The MMA Vivisection & 6th Round Podcasts

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com Another weekend, another UFC card—this time, we get an on-the-road show in Seattle. It’s not terrible, but the accursed injury bug ravaged this event to the point of being unrecognizable. That said, there are some good contender bouts and some well-matched prospect contests that could give us a glimpse of...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com UFC Vegas 102 was awful on paper but delivered some high action moments. The problem still remains, though, just how valuable are those moments considering the level of talent. Youngish Gregory Rodrigues learned the hard way that old man strenf is a real phenomenon when Jared Cannonier introduced him to th...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com Did you guys think because we got a dismal PPV card last week, that UFC would somehow reward you with a better card this week? If you did, you’d be a gullible soul and I might possibly have a bridge to sell you. That’s right, kids, we’re back at the Apex and back to a spate of ugly upcoming cards. This one...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com UFC 312 was not a good card and only saw a couple good fights amid a sea of nothingburgers. Rongzhu’s battle with Kody Steele was definitely worth going back to see if you missed the event, and Weili’s absolute domination of Tatiana was just a wonder to behold. Sean Strickland made zero adjustments to his...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com Jesus Christ on a pair of rollerskates! I cannot believe this is the slop the UFC is serving Australia and then charging for it. Very likely the site fee is still stinging their government wallet, but that’s the price of doing business with MMA’s big bad. Sitting atop the card is the title rematch between...

UFC Saudi Arabia was a solid card that came with a few surprises. First, we got to watch a daylight robbery when Hamdy Abdelwahab ‘defeated’ Jamal Pogues. Then, Michael Page managed to avoid Shara’s hot hand and won a decision. Said Nurmagomedov fell to the insanely good Vinicius Oliveira. And finally, we saw Izzy lose for a third, straight time via TKO, this time to Nassourdine Imavov. Let’s take...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com After a brief respite to recover from the inauguration, the UFC is back in action this week with a solid event for the folks in attendance in Riyadh and those watching around the world. At the top of the card is a middleweight bout between Israel Adesanya and Nassourdine Imavov. Will Issy be able to reboun...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com After just two events this year, the UFC is taking a little break, so our creak team of analysts is driving us down a highway of despair with some last minute replacements that didn’t pass muster. These gents all valiantly stepped up to save the day, only to lose in disappointing fashion, no doubt making s...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com UFC 311 looked phenomenal on paper, and despite having to get to the sixth fight before a finish was recorded, it did indeed deliver some really exciting moments. We saw some hype trains derailed, fantastic finishes and loud mouths closed—at least for now. We got to see new wrinkles from Jiri Prochazka, a...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com A UFC PPV is pretty much always welcome (almost!), but when you’ve got a truly loaded card, that’s just the cherry on top of the cake. UFC 311 is a really good card. Two title fights and what looks like a title eliminator between Prochazka and Hill says that the main card looks like a winner. Will the chal...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com UFC Vegas 101 was absolutely awful on paper but delivered some great action in practice. Not that cards like this are luring in new viewers but for the sake of just watching some fights, they delivered reasonably well. Mackenzie Dern avenged her loss to Amanda Ribas with a third-round submission and The Po...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com UFC is back after a month of down time and we kind of wish they’d go back to the down time considering the poor offering they’ve given to us in the form of another miserable Apex card. And sitting atop this heap is a rematch that absolutely nobody asked for. Why? Because UFC is filling a quota. A whole mon...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com It’s 2025 now, officially time to leave 2024 in the rearview mirror. Or is it? Our crack team of analysts have decided to give the gift of fights, and they’re giving some of the worst fights of the year. Why? Because they know you’ve all been naughty and probably should’ve gotten coal under your Christmas...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com For this off-week, we’re treating you with a watch-through of the future masterpiece that is The Curse of the Clown Motel. Zane, Connor and Phil are traveling to the “World-Famous Clown Motel” where Randy Couture and Tobin Bell lead the cast. “Guests check in but they don’t check out” graces the movie post...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com You guys and gals are in for a real treat this episode, some of our finest work watching terrible fights so you don’t have to. It’s only Zane and Connor, as Phil was off stocking up on coal. Today’s triumvirate of terrible features some truly awful contests. Consider yourself forewarned. UFC 307 wasn’t a t...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com UFC Tampa saw a night of action with several knockouts dotting the card, but the satisfaction of watching Colby Covington get worked over like Christmas dinner was undeniable. Having the last four fights all end by knockout was pretty gnarly too. And Cub Swanson, you’re never gonna go out on a higher note...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com *Note: There were some technical difficulties with this episode, specifically with mic feedback. We addressed it as best we could. At around the 23 minute mark we managed to correct it to a much more significant degree. Our apologies for the mishap. UFC Tampa is a clear indicator that UFC is ready to be do...

UFC 310 has played out in reality and just as we thought, Kai Asakura couldn’t stand up to the Cannibal test, opting instead to take a nap on the job. Shavkat Rakhmonov got a lot more resistance from Ian Machado Garry than he bargained for, and we got to see some of the most egregious judging in recent memory with Volkov-Gane. The undercard also bore witness to more questionable judging in the Ste...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com UFC 310 is a great card from top to bottom with only a couple fights that may end up not delivering the action we once got from them—looking at you Chris Weidman vs. Eryk Anders. But that’s a little further down the card. We’re focusing on the main card action and there’s plenty of it. At the top of the bo...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com Tony Ferguson’s career plummet has concerned fans for years, but perhaps it’s his “champ shit” mindset that confounds everyone the most. Or maybe it’s a complete misunderstanding of his place in the MMA space. Another point of consternation for most analysts is the inability to change his game. Whatever th...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com UFC Macau is what a card looks like when some effort is applied. There is a wide variety of upside points to be appreciative of. From the debuts to the fact we get to watch Cong Wang and everything in between, the event is matched to deliver fireworks. At the top of the bout sheet in the main event spot is...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com UFC 309 is officially history, and likely Mickey Gall is too. Jon Jones still reigns supreme and Michael Chandler got the absolute brakes beat off him for 22 minutes, then did what he always does: rally as hard as he can for naught. Karine Silva F’d around and found out and Bo Nickal bored us all to tears....

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com Madison Square Garden is the location of what could be Jon Jones’ last stint at heavyweight. To hear him tell it, the fans really want him to fight the likes of Derrick Lewis or Jamahal Hill rather than the heavyweight interim belt holder. It’s not like that belt wasn’t basically set up to mark the next pe...

*Note: Eddie is out again this week with his high seas adventures. The card that should’ve been left an unfulfilled dream on Sean Shelby’s pillow is over and with it, Neil Magny’s hopes of hanging on to that Number 15 ranking. It was pretty much a foregone conclusion, but watching it in practice was kind of sad. Reinier de Ridder showed out in his debut, defeating Gerald Meerschaert in a wild braw...

Hard to believe there have been 99 events held at the Apex because we can’t remember most of them. This particular card is especially bad considering the momentous occasion of hosting 100 shows under its roof. 14 fighters coming off losses for a 12-fight card is shameful. As the title suggests, it truly is a new apex of suck. Let’s take a look at the event’s main portion and the alternative stats....