Episode 649: Merab Dvalishvili: Little guy, big problem
Not sure how you’re supposed to beat this guy Merab Dvalishvili at this point. Poison? Blow darts? The Dark Arts? Regular-ass fighting ain’t working, as Sean O’Malley found out at UFC 316 on Saturday. Looked like O’Malley was trying to do the right things — stay off the cage, work the body, show improved takedown defense, get up when Merab put him on the mat. Didn’t matter. Merab is just too good at what he does … and it seems like he’s getting better at it.
If he’s gonna start throwing out nasty submissions now? Fuck it, shut it down. And then we gotta show Cory Sandhagen standing in the crowd looking like a middle school kid tryna act tough? Yeah, we're not loving that guy’s chances.
Plus, Kayla Harrison vs. Amanda Nunes? Give it to me, it’s mine!
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1:07:14
Episode 648: Are Kayla & Merab unbeatable at UFC 316?
The odds don’t look very competitive headed into the dueling title fights atop Saturday’s UFC 316. Merab Dvalishvili and Kayla Harrison are both pretty big favorites over their opponents (challenger Sean O’Malley and chalmpion Julianna Peña, respectively). The line on Harrison, in fact, is outlandish — though that fight is admittedly most interesting because of what a Kayla Harrison title reign might look like at women’s bantamweight, not necessarily because we expect it to be close.
As for O’Malley, is there anything he can do differently against Merab this time around? Aside from not J’ing the peen?
Also, Maycee Barber couldn’t make the walk last weekend. In and of itself, that doesn’t seem like a HUGE deal. Buuuuut … is it indicative of larger, more dire issues with the UFC right now?
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1:06:27
Episode 647: Luckily, Merab has nine other toes
The CME’s 13th birthday is coming up, and you know what that means: it’s pledge month! Now through June 1, get 50% off a new monthly or annual Patreon subscription when you use the code CME13 at checkout! Get on it! Join the team! Support the community! Stick it to the man!
Merab Dvalishvili broke his toe on the dome of a training partner this week, which seems like poor timing, considering his men’s bantamweight title defense against Sean O’Malley is coming right up at UFC 316 on June 7. When your game plan hinges at least partially on your unstoppable takedowns, that seems like it could potentially be a big deal. No worries, though. The always irrepressible Merab points out that he’s got nine more toes, so if he needs to cut this one off in order to fight O’Malley, so be it.
For O’Malley, did foot stomps just become a big part of the strategy?
Plus, Vitor Belfort is going in the hall, Nate Diaz is back in the news and is the MMA world ready for Ciryl Gane — leading man?
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1:03:36
Episode 646: Jon Jones is back on his f*ckery
The CME’s 13th birthday is this month, and you know what that means: It’s pledge month! Now through June 1, GET 50% OFF A NEW MONTHLY OR ANNUAL PATREON SUBSCRIPTION when you use the code CME13 at checkout! Get on it! Join the team! Support the community! Stick it to the man!
First you've got Jon Jones riding on the back of a motorbike looking zooted out of his gourd over there in Thailand. Then you’ve got Jones riding his own motorbike, saying he’s “living his best life” on Instagram Live while zigzagging around parked cars. Now you’ve got Jones replying to random dudes on Twitter (like he does) about how much he doesn’t care about potentially getting stripped of the UFC heavyweight title (sure, Jon), and declaring he “told the UFC about his plans” a long time ago.
All Jones cares about now, he says, is monetizing the brand he’s built — which … I mean … isn’t the Jon Jones Brand shooting your gun off outside the strip club and having car wrecks with pregnant ladies? How exactly is he “monetizing” that “brand” from the back of a motorbike in Thailand?
Plus, everybody’s washed at welterweight all of a sudden, and Ilia Topuria parts ways with his longtime coaches and trainers … WAIT, WHAT?
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1:09:31
Episode 645: Let the dominoes fall after UFC 315
The CME’s 13th birthday is coming up, and you know what that means: It’s pledge month! Now through June 1, GET 50% OFF A NEW MONTHLY OR ANNUAL PATREON SUBSCRIPTION when you use the code CME13 at checkout! Get on it! Join the team! Support the community! Stick it to the man!
Did Jack Della Maddalena ruin everything? Well, it’s a fluid situation. As we recorded this episode of the Proper, the MMA world awaited an announcement from Dana White we all assume(d) will be the main event of UFC 317 coming up in June for International Fight Week. What will we get? Ilia Topuria vs. Islam Makhachev? Or Topuria vs. Charles Oliveira? By the time you listen to this, you might well know the answer.
It’s possible that Della Maddalena’s welterweight title win over Belal Muhammad at last weekend’s UFC 315 will tip a succession of dominoes that could result in Makhachev moving up to 170 pounds to fight JDM, which would leave Topuria to fight Oliveira. And let's be honest, that would kinda suck. It was a brilliant performance by Flatnose Jackie to take the title on Saturday. But at what cost?
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An irreverent and unscripted look at the week's mixed martial arts news from longtime MMA journalists Ben Fowlkes and Chad Dundas. Topics include the latest happenings in the UFC, Bellator and other promotions.
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