Mma Nation

After looking at UFC Vegas 89’s meaningless main card, we’re kind of surprised that there was anything noteworthy on the prelims, but there is. Even though there are five debuting fighters, there are still a few bouts worth keeping an eye on. The featured prelim—Trey Ogden vs. Kurt Holobough isn’t bad and the two contests immediately preceding it aren’t either. MMA Draw Podcast is fighting for the sport, the fighters and the fans. If you share our mission, please consider becoming a paid subscriber today.Ricardo Ramos vs. Julian Erosa could end up being a stellar banger and Miles Johns making his return to action after a bit of a layoff are storylines that might provide a little pizzazz. There’s also a debuting bantamweight that looks like she could be an exciting prospect. Let’s take a look at the undercard and some fun factoids for the card.UFC Vegas 89 Prelims* Trey Ogden  vs.  Kurt Holobaugh 155 lbs* Ricardo Ramos  vs.  Julian Erosa 145 lbs* Miles Johns  vs.  Cody Gibson 135 lbs* Steven Nguyen  vs.  Jarno

After looking at UFC Vegas 89’s meaningless main card, we’re kind of surprised that there was anything noteworthy on the prelims, but there is. Even though there are five debuting fighters, there are still a few bouts worth keeping an eye on. The featured prelim—Trey Ogden vs. Kurt Holobough isn’t bad and the two contests immediately preceding it aren’t either. MMA Draw Podcast is fighting for the sport, the fighters and the fans. If you share our mission, please consider becoming a paid subscriber today.Ricardo Ramos vs. Julian Erosa could end up being a stellar banger and Miles Johns making his return to action after a bit of a layoff are storylines that might provide a little pizzazz. There’s also a debuting bantamweight that looks like she could be an exciting prospect. Let’s take a look at the undercard and some fun factoids for the card.UFC Vegas 89 Prelims* Trey Ogden  vs.  Kurt Holobaugh 155 lbs* Ricardo Ramos  vs.  Julian Erosa 145 lbs* Miles Johns  vs.  Cody Gibson 135 lbs* Steven Nguyen  vs.  Jarno

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.comAre you thirsty for another watered down, subpar Apex card? Well good, because the UFC has got one for you. If you thought last week’s show looked abysmal, you may want to reset your excitement barometer because UFC Vegas 89 is even more paltry, with a pretty lackluster headliner supported by a very forgettable supporting bout lineup. To its credit, the…

Sean Strickland certainly has tongues wagging this week after his latest social media video clip. His video confessional, a staple on his social feeds, comes from inside his car, where he tells fans how he doesn’t feel mentally stable, and that he told his girlfriend he just wanted to burn everything down but that he felt really connected to his fans. This level of “honesty” always seems to grab fan attention, creating the impression that Sean is using these sessions as a trauma dump rather than actually seeking therapy.MMA Draw Podcast is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.We also have an update from the Haru Basho, the second grand Sumo tournament of the year. Tim Bissell stops in to provide details an all the important matches, with the latest on some of our favorite characters like the Angry Hamster, Double Boob, the Flying Monkey, Machine Gun Arm and the Peach Prince. It’s an episode you won’t want to miss and it’s comple

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.comIt’s been almost two weeks since the sale of Bloody Elbow went public and GRV Media took over the various properties they acquired. Staff was warned the week of the sale that the new owners wouldn’t be keeping them and that’s been the case in actuality. They did put out a call that they were looking for experienced writers for producing content on the h…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.comUFC Vegas 88 is officially in the books and with it, the hope for Tai Tuivasa to turn around his fortunes. After coming out swinging for the fences, “Bam Bam” was quickly figured out by Marcin Tybura, who got the fight to the ground, capitalized on the subpar grappling of the Aussie, then promptly submitted him with a rear-naked choke, and he did it all…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.comUFC 299 is a hard act to follow but the matchmaking brass seems to have put in the bare minimum effort with their 88th Vegas-themed card. As always, the event is set to go down at the Apex, so you already know it’s going to be threadbare. If you thought the main card was shallow, the prelims certainly do their best to give it competition. It’s downright…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.comThe UFC is back with another Apex card and it isn’t very good. Once again, a dearth of ranked fighters, fights (where both opponents in a fight carry a Top 15 ranking) and name value permeate this event. There are a couple contests that have our interest, but overall, this card is a dud, and feels like they pulled out all their “filler” athletes—the one…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.comUFC 299 was a great card in practice and according to the promotion’s brass, the event garnered a sellout gate that topped $13M—their fourth best live gate. The headliner, Sean O’Malley vs. Marlon Vera, was a title bout for bantamweight gold and it featured a fantastic supporting card with everything fight fans could possibly want—name value, action-pac…

UFC 299 just wrapped a long night of combat in Miami, and following a hellishly long boxing card in Knockout Chaos: Joshua vs. Ngannou so closely, we’re welcoming a Sunday respite from face punching. But first, we’re going to get into the action from the event, both the highs and the lows.The main event put Sean O’Malley’s remarkable striking on display, showcasing crisp, accurate boxing, excellent footwork and last, but certainly not least, durability. It took a ridiculous amount of time before Vera realized that oblique and low kicks couldn’t win him the fight, especially with the volume that O’Malley was continuously peppering him with. Sean’s jab was money. His combinations were surgical. His footwork was incredible—he seemed to be in perfect position 100% of the time. ‘Suga’ fought the perfect fight against a chronically tough veteran and made it look easy. Vera had but one saving grace tonight, and that’s his durability. The sheer volume of punishment he absorbed was massive. If only he’d get his aggres

The prelims for UFC 299 stand in stark contrast to the main card in that it gives all the appearance of a fight night event rather than the high-priced PPV offering that it is. The good news is that most of those fights would undoubtedly be outside the Apex, proper “on the road” fights. We even have ranked fights and fighters on this portion of the show.The featured prelim, a heavyweight showdown between Curtis Blaydes and Jailton Almeida, is a ranked, high-value bout, and one that looks intriguing. Wrestling vs. BJJ on display at the 265-pound limit. Mix in the old adage that the big boys carry a lot of heat in their mitts and we have the ingredients for a great fight. There are a couple other ranked bouts left on this section of the event, too. Katlyn Cerminara (formerly Chookagian) vs. Maycee Barber and Mateusz Gamrot vs. Rafael dos Anjos. Aside from those, there is a ranked fighter here and there, but all told, the undercard reads like a really good fight night. Considering the depth of the main [ortion,

Francis Ngannou got away and we’re so very happy he did. Going from a $600K payday in the UFC—all because of the UFC’s hard-nosed tactics at the negotiation table—to a 10-figure purse in your second boxing match is unheard of unless your name is Conor McGregor. Ngannou may be giving the Irish superstar a run for the money in that regard very soon, and might even wind up on the coveted Forbes List this year. But how did he get there?The long and the short of it is that he bet on himself and waited for the terms of his sunset clause to come to their conclusion, and then he took the Francis Ngannou show on the road. First stop, Riyadh, where he took the lineal heavyweight boxing champion of the world to a split decision that many in the community felt he won. He even put the champ on the canvas. Impressive for a pro debut, to say the least.Now, he’s set to take on the number one contender in the world, a former champion in Anthony Joshua, and he’ll be doing it for a huge payday. After it’s all said and done, Fra

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.comUFC 299 is a really good looking card when weighed and measured as a whole. The main event is a rematch that’s been nearly four years in the making, and as the event draws closer to fight night, the smack talk between the two has ramped up. They’re even direct messaging each other with insults. It will be interesting to see if the same Marlon Vera shows…

TKO Group Holdings, the conglomerate that went public last fall after the merger of the UFC with the WWE, released its full 2023 financial results last week. Having reported on their SEC and investor reports for the first and second quarter of last year, I am once again only going to focus on what we learn about the UFC’s finances from their 8-K, 10-K and earnings call.The MMA Draw is fighting for the sport, the fighters and the fans. If you share our mission, please consider becoming a paid subscriber today.The big takeaway is that everything was gold for the UFC, setting records in almost every category. They saw increases in their revenue (including increases in each of the four segments that make up revenue), an increase in their EBITDA, and, in some good news for their fighters, even an increase in their athlete costs AKA fighter pay.REVENUEIn 2023, the UFC delivered record financial results once again. Total revenue increased 13%, from $1.140 billion to $1.292 billion, an increase of $152 million. A bre

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bloodyelbowpodcast.substack.comUFC Vegas 87 prelims aren’t the worst fights, by any means. They’re not the best either, but what are you going to do? It doesn’t look like change will be on the horizon any time soon, especially with the UFC experiencing yet another banner year for revenue. As long as they can put the bare minimum effort into these Apex cards, the more warehouse-style …

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bloodyelbowpodcast.substack.comUFC Vegas 87 is the antithesis of last week’s Fight Night card. There are reasons to celebrate (albeit few), and there are reasons to be annoyed, of which there are plenty. Jairzinho Rozenstruik, a ranked heavyweight with an extensive UFC resume, is taking on Shamil Gaziev, an athlete signed to the largest promotion in the world who doesn’t even have a …

UFC Vegas 87 is an ugly card, full stop. Despite the fact that the alternative stats look decent (ranked fights, fighters, etc.), the matchups don’t do much in the way of getting us amped to watch the card. If anything, it’s a deterrent to it. Let’s face it, no matter what they do, the Apex cards always seem like leftovers, even when they’re not.Bloody Elbow is fighting for the sport, the fighters and the fans. If you share our mission, please consider becoming a paid subscriber today.And with two last minute replacements, we even get an athlete who is scheduled to fight for another promotion next weekend. It just always feels like we’re being cheated out of good cards for one reason or another, be it due to a lack of name value (big issue on this event) or a lack of ranked athletes and fights.We get a smattering of everything on this show, but there’s nothing too egregious when we stack up our normal factoids. It’s when we peel back the layers of the records that we start to see where the seams are coming ap

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bloodyelbowpodcast.substack.comRyan Garcia has once again called out UFC’s bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley. Boxing’s babyfaced superstar engaged in a back-and-forth on X (formerly Twitter) with the UFC bantamweight champion, prompting many to wonder if Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions would be able to co-promote a fight with the UFC between the two sluggers. O’Malley has …

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit bloodyelbowpodcast.substack.comUFC Mexico just wrapped and overall, it was a solid card with plenty of highlights, some good, some not. Some of the night’s more interesting situations include: a fight cancellation, a rolled ankle during the announcements, questionable judging and a few upsets (shoutout to Raoni Barcelos). Let’s get into the fights that really caught our eye.Bloody El…

UFC Mexico City is a solid card overall, even if the prelims are a hodgepodge of who’s-whos hoping to separate themselves from the pack. The opening fight aka the curtain-jerker, would be more fitting in the featured prelim spot as Naimov is looking like a real deal prospect with a fairly high ceiling. Alas, we get Cristian Quiñonez vs. Raoni Barcelos, which is fine, I guess, but Barcelos has been looking pretty shopworn lately, so we’re giving this one a partial side eye.Bloody Elbow is fighting for the sport, the fighters and the fans. If you share our mission, please consider becoming a paid subscriber today.There are a couple themes going on with this event. First, it is a night of rematches. Both the main and co-main events are rematches. Buried inside those rematches are others dotting the resumes of all four men featuring in the top two bouts. This card has three rematches on it, which seems like a lot. I’m making a mental note to go back and find out what the record is for rematches on a single UFC ca