Benavidez-Figueiredo Preview, Thoughts on MMA’s Long-Term Health, and more

Gross Point Blank with Josh Gross: A show about MMA

On the final episode of Gross Point Blank, Josh talks about the long-term health of the sport of mixed martial arts being grounded in the concept of becoming the best in the world and being tested against real contenders, rather than putting on fights just for fighting’s sake.

He also discusses his desire for cross-promotion bouts, how the “UFC-or-nothing” crowd is disruptive to MMA in a larger sense, and how the increasingly more commonplace matchmaking practice of putting together fights that don’t have clear stakes hurts the sport.

And, in that context, he takes a look at this weekend’s excellent UFC Norfolk Flyweight title fight between Joseph Benavidez and Deiveson Figueiredo.

Save yourself 40% on an annual subscription to The Athletic, and keep up with Josh’s work, when you visit http://theathletic.com/joshgross

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