Mma Nation

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bloodyelbowpodcast.substack.comA pair of unrelated videos surfaced yesterday that grabbed our attention, mainly for the inaccuracies contained in both. The first is a short clip of an interview former presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy conducted with Dana White. The second is from the Joe Rogan Experience and features a conversation between Joe and former UFC heavyweight Brendan Sc…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bloodyelbowpodcast.substack.comWe’re barely into the new year and UFC has already left us high and dry just two weeks after returning from a month-long drought. But lucky for you, our terrific trio are here to get you through this week with a re-watch of three godawful title fights. If the Apex were a thing back in the good old days, we’re certain this is where these three fights wou…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bloodyelbowpodcast.substack.comUFC 297 was not the best card. As a matter of fact, if I had to rate it on a scale of 1-10, I’d give it a 4. On paper, going into the event, we were quick to notice how there were no ranked fighters on the undercard and eight of those fighters were coming off losses. All four of the opening fights were loser vs. loser. The main card wasn’t much better, …

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bloodyelbowpodcast.substack.comConor McGregor is—and has been for years—one of the most enigmatic figures in combat sports. Hell, he’s one of the most enigmatic figures in all of sports. Much like Ronda Rousey, he’s had a transcendent career journey, crossing the threshold between sports and pop culture. And with pop culture actually driving the demand for more events, stars like Con…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bloodyelbowpodcast.substack.comUFC 297 is officially in the books, the first PPV of the year and it brought us two brand new champions. The card, as a whole, wasn’t very strong on paper, and in practice, it was a bit underwhelming. The early prelims were great and saw serious action from the jump. But as the event wore on, the fights began slowing down. It was almost as if we were in…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bloodyelbowpodcast.substack.comWe were pretty happy with the main card of UFC 297, but the preliminary portion leaves a lot to be desired. We can’t figure out how this undercard was paired with the five fights that will come after it. From the lack of ranked fighters to the dearth of name value, we think it’s kind of a stinker.Bloody Elbow is fighting for the sport, the fighters and …

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bloodyelbowpodcast.substack.comUFC 297 is here to kick off the promotion’s first PPV of the year and they’re doing it in Ontario, Canada. While the main card has an almost weird vibe, it’s a very good lineup of fights. The top two contests are title bouts, but both belts on the line are from two of the three weakest divisions, the third being heavyweight.Bloody Elbow is fighting for …

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bloodyelbowpodcast.substack.comHe’s back! Well, at least for this episode. Who? The one and only Mookie Alexander guest hosted today’s episode so we could make our yearly champions predictions, break down seven select fights from UFC 297, look back at UFC Vegas 84 and discuss how Saudi Arabia is not going to accept just any old slop the UFC tosses their way.Bloody Elbow is fighting f…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bloodyelbowpodcast.substack.comUFC Vegas 84 just wrapped and overall, it was a pretty nice start to the new year. That said, it still had some terrible moments (looking at you Andrei Arlovski), but let’s focus on the positives before you guys start thinking we hate fights. First and foremost, we finally get to put the ridiculous, forced “rivalry” of Magomed Ankalaev and Johnny Walker…

Legendary combat sports commentator, Mike Goldberg, spent nearly two decades with the UFC, starting in 1997 and making his exit in 2016. He then spent about four-years as a voice for Bellator MMA from 2017 to 2021. Now, the one they call ‘Goldie’ is commentating some bare knuckle at BYB Extreme 23 on January 18th, which is a Thursday show. Before sitting Trigon-side, Mike Goldberg caught up with Bloody Elbow for an interview.Bloody Elbow is fighting for the sport, the fighters and the fans. If you share our mission, please consider becoming a paid subscriber today.Mike Goldberg spoke about how he linked up with BYB Extreme, versus how he used to try and score gigs in the olden days. He also mentions how he gets to say his catchphrase ‘It’s all over’ much more frequently now working a bare knuckle event than he did working MMA cards. With Bellator’s sale to the PFL finally official, Eddie asked Mike about what the future might look like for one Scott Coker, as well as a spate of other questions.Being a good sp

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bloodyelbowpodcast.substack.comUFC is back, baby! And by “back,” we mean back at the Apex. But, all is not lost, as the prelims are actually kind of good. That said, don’t let the featured prelim fool you, because that fight is very likely going to be bad. It’s a heavyweight fight, after all, and we know how those go when the top of the division isn’t fighting.Bloody Elbow is fightin…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bloodyelbowpodcast.substack.comAfter an entire month away, the UFC is back to the old grindstone, and trust me, the Apex is the old grindstone these days. And what do we get for all these long nights we waited for your return? A rematch nobody ever asked for that a whole bunch of people seem to not care much about.Bloody Elbow is fighting for the sport, the fighters and the fans. If …

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bloodyelbowpodcast.substack.comThe UFC is back after a long winter’s nap and what do they give their loyal fans? More Apex slop. One might think they’d want to kick off the new year with a firecracker of an event but instead, we get one that even if it does go off like a house afire, who’s gonna care? And more importantly, who’s gonna give that crowd pop that great fights deserve? Th…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bloodyelbowpodcast.substack.comOver the course of the last few weeks, several boxing stories have dropped. We watched Showtime air its last boxing event after nearly 38 years of broadcasting the sport. From there, PBC, who had been calling Showtime their broadcasting home, ended up signing a huge deal with Amazon, so we’ve got one major promotion secured and accounted for.Bloody Elbo…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bloodyelbowpodcast.substack.com2023 was a pretty wild year. The very first day saw UFC president Dana White slap his wife on camera and that kind of set the tone for the rest of the year. One thing that never changes is the sport’s ability to provide some of the greatest fights, and alternately, some of the worst. That’s why we’re here, to provide you with an unbiased (or maybe compl…

The holidays are always good for fun videos and photos, lively quips and interviews and lots of social media posts by combat sports athletes, but none have been quite as mesmerizing as the ones Conor McGregor puts out. Over the last two weeks of the holiday season, the Irish former champ-champ kept jaws wagging with some over the top antics.Bloody Elbow is fighting for the sport, the fighters and the fans. If you share our mission, please consider becoming a paid subscriber today.We start off with his appearance at the Joshua-Wallin / Wilder-Parker fight card where he was instantly memed following video footage of him seemingly jabbering Cristiano Ronaldo’s ear off, all while the soccer star looked like he’d rather be anywhere but the seat he was in. Conor delighted in his captive audience, regaling them with talks of a possible fight with Manny Pacquiao and the size of the ring the boxers would be in.From there we discuss his interview with Gareth Davies where “The Notorious” said the UFC was gravely mistrea

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bloodyelbowpodcast.substack.comMojave Diamonds won’t be taking the awards season by storm, but it is an unintentional comedic gem. The acting is awful, the dialogue is ridiculous, the action is brawlic and the vibe is as cringe as one would imagine when met with a cast that features Chael Sonnen, Donald Cerrone and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson.Bloody Elbow is fighting for the sport, the…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bloodyelbowpodcast.substack.comWhile our fearless leader battles malware demons and other wicked foes, I sneaked back into his bunker for another chat with longtime investigative journalist Zach Arnold. I don’t know where Nate hid the shotgun (even though I said it was by the door), and I’m pretty sure that the mongrel outside the gates isn’t his mighty hound, but I did pull the shad…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bloodyelbowpodcast.substack.comMauricio “Shogun” Rua made his name in PRIDE and cemented it in the UFC with a style that was crowd-pleasing in both promotions. Fights with Rampage Jackson and Dan Henderson are what fans immediately call up to memory, but you could really go through his record and see a veritable cornucopia of names going as far back as 2003 when he faced Evangelista …

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bloodyelbowpodcast.substack.comMMA has had an incredible year news-wise, thanks mostly to three big stories. We’ve seen all sorts of drama, from the New Year all the way to now. We opened the first week of the year with Dana White assaulting his wife on video for the world to see. We’ve seen Power Slap become a real thing and it has now been sanctioned in California—something we woul…