The Co-main Event Podcast

Well, shit, what can you do? Seemed like Thiago Santos and Johnny Walker kind of forgot to fight during the UFC's main event on Saturday night. That happens sometimes, but it certainly wasn't what we wanted to see from these two strange purveyors of violence. Over in Bellator, Michael Page defeated Douglas Lima via the sort of split decision that didn't tell us much about how good MVP actually is. And the CME debuts the brand new feature: "HOW HYPED?" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

UFC 266 was a hell of a fight card, basically from start to finish. While there weren't any surprises in the evening's "big three" bouts, Alexander Volkanovski and Brian Ortega put on an absolute crackerjack in the main event and the prelims were just flat wild. Oh yeah, and Jon Jones made his fist official appearance at a UFC function in months and got himself arrested, like, RIGHT AWAY. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Anthony Smith had some words for Ryan Spann in the cage Saturday night, after Smith scored a first-round submission victory. "Lionheart" admits he let some of Spann's pre-fight trash talk get to him but now says he no longer gives a fuck. Plus, UFC 266 is right around the corner and Yoel Romero finally made his Bellator debut and maybe didn't know how long his fight was supposed to be. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It took Anderson Silva a little under one minute, 30 seconds to leave Tito Ortiz in the black lands during their boxing match Saturday at the Trillers. Silva styled on Ortiz so badly, some people thought Tito took a dive. That's gotta hurt. Plus, we look ahead to this weekend's #JSF UFC event and Yoel Romero's impending Bellator debut. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Derek Brunson went out this weekend and reminded us all that he is a very good fighter who thus far in his UFC career as only lost to the elite in the middleweight division. So, that was good for him. Bad, though, for Darren Till, who now drops to 1-4 in his last five and needs to find some answers quick if he hopes to have much future as a high-level UFC fighter. Plus, hey there, Florida, how you doin'? Say, the Trillers want to know if you might let them put on this fight this weekend? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It turns out, Tyron Woodley boxes a lot like he fights in MMA, which is to say watching him was one of the more frustrating experiences in all of combat sports. So, yeah, Jake Paul improved to 4-0 or whatever. Also, is it finally, actually GigaTime in the octagon? And, holy shit, UFC 268 is stacked ... for now (card subject to change). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jared Cannonier edged Kelvin Gastelum in a competitive and entertaining UFC main event on Saturday night, then immediately hopped on the mic and announced that he's "broke." Is that a good look for the UFC? That's a bad look, right? Plus, does Kayla Harrison actually have this whole shit figured out? And ... uh-oh ... Sunday, Sunday, Sunday, it's Jake Paul vs. Tyron Woodley. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On an All Questions Considered episode of the show, we take a grab bag of queries from you, the Co-Mainiacs, including: Will Conor ever be champion again? Which UFC titles will change hands before the end of the year? Was it wise for Bellator to move to Showtime? Is the PFL commentary team the best in the business? Should our guy Dak wear a bolo tie to a wedding? And is Jon Jones actually on double-secret steroid suspension? (Spoiler: No. No he's not.) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ciryl Gane pretty much ruined the entire city of Houston's weekend with his third-round TKO of Derrick Lewis at UFC 265. Does the "Good Kid's" forthcoming title unification bout with Francis Ngannou now present a storyline so good "fucking Vince couldn't have wrote it better"? Plus, we put some hespect on Jose Aldo's name and talk the politics of booking a fight for Fedor Emelianenko in Russia. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

AJ McKee pretty much annihilated the competition during the Bellator featherweight grand prix, including Saturday's championship finale, where he stopped Patricio Pitbull in just a minute, 57 seconds to win the title. Ratings for that event weren't stellar, however, and McKee has now essentially cleaned out the 145-pound division by virtue of winning the tourney. It brings up the question: Is Bellator capable of making McKee the star he deserves to be? Plus: we look ahead to UFC 265. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

TJ Dillashaw surprised a lot of people--including your humble co-hosts--Saturday night by emerging with a split-decision victory over Cory Sandhagen in Dillashaw's return after a two-year JPD suspension. Did Tilly Dills actually deserve to get the nod? Ehhhh ... maybe not, but he still put on a hell of a performance. During this week's show, we discuss how far the former champ can go now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Miesha Tate perhaps benefited from some friendly matchmaking Saturday night as she returned to the cage for this first time since 2016, but she still made it look pretty easy against a retiring Marion Reneau, en route to a third-round TKO. The win immediately makes Tate a player at 135-pounds again. Will the same player-status ultimately be bestowed on that dude Islam Makhachev? He certainly looks the part, but will have to fight somebody first. Plus, what does Tyler Jeffrey Dillashaw have left to give? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Conor McGregor broke his whole leg shit on Saturday night against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264. The good news is, Poirier will probably now get to fight for the title while McGregor convalesces. The bad news? Yeah, depending on a bunch of factors, we're probably gonna have to sit through Poirier vs. McGregor 4 when he comes back. Also, Tai Tuivasa stole the flippin' show at this biggest PPV of the year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This weekend at UFC 264, Conor McGregor returns to the octagon for just the fifth time since 2016 to complete a trilogy with Dustin Poirier. At this point, we've got so little recent intel on McGregor as a fighter, do even hardcore fans know what to expect? Also, so the UFC went and pissed off new heavyweight champ Francis Ngannou by setting up a interim title fight between Ciryl Gane and Derrick Lewis, huh? Sure, that sounds like a great idea. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kind of funny that we all, as MMA fans, are going to look down our noses at these boxing vs. MMA crossover fights until we win one, and then suddenly we're out here in the street lighting couches on fire and ordering bottle service in the VIP. All jokes aside, however, Anderson Silva's win over Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. provided a nice moment "The Spider" absolutely deserves. Plus: Chan Sung Jung back and a heavyweight doubleheader on tap Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Honestly, Brandon Moreno kinda stole the show at UFC 263, what with winning the men's flyweight title in overwhelming fashion while simultaneously seeming like the nicest damn person in the world. In this episode, we react to The Assassin Baby's win, the reality of Leon Edwards winning 24 minutes of a fight and Nate Diaz winning one minute and Israel Adesanya blanking Mad Marvin Vettori in the evening's main event. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Israel Adesanya defends the middleweight title Saturday at UFC 263 against Marvin Vettori, in a championship fight that feels like it's happening just because. Does that make this a sneaky trap fight for Adesanya, who has already defeated Vettori once? Also, can Davey Figgs and the Assassin Baby have another slobberknocker? And are Nate Diaz fans gonna come out of this one, like, suuuuper bummed? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Cris Cyborg battered Leslie Smith for nearly the full 25-minutes to retain the Bellator women's featherweight title on Friday night and the following evening Rob Font did something close to the same against Cody Garbrandt in the main event of a UFC Fight Night. We talk about those bouts and then take your questions on this week's episode of the CME. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Charles Oliveira is the lion of lions. He weathered the early storm against Michael Chandler, won the vacant UFC lightweight title via second round TKO and then smeared blood on Dana White. Not a bad night at the office. Plus, what's next for the elite in the 155-pound division and will Tony Ferguson still be part of it? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There's no doubt that Bellator's Friday night event on Showtime was the best MMA card of the weekend. With MVP's whole-shit-broke KO win, Rumble Johnson having a fun one with Jose Augusto and Young Serg upsetting Juan Archuleta for the bantamweight crown, we packed a whole lot of living into this event. But with the UFC now firmly entrenched on ESPN and cranking out content every weekend--cough, Rodriguez vs. Waterson, cough--how much does it matter when Bellator steals the show on a single night? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices