The MMA Vivisection & 6th Round Podcasts

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com UFC Vegas 90 just wrapped and Brendon Allen has taken his revenge. Chris Curtis, in true Chris Curtis fashion, ended up writhing in pain at the end of the fight and will no doubt have a detailed dissertation on why he lost. Allen somehow received a 49-46 score, completely undeserved, but the fight was by n...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com UFC Vegas 90 is ready to kick off this weekend, and a whole bunch of Contender Series alumni will populate nearly half the bouts. There are a few fights that caught our eye, but overall, it’s not a great card. The main event is a rematch that absolutely no one asked for or needed, but here we are. The rema...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com UFC Vegas 90 is ready to kick off this weekend, and a whole bunch of Contender Series alumni will populate nearly half the bouts. There are a few fights that caught our eye, but overall, it’s not a great card. The main event is a rematch that absolutely no one asked for or needed, but here we are. The rema...

UFC Atlantic City’s main card is a pretty good offfering even if that portion only has a single ranked fight on it. The same can be said for the prelims, as they carry the only other ranked fight on the card, and it is also a women’s bout, this time between Virna Jandiroba and Lupita Godinez. Both women have been enjoying successful runs over their last few fights, so it gets no complaints from us...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com UFC Atlantic City is a pretty good looking card, even if the stats don’t back it up much. The headliner alone is worth the price of admission and will undoubtedly set up the next contender for the women’s flyweight belt. Both Erin Blanchfield and Manon Fiorot are powerhouses in their own right, both incred...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com In 2022, UFC’s lead color commentator, Joe Rogan, came under fire after a social media account stitched together a multitude of instances where Rogan used a very ugly racial epithet into a video clip that ended up going viral. Several outlets picked up the story, including mainstream news media. Joe issued...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com UFC Vegas 89 just wrapped, and not a moment too soon because both the main and co-main events were “mid” as the kids like to say. “Thug” Rose Namajunas took a unanimous decision against Amanda Ribas, but it wasn’t a particularly inspired performance. Her inability or refusal to throw combinations seems lik...

After looking at UFC Vegas 89’s meaningless main card, we’re kind of surprised that there was anything noteworthy on the prelims, but there is. Even though there are five debuting fighters, there are still a few bouts worth keeping an eye on. The featured prelim—Trey Ogden vs. Kurt Holobough isn’t bad and the two contests immediately preceding it aren’t either. MMA Draw Podcast is fighting for the...

After looking at UFC Vegas 89’s meaningless main card, we’re kind of surprised that there was anything noteworthy on the prelims, but there is. Even though there are five debuting fighters, there are still a few bouts worth keeping an eye on. The featured prelim—Trey Ogden vs. Kurt Holobough isn’t bad and the two contests immediately preceding it aren’t either. MMA Draw Podcast is fighting for the...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com Are you thirsty for another watered down, subpar Apex card? Well good, because the UFC has got one for you. If you thought last week’s show looked abysmal, you may want to reset your excitement barometer because UFC Vegas 89 is even more paltry, with a pretty lackluster headliner supported by a very forget...

Sean Strickland certainly has tongues wagging this week after his latest social media video clip. His video confessional, a staple on his social feeds, comes from inside his car, where he tells fans how he doesn’t feel mentally stable, and that he told his girlfriend he just wanted to burn everything down but that he felt really connected to his fans. This level of “honesty” always seems to grab f...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com It’s been almost two weeks since the sale of Bloody Elbow went public and GRV Media took over the various properties they acquired. Staff was warned the week of the sale that the new owners wouldn’t be keeping them and that’s been the case in actuality. They did put out a call that they were looking for ex...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com UFC Vegas 88 is officially in the books and with it, the hope for Tai Tuivasa to turn around his fortunes. After coming out swinging for the fences, “Bam Bam” was quickly figured out by Marcin Tybura, who got the fight to the ground, capitalized on the subpar grappling of the Aussie, then promptly submitte...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com UFC 299 is a hard act to follow but the matchmaking brass seems to have put in the bare minimum effort with their 88th Vegas-themed card. As always, the event is set to go down at the Apex, so you already know it’s going to be threadbare. If you thought the main card was shallow, the prelims certainly do t...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com The UFC is back with another Apex card and it isn’t very good. Once again, a dearth of ranked fighters, fights (where both opponents in a fight carry a Top 15 ranking) and name value permeate this event. There are a couple contests that have our interest, but overall, this card is a dud, and feels like the...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com UFC 299 was a great card in practice and according to the promotion’s brass, the event garnered a sellout gate that topped $13M—their fourth best live gate. The headliner, Sean O’Malley vs. Marlon Vera, was a title bout for bantamweight gold and it featured a fantastic supporting card with everything fight...

UFC 299 just wrapped a long night of combat in Miami, and following a hellishly long boxing card in Knockout Chaos: Joshua vs. Ngannou so closely, we’re welcoming a Sunday respite from face punching. But first, we’re going to get into the action from the event, both the highs and the lows. The main event put Sean O’Malley’s remarkable striking on display, showcasing crisp, accurate boxing, excelle...

The prelims for UFC 299 stand in stark contrast to the main card in that it gives all the appearance of a fight night event rather than the high-priced PPV offering that it is. The good news is that most of those fights would undoubtedly be outside the Apex, proper “on the road” fights. We even have ranked fights and fighters on this portion of the show. The featured prelim, a heavyweight showdown...

Francis Ngannou got away and we’re so very happy he did. Going from a $600K payday in the UFC—all because of the UFC’s hard-nosed tactics at the negotiation table—to a 10-figure purse in your second boxing match is unheard of unless your name is Conor McGregor. Ngannou may be giving the Irish superstar a run for the money in that regard very soon, and might even wind up on the coveted Forbes List...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com UFC 299 is a really good looking card when weighed and measured as a whole. The main event is a rematch that’s been nearly four years in the making, and as the event draws closer to fight night, the smack talk between the two has ramped up. They’re even direct messaging each other with insults. It will be...

TKO Group Holdings, the conglomerate that went public last fall after the merger of the UFC with the WWE, released its full 2023 financial results last week. Having reported on their SEC and investor reports for the first and second quarter of last year, I am once again only going to focus on what we learn about the UFC’s finances from their 8-K , 10-K and earnings call . The MMA Draw is fighting...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com UFC Vegas 87 prelims aren’t the worst fights, by any means. They’re not the best either, but what are you going to do? It doesn’t look like change will be on the horizon any time soon, especially with the UFC experiencing yet another banner year for revenue. As long as they can put the bare minimum effort...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com UFC Vegas 87 is the antithesis of last week’s Fight Night card. There are reasons to celebrate (albeit few), and there are reasons to be annoyed, of which there are plenty. Jairzinho Rozenstruik , a ranked heavyweight with an extensive UFC resume, is taking on Shamil Gaziev , an athlete signed to the large...

UFC Vegas 87 is an ugly card, full stop. Despite the fact that the alternative stats look decent (ranked fights, fighters, etc.), the matchups don’t do much in the way of getting us amped to watch the card. If anything, it’s a deterrent to it. Let’s face it, no matter what they do, the Apex cards always seem like leftovers, even when they’re not. Bloody Elbow is fighting for the sport, the fighter...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com Ryan Garcia has once again called out UFC’s bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley. Boxing’s babyfaced superstar engaged in a back-and-forth on X (formerly Twitter) with the UFC bantamweight champion, prompting many to wonder if Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions would be able to co-promote a fight with...