Category: Spinning Back Clique

Video: How long can new UFC champ Sean O’Malley reign over stacked bantamweight division?

The challenges for Sean O’Malley at bantamweight have just begun after claiming the title from Aljamain Sterling in the UFC 292 headliner.

“The Suga Era” has officially arrived after [autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag] capped off Saturday’s UFC 292 event in Boston with a spectacular finish of Aljamain Sterling to claim the bantamweight title.

O’Malley (17-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC) has been poised for and seemingly expected this moment for years now, and when he got it, he capitalized with a second-round TKO of Sterling (23-5 MMA, 14-5 UFC) at TD Garden to claim the gold.

Now the real challenge for O’Malley begins. In addition to his star power on the rise and people likely to be coming out of the woodwork for his attention, he’s got arguably the deepest weight class in the sport gunning to dethrone him.

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MMA Junkie’s “Spinning Back Clique” panel of Nolan King, Brian Garcia and Mike Bohn joined host “Gorgeous” George Garcia and reacted to the title change, what’s next for O’Malley and more.

Watch the segment above, and Monday’s complete episode of “Spinning Back Clique” below.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 292.

Spinning Back Clique LIVE: UFC 292 fallout, including Sean O’Malley, Zhang Weili, Ian Garry Machado and more

This week’s “Spinning Back Clique” discusses and debates UFC 292’s big storylines, including new champion Sean O’Malley.

Check out this week’s “Spinning Back Clique,” MMA Junkie’s weekly live show that takes a spin through the biggest topics in mixed martial arts, with a new special start time of 11 a.m. ET, which will lead straight into our live-streamed coverage of the Dana White’s Contender Series 59 weigh-ins in Las Vegas.

This week’s panel of Brian “Goze” Garcia, 2022 MMA Journalist of the Year nominee Mike Bohn and 2023 nominee Nolan King will join host “Gorgeous” George Garcia live at 11 a.m. ET (8 a.m. PT) to discuss and debate:

  • Sean O’Malley TKOs bantamweight champ Aljamain Sterling to win belt in UFC 292 main event
  • The UFC 292 co-main event – a thoroughly dominant win for women’s strawweight champ Zhang Weili
  • Ian Machado Garry’s brilliant performance against Neil Magny
  • What’s next for Sterling after he lost the 135-pound title?
  • Dana White’s Contender Series has its second alumnus as a UFC champ in O’Malley
  • Plus, the panel members will discuss Colby Covington’s beef with Jon Jones, this week’s UFC main event between Max Holloway and “The Korean Zombie,” and more.

Video: What’s the latest in the UFC’s antitrust lawsuit?

Our “Spinning Back Clique” discusses the latest updates to the ongoing UFC antitrust lawsuit.

Since 2014, former UFC fighters have been seeking damages in an antitrust lawsuit against the promotion.

This week, there was a major development in the case as federal judge Richard F. Boulware granted “bout class” certification, which means fighters under Zuffa from Dec. 16, 2010 until June 30, 2017, can collectively file suit against the UFC for potential violations of antitrust laws.

Former UFC fighters leading the charge include [autotag]Jon Fitch[/autotag], [autotag]Cung Le[/autotag], and [autotag]Brandon Vera[/autotag], among others. The latest development is a big step for the former competitors, although the promotion’s legal team intends to appeal the decision.

MMA Junkie’s “Spinning Back Clique” panel of Nolan King, Brian Garcia and Dan Tom joined host “Gorgeous” George Garcia to discuss the latest updates to the case, and what it means for the fighters involved.

Watch the segment above, and Monday’s complete episode of “Spinning Back Clique” below.

Video: How will the UFC 292 main event between Aljamain Sterling and Sean O’Malley unfold?

Our “Spinning Back Clique” breaks down the UFC 292 main event bantamweight title fight between Aljamain Sterling and Sean O’Malley.

The UFC has finally returned to Boston, and it has a big bantamweight title fight at the top of the card.

Undisputed champion [autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag] will be putting his title on the line against [autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag] in the main event of UFC 292. The event takes place Saturday at TD Garden and airs live on pay-per-view following prelims on ABC/ESPN, and early prelims on ESPN+.

Sterling (23-3 MMA, 15-3 UFC) competes in his second consecutive feature bout, and will be looking for the fourth defense of his bantamweight crown. O’Malley gets his first crack at gold in his first main event assignment.

Will “The Funkmaster’s” smothering grappling be too much to handle or will “Sugar’s” striking pick apart the champion?

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MMA Junkie’s “Spinning Back Clique” panel of Nolan King, Brian Garcia and Dan Tom joined host “Gorgeous” George Garcia break down the main event and discuss the likelihood of each fighter walking out of Boston with the bantamweight title.

Watch the segment above, and Monday’s complete episode of “Spinning Back Clique” below.

Video: Did UFC make right call caving to Israel Adesanya’s wish for Sean Strickland in Sydney?

Israel Adesanya wanted to fight at UFC 293 in Sydney no matter the opponent, but now many are questioning if Sean Strickland deserved it.

It took just over four weeks until the event to get an official announcement, but [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] will get his desired opportunity to fight close to home in Sydney when he meets [autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag] in the UFC 293 main event on Sept. 9.

After the originally planned middleweight title matchup with Dricus Du Plessis fell through due to injury, Adesanya (24-2 MMA, 12-2 UFC) was adamant he wanted to stay on the card, and he didn’t care about which challenger was standing across from him.

Given the fact he’s already cleared out of the top-five ranked contenders in his division, the logical opponent was Strickland (27-5 MMA, 14-5 UFC), though there appeared to be some hesitation on the UFC’s side to make the fight. Ultimately cooler heads prevailed, but questions remain about whether the matchup makes sense, and whether the pre-fight talk could be an ugly look for the sport.

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Strickland is 2-2 in his past four fights, and despite coming off a second-round TKO of Abus Magomedov at UFC on ESPN 48 in July, the public perception, betting lines, and even Adesanya himself, give him little chance of claiming gold.

MMA Junkie’s “Spinning Back Clique” panel of Nolan King, Brian Garcia and Dan Tom joined host “Gorgeous” George Garcia and reacted to the booking, as well as assessed Strickland’s chances and what the lead-up to the fight could look like.

Watch the segment above, and Monday’s complete episode of “Spinning Back Clique” below.

Video: Grading the Bellator 300 lineup with four championship fights

Bellator has stacked the deck for its 300th numbered event on Oct. 7, but does the lineup match the significance of the moment?

A milestone event in Bellator history is just around the corner with Bellator 300 recently being announced for Oct. 7 in San Diego, Calif.

Four championship fights are on the docket with Cris Cyborg vs. Cat Zingano for the women’s featherweight title, Usman Nurmagomedov vs. Brent Primus for the lightweight belt, Ryan Bader vs. Linton Vassell for heavyweight gold and Liz Carmouche vs. Ilia-Lei Macfarlane for the women’s flyweight strap.

With rumors circling about a potential sale of the Bellator organization, there’s much discussion around whether this could be the final significant event in company history, as well.

MMA Junkie’s “Spinning Back Clique” panel of Nolan King, Brian Garcia and Dan Tom joined host “Gorgeous” George Garcia to give a breakdown of the card and the future of Bellator as a whole.

Watch the segment above, and Monday’s complete episode of “Spinning Back Clique” below.

Video: How realistic is Conor McGregor’s three-fight plan, starting with alleged December return?

Conor McGregor claims his next three fights will be against Michael Chandler, Justin Gaethje and Nate Diaz, but do we believe it?

[autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] continues to make bold declarations about his plans to return to the UFC, and over the weekend gave his most detailed road map yet.

After being out of action since July 2021 due to recovery from a broken leg, former two-division champion McGregor (22-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) claims he’s going to be back in the octagon in December for his expected bout with opposing “The Ultimate Fighter 31” coach Michael Chandler.

Despite there being no confirmation McGregor has re-entered the USADA testing pool, which is a requirement for his comeback to be locked in, “The Notorious” says a UFC 296 matchup with Chandler will kick off a three-fight schedule for himself which will subsequently see him face “BMF” champ Justin Gaethje, then a trilogy fight with longtime rival Nate Diaz.

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Is there any reason to believe any or all of this will happen, though, given McGregor’s recent history of empty actions following his words?

MMA Junkie’s “Spinning Back Clique” panel of Dan Tom, Nolan King and Brian Garcia joined host “Gorgeous” George Garcia to discuss the situation and the reality of McGregor’s potentially looming return.

Watch the segment above, and Monday’s complete episode of “Spinning Back Clique” below.

Spinning Back Clique LIVE: UFC 292 preview, stacked Bellator 300, Conor’s future, more

This week’s “Spinning Back Clique” discusses and debates UFC 292, UFC 293, Conor McGregor’s return and more.

Check out this week’s “Spinning Back Clique,” MMA Junkie’s weekly live show that takes a spin through the biggest topics in mixed martial arts, with a new special start time of 11 a.m. ET, which will lead straight into our live-streamed coverage of the Dana White’s Contender Series 58 weigh-ins in Las Vegas.

This week’s panel of Brian “Goze” Garcia, 2023 MMA Journalist of the Year nominee Nolan King and MMA Junkie lead analyst Dan Tom will join host “Gorgeous” George Garcia live at 11 a.m. ET (8 a.m. PT) to discuss and debate:

  • UFC 292’s main event bantamweight title fight: Champ Aljamain Sterling vs. Sean O’Malley
  • The UFC 293 main event: Middleweight champ Israel Adesanya vs. Sean Strickland
  • Bellator 300 in San Diego with four title fights on the main card
  • The latest in the attempt at a class action lawsuit against the UFC
  • Conor McGregor names his next three opponents. Boy who cried wolf?
  • Plus, the panel members will discuss Dana White’s relationship with Nate Diaz, White’s comments on Stephen Thompson, Dillon Danis vs. Logan Paul and more.

Video: Is title shot next for undefeated Tatiana Suarez after dominant UFC on ESPN 50 win?

Tatiana Suarez improved to 10-0 after submitting former champ Jessica Andrade, and now she’s closer than ever to a title shot.

[autotag]Tatiana Suarez[/autotag] picked up her second consecutive win after returning from a multi-year hiatus this past weekend when she ruthlessly submitted Jessica Andrade in the UFC on ESPN 50 co-headliner.

Suarez (10-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) has been a dominant force throughout her entire undefeated career, and now has the names of two former champions on her resume with Andrade (24-12 MMA, 15-10 UFC) and Carla Esparza. The only thing that has held her back is her own health, but with those issues seemingly sorted, she can go her run to the top.

With strawweight champion Zhang Weili (23-3 MMA, 7-2 UFC) set to put her belt on the line against Amanda Lemos (13-2-1 MMA, 7-2 UFC) at UFC 292 on Aug. 19 in Boston, the timing could be perfect for Suarez to challenge the winner.

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Is she the most worthy contender at 115 pounds, though? Or is there more work to do?

MMA Junkie’s “Spinning Back Clique” panel of Mike Bohn, Farah Hannoun, Nolan King and host George Garcia discussed Suarez’s title chances and more on the latest edition of the show.

Watch the segment above, and Monday’s complete episode of “Spinning Back Clique” below.

Video: Which UFC on ESPN 50 undercard performance stood out most?

UFC on ESPN 50 this past weekend fell right in the middle of a busy combat sports weekend, and a handful of performances stood out.

UFC on ESPN 50 this past weekend fell right in the middle of a busy combat sports weekend, and although there wasn’t a ton of thrilling bouts on the card, a handful of performances stood out.

Outside of headliner Cory Sandhagen and co-headliner Tatiana Suarez winning their respective bouts, a number of other fighters on the card did their best to steal a sliver of the attention at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn.

Who did the best job of captivating the audience and drawing intrigue into their career going forward?

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MMA Junkie’s “Spinning Back Clique” panel of Mike Bohn, Farah Hannoun, Nolan King and host George Garcia debated on the latest edition of the show.

Watch the segment above, and Monday’s complete episode of “Spinning Back Clique” below.