Claim OwnershipMMA History Podcast
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MMA Det Mike Davis and Herb Dean’s Dog Sitter Joey Venti being you incredibly researched subjects that will give you information that will surprise the hardest of OG’s
From the No Holds Barred to the Modern Era and everything in between: from choir boys to felon’s we interview everyone
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336 Episodes
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Send a text Tank Abbott's WCW years in Part 2 of our exclusive interview on the MMA History Podcast. From negotiating with Eric Bischoff over Vince McMahon, training at the Power Plant under legends like Paul Orndorff and Dusty Rhodes, to wild angles like the jacket-on-a-pole brawl with Big Al (yes, that knife moment at SuperBrawl 2000), Tank spills the unfiltered truth on backstage politics, his near-title run, and clashes with icons like Goldberg and Sid Vicious. Fact: Tank debuted in WCW o...
Send a text Tedd Williams MMA & Gladiator Challenge Tedd Williams is a UFC veteran, grappling pioneer a national AAU Sambo champion, Gene LeBell black belt, and 7-1 pro fighter and one of the longest tenured promoters in the country. Tedd Williams shares stories from the sport's raw early days: training with Bas Rutten, his UFC 24 main-event elbow KO over Steve Judson, co-founding King of the Cage, launching Gladiator Challenge, and building the regional scene that help...
Send a text MMA Docu Series Dive into the incredible story of Marco Ruas, the barefoot Brazilian who stepped into the UFC octagon before the sport even had a name. Often called the forgotten pioneer, Ruas arrived at UFC 7 in 1995 with a revolutionary well-rounded game—blending Muay Thai devastation, judo throws, jiu-jitsu mastery, and luta livre grappling—that shattered the era of pure specialists. Watch as he dismantles opponents like Larry Cureton with early heel hooks, outstrikes ...
Send a text Paul Buentello BEFORE the UFC 50 Fight Club Member Paul Buentello started his journey fighting for Steve Nelson in the very tough and rugged Amarillo Texas MMA scene. Buentello dives into what it was like fighting absolute legends in Evan Tanner, Gan McGee and Bobby Hoffman prior to getting his opportunity within the UFC. This is a feel good story featuring a guy that is hard not to like 0:00 MMA history podcast intro 0:32 Joey Venti’s guest intr...
Send a text Ep 316 EliteXC Internal Chaos & CBS - Jared Shaw Jared Shaw joins the MMA History Podcast, delivering the 3rd episode of our multi episode Elite XC series. Shaw breaks down the CBS primetime peak numbers (6.51 million viewers for Kimbo vs. James Thompson). The start of what is considered the “gold rush” of WMMA - Gina Carano's pivotal win over Caitlyn Young ;, Robbie Lawler vs. Scott Smith stealing the show, Nick Diaz's "Don't be scared, homie" moment...
Send a text Ep 315 Tank Abbott Fighting in the 90’s The Original UFC bad boy, David "Tank" Abbott, joins us for an unfiltered deep dive into the wild early days of MMA. From his explosive knockouts at UFC 6, legendary clashes in the tournament, street-fighting roots, and raw takes on the politics, "works," and personalities that shaped the sport - Tank holds nothing back. Now retired in the desert, this powerhouse legend (natural 625-Ib bench, no-BS 0:00 MMA history podcast int...
Send a text Ep 314 James Hergott - MMA Film Maker James Hergott is one of the OG’s when it comes to filming the sport of Mixed Martial Arts. While currently promoting his film Super Car Saints available on Amazon Prime; his past incudes Striking Truth with George’s St Pierre & Fighting for the Troops. This episode is special drop where we discuss MMA History current issues along with James past history It’s a fun listen Please follow our channels on&nbs...
Send a text Ep 313 The Fall of EF Battlecade - John Perretti John Perretti, Battlecade: Extreme Fighting creator/matchmaker & former UFC matchmaker. Deep dive into the promotion's last event via Extreme Fighting 4 (Des Moines, March 28, 1997): It featured Olympic gold medalists Kenny Monday & Kevin Jackson on one card, along with epic clashes like Paul Jones vs.Eric Paulson and a mid-show power outage, we talk about Gracie hesitancy on certain matchups (including near-mis...
Send a text Ep 312 Andy Anderson Federal Prison Andy Anderson was once a Texas entrepreneur owning topless clubs and the notorious All Nude Steakhouse (supplying ring girls for UFC events), Andy's life took a turn - he's now serving a federal sentence for drug conspiracy (30 years) and money laundering (20 years), though he insists he's innocent and was railroaded by false testimony. This audio-only deep dive covers fixed fights, mafia run-ins in Ukraine's IFC event, Japanese afterparties go...
Send a text Ep 311 Ron Jhun BEFORE the UFC Ron Jhun is Hawaii’s only 50 fight club member and had over 40 bouts prior to competing in the UFC. Ron Jhun is an early pioneer and a legend among the Hawaiian MMA community; we share some funny insights and stories in this very hard to come by interview Ep 311 Ron Jhun BEFORE the UFC 0:00 MMA history podcast intro 0:32 Joey Venti’s guest introduction 0:53 interview start 1:24 growing up with a boxing p...
Send a text Ep 310 EliteXC The Run - Jared Shaw Following the huge buzz from Part 1 (#308: "The Rise of EliteXC"), Jared returns for an unfiltered deep dive into the promotion's explosive two-year run that seriously challenged the UFC. Hear the insider stories: nearly signing Brock Lesnar post-K-1, flying Kimbo Slice to LA with a briefcase of cash to lock in MMA's first viral superstar (his 43-second KO of Tank Abbott drew massive Showtime ratings), Gina Carano's breakthrough win over ...
Send a text Ep 309 Ed Herman BEFORE the UFC Dive deep into the raw origins of UFC veteran Ed "Short Fuse" Herman - The Ultimate Fighter Season 3 runner-up, a middleweight powerhouse with 26 official UFC bouts (plus his TUF Octagon appearances), 13 wins inside the promotion, and an impressive eight post-fight bonuses, including Knockout of the Night, Submission of the Night, Fight of the Night, and Performance of the Night honors. As the UFC's longest consecutively tenured athlete, his journe...
Send a text In 2025 we experienced a lot of growth and recorded some incredible history pieces Joining is for a recap of the years events is Julio Macedo (RagdollMMA), Referee Kevin MacDonald, Brian McLaughlin & James Hergott This year we had 55 total drops 51 Deep Dives & 2 round tables Special Thank You to the following Phil Barker, Hong Kong Phooey 613Json and Thomas Mural for watching on his wife’s account Thank You for all of the support a...
1Send a text Ep 308 The Rise of EliteXC - Jared Shaw EliteXC made an incredible run to become an industry power in 2007. Joining us to talk about the historic rise is former Vice President of operations is Jared Shaw of the famous Shaw Boxing family. Details EliteXC's explosive growth: landing the Showtime deal, debuting in one month with Renzo Gracie vs. Frank Shamrock, pioneering women's MMA on TV with Gina Carano vs. Julie Kedzie (peaking ratings), co-promotions with K-...
Send a text Ep 307 Jesse Taylor BEFORE the UFC Jesse Taylor dominated The Ultimate Fighter house, crushed everyone in sight, and was one win away from a UFC contract... Then one wild night changed everything. In this raw two-part episode, Jesse "JT Money" Taylor pulls no punches: early Team Quest chaos, underground San Diego stories, TUF glory and heartbreak, worldwide redemption wars, and some insane behind-the-scenes bombs you've never heard. Pure MMA history gold from a true 50-figh...
Send a text Ep 306 Andy Main TUF to the King of Pancrase Andy Main is currently a stand out coach at Pure Martial Arts in Rockaway NJ. Andy rose through ranks of the regional MMA scene at an incredibly early age… we go in depth with our analyzation of his career. From competing on the Ultimate Fighter tv series to winning the King of Pancrase belt, this is a great listen Special Thank You to our friend Brian McLaughlin for helping with the research and landing Andy...
Send a text Ep 305 War Machine Jon Koppenhaver Career & Controversy IF YOU USE THIS VIDEO WITHOUT PERMISSION FROM US WE WILL FLAG YOIR CHANNEL War Machine Jon Koppenhaver interview took place from his living unit at Ely Prison. The video / audio is NOT in sync due to the prison security settings NOT allowing voice recording for video visitations. War Machine Jon Koppenhaver is a controversial figure whose career started with Ken Shamrock & the Lions Den Gym and e...
Send a text Ep 304 Jim Miller BEFORE the UFC w/ Brian McLaughlin Jim Miller is on the precipice of becoming the first ever member of the 50 Fights in the UFC. Jim Milers journey to the UFC is largely undocumented and with the help of his long time friend and trainer Brian McLaughlin we explore his path within the independent grind. Special Thank You to friend of the show Brian McLaughlin for helping out this together. Ep 304 Jim Miller BEFORE the UFC 0...
Send a text Ep 303 Rafiel Torre RND Table 2 Legendary Reporter Jeff Sherwood, Documentary film maker Ed Doty and Referee Larry Landless weigh in on Rafiel Torre. The panel was out together to get a look at Rafiel Torre and his appearance from the side of the media. Rafiel Torre the person, the competitor and the reporter is an onion with many many layers…. We hope to do RoundTable discussions once a month for an additional drop, please let up know who you would like to h...
Send a text Ep 302 Ron Waterman Career Deep Dive Ron Waterman stepped out of the classroom as a teacher and made his way into the cage to fight some of the world’s toughest men. Ron takes us through his journey that includes legendary manager Phyllis Lee, dealings with Math maker John Perretti and wrestling in the WWE Please follow our channels on Follow the MMA History Team on Instagram: MMA Detective Mike Davis @mikedavis632 Co Host Joey Venti @aj_ventitre ...
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peretti interviews are always very informative. I just find them extremely difficult to listen to due to his personality. the guy is more than sour..
That's crazy that this was uploaded four days ago, because about six days ago I randomly thought about War Machine and his trial. I just finished watching almost the entire thing earlier today.
This is an amazing podcast. I’m a fan of MMA but by no means an expert. More of a casual watcher. What I love about this format are the fight by fight behind the scenes personal stories and hilarious drama that surround the events these guys performed on. You can hold your side laughing one moment and your heart breaks for them in another. What a roller coaster ride. It’s a true documentary style history podcast with a cast of characters no movie studio could dream up of. Well done.