Lionel Rivera's MMA Podcast

Lionel Rivera-Ramirez
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Lionel Rivera's MMA Podcast

The MMA Pod is a mixed martial arts podcast hosted by Lionel Rivera. Get the latest takes on UFC events, UFC Fighters, old-school MMA, and so much more. If you're a hardcore or even casual MMA fan, join me as I dissect the world of our favorite UFC fighters, such as Israel Adesanya, Jon Jones, Conor McGregor, Alexander Volkanovski, and many more fighters. Not to mention peeling back the stories and mindsets of popular UFC and MMA personalities such as Dana White, Hunter Campbell, Joe Rogan, and world-renowned MMA referees like Herb Dean and Jason Herzog. Love MMA & UFC? Have a listen.

  1. Most Dangerous UFC Fighter Ever: Charles Oliveira

    FEB 6

    Most Dangerous UFC Fighter Ever: Charles Oliveira

    Go to https://buyraycon.com/lionel to get up to 20% off sitewide! Brought to you by Raycon. Charles “Do Bronx” Oliveira’s journey to the top of the UFC lightweight division is the stuff of legends. From the favelas of Brazil to holding UFC gold, Oliveira’s story is one of perseverance, evolution, and redemption. In this documentary, Lionel Rivera explores the highs and lows of a career that has captivated MMA fans worldwide.Oliveira’s record-breaking submission wins and his evolution from a slick grappler to a dangerous all-around fighter have solidified his place in UFC history. From his early UFC days, where he showed flashes of brilliance, to his struggles to find consistency, Oliveira’s career has been a testament to resilience.This documentary dives into Oliveira’s biggest victories, including his emphatic TKO of Michael Chandler to capture the lightweight title, his stunning submission of Dustin Poirier to defend it, and his thrilling battles with Justin Gaethje and Beneil Dariush. Lionel Rivera also revisits the moments that tested him the most—losses that seemed insurmountable but ultimately forged the fighter and person he is today.Beyond his in-cage achievements, Lionel Rivera explore's Oliveira’s impact on the UFC and the lightweight division. As a fighter with the most submission wins in UFC history and one of the most exciting fighting styles, Oliveira has become a symbol of technical brilliance and sheer heart. His underdog story resonates with fans around the globe, who admire not only his skills but also his humility, charisma, and loyalty to his roots in Brazil.Join me in celebrating the career of Charles Oliveira, a man who proves that no matter how many times life knocks you down, it’s about how many times you rise again. This is the story of a fighter who never gave up and earned the love and respect of fans everywhere. ------ #Charlesoliveira #khabib #islammakhachev

    1h 1m
  2. Why Khamzat Chimaev Smashes Everyone

    JAN 25

    Why Khamzat Chimaev Smashes Everyone

    Play War Thunder now with my links, and get a massive, free bonus pack including vehicles, boosters and more on PC and consoles: https://playwt.link/lionelrivera| Mobile: https://wtm.game/lionelrivera 🎬 Videos you'll like:      ✅ Why Daniel Cormier is Greater than Jon Jones: https://youtu.be/_sf_n3gjUyc      ✅ Why Jon Jones became GOAT (& threw it all away): https://youtu.be/Cgmy_vfDUBQ      ✅ Why Sean Strickland Derailed UFC: https://youtu.be/WQEtjfD5iXg Khamzat Chimaev is one of the most dominant fighters in UFC history. This UFC documentary explores the rise of Khamzat Chimaev, his journey from Chechnya to Sweden to become a dominant freestyle wrestling phenom, and his transition from wrestling to MMA. Khamzat Chimaev made his A debut in May of 2018, beginning a dominant 6-fight win streak in a few organizations including Brave CF before Khamzat Chimaev made his UFC debut on fight island in July of 2020. Khamzat was able to submit John Phillips with a darce choke in round 2. Khamzat then made UFC history by returning to fight 10 days later against Rhys McKee, earning a first round TKO. Less than 2 months later at middleweight, Khamzat knocked out Gerald Meerschaert in 17 seconds. This propelled Khamzat Chimaev to superstardom. However, a health scare would prevent Khamzat from returning to the UFC until October of 2021, where Khamzat submitted Li Jinglang in round 1 of UFC 267. Another long layoff would lead to Khamzat Chimaev beating Gilbert burns at UFC 273 via unanimous decision. Soon after, Khamzat Chimaev controversially missed weight ahead of his match against Nate Diaz, getting his fight scrapped and instead Khamzat faced Kevin Holland at UFC 279 where Khamzat submitted Holland with a darce choke. Khamzat's next 2 fights would be spaced wide apart due to several issues. Khamzat was scheduled to face Paulo Costa but instead faced Kamaru Usman on short notice at UFC 294, winning a decision against the former UFC welterweight champion. Khamzat earned his UFC title shot by submitting Robert Whittaker at UFC 308, cementing himself as one of the most dominant fighters on the planet.

    55 min
  3. Why Jon Jones became GOAT (& threw it all away)

    12/06/2024

    Why Jon Jones became GOAT (& threw it all away)

    Get 20% OFF + Free International Shipping @Manscaped with promo code LRMMA at Manscaped.com/lrmma! #manscapedpartner ------ #Jonjones  #tomaspinall 🎬 Videos you'll like:      ✅ Why Daniel Cormier is Greater than Jon Jones: https://youtu.be/_sf_n3gjUyc      ✅ Why Max Holloway is the Baddest Man Alive: https://youtu.be/bNzEFd7zexM      ✅ Why Sean Strickland Derailed UFC: https://youtu.be/WQEtjfD5iXg 👉 Become a Member: https://bit.ly/LionelRivera 👉 Become a Patron: https://patreon.com/lionelrivera 👉 Buy me a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/lionelrivera Jon Jones is one of the most notorious mixed martial artists in history. Jon Jones is highly regarded as the Greatest of all time in the UFC due to his spectacular fighting prowess. However, Jon Jones is not free of criticism. Throughout Jon Bones Jones' lengthy UFC career, he has drawn controversy after controversy. Jon Jones began his pro-MMA career in 2008, leveraging his college wrestling and jiu-jitsu background to begin a strong win streak, knocking out Brad Bernard, knocking out Carlos Eduardo, submitting Anthony Pina, finishing Ryan Verett, knocking out Parker Porter, and finally submitting Moyses Gabin to become the USKBA Light Heavyweight Champion. This fight earned Jon Jones a UFC contract, making his debut at UFC 87 and defeating Andre Gusmao, then defeating Stephan Bonnar at UFC 94, and submitting Jake O'Brien at UFC 100. Unfortunately for Jon Jones, he was disqualified in his next fight against Matt Hamill for throwing downward 12 to 6 elbows. This would be the only loss on Jon Jones' record as he would finish Brandon Vera, Vladimir Matyushenko, Ryan Bader, and ultimately Mauricio Shogun Rua to become the youngest champion in UFC history. JOn Jones then began gathering his title defenses, submitting Quinton Rampage Jackson, submitting Lyoto Machida, defeating Rashad Evans, submitting Vitor Belfort, and finishing Chael Sonnen. Jon Jones then had his controversial UFC 165 bout against Alexander Gustafsson where in this five round war, Jon Jones won a unanimous decision. Shortly After Jon defeated both Alexander Gustafsson and Glover Teixeira, Jones defeated bitter rival Daniel Cormier at UFC 182, but Jones was stripped of his title due to violating the code of conduct UFC policy after crashing his car into a pregnant woman and leaving the scene. Jones would return at UFC 197 against Ovince Saint Preux and defeated him to win the interim light heavyweight championship. Jones then earned his rematch to now-champion Daniel Cormier at UFC 214, where JOnes successfully head kicked Daniel Cormier to knock out his rival, but Jones did not win the title due to testing positive for banned substances. Jones won the vacant light heavyweight UFC title at UFC 232 by finishing Gustafsson, but then had 3 lackluster performances against Anthony Smith, Thiago Santos, and controversially Dominick Reyes. Jones then waited 3 years to return to the UFC at heavyweight where at UFC 285 he choked out Ciryl Gane to become the UFC heavyweight champion. Jon Jones then fought Stipe Miocic in November, 2024 to cement himself as one of the greatest fighters ever. He would easily be considered the greatest of all time if it weren't for the questions surrounding his steroid use.

    2h 19m
  4. Why Sean O'Malley Outstrikes Everyone

    11/14/2024

    Why Sean O'Malley Outstrikes Everyone

    Sugar Sean O’Malley is one of the hottest prospects in UFC history. As a phenomenal striker and kickboxer in the bantamweight division, Sean O’Malley has gathered sensational knockouts and UFC performances over Terrion Ware, Andre Soukhamthath at UFC 222, Jose Quinonez and UFC 248, Eddie Wineland at UFC 250, Thomas Almeida UFC 260, Kris Moutinho at UFC 264, Raulian Paiva at UFC 269, and Petr Yan at UFC 280. Sean O’Malley may not get the respect he deserves due to his close encounter with former UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan, and his no-contest against Pedro Munhoz. But now with Aljamain Sterling defeating Henry Cejudo, Sean O’Malley is primed for his first title shot against a 3x defending champion in Aljamain Funkmaster Sterling. How will his first UFC championship main event go? Only time will tell for Sugar Sean O’Malley.

    21 min
  5. Manliest Fighter Ever: Don Frye

    11/14/2024

    Manliest Fighter Ever: Don Frye

    #Donfrye #seanstrickland #UFC Don Frye is a legendary MMA pioneer, well-known for his exciting fights beginning at UFC 8. Under the tutelage of Dan Severn, Don Frye enrolled in UFC 8 in 1996, knocking out Thomas Ramirez, finishing Sam Adkins, and submitting Gary Goodridge to win the UFC 8 tournament. Don Frye then returned at UFC 9 to TKO Amaury Bitetti and UFC 10 where he TKO'd Mark Hall, and finished Brian Johnston, but unfortunately lost to Mark Coleman in the finals to lose the UFC 10 tournament. After submitting Mark Hall in UFC Japan, Don Frye returned at UFC Ultimate Ultimate 96 to finish Gary Goodridge, submitted Mark Hall and submitted Tank Abbnot to win the Ultimate Ultimate 96 tournament. Don Frye continued his win streak until 2002, defeating Eric Valdez, Gilbert Yvel, Cyril Abidi, Ken Shamrock and ultimately defeating Yoshihiro Takayama at Backstage Pride in what is considered the manliest fight ever. This was the high point of Don's career, but he continued fighting until 2011. Don's contributions to early MMA as a 2-time UFC tournament champion earned him a spot in the UFC Hall of Fame.

    31 min
  6. Why Daniel Cormier is Greater than Jon Jones

    11/11/2024

    Why Daniel Cormier is Greater than Jon Jones

    Daniel Cormier is one of the greatest UFC fighters of all time, becoming the second-ever simultaneous 2-weight UFC champion as he was the UFC lightheavyweight champion and UFC heavyweight champion. Daniel Cormier has lived a storied life, developing into a dominant freestyle wrestler, winning many gold and silver medals in renowned wrestling competitions and becoming an Olympian in 2008 and 2004. However, Daniel Cormier has suffered terrible tragedies in his life, losing his daughter in a car accident in 2003, motivating him to build himself and his family as much as he could for her. Daniel Cormier transitioned from wrestling to mixed martial arts flawlessly,  very quickly becoming the King of the Cage heavyweight champion in 2010 and the XMMA Heavyweight champion. Soon after Daniel Won the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix, defeating Jeff Monson, Bigfoot Silva, and Josh Barnett. In 2013, at 11-0, Daniel Cormier made his UFC debut against former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir, beginning a winning streak that included names like Frank Mir, Roy Nelson, Patrick Cummins and Dan Henderson. Then Daniel Cormier began his rivalry with the light heavyweight champion Jon Jones. This furious rivalry and ferocious buildup culminated into a championship fight at UFC 182 where Jon Jones defeated Daniel Cormier to defend his title. However Jon Jones was stripped of the light heavyweight UFC belt due to violating the UFC's code of conduct. Daniel Cormier then fought for the vacant lightheavyweight title, submitting Anthony Johnson to finally become UFC lightheavyweight champion. Cormier defended his title against Gustafsson, and Rumble Johnson, and even had one more non-title fight to Anderson Silva before reaching Jon Jones in 2014. Despite Jon Jones knocking out Daniel Cormier via head kick, Cormier retained his title due to Jones testing positive for banned substances. DC defended his title against Volkan Oezdemir at UFC 220 before ultimately moving up and challenging Stipe Miocic for UFC heavyweight championship at UFC 226. Daniel Cormier knocked out Stipe Miocic in round 1 to become UFCheavyweight champion and become a 2-division UFC champion. Cormier defended his heavyweight belt by submitting Derrick Lewis at UFC 230. Cormier However, lost both of his final 2 fights against Stipe Miocic at UFC 241 and UFC 252 to end his career. Nevertheless, Cormier remains one of the most respected athletes, mixed martial artists, and UFC legends ever, building a legacy that all fans admire.

    1h 16m
  7. Why Sean Strickland Derailed UFC

    09/09/2024

    Why Sean Strickland Derailed UFC

    Sean Strickland is one of the most controversial champions the UFC has ever had. Sean Strickland is of course most famous not only for his outspoken and unhinged personality but also because of his shockingly dominant performance at UFC 293 to defeat Israel Adesanya via unanimous decision to become the UFC middleweight champion on September 10th, 2023. Prior to this, Sean Strickland had an extensive MMA career, becoming the King of the Cage Middleweight Champion and defending his KOTC title 4 times before joining the UFC. After Sean Strickland's lackluster welterweight run in the UFC, including a loss to both Kamaru Usman and Santiago Ponzinibbio, Strickland moved up to the UFC's middleweight division, where he gathered a 6-fight win streak before getting knocked out by Alex Pereira at UFC 276 in 2022, which was unfortunately followed by a highly controversial split decision loss to Jared Cannonier in December 2022. Sean Stricklan rebounded in 2023 with 2 victories over Nassourdine Imavov and Abus Magomedov before earning his title shot to Israel Adesanya. After dethroning Adesanya, Strickland's first title defense against Dricus Du Plessis ended in a controversial Split Decision for Dricus Du Plessis. However, losing his title would not keep Sean Strickland down as Sean would rebound with a victory over Paulo Costa at UFC 302.

    1h 2m
  8. Greatest Interim Champion: Dustin Poirier

    08/10/2024

    Greatest Interim Champion: Dustin Poirier

    Dustin "The Diamond" Poirier was one of the most respected mixed martial artists to ever compete in the UFC. His UFC record contains names of some of the most legendary lightweights and featherweights to ever compete in the sport including Max Holloway, Conor McGregor, the Korean Zombie, Eddie Alvarez, Anthony Pettis, Justin Gaethje, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Charles Oliveira, Michael Chandler, and Islam Makhachev. Dustin Poirier's crowning achievements are his decision win over Max Holloway at UFC 236 to become the interim lightweight champion, his two knockout victories over Conor McGregor at UFC 264 and UFC 257. Dustin Poirier attempted to claim the UFC BMF championship at UFC 291, but was instead knocked out by Justin Gaethje. Dustin Poirier competed for an undisputed lightweight title 3 times but never captured undisputed gold as he was submitted by Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 242, submitted by Charles Oliveira at UFC 269, and Submitted by Islam Makhachev at UFC 302. Dustin Poirier may have never captured undisputed UFC gold, but his legacy lives on as one of the greatest fighters to ever compete in MMA. Fans will forever hold Poirier in high regards no matter his lack of a world title.

    1h 34m
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About

The MMA Pod is a mixed martial arts podcast hosted by Lionel Rivera. Get the latest takes on UFC events, UFC Fighters, old-school MMA, and so much more. If you're a hardcore or even casual MMA fan, join me as I dissect the world of our favorite UFC fighters, such as Israel Adesanya, Jon Jones, Conor McGregor, Alexander Volkanovski, and many more fighters. Not to mention peeling back the stories and mindsets of popular UFC and MMA personalities such as Dana White, Hunter Campbell, Joe Rogan, and world-renowned MMA referees like Herb Dean and Jason Herzog. Love MMA & UFC? Have a listen.

Information

  • Creator
    Lionel Rivera-Ramirez
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2025
  • Episodes
    31
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Lionel Rivera-Ramirez
  • Show Website
    Lionel Rivera's MMA Podcast

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