Wait, did he get a BBL?!

Sean Strickland doing the unthinkable against Khamzat Chimaev is the kind of result that rewires your MMA brain. We break down how the fight shifts from “inevitable” to “wait, what’s happening?” and why Strickland’s composure, defense, and minute-winning choices matter more than pre-fight narratives or betting odds. If you’re tracking the middleweight picture, this conversation is all about what actually shows up in the cage when the pressure hits. 

Before that, we spend time on the night’s purest piece of violence: Jack Della Maddalena vs Carlos Prates. We talk through what makes Prates’ performance feel like a true striking clinic, from the layered offense and timing to the way he keeps finding new answers as the fight develops. It’s the kind of UFC fight breakdown that goes beyond highlights and into the details that decide matchups, rankings, and who’s really ready for title-level problems. 

Then we jump into UFC 328’s best moments, including the kind of fight where both athletes earn respect, plus the veteran grit and bonus-worthy finishes that keep the sport honest. We also look ahead to the surreal hype around Freedom 250, from stacked names to press conference drama, and what this “historic” style of UFC promotion says about where the league is headed. 

If you like smart, honest UFC analysis with real opinions, subscribe to Peak Points, share this with a fight friend, and leave us a review. What was your biggest takeaway from Strickland vs Chimaev?

Transcript

UFC Focus And What’s Ahead

SPEAKER_03 0:16

Welcome back, dear listeners, to another episode of Peak Points. Today is going to be a UFC centric episode. We have two recent fights that have been excellent that we'll have plenty to talk about on. And then we have History in the Making, Freedom 250, with lots of press and drama and all kinds of excitement going into this. There'll be a little bit to talk about. So I hope you enjoy today's episode, and we will soon get back to the Reddit. But today, it's all in the ring.

SPEAKER_01 0:57

Chama. Chama. And speaking about Chama, one thing you forgot to mention was Alex Pereda's heavyweight BBL.

SPEAKER_03 1:08

More like I actively didn't want to talk about that.

SPEAKER_01 1:10

Sean O'Malley has a point, man. More on that later. Let's get into the octagon. More drama. Let's get into the octagon guys.

Fast Finishes And Prelim Standouts

SPEAKER_01 1:21

Let's talk about Jack Della Madalena versus Proches. That was May 2nd. And uh this is one that I stayed up for. And boy, am I glad I did. Even though the last fight I was pretty much dozing off, and I was I woke up thinking like, did that really happen?

SPEAKER_03 1:44

To clarify, for you listeners, that means he stayed up all night in order to watch the fight start at 5 a.m. instead of just getting up to watch the fight.

SPEAKER_01 1:58

Yeah. I just because I was afraid I was gonna miss it.

SPEAKER_03 2:02

All night.

SPEAKER_01 2:03

And boy am I glad that I watched them all because they were all fun. I was I'm very shocked actually. And uh some of the ones that very much stood out to me, and I'll I'll go off with the prelims, is that Cody Steele versus Marfam, a finish in the first round, right off the bat to start off the night.

SPEAKER_02 2:25

It was a great way to start the whole fight now.

SPEAKER_01 2:28

Great way to start it. I was actually watching this one uh on my phone before I actually put it on the big screen. I watched the prelims on my phone. And because I was gaming with my friend, I was like, dude, you gotta stay up with me. You gotta make sure I stay up to watch these fights. And he was like, dude, I'm not staying up, watch these fights with you. He's from Kentucky.

SPEAKER_00 2:48

Sorry if I offended anybody.

SPEAKER_03 2:49

Yeah, it would be quite late for him, being two hours ahead of us.

SPEAKER_01 2:54

And after so great way to start the card. After that, Johnny Mc uh Jonathan McAuliffe versus Themba Grimbo. Ah, Grimbo with another tough loss, man.

SPEAKER_03 3:07

It was I mean he put a lot of effort into that, but still was just not quite there. Not quite enough. Split decision, so he was dang close, but it just wasn't quite there.

SPEAKER_01 3:20

And then another Jesus wins this one. Wes Schultz versus Ben Johnston. Another finish. Look at that, dude. Good amount of finishes in this card. Kobe thickness versus Vince Morales after that. Great performance by uh Kobe. I really like that one. And uh Malcoon.

SPEAKER_03 3:40

Could you say he brought the thickness? He brought that thickness.

SPEAKER_01 3:44

Uh and I'm not talking Alex Padeda. Uh Malkoon versus Mirchart and couple tough fights for Meershart, man. Uh, I don't know what's going on. Uh, he really needed a win in this one, but he didn't get it. Uh Malcolm Malcoon by unanimous decision. And speaking of someone who needed this win, Junior Toffa versus Kevin Christian with a nasty finish. Man, that that that was a nasty striking planning from him.

SPEAKER_03 4:16

That was a pretty solid finish, just bam.

SPEAKER_01 4:20

Right to the dome. And uh somebody check on our boy Christian. Uh Cam Rouston after that versus uh Robert uh Bricksek. And this one was a really good fight, too. I was actually really surprised how good Cam Rouston looked. And I I'm really sort of like this guy.

SPEAKER_03 4:39

He looked pretty solid, yeah. I wouldn't I wouldn't say he's the flashiest or most exciting out there, but quite solid. Someone to keep an eye out for. I think I think as time goes on, he'll be something to look at developing more style, probably.

SPEAKER_01 4:55

And I'm laughing because it was Battle of the Blobs after that. Tai to Ibasa versus Louis Sutherland. Uh definitely was not Hoket versus uh Christian uh versus Blades Chris Blades, but um at least at least one of them threw more than 30 punches. You are right. You are right.

SPEAKER_03 5:17

At least one of them did.

SPEAKER_01 5:18

And I'm sorry to the Tae Tou Ivassa fans who continues his losing streak. Um how many is that now? Um too many. Too many, but uh Louis Southern finally gets his first win in the UFC against Tai Tou Ivassa, who at one point was a title contender. Impressive.

SPEAKER_03 5:40

Yeah, I mean it was unfortunately another blob fight. There's not a lot of greatness to say about it, unfortunately.

SPEAKER_01 5:52

Right. However, the other side of the coin, how about the other heavyweight bout on the card? Shamel Gazeev versus Pericic, fight of the night, what a freaking fight. Gazeev can take a punch, man.

SPEAKER_02 6:07

It was a war.

SPEAKER_01 6:09

War, dude. But Perichich looked he looks so good at heavyweight, dude.

SPEAKER_03 6:15

He looks really good at heavyweight. He doesn't look like he uh just sits on the couch between fights. I'm sorry, but Shamil kind of looks like he just sits on the couch between fights.

SPEAKER_01 6:33

Yeah, and Gazeev is nasty though, dude. I uh I really liked Gazeev, and I had Gazeev winning this one in the beginning, but damn Perichich, he brought it he brought it this uh this day to them. And speaking of someone who brought it Rahiki again, dude, this guy, since the contender series, I've been I've been following this guy, and he's been putting some nasty fights, gets a round one finish on uh Schmid. And uh man, this guy has yet to put a boring fight, man. Yet to put a boring fight.

SPEAKER_03 7:07

He's fast and hungry. He re He wants it. He wants it bad.

SPEAKER_01 7:13

He wants it bad, man. Rahiki Rafiki and Freaky Rahiki. Freaky Rahiki Rafiki. And uh this fight was uh I I love this one, dude. Ursik versus Tim Elliott. Uh Ursig I know that he ha he was finished, you know, not too long ago. I know that he's you know, since the Pentoshia fight hasn't looked too great. But this fight was uh vintage Ursig. He looked good in this one, dude. Against someone who's uh seasoned Tim Elliott, you know.

SPEAKER_03 7:48

Yeah. Yeah, he fun. He didn't look I can't say he looked stellar or looked um he did he definitely looked good and like his mind was in it, his head was in the game. Hopefully he can continue to develop that and pull off more wins. Yeah, I think he has the he has the skill. I think he just needs to find his stride in more fights.

SPEAKER_01 8:24

Yeah, let's give him more fights. Uh you know, this was a long layoff from his la last fight, you know, to your point, and we hope to see more of Steve Ersig, uh, aka Steve Carell. And uh after that, uh Quillen Salkild is not beating the Minority Killer allegations, the new Drew Dober, I hand thee the mantle of Minority Killer, killing Benil Deriouche in the first round and fast.

SPEAKER_03 8:56

It was quite fast, yes.

SPEAKER_01 9:00

And leading to people's concerns for Benil Deriouche in the chin because he's been getting finished almost every fight now.

SPEAKER_03 9:12

He has. I mean he looks good all the way up until the point when he gets finished. But seems to be kind of glass.

SPEAKER_01 9:25

Yeah, it's just uh not good, man. You know, he got finished one, two, three, four. He didn't get finished in the Mocano fight, but damn. That's a lot of brain damage. But uh fight of the night, man. Fight of the n uh performance of the night by uh Quinn and Salkid. And uh this guy is looking good, man. Every fight he looks really good, and so far nobody has really had any answers for Salkid.

SPEAKER_03 10:04

Yeah. Uh I think he definitely earned his his way onto the rankings, though.

SPEAKER_01 10:12

Yes, yes, yes, yes. Great point. Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_03 10:16

Um I'm excited to see what he does while he's in the rankings.

SPEAKER_01 10:21

Yeah, I mean, uh absolutely he's skilled and very still very young, so I think uh, you know, this is his time to shine, and he's been shining every time that he's been out in on in the octagon, so I'm very excited for Salkit. Uh unfortunately for Dariush, I don't know where he stands right now, and if I want to see him get knocked out again, again, again, again, again.

SPEAKER_03 10:49

I I definitely don't want this to turn into a Tony Ferguson issue.

SPEAKER_01 10:54

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. What's going on here, man?

SPEAKER_03 10:59

No, I I hope it doesn't turn into that. I I hope he either picks up his win streak again or realizes the writing on the wall, whichever it is for him.

SPEAKER_01 11:14

As a Tony Ferguson fan, I'll let that slide. But uh I don't know, man. Titu Ivasa, he's he's he's on his heels for more losing streak. So I'm hoping Ty keeps going so that at the end of the day I could be like, well, yeah, but look at Tytu Ivasa. So sorry, Ty fans.

SPEAKER_03 11:35

That way it'll be a Ty to Ivasa uh comparison instead of a Tony Ferguson. Anyway, take the spotlight off at this point.

SPEAKER_01 11:45

I started to feel a little woozy when I started watching these fights. I'm like, dude, these fights are making my head spin. But really it was the lack of sleep. Certainly not the lack

Prates Runs A Striking Clinic

SPEAKER_01 11:54

of sleep. And uh performance of the night, Jack Della Medellina versus Carlos Prates, the fight that I was looking forward to, boy, did it deliver. And man, it felt like a dream because Carlos Prates fought like a freaking dream, dude. He did. What hasn't been said about this performance and Carlos Prates on Jack Della Medalina, who was the original John Wick of the division. I remember people were mad scared of Jack Della. The man who won the who finished Gilbert Burns with one arm when he had broke his arm, literally broke his arm, and and went on to finish that fight.

SPEAKER_03 12:36

All of a sudden the only person who's really beaten him in any recent history is Makachev.

SPEAKER_01 12:45

And Maka and that's exactly the point I was gonna bring up was that the dominant performance that Makachev had in the in one way of the mixed martial arts realm, and then the performance that Protest had in the other realm of MMA, the the the striking and the absolute striking clinic he put on a striker. He did is insane. And uh man, Pratez pulling up a case for that belt, still continuing his reign of terror. And the question remains, Harley. How good is Ian Machado Gary to be the only person to beat Pratez?

SPEAKER_03 13:31

It's that uh UFC math, man. Actually, Rock will beat Rock will be scissors, but not always will scissors beat rock. That was a that was a really weak comparison.

SPEAKER_01 13:51

Did Confucius say that?

SPEAKER_03 13:52

Sorry, that was a very weak comparison.

SPEAKER_01 13:54

No, I think that was Plato. Uh Aristotle?

SPEAKER_03 13:59

But my point is that everyone has different tool bags, and every once in a while the right tool comes along to get through the person's defenses. Whereas other people have just the right defense to go against that tool, and it won't work on them.

SPEAKER_01 14:20

And I want to remit my statement about what I said about uh Ian Gary being the only man to beat Carlos Prates, and I'm gonna change that to be the only man and not get body bagged in the UFC by Carlos Prates. Look at the tapes. Look at the tapes, man. Carlos Prat has been bodying everybody, including knocking out two people who had never been knocked out, including finished jack uh finishing Jack Dell and Madalena, who never been finished.

SPEAKER_03 14:48

He has put on quite a show.

SPEAKER_01 14:52

And uh it's crazy that at one point, you know, people were saying that the fighting nerds are dead, but uh Carlos Partis is proving that otherwise, and the fighting nerds are still very much alive, having a chance at the belt. And they are I don't know what's going on. I know that Ian Gary versus Islam Makachev is a high possibility to be announced. Uh I don't know if they're guaranteed to go that route, but however, that's what I'm hearing in the rumor pool right now. So that should be very interesting because if uh you know, what does Carlos Pratis bring to the table against Islam Makachev, and whatever we're to look forward to, we still have to figure out who exactly is Islam's opponent at the moment.

SPEAKER_03 15:46

Seems like nobody really has an idea of who he's supposed to be fighting.

SPEAKER_01 15:50

Big secret. Uh I'm assuming at this point he's fighting Big Bird. And so this card was so good, the main card was so good, guys, that I was like, did that really happen, or was that just a fever dream for me from lack of sleep? You know, was I just was I just imagining Carlos Protest putting a body bag on Jack Dell like that? Right, or did that actually happen? So we went to the mall, I I took my little five hour sleep, and we went to the mall after uh in in our nearest big city, yeah, which is an hour away, so I had an hour to basically be passenger princess. And I watched the fights and I was like, damn. Carlos Prates is the flipping man, dude.

SPEAKER_03 16:37

They really did pull off that clinic.

SPEAKER_01 16:39

A body bag on Jack Della Medalena who looked sad in his last fight, and honestly, looks sad in this one again. Looks sad. Like like in his face, sad.

SPEAKER_03 16:50

Like he himself had the emotion of sad.

SPEAKER_01 16:53

He himself is in the cage. Sad. Uh very unfortunate man, and it just goes to show you do like every dog has his day, and sometimes, you know, like you said, it's not your day.

SPEAKER_03 17:07

There is that. There is that, but in this case, I'm not sure what Jack Della Maddalena could have done better because Prates, unless JDM really like switched up his style, because Pratez had his number right from the get-go, pretty much. Like he knew exactly what to expect at any given moment from JDM.

SPEAKER_01 17:30

And and it wasn't just that, it was the massive variety of strikes from Prates. Leg kicks, knees, kicks to the body, elbows, the elbows were vicious. They were the knees up the middle when Jack Della was just trying to cover up. It was just uh, like you said, man, a striking clinic. It was uh something to behold, and I think a gem in the career that that Protest has right now going on in the UFC, dude. Definitely a feather in his cap. The only blemish Ian Gary. Dun dun dun. And uh we'll move on to this card.

UFC 328 Early Prelims Heat Up

SPEAKER_01 18:14

Let me stand up for this, guys. Amazing card, UFC 328. Boom.

SPEAKER_03 18:23

It was it was a very good fight.

SPEAKER_01 18:26

I watched every single fight on this card, even though for a couple of the ones on the early prelims, I was on the clock.

unknown 18:37

Shh. Don't say nothing, baby.

SPEAKER_01 18:40

All I know was that I wasn't missing this. No, don't tell him. I wasn't I wasn't missing this at all. This was uh a banger right from the beginning, starting with the early prelims, Jose Ochoa versus Carpenter. Uh Jose starting it off nicely, wince unanimous decision. And Baisangor, Suza Kayev, gets another finish in the prelims. Uh man, this guy is on a tear, the teammate of Hamza Chemayev.

SPEAKER_03 19:12

He he just is so serious and practical with all this stuff. I mean, he's he's a scary guy.

SPEAKER_01 19:22

Scary guy earning scary finishes, getting a submission on Santos, and uh I think that was a great fight. Uh another great fight was that Pat Sabatini vs. Gomez versus Gomez, and uh Sabatini looked great out there, dude. I really liked Sabatini's performance on this one, earning him unanimous decision.

SPEAKER_03 19:45

Not the most active of fights, but it was it was a pretty solid fight.

SPEAKER_01 19:50

Roman Kopolov versus Tulio, one that I had Tulio winning on this one, Roman Kopolov comes out pretty good. There was a couple instances where he looked like he had Tulio rocked.

SPEAKER_02 20:05

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_01 20:06

And something that stood out to me was that instead of finishing him, like like Tulio was like dead, bro. Like he would grapple him.

SPEAKER_03 20:15

Yeah, there was some odd decisions in that fight, for sure. Like I think he did that like twice where like dude Tulio was just like it's like he was scared that he was play acting or he just was trying to go for one more submission in his record or something. I wasn't sure what the goal was.

SPEAKER_01 20:33

That was confusing.

SPEAKER_03 20:34

It definitely was confusing.

SPEAKER_01 20:36

Yeah, that was the most confusing part, but what wasn't confusing was Roman Kopoloff earning unanimous decision, finally getting a win back, looking good in this one, didn't get the finish, but I don't know what happened there.

SPEAKER_03 20:49

Yeah, he he needed that extra little bit uh of a good fight on his record after losing the Rodriguez.

SPEAKER_01 20:59

And uh and Costa and Costa not looking great in that one, but Costa's looking nasty. Um moving on to the prelims, Jim Miller versus Jerry Gordon earning Jim Miller performance of the night in the prelims. Look at that. Jim Miller at 102 years old, still going at it, dude.

SPEAKER_03 21:23

Jim Miller is adding yet another win to his column.

SPEAKER_01 21:27

Another win and another finish, dude. This guy is uh uh uh I don't know, man. He's just uh the consummate mixed martial artist. This guy is never ceases to impress. I mean, just look at this record 39 and 19. This guy is a forever fighter, uh very rare, and still getting finishes uh you know, right now at this caliber is very impressive. Signing a five fight. Contract right after this? That was his last on his contract. This guy's not going anywhere.

SPEAKER_03 22:05

A five fight contract. Interesting.

SPEAKER_01 22:07

This guy is not going anywhere. I believe he's the oldest person on the roster, on the UFC roster.

SPEAKER_03 22:13

I wouldn't doubt it, but he's he's keeping up with him.

SPEAKER_01 22:16

He's keeping up with him and finishing him, bro.

SPEAKER_03 22:19

Yeah, in first round, even. Like, it's not like he had to soften him up in order to do it either. Ten total strikes on his end.

SPEAKER_01 22:28

Impressive, dude. Uh well.

SPEAKER_03 22:30

Ten strikes, one sub attempt.

SPEAKER_01 22:31

That's insane, dude.

SPEAKER_03 22:32

He had it locked in. He was after it.

SPEAKER_01 22:36

Uh, showing that there's levels to this and uh another great ha fight afterward, Grant Dawson earning a submission against Ribeski. Another war, dude. That was a war. Ribeski has yet to be in a boring fight. He is willing to go out and kill or go out and die this guy die on his shield. Dude, this guy's willing to die on his shield. Uh very Gaiche-esque in his approach to fights.

SPEAKER_03 23:04

However, uh definitely reminiscent of him.

SPEAKER_01 23:06

He had Grant Dawson rocked, and Dawson showed massive heart in this one getting a nasty submission.

SPEAKER_03 23:16

And that that's something that I've always uh appreciated when a fighter not only can dish out the the damage but can still fight through the damage to come out on top. It's don't get me wrong, it's impressive when you can be like Ilya and just lay down the hammer and just keep walking away fresh as a rose. But I I think it's pretty awesome to be able to take it as well as dish it out.

SPEAKER_01 23:44

Exactly, yeah. That's that's what I feel is like the inspiring it's inspi it was an inspiring performance by Dawson. And then speaking of inspired, Joel Alvarez versus uh Amosov, another performance of the night in the prelims, guys. And uh speaks to Amasov's performance and sincerely, sincerely earning that with a beautiful submission in round two. And speaking of inspiring, one thing that I did have behind that was this guy from Ukraine, Amasov, if I'm not mistaken, was on the front lines not too long ago in that really in that war going on. Oh uh uh and seeing where he was at to where he is now, you know, it's just amazing, dude. It's just uh uh uh inspiring, very very, very inspiring. And uh I'm glad that he's pretty awesome to see. Yeah, it's pretty awesome to see. And uh they can't see this, but uh that's an image of him and his Oh, his his uh platoon?

SPEAKER_03 24:54

Yeah, well that's too small to be a platoon. Uh I can't remember the name for that size, but uh listeners can't see that, but um shout out to Almasoft, man.

SPEAKER_01 25:04

Great performance, performance of the night, earned his bonus, and how about that finish by the mini Ingangotier?

SPEAKER_03 25:16

I understand that's uh a term of respect, but I think I think it's about time we start giving uh Gautier his own nickname or title because he's he's earning it, in my opinion. He's he's earning his own way, not just yeah. And just uh deserving to be in the shadow of someone else. Exactly. I mean he's gonna be I think he's gonna be a star.

SPEAKER_01 25:40

He's probably proud of that moniker. However, I'm gonna give him a new one. Um I'm gonna call him Nukans. Yes. Nukens Magee the third. Um Nukans dude dude, he freaking nuked Ozzie Diaz. Very scary knockout that I was like, man, I'm gonna record this. Something told me to record it. And I recorded the exact moment of the finish, like if I knew when it was gonna be. Very scary. I think me and Ateba are kind of like in sync. Not the band, obviously, but we're in sync, you know. I just I know he's gonna finish him. Another finish.

SPEAKER_03 26:24

That first the first round didn't look as promising, but that second round he really was bringing the fire. And yeah. It did it happened.

SPEAKER_01 26:35

And I think what what you mean is that in the first round, Atebba did look a lot more measured than he typically does. And I feel like he learned that from his last fight when he was kind of gassing out towards the end. Yeah. And he really would too wanted to conserve himself in the first round. But Ozzy Diaz, man, what a finish. He got bodied.

SPEAKER_03 26:58

Poor

Main Card Momentum And Mic Moments

SPEAKER_03 26:59

guy.

SPEAKER_01 26:59

And speaking of bodied, King Green uh on that main car just to kick off. That was that was pretty quick. Dude, King Green looked he's looking good right now, man.

SPEAKER_03 27:13

That's back to back to back. He looked really solid. Yeah. And he looked well, he sounded really hungry after that.

SPEAKER_01 27:22

Oh man.

SPEAKER_03 27:22

On the mic. He was real hungry for anything and everything he can get.

SPEAKER_01 27:27

I mean, he's botting ever everybody from prospects to uh young phenoms to now Jeremy Stevens to even the older guard, uh, more experienced. He's he's on a little tear, man. Uh, I'm really proud of King Green and where he's going right now since his last couple finishes back to back that were kind of scary.

SPEAKER_03 27:48

Yeah. To be fair though, that was against Pimblet and Roofy. Yes. Two two killers. Two absolute killers.

SPEAKER_01 27:57

Uh however, not earning himself the bonus that he asked for after the fight, but it was announced that he will be getting his custom shorts. Oh, okay. I hope it's like little blunts.

SPEAKER_03 28:11

Really?

SPEAKER_01 28:11

Like just little blunts on the shorts.

SPEAKER_00 28:14

Like it, like shit, that'd be cool.

SPEAKER_03 28:16

You know, all things considered, he might have been able to secure that bonus if he hadn't been so vocal about it on the mic.

SPEAKER_01 28:25

I don't know, but he he truly needs to get more bonuses, I think, after this. Uh and I'm glad they put him on the main card, and I'm glad they put him against Jeremy Stevens. Very fun fight. And a not so fun fight for Joaquin Buckley in this coming one. Sean Brady put the works on him wrestling clinic, looked dominant as per usual, obviously making a bounce back from that Morales loss, and Joaquin Buckley making a trying to make a bounce back from that Uzman's loss.

SPEAKER_03 28:54

He just seemed so lost woefully unprepared for this type of fight. That's back to back. Which which is wild because it's not like Sean Brady just converted to this style. You know, his fight camp did Joaquin but Joaquin Buckley's fight camp did him dirty, in my opinion.

SPEAKER_01 29:15

But that's back to back, bro. It is back to back. Because it's like Usman did just this to him. Mm-hmm. Did this to him, the same thing that Usman usually does. So you had two wrestling-centric opponents back to back, and he still has major holes in that department. But uh, you know, credit to Sean Brady, he was dominant. And a 30-25 against Joaquin Buckley is not easy, and it's very sad to see at the same time for Joachim Buckley. 30-25 is just not acceptable by no means. So that's that's a no-score round, embarrassing, just not good, dude. It is. Uh, and uh Sean Brady winning that one easily. Alexander Volkov earning it not so easily against Waldo Cortez Acosta, and I think he his game plan was great against Costa, keep him as far away as possible and leg kicks, very nasty leg kicks.

SPEAKER_03 30:20

He it was an interesting fight. I can't say I was absolutely riveted, but neither was I bored.

SPEAKER_01 30:28

I think Volkov that was a very good one. It was a very solid fight. I think that was the game plan for Volkoff.

SPEAKER_03 30:33

Yeah, he was he was he was being safe, and he should with Acosta. Acosta can lay down the hammer when you give him the chance. And and Volkov did not give him that chance, which good on him.

SPEAKER_01 30:50

And I appreciate Volkoff playing it safe, trying to do what he can to get the win to secure the win. Uh number two still, uh up for the belt, whatever happens. They need to start putting some respect on Volkov's name, man. Yeah. And these next two fights, guys, are really putting up this card for a card of the year contention, man. This card was nice.

SPEAKER_03 31:17

I think we'll have to wait and see about the actual fight of the year. I think Paramount has well, Paramount and Dana have some really great things coming down the pipeline. So far. This this was certainly some of the better fights this year. These next

Van And Taira Leave It All

SPEAKER_03 31:35

two.

SPEAKER_01 31:35

Absolutely amazing fight between Joshua Van versus Tatsurotaira. And what is there to say besides the fact that both these guys, born in the 21st century, the new wave of fighters in the UFC, yeah, making the entire UFC community proud, dude. There is no way that you can watch this fight and not be proud of these two young gentlemen who poured their hearts out in this stunning performance, dude. I'm talking about Tatsura Tyra domination on the ground against Joshua Van in the first round. Joshua Van regrouping and coming back with those nasty hands, bro.

SPEAKER_03 32:21

He is lightning with those strikes.

SPEAKER_01 32:23

Lightning with those hands and uh lighting Tatsura Tyra up. Tatsu Tyra get taking a beating. He and he kept going beating and kept going and kept coming forward, true heart, grit, determination. Absolutely. What this sport is about. And I was absolutely like things you don't get in any other sport. I I I say that all the time, and this just proves it to me. It's just this fight alone was just something that you're not gonna get anywhere else, because these guys they put it all out there. They put it all out there.

SPEAKER_03 33:01

And they did uh didn't waver either way. I think it definitely highlighted that uh Joshua could use a little more work with the grappling. But I mean he he definitely pulled out the win with his strikes, so there's something to be said about that.

SPEAKER_01 33:21

And I know the discrepancy that, you know, is on everybody's mind is how he earned the title, you know, people are not putting so much respect on his name after that performance, after Pantoja got injured, and how people were upset at the fact that he celebrated, you know, and all that. Yeah. And the controversy behind that. But however, this fight proved that Joshua Van is the man. He really is, and uh neither of these fellas lost stock, only gained stock, and I think it's time that we put some massive, massive respect on Joshua Van's name in this one. Uh but uh shout out to uh uh Tyra man, it takes two to tango, and the stoppage I know people are kind of in the air about that stoppage, however, I think it was a good stoppage. I think Tyra is willing to die out there, clearly, yeah, but we don't want to see that.

SPEAKER_03 34:17

He was he was willing to fight, and that's great to see. I'm glad that we did not see him just giving up. But the damage and position, I think it was completely warranted by the ref to call that. Exactly.

SPEAKER_01 34:36

How he was eating those strikes at the end, that massive flurry towards the end before the stoppage. Uh people are saying let's watch this kid get finished, but the damage was insane, bro. He was just eating those shots and coming forward no matter what. So I I am very proud of these two gentlemen earning them fight of the night, uh earning them whatever they want. And like I was saying last time, this is one of those fights where I want that app where you could tip the fighter. Like, let's make that app, bro. Let's tip the fighters, bro. Both these guys earning five dollars from me.

SPEAKER_03 35:14

Hey, when this many millions of eyes are put on, five dollars adds up damn fast with even a small percentage.

SPEAKER_01 35:23

Yeah, imagine that'll be crazy. And uh speaking of crazy, the last fight of the night, Amza Chemayev, the wolf, the m the monster of the division against Sean Strickland with pure American moxie.

Strickland Outlasts Chimaev

SPEAKER_03 35:47

I can't say I'm a hundred percent happy with the way Strickland tries to represent America in that regard. But I can say he definitely gave it his all in that fight. He was cool, calm, collected, and he he he was very respectful of the danger Hamzat presented. And he definitely took plenty of damage from Hamzat too. But I I think I think he did really well, in my opinion.

SPEAKER_01 36:29

I think the game plan worked out, and you know, just looking back at the statistics, no one has even put a submission attempt on Sean Strickland in his career in the UFC. And uh this really shows that his ground game ain't no joke either, and his takedown defense is great, and his getting up, I mean, it just showed a a physicality that we don't normally see from Strickland because not too many people were able to take him down apparently. Yeah. Uh who knew, right? This guy. I'm done doubting Sean Strickland, but come on, guys. Like look at the odds. Minus 500 from Hanza Chemayam. You guys thought that he was gonna body bag Strickland.

SPEAKER_02 37:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 37:21

You guys, not just me. But I'm just shocked that Hamza was not able to implement his game his game plan. And honestly, after the second round, before he got like a second win later in the rounds, right, he looked completely depleted. In fact, getting taken down by Sean Strickland getting reversed, Sean Strickland on top. If you were to show me, like I saw this meme, if you were to show me a picture of Sean Strickland on top of Hamza on the ground in 2026, I would not believe it. If I didn't see it with my very own eyes.

SPEAKER_00 38:13

Listening to a play by play. I'm like, dude, like what the hell? These guys are these guys are off their rocker.

SPEAKER_01 38:19

However, that is what happened. Sean Strickland uh earning a split decision, earning himself another belt, another era of Sean Strickland as a title holder. It's insane to me.

SPEAKER_03 38:32

Yeah, it it's insane, but you can't say he didn't earn it. No, he didn't earned it every step of the way.

SPEAKER_01 38:40

He did it. I know that a lot of people are comparing, you know, that image of him winning the belt and how close it was and how shocking it was. And then alongside is a picture of Rocky II when he won, you know really? I haven't seen that one. It's hilarious, bro. It's like you can't tell me this is not the same picture.

SPEAKER_03 39:06

Wow.

SPEAKER_01 39:07

Wow, people are crazy. But damn, I understand the sentiment of the most unexpected win by Sean Strickland. However, he did this before. He did this one other time against uh Israel Prime Israel Aldesanya, and uh Izzy has never been the same since true. Uh but uh just point in case is just amazing performance by Sean Strickland. He really did it, he really earned it, and I think that uh people are just gonna stop doubting Sean Strickland at this point. And we speak about comparisons. I know that people don't like to compare, however, I am comparing the odds on that uh Addisanya vs. Strickland fight, the first one, where he won that belt. Uh and it was just as crazy, bro. I was just as shocked. But this one I feel like it it it feels even better. Like this one was even better than that one, like the odds were even uh less in his favor, and he's still proving that the underdog still has its day.

SPEAKER_02 40:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 40:15

And uh I know that DDP was in the crowd licking his lips, you know, he's like I can beat Strickland, I I can do that.

SPEAKER_03 40:23

He's like, I already did it twice twice.

SPEAKER_01 40:26

However, that may not work in his favor because I doubt the UFC wants to see a third one with DDP on there. I think this is not working in in his favor for sure. But who else is there? You know, the snubbed m Nazardine Imovov, who Strickland already beat once before. I bet you guys don't remember that one.

SPEAKER_03 40:49

Oh, I I know somebody who who desperately wants the chance. I don't know if Strickland wants to give him the chance, but I know somebody who desperately wants this chance against Strickland. Costa.

SPEAKER_01 41:02

Yeah, that'll be crazy. Um, however, I know that Costa's at 205 now, and he's looking really good out there.

SPEAKER_03 41:10

Yeah, he he definitely does look better in his weight, but even still, you know Costa.

SPEAKER_01 41:15

He's he's crazy.

SPEAKER_03 41:17

He's crazy, and he wants he wants that spotlight.

SPEAKER_01 41:21

And I know that people are just as shocked as I am about this win. However, this gave me glimpses of that Gilbert Burns versus Hamza Chemaev years b back, and how Gilbert Burns was the first person to make Hamzat look human for the first time ever. And then after that, you know, was that fight with Hamzat and Uzman off the couch. You know, there's a there was those glimpses where Hamza did not look his best. However, still ended up winning. This was not those cases, and I think that I think that really Sean Strickland earned this one. I really feel like he didn't have any answers for the striking, couldn't get past the jab, and never really hurt Strickland.

SPEAKER_03 42:15

I do have to say I was a little shocked with the scarcity of Strickland's teeps.

SPEAKER_01 42:23

Yep.

SPEAKER_03 42:25

Pretty pretty shocked.

SPEAKER_01 42:27

Uh exactly. I feel like the jab was really cooking for him though, and he just if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

SPEAKER_03 42:33

There is that, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 42:34

Uh Hamza just cannot get past the jab, and honestly couldn't take down Strickland. I feel like maybe a rematch is in order.

SPEAKER_03 42:44

Not right away.

SPEAKER_01 42:45

Who knows?

SPEAKER_03 42:46

I don't think a right a right away one should happen, personally.

SPEAKER_01 42:50

I know that there was a tweet by Hamzad after the fight, like, see you soon or see you again. However, the rumor mill and what I heard from Dana White was that Hamzat wants out of the middleweight division. He wants to go up a weight class.

SPEAKER_03 43:07

Given the di his difficulties with weight cuts, yeah, I I think he definitely needs to. For his own health, if nothing else.

SPEAKER_01 43:16

Exactly. I know that weight cuts are like the most difficult fight uh difficult part about this fight game, you know. But uh I really feel like maybe going up a weight class is not such a bad idea for Hamza Chimayev.

SPEAKER_03 43:31

Certainly not. I'd be interested to see how he handles the next weight class up, given his current fight style. But I don't I don't think it would be unsuccessful, that's for certain.

SPEAKER_01 43:46

Yeah, I I definitely think he stands eight chance and like I said, very proud about of this performance of Strickland and the era of Strickland begins again. Um I don't know. It's a fun little shakeup that I really wasn't expecting in the middleweight division seeing seeing another era of Strickland, mainly because I really thought that Hamzat was gonna be the champ for a very long time, you know. I really felt like nobody was gonna get past him. But as they say, his O must go and no longer undefeated.

SPEAKER_03 44:22

The longer you play with that that uh O on your card, the less likely you are to keep it. Because you're giving m more and more people the chances to analyze your fight style and come up with the correct counters to actually put together a tool bag to to come up against you successfully.

When Rivalry Drama Goes Too Far

SPEAKER_01 44:49

And that leads me to the topic of the lead up to this fight and the bad blood, frankly, that Chemayev and Strickland showed, like I said, like it really looked like these guys disliked each other. The disrespect was at an all-time high. Dana White himself slating this fight as the next great rivalry, Connor McGregor vs. Khabib-esque.

SPEAKER_02 45:17

I'm honestly so glad it's not. I can't stand the drama, personally.

SPEAKER_01 45:22

Right, right. Um, and we did speak about this off air, how there's like me and you don't really like the drama part of it.

SPEAKER_03 45:30

We're more interested in to see the acting ultimate fighter.

SPEAKER_01 45:33

You know, when I started watching this sport, the main thing that drew me was the best, we'll fight the best, performance above everything else, and really we didn't have that persona, like WWE kind of persona, be like, you know, until Connor McGregor, who, you know, took the sport in a new direction that changed the sport entirely, in my opinion. However, I know that there are people, fans, who do appreciate the storylines, who do appreciate the drama, who do appreciate the rivalries, and in this case, uh, you know, these guys, former teammates, former training partners, uh, all that drama behind who won the sparring sessions, you know. Yeah. It was a lot of fun leading up to this fight. Fun in the in that realm, that aspect. Yeah. However, things flipped when Sean Strickland said that he was gonna draw a weapon on Hamza's people, you know, and all the things that he was saying, you know, people kind of the controversy because people saying Strickland may have gone too far this time around.

SPEAKER_03 46:50

Honestly, I think for Strickland it may have gotten a be a little too real. Instead of just playing it up, it may have become a little too real due to how much more prolific social media is now than back in the Connor McGregor days. Um I can't say for sure. I d I don't know for certain.

SPEAKER_01 47:17

Yeah, and you know, to the point, you know, social media does tend to take things a little too far. Fans the fans, you know, but however, Sean Strickland afterward and them showing camaraderie afterward is earning the ire of some fans. Eh.

SPEAKER_03 47:35

Saying that fans like that don't need to be fans.

SPEAKER_01 47:39

Uh maybe, you know, he because he said he was selling the fight, and then you know, there's people saying maybe we won't believe any, you know, altercation with Sean Strickland afterward.

SPEAKER_03 47:50

Um however, who cares?

SPEAKER_01 47:52

It's all just a show anyway. I I'm on that same boat. At the end of the day, you know, these athletes should be protected, and I think that anything when it comes to talks about guns and stuff, I think that should be left way away from the octagon.

SPEAKER_03 48:08

Yeah, that's a that is certainly a step too far.

SPEAKER_01 48:10

Yeah, I think anything involving that is just not needed. You know, you know, at the end of the day, these guys are are the the beef does become real at some point, but you know, I am glad that they had that camaraderie afterward.

SPEAKER_03 48:24

I'm glad that they had camaraderie in the ring.

SPEAKER_01 48:29

Seemed like it's a big thing.

SPEAKER_03 48:31

In between rounds, like when the round ended or when the round started, each time they touched gloves, they were as the fight went on, they got more and more easy with each other.

SPEAKER_01 48:43

Oh yeah. And uh it just uh that that part I really I really didn't really uh care too much for. And I at the end of the day, I just care that uh we're entering a new era, a new Sean Strickland era. And uh I think less and less people are gonna start uh stop doubting him for sure.

Freedom 250 Preview And Press Chaos

SPEAKER_01 49:08

And to end the night, we'll talk about that UFC 250, that Freedom 250 card. How about that?

SPEAKER_03 49:17

Freedom History in the making.

SPEAKER_01 49:20

And like I, you know, I say every time we talk about this card, if you were to tell me a fight at the White House, when I started watching UFC, when they were calling this sport human cockfighting, we should ban the sport to a fight at the White House at the lawn in front of a sitting president is just uh I would say you're crazy, man. I would say what what did you drink the Kool-Aid?

SPEAKER_03 49:49

It would be very hard to imagine the timeline where that was the actual result.

SPEAKER_01 49:55

And now you're telling me 185 or Alex Pededa is fighting at heavyweight against Cyril Gunn. It's just mind blowing after mind blowing after mind blowing. And uh speaking of mind blowing, how about that Sean O'Malley saying Alex Pededa is looking extra big now in some departments?

SPEAKER_03 50:19

Gross.

SPEAKER_01 50:20

No Diddy. And uh the card is just is is really filling me with anticipation day after day because each day more and more stuff is is coming out of this card, you know, pictures of the drafts of the what it's gonna look like. Right. The card forming Building hype. Uh building hype, the c the card literally forming literally forming on the spot, i.e. Josh Hokett getting added to this card.

SPEAKER_03 50:53

Yeah, Hoket, he's he's a character.

SPEAKER_01 50:56

And this leads me into the segue of how about that press conference 250 press conference, lot to unpack, uh, specifically with our friend the incredible Hulk. Uh man, this guy likes to stir up that drama. If you guys uh have not seen that press conference, just look up on YouTube uh Josh Hokey getting kicked out of that press conference.

SPEAKER_03 51:24

Or don't, if you don't want to feed into the social media hype that he lives off of.

SPEAKER_01 51:30

And a lot of people saying that he went too far, you know, but not in the strickland sense, in the sense that he was a little too annoying, and that's why they kicked him out.

SPEAKER_03 51:41

Yeah. Yeah, if you get kicked out of a press conference, you know you're you're just being annoying.

SPEAKER_01 51:47

And a lot of his bullying, if you will, was uh towards Alex Bereda, who was setting two people away from him, you know, like like literally he could have got up and put a hurtin' on Hoket, you know. Yeah. Uh Hoket, you know, poking him and poking him and poking him, chama on your mama and things in that way. And Iliotoporea showing loyalty as a I don't know, friend, uh standing up for Alex and backing him up. It was uh quite the sight. And uh hitting Hoket in the head with a bottle cap, I think he did. Very very good shot, dude. Iliot Toporia's pretty accurate.

SPEAKER_03 52:31

He's a whole hell of a lot faster than Hoket, I can tell you that.

SPEAKER_01 52:35

And uh, like you were saying, you know, he didn't really allow the proceedings to proceed. So they had to kick out Josh Hoket, who was in character the entire time, and I I don't know if this, you know, adds to him or doesn't. Um but they do say any publicity is good publicity. So I think this is one of those cases, you know.

SPEAKER_03 53:05

It could be, yeah. People some I know there's definitely gonna be some people who follow or flock to Hoket simply because of how big of a name he's making for himself in this regard.

SPEAKER_04 53:19

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_03 53:20

He's getting his name out there, it's being seen on more and more headlines.

SPEAKER_00 53:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 53:25

But I personally don't think people who are actually serious about the sport are gonna give him the light of day.

SPEAKER_01 53:34

Yeah. But I also like to the other side of the coin is I do think that he may have pissed people off, and now they want to see him get knocked out. So I don't know. Either way, I think he's kinda winning.

SPEAKER_03 53:48

Uh to a point, to a point.

SPEAKER_01 53:51

Still a great card, Ilya Topori vs. Justin Gecchi to unify the belt for lightweight. Uh Alex Badeda, heavyweight Alex looking, uh, thickness versus Cyril Gunn, Sean O'Malley still versus Zahabi, who is no joke as well, and uh still on that card, that incredible Hulk versus Derek Lewis, uh Mauricio Rufi, the all-American Michael Chandler, Bonecco versus Kyle Dawkis, and we still got that sneaky banger, Diego Lopez versus Steve Garcia, man. These guys really snuck that one in. That's gonna be a nice one, dude. So, all around, UFC Freedom 250 is is looking like you said, historic in all senses of the word.

SPEAKER_03 54:40

Just as a quick aside, I have to say I am still shocked that Chandler is on the 250 card. I'm I'm just shocked. Somebody who hasn't won in how many fights is on the Freedom 250 card.

SPEAKER_01 55:00

Like however, why I I do feel like this is maybe to right the wrong of Michael Chandler waiting years on the coattails of my uh fighting Connor McGregor and I mean I understand getting the work around from Dana there might feel like there's a certain level of favors that are owed, but really the Freedom 250 card. And I don't know if they did him much of a favor against Mauricio Roofy. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 55:32

You know, he's definitely he's there's no way that he can win? He wins against Roofy that I can see.

SPEAKER_01 55:41

We did see Mauricio Roofy lose recently, not by striking, but by the wrestling Benoit Saint Denis putting work on him. And I feel like that's the that's the game plan, that's the blueprint to beating Mauricio Roofy if he did not improve on his wrestling, who we know Michael Chandler can wrestle.

SPEAKER_03 56:03

He can. Not enough to win, but he can wrestle.

SPEAKER_01 56:08

And let's see, man, because dude, I don't doubt anything anymore. Like my my eyes are my eyes were open.

SPEAKER_00 56:17

After that, Sean Strickland vs. Hamza.

SPEAKER_01 56:19

Like at this point, yeah. I don't believe there's underdogs anymore. Like, dude, just anything can happen, man. And um it's just a great time to be a UFC fan, great time to be a Paramount subscriber. Um amazing what I'm seeing. Um, all this advertisement, all this uh collaborations with UFC, all these things coming out. Uh it's just very exciting time to be a UFC fan. And uh with that, we'll go ahead and end the episode.

The Game That Makes You Rage

SPEAKER_01 56:52

However, before we end the episode, I do have a question. And uh feel free to answer this question uh in the comments if you like in our social medias and stuff, is Harley. What is a game that has pissed you off so much to the point where you want to break your controller, but you still come back to that game? And that could be video game, or that could be board game, or that could be mancala. Anything.

SPEAKER_03 57:31

For me, has gotten to that point because yes, in in like a brief moment I will get heated just because I will feel like I got cheated, or maybe there was a weird lag incident right when I was gonna win or something. But overall I actively try to not let myself dwell in anger on anything. And to have and first for that to bleed into something that I do to relax, I just I either have to get it out of my life or or remind myself that that's not who I want to be.

SPEAKER_01 58:19

Yes, and I feel like for you, I know you're not a quitter, but I feel like if a game pisses you off, like you're like, alright, well, that's not what I get online for and you go do something else, you know.

SPEAKER_03 58:31

It could there could certainly be games like that. I've I've tried plenty of games where the mechanics or the storyline or what have you just don't jive with my desire for fun or relaxation or what have you. And so I just I just let 'em go by the wayside because whatever, it's not like I just spent eighty dollars on that one game. Because I usually play off of um like my subscription to Game Pass. But yeah. If it doesn't serve me, there's just not I don't see any reason to continue to burn myself out on it.

SPEAKER_01 59:13

And I I wish I had the same response. I wish uh there was a game that didn't get to me like that. Uh besides Monopoly, Monopoly, man, I'm just awful, dude. I'm too nice. I'm like, you're like, can I have that building?

SPEAKER_02 59:26

I go, alright.

SPEAKER_01 59:29

Which is not how Monopoly works. I'm just not good with that game, but um I I've flipped the board game a time or two. But this game, man, Marvel Rivals, easily is the most soul-crushing, anger-inducing, sweaty, sweaty game of all time. And uh I don't know why I subject myself to this torture. Uh maybe I'm a masochist, maybe I'm a secret masochist, maybe I just like it.

SPEAKER_03 59:58

Um I think you just have a uh a drive to try and prove yourself better than others, and you're like, I'm pretty sure I can be so awesome at this game. And so you just keep pushing yourself and pushing yourself.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:17

But I'll never beat the no-jobs.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:20

Yeah, while you still have a nine to five, good frickin' luck.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:24

I'll never beat the no-jobbers and the no-showers.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:29

Or the ones who this is their job.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:31

Yeah, or the streamers, yes, yes. Um, but if you like suffering, if you like pain, and if you like subjecting yourself to soul altering torture, then give Marvel Rivals a try. Um it's a great competitive game. Uh just don't say I didn't warn you.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:50

It's so great he hates to love it, and loves to hate it.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:54

Oh, I love it.

unknown 1:00:55

And I hate it.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:58

And uh with that, guys, uh, thank you so much for listening.

Final Thanks And Sign Off

SPEAKER_01 1:01:02

We sincerely appreciate the like, follow, comment, whatever you guys can do, and we appreciate you most of all. So thank you, and catch you on the next one.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:13

And keep those gloves up. Cause it's wild out there, y'all.