The MMA Draw Podcast

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.comIt’s here! It’s finally here! After what seems like an eternity of terrible cards (we’re looking directly at the Apex), we’ve finally arrived at a worthwhile event. Is it “00” quality? For the most part, yes. The main event could’ve been a little juicier, but we’re here and we’re excited. With 2.5 title fights, and a card rife with intriguing bouts, who…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.comUFC Vegas 90 just wrapped and Brendon Allen has taken his revenge. Chris Curtis, in true Chris Curtis fashion, ended up writhing in pain at the end of the fight and will no doubt have a detailed dissertation on why he lost. Allen somehow received a 49-46 score, completely undeserved, but the fight was by no means a robbery. It was that close, as the spl…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.comUFC Vegas 90 is ready to kick off this weekend, and a whole bunch of Contender Series alumni will populate nearly half the bouts. There are a few fights that caught our eye, but overall, it’s not a great card. The main event is a rematch that absolutely no one asked for or needed, but here we are. The remainder of the card is a who’s who of top tier tal…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.comUFC Vegas 90 is ready to kick off this weekend, and a whole bunch of Contender Series alumni will populate nearly half the bouts. There are a few fights that caught our eye, but overall, it’s not a great card. The main event is a rematch that absolutely no one asked for or needed, but here we are. The remainder of the card is a who’s who of top tier tal…

UFC Atlantic City’s main card is a pretty good offfering even if that portion only has a single ranked fight on it. The same can be said for the prelims, as they carry the only other ranked fight on the card, and it is also a women’s bout, this time between Virna Jandiroba and Lupita Godinez. Both women have been enjoying successful runs over their last few fights, so it gets no complaints from us. MMA Draw Podcast is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.In the featured prelim spot, Jamall Emmers will be taking on the uber-tough Nate Landwehr. Emmers has begun to take on the Andre Fili “win-one-lose-one” vibe, having alternated wins and losses over his last seven fights. Landwehr is coming off a loss to Dan Ige last June. It will be interesting to see who comes out on top here, as both men are insanely tough and durable. UFC Atlantic City Prelims* Nate Landwehr  vs.  Jamall Emmers 145 lbs* Virna Jandiroba  vs.  Lupita Godinez 115 lbs* Julio Arce  vs.  Herbert Burns 145 lbs* Connor Matthews  vs.  Dennis Buzukja 145 lbs* Ibo Aslan  vs.  Anton Turkalj 205 lbs* Melissa Gatto  vs.  Viktoria Dudakova 125 lbs* Andre Petroski  vs.  Jacob Malkoun 185 lbs* Angel Pacheco  vs.  Caolán Loughran 135 lbsUFC Atlantic City Fun Factoids* Ranked fights: 2* Ranked fighters: 5* Fighters coming off losses: 14* Contender Series alumni: 10* Fighters coming direct from Contender Series: 2* TUF alumni: 2* Debuting fighters: 2Thank you for reading this article and listening to the podcast. Please consider subscribing to The MMA Draw Substack to enjoy our daily premium content. Your paid subscriptions are helping build our new site and keeping hope alive that our staff will remain intact. If you haven’t already, please pledge with a paid subscription today. If you have, please share this post far and wide.Thank you for reading MMA Draw Podcast. This post is public so feel free to share it. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.comUFC Atlantic City is a pretty good looking card, even if the stats don’t back it up much. The headliner alone is worth the price of admission and will undoubtedly set up the next contender for the women’s flyweight belt. Both Erin Blanchfield and Manon Fiorot are powerhouses in their own right, both incredibly durable and both with a style custom-made t…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.comIn 2022, UFC’s lead color commentator, Joe Rogan, came under fire after a social media account stitched together a multitude of instances where Rogan used a very ugly racial epithet into a video clip that ended up going viral. Several outlets picked up the story, including mainstream news media. Joe issued a public apology—which also got picked up by nu…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.comUFC Vegas 89 just wrapped, and not a moment too soon because both the main and co-main events were “mid” as the kids like to say. “Thug” Rose Namajunas took a unanimous decision against Amanda Ribas, but it wasn’t a particularly inspired performance. Her inability or refusal to throw combinations seems like it’s going to be a perpetual Achilles heel if …

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 Errens 145 lbs* M. Rendon  vs.  D. Zheleznyakova 135 lbs* Igor Severino  vs.  André Lima 125 lbs* Mohammed Usman  vs.  Mick Parkin 265 lbsUFC Vegas 89 Fun Factoids* Ranked fights: 0 (Ribas is #8 at FLW & #7 at SW | Namajunas isn’t currently ranked)* Ranked fighters: 1* Fighters coming off losses: 9* Contender Series alumni: 11* Fighters coming directly from Contender Series: 4* TUF alumni: 4* Debuting fighters: 5Thank you for reading this article and listening to the podcast. Please consider subscribing to The MMA Draw Substack to enjoy our daily premium content. Your paid subscriptions are helping build our new site and keeping hope alive that our staff will remain intact. If you haven’t already, please pledge with a paid subscription today. If you have, please share this post far and wide.Thank you for reading and listening to the MMA Vivisection. This post is public so feel free to share it. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com/subscribe

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 completely free today!You know you can count on us for quick, consistent quality UFC coverage. The MMA Draw is an independent, reader supported publication. Please subscribe to our newsletter to keep up with our best work and learn how you can support the site. We’re constantly refining to try and provide our readers and listeners with the best, most current MMA news and opinions.Thank you for reading MMA Draw Podcast. This post is public so feel free to share it. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com/subscribe

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…