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 UFC Vegas 105 happens to be another one of those cards that looks absolutely awful on paper, and while it may deliver some action, what sets it on a troubling path is the recycling of fighters coming off strings of losses. It’s one thing to have a dearth of ranked talent, but quite another to feature an at...

UFC Mexico is so bad that it broke Connor’s internet. That’s right fam, Zane and Connor set out yesterday to record the main card episode but were unable to complete it due to an internet outage. We view this as a sign from the fight gods to abandon ship. There was about 16 minutes of uninterrupted content, so we decided to go ahead and host it, then give it away for free. Let’s take a look at the...

UFC Mexico is an ugly, ugly card. The alternative facts tell a very grim tale. But before you dive in and listen to our guys analyze these bouts, I’d like to draw your attention to the fact that you’re getting the prelims early and the main card late. There was a technical glitch, and to make a long story short, it didn’t get recorded. So, you’ll get that one tomorrow, but today, you get the preli...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com UFC London has some good looking fights on the card, as should be the case when we get an on-the-road events. The alternative stats don’t look terrible, and the action quotient looks like it could present us with a banger of a show. Will Sean Brady be able to best the former champ or will Leon Edwards retu...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com UFC Vegas 104 has a deceptively decent alternative facts list, but don’t let that fool you. We have a more than healthy dose of Contender Series, TUF and Road to UFC alumni here—17 in total, or more than half the card. There’s just a single ranked fight on a card with 13 bouts total. Are ya picking up what...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com UFC 313 has a solid main card that looks like it has all the ingredients for an action-packed night. At the top of the event is a title fight to be contested at light-heavyweight between reigning champion Alex Pereira and Number 1 contender Magomed Ankalaev—a real wrestling vs. striking bout that will test...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com We’re back at the Apex for another watery card. After last weekend’s Seattle event, it’s hard to look at this bout roster and think that it holds much promise, but lest we forget, for the 18 people that will watch this card, it will probably be gangbusters for them, thanks to being loyal enough to want to...

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 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 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...

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 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 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 *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...

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 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...

The preliminary portion of the event is serviceable, but again, it’s not the best either. It would make one helluva on-the-road card, but we must be grateful for the scraps we receive. At the top of the undercard in the featured prelim spot is a great pairing of Jonathan Martinez and the powerhouse that is Marcus McGhee. The rest is a mix-mash of veterans with a single debut nestled among them. Le...

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...

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....

The Apex will celebrate its 100th UFC event this Saturday night and they did absolutely nothing to celebrate the milestone. Instead, the promotion decided they would present the worst Apex card of the year, perhaps the worst one ever—a feat hard to achieve with 99 bare-minimum cards under their belt already. We do slightly lament the loss of Garbrandt-Johns, but aside from the main event, there’s...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com Canada is getting the rough treatment from UFC this weekend. A 14-fight event where 13 of the featured athletes are coming off losses seems like a hard sell, even with four ranked bouts. Sitting atop the heap is a great flyweight matchup between Brandon Moreno and Amir Albazi. Is it the kind of fight you p...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com UFC 308 is finally here and with it, one of the better PPV main cards of the year. At the top of the event is the featherweight title bout between reigning king Ilia Topuria and the challenger, one Jerome Max Holloway. Straight up banger, full stop. The co-main event of Bobby Knuckles and Khamzat Chimaev i...

You guys and gals aren’t going to believe this, but a mythical entity is afoot. The ultra-rare decent Apex card. That’s right kids, we’re getting a pretty solid event with UFC Vegas 99. Not only do we get three ranked fights, we have some really good matchmaking at play, as well. Charles Johnson vs. Sumudaerji is certified fresh. The main event is good, too. Middleweight doesn’t look completely ba...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com UFC is back in business this weekend with their 98th Vegas themed Apex card, and much as one would expect, it’s kind of miserable. Okay, it’s a lot of miserable. If you don’t believe it, just scroll down to the alternative stats and feast your eyes on those. Outside the main event, there isn’t another trul...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com RED ALERT! UFC is giving us a card with SEVEN ranked fights! Of course it’s a PPV, but we can admit when the promotion is churning out solid content, and for the last few weeks, we’ve gotten some good matchmaking. This week features much of the same—although we’re not overly thrilled with the two dinosaur...