus, damn you can't doubt DDP anymore. Except in his next fight against Khamzat Chimaev ... surely he'll lose that one ... right? Also, are Dana White and Ari Emanuel about to try to "fix" boxing by going after the Ali Act? Well, shit, of course they are! Why didn't we see that coming?  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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