I'M JUST TRYING TO GET HOME!

A single card can make you feel everything at once: hype, disbelief, frustration, and that deep-fan satisfaction when the undercard delivers. We start by catching up on UFC 329 with the moments that turned on a dime, from sharp knockouts to fights that got weird in the best and worst ways. Along the way we talk momentum, odds, and what it looks like when a fighter’s timing is just a half-step off against someone locked in.

Then we get into the flashpoints everyone’s debating: Paddy Pimblett landing a shocking 52-second “padlock” submission, and Conor McGregor’s return against Max Holloway ending almost immediately after a single awkward kick. We break down what we saw, why the vibes felt off, and how injuries, matchmaking, and money narratives can color the whole night even when the rest of the card is stacked. From there we shift to Fight Night talk, including Dricus du Plessis vs Kamaru Usman, the “king of Africa” storyline, and the real questions about wear and tear when a legend hits 39.

Finally, we step out of the octagon for a spoiler-light review of Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey: practical effects, IMAX versus standard screens, the volume complaints, and why the cast and pacing still make it land. If you like UFC analysis, fight predictions, and a little culture break with the same energy, this one’s for you. Subscribe, share the show with a friend, leave a review, and tell us: which moment had you staring at the screen in disbelief?

Transcript

Welcome And The Game Plan

SPEAKER_01 0:17

Welcome back, dear listeners, to Peak Points. Today we have for you a UFC episode. We have a little bit of catching up to do, UFC 329, and then two fight nights. We have history that has been made. We have exciting fights upcoming and a few questions at the end and maybe a quick movie review that Alan and I have recently seen and enjoyed thoroughly and would suggest anyone watch for a little bit of cultural enrichment.

Cyclops Versus Jon Jones Debate

SPEAKER_01 0:57

The Odyssey baby.

SPEAKER_00 0:59

Wow, I don't even want to draw that one out to Because right off the bat I'm gonna ask y'all, would you rather fight that Colossus, that uh Cyclops, or John Jones, but he's trying to kill you like full on like no rules, murder you.

SPEAKER_01 1:18

That one's a tough one. Depends on where you're at.

SPEAKER_00 1:21

I was thinking about that all day, bro, and I was like, at first I was like, oh, easy, John Jones.

SPEAKER_01 1:27

But then I was like the Cyclops isn't all that bright.

SPEAKER_00 1:32

You could try to escape him, the Cyclops, yeah. But if he catches you, you're you're eaten for sure. And that's a question that we'll do at the end, baby.

UFC 329 Early Prelims Check-In

SPEAKER_00 1:44

Anyway, let's get into the octagon. Uh, I wanted to catch everybody off guard.

SPEAKER_01 1:50

That caught me off guard a bit.

SPEAKER_00 1:52

Never let them know your next move. Remember that, listener.

SPEAKER_01 1:57

Yeah, there were a few of that in uh UFC 329.

SPEAKER_00 2:01

Exactly. Exactly. There were a few of those moments. You know, not much to say about the last one, but we'll start off with the early prelims. I just want to talk about one of them on there, uh, a couple of them on their uh first one, Damian Pinas, by uh and Caesar Almeida. Unfortunately, Cesar Almeida has not had a good run in the UFC so far. Transitioning from you know his his background and having you know being like a great prospect for the UFC and to like now it's just L after L after L. Shout out to Pinas though, I'm very excited that he did good in that one. Uh Tracy Cortez, you know, going all the way from you know being a contender to all the way down early prelims and now another L, dude. I don't know. Yeah, it's it's a rough road she's had. It's it's a rough road, unfortunately. Um I really hope she could get her head back in the game, dude.

SPEAKER_01 3:03

For her sake, absolutely.

Fast Finishes And Rising Names

SPEAKER_00 3:05

Moving on to the prelims, Luke Riley versus uh Kamaka. Luke Riley, amazing KO in that one. Um he looks nasty, dude. This guy's success.

SPEAKER_01 3:20

That was a very Abrupt fight.

SPEAKER_00 3:25

Abrupt is perfect, yes.

SPEAKER_01 3:27

It wasn't it wasn't one of those long-drawn out, like, oh my god, where is the KO finally gonna come? It was just like dang oh wow, this is this is looking like it's gonna be a really solid fight. I'm excited for round two, and then bam.

SPEAKER_00 3:40

And speaking about abrupt, the following one, Bantamway about Cody Garbrant versus uh Edrian Yannis. Oh man. I was going for Garbant on this one. I was very excited to see him back in action. Uh I'm a Cody Garbant fan. I I'm a prime Cody Garbant fan, I guess you could say, when he was champion. Uh, and it's just we're we look a long ways away from that, unfortunately, for Garbant.

SPEAKER_01 4:10

It does seem that he has lost his path as far as that's concerned.

SPEAKER_00 4:16

Uh but someone that didn't lose their path, Yannis looked amazing in that one. Looked great, looked crisp, boxing amazing, obviously. Hitting him with a nasty key.

SPEAKER_01 4:25

He was locked in on that one. Locked in. I mean, which isn't to say Garbrant looked sloppy or anything. Uh yeah. He just didn't look quite as crisp, and Adrian just looked good. He he had the he had his number. Looked fresh. Pretty much from the get-go.

SPEAKER_00 4:43

Uh and that was an exciting fight, unfortunately, for Coder Garbrandt. It was not, uh, but uh, you know, the odd makers had it right on that one. Uh you know, obviously Giannis was a minus four hundred favorite on that one, but you know, still I don't I go for the underdog. Yeah. Uh except for in this case, with the Gable Stevenson making his awaited, I guess, uh appearance in the UFC, his debut, uh, people were exciting, excited to see what he'll do, uh, and they really thought he was gonna do that wrestling, but he hasn't done much wrestling in any of his fights so far, I will say.

SPEAKER_01 5:23

Uh kept it uh pretty solidly on the feed, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 5:27

Uh but I will say I know he got that first round KO, and it's in the heavyweight division, and all the chips are behind him, and he has the world ahead of him with this everybody The world is his oyster. The world is oyster at the moment. He's got John Jones, the goat, in his back. But Ellison, he put up a good scrap for that time being. And I, you know for as long as the fight lasted. I mean, it is the heavyweight division.

SPEAKER_01 5:56

It was, but that was a much more active heavyweight fight than we typically see these days.

SPEAKER_00 6:02

Minus 1600, uh Gable Stevenson, that's insane. Uh uh I I like this Ellison guy, though, also. I think he put up a good scrap. Uh and Gable Stevenson, he showed that he has a good chin. However, this is the heavyweight division.

SPEAKER_01 6:21

Can't rely on a solid chin.

SPEAKER_00 6:24

As we say, keep them gloves up, dude. Cause that is that's the division to really practice hand, you know, hand defense, I would say. For sure.

Whitaker’s Light Heavyweight Statement

SPEAKER_00 6:38

Uh Nikita Kryloff versus Robert Whitaker making his debut. A war. I loved it. I love that. I I love that fight. Um I did not love the commentary on it and how they kind of disrespected Robert Whitaker. They did.

SPEAKER_01 6:55

I'm not saying Rogan made made if you were just listening to what Rogan was saying, you would have expected Robert Whitaker to look like a freaking ball of fat.

SPEAKER_00 7:06

They were sending him and everything, bro.

SPEAKER_01 7:08

I mean, they kept complimenting him too, but they kept making it sound like he looked like uh a blob. A blob.

SPEAKER_00 7:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 7:16

Made him made him sound like he looked like uh Derek Lewis.

SPEAKER_00 7:20

And they made him sound like that he was tiny. He was short. Like super short, which I know he is kind of short. Relative to Krylov, he was definitely a few inches shorter, but for sure they were commenting on the the the physicality of it, you know, of course.

SPEAKER_01 7:34

But Whitaker was fast.

SPEAKER_00 7:37

He looked fast and crisp. I will say the first round, uh Nikritok is definitely really putting the work on him and did show a size difference or size advantage.

SPEAKER_01 7:49

Like the last half of the first round, it really looked kind of scary for Whitaker.

SPEAKER_00 7:54

Exactly. Uh it looked like, damn, there really is a size difference. And no, I'm not saying that he's fat. They're saying.

SPEAKER_01 8:02

Um, however, Krylov just has a bigger frame.

SPEAKER_00 8:05

Yeah, just he's just he's like a more natural, light heavyweight, I would say. Um and Robert Whitaker in the second round came out blazing, showing the speed advantage and rocking Krylov every chance he got, and Krylov could not keep up. Yeah. And in the third round, where it came, you know, in the theme of abrupt with a nasty KO by Robert Whitaker, seemingly, and I'm not saying this is confirmed, breaking Nikita Krylov's jaw. Just throwing that out there. That's insane. For Robert Whitaker making his light heavyweight debut, you know.

SPEAKER_01 8:44

It was a stellar debut for him.

SPEAKER_00 8:46

Stellar, and also not to mention the comparisons to uh, you know, the little rivalry they had with Paulo Costa, who is also had a great debut in the light heavyweight division. And they're in the same division again. Uh so he's chasing Costa. I don't know. I think he already said that he doesn't care about fighting them, but if it happens, it happens. But he's looking for obviously higher up on the rung. But I don't know. The way the light heavyweight division is stacking up, it's very, very, very interesting though.

SPEAKER_01 9:22

It is. That light heavyweight's looking pretty fun to watch.

SPEAKER_00 9:25

Pretty fun to watch.

Green Chaos And Flyweight Firefight

SPEAKER_00 9:27

Uh speaking of fun to watch in the main card, performance of the night, King Green versus Terrence McKinney.

SPEAKER_01 9:34

That was a weird fight.

SPEAKER_00 9:37

Weird. Yes. Really weird. I would say weird ending more than anything.

SPEAKER_01 9:41

Weird ending, really weird interview after. I shouldn't say really weird. We've seen a lot weirder. Right. But plenty weird. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:51

Play strange.

SPEAKER_01 9:52

But that whole that whole round was just weird. Because you would it would look like, oh, Keen King has got this. And then next and then next for a little while it'd be like McKinney is going to just mop the floor with him. And then he I thought for sure the ref was gonna call it. You know, like it was strange. It was kind of cool see a couple of times. A couple of times for sure King was gone.

SPEAKER_00 10:19

And he wasn't, he survived. I will say that did show a lot of tenacity, and that was the exciting part. Uh and not stopping the fight during that transition was great. Uh I I do like seeing that. I I love seeing that. He obviously stood up and it did look like Terrence McKinney used a lot of energy in that.

SPEAKER_01 10:36

Oh yeah, he did gas himself.

SPEAKER_00 10:38

I will agree with some of the comments saying that was a very strange finish. Um but a finish nonetheless, you know, it you know, unfortunately for Terrence McKinney, getting finished or finishing someone is not nothing new to him. Yeah. So it's like, you know, either way, it did seem on paper like one of these guys was gonna go out. Uh in the first round, 459, which is very interesting. Um, all around kind of interesting, and yeah.

SPEAKER_01 11:11

Just how and how for me, one of the weird things about the interview was just how cocky Green was, even though he was getting his ass handed to him.

SPEAKER_00 11:20

Typical, yes.

SPEAKER_01 11:22

Then he was acting like he was just like king of the world and nobody can touch him.

SPEAKER_00 11:27

It was it was odd. Yeah, it was all around odd, and I know that these guys, I think they're like he was a little concussed.

SPEAKER_01 11:34

I I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 11:35

Uh afterward, Brandon Roy Val and Alone Kavanaugh earning the fight of the night.

SPEAKER_01 11:43

They earned that every step of the way. That was a scrap. That was a great fight.

SPEAKER_00 11:48

Oh my god. Back and forth.

SPEAKER_01 11:51

I know his flyweight, so you don't have as much power. But the speed, the per uh the precision, and the power for their frame size was there was there. And they were using it. Oh my word, yes. And they were toughing it out from each other. It was great.

SPEAKER_00 12:09

And rocking each other like one would fall, and then the next couple minutes the next would fall, and then again the other guy would fall. It was so evenly matched. So evenly matched until the very end, third round, three minutes and forty seconds, with Brandon Royal getting that nasty knockdown and finishing it with a submission is ultimately impressive. And myself as a Royal fan, the last loss where he got, you know, bodied by a you know cop, it was very sad for me to see, but it was like this is his style, you know. Brandon Royal is a very exciting fighter. Yeah. And when you're an exciting fighter, you take more risks, you know, and you make you make the fun the fight fun. Unfortunately, it's dangerous.

SPEAKER_01 12:55

It is a very dangerous way to fight.

SPEAKER_00 12:57

And uh, this was a dangerous fight, man. These guys were were definitely going at it, and I don't think even with the loss, Kavanaugh did not lose any stock. Uh he's a young little phenom dude. This guy is this guy's good, man. Uh I think they both get the flowers for this one.

SPEAKER_01 13:13

I think it definitely showcased that he deserves to be where he's at. Absolutely zero questions asked, and with a little more seasoning, he's going to be some serious contender.

SPEAKER_00 13:30

Absolutely. I I absolutely agree. Uh I look forward to each of these guys' fights in their career further on. And another exciting fight after that was Corey Sandhagen versus Mario Bautista.

Pimblett’s Padlock And McGregor Fallout

SPEAKER_00 13:42

Uh this was a great showing of great skill on both guys. Like this Bantamweight division is is stacked as well. You know, just as I was saying about the flyweight division previously after this one, like if you want to see what the flyweight's about, this fight, that fight was about, and then you go to this one, like this is an exciting fight for these for this division, and it shows great skill on both sides, and I think that was exciting, exciting. Uh, even though it ended in unanimous decision, I think Mario Bautista did earn that one. I feel like Corey Sanhagen started a little slow, and I think he his pace was kind of off in this one. But it did seem he get he got injured with uh one of the takedowns, and like uh Mario Bautista hit him with a nasty like transition behind his hamstring. And Sanhagen posting a picture of his leg afterward. Oh really? Completely black and purple, like the bottom of it, like it looked like something happened hamstring wise. Uh nothing confirmed. I'm really hoping nothing crazy happened to Sanhagen. Right. Um because I want to see him fight soon again just because obviously this loss back to back. But look who he's losing to not the best looks, but you know, look who he's losing to, uh, you know, Marab and At least at least he's only losing to ranked. I mean, he's only losing to the crop, the cream of the crop, so they say. Right. Uh Mario Bautista only on his way up. And speaking of on the way up, another performance of the night.

SPEAKER_01 15:16

A brand new submission, at least to me. I've I've never heard or seen this submission before.

SPEAKER_00 15:22

The submission they're calling the padlock.

SPEAKER_01 15:25

And it's that's a fantastic name for it.

SPEAKER_00 15:30

Uh well, here is what to say about it because the walk-ins lasted longer than the uh fight almost did pretty much, you know. They did. Uh Benoit St. Denis versus Patty Pimlet. Uh a fight that everybody was excited to see. Uh everybody was talking about it, uh, and it just it drew so much attention because both these gentlemen are dogs, respectfully. Benoit Saint Denis, he's always looking for war, whether he makes a mistake or not. Uh and Patty Pimlet, you know, is is a phenom i in the lightweight division, is a name that's taken over, especially after this card and and the hype it had because of the Mystic MacGregor as the headline. And let's not get into that yet. And Patty Pimlett is drawing as much attention as as possible. He's looking like a superstar.

SPEAKER_01 16:30

Yeah. Honestly, Patty Pimlet to me was way more exciting of a prospect for fighting than than ever seeing McGregor fight for any reason. And regardless of the outcome that did happen, I watched this this whole fight card more to see Patty fight than to see McGregor fight. Or to see Hall, I I Patty and and Holloway were the two that I actually wanted to see. Yeah, I get I certainly didn't give to Hoots or Holler about McGregor.

SPEAKER_00 16:58

I I definitely get you, uh unfortunate, I mean, for the McGregor fans. However, as I was saying about the Patty Pimla stardom, it it just it seems so organic, you know, given that his performances, given that he's won against dogs, given that he even lost against Gagey and gained stock from that. Especially after the Toporia fight. You know what I mean? Uh and Patty his entrance it has now become one of my favorites with the one that just happened right here, man. Yeah. This BSD uh versus Patty Pimlet, his entrance was one for the books, one to remember, one that got the crowd hyped, the crowd singing, dancing, you can see them singing and dancing to him. And then like I said, his walkout just screamed Aura. Yeah. Just screamed Aura. And him smiling on the way to the cage, happy, excited, fun, relaxed, relaxed. All of that culminating to the finish of someone who they saw was a killer, Benoit Saint Denis.

SPEAKER_01 18:14

In and I mean, to be fair, legitimately, uh pretty much everyone was shocked to see Patty go for a submission that quick on him.

SPEAKER_00 18:23

On BSD that fast.

SPEAKER_01 18:25

Yeah, you you you just don't expect someone to who's primarily a striker to go after a submission artist with a submission. Much less to land it. Yeah, and showed that he's he's got the fighting IQ to go with all of his other skills.

SPEAKER_00 18:45

Ultimately he became the man in this one, um earning himself a fifty-two second submission over Benoit Saint Denis, and something that shocked everybody because it was so impressive, and shocked everybody because BSD made a massive mistake in going in head first bully rushing him, and knowing that the guillotine is there, however, like you said, Patty Pimlet putting out a submission that I don't think I've ever seen before either. Yeah uh very impressive, crank the net completely, locked it in, what people are calling the padlock.

SPEAKER_01 19:23

Yeah, and and as as Patty had mentioned in his post-fight interview, was talking about how they knew that BSD was going to go for that kind of takedown sooner or later. And so he trained and trained and trained genius for that specific maneuver, and the fact that it happened so quick was awesome for Patty Vima because BSD wasn't sweaty yet. So he could really lock it in.

SPEAKER_00 19:55

Lock it in, cinched it in. And to your point, I I I love that you you added that right now because not to mention the the IQ of the fighter, the the the tenacity of the fighter and the skill, but to mention the coaching staff and the people behind him who really study those tapes and learn tendencies that ultimately someone could take advantage of. Someone with the skills of Patty Pimlet makes it look easy, and that's what he did, made it look easy in 52 seconds. Uh I think not not only earning himself performance of the night, but earning himself a name that may have even stood on top of Conor McGregor. And speaking about that, we got that Conor McGregor fight versus Max Holloway. Uh amazing fight, one of my favorites that I've seen in like, oh my god, I've this is was so good. Tag inducing. It was so impressive, like the skill.

SPEAKER_01 20:54

Anyway, Holloway spent more time talking to the ref than he did fighting.

SPEAKER_00 20:59

Anyway. Uh sarcasm. Because that was crazy. Uh, you know, I myself and some other friends that have have spoken about this, and also I've heard from other media outlets that walkout, Connor McGregor's walkout seemed a little off. More so than his usual walkouts, you know, where he's very confident and very I call him the peacock. Yeah. Because he peacocks, you know, everything. And uh something was off to me, man. Before we get into the fight, I know that there's a lot of this stigma going on, or a lot of this the uh theories going on, frankly, that he was hurt coming into this fight. I've even seen videos of him walking into the pain management and stuff like that. That's neither here nor there.

SPEAKER_01 21:49

There is those videos, but there's also the videos of him practicing that exact kick without any flinching in the warm up.

SPEAKER_00 21:56

Precisely my point. Um, and that leads to that. You know, his warm-up prior to walking out was that exact kick where it looked clean, it looked good. It's different when you're against the moving target. Oh, for sure. However, you know, I'm also hearing why did he do that? Why did he go for that kick? You know, and I myself was thinking that for a short time. However, I know that you're not really a fan of McGregor, and you haven't really seen a lot of his fights post this one before this one. Yeah. Uh however, I I grew up watching McGregor and know that in all his fights, he's basically started with something explosive. Not that kick in particular, but he always starts with something explosive.

SPEAKER_01 22:41

One of his explosive stylistic points.

SPEAKER_00 22:44

That one, unfortunately, at uh 38 years old and not having fought in the last five years, not having won in the last six years, it's a really big ask to do to put your whole weight on a knee at that that age, that time, that kick, that opponent, all of that. And I know that it's unfortunate for the people who uh you know paid to watch that live, you know.

SPEAKER_01 23:14

And in in particular, speaking to the kick. In his warm-ups doing that kick, he was not doing the running lunge that he was in the middle of when he went to spring up to do the jump. He looked really out of position for that kind of a a launch into a kick out of everything. When you like when you're looking at the slow-mo, yeah. He looked really out of position and like he was forcing it. And I understand it in the moment you have to work with what where you're at and what you've got. But uh definitely seems like it was a poor decision on his part.

SPEAKER_00 23:55

Uh very poor decision. Um and in the first uh strike of the match, he did that jump kick landing awkwardly on his right knee. It was the left leg that got was injured previously, so now he's got the right knee to deal with. And it's like, damn, dude, you know, this guy cannot catch a break because he lands awkwardly. And you could see on the video, like, this is not a good landing on that knee. And the way it twisted, not good.

SPEAKER_02 24:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 24:23

Uh uh, and nobody knew what was happening, and he's on the ground, and he he's getting striked up by Max Holloway. Shout out to Max Holloway and showing compassion and showing that you know we're here, we're here to kill each other. However, he's still a human being, and telling the ref, like, dude, like this guy can't fight. However, he was hearing McGregor say, fight, keep going, keep fighting me, keep going. And and the ref has to oblige to a point, to a point to a point, McGregor getting up, not being able to put weight on it, he throws another stupid kick, and he just falls again. He can't get up, he can't stand up. Stands up one more time, can't put any weight on that leg anymore. Yep. The ref is gonna stop that immediately. He sees you limping like that, no matter what you do, you're you're not gonna continue on that fight.

SPEAKER_01 25:18

That's not gonna that fight's done.

SPEAKER_00 25:20

Shout out to Max Holloway. I know this was a bad look for McGregor, and unfortunately the interview was kind of a bad look on Max Holloway afterward. But shout out to Max Holloway for showing humanity and not murdering Conor McGregor when he had one leg. Yeah, which you could tell. Uh unfortunately, uh I really feel like this fight didn't really mean anything anyway. Um it was a welterweight bout for two guys who are not welterweights, you know. Um you know, come on.

SPEAKER_01 25:52

My my wife said, Is this what we pay $13.99 a month for?

SPEAKER_00 25:58

Yeah, unfortunately.

SPEAKER_01 26:00

And legitimately That was a mistake. Combine that kind of comment with Holloway's comment of I can't remember his exact wording, but basically talking about just the money. Yeah, the paycheck. Oh, now we could get part three. Yeah. That was the bad luck I was talking about. That fight after not that it felt great before then, given that it there was literally no point to have the fight. It felt really gross and like an obvious money grab after that comment.

SPEAKER_00 26:30

Yeah, even worse for sure.

SPEAKER_01 26:31

Even worse. Like it felt confirmed.

SPEAKER_00 26:33

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 26:34

Like it was in the back of your mind, but that that like brought it to the fore. It's like Oh, yeah, we're here for the money, and I don't care about anything.

SPEAKER_00 26:43

I know that he was trying to kind of calm the booze, but I think he really exacerbated that situation a little bit in that case. You know, unfortunate decision. Uh in all fronts, you know, like I said, this is compounded by the fact that the rest of the card was amazing.

SPEAKER_01 27:03

Yeah, it was a it was a pretty good fight night. Or not fight night uh card, yeah, fight card.

SPEAKER_00 27:07

And then to actually to actually end uh, you know, in this fashion, uh with which was supposed to be like a great comeback and all that, you know. And it was crazy because uh someone told me, like, are you excited to see Connor McGregor back? And we've dealt with this before with the Michael Chandler situation and how we got played by that. I felt body bagged when he was supposed to fight him and didn't. He a pinky toe, he had broken a pinky toe, the purple pinky, and uh you know, getting to this point, and I really felt like all the fights that I have seen, you know, not based on recency bias of Conor McGregor's, but his career as a whole, because I did see it. Um I was slightly excited, but like I had set told that person, I'll believe it when I see him in the cage and how he is. Right. And they were like, What what do you mean? And I'm like, precisely that that we've dealt with this before, and this is where all the odds are against someone not just in the sense of MMA math, but in the sense all around lifestyle, age, yeah, uh his time off, time off from camp, time off from training, his probably time off from uh doing normal things because it looks seemed like he had did a bunch of side quests, and yeah. Life gets to you, I think, when you're not really expecting it. And uh unfortunate, very unfortunate.

SPEAKER_01 28:41

And I don't know how true it is or not, but something I was kind of explaining to my wife was that it kind of seems like the McGregor fight with Holloway was more to help finish out a contract than it was to actually accomplish anything because like like you were mentioning earlier, that there was no ranking involved. There was no uh BMF title to on the line, right? To be on the line. It was purely just to have a fight.

SPEAKER_00 29:16

Yeah, it was um uh kind of unfortunate. Um uh unf you know, and before we move on to the next card, I I will say that it does like you were saying about contract stipulations and all that, he does have his last fight confirmed to be for next year. And um I think either way you could be kind of excited. If you're not a fan of him, it's his last fight ever in the UFC. If you are a fan of him, it's his last fight ever in the UFC. And I think that's gonna be big either way. He's just uh sales money kind of guy.

SPEAKER_01 29:50

Yeah, it'll be another three years before his leg will support him enough.

SPEAKER_00 29:53

Uh yeah, who knows if he'll even fight next week. And uh it's all in the air. Uh before we move on, the news. Having to confirm that uh not only was it just an ACL, but it was also an MCL. Umiscus, so he's got double trouble, man. Uh very unfortunate. And we move on to that fight night between Dricus Dupacy versus Uzman.

DDP Versus Usman And Retirement Talk

SPEAKER_00 30:18

For who's the real king of Africa? People are mad. Uh they're saying that Duplace's the king of Africa killer because he's going down the list. And he even going with the memes, saying he's calling out Francis and Gone to finish the last king of Africa. That'd be crazy, bro.

SPEAKER_01 30:41

That would be a wild fight. I don't think it would go in DDP's favor, but that would be a wild fight.

SPEAKER_00 30:46

It's a funny thing that he's going with it and he sees the memes. Uh anyway, we'll start off with some of the ones that really excited me on uh that. Uh fight night, we'll start off with the prelims. Uh RJ Harris versus Elvin Hines in the heavyweight division. I wanted to see this guy do good because um obviously we need some movement in the heavyweight division.

SPEAKER_01 31:09

We do.

SPEAKER_00 31:09

And RJ Harris delivered with a nasty KO uh and looking good for a heavyweight, I would say. Looking good for a heavyweight.

SPEAKER_01 31:18

Yeah, I mean he's he's not a ripped heavyweight, but he he definitely has the power.

SPEAKER_00 31:24

Uh Alden Correa, Flyway Five versus Nickel, and uh putting a great performance. That was crazy odds, minus 1300 Koreans. So I mean uh very excited for him. Uh Ezra Elliott, you know, getting the unanimous decision by uh against Anderson, so that was very exciting. Rodriguez versus Franco earning them performance of the night. What a finish by Franco, man. Uh this guy's one watch, I think. He's he's very exciting.

SPEAKER_01 31:55

Yeah, he he's got the power and skills to make it far if he can uh keep refining.

SPEAKER_00 32:05

Uh Jean Paul vs. Co. uh. obviously Jean Paul won that one by unanimous decision, and then uh Delgado versus Bashi. Uh that was actually not terrible. Uh I was surprised that Boshi lost that one, but it happens. And then we get to the main card with that Tommy McDonald Lord Farquad. That Tommy McMillan, man.

SPEAKER_01 32:28

I'm sorry. He can't he can't have any other name other than Lord Farquad. Not with that haircut.

SPEAKER_00 32:34

And you know, not to mention, uh, this guy's exciting, though. I I think he's putting nothing but great fights up, undefeated, and has Sean O'Malley in his corner. You could kind of see the fight style, you know.

SPEAKER_01 32:48

Damn. A little bit of crossover.

SPEAKER_00 32:50

A little bit of crossover there. Uh beating the brakes on Montez, and uh that was a great fight, dude. I think that was very exciting. Uh 255 total strikes by McMillan. You know, that's insane.

SPEAKER_01 33:03

Yeah, when you look at the record for that one, especially, it's like how did that fight just keep going? Body bag. That should have been called way before the end. Body bag.

SPEAKER_00 33:14

And uh so far uh I've seen Tommy McMillan, uh his fights outside of the UFC as amateur fights as well, and I've also seen his fight in uh in the contender series, and this one is no different. This guy is just a scrapper. So I think he's exciting to see uh Tommy McMillan, uh apparently Lord Farquad. Women's strawberry division after that. Tabitha Ricci versus Klein.

SPEAKER_01 33:42

I've gotta be honest, I found that whole fight incredibly boring.

SPEAKER_00 33:45

Boring and unfortunate for Ricci, who I was going for because she keeps getting bodied now.

SPEAKER_01 33:50

Um unfortunately kind of becoming the uh division's uh body uh punching bag. Punching bag, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 33:58

Uh and I don't know, man. But uh after that, that lightweight div uh division bout chase hooper versus Mitch Ramirez and uh Chase the Gooner, Hooper, he's back, man.

SPEAKER_01 34:10

He I think he's dropped the gooning.

SPEAKER_00 34:12

He's dropped the gooning.

SPEAKER_01 34:12

He looks like a real fighter now.

SPEAKER_00 34:14

Yeah, he he stopped gooning. Um I don't know why he was gooning in the back the whole time before, but uh, fast and intense fight. Uh great submission by Hooper. He looked great. I hope he comes back quick and another great performance with no gooning.

SPEAKER_01 34:31

He took virtually no damage. I think his turn will be pretty quick. Provided that Dana will give him a match. Exactly.

SPEAKER_00 34:38

And speaking of damage, that's Jared Kennanier versus Christian Leroy Duncan, one that I knew was going to be pretty good. And uh Leroy Duncan earning that unanimous decision against uh Jared Cannonier, who seems to be going lower and lower in the list unfortunately.

SPEAKER_01 34:55

Yeah, that one was kind of an odd fight to be seeing as the uh second to last fight. It was I was expecting more from it, given its positioning in the fight card.

SPEAKER_00 35:11

Yeah, exactly. Um mainly because the the Chase Hooper one and the other one were really good, you know, you're kind of it did help to overshadow it for sure. However, one that did not disappoint was the battle for Africa. Rick is duplicacy versus Camaro Usman.

SPEAKER_01 35:32

Man. That was a great fight. Whatever you want to say about it beyond that, you have to give Usman amazing props because he toughed out so many shots that should have put him out.

SPEAKER_00 35:48

Unchenable.

SPEAKER_01 35:49

He absolutely should have been knocked out multiple times. If DDP had been a little bit more aggressive, he probably would have finished it several times prior. Right. But DDP was rightfully respectful of Usman's grappling and power.

SPEAKER_00 36:07

Um and not to say that Usman did not fire back, because there were some pretty nasty shots by Usman.

SPEAKER_01 36:12

Yeah, there were some really close calls for DDP.

SPEAKER_00 36:15

Impressive fight by both these gentlemen. Uh especially Kamaro Usman, like I said, making his middleweight debut, you know, his official middleweight debut. Unfortunate talks of possible retirement that I'm really at least he's contemplating it, you know, even having stated that he has to him and his team has to kind of re-evaluate things, you know. Um see if he wants to go back down in weight class, but I don't know if he wants to go down to 170.

SPEAKER_01 36:48

He looks so good at this weight class.

SPEAKER_00 36:50

He looked good. I I really don't think he lost any stock, man, and he took some he did take a lot of damage, like you said. Uh you know, ultimately Drikas Duplice is the winner here, and uh I frankly he he put one of his best performances I've seen in a long while. Um he looked great against Uzman and he looks ready to fight another contender. Um I'm not seeing him fighting, you know, the you know, I he already fought Strickland. Nobody really wants to see that, you know, again, again, again. Yeah. So nobody wants to see uh Strickland versus uh Draca's duplicacy three. You know, it's just it was it wasn't that good the last two times, and you know everybody thought it was gonna be a funny looking fight, but it was just it was just lame. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 37:43

Um I I do I gotta interject that I absolutely feel for Usman on the the talks about potentially reworking or or retiring because I hadn't realized prior to this conversation, but he's 39. Yep. He he took a lot of damage and at 39 you kinda he probably doesn't want to go back to cutting that much weight to get down to 170, exactly. And I mean I I feel for him. He's he's had an amazing run, and I don't know if he should really keep pushing himself beyond this, you know.

SPEAKER_00 38:29

And to your point, I really don't hope I mean I really hope that he doesn't retire. Um, you know, but at the end of the day, like you're stating all the facts, you know, that Father Time is undefeated, and in this case, he has already cemented himself as one of the greatest of all time in the sport. For certain uh especially in his previous division. Um so it's almost like you don't really have nothing to prove, you know, to this point.

SPEAKER_01 38:55

I think he's given enough of himself that he doesn't need to feel obligated to continue going at this point if it's not the right choice for him. I I think it's perfectly valid if he wants to retire. I think it's perfectly reasonable for him to at this point.

SPEAKER_02 39:12

Yep.

SPEAKER_01 39:14

So no shade of resentment to Usman, whatever his decision. I just hope it's the best for him.

SPEAKER_00 39:23

Uh you know, I I I agree. It's it's kind of uh a slippery slope, as they say. And we move on to uh the fight night that

Morning Card Mayhem And Workday Pain

SPEAKER_00 39:33

just passed. It was a morning one, unfortunate. I was at work, but I was still watching it.

unknown 39:38

Shh.

SPEAKER_01 39:39

No, you don't do that.

SPEAKER_00 39:41

More on that later. Uh Cody Gibson to start it off versus uh Hussein and uh finished to start off the night. Very impressive. Uh Alia versus Davis, unanimous decision by Aliyev. Uh to uh two uh I was actually excited for this on uh Maghmed Tikalov versus Brendan Ribero and Tukalov was a minus 900, and that's why, you know, because of his performance, he showed out. I think he won that one for sure. He put in the work for sure. Bone feme. I thought he was gonna win this one, uh Ishmael Bonefame versus Sola. And Sola put up put a body bag on him, unfortunately, man.

SPEAKER_01 40:20

Bonefeme just Yeah, he He kind of beat the brakes off of him, honestly.

SPEAKER_00 40:26

Uh exactly. It just did not look too great for this Bonefame. I know that his other brother is uh doing amazing right now. Gabrielle Bonfeme. Right he's doing amazing, getting massive wins and making a name for himself, and you would want to see it for your sibling. And it's just not coming out for Ismail Bonefame. Uh, this is back-to-back horrible performances, in my opinion, and I don't know what he's saying.

SPEAKER_01 40:53

He just seemed woefully unprepared for the striking game of Zola, which is weird because he had a full fight camp.

SPEAKER_00 41:01

Exactly.

SPEAKER_01 41:02

So I don't I don't know what was going on there.

SPEAKER_00 41:04

And speaking about back-to-back bad performances, Santiago Ponzanibio cannot catch a break. But uh Sam Patterson looking amazing. Uh per usual. I I'm I'm a fan of Sam Patterson, honestly. I like his fight style, um, I like his demeanor, and uh he's a great fighter, obviously.

SPEAKER_01 41:26

He is and not to diminish Santiago, he he fought pretty well. There was a few times where I I was kind of expecting him to continue like to grab the lead and continue with it. But but Patterson, he's he's a scrapper and he he doesn't he doesn't get knocked on his heels and stay there. He he takes the and learns and comes back, which is what you kind of need to expect out of your opponent, but he he did it really well, in my opinion.

SPEAKER_00 42:06

Uh you look up tenacity in the dictionary, it's a picture of Sam Patterson, because that's what he does. I mean, uh I've seen his other fights and he's very exciting. And uh after that, Dustin Jacoby versus Mohammed Saidoff, another finish back to back to back. Man, what a card. And uh Sidoff ultimately finishes Jacoby in the second round, unfortunate for Jacoby. Uh, but Mohammed Saidoff looking good in that one.

SPEAKER_01 42:36

He he did look really what like clean and like he knew he went in there with a game plan and it just flowed from there.

SPEAKER_00 42:46

And speaking of flow, Valter the heel hook master Walker with another submission in the first round.

SPEAKER_01 42:54

This guy Thomas almost got out of it too.

SPEAKER_00 42:58

Oh close. Dude, Walter Walker touches your leg, consider it amputated. Because he's gonna find a way. And earning his fifth submission in a row, ladies and gentlemen, uh in a row, that that's that's crazy. He didn't get a fifth heel hook in a row, though. No, he introduced another part of the leg.

SPEAKER_01 43:18

Getting this many submissions in heavyweight is exceedingly rare, especially in today's era of heavyweight.

SPEAKER_00 43:26

It's both cool and sad because the heavyweight division is sad. But this guy, this guy, I don't know, man.

SPEAKER_01 43:33

But we have we have a few people now who are really starting to show up and make it seem like the division is worth watching. Oh, yeah. I wouldn't say half of the division is worth fighting or watching, but I think a solid quarter of them are worth watching.

SPEAKER_00 43:51

And uh including Vulture Walker, because uh he's very exciting. I I I like him, I like his fight style. I wanted him to get another Yo hug just so he. Could it be a legend? Like maybe his next one. Another heel cook, bro. Six heel uh five heel hooks in a row and six submissions in a row.

SPEAKER_01 44:09

All right, man. Regardless, that's fair. That's a fantastic row. Run.

SPEAKER_00 44:13

Uh excellent way to end the prelims. Uh that's what, four s four finishes in a row? That's insane.

SPEAKER_01 44:19

That's that's pretty wild for prelims.

SPEAKER_00 44:21

Uh moving on to the May card, uh Vagea versus uh Saiged. Um I was very excited for this one to see what what that would bring, because typically, you know, it's not that exciting to see Russians versus Russians. But I think these guys were kind of on the same wavelength as far as skill goes, but obviously uh Abu Bakr he ended up put pulling along forward in the lead, so uh I mean I I can't say I really enjoyed the fight.

SPEAKER_01 44:51

Yeah, it was I didn't hate it.

SPEAKER_00 44:53

It wasn't that great for sure.

SPEAKER_01 44:55

But it was very middle of the road.

SPEAKER_00 44:57

And uh speaking of not middle of the road and exciting heavyweight division, huh? Fight of the night, Riz Vencunia versus Tyro Fortune, uh this was a good heavyweight fight. This was a scrap.

SPEAKER_01 45:11

That one was surprising. I I kept seeing moments where I was like, oh man, Fortune's gonna win this. Oh man, Cuniv's gonna win this. Yep.

SPEAKER_00 45:24

And I really thought, like you said, like that Tyro Fortune was gonna have this one. It just looked like he was hitting those overhands and catching Kuniev off guard. However, props to both these gentlemen in the heavyweight division, and I think they they really deserve that fight of the night, given that this is a far departure from Riz and Kuniev's last fight, which they considered boring. And uh this one, he was like, no, I'm not gonna allow this one to be boring.

SPEAKER_01 45:56

And he didn't.

SPEAKER_00 45:57

And he didn't. Great fight earning him that finish in the third round, a minute twelve left, uh, very exciting. Uh another great fight, John Pork. Uh, I mean Chanko. Uh uh Zynakov versus uh Zabesky. Uh what a scrap. Uh Zinakoff started off a little slow in the beginning, and I was excited because I saw his record-breaking performance in the uh contender series, this last contender series, to get into the UFC. Right. He put on like a hundred plus strikes on uh in that contender series against someone showing massive uh skill stamina in the striking realm, because that's what he is, is majorly a striking, a departure from the Dagastanis, who are usually to see a uh Magabad go for primarily striking. And that's to say to the camp of uh Kabib that he really wants to show not just grappling, you know. Obviously, he was predominantly grappling, centric, and then Islam was supposed to be the 2.0 Kabib, but because he has better striking than Khib, right? Right, and then now this guy Magumed uh Zynica, who this is back-to-back striking clinics he's put on. Like I said towards the beginning, he was starting off a little slow, but then he was putting these nasty combinations together, nasty elbows, some of the nastiest clinchwork I've seen with the elbows uh in a while. It's very great. Refreshing to see elbows, yeah, frankly, be used this effectively.

SPEAKER_01 47:35

They're kind of rare these days. And uh this guy put on a another amazing performance uh in this one, and and I know you were saying earlier that uh Patterson, you look up in the dictionary and you see Patterson. I think you need to also consider the fact that you probably see Damien too. Yeah. Because he he got kicked in the mouth. Like, the front kicks were nasty. Yes. Literally the foot went into his mouth and pulled his mouth guard out.

SPEAKER_00 48:09

Yep.

SPEAKER_01 48:10

Like, and he kept going.

SPEAKER_00 48:11

And he kept going. He he never gave up, never surrendered. Uh Zabesky earned major stock for this one. However, the toughness is just the toughness is crazy, and Zynakov earning him another fight and another hundred plus total strike fight.

SPEAKER_01 48:27

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_00 48:28

This guy is is cooking, dude. Uh, I'm excited to see his next fight. Uh I think he has to embrace the John Pork and embrace the meme, bro. Be like Drus Duplace, embrace the memes.

SPEAKER_01 48:41

It it does help with fan engagement.

SPEAKER_00 48:44

And uh this is where my work day took a turn for the worst. Dun dun dun. Cause I was at work watching this fight and I saw the flyweight fight, Steve Ursig versus uh Temurov. Uh and a lot of people like that Temurov guy, and I see why. Because I was going for Ursig, I like Ursig. Uh unfortunate for Astro Boy, he just is getting chinned right now in the UFC.

SPEAKER_01 49:11

He was not prepared for the way Tamiro fights. He was not prepared for it at all.

SPEAKER_00 49:20

Oh freaking dude. It's like he got flatlined and face planted, unfortunately.

SPEAKER_01 49:25

It was it was almost like he Ursig doesn't know how to fight anyone who's shorter than him, almost. It was like he couldn't like really find his range and just kept getting side blasted by him.

SPEAKER_00 49:41

So imagine me a Steve Ursig fan, uh, and um like I said, performance of the night, Tamarov, all the flowers in the world, I really like him, especially uh I think he earned his place in the rankings because of this performance against a ranked fighter. But um having to witness that while on the phone with a customer, you ever do the silent cries like silent scream of desperation. You know, she's asking me some dumbass question, and I'm out here watching one of my one of my fighters that like get bodied like that. He got flatlined, bro. That was a nasty knockout. He got flatlined, he looked like a dead body. That was intense, intense. Uh and man, I was just upset, and I wanted to tell her, like, ma'am, I need a moment.

SPEAKER_01 50:40

Things are happening in the real world, you know, not in your little fantasy.

SPEAKER_00 50:45

I have my own problems, lady. I have my own problems. Handle it yourself. And that's when I texted the group chat, you know, they were all saying like Steve were saying that was crazy, you know, what just happened, and that they wanted to cry. And I I agreed. Unfortunate, I was on the phone with a customer.

SPEAKER_01 51:04

Yeah, so I couldn't even You didn't have the opportunity to have it have the cry that you needed.

SPEAKER_00 51:09

I couldn't even, man, but uh, you know.

SPEAKER_01 51:13

And keep that customer service persona going.

SPEAKER_00 51:16

Uh and uh to end the night, that Makamev Ankalaya versus Bogdan Guskov originally supposed to be Khalil Roundtree Jr.

SPEAKER_01 51:25

Would have been so much better of a fight.

SPEAKER_00 51:27

Would have been so much better because a lot of people didn't put up a good fight.

SPEAKER_01 51:33

Right. But he clearly was not fully prepared for Ankalayev.

SPEAKER_00 51:37

Yeah, I really feel like in the sense of you know, fight styles make fights kind of thing. Uh I know that Ankalaev was getting frustrated because he kept saying that Guskov was running from him, and that seems to be the unfortunate consensus for a lot of the uh media members right now are saying that Guskov did kind of run a little bit in that fight. I understand it. You know, Ankalaev is scary, but you're fighting for his position, and unfortunately, I really feel like Ankalaev is still the number one contender for this division. Um I do think that Poeton left a large hole in the division, and uh everybody's trying to fill it right now, no Diddy, you know. So unfortunate for Guskov, and I really, really like I was telling you off air, I really want to see that Ankalia vs. Roundtree Jr. fight more than ever.

SPEAKER_01 52:35

Oh man, I so badly want to see that. I want to see it. Roundtree He's such a good fighter. I know we haven't seen a lot of that showcased as far as wins, but he's made those people who have beat him earn that victory every single time. Every single time. I just I just want to see him pull off a win.

SPEAKER_00 52:59

Yeah, he's a dog. He's such a good fighter. Good fighter, good guy, uh great role model, um, and I I ri I'm a big fan of uh of Khalil Ranci Jr. Uh uh, you know. I really hope that this fight happens, and let's see where Ankalaev ends up now that he's number one contender and won another fight.

SPEAKER_01 53:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 53:21

And uh it's just kind of uh a different thing in that light heavyweight division, like I was saying. I think it's like shaping up to be really, really exciting. There's so many great fights to make and so many chances for great opportunities for these fighters in that division. Um also great for the uh Paramount era. I feel like, you know, the last couple years of the ESPN era were kind of unfortunate for fight cards, and these fight cards have been pretty amazing for this Paramount era.

SPEAKER_01 53:56

Speaking of comparison of ESPN era versus Paramount Era, I've been seeing some grumblings of an upcoming numbered fight. The next one, 330, that people are they're like trying to grumble that it's it's a terrible card, but realistically speaking, that was your average ESPN. The worst Paramount card we've seen so far was your average ESP.

SPEAKER_00 54:25

For the most part, towards the end it was pretty bad. And um before we get to that 330, we move on to the fight night coming up.

Next Fight Nights And UFC 330 Outlook

SPEAKER_00 54:33

Uh Maine is Urus Madich versus Daniel Rodriguez. Hopefully, Daniel Rodriguez doesn't need a Madage. How many times have I used that joke on this show now? Never gets old. Never gets old. Because then I come back the next episode and I'm like, man, he needed a medic. You know Um Hopefully that doesn't happen because I like Daniel Rodriguez. And I we've seen nothing but dog fights from Daniel Rodriguez so far. Great fights, great performances, great finishes from him. Uh and he disappeared from the limelight. He did. Let me fill you in as to where our friend Daniel Rodriguez was at during that vanishing moment. Dun dun dun I don't want to say anybody's business, but he was in a Mexican prison for I don't know, almost a year. That's insane, bro. That's that's a chunk of time. Dude, a Mexican prison, that that's that is scary.

SPEAKER_01 55:37

It's a different animal.

SPEAKER_00 55:39

It's a different American I don't know, man. It's all it's all very scary and unfortunate because being a Daniel Rodriguez fan, um, it's it's kind of unfortunate. Uh I'm glad he's out. However, Urlos Medic is a hard opponent. A dog fight is gonna ensue. Uh and I'm hoping that Daniel Rodriguez is ready for this, because you know, I'm sure he wasn't really like full camping it inside the Mexican prison. You know, maybe he was fighting for his life every day.

SPEAKER_01 56:08

There was there would be probably a reduction in the uh proper training given the facilities that are available in uh Mexican prison. But he clearly stayed fit and fiddle.

SPEAKER_00 56:24

So Oh man. Let's hope. Let's hope. Um I'm gonna watch this one. I'm very excited. I'm a Daniel Rodriguez fan and becoming a Urus Medic fan, so it's it's um getting complicated for me. Yeah. Uh speaking of complicated, we got a really complicated matchup in this man. Uh light heavyweight about Jan Blahobitz, former heavyweight, uh for former light heavyweight champion and contender, uh, versus number 15 Navajo Sterling. This is a big jump.

SPEAKER_01 56:55

It is a big jump.

SPEAKER_00 56:56

Uh uh I like Jan Blahobitz and I like Navajo Sterling.

SPEAKER_01 57:00

So it's given how active the light heavyweight's been, I can't say I'm surprised that if Jan was gonna have any fight, it was gonna have to reach that deep into the division.

SPEAKER_00 57:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 57:13

But uh it's it's an amazing opportunity for Sterling.

SPEAKER_00 57:18

Amazing opportunity for Sterling. This is uh uh if he wins this one, this will catapult him to the title picture. Uh this is your chance, man. This is the uh uh dropping of the ladder. And this is a long ladder.

SPEAKER_01 57:33

Yep, it is it's a long ladder.

SPEAKER_00 57:35

Four to fifteen. That's insane.

SPEAKER_01 57:37

The next fight is probably the one I'm most excited for out of that whole fight card.

SPEAKER_00 57:42

Rockage making his heavyweight debut against Marching Tybora, who is uh a mainstay of the heavyweight division. Um you you get two things from Marching Tibora, you get uh either a slug or you get a very exciting fight. And I think that with Rockich, it's gonna be one or the other as well. Um I know that Rockich has not had the best performances in his previous division. However, uh this is an even scarier division. This is where uh you know you get hit one time, it's over kind of thing.

SPEAKER_01 58:14

Indeed.

SPEAKER_00 58:15

Um so we'll see where that ends up and uh Robert Valentin after that before that versus uh Todoric. And I I'm excited for this one too, because uh I I like Valentine and I hope that he actually pulls another win.

SPEAKER_01 58:29

Right.

SPEAKER_00 58:30

Uh Steppo versus Orbina. That should be another great fight too. Uh I'm very excited for that one. And uh Jonichich versus Gungnun. Uh I I hope that's another good one, but um you never know.

SPEAKER_01 58:45

I'll be honest, I don't really care about the rest of the card. It's just those those uh last three fights that I really care about.

SPEAKER_00 58:52

Uh and Klein versus Mosayev in the prelims is another exciting fight, though. Um so there are some good fights on this card. I mean, we have uh Mateus Rubeski again versus uh Prepolek, and that's gonna be exciting too. That's one to look out for. Um so I'm very excited for these next coming cards. I'll just gloss over some of the ones coming up uh that are like announced, and actually uh further ahead, uh we got some discussion about that one, that Gamrot vs. Salkit. Yeah. And after that, that 330. Makach vs. Ian Gary. We'll put a little bit of insight into this one because of the flack that we're kind of hearing behind of it, how they're saying it's not the greatest card. However, there are two belts on the line on this one. I think that That carries some weight. That carries some weight, but also I really, really feel in it in in the vein that you started, that some of these new Paramount Plus subscribers, some of these USC fans, have been a little spoiled. Oh, for the colour. To say the least.

SPEAKER_01 59:58

There can't only be banger fights. There's gotta be some people who are working their way up through the rankings, you know?

SPEAKER_00 1:00:06

Absolutely, and who's to say this is not a banger card? Because Isn't a Makachev? I know why they didn't really stack it, because no matter what, people are gonna see a Makachev fight.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:16

And Dern fight. During, as far as on the women's side of things, she's one of the most popular outfits.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:23

And uh this is uh a good fight to kind of set up the title picture even more around that division. Um, however, to start it off, that isn't a Makachev fight versus Ian Machado Gary. I think it's a sleeper fight, man. I know that they're saying it's gonna be good, but I think it's gonna be a very exciting fight. I'm just gonna lay my chips on the table. Um and however suddenly you offer, I really feel like Ian Machado Gary is a dark horse in that division.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:51

Um He has the skill, he has the power. We'll just have to see the thing.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:54

He has the skill, he has the power, he has the durability, he's been through some pretty tough fights. I mean, survive Carlos Protez, who let's see where his next fight goes. Uh I'm hearing rumors of possibly Carlos Protest versus um uh Moreno. Uh so let's see how that goes. Title picture is very exciting.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:15

Honestly, most of this card has some pretty good fighters. They might not be the best of the best.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:23

But they're great.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:24

But you get good fights out of most of most of the rest of this card on the card.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:30

Mackenzie Dern, Robertson, uh Abdul Malik versus uh Dustin and Wells versus Orobai.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:37

Ourobai does not have boring fights.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:39

No, he either gets bodied or he bodies people.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:41

Jalen Turner doesn't have boring fights.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:44

Exactly, versus Fernandez, who is great.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:46

He's not amazing, don't get me wrong, but he has the potential, and I would love to see him utilize it.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:52

Jeff Neal, no boring fights.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:55

Great fighter. Neil Magney.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:57

No boring fights, even though he's been bodied lately. Uh just like Jeff Neil. Uh Vicente Luque doesn't put no boring fights either, so I think that's gonna be exciting.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:06

I think we're gonna I in similar card. In similar vein to how you were saying, Machado Gary is a bit of a dark horse. I think a fair number of these are in similar standings in that regard. They're they're not flashy, but they get the job done and they're they're skilled in their own way.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:26

And uh to my people, my uh my not casuals, I'm gonna give you guys a little pick Rooney right here. The last one, the one that starts the prelims, banger. Edson Barbosa vs. Rebovic.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:39

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:40

One to watch out for, that's all I'm saying. One to watch out for. Um the rest of the year is kind of fleshing out. Some new ones, Hernandez vs. Rodriguez, uh, August 22nd. Uh Numar Gametoff, you know, making his comeback versus Sangadong. You're not telling me that that's not a banger. Uh Dan Hooker versus Out of the UFC prospect, uh Parnas. Uh uh if you're an outside UFC fan, Sal Dean Parnas is a name to look out for. I know I've said that before with other you know fighters, but this is different. I swear. It's always different. Uh on that same card, Michael Venom Page, though. So I think that's a pay uh a card to look out for. So very exciting. Well, we got some really great fights fleshing out the rest of the year. Um, and like I said, all of these cards have been bangers. There has not been a bad card. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:40

There's been fad fights on the bad fights on the card. You're gonna get that no matter who's running the exactly.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:48

Um and moving out of the octagon, we got a little special segment for you guys.

The Odyssey Review Spoiler-Free

SPEAKER_00 1:03:54

Oh, for sure. Uh we're gonna do a little impromptu review of the movie The Odyssey that's kind of stirring up a lot of news all over the social medias, all over everywhere.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:07

And it's been pretty good for the uh meme farming as well.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:13

Uh the memes have been intense to say the least.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:18

Just to get the broad overview out of the way, I'm not gonna bore everyone with the particulars of everything. It's the same age-old story that's been around for 3,000 years. However, in my opinion, it was done very well, tastefully, yes, in epic fashion, and the acting was superb, in my opinion.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:50

Uh I absolutely agree. Um, not to mention the powerhouse cast, like you're saying, it's just great performances all around. Um, I don't want to give any spoilers, but like you were saying, 3,000-year-old story. Uh this is a tale, an epic journey, you know.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:06

Umless you've been living under a rock, you know the ending.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:09

You know, a lot of people know this story. It's kind of uh a basis, a building block for a lot of the epic tales of today, right? Yeah. And uh obviously it's not a hundred percent faithful to the story or the time. Because I know that a lot of people are complaining about the time and the armors and stuff like that. However, the performances make up for it, the cinematography makes up for it, the uh the set pieces, amazing set pieces, the practical effects, guys. This is what I appreciate sincerely, sincerely. Oh, yeah. Um, because the use of CGI has been uh is obviously a a a facet of filmmaking today.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:54

However it should be a useful tool, it should not be the primary motive.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:02

Yeah, exactly. In my opinion. I mean, not to mention that they used real boats, uh, a real wooden horse for the Trojan uh war horse, they used uh a sixty-foot dummy for the Cyclops t as as a point of reference, and uh another practical effect for the Lagastronians, which were the giants that came on like the third island where they were like just stabbing them crazy with the crazy armor, they used seven-foot stunt actors and replaced the uh male actors with females that were like five feet and under. Right, yeah. To to give that visual effect. It just goes to show you the cinematic masterpiece that is uh, you know, the mind of uh Nolan. He's a great director, dude.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:51

Now, this isn't to say the movie is without flaw. As we mentioned, some things were not wholly faithful to historical, but caveat to that, this is a completely fabricated story about a mythical journey with gods and mythical creatures. Exactly. It doesn't necessarily need to be period realistic to our knowledge of the Bronze Age. Now, beyond that, a major complaint that I experienced and I've seen online is the volume control.

SPEAKER_00 1:07:32

The volume is crazy.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:34

It is it's painful.

SPEAKER_00 1:07:37

Specifically that Cyclops cry, huh?

SPEAKER_01 1:07:40

That and the storms. It's it's painful. You you you honestly need earphones earbuds or headphones, something to that effect for the sensitive hear uh sensitive ears, but that said, from the director's side of things, I understand the why and it worked because when you mute those sounds, particularly in theaters, it doesn't feel as immersive. It doesn't you don't feel the gravity of it. It feels immersive, that's for sure. My god, this is a 60 foot tall creature. It's gonna be gonna be loud. Loud. A freaking huge storm that's literally ripping your ship apart is gonna be ungodly loud. Oh yeah. And it gets the point across. Right. I think there should have been some warnings for the for the sensor. Like in the beginning, like, dude, this is gonna be loud. Um be prepared to cover your ears. I think something.

SPEAKER_00 1:08:48

I think it was great because it's almost a three-hour movie, and if you fall asleep, you're gonna wake up.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:54

But that said, in similar vein, what I've come across for complaints is people who were in adjacent theaters who had their movie interrupted with how loud I've been hearing. That is entirely unfair to the paying customers of the other one, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:09:16

You're like, what the hell is happening on the other side, you know? Yeah. Um it kills the immersiveness.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:22

I understand the necessity and difficulty of logistics of trying to like field the Odyssey only if you have five theaters, you can't ha run the Odyssey only. You just can't, not logistically speaking. And you can't have it play on be the only movie playing for however many hours. I mean, logistically speaking, it's virtually impossible. But it's kind of a rock and a hard place in that respect. I can appreciate the fact that it was done, but I can also appreciate the complaints that I'm seeing and hearing about it.

SPEAKER_00 1:10:00

Yeah, absolutely. Um uh we're trying to get the complaints out the way so that you guys uh see that we're not just sucking the 60-foot wing of this thing, man. You know what I'm saying? The Cyclops peen of this thing. Uh we're not glazing it uh as the kids would say. We're trying to get the the full picture for you guys to see that uh is not all, you know, 100% perfect. Right. Uh great film nonetheless. Uh I will get one more complaint out the way before we move on to the good stuff, is the IMAX versus non-IMAX theater debate that's storming the the the web right now. Um it was one of the very first films that was filmed entirely on IMAX, which meant that I think it was meant to be watched in IMAX, and I've even seen the side by side, and we're missing a lot of stuff by not watching it in IMAX. For sure. Uh I don't think there's that many IMAX theaters out in the freaking country. That's the only problem.

SPEAKER_01 1:11:04

It it is a it is a concern, especially for those of us that aren't living in a large city, which is where they're primarily located. Exactly. It makes it makes it diminishes the viewing angles and the immersiveness. Yes, uh visual immersiveness.

SPEAKER_00 1:11:24

Exactly. It's unfortunate because I saw the side-by-side stills of uh IMAX and not IMAX and it's really too much more. It's you it's really different and unfortunate if you're not watching it in an IMAX theater. Nonetheless, moving on to the great stuff, I mean the cast superb, uh, every single one of them, including some of the ones that people have some concerns about, i.e. Elliot Page. Uh people were having a shitstorm thinking that uh Elliot Page played uh Achilles, and they're still saying that he played Achilles. I don't it doesn't make sense.

SPEAKER_01 1:12:02

You haven't watched a movie if you think that you just haven't watched a movie if you think that they literally say I can't remember the key.

SPEAKER_00 1:12:09

They said their name a million times, Senon.

SPEAKER_01 1:12:13

Every time Senon the name a bunch of times, but it was Serge Hell wasn't Achilles.

SPEAKER_00 1:12:18

No, and uh I'm glad they didn't show Achilles, you know, because maybe he would have out outshined the Aura farm of Agamemnon. Oh my god. That was uh further on that in a bit.

SPEAKER_01 1:12:29

It was a little ham fisted of Aura farming, but yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:12:32

Uh Elliot Page, uh Matt Damon's amazing performance as Odysseus, um Zandiah, she didn't get much screen time as Athena. Great performance the time that she had.

SPEAKER_01 1:12:43

But the time she had was appropriate for the story.

SPEAKER_00 1:12:47

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 1:12:48

And and to put my own two cents in about Elliot Page, I understand there's various views to be for or against Elliot Page in that role.

SPEAKER_00 1:13:00

Right.

SPEAKER_01 1:13:02

I'm not going to address that. What I am going to address is the fact that Elliot Page played a very faithful to the character as it was written of Senon.

SPEAKER_00 1:13:15

Right.

SPEAKER_01 1:13:17

They genuinely, if you're looking at it from that objective uh stance, they played a great character of a ch uh of a barely more than a child that has seen the horrors of war and is just completely loyal to Odysseus.

SPEAKER_00 1:13:38

Yeah. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 1:13:40

They did do a good job in that. You have to divorce yourself from any character, any of the characters or actors, real world personas. That's not relevant to the movie.

SPEAKER_00 1:13:51

No. Um it doesn't add any substance if you just look at the person and not the character that they're playing. Come on, dog.

SPEAKER_01 1:13:58

Like you can't you can't have watched the movie and being and watching Matt Damon as Odysseus and keep thinking, oh, that's the guy from Martian. Like, yes, you can't do that. So strange. You gotta watch the movie as the actors are portraying their characters.

SPEAKER_00 1:14:13

And stop with the Achilles thing.

SPEAKER_01 1:14:15

He did it so well.

SPEAKER_00 1:14:16

He's not playing Achilles. They already said. It's a completely fabricated character that Christopher Nolan made. I don't know why they keep saying the Achilles thing. Um but besides that, Matt Damon, amazing performance of Odysseus, uh Zendayo. Oh my god, like uh Tom Holland.

SPEAKER_01 1:14:33

Matt Damon got me on a p off on a tangent. For sure. Fantastic physical conditioning. Oh my word, yes. He looked so real and naturalized to the position he was playing.

SPEAKER_00 1:14:46

Exactly.

SPEAKER_01 1:14:47

Playing a general in a war, oh my god, an active king who, you know, who was the only one in the kingdom who could string that bow. He didn't look like some weird muscle-bound superhero. I appreciate that, yes. He looked like someone who had done hard labor, time knew how to use his body for whatever task he needed. It was just so much more natural looking than you almost ever see in any movie nowadays.

SPEAKER_00 1:15:19

And um yeah. To mention great to mention that the fact that he disappeared for a year making this movie, uh it it really shows that he immersed himself in the character, uh, wholly, not just as in the role, but physically as well, like you're saying. Um I appreciate that uh he changed himself, you know, completely. And uh moving on, like I said, Tom Holland as to uh Telemachus was great too. The first time I watched it, because I watched it twice. Um the second time I watched with you, and the first time I watched it, I really didn't like his performance. Uh because I didn't understand that he's really just a kid.

SPEAKER_01 1:15:56

Yeah, he's playing a kid, a kid who is trying to step up into the gigantic footsteps of his father. Yeah. Um and if you're not thinking of that, it can he can feel like kind of hollow or not fully fleshed out. But when you look at it from the realization of what character he's actually playing, he did a fantastic job.

SPEAKER_00 1:16:22

Fantastic job. Um played a kid uh uh to the naivete of his mother that uh is uh queen that has been waiting for her husband for upwards, it's almost 20 years. Um and still, you know, it's it's kind of a tragic story. However, Anne Hathaway, I think she really played an amazing performance as Penelope.

SPEAKER_01 1:16:46

I'll be honest, when I first saw it, it was a bit jarring. I was I I didn't even know she was in the movie. Right. I I was I was a little shocked, and it was a little challenging for me to divorce myself from all of her previous roles and all that. Like try to really it almost felt like I had to shoehorn her into the Penelope. But that said, aside from my own personal cognitive dissonance on that, she did a great job. Yeah. She was she she was true to the character that was portrayed in that movie. And regardless of how tragic character perfectly straight on to the original text that was, which pro which isn't really there because Penelope wasn't a very well fleshed out character in the original story. That said, again, stellar performance. It was it was sh you felt like she actually had that heartache.

SPEAKER_00 1:17:43

And like you're saying about um your personal cognitive dissonance dissonance, uh, I had the same one uh and luckily I had the luxury of watching it twice because the first time I didn't like her performance all that great, the second time she really did amazing. And however, the reason why I had that personal thing was because I had just watched Devil Wars Prada 2. Oh my god is so bad. And uh I like Devil Wars Prada the first one.

SPEAKER_01 1:18:16

It would be like watching pr saving Private Ryan and then watching this. Yeah. Like WTF.

SPEAKER_00 1:18:21

Uh uh I think that she had a horrible role in Devil Wars Prada 2. Um, terrible storytelling in that one, and um Meryl Streep's back must be hurting from carrying that movie. Uh however, uh departure from that. Anne Hathaway does an amazing performance in this one. Um, Charlize Theron uh as Calypso on the island, you know.

SPEAKER_01 1:18:45

Another startling what a great performance. Like I had no idea she was in the movie because she was just there, but she played that part so well.

SPEAKER_00 1:18:53

So well, uh made it believable, and I myself would get lost on the island with Charlize Theron if I could. Um so I understand. I understand why he was there for seven years. You know?

SPEAKER_01 1:19:05

The blue lotus notwithstanding.

SPEAKER_00 1:19:06

Oh no, bro, I would have been smoking that lotus. Uh, you know, they're eating it. I'm not here grinding it out. Amazing performance, Charlene There uh Charlize Theron. Um Robert Paddinson as um the new meme king, right? Oh my god the new meme king.

SPEAKER_01 1:19:27

Man, he plays such a great protagonist. Uh the snivelling, slimy protagonist. Oh I hate him, yes, but I love how well it was done.

SPEAKER_00 1:19:42

Um and uh he made you hate him. Not just our opinion, but everybody's opinion now that uh uh the first time I watched it I thought Robert Penton's performance was good. The second time around, it was freaking phenomenal. Uh you want to hate this guy and you end up hating this guy. Um and that was the role that he played to an absolute T. Um I was concerned about it at first that Robert Panson was playing Antinuous because Antinuous has always been predominantly a a jerk.

unknown 1:20:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:20:13

And I don't really see Robert Pennison as a jerk like that. You know, we just saw him in Batman. Um but I loved the performance. Uh I think he did a great job. The memes are insane with the somebody get these beggars out of here.

SPEAKER_01 1:20:31

The number and quant the number and quality of those is uh it's it's gonna be a whole thing for a while.

SPEAKER_00 1:20:39

Yeah, it's gonna be for there for a while. Uh if you don't know what I'm talking about, just type in somebody get these beggars out of here. And you're welcome. Uh John Bernthal, I was concerned about his performance as Menelaus. I didn't know how I would feel about him playing uh Menelaus. Um, yeah, Menelaus. Um and he played an amazing Menelaus. He did.

SPEAKER_01 1:21:00

And I was very believable and honestly I think even just physically he had a great presence and really was believable as the brother. It was it was it was just entirely believable.

SPEAKER_00 1:21:21

And uh at his side uh as Helen of Troy, uh Lupita Nyongo, who I know that you know this is where the political stuff and you know how people see what they want to see, they were uh uh they were upset that she plays Helen, um, that she plays uh a Clytemestra too. But uh honestly, I think she did an amazing performance for what she had in hand.

SPEAKER_01 1:21:49

Um admittedly, I understand the woes and the yes for that. I mean I I understand it there's historical arguments either way, and then of course there's personal preferences and yada yada yada yada. But regardless of where you stand politically, looking at it objectively for performance and just the believability of the way they play their characters, she did an excellent job.

SPEAKER_00 1:22:27

Excellent job. Yep. It was believable. All around, great performance by her, um, and not to mention that I am a fan of Lubita Nyongo. Another standout performance, and rightfully so, that everyone is buzzing about is that Samantha Morton performance at Cersei, the witch, um, when she turned the men into pigs.

SPEAKER_01 1:22:49

That was a unexpected uh casting. She did a good job. In my opinion, probably the weakest performance out of the whole cast, but she did a good job. It was it wasn't a letdown. It just It was very unexpected for me. Very unexpected for the way Cersei has always been depicted previously.

SPEAKER_00 1:23:21

Not to mention that Odysseus stayed with Cersei for a whole year in the store in the epic tale.

SPEAKER_01 1:23:26

Yeah, it was it was a little odd.

SPEAKER_00 1:23:29

Um I like the storytelling behind it, and I like the change.

SPEAKER_01 1:23:33

Um this is where we can't kind of a refreshing change, to be honest.

SPEAKER_00 1:23:37

And this is where we could agree to disagree uh in performance. I really think that Samantha Moran's performance as Circe was one of the best for what was written. Um she was supposed to play a scary witch and it was a scary witch moment. I think she was scary.

SPEAKER_01 1:23:51

A little bit of scary witch. I I'm not quibbling about that. My my quibble with like her performance was Enigran, it's kind of based on the script, but the way they had her be portrayed as almost like a pushover in the end.

SPEAKER_00 1:24:12

I get that, yeah, and she helped um Odysseus, you know, which is kind of strange, you know.

SPEAKER_01 1:24:18

Like she she just seemed a little too dimensional in in her character. And that that could be entirely script-based, it could be performance, it could be both.

SPEAKER_00 1:24:27

I think it's script-based for sure.

SPEAKER_01 1:24:29

But of of all the characters, major and minor, I personally feel that was the least well done.

SPEAKER_00 1:24:38

Right. Uh afterward, John Naguzamo as Uamus. Um, I think he did a good job too, as the blind guy, the the uh the memes with the him throwing the dog off the cliff in the beginning right now, are kind of crazy. Um great performance. I I I was kind of like um shocked by the casting of him, but I think it was um he did pretty good. I think it was well done. I think it was well done. Um Hamish Patel as your relicus, which was like the Deccan. Yeah, Odysseus Decken. He was good, man. He was good. I thought he was good uh uh um for what he had, the role he had, you know.

SPEAKER_01 1:25:18

Yeah. That that role is limited and and the things that role is asked to do, he did well.

SPEAKER_00 1:25:31

Exactly my point. And uh the last role I really want to put as a standout, um even though very few dialogue, Benny Safety as King Agamagnon with the Aura Farm of the Decade. Uh man, guys.

SPEAKER_01 1:25:50

Um that armor put in work.

SPEAKER_00 1:25:53

Woof. I know it's not historically accurate, but damned it it it gave me like um when you first see Darth Vader in the lightsaber moment, it it it especially when we had talked about that moment where they opened those gates of Troy.

SPEAKER_01 1:26:09

In the theater, I could not help myself lean over to Alan here and be like, that is autofarming for the sake of autofarming, that would have been the stupidest thing he could have ever done in reality.

SPEAKER_00 1:26:25

Arrow to the eye, boom.

SPEAKER_01 1:26:26

But I mean there's like 30 archers in the courtyard right then and there, and then he's just just a perfect standing silhouette, like you can't miss him, he's not even trying to move. But that notwithstanding, and they told you.

SPEAKER_00 1:26:44

And I told you that the aura farming was so on point that it froze those archers in their boots.

SPEAKER_01 1:26:52

Yeah, a little bit, a little bit.

SPEAKER_00 1:26:54

Why aren't you shooting? Why aren't you shooting? Are you seeing this aura farm?

SPEAKER_01 1:27:00

There's no way that's actually Agamemnon. Really? That's gotta be another statue or something.

SPEAKER_00 1:27:06

Uh uh I'm on the same boat as that man. And it was too late? I would let it happen. Um, you know, I would say a little prayer, like this is the last night, but this aura is just it's too much. I can't I can't fire this arrow at this guy. Um amazing, amazing character, amazing. Um the fact that he's a standout with saying very few words. Um the stature of the character that they gave, the bowing down to him in every scene with uh a Matt Damon. Uh it's just It was good it was good environmental storytelling.

SPEAKER_01 1:27:43

Yes. With that, because they didn't want the focus to be on Agamemnon, which is entirely understandable because it's not an Agamemnon's story. It it's it's definitely not his story. And the more words you have him speak, the less Untouchable aura he has, which in the original story he's supposed to have. He's he's supposed to be like this crazy mythical king who's done astounding things, and the average in in this case, like you were saying, the average archer would absolutely realistically hesitate to even be well, not wrecked his ass. They would have they would genuinely hesitate to engage him because of his mythical stature. Oh, yeah. It would be like seeing a demigod appear in front of you. You'd be like, Do I even try to fight this guy or do I just submit?

SPEAKER_00 1:28:38

And funny that you mentioned demigod, uh, very adequate. I know we're talking about the Odyssey, but the Iliad before that talks about uh Achilles and his stature as a demigod, and people would literally freeze in fear when seeing him, and the fact that he was like near immortal or whatever, you know, and that just goes to show you how there is the the the storytelling behind it that adds to the mythicality of it, you know, adds to the myth that this guy is a legend, he's a demigod, he's unkillable, and uh my arrow is not gonna do anything to him. So I definitely get that. Um it was funny in the sense that you stated it that way that like they would have bodied him in the moment, it would have felt a little unreal.

SPEAKER_01 1:29:23

But when you take a moment to think about the whole store the story as a whole and who Agamemnon is supposed to be in that story, it it makes sense. But in the moment it was like, oh my god, that is insane. Yeah. But to be fair, we have an entirely different mindset than people of that day and age would have had. Absolutely. When when gods are something you can practice when the average person can physically see the results of the gods they worship, oh yeah, it it creates an entirely different mindset than what we would have today. Absolutely, and that that showcased it when you take a moment to think about it.

SPEAKER_00 1:30:06

Exactly. When you take a moment to think about it, um uh just crazy aura though, I'm not gonna lie, man. Undeniable. Um, I think one of the best uh showcases of Aura in the last couple decades because uh unfortunately this is a great film. Fortunately, unfortunately, it's a massive film, great film with massive uh budget and massive storytelling and epic story, right? However, uh I kind of feel like films uh you know, at least recent days have been a

Why The Odyssey Works Plus Final Grade

SPEAKER_00 1:30:40

little lackluster. So that I think this incredibly lackluster this stands out more because of that, I will say.

SPEAKER_01 1:30:47

Yes. And I appreciate one thing I really appreciated about this movie, not in the moment, but thinking back on it and just in concept was that so many movies nowadays are predicated on the fact that they're trying to keep you engaged and keep you off your phone, and so they're constantly changing every view, every scene, every three seconds to try and keep your attention and and they make the storyline so absurdly simple that you can be looking at your phone and still follow the movie or show or whatever piece of media you're watching. But I appreciated that in this movie there were moments where they just took the time for you to absorb the scene. Or like how I we we were talking about several times of if you give it a moment and you think about it, there were the the aspects of the movie were on point and in line with the original story, like with Agamemnon, which in your average spoon-fed movie, if you will, of today, you don't see.

SPEAKER_00 1:32:04

Exactly. Um it's just kind of great uh to have those moments in film still where you're like wowed by something, um, and uh moving on from the cast, I want to move on to some of the trials that Odysseus went through. First one being uh point blank was that Cyclops meeting, and um I thought the Cyclops was well done. I thought he was scary, um, I thought it was very eerie uh situation in general, and I like the freedoms that Christopher Nolan took with that part of the story. Um, you know, in the in the tale, uh the Cyclops speaks, and there's other Cyclope there. So um I like the freedoms they took this time. Single Cyclops uh doesn't speak till um a very moment happens. Right. And uh Odysseus is losing his man and starving, you know. Uh he's bound to make mistakes, even though he is a very cunning individual. Um and in this case, after that, he shoots the arrow after having blinded the Cyclumps when they get out. Right. And that ultimately started the supposedly the the that he angered uh King uh Poseidon uh and the ocean was t you know basically against them. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:33:26

Um similar to how we were discussing right after the movie is the fact that the Odyssey is quite a long story with many details. Oh yeah. And as much as we like to harp on the fact that this was a long movie, three hours long, and yada yada yada, that is an incredibly short amount of time to try and integrate that much information.

SPEAKER_00 1:33:57

Oh, yeah, and there's stuff that they left there.

SPEAKER_01 1:33:59

You're inevitably gonna have to cut some things, shorten some things. Absolutely. But in my opinion, this was one of the best examples of condensing a story into a movie that I've ever seen in any uh immediate cross or changing from written to visual. The There were some creative liberties taken, there were things cut out, there were things severely condensed, like with Cersei.

SPEAKER_00 1:34:32

And the bag of winds, and it wasn't included, and it didn't need none of that.

SPEAKER_01 1:34:39

They they still kept the overall sense of desperation, the the never-ending series of trials. It it it really it conveyed the basic feelings and concepts behind the story, even if it didn't stay true to every single jot and tittle.

SPEAKER_00 1:34:58

Exactly. Um I appreciated the giants that were the legs dragonians, um, that was really cool seeing that, and learning afterward that it was practical effects. Um the Whirlpool, the Sea Dragon, um, and also the sirens, that was all really cool. Uh I really liked that. I think it was tastefully done. Um if you go through the past story and you see that this guy, Odysseus, wanted to become the first man to hear that song.

SPEAKER_01 1:35:27

And survive.

SPEAKER_00 1:35:28

And survive. Um yeah, I I really feel like that was very tastefully done as well. Um, all around, I I really appreciated every single segment of the film ultimately ending with that masterclass of an ending that we love the story for, uh, with Odysseus being the only one to string that bow as he came um costumed as a beggar.

SPEAKER_01 1:35:58

Right. As a beggar, as Pattinson would say.

SPEAKER_00 1:36:03

Um, it was all around great. I I really appreciate it. Um first time around, I gave it an 8.7. Um, I was holding back, you know, because I'm a pretty tough critic.

SPEAKER_01 1:36:16

Uh and you're a bit of a moony movie connoisseur.

SPEAKER_00 1:36:21

I'm a movie buff, and so second time around watching it with you, I gave it a three more points out of nine. So I gave it a nine out of ten. I I really enjoyed this movie. Really enjoyed it.

SPEAKER_01 1:36:32

Yeah, I I originally gave it somewhere between nine and nine five, and I still stand by that because it was it was a very well done movie. Yes, this story could have been done Lord of the Rings style, right? But for what it is, it just just great.

SPEAKER_00 1:36:58

Right. And if you're and if you personally as a listener and you're saying uh and you watch this film and you're saying that they could have did that, the three movies, there's so many things that you could have done as well. You know, people are complaining about the casting and all that, you know, but uh ultimately it was tastefully done. And if you want to make an epic tale of those stories, then you would have started with the Iliad. You would have started with the tale of uh how Agamemnon came to make this war, how Achilles was a great warrior, how Odysseus finally made the decision to make that Trojan horse. Right. There were so many things.

SPEAKER_02 1:37:34

Right.

SPEAKER_00 1:37:34

However, for what this was, this tale of Odysseus's journey back home after a ten year war to ten years at sea, I think it was great. Very well done.

SPEAKER_01 1:37:47

To return to a previous point of mine of the fact that this movie was not catering to the being distracted by your phone, it also was not catering to the people who have no idea what the story is about. Could it be entertaining for those who have no idea what the Odyssey is about? Probably. But if you've seen if you've seen previous things about the Odyssey, if you've read the story, then the things that are left out are represented enough and in such a way that it shows that yes, they did happen. I'm just not focusing on those. That's not relevant to my remembering my journey sort of thing, as as the way they portrayed the movie in LargePoint. Yeah. Then it was it was masterfully done.

SPEAKER_00 1:38:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:38:43

It doesn't cater to the uninitiated, but it still could be entertaining for them.

SPEAKER_00 1:38:49

And the word they keep circulating to me is tasteful. Uh very tastefully done.

Recommendations And Sign-Off

SPEAKER_00 1:38:56

And uh with that, we'll go ahead and end the episode. We recommend you guys watch the UFC and you watch the Odyssey. See what I did there.

SPEAKER_01 1:39:08

Either way, you need to keep your gloves up.

SPEAKER_00 1:39:10

Keep your gloves up. Uh thank you for listening to this episode. Comment, like, subscribe. Uh one thing before I go, Bobby Flay, please, please listen to the podcast. And uh thank you. We'll catch you on the next one.

SPEAKER_01 1:39:25

Thank you for your listen, and thank you for all the support that you do give us. Have a fantastic time, and we'll catch you next time.