The Co-main Event Podcast

Just two fights into his UFC run, it sure looks like Jiri Prochazka is closing in on a light heayvweight title shot. And hey, if we're being honest, anything that keeps this suddenly Jon Jones-less division fresh is probably a good thing. Also, Thursday and Friday nights are STACKED with non-UFC action and Saturday night is ... well ... what's the opposite of stacked? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From seeing Chris Weidman's leg shatter against Uriah Hall's leg to a trio of stoppages--at least a couple of them fairly shocking--in the event's three title fights, there were a lot of mood swings during UFC 261. An emotional toll was exacted, you might say. If nothing else, this won't be one we forget for some time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Given the assembly-line nature of the UFC content these days, you can't blame MMA fans, boxing hardcores and casuals alike for being interested in Triller, which is (if nothing else) EXTREMELY different. So, when that dude Ebenezer Paul knocks out Ben Askren in under two minutes, it's going to be kind of a big deal. We discuss that and look ahead to UFC 261. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Marvin Vettori defeated Kevin Holland in the main event of UFC on ABC 2 on Saturday, but it turned out to be the sort o fight that didn't really help either guy's standing in the middleweight division. Plus we talk about last week's efforts from One Championship and Bellator as well as look ahead to Robert Whittaker vs. Kelvin Gastelum. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Patricio "Pitbull" Freire advanced to the final of the Bellator featherweight grand prix Satuday night during that promotion's debut on Showtime, by choking Emanuel Sanchez to damn sleep with a quickness. Now, as he prepares to take on AJ McKee for all the marbles, how good is Pitbull's claim to being the best 145-pounder in the world? Plus, the "Right Guy" Championship fight is now official and the UFC readies for its second broadcast on ABC. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Francis Ngannou pitched damn near a perfect game on Saturday at UFC 260, stopping Stipe Miocic via second-round KO to claim the heavyweight title. By all rights, Jon Jones should be next, but somehow it feels like the UFC is going to screw us out of that one? So, what happens? A rematch with Derrick Lewis? A trilogy with Miocic? We talk our way into the Francis Ngannou Era on this week's CME. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The UFC heavyweight title rematch between Stipe Miocic and Francis Ngannou is set to go down this weekend. The featherweight title scrap between Alexander Volkanovski and Brian Ortega? Not so much. Plus, Kevin Holland drops a unanimous decision to Derek Brunson and suddenly we DON'T think it's cool that he talks through all his fights? Huh, OK. Seemed like that was one of the reasons he found himself in a UFC main event to begin with, but whatever. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Well, fudge. That's not how we wanted it to go. That's obviously not how Belal Muhammad wanted it to go. Dare we say, that's not how Leon Edwards wanted it to go, either, though his suggestion that maybe we just let it go and book him a title fight anyway was--yeah. no, that's not how this shit works. This week? We discuss the eye poke, which makes it three DQ/NC results during the last two weeks of UFC action. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Israel Adesanya's foray into the light heavyweight division did not go as planned, courtesy the Legendary Polish Power of Jan Blachowicz. Oh, Janny Blackjacks, you never stop surprising us. Plus, Amanda Nunes still ain't nothing to fuck with and ... PETR YAN WHAT ARE YOU DOING??? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Knock on wood, people: Five UFC titles are scheduled to be on the line during March, including this weekend's UFC 259 and its triple bill of championship bouts. Can Israel Adesanya end Janny Blackjacks' Cinderella run with the light heavyweight title? Is Petr Yan the guy we thought he was? Is there any way Megan Anderson beats Amanda Nunes? We discuss. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The current moment in the UFC belongs to the big fellas. With Derrick Lewis' KO of Curtis Blaydes last weekend and the Biggi Boy vs. Ciryl Gane coming up next, the heavyweight division is taking center stage. On top of that, it looks like Stipe vs. Big Fran II is actually gonna happen. So, get hyped, America. Now let's just hope Jon Jones didn't put on all that extra weight for nothing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After a first round where it looked like Gilbert Burns was on the verge of capturing the UFC welterweight title, Kamaru Usman put his foot down. The power jab, the low kicks, the third-round TKO victory--all these things served to make Usman look like an ever evolving puzzle for the rest of the 170-pound class. All things being equal, Usman would probably be a much bigger star. Unfortunately, we know that's not how it works in this sport. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Both Alistair Overeem and Frankie Edgar had rough nights at Saturday's UFC. Alexander Volkov busted Overeem's nose en route to a second-round TKO. Corey Sandhagen put Edgar's chin into the stratosphere with a KO-of-the-year-candidate flying knee. So, that was hard to watch. Plus, Ben watched BKFC and we look ahead to UFC 258. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alistair Overeem fights Alexander Volkov this Saturday during Super Bowl weekend, but you already knew we weren't going to spend the entire show talking about that. Instead, we take listener queries in another one of our All Questions Considered episodes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dustin Poirier walked out to James Brown's "The Big Payback," stopped Conor McGregor in the second round and then declared himself the uncrowned champion. A pretty nifty piece of business from The Diamond all the way around at UFC 257. Now, we ask what should be next for Poirier, McGregor and, oh yeah, Michael Chandler in a suddenly Khabib-free lightweight division. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Max Holloway amazed us all with his performance at Saturday's UFC on ABC card. Never one to rest on its laurels, however, the UFC ramps back up for two events this week. (We see you, Michael Chiesa vs. Neil Magny!) And as Conor McGregor prepares to return at UFC 257, any effort to figure out what he has left just feels like guesswork. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The UFC returns to network television this week for the first time since 2018, as Saturday afternoon it presents its debut broadcast on ABC. What to make of this, especially after the fight company's tenure on Big Fox started with a bang and then slowly petered-out over the lifetime of that deal? And what can we surmise from matchmakers using Max Holloway vs. Calvin Kattar as the first main event in this new series? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the first episode of The Proper since mid-December, we've got some catching up to do. So, we're going All Questions Considered this week. What's up with the UFC raising PPV prices? Have we witnessed the fatal flaw in Greg Hardy's MMA evolution? And what's the UFC really doing with its "Performance Center"? Those questions and more ... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Let's be honest, ain't nobody doing any work the week of Christmas. This episode, we present (or, uh, re-represent, as the case may be) our year-end awards. Plus, Sir Nigel Longstock stops by to read the best tweets of 2020. We pop champagne and hand out white elephant gifts. You'll like it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno threw DOWN on Saturday in the main event of UFC 256 and, while it probably wasn't the fight of the year, it was perhaps the greatest majority draw of all time. In the co-main, Charles Oliveira wore Tony Ferguson around like a hat. Don't look now, but on the heels of a crackerjack pay-per-view card last weekend, there's another potentially dope card coming up this week. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices