The MMA Vivisection & 6th Round Podcasts

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com UFC 293 had some wild moments, for sure. Whether it was Charlie Radke and Manel Kape hurling homophobic slurs, Alexander Volkov snagging a rare Ezekiel choke over Tai Tuivasa or Sean Strickland taking the belt off Israel Adesanya, there was quite an array of instances that none will soon forget. Bloody Elb...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com UFC 293 is a card that seems like it was cobbled together from the leftover parts of a better PPV. We’re not saying it’s bad, but we’re not going to go as far as to call it great. We did notice the matchmakers clearly didn’t put much thought into the bout order, and setting the Tafa-Lane rematch for the ma...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com *Note: Due to a technical issue, the first 39 seconds of the episode are missing. The issue has since been resolved. Thank you for your understanding. UFC 293 is here and from the looks of things, it’s not the best card. Sure, there’s definitely a few fun fights but you wouldn’t know which end is up by loo...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com UFC 293 is just around the corner and despite a lot of criticism, we like the card. It’s not heavy on fights that will make a sizable impact on the rankings, but where it lack importance in that regard, it makes up for it with entertainment value. What’s not to love about Carlos Ulberg vs. Dan Un Jung? Man...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com UFC Paris looked awful on paper but in practice, it worked out well. The finishes outweighed the decisions and the ones that went to the scorecards were mostly fun fights. As the title notes, Cyril Gane had an easy night. Serghei Spivak, for whatever reason, decided not to engage with the Frenchman. He was...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com For a quick minute or so earlier this summer, we were lulled into a sense of security by the UFC. Just hear us out for a second before you get out the butterfly nets. We already know Apex cards are the “it’s okay to miss” events, but we knew when a show was targeted for anywhere else, it would end up with...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com Yep, UFC is treating Paris to an almost good card. Fight cancellations and reshuffling definitely wreaked havoc on this event but there are still some bright spots worth noting. Rose Namajunas vs. Manon Fiorot is one of them. Namajunas will present the toughest challenge to date for Fiorot and the winner h...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com Nate Quarry might be most famously known for his fight with Kalib Starnes or for his comeback fight against Pete Sell, but he is doing much bigger things these days. These days, he’s known as one of the original plaintiffs in the UFC antitrust suit, but because he was part of the identity class, which was...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com Since the antitrust case finally received its class certification from Judge Boulware, the community has been abuzz with what the honorable judge’s written opinion means. The commentary from him was quite serious and he appears to clearly side with the plaintiffs. He used pointed language that left no doub...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com We hated this main event going in, but in practice, it was a damned good fight. The Korean Zombie went out on his proverbial shield after putting forth a great effort, albeit one that fell short. The thing he was known for—leaving it all in the cage—was displayed once again, as the 36-year-old did just tha...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com UFC Singapore is a top-loaded event with the majority of the “good fights” happening on the main card. What’s left to the prelims is a spate of barely recognizable names, and in some cases, completely unrecognizable. Not to us, of course. We know every fighter in existence, their full backgrounds, their 3r...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com UFC Singapore had the chance to be great, but they chose a squash match to headline the card and now we must all worry about the Korean Zombie’s future health after his contest with Max Holloway. We would prefer that Chan Sung Jung face off against Cub Swanson but no, we have to bear witness to what will l...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com Conor McGregor sure has a lot of blame to issue when it comes to why he won’t be fighting in December, but unsurprisingly, none of it rests upon his own shoulders. In a series of nearly incoherent audio rants he posted to social media Saturday night, McGregor lamented that “they” were affecting his livelih...

Sean O’Malley walked out to Lupe Fiasco’s ‘Superstar’ and by all accounts, he fits that bill to a T. His title bout with Aljamain Sterling set records just by virtue of his being there. How do we know? Because Dana White said so . Yet despite his star power and despite the record-setting, he likely won’t ever make the fabled ‘McGregor money’—once referred to as ‘ Anderson Silva money ‘—even if he...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com The UFC certainly lets you know when they care about an event and UFC 292 is a prime example of that. Two titles bouts crown the top of a star-studded card, filled with the potential for action and entertainment. Will Weili Zhang be able to defend the belt against a hungry Amanda Lemos? Will Aljamain Sterl...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com Make no mistake, UFC 292 is a really good card. That said, Chris Weidman’s return makes all of us a little angsty. To be honest, that angst is tinged with a healthy dose of pity. If we could count the amount of times we’ve heard or read someone ask “Why?”, well, let’s just say it would be a lot. Brad Tavar...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com This past week provided a treasure trove of news, so we tried to hit all the critical stories. There’s plenty on the three new changes to the sanctioned rules for MMA, the UFC’s totally obvious attempt at erasing Francis Ngannou AND Thierry Sokoudjou from the history books, Teddy Atlas feeling jilted by Ng...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com Last week, Judge Boulware rendered his official comments along with a class certification for the plaintiffs in the UFC antitrust lawsuit. The statement was filled with strongly worded opinions that leave no doubt there is reason for concern about the UFC’s gargantuan market power. The Bloody Elbow Podcast...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com It’s that time again, time to pull down the shades, lock the doors and buckle up for a new session in the MMA Bunker. Kid Nate has another great interview, this time with one of the three founders of SB Nation, the Blogfather, Jerome Armstrong. Armstrong talked about how he got into the blogosphere, his ba...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com UFC Vegas 78 might not have had much heft on paper, but in practice, it delivered for the most part. From the curtain-jerker’s violent, first round KO all the way through the prelims, and into the main card, the event was jam packed with finishes of all kinds—including the ultra-rare twister. Da’Mon Blacks...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com This week, the UFC antitrust lawsuit finally got class certification. Judge Boulware awarded the certification to the plaintiffs (the fighters), then gave his written statement, which was brutally honest. John Nash is back to break down the judge’s statements, what they mean, and how he views the impact of...

It will be a day of celebration if we ever get an Apex fight night card that actually looks good on paper and not just in practice, in spite of itself. That day is definitely NOT today. Just in case you were wondering, there are zero ranked fights on the undercard and of course, there are zero ranked fighters there. Bloody Elbow is fighting for the sport, the fighters and the fans. If you share ou...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com This week, the UFC is back at the Apex, and trust us, it shows. The card technically has no ranked fights, even though there are ranked athletes facing each other—they just happen to be either moving down or up a division to meet their opponents. And at the top of this very Apex card, we have two men who’v...

IT’S FREE EPISODE DAY!! OUR BONUS CONTENT IS FREE TODAY!! In the latest “WTF” moment our fair sport has breathed life into, we bore witness to Utah’s athletic commission entering into a non-disclosure agreement with most of the fighters from UFC 291. What is it that isn’t being exposed? Purse amounts. For those paying attention, transparency is the necessary component to determine fair market valu...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com UFC Nashville was not a bad card on paper and it wasn’t bad in practice—for the most part. It had the right mix of name value and compelling contests. It saw a rising prospect looking to claim the first rung on the contender ladder taught a valuable lesson: the last men on the totem pole are the lowest tie...