UFC Vegas 110 looked promising on paper, with solid alternative stats and suitable matchmaking. It wasn’t gonna set the world on fire, but it was decent enough. Fast forward to the event in actuality and you get a mixed bag with a possible fixed fight, another eye poke and follow-up questionable reffing to put the sour cherry on top of the sawdust …

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com It’s been ages since we got a card at the Apex that had more than a single ranked fight on it, but this week, we’ve got one with three. That has to be a milestone, right? And get this, they’ve split them up so that we at least get one of them on the underca…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com It’s time for the monthly pay-per-view and UFC 321 should be a good one, considering they’ve packed it with 14 fights, two of which have titles on the line. Did Mackenzie Dern find out her fight was for a belt via social media? Yes, she did, but that’s just…

UFC Vancouver saw the favorites winning for the most part in a fairly decent night of fights, considering how dismal it looked on paper. That said, the biggest surprise was Reinier de Ridder’s cardio absolutely shitting the bed, to the point where he was dominated from rounds 2-4 and ended up having his corner not send him out for round 5. Brendan …

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com Well, we are looking at another horrendous card with stats so bad, even the most staunch UFC advocate couldn’t possibly defend it. The main event is okay, I guess, but Allen is just one fight removed from being on a two-fight skid. Manon Fiorot vs. Jasmine …

UFC 320 was terrific on paper and delivered great moments in preactice. Alex Pereira reclaimed his belt in under two minutes. He charged Ankalaev and scored the TKO lightning fast. Merab Dvalishvili almost knocked out Cory Sandhagen, then let him recover enough to take a round off him. He would end up victorious, proving that he’s likely the best b…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com If last week’s card was a mess on paper, this week’s show is the remedy. The alternative stats are terrific, the fights look exciting, and matchmaking is sensible. I don’t know why people are pushing for Ankalaev to be traded, he’s some such a long way and …

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com UFC Perth was a miserable card on paper and there’s no two ways about it. The stats were awful, but more importantly, the matmaking was too. Having a single ranked fight on an event where Australia pays through the nose in site fees is just so wrong, and th…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com The stats are speaking volumes of UFC Perth this week. A sprawling, 14-bout card only has a single ranked fight gracing its lineup and only three ranked fighters in total. When you factor in how much the Aussies are likely paying in site fees—let’s just say…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com UFC is taking another break, and this time, it seems it’s just so they can rest from all their promotional and matchmaking heavy lifting (said that with so much snark I almost passed out). Our analysts are all here to give you a rousing blend of apathy, dis…

UFC Noche didn’t have the star quality it should have for a card of the magnitude a “Noche” event is supposed to but it did deliver action in some of the fights. From the opening bout, we were treated to an electrifying TKO from Daniil Donchenko, and another from Alden Coria. For comic relief, we were treated to Dominick Cruz thinking Alice Periera…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com UFC Noche has 14 fights but only two are ranked. That’s how we’re going to start you off today. This year’s Noche event had its “PPV” moniker removed thanks to Canelo-Crawford taking center stage with TKO’s best efforts at promotion and the event’s lineup a…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com UFC Paris is what an on-the-road fight night should look like. It has thoughtful, meaningful matchmaking (at least on the main card), a main event that looks like a title eliminator, and the potential for action. We don’t know what Bukauskas-Craig is doing …

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com UFC is taking another break, this time for Labor Day. Our analysts are all here to give you a rousing blend of snark, disdain, and unadulterated apathy. This week’s awful fights is the triumvirate of heavyweight hopefuls. The fights come from UFC on ESPN+ 9…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com UFC Shanghai is your classic mixed bag with a few good fights among a sea of regional level fodder. The main event should actually be Ortega vs. Sterling but we get why it’s Walker vs. Zhang. Why Kavanagh vs. Johnson isn’t on the main card is the card’s gre…

UFC 319 had some great moments leading up to the main event with several highlight reel finishes. Anthony Hernandez putting a surprise whooping on Chase Hooper, Joseph Morales making his second stint in the UFC count in a big way, Oleksiejczuk and Susurkaev both getting the job done inside the distance, as well. The prelims were definitely to be ce…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com Guess what? UFC is finally giving us a decent card. Is it a PPV? Of course it is. But the important thing to remember is that it’s got relevant matchups, great stats and the potential for a lot of fireworks. And let us not forget we also have a belt on the …

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com UFC Vegas 109 had some of the worst judging in recent memory. Ben Cartlidge had fans on social media ready to riot after his judging on two of the cards, but the most egregious of them was definitely Johns vs. Matsumodo. Outside that, we saw Andre Fili stay…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com UFC is making its way back to the Apex for the second time this month with UFC Vegas 109, and it’s only slightly better than last weekend’s awful-on-paper-but-decent-in-actuality card. Once again, the stats are pretty bad, and the matchmaking seems only inc…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com UFC is returning home to the Apex this weekend, and boy oh boy does it show. Not only are the stats terrible, the matchmaking seems off, as well. Why pair Neil Magny with Elizeu Zaleski, rather than have a young gun use one of them as a springboard to get s…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com UFC Abu Dhabi looks pretty good on paper with four ranked fights and several ranked fighters. But more importantly, we got sensibly booked matchups, and some really interesting pairings. Are there some contests that could (and should) have been left to an A…

UFC 318 gave us lots of tremendous moments, starting with six finishes. That’s right, folks, the first six fights were all finishes. As a matter of fact, they would be the only finishes, too, as the next eight went to decision. We had some real bangers though, leading from the top with Poirier-Holloway. What a scrap, but it would be Holloway leavin…

UFC 318 might have the hallmarks of a solid PPV—four ranked fights and 10 ranked fighters—but when you get to the alternative stats, that’s when the whole thing falls apart. Fifteen fighters are coming off losses! And a 16th went to a draw. Fifteen fighters hail from the Contender Series. This seems an unacceptable sendoff for the Diamond, even if …

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com UFC Nashville has the distinct odor of the glue factory, and the stench of forced rankings. Being that this event is an on-the-road Fight Night, it tracks that they’d want to fluff out the card in some way. Does this show have a hidden gem here and there to…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com UFC is taking another break, this time for Independence Day. Our analysts are all together again, though, and that is what counts. Phil being out for the last two of these left Zane and Connor to their own devices and they got up to all sorts of mischief wi…