MMA History Podcast

Send a text Ep 313 The Fall of EF Battlecade - John Perretti  John Perretti, Battlecade: Extreme Fighting creator/matchmaker & former UFC matchmaker. Deep dive into the promotion's last event via Extreme Fighting 4 (Des Moines, March 28, 1997):  It featured Olympic gold medalists Kenny Monday & Kevin Jackson on one card, along with epic clashes like Paul Jones vs. Eric Paulson and a m...

Send a text Ep 312 Andy Anderson Federal Prison Andy Anderson was once a Texas entrepreneur owning topless clubs and the notorious All Nude Steakhouse (supplying ring girls for UFC events), Andy's life took a turn - he's now serving a federal sentence for drug conspiracy (30 years) and money laundering (20 years), though he insists he's innocent and was railroaded by false testimony...

Send a text Ep 311 Ron Jhun BEFORE the UFC  Ron Jhun is Hawaii’s only 50 fight club member and had over 40 bouts prior to competing in the UFC.  Ron Jhun is an early pioneer and a legend among the Hawaiian MMA community; we share some funny insights and stories in this very hard to come by interview  Ep 311 Ron Jhun BEFORE the UFC  0:00 MMA history podcast intro   0:32 Joey Venti’s guest introduct...

Send a text Ep 310 EliteXC The Run - Jared Shaw  Following the huge buzz from Part 1 (#308: "The Rise of EliteXC"), Jared returns for an unfiltered deep dive into the promotion's explosive two-year run that seriously challenged the UFC. Hear the insider stories: nearly signing Brock Lesnar post-K-1, flying Kimbo Slice to LA with a briefcase of cash to lock in MMA's first viral...

Send a text Ep 309 Ed Herman BEFORE the UFC Dive deep into the raw origins of UFC veteran Ed "Short Fuse" Herman - The Ultimate Fighter Season 3 runner-up, a middleweight powerhouse with 26 official UFC bouts (plus his TUF Octagon appearances), 13 wins inside the promotion, and an impressive eight post-fight bonuses, including Knockout of the Night, Submission of the Night, Fight of the...

Send a text In 2025 we experienced a lot of growth and recorded some incredible history pieces  Joining is for a recap of the years events is Julio Macedo (RagdollMMA), Referee Kevin MacDonald, Brian McLaughlin & James Hergott  This year we had 55 total drops  51 Deep Dives  & 2 round tables Special Thank You to the following  Phil Barker, Hong Kong Phooey 613Json and Thomas Mural for watc...

Send a text Ep 308 The Rise of EliteXC - Jared Shaw  EliteXC made an incredible run to become an industry power in 2007.  Joining us to talk about the historic rise is former Vice President of operations is Jared Shaw of the famous Shaw Boxing family.  Details EliteXC's explosive growth: landing the Showtime deal, debuting in one month with Renzo Gracie vs. Frank Shamrock, pioneering women&ap...

Send a text Ep 307 Jesse Taylor BEFORE the UFC  Jesse Taylor dominated The Ultimate Fighter house, crushed everyone in sight, and was one win away from a UFC contract... Then one wild night changed everything. In this raw two-part episode, Jesse "JT Money" Taylor pulls no punches: early Team Quest chaos, underground San Diego stories, TUF glory and heartbreak, worldwide redemption wars,...

Send a text Ep 306 Andy Main TUF to the King of Pancrase Andy Main is currently a stand out coach at Pure Martial Arts in Rockaway NJ.  Andy rose through ranks of the regional MMA scene at an incredibly early age… we go in depth with our analyzation  of his career.  From competing on the Ultimate Fighter tv series to winning the King of Pancrase belt, this is a great listen  Special Thank You to o...

Send a text Ep 305 War Machine Jon Koppenhaver Career & Controversy IF YOU USE THIS VIDEO WITHOUT PERMISSION FROM US WE WILL FLAG YOIR CHANNEL  War Machine Jon Koppenhaver interview took place from his living unit at Ely Prison.  The video / audio is NOT in sync due to the prison security settings NOT allowing voice recording for video visitations.  War Machine Jon Koppenhaver is a controversi...

Send a text Ep 304 Jim Miller BEFORE the UFC w/ Brian McLaughlin  Jim Miller is on the precipice of becoming the first ever member of the 50 Fights in the UFC.  Jim Milers journey to the UFC is largely undocumented and with the help of his long time friend and trainer Brian McLaughlin we explore his path within the independent grind.  Special Thank You to friend of the show Brian McLaughlin for he...

Send a text Ep 303 Rafiel Torre RND Table 2  Legendary Reporter Jeff Sherwood, Documentary film maker Ed Doty and Referee Larry Landless weigh in on Rafiel Torre.  The panel was out together to get a look at Rafiel Torre and his appearance from the side of the media.  Rafiel Torre the person, the competitor and the reporter is an onion with many many layers…. We hope to do RoundTable discussions o...

Send a text Ep 302 Ron Waterman Career Deep Dive  Ron Waterman stepped out of the classroom as a teacher and made his way into the cage to fight some of the world’s toughest men.  Ron takes us through his journey that includes legendary manager Phyllis Lee, dealings with Math maker John Perretti and wrestling in the WWE Please follow our channels on  Follow the MMA History Team on Instagram:  MMA...

Send a text Ep 301 Rafiel Torre RoundTable  Gerald Strebendt, Chris Brennan & Eddy Millis joined us to discuss their fallen friend Rafiel Torre  Stebendt, Brennan & Millis recall their time with Rafiel Torre along with their current day feelings for him.  The episode is filled with explosive truths, damning lies and fun stories involving Rafiel Torre.  The RoundTable format is going to reo...

Send a text Ep 300 Rafiel Torre Corcoran Prison Rafiel Torre is a notorious figure from the “Dark Ages” of the sport; a revered journalist, an alleged Black Belt and a powerfully connected insider to some of the sports biggest names.  Rafiel Torre was arrested in 2003 and sentenced to life in prison in 2005  He has been taken to task publicly by Joe Rogan, Eddie Bravo and Eddy Millis  At his trial...

Send a text Ep 299 Jorge Rivera Career Deep Dive  Jorge Rivera is a legend of the Atlantic Northeast MMA scene  His career started with the legendary Jason Delucia and continues through one of the sports most respected trainers Keith Rockel.  Throughout his career Jorge Rivera has faced some of the world’s toughest fighters; Tim Sylvia, Rich Franklin and Anderson Silva are just a few of the names....

Send a text Ep 298 Brad Imes Career Deep Dive  Brad Imes has a story that very few can even imagine. Within 15 months of stepping into his first MMA gym, Imes found himself in the finals of The Ultimate Fighter reality show.  Brad Imes recalls his time sparring with Tim Sylvia and Ben Rothwell at the Miletich Fighting Systems.  Brad Imes the man tied with the most Gogoplata finishes in MMA gave us...

Send a text Ep 297 Brian McLaughlin Deep Dive  Brian McLaughlin is one of the sports unsung heroes; most widely known as Jim Miller’s BJJ coach, Brian takes us through some incredible highs when competing against names such as Wilson Reis and Ryan Hall.   We also hit a few controversial topics like Gene Simco, Dillon Danis and the often times “hard attitudes” of the Atlantic Northeast.  It’s a gre...

Send a text Ep 296 Jeremy Horn Early 2000’s  Jeremy Horn joins us again to discuss a part of his career that saw him do battle with a who’s who of the worlds best fighters.  Imagine a 24 month period of fighting Antonio Nogueira, Yoshihisa Yamamoto, Kiyosho Tamura, Ricardo Arona 2x, Eugene Jackson, Randy Couture & Akira Shoji… that is what we discuss in this episode.  Jeremy Horn also gives hi...

Send a text Ep 295 Josh Neer BEFORE the UFC  Josh Neer burst onto the professional scene boasting a record that had just under 100 amateur fights.  Neer’s MMA journey had him training in Canada with Joe Doerkson as well as many years at the Miletich Fighting Systems  Chris Lytle joins us on this fantastic listen documenting the Indy grind of the Midwest  Ep 295 Josh Neer BEFORE the UFC  0:00 plugs...

Send a text Ep 294 Brock Larson BEFORE the UFC  50 Fight Club member Brock Larson is a stand out fighter from the tough Midwest grind.  Larson started his career as a training partner to Sean Sherk and advanced himself to being a top 5 ranked fighter.  Dave Menne, Brock Lesnar & Brad Kohler are all talked about with some killer stories.  Ep 294 Brock Larson BEFORE the UFC    0:00 plugs/ promot...

Send a text Ep 292 Shark Tank with Eddy Millis & Jay Martinez  Shark Tank owner Eddy Millis and Jay Martinez are two influential members of the early NHB movement in California   Eddy Millis & Jay Martinez share their stories from an era that is referred to as the golden era of Mixed Martial Arts  Ep 292 Shark Tank w/ Eddy Millis & Jay Martinez  0:00 plugs/ promotions  0:42 MMA history...

Send a text Ep 291 Mac Danzig UFC Years  0:00 plugs/ promotions  0:42 MMA history podcast  intro  1:14 Joey Venti’s guest introduction 1:32 interview start  3:44 plugs/ promotions  6:27 jiu jitsu for the current generation  8:54 backroom bonus from the UFC  12:02 Mac Danzig vs Josh Neer  15:16 suffering 3 straight losses in the UFC 18:26 opportunities from Joe Silva  21:12 firing Monte Cox as a ma...

Send a text Ep 290 Kazja Kage Kombat & Conspiracy  When it comes to pioneers of the early No Holds Barred days, the name Kazja is associated with both progress and controversy.  Kazja gave us a look at what it was like to be on the front lines fighting the athletic commissions tooth and nail on every decision and how he was able to subvert their system.  Some of the sports biggest names attend...

Send a text Ep 289 Cecil Peoples w/ Herb Dean Deep Dive Cecil Peoples joins us to discuss the developmental days of mixed martial arts and its transition into modern day fighting.  We delve into stories about Frank Dux, Zane Frazier and the reputation of Gene LeBell Herb Dean sat in on this special episode with a true pioneer of the sport Cecil Peoples  Ep 289 Cecil Peoples w/ Herb Dean Career Dee...