Spinning Back Clique – Page 36

Video: Was this the right time for Amanda Nunes to retire?

Our “Spinning Back Clique” reacts to Amanda Nunes’ decision to retire while UFC champion in two divisions.

It’s not often a fighter walks away on top, but that’s exactly what [autotag]Amanda Nunes[/autotag] has done.

Entering UFC 289‘s main event against Irene Aldana, Nunes held both the UFC women’s bantamweight and featherweight titles. After successfully defending her 135-pound title for the sixth time in a dominant unanimous decision at Rogers Center, “The Lioness” decided it was time to call it a career.

While it’s time to celebrate the the woman who is widely regarded as the greatest female fighter in history, her exit leaves many questions to be answered.

Is it the right time for the 35-year-old Brazilian to walk away, and what will the fallout be for the women’s 135- and 145-pound divisions?

Unlike many MMA retirements, will Nunes’ stick? Are we OK with not getting a third fight against Julianna Pena?

Our “Spinning Back Clique” panel of Mike Bohn, Dan Tom, and Brian “Goze” Garcia discuss Nunes’ retirement with host “Gorgeous” George Garcia. You can watch their discussion in the video above and check out this week’s full episode below.

Spinning Back Clique: Amanda Nunes retirement fallout, chasing history at Bellator 297, more

Watch this week’s “Spinning Back Clique” reacting to Amanda Nunes’ retirement, what’s at stake at Bellator 297 and much 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. This week’s panel of Mike Bohn, Danny Segura and Farah Hannoun will join host “Gorgeous” George Garcia live at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) to discuss and debate:

UFC dual women’s champion Amanda Nunes, widely regarded as the greatest female fighter in history, announced her retirement this past Saturday after a sixth bantamweight title defense at UFCC 289. Is it the right time for the 35-year-old Brazilian to walk away, and what will the fallout be for the women’s 135- and 145-pound divisions?
Former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira rebounded from his title loss to champion Islam Makhachev for a big knockout of Beneil Dariush in the UFC 289 co-main event in Vancocuver. Did his win set up a title rematch, or should the Dustin Poirier-Justin Gaethje winner leapfrog him?
Bellator has one of the biggest events in its history Friday in Chicago. At Bellator 297, Vadim Nemkov puts the light heavyweight title on the line against Yoel Romero. But the big one is featherweight champ Patricio Freire’s attempt to take the bantamweight title from Sergio Pettis. A win would be a title in a third division for Freire. Let’s look ahead to the two big ones and what it means in the big picture.
After a report that the UFC pulled in more than $1 billion in revenue in 2022, fighters like middleweight champ Israel Adesanya are joining the call for better fighter pay, including a raise in post-fight bonuses from $50,000. Is the whole fighter pay conversation a pointless one, though?
Former UFC dual champion Conor McGregor, a lightning rod for controversy and headlines, made more of both when he knocked out the Miami Heat’s mascot in a pre-planned mid-game sponsor skit and sent him to the hospital. How much of the bizarre incident is McGregor’s fault?

Video: What’s with Dana White’s fixation on Tyson Fury vs. Jon Jones?

All of a sudden, Dana White seems very interested in booking a fantasy fight between Jon Jones and boxing champ Tyson Fury. Why?

UFC president [autotag]Dana White[/autotag] may be out on some crossover fantasy matchups, but there is one that he has recently shown a lot of interest in.

Just a few days removed from declaring “gimmick fights” are not a part of the UFC’s matchmaking playbook, White openly challenged boxing champ [autotag]Tyson Fury[/autotag] to step up for a fight against UFC heavyweight champ [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] in the octagon.

While White admitted he has a great relationship with Fury and knows he would easily win a fight against Jones in the boxing ring, the UFC boss believes things would be different in the cage – and rightfully so. Throughout the brief history of MMA fighters stepping into the boxing ring and vice versa, the victory typically goes the way of the fighter competing on his home turf.

[autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] took on [autotag]Floyd Mayweather[/autotag] in the ring, and despite the box office smash, the result was no surprise as “Money” finished “The Notorious” Irishman in the 10th round. When boxing champ James Toney entered the octagon to face two-division champ [autotag]Randy Couture[/autotag], things also went as expected: Couture quickly and easily took Toney down for the submission win.

So why is White so interested in this fantasy matchup for “the baddest man on the planet” instead of working with the PFL to create Jones vs. now-former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou? Is White’s interest in the fight with Fury genuine to create a potentially massive event, or is all of this a way to get the UFC audience to forget about Ngannou?

Our “Spinning Back Clique” panel of Farah Hannoun, Mike Bohn, and Danny Segura answer those questions with host “Gorgeous” George Garcia. You can watch their discussion in the video above and check out this week’s full episode below.

Video: Who do we think wins UFC 289’s Amanda Nunes vs. Irene Aldana, Charles Oliveira vs. Beneil Dariush?

Our “Spinning Back Clique” previews the main and co-main event bouts of UFC 289: Nunes vs. Aldana, Oliveira vs. Dariush.

UFC 289 is right around the corner and it brings two massive fights at the top of the bill.

In the main event, the consensus greatest female fighter of all time [autotag]Amanda Nunes[/autotag] looks to defend one of her two titles against Mexico’s [autotag]Irene Aldana[/autotag]. The bantamweight title fight headlines the event at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada on Saturday evening.

Will Nunes record the first defense of her second bantamweight title reign, or will Aldana become the fourth Mexican fighter to win a UFC title in 2023?

In the co-feature, former lightweight champion [autotag]Charles Oliveira[/autotag] takes on [autotag]Beneil Dariush[/autotag], in a title eliminator. Oliveira is looking to get back in position to reclaim the title he lost on the scale at UFC 280 before being submitted by Islam Makhachev. Dariush, however, enters on an eight-fight winning streak, hunting for his first crack at UFC gold.

Will there be a new champion crowned in Canada? Will Dariush finally get his promised title shot if he can get past “Do Bronx?”

Our “Spinning Back Clique” panel of Farah Hannoun, Mike Bohn, and Danny Segura preview the fights with host “Gorgeous” George Garcia. You can watch their discussion in the video above and check out this week’s full episode below.

[lawrence-related id=2647693,2647371,2647415]

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 289.

Video: Buy or sell Conor McGregor making ‘greatest return in combat sports’?

Conor McGregor is confident about how his UFC return will unfold, but will it even happen?

[autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] is confident about how his UFC return will unfold, but will it even happen?

McGregor served as a coach on “The Ultimate Fighter 31” opposite Michael Chandler, with the expectation that they would fight each other inside the octagon as is customary for “TUF” coaches. Chandler is raring to go, but McGregor maybe not so much.

UFC president Dana White cast doubt last weekend about the promotion’s ability to get McGregor to sign on officially for the fight, which is made even more complicated by the fact that the former two-division champion remains out of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency drug-testing pool, which he’s required to be in for six months before he fights.

Still, in an interview just before the premiere of “TUF 31,” which airs weekly on ESPN until Aug. 15, McGregor told UFC reporter Megan Olivi that he’s prepared to make the “greatest return in combat sports.” His actions, however, say otherwise.

So are you buying or selling McGregor making good on his bold claim?

Our “Spinning Back Clique” panel of Farah Hannoun, Mike Bohn, and Danny Segura answer that question with host “Gorgeous” George Garcia. You can watch their discussion in the video above and check out this week’s full episode below.

[lawrence-related id=2647231,2647213,2647117]

Video: Was Kai Kara-France robbed of a win at UFC on ESPN 45 against Amir Albazi?

Our “Spinning Back Clique” debates the outcome of the UFC on ESPN 45 main event that saw Amir Albazi defeat Kai Kara-France.

The UFC on ESPN 45 main event was a close one, but the official result left a sour taste in the mouth of many.

[autotag]Kai Kara-France[/autotag] ended up on the wrong side of a split decision last Saturday against [autotag]Amir Albazi[/autotag] at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

After 25 minutes of back-and-forth action, Albazi emerged victorious with two judges issuing scores of 48-47 in his favor, while the third judge scored the fight for Kara-France. Upon closer inspection of the official scores, judge Chris Lee scored the fourth round for Albazi, which to many watching at home, felt like a round that Kara-France won. Had Lee scored the round like the other two official judges Sal D’Amato and Mike Bell, the New Zealand-based fighter would have won the decision.

But was there more to the scorecards than the fourth round? Other frames throughout the five-round bout were close, including the first.

Was this a robbery? Did Kara-France deserve to get his hand raised? Did Albazi really do enough to walk out of the cage as the winner? Was this simply a case of a very close fight that could have gone either way?

Our “Spinning Back Clique” panel of Farah Hannoun, Mike Bohn, and Danny Segura discuss the judges’ decision along with host “Gorgeous” George Garcia. You can watch their discussion in the video above and check out this week’s full episode below.

[lawrence-related id=2647109,2646992,2646818]

Video: Did the first episode of ‘The Ultimate Fighter 31: Team McGregor vs. Team Chandler’ reel you in?

Our “Spinning Back Clique” discusses the first episode of the new season of TUF featuring Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler as coaches.

Did you watch the first episode of “The Ultimate Fighter 31” last week?

The new season of the UFC’s long-running reality series is underway, and we got our first look at [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] and [autotag]Michael Chandler[/autotag] as coaches. This season runs from May 30 to Aug. 15, with teams of lightweights and bantamweights fighting their way to the final to earn a UFC contract.

In the first episode, the teams were set and the first fight took place, which only lasted eight seconds. Now that the season is rolling, are you in for the full ride to the end?

Is the dynamic between McGregor and Chandler enough to keep you coming back every week? Was there anything different that makes this season more interesting?

Our “Spinning Back Clique” panel of Farah Hannoun, Mike Bohn, and Danny Segura discuss the new season of TUF along with host “Gorgeous” George Garcia. You can watch their discussion in the video above and check out this week’s full episode below.

[lawrence-related id=2645890,2645650]

Spinning Back Clique: Tyson Fury vs. Jon Jones in UFC?, Conor McGregor’s uncertain future, more

Watch this week’s “Spinning Back Clique” reacting to Dana White’s grim update on Conor McGregor and much more.

For weeks we’ve asked the question, “Will you tune in to ‘The Ultimate Fighter 31’? Well, the premiere episode featuring coaches [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] and [autotag]Michael Chandler[/autotag] aired last Tuesday on ESPN. What did you think? And will you be tuning in for the entire season?
Focusing only on the biggest star in our sport, McGregor’s future remains unclear despite the expectation of a traditional ‘TUF’ coaches fight with Chandler. That much became clear this past Saturday when UFC president Dana White offered a grim update on getting the fight finalized. White’s assessment came on the heels of a Megan Olivi interview with McGregor in which he said he’s aiming to make “the greatest return in combat sports.” Are you buyng or selling? And if McGregor never fought in the UFC again, how would you feel about it?
Let’s talk about [autotag]Tyson Fury[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] in the UFC. Wait what? It’s a fight that White, who’s said before that he’s against “gimmicky-type fights,” is pushing for as he doubled down on his offer to Fury this past Saturday. Why is White suddenly into hyping up a fight between Fury and Jones, and is he serious about this?
The UFC on ESPN 45 headliner between [autotag]Kai Kara-France[/autotag] and [autotag]Amir Albazi[/autotag] was a solid fight that ended in controversy, with Albazi winning a close split decision despite a vast majority of media outlets (19-2) scoring it for Kara-France, who has claimed robbery. What did you think of the scores?
UFC 289 is top heavy, with just main and co-main events that stand out from the card. [autotag]Amanda Nunes[/autotag] returns to defend her women’s bantamweight title against [autotag]Irene Aldana[/autotag], while former champ [autotag]Charles Oliveira[/autotag] and streaking contender [autotag]Beneil Dariush[/autotag] compete in a pivotal lightweight bout. We preview both fights ahead of Saturday night’s event in Vancouver.