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 Brian “Goze” Garcia, Nolan King and Farah Hannoun will join host “Gorgeous” George Garcia live at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) to discuss and debate:
- The emergence of several UFC title contenders in recent weeks. Among them is [autotag]Jared Cannonier[/autotag], who reemerged as a threat at middleweight following his win over Sean Strickland this past Saturday at UFC Fight Night 216. You’ve also got the likes of [autotag]Arman Tsarukyan[/autotag], [autotag]Ilia Topuria[/autotag], [autotag]Sergei Pavlovich[/autotag], and more who have made statements with wins. Who’s come the closest to realistically having a crack at gold in their respective weight class?
- The continued fallout surrounding controversial judge Doug Crosby in the wake of UFC 282 and Bellator 289. First, ABC president Mike Mazzulli announced that he would be conducting a review with Crosby after he scored Raufeon Stots’ split decision win 50-45 in favor of loser Danny Sabatello. Then later in the week, California State Athletic Commission executive officer Andy Foster issued a memorandum that places restrictions on out-of-state travel for combat sports officials in response to Crosby serving as judge in the Bellator 289 main event in Uncasville, Conn., and then traveling to judge fights the next day in Las Vegas at UFC 282, including the controversial Paddy Pimblett-Jared Gordon co-main event. What does this all mean moving forward?
- Conor McGregor out of the UFC rankings. For the first time in eight years, former two-division champion McGregor is out of the promotion’s official rankings after being removed from the lightweight top 15. He hasn’t fought in 19 months, and there’s no telling exactly when (or if) he’ll return. What is the state of McGregor’s fighting career at the moment?
- T.J. Dillashaw’s detailing of his decision to retire. For the first time since his shocking announcement, the former UFC bantamweight champion opened up to Brendan Schaub about retirement, including the “raw conversation” with his doctor prior to shoulder surgery. What were the biggest takeaways from what we heard from Dillashaw?
- Valentina Shevchenko potential next move. In an interview with MMA Junkie’s Mike Bohn, the dominant UFC women’s flyweight champion discussed what she considers her wide range of options: title contenders Alexa Grasso and Manon Fiorot, a trilogy with Amanda Nunes for the bantamweight title, or perhaps even a superfight with strawweight champion Zhang Weili. If you were matchmaker, who would get the next crack at “Bullet” and why?
“Spinning Back Clique” is released each Monday LIVE on MMA Junkie’s YouTube channel. You can watch this week’s episode in the video above.