The UFC offers up the final PPV of 2021 this Saturday, with two title fights on the main card of UFC 269. Charles Oliveira defends his lightweight title against Dustin Poirier and Amanda Nunes puts the women's bantamweight title on the line against Juliana Pena. Should be a banger. Plus, look at 35-year-old Jose Aldo out here slowly but surely reminding us he's one of the greatest ever to do it.

The Trillers revolutionized modern hand-to-hand combat with the Triad or whatever over the weekend, and the results were a real mixed bag for the former UFC fighters on the card. Not to worry, however, since we all return to the world of Serious MMA this weekend. Bellator has a super compelling men's bantamweight title fight on Friday, pitting Sergio "YOUNG SERGE!" Pettis vs. Kyoji Horiguchi. On Saturday, the UFC matches-up its own set of perhaps surprising surging bantamweights in Jose Aldo and Rob Font.

Hey Co-Mainiacs, just a reminder that Chad's other podcast, "Death in the West," returns for a second season in January. This week, DITW dropped a special teaser episode for the upcoming season that commemorates the 50th anniversary of the legendary DB Cooper hijacking in the Pacific Northwest. Give it a listen!

If you like it, you can subscribe here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/death-in-the-west/id1482417987

Or here: https://open.spotify.com/show/7caKS5hAPIkGUSJnfUylg0

Max Holloway showed out, but perhaps needed to dip deeper into the ol' bag of tricks than we anticipated to defeat Yair Rodriguez in ANOTHER FOTY candidate UFC main event. And did it surprise anyone that while all this happened, Conor McGregor was EXTREMELY ONLINE? No, it did not. Over in Bellator, meanwhile, Cris Cyborg housed a 40-to-1 underdog and had some words with Kayla Harrison. So that made for a nice moment.

Somehow Justin Gaethje vs. Michael Chandler exceeded even our loft expectations. That was just bananas, and now they better damn well let Gaethje fight the winner of Chucky Olives vs. Dusty P. Plus, we are sure Rose Namajunas vs. Zhang Weili should've been scored 3-2. Just ... you know ... we're not sure for who. And finally, after besting Colby Covington, does Kamaru Usman need some big, momentous challenge to be considered the GOAT?

You know what, in this sport, we'll take the feel-good stories where we can get them. Glover Teixeira winning his first UFC title at 42 while being universally liked and and unyielding positive is a feeling we want to hold onto. Perhaps the only downer here was the Janny Blackjacks (also seemingly a good dude) had to lose. Plus, Petr Yan starts off scary and only gets scarier, big wins for Khamzat Chimaev and Islam Makhachev and we look ahead to dueling title fights at UFC 268.

Marvin Vettori was surprisingly businesslike all week, considering all the nonsense Paulo Costa was pulling, and that approach extended to the fight. Vettori notably wouldn't share his wine with Costa after the bout was over, though, which seems kinda unfortunate. Plus, can you really believe we're out here strategizing another fight for Fedor? And what's on tap for UFC 267? For one thing, that shit is free!

It's amazing how naturally the phrase, "Conor McGregor punched a DJ," rolls off the tongue at this point. Yeah, that just feels right. That feels like something McGregor would do. This week, on an All Questions Considered episode of the CME, we take your questions on Connie Mac's latest run-in with the law, Aspen Ladd's stinker against Norma Dumont (and the weird coaching that went along with it), as well as Scott Coker's take that the Belaltor GP winner will be the best in the world.

The maiden voyage of Doin’ The Damn Thing is frankly jam-packed with CME goodness. We spend the first part of the show discussing the first couple episodes of Ken Burns’ new PBS doc on Muhammad Ali and some of the ways it either changed or reinforced our views of one of the most iconic figures in all of sports. We also talk to our friend Dan Brooks about the death of Norm Macdonald, as Dan and Norm had become acquainted during the final years of Macdonald’s life. Plus, the debut of KRAKEN UP. You won’t want to miss it.

Boxing owned the weekend, no doubt about that. Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder crafted a classic in their trilogy fight, capturing the attention of the sports world in a way it feels like MMA can never quite muster. Plus, does Mackenzie Dern need to decide what kind of fighter she wants to be? And what will you watch this weekend? The UFC? Bellator? Or both?

Well, shit, what can you do? Seemed like Thiago Santos and Johnny Walker kind of forgot to fight during the UFC's main event on Saturday night. That happens sometimes, but it certainly wasn't what we wanted to see from these two strange purveyors of violence. Over in Bellator, Michael Page defeated Douglas Lima via the sort of split decision that didn't tell us much about how good MVP actually is. And the CME debuts the brand new feature: "HOW HYPED?"

UFC 266 was a hell of a fight card, basically from start to finish. While there weren't any surprises in the evening's "big three" bouts, Alexander Volkanovski and Brian Ortega put on an absolute crackerjack in the main event and the prelims were just flat wild. Oh yeah, and Jon Jones made his fist official appearance at a UFC function in months and got himself arrested, like, RIGHT AWAY.

Anthony Smith had some words for Ryan Spann in the cage Saturday night, after Smith scored a first-round submission victory. "Lionheart" admits he let some of Spann's pre-fight trash talk get to him but now says he no longer gives a fuck. Plus, UFC 266 is right around the corner and Yoel Romero finally made his Bellator debut and maybe didn't know how long his fight was supposed to be.

It took Anderson Silva a little under one minute, 30 seconds to leave Tito Ortiz in the black lands during their boxing match Saturday at the Trillers. Silva styled on Ortiz so badly, some people thought Tito took a dive. That's gotta hurt. Plus, we look ahead to this weekend's #JSF UFC event and Yoel Romero's impending Bellator debut.

Derek Brunson went out this weekend and reminded us all that he is a very good fighter who thus far in his UFC career as only lost to the elite in the middleweight division. So, that was good for him. Bad, though, for Darren Till, who now drops to 1-4 in his last five and needs to find some answers quick if he hopes to have much future as a high-level UFC fighter. Plus, hey there, Florida, how you doin'? Say, the Trillers want to know if you might let them put on this fight this weekend? Let us know! Kthanxbye!

It turns out, Tyron Woodley boxes a lot like he fights in MMA, which is to say watching him was one of the more frustrating experiences in all of combat sports. So, yeah, Jake Paul improved to 4-0 or whatever. Also, is it finally, actually GigaTime in the octagon? And, holy shit, UFC 268 is stacked ... for now (card subject to change).

Jared Cannonier edged Kelvin Gastelum in a competitive and entertaining UFC main event on Saturday night, then immediately hopped on the mic and announced that he's "broke." Is that a good look for the UFC? That's a bad look, right? Plus, does Kayla Harrison actually have this whole shit figured out? And ... uh-oh ... Sunday, Sunday, Sunday, it's Jake Paul vs. Tyron Woodley.

On an All Questions Considered episode of the show, we take a grab bag of queries from you, the Co-Mainiacs, including: Will Conor ever be champion again? Which UFC titles will change hands before the end of the year? Was it wise for Bellator to move to Showtime? Is the PFL commentary team the best in the business? Should our guy Dak wear a bolo tie to a wedding? And is Jon Jones actually on double-secret steroid suspension? (Spoiler: No. No he's not.)

Ciryl Gane pretty much ruined the entire city of Houston's weekend with his third-round TKO of Derrick Lewis at UFC 265. Does the "Good Kid's" forthcoming title unification bout with Francis Ngannou now present a storyline so good "fucking Vince couldn't have wrote it better"? Plus, we put some hespect on Jose Aldo's name and talk the politics of booking a fight for Fedor Emelianenko in Russia.

AJ McKee pretty much annihilated the competition during the Bellator featherweight grand prix, including Saturday's championship finale, where he stopped Patricio Pitbull in just a minute, 57 seconds to win the title. Ratings for that event weren't stellar, however, and McKee has now essentially cleaned out the 145-pound division by virtue of winning the tourney. It brings up the question: Is Bellator capable of making McKee the star he deserves to be? Plus: we look ahead to UFC 265.

TJ Dillashaw surprised a lot of people--including your humble co-hosts--Saturday night by emerging with a split-decision victory over Cory Sandhagen in Dillashaw's return after a two-year JPD suspension. Did Tilly Dills actually deserve to get the nod? Ehhhh ... maybe not, but he still put on a hell of a performance. During this week's show, we discuss how far the former champ can go now.

Miesha Tate perhaps benefited from some friendly matchmaking Saturday night as she returned to the cage for this first time since 2016, but she still made it look pretty easy against a retiring Marion Reneau, en route to a third-round TKO. The win immediately makes Tate a player at 135-pounds again. Will the same player-status ultimately be bestowed on that dude Islam Makhachev? He certainly looks the part, but will have to fight somebody first. Plus, what does Tyler Jeffrey Dillashaw have left to give?

Conor McGregor broke his whole leg shit on Saturday night against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264. The good news is, Poirier will probably now get to fight for the title while McGregor convalesces. The bad news? Yeah, depending on a bunch of factors, we're probably gonna have to sit through Poirier vs. McGregor 4 when he comes back. Also, Tai Tuivasa stole the flippin' show at this biggest PPV of the year.

This weekend at UFC 264, Conor McGregor returns to the octagon for just the fifth time since 2016 to complete a trilogy with Dustin Poirier. At this point, we've got so little recent intel on McGregor as a fighter, do even hardcore fans know what to expect? Also, so the UFC went and pissed off new heavyweight champ Francis Ngannou by setting up a interim title fight between Ciryl Gane and Derrick Lewis, huh? Sure, that sounds like a great idea.

Kind of funny that we all, as MMA fans, are going to look down our noses at these boxing vs. MMA crossover fights until we win one, and then suddenly we're out here in the street lighting couches on fire and ordering bottle service in the VIP. All jokes aside, however, Anderson Silva's win over Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. provided a nice moment "The Spider" absolutely deserves. Plus: Chan Sung Jung back and a heavyweight doubleheader on tap.

Honestly, Brandon Moreno kinda stole the show at UFC 263, what with winning the men's flyweight title in overwhelming fashion while simultaneously seeming like the nicest damn person in the world. In this episode, we react to The Assassin Baby's win, the reality of Leon Edwards winning 24 minutes of a fight and Nate Diaz winning one minute and Israel Adesanya blanking Mad Marvin Vettori in the evening's main event.

Israel Adesanya defends the middleweight title Saturday at UFC 263 against Marvin Vettori, in a championship fight that feels like it's happening just because. Does that make this a sneaky trap fight for Adesanya, who has already defeated Vettori once? Also, can Davey Figgs and the Assassin Baby have another slobberknocker? And are Nate Diaz fans gonna come out of this one, like, suuuuper bummed?

Cris Cyborg battered Leslie Smith for nearly the full 25-minutes to retain the Bellator women's featherweight title on Friday night and the following evening Rob Font did something close to the same against Cody Garbrandt in the main event of a UFC Fight Night. We talk about those bouts and then take your questions on this week's episode of the CME.

Charles Oliveira is the lion of lions. He weathered the early storm against Michael Chandler, won the vacant UFC lightweight title via second round TKO and then smeared blood on Dana White. Not a bad night at the office. Plus, what's next for the elite in the 155-pound division and will Tony Ferguson still be part of it?

There's no doubt that Bellator's Friday night event on Showtime was the best MMA card of the weekend. With MVP's whole-shit-broke KO win, Rumble Johnson having a fun one with Jose Augusto and Young Serg upsetting Juan Archuleta for the bantamweight crown, we packed a whole lot of living into this event. But with the UFC now firmly entrenched on ESPN and cranking out content every weekend--cough, Rodriguez vs. Waterson, cough--how much does it matter when Bellator steals the show on a single night?

Just two fights into his UFC run, it sure looks like Jiri Prochazka is closing in on a light heayvweight title shot. And hey, if we're being honest, anything that keeps this suddenly Jon Jones-less division fresh is probably a good thing. Also, Thursday and Friday nights are STACKED with non-UFC action and Saturday night is ... well ... what's the opposite of stacked?

From seeing Chris Weidman's leg shatter against Uriah Hall's leg to a trio of stoppages--at least a couple of them fairly shocking--in the event's three title fights, there were a lot of mood swings during UFC 261. An emotional toll was exacted, you might say. If nothing else, this won't be one we forget for some time.

Given the assembly-line nature of the UFC content these days, you can't blame MMA fans, boxing hardcores and casuals alike for being interested in Triller, which is (if nothing else) EXTREMELY different. So, when that dude Ebenezer Paul knocks out Ben Askren in under two minutes, it's going to be kind of a big deal. We discuss that and look ahead to UFC 261.

Marvin Vettori defeated Kevin Holland in the main event of UFC on ABC 2 on Saturday, but it turned out to be the sort o fight that didn't really help either guy's standing in the middleweight division. Plus we talk about last week's efforts from One Championship and Bellator as well as look ahead to Robert Whittaker vs. Kelvin Gastelum.

Patricio "Pitbull" Freire advanced to the final of the Bellator featherweight grand prix Satuday night during that promotion's debut on Showtime, by choking Emanuel Sanchez to damn sleep with a quickness. Now, as he prepares to take on AJ McKee for all the marbles, how good is Pitbull's claim to being the best 145-pounder in the world? Plus, the "Right Guy" Championship fight is now official and the UFC readies for its second broadcast on ABC.

Francis Ngannou pitched damn near a perfect game on Saturday at UFC 260, stopping Stipe Miocic via second-round KO to claim the heavyweight title. By all rights, Jon Jones should be next, but somehow it feels like the UFC is going to screw us out of that one? So, what happens? A rematch with Derrick Lewis? A trilogy with Miocic? We talk our way into the Francis Ngannou Era on this week's CME.

The UFC heavyweight title rematch between Stipe Miocic and Francis Ngannou is set to go down this weekend. The featherweight title scrap between Alexander Volkanovski and Brian Ortega? Not so much. Plus, Kevin Holland drops a unanimous decision to Derek Brunson and suddenly we DON'T think it's cool that he talks through all his fights? Huh, OK. Seemed like that was one of the reasons he found himself in a UFC main event to begin with, but whatever.

Well, fudge. That's not how we wanted it to go. That's obviously not how Belal Muhammad wanted it to go. Dare we say, that's not how Leon Edwards wanted it to go, either, though his suggestion that maybe we just let it go and book him a title fight anyway was--yeah. no, that's not how this shit works. This week? We discuss the eye poke, which makes it three DQ/NC results during the last two weeks of UFC action.

Israel Adesanya's foray into the light heavyweight division did not go as planned, courtesy the Legendary Polish Power of Jan Blachowicz. Oh, Janny Blackjacks, you never stop surprising us. Plus, Amanda Nunes still ain't nothing to fuck with and ... PETR YAN WHAT ARE YOU DOING???

Knock on wood, people: Five UFC titles are scheduled to be on the line during March, including this weekend's UFC 259 and its triple bill of championship bouts. Can Israel Adesanya end Janny Blackjacks' Cinderella run with the light heavyweight title? Is Petr Yan the guy we thought he was? Is there any way Megan Anderson beats Amanda Nunes? We discuss.

The current moment in the UFC belongs to the big fellas. With Derrick Lewis' KO of Curtis Blaydes last weekend and the Biggi Boy vs. Ciryl Gane coming up next, the heavyweight division is taking center stage. On top of that, it looks like Stipe vs. Big Fran II is actually gonna happen. So, get hyped, America. Now let's just hope Jon Jones didn't put on all that extra weight for nothing.

After a first round where it looked like Gilbert Burns was on the verge of capturing the UFC welterweight title, Kamaru Usman put his foot down. The power jab, the low kicks, the third-round TKO victory--all these things served to make Usman look like an ever evolving puzzle for the rest of the 170-pound class. All things being equal, Usman would probably be a much bigger star. Unfortunately, we know that's not how it works in this sport.

Both Alistair Overeem and Frankie Edgar had rough nights at Saturday's UFC. Alexander Volkov busted Overeem's nose en route to a second-round TKO. Corey Sandhagen put Edgar's chin into the stratosphere with a KO-of-the-year-candidate flying knee. So, that was hard to watch. Plus, Ben watched BKFC and we look ahead to UFC 258.

Alistair Overeem fights Alexander Volkov this Saturday during Super Bowl weekend, but you already knew we weren't going to spend the entire show talking about that. Instead, we take listener queries in another one of our All Questions Considered episodes.

Dustin Poirier walked out to James Brown's "The Big Payback," stopped Conor McGregor in the second round and then declared himself the uncrowned champion. A pretty nifty piece of business from The Diamond all the way around at UFC 257. Now, we ask what should be next for Poirier, McGregor and, oh yeah, Michael Chandler in a suddenly Khabib-free lightweight division.

Max Holloway amazed us all with his performance at Saturday's UFC on ABC card. Never one to rest on its laurels, however, the UFC ramps back up for two events this week. (We see you, Michael Chiesa vs. Neil Magny!) And as Conor McGregor prepares to return at UFC 257, any effort to figure out what he has left just feels like guesswork.

The UFC returns to network television this week for the first time since 2018, as Saturday afternoon it presents its debut broadcast on ABC. What to make of this, especially after the fight company's tenure on Big Fox started with a bang and then slowly petered-out over the lifetime of that deal? And what can we surmise from matchmakers using Max Holloway vs. Calvin Kattar as the first main event in this new series?

On the first episode of The Proper since mid-December, we've got some catching up to do. So, we're going All Questions Considered this week. What's up with the UFC raising PPV prices? Have we witnessed the fatal flaw in Greg Hardy's MMA evolution? And what's the UFC really doing with its "Performance Center"? Those questions and more ...