Level Change Podcast

The Nagoya basho is over, but it certainly delivered some surprises. From the winner of the tournament to the gnarly injuries, there was quite a lot going on at the last ever tournament at this godforsaken, un-air-conditioned arena. We saw a few new faces (at least to me) that were returning to action, as well as all the usual suspects. What’s going on with our yokozuna? Which ozeki(s) have been d...

The Nagoya basho is well underway and Terunofuji is looking like a billion bucks. Yes, that’s billion, with a B. The only yokozuna in Sumo is kicking ass and taking names and we are here for it. All the other top-tier wrestlers are having a bit of a struggle although Kotozakura (our good friend Double-Boob) is doing well, so far. Tim Bissell, long-time Sumo analyst and pundit, routinely stops by t...

Every time I think the UFC’s Apex lineups can’t get any worse, they go and prove a gal wrong. And it’s not that there’s anything inherently wrong with putting on a bunch of prospect fights (only one is ranked and doesn’t fit the classical “prospect” mold"), but when it’s nearly every event, it begs questioning if UFC really is the Super Bowl of MMA. Sure, they’re the 800-pound gorilla of the commu...

The denizens of the Mile High City get the honors of playing host to the UFC this weekend, with local former champ Rose Namajunas (ranked #6) in a headliner against flyweight dynamo Tracy Cortez (ranked #11). Namajunas (12-6) seems to have had some struggles as of late, especially with that very strange bout against Carla Esparza in which she lost her strawweight title. upon moving up to 125lbs im...

As you’ve noticed, we’ve moved our base of operations here to Substack. This will be our permanent home moving forward. We hope you enjoy the episode and will give us your continued patronage here. Today’s episode is our latest with Sumo analyst extraordinaire, Tim Bissell. If you’re familiar with our podcast, Tim is a staple, and guests frequently to break down all the details of the tournament w...