The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani Vox Media Podcast Network

With UFC 303 in the books, Ariel Helwani around (5:04) discusses all the storylines that came out of Las Vegas on Saturday night, including another triumphant title defense by Alex Pereira. They discuss Pereira’s pound-for-pound ranking and what’s next for him. He also discusses the UFC co-main event drama, Ian Machado Garry’s performance, and more. He also talks about PFL 6, Karate Combat, and Invicta FC’s return.
Payton Talbott around (1:00:38) discusses his UFC 303 performance, his fight day weight, media chats, the vape conspiracy, his first-round knockout at UFC 303, if life is changing, pole fitness, MMA fans, his future at bantamweight, and more.
Joe Pyfer around (1:32:05) discusses his UFC 303 performance, his rough trip home, his loss to Jack Hermansson, his injury before the Hermansson fight, his allergic reaction, his knockout of Marc-Andre Barriault, who he wants next, and more.
Eric. Nicksick around (1:59:54) discusses how Dan Ige ended up in the UFC 303 co-main event, the timeline of events, how they prepared and rallied the troops, the walkout, the gameplan, Francis Ngannou, and more.
Ian Machado Garry around (2:31:09) discusses his win over MVP at UFC 303, why he’s upset, how close he was to a finish, if he agreed with the judges, why MVP is so difficult to face, why he didn’t throw calf kicks, finishing fights, Demian Maia in his corner, alleged spying in his camp, his son’s impersonations, Shavkat callout, purple shorts, and more.
Diego Lopes around (3:02:23) discusses his win over Dan Ige at UFC 303, his roller-coaster experience with Ortega and than Ige, if he ever thought about turning down the fight, his coach’s visa issues, the hair, and more.
Plinio Cruz around (3:25:56), the coach for Alex Pereira, discuses Pereira’s performance in the UFC 303 main event, when he first met Pereira and why Pereira took that LFA fight, his toes, sparring Tai Tuivasa, dancing before the fight, the face-off before the fight, the first round, what Pereira should do next, the possible move to heavyweight, and more.
The parlay pals around (4:25:15) recap their latest pick, and GC looks back at his UFC 303 picks.

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In the latest On the Nose around (7:43), Ariel Helwani discusses the biggest non-UFC fight in MMA, UFC Denver, if Israel Adesanya is worthy of a title shot, the death of Roman Reigns’ father, Chael Sonnen’s comments about Conor McGregor, retired fighters, Arman Tsarukyan’s suspension, Mike Perry vs. Jake Paul, and more.
Eddie Hearn around (1:02:20) discusses Anthony Joshua vs. Daniel Dubois in London, the IBF heavyweight title, boxing press conferences, his relationship with Ben Shalom, pulling a recent fight, Boxing Super League rumors, Shakur Stevenson, Devin Haney, Ryan Garcia, Mike Perry vs. Jake Paul, Jake Paul conversation, and more.
Payton Talbott around (1:31:43) discusses his upcoming UFC 303 fight, his YouTube videos, his meeting with Tony Hawk, his comments about other bantamweights, salad fingers, Sean O’Malley, Conor McGregor, his celebration, merch, old wrestling photo, and more.
Devin Haney around (2:01:29) discusses his recent fight against Ryan Garcia, if he suspected Garcia was on PEDs, if he has talked to Garcia since the fight, how the loss has hurt him, what happened in the fight, his boots in the fight, the bowling alley dance, if he wants to fight Garcia again, Eddie Hearn’s comments, Tank Davis, weight classes, and more.
Robert Whittaker around (2:24:44) discusses his recent win over Ikram Aliskerov at UFC Saudi Arabia, his root canals before the fight, when he found out Khamzat Chimaev was out of the fight, if he thought about withdrawing from the fight, fight week, crowd reaction, a viral bus photo, his walkout, the finish against Aliskerov, his popularity, what’s next for him, facing Chimaev again, UFC 305, Adesanya vs. DDP, Pereira vs. Prochazka 2, the voices in his head, and more.
Ariel and the panel around (3:15:06) make their International Fight Week draft.
The parlay boys around (3:29:37) make their latest selection, and GC makes his UFC 303 picks.
If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537) (IL/IN/MI/NJ/PA/WV/WY), 1-800-NEXT STEP (AZ), 1-800-522-4700 (CO/NH), 888-789-7777/visit http://ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-BETS OFF (IA), 1-877-770-STOP (7867) (LA), 877-8-HOPENY/text HOPENY (467369) (NY), visit OPGR.org (OR), call/text TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN), or 1-888-532-3500 (VA).
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Ariel Helwani around (10:36) discusses UFC Saudi Arabia, Bellator Dublin, PFL event, Kelvin Gastelum’s weight issues, what’s next for Robert Whittaker, PFL vs. Bellator, Conor McGregor’s appearance at Bellator event, McGregor’s injury and future, and more.
Paul Hughes around (1:00:52) discusses winning his Bellator Dublin debut, his fight week, the opening round, the lack of a callout, Conor McGregor’s appearance, what they said to each other after the fight, his post-fight pizza, his return, PFL vs. Bellator, fighting in the U.S., and more.
Ian Machado Garry around (1:32:32) discusses his upcoming UFC 303 fight on MVP, his low profile before the fight, when he found out Conor McGregor was out for UFC 303, McGregor’s injury reaction, his interest in the Michael Page fight, Colby Covington, why the Covington fight didn’t happen, and more.
The parlay pals around (1:55:02) look back at their most recent selection, and GC looks back at his most recent picks.
The panel around (2:12:58) takes a closer look at the Ryan Garcia suspension aftermath and how fans are treating Devin Haney.
Jiri Prochazka around (2:30:12) discusses when he found out he would main event UFC 303, the previous plan to face Alex Pereira later in the year, why he said yes to UFC 303 offer, his recent trip for three days of darkness, if there was an early stoppage in his first fight against Pereira, what he learned at UFC 300, his staredown with Pereira before their last fight, and more.

If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537) (IL/IN/MI/NJ/PA/WV/WY), 1-800-NEXT STEP (AZ), 1-800-522-4700 (CO/NH), 888-789-7777/visit http://ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-BETS OFF (IA), 1-877-770-STOP (7867) (LA), 877-8-HOPENY/text HOPENY (467369) (NY), visit OPGR.org (OR), call/text TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN), or 1-888-532-3500 (VA).
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Ariel Helwani around (5:13) kicks off the show by discussing the circumstances around Jake Paul vs. Mike Perry being booked, where Perry ranks among the most successful post-UFC careers, and how the new fight compares to the originally scheduled July 20 bout between Paul and Mike Tyson.
Tatsuro Taira around (32:07) discusses his career-best win at UFC Vegas 93, the injury suffered by opponent Alex Perez, setting his sights on flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja, who he thinks is the best Japanese UFC fighter ever, and more.
Jake Paul and Mike Perry around (1:03:47) come face to face via video conference and engage in some heated trash talk, including how the action went when they previously sparred, who has more street cred, whether Perry can steal the Mike Tyson fight with a win over Paul, their predictions for how their boxing match ends, their difference in mentality when they step into the ring, and more.
Kade Ruotolo around (1:56:21) discusses his MMA debut, how much longer he plans to compete in grappling, his longtime passion for MMA, why he chose to compete in the upcoming Craig Jones Invitational over ADCC, his take on whether Dustin Poirier could have avoided being choked out by Islam Makhachev at UFC 302, and more.
The Parlay Boys around (2:28:07) recap the weekend and look at the best bets for upcoming UFC Saudi Arabia, PFL, and Bellator events.
Ariel Helwani around (2:43:50) answers your questions in On the Nose, including how he handled the reporting around the cancelled Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler fight, his beef with Michael Bisping, what’s up with Sean O’Malley and Merab Dvalishvili, the future of the MMA Hour, what are the best MMA movies, does Alex Pereira have the “skibidi rizz,” is Saudi Arabia about to make a power play in boxing, and more.

If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537) (IL/IN/MI/NJ/PA/WV/WY), 1-800-NEXT STEP (AZ), 1-800-522-4700 (CO/NH), 888-789-7777/visit http://ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-BETS OFF (IA), 1-877-770-STOP (7867) (LA), 877-8-HOPENY/text HOPENY (467369) (NY), visit OPGR.org (OR), call/text TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN), or 1-888-532-3500 (VA).
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Ariel Helwani around (15:45) kicks off the show by recapping the busy combat sports weekend, diving deep into what happened with Conor McGregor’s UFC 303 injury dropout, and responding to Michael Bisping’s criticisms.
Rampage Jackson around (59:22) discusses the booming success of his Jaxxon podcast, his upcoming match at Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport event, what happened with his supposed fight against Shannon Briggs, Conor McGregor’s injury withdrawal, Jon Jones’ upcoming video game, helping Riddick Bowe, his relationship with Darrill Schoonover, and more.
Mikey Musumeci around (1:35:15) discusses his viral ONE Championship interview, his win over Gabriel Sousa, his emotional reaction to the beef, moving up three divisions to challenge Kade Ruotolo, being bullied as a child, the problem with steroids in jiu-jitsu, the Craig Jones vs. ADCC war, a future MMA transition, pizza preferences, and more.
Paulo Costa around (2:04:05) discusses his UFC 302 bout against Sean Strickland, what went wrong in the fight, why he needs to bring back the old Paulo, why he wants Khamzat Chimaev next, Dricus du Plessis vs. Israel Adesanya, his viral first pitch, Robert Whittaker vs. Ikram Aliskerov, the Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen boxing exhibition, and more.
Dakota Ditcheva around (2:35:21) discusses her latest first-round PFL win, her success with body shots, her road in the upcoming PLF playoffs, why her walkout with Mysterious Frank didn’t happen, the date of her semifinal fight, and more.
The Parlay Boys around (3:04:11) look back at another winning weekend.

If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537) (IL/IN/MI/NJ/PA/WV/WY), 1-800-NEXT STEP (AZ), 1-800-522-4700 (CO/NH), 888-789-7777/visit http://ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-BETS OFF (IA), 1-877-770-STOP (7867) (LA), 877-8-HOPENY/text HOPENY (467369) (NY), visit OPGR.org (OR), call/text TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN), or 1-888-532-3500 (VA).
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Ariel Helwani around (5:06) discusses the latest news surrounding UFC 303 and Conor McGregor’s return.
In the latest On the Nose around (16:31), Ariel Helwani discusses the UFC 305 main event, the UFC Hall of Fame, Invicta to CBS, favorite MMA moments, UFC 303 fallout, NBA insiders, what’s next for Jake Paul next fight, and more.
Anderson Silva around (59:53) discusses his upcoming fight against Chael Sonnen, their rivalry, why this fight is boxing and not MMA, having his son on the fight card, the UFC Hall of Fame, the Jake Paul fight, what’s next, and more.
Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen around (1:11:50) then both answer questions.
Chael Sonnen around (1:21:54) discusses his upcoming fight with Anderson Silva, his reception from fans, how he ended up with Silva, Jorge Masvidal, Conor McGregor news, the Sonnen vs. Silva UFC fight, and more.
Raul Rosas Jr. around (2:07:30) discusses his UFC Louisville win, why he dropped out of his UFC Mexico City fight, what Ricky Turcios told him after the fight, his future at bantamweight, if he can break Jon Jones’ record, when he wants to return, his coach’s death, and more.
Chris Billam-Smith and Richard Riakporhe around (2:28:31) discuss their upcoming fight this weekend, the locker rooms, their first fight together, how they have improved, who will be next with a win, Madonna dating rumors, Ben Whittaker, Tyson Fury, and more.
Ariel Helwani around (2:50:44) returns to On the Nose to discuss how the UFC is handling UFC 303 drama, tattoos, best jobs, Caitlin Clark, and more.
The parlay pals around (3:38:50) make their latest selection, and GC makes his picks for the upcoming weekend.

If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537) (IL/IN/MI/NJ/PA/WV/WY), 1-800-NEXT STEP (AZ), 1-800-522-4700 (CO/NH), 888-789-7777/visit http://ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-BETS OFF (IA), 1-877-770-STOP (7867) (LA), 877-8-HOPENY/text HOPENY (467369) (NY), visit OPGR.org (OR), call/text TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN), or 1-888-532-3500 (VA).
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