The Co-main Event Podcast

MMA people, what did we just see? Francis Ngannou went over there to Saudi Arabia over the weekend and DID THE DAMN THING against heavyweight champion Tyson Fury. Ngannou out-performed even our most generous expectations, knocking Fury down in the third and taking him to a (kinda bullshit?) split decision. It was, without a doubt, one of the greatest underdog performances in the history of professional sports. This week on the Proper, we discuss, among other things: My God, Francis showed out. How to even put this fight in historical perspective? So, what's next? Does Francis become a full-time boxer or does he have some MMA left in him? How bad did the UFC fuck up here? And when will we hear from Noted Boxing Fan Dana White about this fight? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

UFC 294 was a weird one. Islam Makhachev and Khamzat Chimaev both scored big victories over short-notice replacements, but the event also was marred by low blows, fence grabs, illegal knees, some super weird ringside doctoring, a couple people showing up with staph, rumors the UFC had once again banned flags from the Octagon and – of all things – Paolo Costa trying to brawl random fans in the stands. So, yeah, it was bizarre. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

So, just a couple weeks before the UFC is set to head to Abu Dhabi with a fairly marquee card, they lose BOTH their co-main event and main event to some unexpected misadventure. In this case, it was a cut to Charles Oliveira and surgery for Paulo Costa that forced them out of their respective bouts. This type of swerve might spell disaster for any other promoter, but not so for the UFC. When you've got the power and influence of an organization that controls more than 90% of your chosen market, you just reload, brother. The UFC brought in featherweight champ Alexander Volkanovski to take Oliveira's place in a lightweight title fight against Islam Makhachev and former welterweight titlist Kamaru Usman to sub in for Costa in a middleweight bout against Khamzat Chimaev. In other words, still pretty awesome. Damn. Must be nice. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

UFC President Dana White this week confirmed earlier social media posts from Conor McGregor that the fighter had "sent his stuff" to UFC drug czar Jeff Novitsky, but said that McGregor was not back in the USADA testing pool quite yet. "I literally have nothing planned for Conor McGregor right now,” White said. Could this possibly be true? Has White finally realized that it's impossible to plan anything with the wily Irishman? But, if that's so, why did McGregor apply to get back into the pool at the exact six-month deadline he'd need if he were going to headline UFC 300 in April, 2024? It's a mystery. Plus, Bobby Green KOed Grant Dawson so fast he didn't even know what hand he did it with and ... well, this seems like a VERY Bellator end for Bellator, doesn't it? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bellator 300 happens this weekend at Pechanga Arena in San Diego. Three titles on the line. Seventeen fights total. Under normal circumstances you could chalk it down as a gala celebration of Scott Coker's alternative American MMA organization making it to the big Three Double Oh. Unfortunately, with rampant rumors that PFL is about to buy it and that Bellator has one, maybe two events left ... well, that casts a pall, doesn't it? Plus, the UFC's unstoppable fight engine roars back to life with Grant Dawson vs. Bobby Green and the California State Athletic Commission continues to actually try to do a good job. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We got more listener mail than we expected coming out of last weekend’s Fight Night card – Thanks, Bryce! – and with no UFC event scheduled for this weekend we thought, what the hell, let’s answer as many of them as we can. So, we take your queries about the bummer ending of Fiziev vs. Gamrot, Bryce Mitchell’s bible thumping, excitement levels for Jiri vs. Pereira, whether ALL fighters will soon be DWCS fighters and a whole lot more. This episode is brought to you in part by NordVPN. Grab your EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal by going to nordvpn.com/comain or use the code comain to get four free bonus months when you sign up for a two-year plan. It's risk free with Nord's exclusive 30-day money back guarantee. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nobody loves a 10-8 round more than Mike Bell. That Mike Bell is a 10-8in' MFer to be sure. Let him out of your sight for even one second and Mike Bell will score a round 10-8. Valentina Shevchenko found that out the hard way on Saturday at UFC Noche, as Bell's 10-8 scorecard in favor of Alexa Grasso in the pivotal fifth round of their title fight denied Shevchenko the opportunity to regain the women's flyweight championship and maybe sent her to the back of the contender line. The split draw that let Grasso hold onto the title, however, should not overshadow the fact she and Shevchenko had a hell of a fight (again). So, where does Mike Bell's 10-8in' ass leave the 125-pound division? We discuss. This episode is brought to you in part by NordVPN. Grab your EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal by going to nordvpn.com/comain or use the code comain to get four free bonus months when you sign up for a two-year plan. It's risk free with Nord's exclusive 30-day money back guarantee. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaph

It was no dream. There is no waking up from this one. Sean Strickland really DID show up on Saturday at UFC 293 and take the middleweight title from Israel Adesanya by shocking unanimous decision. This was no lucky punch or freak injury. Nope. Sean Strickland just went out there and did Sean Strickland stuff and Adesanya basically had no answer for it. Un-fucking-believable. Did we (and by "we" I mean I -- Chad) make this happen? Look, we were just trying to bring some Silly Little Guy energy to our bets on last week's Power Hour, but it seems possible we did spark the wrath of the MMA Gods by including Izzy in all of our parlays. Sorry about that. Now we all have a few months of a Strickland title reign to suffer through before somebody inevitably beats him. What will that be like? Who's next ? And what does the UFC do with the suddenly 1-2 Adesanya? We discourse. This episode is brought to you in part by NordVPN. Grab your EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal by going to nordvpn.com/comain or use the code comain to get f

Hey, Co-Mainiacs, here's a tasty lfree sample of what's going on behind the paywall over at Patreon.com/comainevent. If you like it, you might consider signing up and joining the team? Remember, all our Patreon content appears ad free! We've wanted to get the big homie Patrick Wyman on the show for a long time. You've all asked for it and we thought we could have a super cool and interesting talk with him, but couldn't get the timing to work out until this week. Once we got Patrick on the ol' Zoom machine, however, it was amazing. We had so much fun, we felt compelled to make this episode of DDT available to everyone. If you like it, well, maybe consider leveling up to the $10 or $20 patronage tier, eh? Then we can all be best friends. Patrick has just launched his new podcast The Pursuit of Dadliness to go along with his other successful endeavors like the Tides of History Podcast and his great book The Verge. Ben and I will both be guests on upcoming episodes of the new podcast. So, this week, we talk about

Sounds like Sean Strickland is having fun on his trip to Australia, what with showing up on day one and slugging a random fan in the stomach. He's also writing some fire tweets (and by fire we mean offensive), which, let’s face it, he’d be doing no matter where he was in the world. Will that enjoyment extend to Saturday, when he is scheduled to fight Israel Adesanya for the UFC middleweight title? That part we don’t know, though Strickland is facing long odds and what looks like a terrible match-up of styles for him. This wasn’t the 185-pound championship match we were supposed to have at UFC 293, but its the one we got. Anymore, that sort of feels like it sums up the general state of things in the UFC. Also, Ciryl Gane got a bit of a “comeback” win over Sergey Spivac last weekend, though it’s hard to tell how much that means for him while Jon Jones is still heavyweight champion. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Max Holloway got the win as expected over Chan Sung Jung on Saturday, but it was still a fairly impressive weekend for the Korean Zombie. Jung was able to find Holloway's chin more than expected prior to his own KO loss, he got a signature Zombie moment surviving a choke in the second round and after the fight pulled off perhaps the classiest and most eloquent MMA retirement we've ever seen. Point being: Max and the Zombie are both sweet dudes. Where they both go from here, only time will tell. Plus, as the UFC rolls into Paris this weekend, will Sergey Spivak look to check that wrestling against Ciryl Gane? This episode is brought to you in part by NordVPN. Grab your EXCLUSIVE NordVPN deal by going to nordvpn.com/comain or use the code comain to get four free bonus months when you sign up for a two-year plan. It's risk free with Nord's exclusive 30-day money back guarantee. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Friends, your new UFC men's bantamweight champion is Sean O'Malley. It's possible that's a pretty big deal. At this point, the UFC certainly seems to have succeeded in its years-long effort at making O'Malley a star. His upset TKO of Aljamain Sterling on Saturday at UFC 292 made him the youngest champion on the UFC's current roster, he received a hero's welcome in Boston and now is poised to perhaps bring an unprecedented amount of attention to the 135-pound division. Only question now is, how long can he stay on top? Plus, Zhang Weili blanked Amanda Lemos and Max Holloway is going to have a fun fight against The Korean Zombie. This episode is brought to you in part by NordVPN. Grab your EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal by going to nordvpn.com/comain or use the code comain to get one free bonus month as well as their exclusive 30-day money back guarantee. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Since his promotional debut in 2017, the UFC has had Sean O'Malley ticketed for stardom. Saturday at UFC 292, perhaps we'll see if he came make good on that promise. O'Malley is going off as about a 2-to-1 underdog to men's bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling, but questions persist about Sterling's health, focus and readiness. Fact is, O'Malley could be a live dog here. Will he prove to be everything the UFC thinks he can be? Plus, Zhang Weili squares off with Amanda Lemos -- wait, who? -- and Vicente Luque is a miracle cured by God. This episode is brought to you in part by NordVPN. Grab your EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal by going to nordvpn.com/comain or use the code comain to get one free bonus month as well as their exclusive 30-day money back guarantee. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jake Paul did that thing on Saturday where he outduels an aging but beloved MMA star in the boxing ring. This time it was Nate Diaz coming up short on the scorecards against "The Problem Child." It was fine, if you like that kind of thing, but at this point these Jake Paul boxing weekends are starting to feel formulaic, right down to the brawls outside the arena after the actual fight ends. So ... is Paul's threatened move to MMA to fight Diaz again actually the smartest move he could make right now? Also, Cory Sandhagen tears triceps, still wins. MMA fans: Boooring! This episode is brought to you in part by NordVPN. Grab your EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal by going to nordvpn.com/comain or use the code comain to get one free bonus month as well as their exclusive 30-day money back guarantee. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Usually, when Justin Gaethje delivers devastating kicks, they are to the legs. Turns out, he can kick you in the head pretty hard, too. Dustin Poirier found that out the hard way Saturday during the pair's main event fight at UFC 291. Now that Gaethje has knocked out Poirier and claimed the BMF "title," he's also the assumed the No. 1 contender for the actual, real lightweight title, as well. So, it was a pretty good night of work for him. Plus, we talk Alex Pereira's victorious but frustrating light heavyweight debut, Derrick Lewis landing a flying knee and stripping his shorts off (because of course) and the downfall of Tony Ferguson. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nobody in the world will argue with Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje re-matching at UFC 291. That's just a good-ass fight. One so good, in fact, that it probably doesn't need the added silliness of being for the "vacant" BMF title. But, you know, gold on the poster and all that. Plus we get to see how Alex Periera will fare at light heavyweight as he moves up to fight Janny Blackjacks. Plus, several "remember me?" fights round out the main card. We talk all that, plus: Tom Aspinall? That boy good. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At this point, you gotta admire Francis Ngannou's track record of doing exactly what the fuck he says he's going to do. He said he was going to wait out his UFC contract. He did that. He said he was going to sign a lucrative MMA deal that would include unprecedented gains for both himself and his opponents. He did that. He said he was going to sign a big-money boxing match against one of the world's best-known pugilists that would probably set him up for life. He. Fucking. Did. That. How can you not be happy for this guy? On this episode, we look forward to Ngannou vs. Tyson Fury, talk about Holly Holm's submission loss to Marya Bueno Silva and anticipate the return of Tom Aspinall. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Holy shit! If you happen to be an MMA fan who struggles with the current landscape of the UFC, Saturday's pay-per-view was a goddamn life-affirming breath of fresh air. UFC 290 was probably one of the company's all-time great PPV events. Alexander Volkanovski reaffirmed his greatness. Alexandre Pantoja won the men's flyweight title from Brandon Moreno in a fight-of-the-year caliber split decision. Robbie Lawler walked away in perfect style. DDP set up perhaps the cringiest middleweight title fight of all time against Israel Adesanya. Bo Nickal knocked a MFer out on the feet (!). It was wild, weird and sometimes wonderful. This is why we started watching this stuff in the first place. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There's no real reason to believe Yair Rodriguez defeats Alexander Volkanovski in their men's featherweight title unification bout at UFC 290 this weekend. Volkanovski has been too good, he comes into this fight about a 4-to-1 favorite and the whole idea of making an interim title in this division was kinda bullshit from the beginning. But ... are the vibes a bit off for him leading up to this fight? We're not saying they are. We're merely asking questions. Plus, the rest of the UFC 290 card looks fun as hell. You got Brandon Moreno and Alexandre Pantoja doing the damn thing for the men's flyweight title You got Bobby Knuckles and DDP in a probable No. 1 contender fight. You got Robbie Lawler's alleged retirement fight. Oh, and there's this scrappy underdog you may have heard of ... Bo Nickal. He's on there too. Also, is it craaaaazy to consider Sean Strickland a viable title contender now? Probably. But still. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mere weeks after Dana White said the UFC "doesn't do" gimmick fights, he's all up in the media talking about trying to book an actual cagefight between Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk. First off, if you needed yet more evidence that White is frequently bullshitting us, well, there you go. Secondly, these rich nerds ain't really gonna fight each other. But wouldn't it be sad if they did? Also, Illia Topuria is super good at fighting. Like, super good. And the PFL puts its finger on the scales in the worst possible way. This episode is brought to you in part by NordVPN. Get your Exclusive NordVPN deal by going to nordvpn.com/comain or use the code comain. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices