Ariel Helwani starts the show by welcoming in Alexander Volkov, who discusses the state of the UFC’s heavyweight division, his two fights against Ciryl Gane, Josh Hokit getting the title shot, wanting to fight for the belt next, Tom Aspinall vacating the title, Gable Steveson’s shocking loss, and more (04:14). Ariel and crew react to Gable Steveson releasing his first statement since being knocked out, Dana White’s comments about next steps for Steveson and the fan reaction during UFC 331 fight week, and Ciryl Gane calling Tom Aspinall “mentally fragile” (31:19). Yoel Romero stops by to preview his BKFC main event against Darren Till in Manchester, discussing their drug testing for the fight, Till’s trash talk, still being able to compete at a high level at nearly 50 years old, training and fighting with bare knuckles (1:01:55). Patricio Pitbull is back to reflect on his massive knockout of Doo Ho Choi at UFC 331, talking about being able to get back on track, his work with a sports psychologist, feeling pressure he’s never felt before, his callout of Jean Silva, his prediction for Alexander Volkanovski vs. Movsar Evloev, and more (1:35:21). Pat Brown discusses his impressive punching power, who he wants to fight next, navigating his budding career, lessons learned from Moses Itauma’s rise, his fondness for Ricky Hatton, envisioning a fight against Jai Opetaia, and more (2:00:52). Jack Catterall is our final guest of the day, talking about his mandatory title fight against Teofimo Lopez, whether he believes Lopez will actually take the fight, whether he’d take step-aside money, Lopez’s performance against Rolly Romero, and more (2:28:41). Ariel covers news and notes including Dana White’s comments about Paulo Costa’s frustrations and contract status, Justin Gaethje considering his future, and more (2:49:36). On The Nose features questions about oblique kicks potentially being banned, John Martin’s sudden PFL departure, flyweight bias, Alex Pereira’s star power, and more blind rankings (3:13:57). The team answers your Super Chats to close the show (4:04:55).
