The Ringer MMA Show

In one of the darker weeks in recent memory for MMA, shining stars Ariel Helwani, Petesy Carroll, and Chuck Mindenhall offer immediate analysis of the final UFC pay-per-view event of the year and all of the other wackiness that’s happened this week. In this UFC 296 reaction episode, the guys get into: Why Leon Edwards’s win over Colby Covington is great for MMA (00:00) Covington’s pitiful performa...

To celebrate a LOADED UFC 296 card, Chuck, Petesy, and TST give you a full preview of what could turn out to be the best card of 2023. The guys discuss: Whether Leon Edwards can end Colby Covington’s career on Saturday night (00:00) Why no one cares about the flyweight title fight between Alexandre Pantoja and Brandon Royval (20:10) A logjam atop the welterweight division and who deserves the next...

On the first day of Hanukkah, Ariel Helwani, Petesy Carroll, and Chuck Mindenhall gift you with another entertaining episode of the program. Today, each member of 3PAC leads a discussion on their favorite story from the past week. Then, the guys take Discord questions, one of which leads to a trip down Spotify Live memory lane. To support the show, please follow us on our exclusive Spotify feed. T...

As UFC Austin approaches, what are the stakes of the main event between Beneil Dariush and Arman Tsarukyan? Ariel, Chuck, and Petesy discuss that sneaky-good card, plus a banger BKFC main event between Mike Perry and Eddie Alvarez. The guys also talk about rumors of Kevin Holland taking on Michael Venom Page in MVP’s UFC debut, contenders and prospects to watch out for next year, Conor McGregor ge...

For years now, the greatest minds in MMA have put their heads together to try and figure out how to topple the UFC. Yesterday, Donn Davis became the latest in a long line of innovators when he announced that PFL, which he founded in 2018, has acquired Bellator and its deep roster of 210 fighters so PFL can position itself as the clear no. 2 promotion and pave the way for PFL to eventually become a...

Still buzzing from last weekend’s UFC 295, Ariel, Chuck, and Petesy have a lot to get into on today’s show. First, the guys discuss this weekend’s final Bellator card and why the energy (or lack thereof) surrounding Bellator 301 is symbolic of the promotion’s entire existence. Then, the guys break down their latest pound-for-pound rankings before taking Discord questions about Alex Pereira’s legen...

After watching titans clash in New York City at UFC 295, Ariel Helwani, Petesy Carroll, Chuck Mindenhall, and TST break down another spectacular Madison Square Garden card. On this episode, the guys discuss Alex Pereira’s perfect game plan for Jiří Procházka, some controversy surrounding the end of the fight, Pereira’s incredible MMA success in such a short time, and who should line up against Per...

Yesterday, UFC CEO Dana White announced three new title fights, and the news has Ariel Helwani, Chuck Mindenhall, Petesy Carroll, and TST buzzing for the first quarter of 2024. Then, the guys speculate on UFC 300 and Petesy gives the inside scoop on his best mate Conor McGregor before the lads break down Saturday’s UFC 295. Plus, the guys take some detours to talk about airport pound-for-pound ran...

To start today’s episode, Chuck Mindenhall takes the mic to tell Ariel Helwani and Petesy Carroll about his spooky Halloween run-in with two former UFC champions. Then, the guys discuss Saturday’s main event between fan favorite Derrick Lewis and heavyweight prospect Jailton Almeida, possible opponents for Paul Felder in his UFC return, and the beef between UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards a...

Francis Ngannou — the king of defying the odds, betting on himself, and doing the unthinkable — has done it again. After losing a razor-thin decision to boxing's lineal heavyweight champion Tyson Fury in Saudi Arabia, the former UFC heavyweight champion is now holding all of the poker chips that the UFC brass wishes they could. To react to this madness, Ariel Helwani, Petesy Carroll, and Chuck Min...

Another week, another UFC pay-per-view card reshuffled. On today’s episode, Ariel Helwani, Chuck Mindenhall, and Petesy Carroll get into the UFC 295 shake-up, the strange interim heavyweight title tag on the massive fight between fan favorite Tom Aspinall and the Russian destroyer Sergei Pavlovich, and how the short-notice nature of the fight will affect the outcome. Then, the guys get into Saturd...

After a strong showing against Islam Makhachev in February, Alexander Volkanovski made the world believe he could pull off a legacy-defining upset today in Abu Dhabi. Unfortunately for him, the exact opposite scenario unfolded: Makhachev stunned Volkanovski with a first-round headkick that crashed the unflappable Volkanovski to the canvas, stealing the crown of invincibility away from Volk and ins...

On Saturday, Alexander Volkanovski will look to become the fifth double champion in UFC history. To get there, he faces old foe Islam Makhachev in the house that his mentor Khabib Nurmagomedov built in Abu Dhabi. To celebrate the occasion, Ariel, Chuck, Petesy, and LST discuss Volkanovski’s crazy quest, whether we’re surprised by his ballsy decision to accept this fight at the last minute, and whe...

Late last night, UFC president Dana White announced a historic shake-up of next weekend’s UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi. On today’s episode, Petesy, Chuck, and TST react to the news by getting into the following: Alexander Volkanovski’s decision to step in on 10 days’ notice and what this says about the featherweight champion (2:23) Whether this fight will bring more excitement and eyeballs than the origin...

When an MMA fan thinks of Strikeforce, they can’t help but look back on fond memories of Luke Rockhold, Daniel Cormier, and so many more. But when you think of Bellator … does anything come to mind? As Saturday’s Bellator 300 ominously approaches (with the proposed sale to PFL looming), Ariel Helwani, Petesy Carroll, and Chuck Mindenhall wonder: What is Bellator’s lasting legacy? Its identity? Doe...

Reunited after Petesy’s week off spent upsetting French locals in boulangeries, Ariel, Chuck, and Petesy gather once more to discuss the following on today’s episode: Why Petesy is adamant that Tony Ferguson vs. Paddy Pimblett is the perfect fight for each guy (6:27) Whether the booking of Shavkat Rakhmonov for Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson is punishment for Thompson refusing to take the fight agai...

On the heels of Dana White’s avalanche of fight news announced last night, Ariel, Chuck, and TST are here to react to all of the following and more: Why Jiri Prochazka vs. Alex Pereira at UFC 295 is the fight we’re looking forward to the most (7:24) Leon Edwards vs. Colby Covington at UFC 296 and why, with the benefit of hindsight, this feels like the right title fight to make at welterweight (23:...

With their heads still spinning after an unpredictable UFC 293, Ariel, Chuck, and Petesy return to discuss the following on today’s episode: The creation of the TKO group, which merges the UFC and WWE under the parent company of Endeavor, and what this deal means for the front-facing product, the UFCs popularity, future broadcast deals, and whether the UFC will need to dial down some of its right-...

Moments after watching America’s darling Sean Strickland dethrone the heavily favored Israel Adesanya to claim the UFC middleweight championship in Sydney, Ariel, Petesy, Chuck, and TST offer instant reaction to what is undoubtedly one of the biggest upsets in UFC history. The guys discuss: Adesanya’s surprisingly lackluster performance, his strange approach to fight week, and if Izzy's activity a...

3PAC is finally back! It’s only fitting that the star-studded trio of Ariel, Chuck, and Petesy reunite in the midst of what we expect to be one of the umm … more uncomfortable fight weeks in recent memory. On today’s UFC 293 preview show, the lads discuss: Excitement levels for the main event between Israel Adesanya and Sean Strickland, considering the fight wasn’t booked until just a few weeks ag...

Thanks to an early start time, Petesy Carroll, Chuck Mindenhall, and TST are full of energy on today’s show, albeit not as much energy as the sold-out Paris crowd had tonight. On this special reaction episode, the lads discuss: Ciryl Gane’s technical beatdown of Serghei Spivac and whether Tom Aspinall makes the most sense to be the former interim heavyweight champion's next opponent (3:14) Rose Na...

For the first time in a long time, Petesy is feeling confident that Conor McGregor will fight again in the near future. After discussing when we could see McGregor again, Petesy and Chuck get into the following on today’s show: PFL’s new deal with Saudi Arabia and whether fight fans will come to love or hate it (8:02) Jon Jones’s “nightmares” of Stipe Miocic and whether Jones’s admission makes the...

With Ariel off on the vacation of his dreams, Petesy, Chuck, and the insulin-deprived TST take you through another stellar episode of the world’s fastest-rising influencer boxing program. On today’s show, the lads discuss: Why new UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley has complete control over whom he fights in his first title defense (1:37) The aftermath of Ian Machado Garry’s fight-week antics...

After Boston’s TD Garden witnessed Sean O’Malley’s patented right hand usher in a new era for the bantamweight division at UFC 292, Chuck Mindenhall and Petesy Carroll couldn’t wait to get into what they had just witnessed. They discuss: What a world with O’Malley as champion looks like, his spectacular finish, Aljamain Sterling’s legacy, and why “Suga” may be able to bypass Merab Dvalishvili to a...

The Suga Show has landed in Boston and man, are we excited. Petesy Carroll, Chuck Mindenhall, and TST break down Saturday's UFC 292 in a litany of ways, getting into the following topics on today’s episode: Why this UFC bantamweight title fight between Aljamain Sterling and Sean O’Malley is so compelling (9:20) What the future with O’Malley as champion would look like (23:14) An interesting stylis...