The Co-main Event Podcast

Well, last week’s Co-Main Event Podcast got bombed out of relevance fairly quickly by The Irish Gentleman Conor McGregor, eh, Universe? The paint was barely dry on the shingle offering CME No. 201 for your attention before McGregor tweeted his weirdo retirement announcement last Tuesday. The ensuing week has been largely swallowed by McGregor-o-mania, so you know your dudes Ben and Chad are going to discuss that during episode No. 202. There are other topics demanding their attention too, however, including the long-awaited and somewhat underwhelming return of Jon Jones at UFC 197--though perhaps the real culprit there was our own raised expectations. Also, Demetrious Johnson made an Olympic gold medalist look fairly hapless inside the Octagon. So, you know, ho hum. Just Mighty Mouse doing Mighty Mouse things. All that, plus AYFKM, JSS and the return of MasterTweet Theatre. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Co-Main Event Podcast is aware of a situation involving Episode 201 and a local business establishment--and that situation is that the episode is out and it’s fucking awesome. On this week’s show, your boys Ben and Chad talk about Glover Teixeira’s slobber-knocking victory over Rashad Evans, as well as his cunning call-out of Anthony Johnson. In addition to that, they look ahead to Jon Jones’ “interim light heavyweight title fight” against Ovince Saint Preux this Saturday at UFC 197. They also discuss Benson Henderson’s coming Bellator MMA debut and what that could mean for the future of free agency. All that, plus AYFKM and Just Sayin’ Stuff. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Like UFC 200 itself, perhaps Co-Main Event Podcast No. 200 doesn’t feel like quite as a big a deal as CME No. 100, but it’s still pretty goddamn great. For starters, Ben and Chad kick off the show by announcing the first ever run of CME T-shirts, which you can buy right now over at Cotton Bureau. In addition to that, they have a long list of loyal listeners to thank for various CME 200 gifts and well wishes. Oh, and the actual fighting? yeah, there’s some of that too. Your dudes talk about Junior dos Santos getting right back in the heavyweight title hunt with his victory over Ben Rothwell last weekend. In addition to that, they look ahead to the aged main event fights on this coming Saturday’s UFC on Fox 19 and talk about Khabib Nurmagomedov’s long-awaited return to the cage against a short notice replacement opponent. All that, plus AYFKM and JSS. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Plenty to talk about on this week’s Co-Main Event Podcast. Your guys Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier took care of that. It was a pretty shitty week for the UFC 197 main event all the way around. First, Jones spent a couple nights in the sneezer owing to a potential probation violation for racin’ in the streets. Then, just when it seemed like the Albuquerque court system wasn’t really gonna do shit and we were out of the woods, Cormier pulled out with a leg injury. I mean … c’mon, UFC 197! Finally, things went from bad to weird when Ovince St. Preux stepped-up to take an interim title fight (wait, the fuck?) with Jones and that not even he seems to think he’ll win. Ben and Chad discourse it all. All that, plus AYFKM and Just Sayin’ Stuff. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Even during another relatively slow week, there is more than enough MMA news to whet the palette of the Co-Main Event Universe. On this week’s show, Ben and Chad discuss Nate Diaz’s recent declaration that chasing UFC championships is just a misguided “fairy tale, man.” Is Diaz right? Is he wrong? Have we all just been imagining those UFC titles around people's waists this whole time? In addition to that, they also discuss the fitness of Jason “Mayhem” Miller and the upcoming Venator FC card he’s going to headline as well as Monday’s breaking news that Cris “Cyborg” Justino will finally make her Octagon debut. All that, plus AYFKM and Just Sayin’ Stuff. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After a few consecutive weeks where #aintshitgoingon suddenly the Co-Main Event Podcast finds itself in a brave new world where #shitgoingon. Almost #toomuchshit. Never to be cowed by the twists of circumstance, however, your dudes Ben and Chad are game to talk about it all. Or at least as much of it as they can fit into an hour and 15 minutes. This week’s CME reverts to its normal, three-round format as your intrepid hosts discuss plans for a rematch between Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz at UFC 200, Mark Hunt’s walkoff knockout of Frank Mir last Saturday at UFC Fight Night 85 and Neil Magny’s borderline scary TKO over Hector Lombard at the same event. All that, plus AYFKM and Just Sayin’ Stuff. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Let’s be honest, CME Universe--ain’t shit going on this week. Sure, there’s UFC Fight Night 85 from Australia, with Frank Mir fighting … Mark Hunt, maybe? Dunno, let Ben and Chad check up on that and get get back to you. For the most part, though, a week this slow (at least until the Tuesday curse unfurls its claws and really digs in) calls for another fairly free form episode of the Co-Main Event Podcast. Grand Olde Episode 196 finds your dudes taking your questions--handily grouped according to subject, kind of--for the full hour and change. You know what? You motherfuckers asked some good questions, too. I mean, don’t get a big head over it or anything but, yeah, adequate work this week, you guys. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Co-Main Event Universe spoke with a loud, clear voice this week. And what did you tell us? That the only things you cared about from the past week were Conor McGregor’s loss to Nate Diaz and Holly Holm’s loss to Miesha Tate, both at UFC 196. Seriously, there’s no way to overstate the amount of listener mail you sent to Ben and Chad on those topics and the complete dearth of listener mail you sent on nearly any other topic. As a result, your guys are breaking with their normal format this week and devoting this entire episode to answering your questions on those two events. Also, Ben broke Chad’s doorbell. So that gets discussed. All that, plus MasterTweet Theatre. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A lot has changed since Ben and Chad sat to record the Co-Main Event Podcast just last week. Rafael dos Anjos is out and Nate Diaz is in against Conor McGregor at UFC 196 which only made things more sweary and less give-a-fucky. Never fear, though, because Holly Holm and Miesha Tate are both still on the card, so at least SOME PEOPLE are still acting like sober professionals. In addition to discussing both those fine fights, your dudes also look back at Michael Bisping’s unanimous decision victory over whoever that guy was pretending to be Anderson Silva last weekend. Also it’s leap day! All that, plus AYFKM and Just Sayin’ Stuff. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Well, it was a certain kind of weekend wasn’t it, Universe? What with Bellator MMA getting down to its nitty, gritty freakshowiest best, while Kimbo Slice and Dada 5000 did Kimbo and Dada things and Royce and Ken proved they’re both probably still crazy. You think Gracie celebrated his big win like a 50-year-old man who hits the game-winning double in his softball tournament? You think he went to the bar, put Toby Keith’s “I Ain’t As Good as I Once Was” on the jukebox, cracked a couple of sodie pops and told all the young fellas how he’s still got it? The CME Podcast would like to believe he did. Elsewhere, Donald “The Cowboy” Cerrone defeated Alex “The Cowboy” Oliveira at one of those anonymous UFC events everybody will forget by next weekend. Oh, and speaking of next weekend, Silva vs. Bisping? You KNOW Ben and Chad are gonna talk about THAT. All that, plus AYFKM and Just Sayin’ Stuff. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Admit it, you’ve basically waited your entire life to listen to the Co-Main Event Podcast discuss a Cowboy vs. Cowboy fight. If that’s the case, gentle reader, you are in luck, as this week Ben and Chad take a good, hard look at the UFC Fight Night 83 main event, featuring Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone taking on Alex “Cowboy” Oliveira. In addition to that, you KNOW they weren’t going to let this final episode go by without taking a moment to break down all the hot action at Bellator 149, featuring Ken Shamrock vs. Royce Gracie and Kimbo Slice vs. Dada 5000. The CME also conducts the rare serious round, as your co-hosts remember recently passed UFC veteran Kevin Randleman and try to put his time in MMA in some sort of historical perspective. All that, plus AYFKM and Just Sayin’ Stuff. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Both co-hosts of the Co-Main Event Podcast are sick this week--co-sick, you might even say--but Ben and Chad still rally the troops for an hour and change of hard-hitting mixed martial arts talk. How could they resist, with Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson’s eye-opening win over Johny Hendricks at UFC Fight Night 82 still so fresh in their minds? In addition to that apparent changing of the welterweight guard, they discuss Mickey Gall winning the CM Punk sweepstakes prior to UFC 199/UFC 200 as well as Bellator MMA’s decision to bring Chris Leben out of retirement and into the fold. With that much stuff going on, it wasn’t as though they were going to let a couple of colds keep them from you, dear listener. All that, plus AYFKM and Just Sayin’ Stuff. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week’s Co-Main Event Podcast delves heavily into the backlash against Sage Monroe Northcutt after his easy-peasy loss to Bryan Barberena on Saturday at UFC on Fox 18. Were the “haters” just being too “mean” to the 19-year-old “kid” after he “lost” his “fight” via “choke” and then told everyone he had “Strep throat”? In addition to that, Ben and Chad discuss the Dark Lord Ben Rothwell and his continued acquisition of power with his choke-out victory over Josh Barnett. Once all that sordid business is taken care of they look ahead to UFC 196/UFC Fight Night 82 and try to figure out exactly how bad it would be for Johny Hendricks if he lost to Wonderboy Thompson. All that, plus AYFKM, Just Sayin’ Stuff and the return of Tips for the Well-Rounded Fight Fan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Well, Ben and Chad drew up plans for this week’s Co-Main Event Podcast and then tore them up and started again after Cain Velasquez pulled out of UFC 196 with an injury. Then they tore THOSE plans up and started again a few minutes later when Fabricio Werdum also pulled out of UFC 196 with an injury. At this point, by the time you listen to this episode someone will probably have been added to UFC 196 and then pulled out with an injury. In addition to that ridiculous talk, they also look back on Conor McGregor’s command performance at the UFC 197 press conference (and the UFC’s own less-than-command performance). There is also a UFC on Fox event this weekend--even though it doesn’t feel like it--where Anthony Johnson fights Ryan Bader and … maybe … Josh Barnett fights Ben Rothwell. But one of those guys will probably get added to UFC 196 before he pulls out with an injury. All that, plus AYFKM, Just Sayin’ Stuff and MasterTweet Theatre. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There were a lot of strange happenings over the weekend at UFC Fight Night 81 and where do you go when things get strange? That’s right, my precious, you come to the Co-Main Event Podcast to hear the two strangest dudes in the MMA industry make sense of it all. This week, Ben and Chad marvel over the culmination of Dominick Cruz’s amazing comeback, as he took the UFC men’s bantamweight title off T.J. Dillashaw. They also review Eddie Alvarez’s successful gambit of wrestling a victory away from Anthony Pettis and Travis Browne trying to reach inside Matt Mitrione’s skull in an attempt to grab his brain. All that, plus AYFKM and Just Sayin’ Stuff. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week’s Co-Main Event Podcast begins with the twisted tale of UFC 197 and who may or may not end up competing at that most bedraggled fight card. A week ago, we thought the whole event could be a goner. This week? We’re wondering if it’s going to mean Red Panty Night on multiple continents. In addition to that, your dudes Ben and Chad talk about this Sunday’s men’s bantamweight title fight between TJ Dillashaw and Dominick Cruz as well as the return of Pretty Tony Pettis in a must-win bout against Eddie Alvarez. Somewhere in there, also find out why Ben was afraid to ring Chad’s doorbell when he showed up to record the CME. All that, plus AYFKM and Just Sayin Stuff. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Robbie Lawler and Carlos Condit straight up did the damn thing last weekend at UFC 195, Universe. These two evenly matched welterweights put it all on the line for 25 minutes of greuling MMA action and emerged … well … they emerged more or less as equal as before the fight started. That’s not optimal, but it was sure fun to watch. On this week’s Co-Main Event Podcast, Ben and Chad look back on the awesomeness of Condit-Lawler and then look ahead to try to figure out exactly what the UFC will do now at 170-pounds. In addition to that, they ponder fondly the weird spectacle that was Rizin Fighting Federation’s inaugural events and try to figure out exactly what’s on deck for Fedor Emelianenko. All that, plus AYFKM, Just Sayin’ Stuff and MasterTweet Theatre. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You hold in your hands--metaphorically, at least--the last CME podcast of 2015. With no way to adequately sum up the rollercoaster ride of this year in MMA, Ben and Chad don’t even try. Aside from some short recollecting during listener mail (listener mail!) this episode sticks pretty much to business as usual. Because business never stops, right? This week your dudes take a look at Saturday’s UFC 195 welterweight title bout between Robbie Lawler and Carlos Condit, which promises to be good fun for everybody except maybe the guy who loses. In addition, they puzzle over the debut of Rizin Fighting Federation (including, after all this time, Fedor Emelianenko vs. Jaideep Singh) and the strange Christmas Eve announcement that Anderson Silva and Michael Bisping will fight on The Fight Pass Dot Com in February. All that, plus AYFKM and JSS. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the Co-Main Event Podcast Christmas special. On this very special episode of the CME we all sit around a roaring fire sipping cocoa with marshmallows while we think back fondly on the year gone by. Nah, not really. You think Ben and Chad have an ounce of Christmas spirit in them? This week, like every damn week, your dudes soberly break down the latest MMA action, including Rafael dos Anjos’ successful UFC lightweight title defense over Donald Cerrone, Nate Diaz calling out Conor McGregor and Alistair Overeem cruising into free agency by putting Junior dos Santos on ice. OK, fine, not that soberly. They wanted to make it worth your while, after all. All that, plus AYFKM and Just Sayin’ Stuff. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hey, CME Universe, how about that Conor McGregor, huh? Turns out he’s pretty good at throwing the old left hand. So good, in fact, that he’s the new UFC featherweight champion, the company’s biggest star and perhaps the first fighter ever with the proper ability, smarts and grapefruits to twist the organization’s arm until it pays him what he’s actually worth. Sad thing about Jose Aldo, though. He collapsed on the canvas like a tipped-over stack of bricks just 13 seconds into a fight we’d all been waiting nearly a year to see. Was that a letdown? That’s just one of the approximately 1 million McGregor-Aldo related topics Chad and Ben take on during this episode of the Co-Main Event Podcast. Give it a listen. We guarantee you’ve never heard a CME quite like this before. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices