The Co-Main Event MMA Podcast

UFC 266 was a hell of a fight card, basically from start to finish. While there weren't any surprises in the evening's "big three" bouts, Alexander Volkanovski and Brian Ortega put on an absolute crackerjack in the main event and the prelims were just flat wild. Oh yeah, and Jon Jones made his fist official appearance at a UFC function in months and got himself arrested, like, RIGHT AWAY. Learn mo...

Anthony Smith had some words for Ryan Spann in the cage Saturday night, after Smith scored a first-round submission victory. "Lionheart" admits he let some of Spann's pre-fight trash talk get to him but now says he no longer gives a fuck. Plus, UFC 266 is right around the corner and Yoel Romero finally made his Bellator debut and maybe didn't know how long his fight was supposed to be. Learn more...

It took Anderson Silva a little under one minute, 30 seconds to leave Tito Ortiz in the black lands during their boxing match Saturday at the Trillers. Silva styled on Ortiz so badly, some people thought Tito took a dive. That's gotta hurt. Plus, we look ahead to this weekend's #JSF UFC event and Yoel Romero's impending Bellator debut. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Derek Brunson went out this weekend and reminded us all that he is a very good fighter who thus far in his UFC career as only lost to the elite in the middleweight division. So, that was good for him. Bad, though, for Darren Till, who now drops to 1-4 in his last five and needs to find some answers quick if he hopes to have much future as a high-level UFC fighter. Plus, hey there, Florida, how you...

It turns out, Tyron Woodley boxes a lot like he fights in MMA, which is to say watching him was one of the more frustrating experiences in all of combat sports. So, yeah, Jake Paul improved to 4-0 or whatever. Also, is it finally, actually GigaTime in the octagon? And, holy shit, UFC 268 is stacked ... for now (card subject to change). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jared Cannonier edged Kelvin Gastelum in a competitive and entertaining UFC main event on Saturday night, then immediately hopped on the mic and announced that he's "broke." Is that a good look for the UFC? That's a bad look, right? Plus, does Kayla Harrison actually have this whole shit figured out? And ... uh-oh ... Sunday, Sunday, Sunday, it's Jake Paul vs. Tyron Woodley. Learn more about your...

On an All Questions Considered episode of the show, we take a grab bag of queries from you, the Co-Mainiacs, including: Will Conor ever be champion again? Which UFC titles will change hands before the end of the year? Was it wise for Bellator to move to Showtime? Is the PFL commentary team the best in the business? Should our guy Dak wear a bolo tie to a wedding? And is Jon Jones actually on doubl...

Ciryl Gane pretty much ruined the entire city of Houston's weekend with his third-round TKO of Derrick Lewis at UFC 265. Does the "Good Kid's" forthcoming title unification bout with Francis Ngannou now present a storyline so good "fucking Vince couldn't have wrote it better"? Plus, we put some hespect on Jose Aldo's name and talk the politics of booking a fight for Fedor Emelianenko in Russia. Le...

AJ McKee pretty much annihilated the competition during the Bellator featherweight grand prix, including Saturday's championship finale, where he stopped Patricio Pitbull in just a minute, 57 seconds to win the title. Ratings for that event weren't stellar, however, and McKee has now essentially cleaned out the 145-pound division by virtue of winning the tourney. It brings up the question: Is Bell...

TJ Dillashaw surprised a lot of people--including your humble co-hosts--Saturday night by emerging with a split-decision victory over Cory Sandhagen in Dillashaw's return after a two-year JPD suspension. Did Tilly Dills actually deserve to get the nod? Ehhhh ... maybe not, but he still put on a hell of a performance. During this week's show, we discuss how far the former champ can go now. Learn mo...

Miesha Tate perhaps benefited from some friendly matchmaking Saturday night as she returned to the cage for this first time since 2016, but she still made it look pretty easy against a retiring Marion Reneau, en route to a third-round TKO. The win immediately makes Tate a player at 135-pounds again. Will the same player-status ultimately be bestowed on that dude Islam Makhachev? He certainly looks...

Conor McGregor broke his whole leg shit on Saturday night against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264. The good news is, Poirier will probably now get to fight for the title while McGregor convalesces. The bad news? Yeah, depending on a bunch of factors, we're probably gonna have to sit through Poirier vs. McGregor 4 when he comes back. Also, Tai Tuivasa stole the flippin' show at this biggest PPV of the ye...

This weekend at UFC 264, Conor McGregor returns to the octagon for just the fifth time since 2016 to complete a trilogy with Dustin Poirier. At this point, we've got so little recent intel on McGregor as a fighter, do even hardcore fans know what to expect? Also, so the UFC went and pissed off new heavyweight champ Francis Ngannou by setting up a interim title fight between Ciryl Gane and Derrick...

Kind of funny that we all, as MMA fans, are going to look down our noses at these boxing vs. MMA crossover fights until we win one, and then suddenly we're out here in the street lighting couches on fire and ordering bottle service in the VIP. All jokes aside, however, Anderson Silva's win over Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. provided a nice moment "The Spider" absolutely deserves. Plus: Chan Sung Jung bac...

Honestly, Brandon Moreno kinda stole the show at UFC 263, what with winning the men's flyweight title in overwhelming fashion while simultaneously seeming like the nicest damn person in the world. In this episode, we react to The Assassin Baby's win, the reality of Leon Edwards winning 24 minutes of a fight and Nate Diaz winning one minute and Israel Adesanya blanking Mad Marvin Vettori in the eve...

Israel Adesanya defends the middleweight title Saturday at UFC 263 against Marvin Vettori, in a championship fight that feels like it's happening just because. Does that make this a sneaky trap fight for Adesanya, who has already defeated Vettori once? Also, can Davey Figgs and the Assassin Baby have another slobberknocker? And are Nate Diaz fans gonna come out of this one, like, suuuuper bummed?...

Cris Cyborg battered Leslie Smith for nearly the full 25-minutes to retain the Bellator women's featherweight title on Friday night and the following evening Rob Font did something close to the same against Cody Garbrandt in the main event of a UFC Fight Night. We talk about those bouts and then take your questions on this week's episode of the CME. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphon...

Charles Oliveira is the lion of lions. He weathered the early storm against Michael Chandler, won the vacant UFC lightweight title via second round TKO and then smeared blood on Dana White. Not a bad night at the office. Plus, what's next for the elite in the 155-pound division and will Tony Ferguson still be part of it? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There's no doubt that Bellator's Friday night event on Showtime was the best MMA card of the weekend. With MVP's whole-shit-broke KO win, Rumble Johnson having a fun one with Jose Augusto and Young Serg upsetting Juan Archuleta for the bantamweight crown, we packed a whole lot of living into this event. But with the UFC now firmly entrenched on ESPN and cranking out content every weekend--cough, R...

Just two fights into his UFC run, it sure looks like Jiri Prochazka is closing in on a light heayvweight title shot. And hey, if we're being honest, anything that keeps this suddenly Jon Jones-less division fresh is probably a good thing. Also, Thursday and Friday nights are STACKED with non-UFC action and Saturday night is ... well ... what's the opposite of stacked? Learn more about your ad choi...

From seeing Chris Weidman's leg shatter against Uriah Hall's leg to a trio of stoppages--at least a couple of them fairly shocking--in the event's three title fights, there were a lot of mood swings during UFC 261. An emotional toll was exacted, you might say. If nothing else, this won't be one we forget for some time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Given the assembly-line nature of the UFC content these days, you can't blame MMA fans, boxing hardcores and casuals alike for being interested in Triller, which is (if nothing else) EXTREMELY different. So, when that dude Ebenezer Paul knocks out Ben Askren in under two minutes, it's going to be kind of a big deal. We discuss that and look ahead to UFC 261. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit...

Marvin Vettori defeated Kevin Holland in the main event of UFC on ABC 2 on Saturday, but it turned out to be the sort o fight that didn't really help either guy's standing in the middleweight division. Plus we talk about last week's efforts from One Championship and Bellator as well as look ahead to Robert Whittaker vs. Kelvin Gastelum. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoice...

Patricio "Pitbull" Freire advanced to the final of the Bellator featherweight grand prix Satuday night during that promotion's debut on Showtime, by choking Emanuel Sanchez to damn sleep with a quickness. Now, as he prepares to take on AJ McKee for all the marbles, how good is Pitbull's claim to being the best 145-pounder in the world? Plus, the "Right Guy" Championship fight is now official and t...

Francis Ngannou pitched damn near a perfect game on Saturday at UFC 260, stopping Stipe Miocic via second-round KO to claim the heavyweight title. By all rights, Jon Jones should be next, but somehow it feels like the UFC is going to screw us out of that one? So, what happens? A rematch with Derrick Lewis? A trilogy with Miocic? We talk our way into the Francis Ngannou Era on this week's CME. Lear...