Category: Radio Highlight

Jon Anik answers whether Jim Miller deserves to be in UFC Hall of Fame

Jon Anik thinks Jim Miller deserves to be recognized for his record-setting longevity, but isn’t sure about the UFC Hall of Fame.

[autotag]Jon Anik[/autotag] thinks [autotag]Jim Miller[/autotag] deserves to be recognized for his record-setting longevity, but isn’t sure about the UFC Hall of Fame.

Miller (38-18 MMA, 27-17 UFC) is the UFC’s all-time leader in wins. He extended his streak after submitting Damon Jackson in the first round less than two weeks ago at UFC 309.

Miller’s 19 stoppage wins in UFC competition are second-most in company history behind Charles Oliveira (20). The 41-year-old is still trucking, and Anik has no issue seeing him in the UFC Hall of Fame – as long as he’s in a different category.

“It’s pretty simple, right? I have hosted the UFC Hall of Fame induction ceremony for 12 or 13 years, but the Hall of Fame is a little bit clunky,” Anik told MMA Junkie Radio. “Not only is there no voting body, but the Hall of Fame is comprised of four separate unique wings. So there are a lot of different ways to get into the Hall of Fame.

“Robbie Lawler right now is in the Hall of Fame for a fight in which he took part. My thesis statement largely dovetails with Daniel Cormier’s that Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone and Jim Miller can be Hall of Famers if they are in a different wing than Daniel Cormier and Khabib Nurmagomedov.”

Daniel Cormier argued that neither Miller or Donald Cerrone should be in the UFC Hall of Fame, and Anik sees where his fellow commentator is coming from.

“The Greatest Of All Time fighters, the Mount Rushmore fighters – Demetrious Johnson, Georges St-Pierre, Jon Jones – shouldn’t be in the same wing with fighters who have longevity-type records,” Anik said.

“Now, Jim Miller is the all-time wins leader. Donald Cerrone did amazing things. Charles Oliveira did a lot of the things that Jim Miller and Donald Cerrone did, but he also won the sport’s ultimate prize. Donald Cerrone had a longer winning streak than Jim Miller did. He at least competed for the undisputed championship. Every case is unique. I would like to see it be a broad voting body that determines these things.”

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Dan Hardy: Francis Ngannou ‘way more dangerous’ in MMA than boxing

Dan Hardy wants to see Francis Ngannou focus on MMA.

[autotag]Dan Hardy[/autotag] wants to see [autotag]Francis Ngannou[/autotag] focus on MMA.

Ngannou (18-3) claimed the inaugural superfight heavyweight title by knocking out Renan Ferreira (13-4) in the first round of the PFL: Battle of the Giants main event in October.

“The Predator” is still seeking mega fights in boxing, but Hardy thinks he’s better off in the cage. He sees the winner of Friday’s heavyweight tournament final between Denis Goltsov (35-8) and Oleg Popov (19-1) at the 2024 PFL Championships being his potential next opponent.

“I think it makes the most sense to me,” Hardy told MMA Junkie Radio. “You’ve got two guys here – two impressive Russian fighters that are both at different ends of their career. Goltsov has tried this path several times. He’s not been successful, but you can’t deny that he’s got the skills to beat everybody in the division – it’s just a case of him doing it successively on the way to $1 million. He’s probably got the best jab in the heavyweight division right now, and I feel like that could be a real problem for Popov in this fight.

“But, I also expect Popov to be durable physically and mentally. Fedor (Emelianenko) in his corner, he’s going to be telling him to get his head off the center line and come over the top and around the sides and keep working his wrestling game. Popov is on the longest win streak in the heavyweight division right now – 18 fights, 19 fights. If he’s able to come through this and beat Goltsov, that’s a clear contender in my opinion because of the impressive streak that he’s on as well as the fact that he will have just won the world championship for this year. It’s the one that makes the most sense.

“I think there are other options out there, but whatever Ngannou does, I would rather him do it in mixed martial arts because I think we see the best of him. He’s more free and just way more dangerous in mixed martial arts.”

Ngannou has laced up the boxing gloves twice. He knocked down Tyson Fury and pushed him to the limit in a controversial decision loss in October 2023. However, his second appearance was finished by Anthony Joshua in a Round 2 knockout loss in March.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for 2024 PFL Championship.

Jon Anik confident Jon Jones will fight Tom Aspinall – and predicts when

UFC play-by-play man Jon Anik is going off “informed speculation” with his prediction of when and where to expect Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall.

Heading into UFC 309, heavyweight champion [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] was hesitant to commit to competing beyond his title fight with Stipe Miocic. Coming out of UFC 309, Jones has sung a different tune, and that has UFC play-by-play commentator [autotag]Jon Anik[/autotag] feeling quite optimistic about the matchup the masses are clamoring for.

And which matchup would that be? A title unification bout with interim champ [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag], of course.

“I have no inside information. I truly don’t. You can call it informed speculation. … But I do believe that fight is going to happen, and I think what was most telling was just the way Jon Jones handled his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan,” Anik said in an interview with MMA Junkie Radio. “And then I talked to him after the fact in the back for ESPN, and I was like, ‘Are we getting three or four more of these things, or what?’ He was going into the Stipe fight with a fight-by-fight mentality, and he sounded like the furthest thing from retirement with Rogan after the fact. So that’s very encouraging.”

Before Jones dismantled Miocic for a third-round TKO win at UFC 309, he spent fight week having to explain why, if he didn’t retire, he preferred a showdown with light heavyweight champ Alex Pereira over Aspinall, but Anik doesn’t see that materializing.

“This is the fight,” Anik said. “Even though Jon Jones isn’t the natural heavyweight in body that Tom Aspinall is, he’s not going to fight Alex Pereira right now. He’s going to fight Tom Aspinall.”

As far as Anik is concerned, Jones vs. Aspinall is all but a lock to happen – provided Jones gets his wish in terms of compensation. What Jones wants exactly isn’t clear, although he described it as “f*ck you money” after UFC 309.

If negotiations between Jones and the UFC go well, then Anik expects the fight to take place during the biggest week on the calendar next year.

“It just comes down to what Jon Jones’ number is,” Anik said. “What is Jon Jones’ net worth? What number is he looking for? Is it 25 million (dollars) to show? You know, what is Michael Jordan worth? What is the greatest of all time worth? I feel like the company is in a great position to make this fight, and I think you’ve got to do Las Vegas. You’ve got to do International Fight Week 2025.”

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UFC on ESPN 63’s Adrian Yanez: Taking Daniel Marcos’ ‘0’ an added incentive

Adrian Yanez will look to halt Daniel Marcos’ momentum at UFC on ESPN 63.

[autotag]Adrian Yanez[/autotag] will look to halt [autotag]Daniel Marcos[/autotag]’ momentum at UFC on ESPN 63.

Yanez (17-5 MMA, 6-2 UFC) takes on unbeaten bantamweight Marcos (16-0-1 MMA, 3-0-1 UFC) Dec. 14 at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla.

Yanez went from a streaking, red-hot prospect to a two-fight losing skid, but managed to return to the win column in his most recent outing when he stopped Vinicius Salvador by Round 1 TKO in May. He sees a win over Marcos putting him back on the rankings’ radar.

“Seeing Daniel and seeing his ‘0,’ I just keep saying I’m going to take his goose egg,” Yanez told MMA Junkie Radio. “I’m going to give him the one (loss). He might be really good, he might be the next best thing, but I’m going to give him that one.

“I’m going to be the guy that takes that one because it’s just the challenge. You just see that in front of you and say he’s a dangerous man. He’s a very dangerous man, and I know I am too. So, whenever I see that, it excites me, it gives a little more oomph for the challenge.”

Despite snapping his losing skid, Yanez won’t relax just yet.

“I’m able to compartmentalize a little bit more, a little bit better,” Yanez said. “I knew I was with my back against the wall, and I still feel like my back is against the wall. I just compartmentalize it a little bit better because I know I have to come home and be with the family, and I can’t put myself in that type of a mode and be around the family like that.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 63.

Billy Quarantillo seeks Hall of Fame type-fight vs. Cub Swanson at UFC on ESPN 63

Billy Quarantillo sees Cub Swanson as the perfect dance partner to deliver a memorable fight at UFC Tampa.

[autotag]Billy Quarantillo[/autotag] sees [autotag]Cub Swanson[/autotag] as the perfect dance partner to deliver a memorable fight.

Quarantillo (18-6 MMA, 6-4 UFC) meets Swanson (29-14 MMA, 14-10 UFC) in a featherweight bout Dec. 14 at UFC on ESPN 63 from Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla. Swanson was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame for his all-out war against Doo Ho Choi in December 2016, and Quarantillo hopes they can replicate that fight.

“When people ask me, ‘Are you excited for this fight?’ Yeah, I’m excited, but I know the type of violence he brings. I know the type of violence I bring,” Quarantillo told MMA Junkie Radio. “He’s in the Hall of Fame for – that’s how exciting he is. He had such an exciting fight that it put him in the Hall of Fame, and that’s the type of fights I want to have.

“I want to have that fight where after, people remember it for the rest of their lives. I definitely think we could get the bonus. We’re both coming off of losses, we both need a win, so that’s the most important thing. But I think with both of our styles, I don’t think there’s a way it’s going to be a boring fight.”

Swanson, 41, has seen mixed results in his past six outings, but Quarantillo isn’t taking that into account. He still views Swanson as a dangerous threat.

“I know how good he looked in his last two fights. He arguably won both of his last two fights against Andre Fili, against ‘Mean’ Hakeem,'” Quarantillo said. “Both two really good fighters. So there’s no point in me faking it. He knows what he got himself into fighting me. He probably only has a few fights left, so I’m sure he’s going to give it everything he has.

“I actually remember when he fought Kron Gracie in Tampa, he had a really good fight against him, and it’s just a huge opportunity for me. I’m excited. Leading up to the fight, I’m going to give him all the respect because he earned it. He’s literally a Hall of Fame fighter already, but when it comes to fight night, I’m going to do exactly what he’s going to do, and I’m going to try to put his lights out in front of everyone.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 63.

Brendan Loughnane knows what to expect vs. Timur Khizriev in PFL title fight

Brendan Loughnane is confident his game plan will prevail at the 2024 PFL Championship.

[autotag]Brendan Loughnane[/autotag] is confident his game plan will prevail against [autotag]Timur Khizriev[/autotag].

Loughnane (30-5) takes on Khizriev (17-0) on Nov. 29 in the 2024 PFL Championship main event at King Saud University Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The event streams on ESPN+.

Loughnane is no stranger to facing accomplished grapplers. He beat Chris Wade and NCAA Division 1 wrestler Bubba Jenkins back to back to win the 2022 PFL featherweight championship.

“Listen, he’s going to try to take me down,” Loughnane told MMA Junkie Radio. “We’re not beating around the bush here. You’ve got a Dagestani vs. an English striker. We all know what’s going to happen. Whoever can implement it will be the PFL world champion in 2024.

“It ain’t no different to 2022. Bubba Jenkins coming in, wrestling, wrestling, wrestling. Guess how many takedowns he got fellas? Zero. The fight before that, Chris Wade, another wrestler, guess how many takedowns he got? Zero. Don’t be surprised if this guy does not take me down.”

Loughnane looks forward to the challenge of becoming the first to beat Khizriev but thinks he’s untested. He said their strengths of schedule have been vastly different.

“I think he’s the one stepping up to that level,” Loughnane said of Khizriev. “If you look at our last 10 opponents, my level’s are way higher than his last 10 opponents. So, we don’t know how good he actually is yet, but we’ll find out.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for 2024 PFL Championship.

UFC 309: Jones vs. Miocic watch-along live stream with MMA Junkie Radio

Join MMA Junkie Radio’s “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” for a live-streamed watch-along of UFC 309 in New York.

UFC 309 goes down Saturday night with a heavyweight championship showdown atop the bill, and MMA Junkie Radio’s “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” will host a live-streamed watch-along right here at 8 p.m. ET.

In the headliner, heavyweight champion Jon Jones (27-1 MMA, 21-1 UFC) puts his title on the line for the first time when he takes on former champ Stipe Miocic (20-4 MMA, 14-4 UFC) in a fight delayed by a year. In the co-feature, former lightweight champ Charles Oliveira (34-10 MMA, 22-10 UFC) takes on Michael Chandler (23-8 MMA, 2-3 UFC) after he was left at the altar by Conor McGregor.

UFC 309 takes place at Madison Square Garden in New York and streams on ESPN+ pay-per-view following prelims on ESPNews, ESPN+ and Hulu.

Below is the lineup of fights included in the watch-along

UFC 309 main card (pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)

  • Champ Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic – for heavyweight title
  • Michael Chandler vs. Charles Oliveir
  • Paul Craig vs. Bo Nickal
  • Viviane Araujo vs. Karine Silva
  • James Llontop vs. Mauricio Ruffy

UFC 309 preliminary card (ESPNews/FX/Hulu, 8 p.m. ET)

  • Jonathan Martinez (135.8) vs. Marcus McGhee
  • Eryk Anders (185.6) vs. Chris Weidman
  • Damon Jackson (155.2) vs. Jim Miller
  • David Onama (155.6) vs. Roberto Romero

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 309.

Gamebred FC’s Curtis Millender: ‘Everyday I wish I was still in the big show in the UFC’

Curtis Millender would love to still call the UFC his home, but that’s not the reality as he enters a Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA fight.

[autotag]Curtis Millender[/autotag] would love to still call the UFC his home.

Millender kicked off his UFC tenure in February 2018 with a Performance of the Night knockout of Thiago Alves. He followed that up with two more wins, before dropping back-to-back to Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos, and current UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad. He was released from the promotion in late 2019.

Since then, Millender has dabbled in various different combat sports, and amassed a four-fight winning streak before running into Alexander Shlemenko in June.

“Everyday I wish I was still in the big show in the UFC,” Millender told MMA Junkie Radio. “I see guys like Kevin Holland, Belal, Max Griffin. Everybody that’s still there, they’re doing very well for themselves. I’m proud of those guys, it’s good to see those guys still doing their thing and living out their dreams.

“But, a little piece of me that wishes I was still there. Life would be a lot different. Life is still good, I’m doing great. I’m still getting to do what I’ve always wanted to do. I’m still getting to travel, I’m still getting to make money to fight, I still don’t have to work a 9-5. Life is still amazing.”

Millender returns against Jesse Ronson in Friday’s Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA 8 event at Mississippi Coast Coliseum in Biloxi, Miss. As long as “Curtious” gets to continue competing at a high level, he’s satisfied.

“I never talked to my management about, ‘Oh, are they asking about me?’ or anything like that just because I didn’t want to put that added pressure,” Millender said. “But, I would see things, I would see different media outlets talk about, ‘Curtis is on a five-fight win streak, guys that may get back in, stuff like that.

“But, I never officially talked to my manager. I’m just like, get me the best fights available. If I can’t fight the toughest guy available, at least make sure I make some money. I always knew in the back of my mind it can be close, like it can be coming if I stay on the right path, continue to do what I’m doing, win fights. It’s always a possibility to get back.”

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Randy Costa: Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA ‘knows what they’re doing’ with main event

Randy Costa thinks his fighting style is a big reason why he’s headlining Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA 8 on Friday.

[autotag]Randy Costa[/autotag] thinks his fighting style is a big reason why he’s headlining Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA 8.

Costa is set to rematch fellow UFC veteran Brandon Davis Friday at Mississippi Coast Coliseum in Biloxi, Miss. Davis won their first meeting by submission, which took place under the UFC banner in April 2019.

The card features various UFC alums – including the likes of Kevin Lee, Curtis Millender, and Charles Rosa. After his impressive first-round finish of Jason Knight in his promotional debut last November, “The Zohan” was rewarded with a main event spot.

“I think that Gambred knows what they’re doing,” Costa told MMA Junkie Radio. “Especially in Mississippi – my fighting style is fireworks regardless of who’s in front of me, and you can say the same thing about Brandon. I think that with my last fight, last year when I fought Jason Knight, I believe that I kind of stole the show. So, to go back to Biloxi, the people of Mississippi are familiar with me.

“Obviously Brandon and I have a history, our first fight was exciting as f*ck for however long it lasted. But yeah man, I’m super thankful to be headlining this card, and I’m for sure going to take advantage of the opportunity. I’m excited to throw down. This has been a long camp, I feel really good, I have a great dance partner. It’s going to be a sick show.”

Costa is no stranger to violence and is enjoying throwing down without the gloves. Win or lose throughout his career, Costa’s fights have never gone the distance.

“It doesn’t worry me, dude,” Costa said. “This whole thing is crazy and that’s why I decided to do it. It was because it’s outlandish. Just took the training wheels off, not fighting with gloves anymore, but the biggest difference I noticed is you have to be a little bit more methodical. You have to pick your shots a little bit more. The range is a little bit different, the distance is a little bit different. Obviously the punches sting a little bit more.”

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Rich Franklin thinks ONE Championship would definitely be open to having Cris Cyborg

Cris Cyborg has collected a championship in just about every major promotion – except ONE.

[autotag]Cris Cyborg[/autotag] has collected a championship in just about every major promotion – except ONE.

Cyborg (28-2), a former UFC, Bellator, Strikeforce, and Invicta FC champion, claimed the PFL superfights women’s featherweight title when she defeated Larissa Pacheco in October. Could she add a sixth belt under the ONE Championship banner? Vice president [autotag]Rich Franklin[/autotag] thinks the promotion would certainly entertain that idea.

“I think this is a Chatri (Sityodtong) conversation. Chatri and Matt Hume, because Matt Hume is head of competition, but I think that’s definitely a conversation that they would at least be interested in having,” Franklin told MMA Junkie Radio. “It’s not one of those things where it’s like, ‘No, we’re not interested in that.’ That’s something that would for sure intrigue them,

“And I say that because as a fan, I would personally be intrigued. If I was outside this organization, I would be willing to watch and say, ‘Oh, can Cyborg capture … she’s making her way up the ranks in ONE Championship.’ I would be willing to watch that as a fan. So, I think that’s something that they would definitely be open to having a conversation about.”

However, in MMA, ONE Championship doesn’t currently have a women’s featherweight division for Cyborg to compete in. Cyborg has predominantly competed at 145 pounds throughout her career and holds notable wins over Gina Carano, Holly Holm, Julia Budd, Cat Zingano, and Pacheco.

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