The 6th Round Post-Fight Show

UFC Freedom 250 was every bit the spectacle it was made out to be . It had everything from fireworks to Tyson Fury getting his own special walkout. Why, you ask—who knows, but it was a thing that happened. All the brass showed up including Hunter Campbell, Nick Khan and Ari Emanuel. The crowd on the Ellipse was massive, and the crowd sitting cageside consisted of military members and first respond...

UFC 328 was a genuinely good card on paper and it delivered plenty of action in practice too. Baisangur Susurkaev defeated Djorden Santos via rear naked choke to kick off our finishes, but he had a lot of folks worried up to that point. Jim Miller proved once again that he feasts off any mistake, instantly capitalizing and making Jared Gordon tap out to a guillotine. It really is Miller Time tonig...

UFC 327 was a really solid card on paper and it delivered some solid moments in practice, too. Vicente Luque defied oddsmakers when he not only defeated Kelvin Gastelum, he stopped him in the second with a pretty gnarly D’arce choke. Tatiana Suarez kept her streak alive when she choked out Loopy Godinez in the second round, and Mateusz Gamrot put an early end to Esteban Ribovis’ night with an arm...

UFC 326 started with a bang when Rodolfo Bellato stopped Luke Hernandez via TKO after a spirited first 90 seconds. Hernandez, who was touted as being a great prospect, didn’t manage a great look for very long. Alberto Montes subbed Ricky Turcios with a D’Arce choke to grab the only other finish on the undercard. And Cody Garbrandt, who was definitely on his way to a 29-28 loss, ended up getting fo...

UFC Mexico didn’t look great on paper but we did get some great moments in reality and it started with the very first bout on the card. Damien Pinas stopped Wes Schultz in opening stanza, showing fight fans that Aruba isn’t just for vacations in the sun. Francis Marshall would submit Erik Silva in the first round, and Javier Reyes would make quick work of Douglas Silva de Andrade via TKO. Lacy Chi...

UFC 325 wasn’t built the same as its predecessor, sacrificing quality to ensure local favorites were featured prominently on the card, and having a main event that kind of makes no sense. But that doesn’t mean the event was a bust—quite the opposite. The undercard saw an even mix of finishes to decisions, and some fresh ROAD to UFC talent to keep our eye on in the future. The main portion of the c...

UFC 324 was ravaged by injury before it ever got off the ground. A few weeks out, we lost Kayla Harrison vs. Amanda Nunes. On weigh-in day, after successfully making weight, Cameron Smotherman stepped off the scale, took a few steps and then faceplanted, busting open his chin which ended up requiring stitches. This morning, just hours before the event’s kickoff, we lost yet another bout, this time...

UFC 323 delivered big in their last PPV event ever (or so they say). It had all the hallmarks of a great event going in with solid matchmaking and terrific stats on paper, and the action and skill level we were treated to surpassed our expectations. Nine finishes on a 14-fight card was just the beginning of the bonanza, as we also bore witness to a comeback story that might end up being called a f...

UFC 322 looked terrific on paper, and in practice, it delivered several highlight reel moments. Benoit Saint Denis starched Beneil Dariush in just 16 seconds to open the main card. Not to be outdone, Carlos Prates became the first person to ever knock out Leon Edwards. Then Michael Morales stopped Sean Brady inside the first round. That was followed by Valentina Shevchenko absolutely dominating Zh...

UFC Vegas 110 looked promising on paper, with solid alternative stats and suitable matchmaking. It wasn’t gonna set the world on fire, but it was decent enough. Fast forward to the event in actuality and you get a mixed bag with a possible fixed fight, another eye poke and follow-up questionable reffing to put the sour cherry on top of the sawdust cake. But Sedriques Dumas got beat up and that alm...

UFC Vancouver saw the favorites winning for the most part in a fairly decent night of fights, considering how dismal it looked on paper. That said, the biggest surprise was Reinier de Ridder’s cardio absolutely shitting the bed, to the point where he was dominated from rounds 2-4 and ended up having his corner not send him out for round 5. Brendan Allen put a whooping on him. Drew Dober turned his...

UFC 320 was terrific on paper and delivered great moments in practice. Alex Pereira reclaimed his belt in under two minutes. He charged Ankalaev and scored the TKO lightning fast. Merab Dvalishvili almost knocked out Cory Sandhagen, then let him recover enough to take a round off him. He would end up victorious, proving that he’s likely the best bantamweight the UFC has ever seen. Jiri Prochazka f...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com UFC Perth was a miserable card on paper and there’s no two ways about it. The stats were awful, but more importantly, the matmaking was too. Having a single ranked fight on an event where Australia pays through the nose in site fees is just so wrong, and the Aussies responded with their wallets, tanking sa...

UFC Noche didn’t have the star quality it should have for a card of the magnitude a “Noche” event is supposed to but it did deliver action in some of the fights. From the opening bout, we were treated to an electrifying TKO from Daniil Donchenko, and another from Alden Coria. For comic relief, we were treated to Dominick Cruz thinking Alice Periera was actually Aline Pereira, and we didn’t have to...

UFC 319 had some great moments leading up to the main event with several highlight reel finishes. Anthony Hernandez putting a surprise whooping on Chase Hooper, Joseph Morales making his second stint in the UFC count in a big way, Oleksiejczuk and Susurkaev both getting the job done inside the distance, as well. The prelims were definitely to be celebrated. When we got to the main card, we were on...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com UFC Vegas 109 had some of the worst judging in recent memory. Ben Cartlidge had fans on social media ready to riot after his judging on two of the cards, but the most egregious of them was definitely Johns vs. Matsumodo. Outside that, we saw Andre Fili stay true to his pattern of alternating wins and losse...

UFC 318 gave us lots of tremendous moments, starting with six finishes. That’s right, folks, the first six fights were all finishes. As a matter of fact, they would be the only finishes, too, as the next eight went to decision. We had some real bangers though, leading from the top with Poirier-Holloway. What a scrap, but it would be Holloway leaving with his arm raised. The tribute to Dustin was w...

UFC 317 looked great on paper and delivered in practice, as well. Ilia Topuria became the tenth man in UFC history to claim a title in a second division, and he did it in devastating fashion, knocking Charles Oliveira out cold. And he did it inside the first round, as he predicted. The brass has a rare opportunity here with Topuria and they should get behind him with every ounce of their marketing...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com UFC Atlanta started with one helluva bang but went out on a whimper. With three spectacular knockouts on the prelims, it looked like the show was going to be a great one. There was even an illegal upkick stoppage controversy in the featured prelim, but the main card was a bit of a snoozer. Let me explain....

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com UFC 316 was a solid card on paper that managed to deliver some big moments in its application. We got a terrific performance out of Merab Dvalishvili, who had his way with Sean O’Malley and ended up ultimately submitting him. O’Malley’s lifestyle changes did nothing—in fact, Sean seemed even less competiti...

UFC Vegas 107 looked absolutely awful on paper, but in practice, we did have some exciting moments. The ladies’ fights were somewhat underwhelming, though. Alice Ardelean defeated Rayanne dos Santos, which wasn’t a terrible watch and even won FOTN. However, Macy Chiasson vs. Ketlen Vieira was a complete slog of a contest that saw Vieira victorious. Side note: Chris Leben turned in an awful score c...

UFC 315 delivered some terrific finishes and good fights on the undercard. We saw Bruno Silva felled for the first time in a terrifying finish that left him with a dented skull (think Cyborg Santos vs. MVP). Silva left the arena on a stretcher. We also bore witness to Jessica Andrade being swarmed and finished in under three minutes, and without ever landing a shot on Jasmine Jasudavicius. And Mik...

UFC Des Moines looked like a glue factory convention on paper and it delivered that same energy in practice. Were there a few good fights? Sure, and we got a few finishes, but by and large, this was an Apex level event that the poor folks in Iowa paid prime rates for. Shameful promoting by UFC. There was a moment that brought almost all MMA fans together, though. That was when Reinier de Ridder st...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com UFC Kansas City looked like a mixed bag on paper, but in practice, it ended up being a pretty good event. The card started off strong with several finishes right from Jump Street, but it would level out with some decisions, albeit good ones with the exception of Pereira-Magomedov. Carlos Prates found out t...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com UFC 314 looked incredible on paper and in practice, it was pretty good. It didn’t reach greatness, but it was pretty good. That said, there were some factors that kept it from that greatness that must be acknowledged. Let’s look at the good: Michael Chandler got dominated and choked out, making Paddy Pimbl...