Mma Nation

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.comIt’s been ages since we got a card at the Apex that had more than a single ranked fight on it, but this week, we’ve got one with three. That has to be a milestone, right? And get this, they’ve split them up so that we at least get one of them on the undercard. Are we looking at a new era being formed? Doubtful, but I am all about giving credit where it’…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.comIt’s time for the monthly pay-per-view and UFC 321 should be a good one, considering they’ve packed it with 14 fights, two of which have titles on the line. Did Mackenzie Dern find out her fight was for a belt via social media? Yes, she did, but that’s just how the UFC does things these days. The other champion bout is Tom Aspinall’s first defense of hi…

UFC Vancouver saw the favorites winning for the most part in a fairly decent night of fights, considering how dismal it looked on paper. That said, the biggest surprise was Reinier de Ridder’s cardio absolutely shitting the bed, to the point where he was dominated from rounds 2-4 and ended up having his corner not send him out for round 5. Brendan Allen put a whooping on him. Drew Dober turned his fortunes around when he finished Kyle Prepolec, and Aoriqileng smoked Cody Gibson in 21 seconds. Manon Fiorot and Charles Jourdain also notched finishes in their respective fights. The worst part of the entire show was when Dan Miragliotta’s awful refereeing nearly ended up costing Kyle Nelson a TKO. Send that man back to school! Now, let’s check out the rest of the results and bonuses while we’re here.MMA Vivisection & 6th Round is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.UFC Vancouver Results* 185 lbs.: Reinier de Ridder vs. Brendan A

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.comWell, we are looking at another horrendous card with stats so bad, even the most staunch UFC advocate couldn’t possibly defend it. The main event is okay, I guess, but Allen is just one fight removed from being on a two-fight skid. Manon Fiorot vs. Jasmine Jasudavicius is a legitimately great matchup, but the only other ranked fight is Vera vs. Zahabi. …

UFC 320 was terrific on paper and delivered great moments in preactice. Alex Pereira reclaimed his belt in under two minutes. He charged Ankalaev and scored the TKO lightning fast. Merab Dvalishvili almost knocked out Cory Sandhagen, then let him recover enough to take a round off him. He would end up victorious, proving that he’s likely the best bantamweight the UFC has ever seen. Jiri Prochazka fought like a kid practicing his Kung Fu Theater moves and ended up taking a beating through two rounds. Finally, when Rountree had gassed, Jiri turned up the weird energy and ended up getting the TKO in the third, leaving Khalil a bloody mess. Now, let’s check out the rest of the results and bonuses while we’re here.MMA Vivisection & 6th Round is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.UFC 320 Results* 205 lbs.: Magomed Ankalaev vs. Alex Pereira — Pereira def. Ankalaev by TKO (elbows on the ground), round 1 (1:20)* 135 lbs.: Merab Dval

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.comIf last week’s card was a mess on paper, this week’s show is the remedy. The alternative stats are terrific, the fights look exciting, and matchmaking is sensible. I don’t know why people are pushing for Ankalaev to be traded, he’s some such a long way and continues to be more impressive with each contest. Maybe it’s just the idea that he’s killed Poata…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.comUFC Perth was a miserable card on paper and there’s no two ways about it. The stats were awful, but more importantly, the matmaking was too. Having a single ranked fight on an event where Australia pays through the nose in site fees is just so wrong, and the Aussies responded with their wallets, tanking sales to where UFC was practically giving away the…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.comThe stats are speaking volumes of UFC Perth this week. A sprawling, 14-bout card only has a single ranked fight gracing its lineup and only three ranked fighters in total. When you factor in how much the Aussies are likely paying in site fees—let’s just say I’d be asking for a steep discount. The main event looks like it will be a fun, action fight and …

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.comUFC is taking another break, and this time, it seems it’s just so they can rest from all their promotional and matchmaking heavy lifting (said that with so much snark I almost passed out). Our analysts are all here to give you a rousing blend of apathy, disdain, and unadulterated boredom. This week’s awful fights is a collection of Mark Kerr’s contests,…

UFC Noche didn’t have the star quality it should have for a card of the magnitude a “Noche” event is supposed to but it did deliver action in some of the fights. From the opening bout, we were treated to an electrifying TKO from Daniil Donchenko, and another from Alden Coria. For comic relief, we were treated to Dominick Cruz thinking Alice Periera was actually Aline Pereira, and we didn’t have to watch an entire Sedriques Dumas bout since that one ended in a NC thanks to an accidental low blow.Dusko Todorovic finally got the slump-breaker he desperately needed when he finished Jose Medina and Tatiana Suarez scored a unanimous decision over Amanda Lemos. Quang Le got starched and Alex Hernandez beat Diego Ferreira within an inch of his life thanks to a referee that clearly liked live action snuff films.Kelvin Gastelum won a fairly comfortable decision over Dustin Stolzfus and can now go back to the buffet with his crazy hot wife. Rafa Garcia stopped Jared Gordon in the third, and Rob Font got outworked by Da

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.comUFC Noche has 14 fights but only two are ranked. That’s how we’re going to start you off today. This year’s Noche event had its “PPV” moniker removed thanks to Canelo-Crawford taking center stage with TKO’s best efforts at promotion and the event’s lineup absolutely show it. The main event is good. The co-main isn’t really co-main worthy and isn’t a ran…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.comUFC Paris is what an on-the-road fight night should look like. It has thoughtful, meaningful matchmaking (at least on the main card), a main event that looks like a title eliminator, and the potential for action. We don’t know what Bukauskas-Craig is doing on there, but aside from that contest, the premium portion of the event looks pretty damned good. …

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.comUFC is taking another break, this time for Labor Day. Our analysts are all here to give you a rousing blend of snark, disdain, and unadulterated apathy. This week’s awful fights is the triumvirate of heavyweight hopefuls. The fights come from UFC on ESPN+ 9, UFC Fight Night 82: Hendricks vs. Thompson, and UFC 120, with the events respective to the order…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.comUFC Shanghai is your classic mixed bag with a few good fights among a sea of regional level fodder. The main event should actually be Ortega vs. Sterling but we get why it’s Walker vs. Zhang. Why Kavanagh vs. Johnson isn’t on the main card is the card’s greatest mystery and just seems wrong on every level. But we’ve come to expect oddities like these. A…

UFC 319 had some great moments leading up to the main event with several highlight reel finishes. Anthony Hernandez putting a surprise whooping on Chase Hooper, Joseph Morales making his second stint in the UFC count in a big way, Oleksiejczuk and Susurkaev both getting the job done inside the distance, as well. The prelims were definitely to be celebrated.When we got to the main card, we were on a nice little adrenaline high, and here comes Tim Elliott taking out Kai Asakura like the stealthy spoiler he is. What are we to do with Kai after this? Carlos Prates put the nicotine beating on Geoff Neal and Lerone Murphy sent the angels out with their bugles for poor Aaron Pico.And then there was the ugliest main event to ever exist. Was Chimaev dominant? Yes he was. Did he even try to press further for a finish? No he did not. Was Dricus fighting like he was just pulled from the 7-Eleven? Yes he was. Am I excited by the prospect of Khamzat dominating the division? Hell no, but here we are with a stinker of a main

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.comGuess what? UFC is finally giving us a decent card. Is it a PPV? Of course it is. But the important thing to remember is that it’s got relevant matchups, great stats and the potential for a lot of fireworks. And let us not forget we also have a belt on the line with the main event. Will Dricus be able to fend off Khamzat? And what about Aaron Pico? Will…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.comUFC Vegas 109 had some of the worst judging in recent memory. Ben Cartlidge had fans on social media ready to riot after his judging on two of the cards, but the most egregious of them was definitely Johns vs. Matsumodo. Outside that, we saw Andre Fili stay true to his pattern of alternating wins and losses for the last six years. We also got to see one…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.comUFC is making its way back to the Apex for the second time this month with UFC Vegas 109, and it’s only slightly better than last weekend’s awful-on-paper-but-decent-in-actuality card. Once again, the stats are pretty bad, and the matchmaking seems only incrementally better. At the top of the card is one of only two ranked fights, but it does pit two me…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.comUFC is returning home to the Apex this weekend, and boy oh boy does it show. Not only are the stats terrible, the matchmaking seems off, as well. Why pair Neil Magny with Elizeu Zaleski, rather than have a young gun use one of them as a springboard to get spotlight on their climb upwards? Why not wait to find Taira a better opponent than the unranked Pa…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.comUFC Abu Dhabi looks pretty good on paper with four ranked fights and several ranked fighters. But more importantly, we got sensibly booked matchups, and some really interesting pairings. Are there some contests that could (and should) have been left to an Apex event? Absolutely, but there are still some very solid scraps that should appease even picky f…