There’s no question that Aussie fans brought the energy to UFC 284. The first show for the world’s largest MMA promotion ‘Down Under’ in two-and-a-half years (the UFC also had a show in New Zealand in 2020), meant fans sold out the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia at lightning speed. There was lots of cheering, more than a few shoeys, and some raucous celebrations for Jack Della Maddalena, Justin Tafa, and Joshua Culibao among others.
When things got to the main event, however—and an extremely closely contested five round fight between lightweight champion Islam Makhachev and Aussie featherweight champ Alexander Volkanovski—it seems the crowd got a little more hostile. Alexander ‘The Great’ wound up on the wrong side of a unanimous decision loss to the Dagestani 155 lb. king. The bout that mostly came down to a difficult to parse second round, where both men landed the exact same number of strikes and had almost the same amount of control, but where the New South Wales native also got wobbled by a heavy hook to tip the scales toward his opponent. It didn’t help for fans, though, that after four razor thin rounds of competitive fighting, Volkanovski ended the fight dominating Makhachev for the last couple minutes with brutal ground and pound.
When Bruce Buffer read out the final decision, things got a little hairy. Not just for the fighters in the Octagon, but even for the UFC broadcast team—as Jon Anik revealed in a recent interview with MMA Fighting.
“After the decision was announced is the first time that I’ve ever—I’m sure it’s not the first time people have thrown stuff in our direction—[but] it’s the first time I’ve ever been hit with a burger and fries on the back. And it certainly felt a lot heavier than french fries,” Anik said of the post-fight fan reactions.
“On the Anik & Florian podcast, we tried to lead the dance with the technical stuff and the fight itself as opposed to the scorecards. But, when so much is at stake, I understand why people who are emotional and passionate have their opinions. And I think the sport, at its highest level, is so close. And the elite fights between elite fighters oftentimes are the ones that are the most hotly contested.
“There’s any number of different directions in which we could go. The pound-for-pound discussion is largely a cosmetic one. I do believe that the next fights for Islam Makhachev and Alexander Volkanovski are bigger, and I would say in terms of the [UFC 284 fight’s] heightening expectations, you could argue it exceeded them.”
As for what’s next? Even though Volkanovski and Makhachev both appear to have strong no. 1 contenders waiting in the wings right now, Anik admits that he would “strike while the iron is hot” and go for the rematch.
“You can sort of split hairs when it comes to the weight and the size and everything else, but I think it’s gonna be a very competitive rematch. I think the betting line is going to be significantly closer the second time around; I think the stock for both gentlemen goes up certainly.”
That’s absolutely the drum that Volkanovski has been beating, telling Ariel Helwani shortly after the event that Yair Rodriguez can “hold that flag until I’m there,” and defend his interim title if he wants to stay active. Whether or not that’s the way the UFC decides to go in the face of other fight opportunities remains to be seen.
About the author: Zane Simon is a senior editor, writer and podcaster for Bloody Elbow. Host of the MMA Vivisection and 6th Round, he has covered MMA and the UFC since 2013.(full bio)
Few sports love their drama to the same extent as MMA. Apparently it wasn’t enough that Alex Volkanovski felt hard done by from the judges at UFC 284 in Perth, or that he turned in a performance that had fans cheering him on at the final bell—and which kept his spot secure atop the UFC’s pound-for-pound rankings. To add just that extra hint of spice to the mix, City Kickboxing teammate Dan Hooker felt he needed to throw a little suggestion of cheating into the mix.
The lightweight champion didn’t respond himself, but the Dagestani fighter’s manager Rizvan Magomedov got in on the act—denying any suggestion of wrongdoing entirely.
“We all know this is completely BS,” Magomedov said in a brief statement delivered to MMA Junkie. “The guy is a loser. He’s salty and just looking for attention, and that’s it.”
Once an entirely common post-weigh-ins practice, therapeutic IV use was effectively banned by the UFC with the introduction of their USADA partnership. Often in the past, fighters would use IVs containing a simple saline solution to speed up the body’s re-hydration process after especially brutal weight cuts.
Interestingly, there seems to be some confusion about the promotion’s functional stance on IV use—with welterweight fighter Phil Rowe claiming that the treatment is still readily available for athletes within the UFC, as long as they can get medical clearance first.
For USADA’s part, the drug testing organization states that, “All intravenous (IV) infusions and/or injections of more than a total of 100 mL (~6.8 tablespoons) per 12-hour period are prohibited at all times (in and out-of-competition) except for those legitimately received in the course of hospital treatments, surgical procedures, clinical diagnostic investigations, and/or those that are determined to be medically justified and within the standard of care by a licensed physician and administered by a licensed medical professional, without an approved Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE).”
It’s that last clause (highlighted for clarity) that seems to leave a lot of wiggle room for interpretation, since the first two parts of USADA’s statement are strong in their stance against causal IV use during fight week.
By all appearances, Makhachev could very well have hired a licensed medical professional who then approved his use of an IV for re-hydration, and potentially not have broken any rules as far as the UFC or USADA is concerned. All that is moot, of course, since we’ve already heard from Makhachev’s team, and they say he did no such thing. Surely that will be the final word on the subject, and everyone can move on with the minimum of accusations and drama from here.
About the author: Zane Simon is a senior editor, writer and podcaster for Bloody Elbow. Host of the MMA Vivisection and 6th Round, he has covered MMA and the UFC since 2013.(full bio)
The UFC’s dreams of expanding their fanbase more firmly into Mexico are old news at this point. Cain Velasquez was supposed to lead the charge, back in 2010, when he won the heavyweight title. There were ad-campaigns, demo-targeted sponsorships, and a quickly established narrative that the promotion had found their first star to bring MMA fandom to a country better known for its passionate loves of boxing and pro wrestling.
Velasquez fought just once in Mexico. It was a disaster. Long known for his insane pace and cardio, the AKA talent did almost his entire camp for the title defense against Fabricio Werdum at sea level. Hitting Mexico City’s 7,000+ ft. elevation just days out from the fight. To say that mistakes were made would be an understatement.
Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
The UFC has been back to the Arena Ciudad de México three times since then. But only for smaller, Fight Night events. Heavyweights have been notably absent from the lineups. The last time, in 2019, was in fact headlined by none other than Yair Rodriguez, whose cardio still seems boundless no matter the elevation at which he competes (he’s not only won multiple fights in Mexico City, but also Denver and Salt Lake). That fight was also a disaster, but for very different reasons.
Set up as a thrilling battle of sluggers between Rodriguez and longtime action stalwart Jeremy Stephens, the bout looked likely to be a showcase for the UFC’s next big hope for delivering a high profile talent to a market with major expansion potential. Fifteen seconds into round one and it was all over. An inadvertent eye poke from Rodriguez rendered Stephens unable to continue.
Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Fans—likely prepared to watch their fighter roll through his American opponent—quickly turned on the Iowa native, with the apparent assumption that ‘Lil’ Heathen’ had taken the easy way out, rather than suffer the potential humiliation of a loss. Or perhaps they were just mad that they had been robbed of a violent main event after watching Alexa Grasso & Brandon Moreno suffer back-to-back decision defeats just before. Whatever the reason, the crowd quickly showered the Octagon with trash. The UFC hasn’t been back since.
On Sunday, following the conclusion of UFC 284, Rodriguez petitioned for another chance to fight on home soil. Now interim featherweight champion, he’s looking for a shot at unifying the belts against Alexander Volkanovski in Mexico City.
“Actually, I talked to Alexander Volkanovski in the past—in Dallas,” Rodriguez told the assembled media at the post-fight presser. “Not that much with him, but with his manager. He asked me, ‘Would you be able to go to Australia? Will you go to Australia?’ I was like, ‘Yeah, why not. Yeah, of course I’ll go.’ So, I stick to my word and I came here, won the interim title. And now I want to ask the UFC to take this belt, this championship fight to Mexico City, in September—whenever they open the UFC Performance Institute, so we can do it there.”
It’s unclear if Rodriguez is actually asking to hold the title fight in the Performance Institute itself. If he is, and considering it’s modeled on the Vegas PI, putting a belt on the line in another Apex-like atmosphere should be reason enough to pan the whole idea.
However, ‘El Pantera’ isn’t the first title holder from Mexico to ask for a big fight back in his home country. Brandon Moreno called for his fourth fight against Deiveson Figueiredo to be held in Mexico City last year as well. An idea that the Brazilian briefly seemed to consider, before the positive vibes between the two men seriously cooled. That fight ended up in Brazil instead—with the ‘Assassin Baby’ coincidentally facing his own version of a hostile enemy crowd, riled by an eye poke stoppage.
With Moreno once again holding flyweight gold in 2023, he’s renewed his calls for another Mexico City PPV. Maybe the combined efforts of he and Rodriguez will be enough to convince all other parties involved that it’s time for the world’s largest MMA promotion to make a return.
But, given the atmosphere for past events, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if both Alexander ‘The Great’ and the UFC have some serious reservations about diving back into the market with a high-stakes, high profile event. With the PI incoming, the Endeavor-owned company will almost certainly bring more fight cards along with it. Whether Rodriguez can reap the rewards, however, remains far less certain.
About the author: Zane Simon is a senior editor, writer and podcaster for Bloody Elbow. Host of the MMA Vivisection and 6th Round, he has covered MMA and the UFC since 2013.(full bio)
Fans have to hope that the promotion didn’t learn exactly the wrong lesson from UFC 284. Namely, that if they put together an extremely top-heavy event with just a few notable names on it, that fans will still walk away entirely satisfied. That’s a long way of saying that Saturday’s PPV, in Perth, rocked hard. Islam Makhachev and Alexander Volkanovski truly tested one another as top-flight champions in the prime of their careers. Yair Rodriguez got to show off his skills as one of featherweight’s most dangerous men. Jack Della Maddalena looked every bit the picture of a star on the rise.
So, will Rodriguez get a chance to unify the belt at 145? Or will Volkanovski get a rematch with Makhachev? What about Beneil Dariush, shouldn’t he be next?
To answer those questions—and much more—I’ll be using the classic Silva/Shelby fight booking methodology from the UFC of years past. That means pitting winners against winners, losers against losers, and similarly tenured talent up against one another. Hopefully, by following that model, a few of these bout ideas will actually make it off the page and into the Octagon. Now, let’s get to the fights!
ISLAM MAKHACHEV
In reality, Islam Makhachev had an excellent fight for the better part of four rounds. He out-struck Alexander Volkanovski for solid stretches standing, he effectively backpacked the featherweight champion on the ground. All told he put together a rugged, all-around kind of performance that wins decisions. Then that 5th round hit and all of it went south—well, almost south. More like Midwest, considering that Makhachev still escaped the final round to grab the win. Which is to say that, while the end of the fight looked bad, Makhachev performed very well—and his victory wasn’t at all undeserved.
Give this man his day in the Octagon.Photo by Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC
The big question now is, who’s his next title challenger going to be? There are two very obvious options, it only remains to be seen which way the UFC will go. The first is a fight with Dustin Poirier. Sure he’s already lost two failed bids for gold, but he’s also the division’s most notable, high-profile talent coming off a meaningful win. The second, and much more technically deserving option is Beneil Dariush—a man even Poirier admits he’s not interested in fighting, because the Iranian-American just isn’t notable enough.
Of course, if Makhachev simply wants to wait, his options could grow. Michael Chandler & Conor McGregor are going to face off later this year, in a fight that could see McGregor directly back in the hunt. There’s always recently dethroned champ Charles Oliveira too. Nothing to say ‘Do Bronx’ couldn’t fight Dariush and get a chance to reclaim his belt. All things considered, I’ll say this is the time to make Dariush vs. Makhachev. The Kings MMA talent has earned his place. Fights with Poirier, Oliveira, or the rest aren’t going away—for Dariush, however, the time is now.
ALEXANDER VOLKANOVSKI & YAIR RODRIGUEZ
Maybe it’s unfair to say that no fighter exited UFC 284 with more positive momentum than Alexander Volkanovski. After all, he lost. Guys like Jack Della Maddalena, Yair Rodriguez, and Kleydson Rodrigues thrilled in their wins. But, Volkanovski took on a huge task when he moved up to fight Makhachev and, even if judges could find a way to award him the victory, it feels like he had all the success he needed to claim victory. He was devilishly difficult to take down, impossible to break, and when Makhachev lost even half a step Volkanovski was right there to pounce on him and make it clear that the long arc of the bout was very firmly in his favor.
Your new interim FW champ.Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images
Immediately following the main event, Volkanovski admitted he had business to take care of at 145, but would be back to fight at lightweight again. Later in the evening, however, he sounded less sure of that plan—with talk of an immediate rematch against the Dagestani, if he could get it. If I had to make a guess, he won’t get it.
Just before the night’s main event, a new piece of the featherweight crown was created. Yair Rodriguez took on Josh Emmett for an interim title, with ‘El Pantera’ making it all too clear that he was a serious level above the Team Alpha Male talent. Emmett had his trademark power, and he even did a little wrestling—something he’s done all too rarely in the past—but the vast majority of the fight had Rodriguez kicking his foe to absolute pieces. The fact that he was able to win by submission off his back after giving up the takedown to Emmett just goes to show how viciously dangerous the 30-year-old can be.
Still champPhoto by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Will that be enough to defeat Volkanovski, in ways that it wasn’t enough to beat Max Holloway and Frankie Edgar? I don’t know. But it absolutely feels like Rodriguez has earned the chance to find out. It may not be as big a fight as the Makhachev rematch that Volkanovski wants, but he set the challenge that the featherweight division needed to create a top contender for him to face. It’s done that now. Volkanovski vs. Rodriguez should absolutely be the next fight on tap for Alexander ‘The Great’.
JACK DELLA MADDALENA
Is it still Kung Fu if it’s MMA?Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
For the first minute+ or so of this fight, Randy Brown seemed like he had a handle on things. He was sticking and moving, staying elusive, staying long. But once Maddalena got a feel on the range and timing, he marched Brown straight to the cage, punched him to the mat and then choked him out. Hard to have a better performance than that for the Aussie, especially on home turf. It doesn’t sound like JDM is looking to return to competition soon, but when he does, he’ll be staring the edges of the top 15 right in the eye. Fights against Neil Magny, the Holland/ Ponzinibbio winner, Nicolas Dalby, Michel Pereira or Muslim Salikhov would all be a hell of a lot of fun. Since Muslim Salikhov is coming off a great win and isn’t booked, I’ll say let Maddalena test himself against the ‘King of Kung Fu’. Jack Della Maddalena vs. Muslim Salikhov would be a ‘don’t blink’ thriller.
JUSTIN TAFA
A perfect one-punch KO for Justin Tafa here. Parker Porter came out looking to throw in volume and press the action and take a hard fight to the Aussie. But if Tafa has taken nothing else from Mark Hunt’s game, he made sure to grab that sweet step back uppercut that the ‘Super Samoan’ loves so much. Porter stepped straight on to it for the walk-off knockout. That sets Tafa up for another heavyweight action battle. Dontayle Mayes is set to take on Augusto Sakai in the near future, the winner of that seems like they’d make for a fun next challenge. Tafa vs. the Sakai/Mayes winner would be good. If not that, then I’m all for a fight with Rodrigo Nascimento.
JIMMY CRUTE & ALONZO MENIFIELD
They wanna run it back, run it back. If something is gonna get in the way of that idea, then do Menifield against Nick Negumereanu, and Crute against the Knight/Prachnio loser.
I’d watch this fight twice.Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images
JOSHUA CULIBAO
Hopefully Choi won’t need as much time off between fights.Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
This looked like the end of Josh Culibao’s surprising run of success in the featherweight division. Melsik Baghdasaryan was entirely too fast, too powerful, and too clinical from distance and Culibao seemed like he had very few answers. See enough kicks though, and sometimes an opportunity presents itself. Culibao finally countered a body kick in round 2 by pushing through it to land a hard jab that caught Baghdasaryan totally off balance. An instant back take to follow and the RNC sealed the deal seconds later. A great win to keep Culibao unbeaten in his last four fights.
Bouts against Makwan Amirkhani, Hakeem Dawodu, or Dooho Choi would all be good options. I think I like that Choi fight most of all. The ‘Korean Superboy’ still has to prove he’s shaken out the cobwebs of his latest long layoff, and it’s another opportunity for Culibao to add a name win to his resume. Culibao vs. Choi sounds like a lot of fun.
KLEYDSON RODRIGUES
InnerG seems revitalized of late.Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
After a disappointing debut, Rodrigues needed to show up big against a debuting Shannon Ross. A loss here and the seeming top-prospect Brazilian could find himself closer to exiting the promotion than entering the top 15. Looks like he knew the score from the jump, coming out with a spinning back kick and a ton of pressure to start the fight. In the face of that onslaught, Ross essentially never got started—with Rodrigues picking him off with a variety of kicks before blitzing forward with heavy body punches. A few seconds later and the ‘Turkish Delight’ was on the mat. Fight finished. Can the bounceback continue? A fight against the recently surging Charles Johnson seems like a great way to find out. Johnson looked like a killer against Jimmy Flick last time around, should be a good test for Rodrigues to see if he’s truly found his form in the Octagon. Johnson vs. Rodrigues should make for a fantastic flyweight striking war.
LOMA LOOKBOONMEE
Jauregui looks like a future contender.Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
A fantastic win from Loma Lookboonmee, who appeared strong coming out of the gate and seemed in complete control, right up until the moment she got swept and spent the rest of round 1 getting beat up by Elise Reed from half guard. The adversity only lit a bigger fire under the Thai fighter, however, and she stormed Reed’s castle in round 2 with a slamming bodylock takedown—right into a rear naked choke submission. That’s two-straight for Lookboonmee and should put her right back into another action-forward scrap.
If that’s the case, I’ve got just the prospect on the rise for her to test herself against. Yazmin Jauregui looked fantastic in her debut, but Istela Nunes put a little scare into her last time around—before getting TKO’d in the second. Jauregui’s a thrilling volume striker, still looking to add more pieces to her game. Does she have the physicality to handle Lookboonmee, or can the Tiger Muay Thai talent school her. Lookboonmee vs. Jauregui would be a great test for the young Mexican prospect.
OTHER BOUTS: Josh Emmett vs. Calvin Kattar 2, Randy Brown vs. Jake Matthews, Parker Porter vs. Tanner Boser, Modestas Bukauskas vs. Ihor Potieria, Tyson Pedro vs. Da Un Jung, Melsik Baghdasaryan vs. David Onama, Shannon Ross vs. Carlos Candelario, Jamie Mullarkey vs. Fares Ziam, Francisco Prado vs. Patterson/Ashmoz loser, Jack Jenkins vs. Luis Saldana, Don Shainis vs. Jarno Errens, Elise Reed vs. Jinh Yu Frey, Blake Bilder vs. Joanderson Brito, Shane Young vs. Sean Woodson, Elves Brenner vs. Trey Ogden,Zubaira Tukhugov vs. Damir Hadzovic
It was pretty clear when Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg rented out the entire UFC Apex facility for an entire fight card, that something more than just ‘being a big MMA fan’ was in the works. It didn’t take long after that for the UFC to announce that they would be selling virtual reality ‘metaverse’ access to some of their fight cards going forward, as the world’s largest MMA promotion entered a partnership with the social media giant.
Now we’re seeing a little more of just what that deal might mean for the UFC, with Zuckerberg stealing some ring time with featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski. In a video posted to his Instagram account, the tech mogul showed off some of Metaverse’s potential for creative interaction. Namely the kind that can be got through full motion capture suits and a whole heap of expensive equipment. That’s right, they got it on in a virtual sparring session.
“Last year UFC #1 pound-for-pound fighter Alex Volkanovski stopped by Meta HQ to train with me,” some intern wrote in a message accompanying the post, “and for fun we tested the limits of our performance avatars with motion capture in our engage gear. Good luck this weekend Alex!”
Volkanovski is set to take on Islam Makhachev this Saturday, February 11th, in Perth Australia for a chance to win his second UFC title. Makhachev captured lightweight gold last year at UFC 280, with a second round submission win over Charles Oliveira. Featherweight champ Volkanovski will represent the first challenger to the Dagestani’s throne.
About the author: Zane Simon is a senior editor, writer and podcaster for Bloody Elbow. Host of the MMA Vivisection and 6th Round, he has covered MMA and the UFC since 2013.(full bio)
The UFC is back on PPV this week with an amazing headliner fight for a card that otherwise doesn’t feel much like a PPV. The co-main, between Yair Rodriguez and Josh Emmett is great, and Jack Della Maddalena vs. Randy Brown looks like a thriller, but after that, it’s pure Fight Night undercard filler.
For fans who really want to dig into those extra fights, however, check out the Prelims Vivi below.
For listeners looking to support our podcasting work as Bloody Elbow leaves the VOX network of sites, we now officially have a Vivisection/6th Round Patreon.Both shows will continue to be posted, for free on BE, SoundCloud, YouTube and other podcasting apps going forward. However, the Patreon will give fans exclusive access to the MMA Depressed-us from here on out.
The MMA Vivisection is brought to you by ‘The Fine Art of Violence’, a collection of art and essays recapping the year in MMA by Chris Rini, featuring the most talented artists and writers in Mixed Martial Arts. The book is available in both hard copy and digital formats at chrisrini.com.
Here’s a look at the UFC 284 fight card, as it stood at the time of recording:
ESPN+ PPV MAIN CARD | 10pm/7pm ET&PT Islam Makhachev vs. Alexander Volkanovski — At 9:02, Odds 41:28, Picks – Both: Makhachev Yair Rodriguez vs. Josh Emmett — At 44:42, Odds 56:05, Picks – Both: Rodriguez Jack Della Maddalena vs. Randy Brown — At 56:32, Odds 1:09:41, Picks – Both: Maddalena Justin Tafa vs. Parker Porter — At 1:11:30, Odds 1:17:46, Picks – Zane: Tafa, Connor: Porter Jimmy Crute vs. Alonzo Menifield — At 1:18:33, Odds 1:26:27, Picks – Both: Crute
ESPN PRELIMS | 8pm/5pm ET&PT Tyson Pedro vs. Modestas Bukauskas — At 1:57, Odds 16:01, Picks – Zane: Pedro, Connor: Bukauskas Joshua Culibao vs. Melsik Baghdasaryan — At 17:32, Odds 27:36, Picks – Both: Culibao Shannon Ross vs. Kleydson Rodrigues — At 28:34, Odds 39:13, Picks – Zane: Rodrigues, Connor: Ross Jamie Mullarkey vs. Francisco Prado — At 39:24, Odds 47:15, Picks – Both: Mullarkey
ESPN+ PRELIMS | 6pm/3pm ET&PT Jack Jenkins vs. Don Shainis — At 47:39, Odds 54:46, Picks – Both: Jenkins Loma Lookboonmee vs. Elise Reed — At 55:02, Odds 1:04:57, Picks – Both: Lookboonmee Shane Young vs. Blake Bilder — At 1:05:25, Odds 1:12:43, Picks – Zane: Young, Connor: Bilder Zubaira Tukhugov vs. Elves Brenner — At 1:13:16, Odds 1:18:07, Picks – Both: Tukhugov
For those of you following the picks made on the show, we started tracking them with the July 13th, 2020 Vivisection shows for UFC Fight Island 1: ‘Kattar vs. Ige’. So far, here are the overall standings:
For our last event, UFC Vegas 68 ‘Lewis vs. Spivac’: Zane picked 7/11 for 64% and Connor also picked 7/11 for 64%
Overall stats from UFC Fight Island 1 in July, 2020, through UFC 283 in Jan, 2023: Zane went 825/1280 for 64.5% and Connor went 780/1280 for 60.9%
2023 Stats: Zane is 25/38 for 66% and Connor is 26/38 for 68%
2022 Stats: Zane went 330/505 for 65% and Connor went 312/505 for 62%
2021 Stats: Zane went 305/493 for 65% and Connor went 285/493 for 59%
July-Dec 2020 Stats: Zane went 164/244 for 67% and Connor went 157/244 for 64%
If you enjoy our variety of shows, please give us a shout out in the comments here on Bloody Elbow, and give us a “like”, share & subscribe on your BE Presents Podcast platform of choice: YouTube, SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Audible, iHeartRadio, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, OverCast, PocketCasts, Castro, Castbox, Player FM, Podcast Republic. Follow your favorite ‘Bloody Elbow Presents’ hosts on your preferred apps, such as: Downcast, PodCruncher, iCatcher!, Castaway 2, BeyondPod (Android), & more in the App Store! For previous episodes, check out our playlists on any of our BE Presents channels.
Stream the action between the top two pound-for-pound kings as Islam Makhachev and Alexander Volkanovski battle it out for the UFC Lightweight Championship in the Main Event. Plus, we get the UFC Interim Featherweight Championship duel between Yair Rodriguez and Josh Emmett!
About the author: Zane Simon is a senior editor, writer and podcaster for Bloody Elbow. Host of the MMA Vivisection and 6th Round, he has covered MMA and the UFC since 2013.(full bio)
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