Episodes

  • 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 lbs

    UFC Vegas 89 Fun Factoids

    * Ranked fights: 0 (Ribas is #8 at FLW & #7 at SW | Namajunas isn’t currently ranked)

    * Ranked fighters: 2

    * Fighters coming off losses: 9

    * Contender Series alumni: 11

    * Fighters coming directly from Contender Series: 4

    * TUF alumni: 4

    * Debuting fighters: 5

    Thank 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
  • 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 lbs

    UFC Vegas 89 Fun Factoids

    * Ranked fights: 0 (Ribas is #8 at FLW & #7 at SW | Namajunas isn’t currently ranked)

    * Ranked fighters: 2

    * Fighters coming off losses: 9

    * Contender Series alumni: 11

    * Fighters coming directly from Contender Series: 4

    * TUF alumni: 4

    * Debuting fighters: 5

    Thank 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
  • Episodes manquant?

    Cliquez ici pour raffraichir la page manuellement.

  • This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themmadrawpodcast.substack.com

    Are 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.com

    It’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.com

    UFC 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.com

    UFC 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.com

    The 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.com

    UFC 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 aggression off sooner, the results would almost assuredly be better. But to achieve that, he has to actually engage, and sadly, he just takes too long to going. By the time he’s confident enough to close the distance, he’s eaten so much damage that whatever he’s throwing can’t possibly be at full capacity. Timidity is certainly his most glaring failing.

    In the sharpest contrast, Dustin Poirier and Benoit Saint-Denis both put on excellent performances, but it would be Poirier’s grit and power that would shine brightest. The entire card was excellent overall, but this contest was worth the price of admission. And yes, in case you were wondering, it won Fight of the Night.

    There were about 4832 moments where Poirier gave fans reason to fret, most concerningly his determination to land a guillotine, often taking unnecessary risks on the ground. His corner even warned him to stop jumping guillotines and within the first minute of the following round, guess what he did? Jumped a gilly. Dustin, if you’re reading this, please stop giving us palpitations!

    In the end, Dustin’s patience and crispy boxing had its intended effect, and even though he’s one of the nicest guys in the game with a heart of gold, he’s mean as all get out in that cage. He’s like a shark in freshly chummed waters and he’s relentless. Saint-Denis got brutalized. And once it was over, Poirier switched right back into good guy mode, sending the other guy—Mr. Violence—back to the ether until he’s summoned again.

    From here, you’ll just have to listen to the show. But I will leave you with the results before turning you over to Zane and Eddie.

    UFC 299 Results

    * Sean O'Malley def Marlon Vera Unanimous Dec

    * Dustin Poirier def B. Saint-Denis KO/TKO, 2:32 R2

    * Michael Page def Kevin Holland Unanimous Dec

    * J. Maddalena def Gilbert Burns KO/TKO, 3:43 R3

    * Petr Yan def Yadong Song Unanimous Dec

    * Curtis Blaydes def Jailton Almeida KO/TKO, 0:36 R2

    * Maycee Barber def Katlyn Cerminara Unanimous Dec

    * Mateusz Gamrot def Rafael dos Anjos Unanimous Dec

    * Kyler Phillips def Pedro Munhoz Unanimous Dec

    * Philipe Lins def Ion Cutelaba Unanimous Dec

    * Michel Pereira def M. Oleksiejczuk Sub, 1:01 R1

    * Robelis Despaigne def Josh Parisian KO/TKO, 0:18 R1

    * Asu Almabaev def CJ Vergara Unanimous Dec

    * Joanne Wood def Maryna Moroz Split Dec

    Thank 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 network 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.



    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
  • 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, we’re absolutely fine with it. Let’s take a look at what we’re working with, as well as some fun factoids.

    UFC 299 Prelims

    * Curtis Blaydes vs. Jailton Almeida 265 lbs

    * Katlyn Cerminara vs. Maycee Barber 125 lbs

    * Mateusz Gamrot vs. Rafael dos Anjos 155 lbs

    * Pedro Munhoz vs. Kyler Phillips 135 lbs

    * Michel Pereira vs. M. Oleksiejczuk 185 lbs

    * Philipe Lins vs. Ion Cutelaba 205 lbs

    * Robelis Despaigne vs. Josh Parisian 265 lbs

    * CJ Vergara vs. Asu Almabaev 125 lbs

    * Joanne Wood vs. Maryna Moroz 125 lbs

    UFC 299 Fun Factoids

    * Ranked fights: 7

    * Ranked fighters: 16

    * Fighters coming off a loss: 10

    * Contender Series alumni: 8

    * TUF alumni: 3

    * Debuting fighters: 1

    Don’t forget to check out the bonus section for a great review of the UFC Vegas 87 preliminary card. Make sure to tune in immediately after this weekend’s fights for breakdowns and analysis on our 6th Round Post-Fight Show.

    Thank 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 network 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.



    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
  • 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, Francis could be looking at a $30M - $40M payday in his second pro bout. And the best part is he doesn’t have to give up a percentage of that to his MMA promoter, as the UFC requires.

    Let’s take a look at some of the topics we covered in this episode:

    1. How much do we think Ngannou is making for this fight?

    2. How much is Joshua making?

    3. What is PFL going to be watching to come out of this match?

    4. There is a Harvard case study that came out, what does that say about Ngannou's PFL contract? Does it give us any info on what the terms are? How much he is getting paid?

    5. When we look at what Ngannou is making, one would think other fighters would try to follow his path. Why haven't we seen other UFC fighters do what he did?

    6. What are the changes the UFC made in their contracts that prevents other fighters from doing what Francis did?

    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.



    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.com

    UFC 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.

    REVENUE

    In 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 breakdown of the individual segments is as follows:

    * Media rights and content fees were up 10%, from 2022, going up $76.2 million from $794 million to $871 million last year. “The increase in media rights and content fees was primarily related to higher domestic and international rights fees resulting from increases in contractual revenues, higher fees associated with international renewals and one additional pay-per-view event in 2023 as compared to the prior year period.”

    * Live events revenue were up 34%, a $42.6 million increase to a record $168 million, driven by growth in ticket revenues and site fees. “The increase in live events revenue was primarily related to 5 additional events with a live audience (26 in 2023 as compared to 21 in the prior year) and higher site fees.” In 2021 they sold out 20 live events with seven of them now ranking among the top 20 highest grossing UFC events of all time.

    * Sponsorship revenue were up $29.5 million over the previous year, an 18% increase to another record $196 million. This was driven by new brand partners and renewal increases.

    * Consumer product licensing was up from $53.6 million in 2022 to $57.3 million last year.

    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.



    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.com

    UFC 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 themmadrawpodcast.substack.com

    UFC 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 apart. Take Eryk Anders, for starters. In his last six fights, he’s only managed to win two of them.

    To make matters worse, Anders’ opponent, Jamie Pickett, is on a four-fight losing skid. This is supposed to be the top promotion on the planet with the very best fighters in the world. Why are we getting this level slop if that’s the case? I know we’ve beaten this poor old pony to death, but when the product never changes, it’s hard to not feel frustrated and even a little cheated.

    We realize fighters need to make their debuts, get back on track from losses, etc. but it generally seems like they lump all those elements exclusively into the Apex cards. As mentioned above, the alternative stats or “fun factoids” aren’t awful for this event, but it still has absolutely zero curb appeal to speak of. Let’s look at the fights we predicted:

    UFC Vegas 87

    * Jairzinho Rozenstruik vs. Shamil Gaziev 265 lbs

    * Alex Perez vs. Muhammad Mokaev 125 lbs

    * Matt Schnell vs. Steve Erceg 125 lbs

    * Raul Rosas Jr. vs. Ricky Turcios 140 lbs

    * Javid Basharat vs. Aiemann Zahabi 135 lbs

    Did you talk about anything besides UFC Vegas 87?

    We did! We actually started the episode with our headlines this week and due to time constraints, we gave you the episode for FREE. Here’s the hot sheet list:

    * Israel Adesanya interview about UFC 300

    * Fight trailer for Ngannou-Joshua

    * Nate Diaz wants on UFC 306 card

    * Ryan Garcia calling out Sean O’Malley

    * Henry Cejudo’s non-retirement

    You know you can count on us for quick, consistent quality UFC coverage. Bloody Elbow 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. Please subscribe to our podcast Substack, as well. We’re constantly refining to try and provide our readers and listeners with the best, most current MMA news and opinions.

    Follow us as @BloodyElbow on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, and at BloodyElbow.Substack.com & BloodyElbowPodcast.Substack.com.

    Thank you for listening to the Level Change 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.com

    Ryan 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 themmadrawpodcast.substack.com

    UFC 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 card. I’m willing to bet that this event is pretty far up the list.

    Edgar Cháirez vs. Daniel Lacerda is the third contest featured in that aforementioned trio of rematches. Their first bout ended in a no contest after the referee in their bout jumped the gun and stopped the fight prematurely. This was back in September. The two were scheduled to run it back in October, but Lacerda pulled out prior to the card citing a medical issue. They will finally get their opportunity at a full fight tomorrow.

    There is one more contest on this undercard that looks interesting, though. Claudio Puelles vs. Fares Ziam Pits the well rounded skillset of Ziam against the explosive grappling of Puelles. Claudio was made to look like a one-trick pony against Dan Hooker, but perhaps he took some lessons from that one. Either way, that one definitely has our attention. Let’s take a look at the undercard as well as some fun factoids.

    UFC Mexico City Prelims

    * Cristian Quiñonez vs. Raoni Barcelos 135 lbs

    * Jesus Aguilar vs. Mateus Mendonça 125 lbs

    * Edgar Cháirez vs. Daniel Lacerda 125 lbs

    * Claudio Puelles vs. Fares Ziam 155 lbs

    * Luis Rodríguez vs. Denys Bondar 125 lbs

    * Victor Altamirano vs. Felipe dos Santos 125 lbs

    * Muhammad Naimov vs. Erik Silva 145 lbs

    UFC Mexico City Fun Factoids

    * Ranked fights: 2

    * Ranked fighters: 4

    * Fighters coming off a loss: 15

    * Contender Series alumni: 12

    * TUF alumni: 3

    * Debuting fighters: 1

    * Combate alumni: 6

    Don’t forget to check out the bonus section for a great review of the UFC 298 preliminary card. Make sure to tune in immediately after this weekend’s fights for breakdowns and analysis on our 6th Round Post-Fight Show.

    Thank you for reading this article and listening to the podcast. Please consider subscribing to the Bloody Elbow 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.

    Follow us as @BloodyElbow on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, and at BloodyElbow.Substack.com & BloodyElbowPodcast.Substack.com.

    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