The MMA Vivisection Shows: 'Main Card Preview' & 'Prelims Card Preview'

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com The UFC is on home turf in Las Vegas this weekend for their 329th numbered event. The T-Mobile Arena is host to the Conor McGregor-Max Holloway main event and the very good card that supports it. The matchmakers definitely put some effort into the main card, for sure. The co-main event is such a banger—all...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com The UFC is in Baku, Azerbaijan this week and they’ve put together a solid card. There’s plenty of great matchmaking, as well as some showcasing of new talent. The main event is a great one, as are most of the featured attractions. Absolutely love the Charles Johnson-Asu Almabaev fight, too. Also, you’re we...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com The UFC is back in Las Vegas this weekend, and again this month we are treated to a semi-solid card. Is it gonna set the world on fire? Probably not, but it’s well-matched and features some good up-and-coming talent. The headliner looks like an absolute banger, and makes the event worth watching. Now, let’...

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...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com The UFC is headed to the White House. I never, in a million years, would’ve seen myself typing that sentence, but here we are. The card is a weird one with a title on the line taking the main event spot. The co-main will see who shakes out as the new interim heavyweight champ, and a fight between Mauricio...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com The UFC is back in Las Vegas this weekend, and it is a surprisingly decent card. I wouldn’t go so far to call it great, but it’s got the bones of what an Apex card should have—solid veteran action with a dash of good matchmaking and a pinch of possible upward mobility. The stats are okay if you can get pas...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com The UFC is in Macau (or is it Macao?) this weekend, and it is a borderline terrible card. Not only do the on-paper stats look a mess, the matchups, themselves, also look quite weak. Plenty of squash matches pepper the event throughout, but it’s in heavy abundance on the main card. Macau deserves better. No...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com The UFC is back in Vegas this weekend, and of course, that means they’re in the Apex. And let me tell you, this absolutely looks like an Apex card, albeit a decent enough one, considering. The main event is a banger and there are a few fights sprinkled throughout that have our attention, but overall, aside...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com The UFC is back on the road, this time to New Jersey, where fans are never rude or disrespectful. Never ever…right? All kidding aside, this card, especially the main portion is top notch. There are four ranked bouts, with two titles on the line, and it just feels like a card worthy of being a numbered even...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com The UFC is back on the road, this time to the land down under in Perth, Australia. The main card isn’t half bad with a great main event and some solid offerings leading up to it. Of course, it’s always a good day when Marwan Rahiki fights, so there’s that to look forward to. Can’t say the Tuivasa vs. Suthe...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com The UFC is back in the warm embrace of their chosen arena, the META APEX. Where normally I would sling all sorts of insults at the talent level of the card, this week, I’m going to try to focus on the positives. Like the main and co-main events both being ranked fights. Like the fact that only nine fighter...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com The UFC is back on the road to Canada, and boy, oh boy, the fine folks in Winnipeg are really getting the short end of the stick with this miserable offering from the promotion. Sure, they get some local favorites on the card, but not only is star power lacking, ranked fights and quality are, as well. We h...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com The UFC is on the road to Miami for their 327th numbered event. The Kaseya Center will play host to a really awesome card with Jiří Procházka vs. Carlos Ulberg taking center cage in the headliner. The main card features plenty of fun fights bound for action and probable highlight reel finishes. Finally, a...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com The UFC is back at the Apex and does it ever show. Our boys behind the mic dubbed it “Not even good enough to be an LFA card”. Hearing Zane—the most optimistic fight analyst alive—say that was the first nail in the casket for this event. Looking at the stats and the actual matchmaking, then seeing how many...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com The UFC is keeping the show on the road, this time traveling back to the United States with their Seattle event. While it’s not the on-the-road show we used to get treated to years ago, it’s a pretty good offering nonetheless. And the hope that Israel Adesanya doesn’t follow in the footsteps of Tony Fergus...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com The UFC is back at the O2 Arena in London to give fans a heaping helping of local talent. The card is absolutely nothing to write home about, though. Outside the main event and a match here and there, Londoners won’t be getting their money’s worth with this offering from the multi-billion-dollar promotion....

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com The UFC is back at the Apex with another mid to low-tier card for fans to sink their teeth into (or ignore). There are some good fights to consider, but rather than feature them on the main card, the matchmakers have decided to spread them out, forcing watchers to either watch the subpar matches to get to...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com The UFC is back in Vegas this weekend at the T-Mobile Arena for UFC 326. The card, headlined by Max Holloway and Charles Oliveira, will once again highlight the dumbest belt in MMA, the BMF. Yet another title in the lightweight division which is already standing room only with the undisputed title and the...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com The UFC is once again on the road this weekend, with Mexico as the destination. However, this card is a sad reminder of what the UFC has become, a content mill. Never mind that the stats are abysmal, just look at the matchmaking. Giving Lone-er Kavanagh a step up in competition of this magnitude while comi...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com The UFC is on the road this weekend, with Houston, TX as the destination. However, this card reads more like an Apex event than a premium fight night. There are three ranked fights, but not all ranked fights measure out equally. The main card is where the better quality bouts are, but we’ve seen better. St...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com The UFC has created magic at the Meta-Apex—a real feat for those that have been down on fight cards that take place there. This event looks more like an on-the-road event than a Pandemic House show. The main card is where the largest concentration of talent lies, as expected. And let’s not overlook the bes...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com The UFC is giving us back-to-back numbered events to kick off their second event of the year and under the Paramount umbrella. It’s a solid affair with some fights built for action (Hello Rafael Fiziev vs. Mauricio Ruffy!) and the latest ROAD To UFC finale. We’ve got lots of fresh faces to see, and plenty...

The UFC is finally back for their first card of 2026 and the first card of their Paramount+ broadcast deal. It’s a good show, worth investing the time to watch it, with a main event that pits the aging slugger against the more youthful grappler. All the fights on the main portion are solid and should appeal to a wide range of fans—even without the Nunes-Harrison title bout. Now, let’s take a look...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com The UFC is taking their final card of the year back to the Apex for one last hurrah in 2025. It’s not their best offering, but it’s not their worst, either. We have some interesting bouts, decent alternative stats and a main event that could see a new title challenger emerge for the flyweight division. I’d...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com The UFC is taking their final PPV out with a serious bang, plenty for the proverbial buck, that’s for sure. For the fourth, straight event, we’re getting a really good card. There’s not much to take issue with on the company’s 323rd numbered card, especially with two title belts on the line and a bevvy of...