Spinning Back Clique: ‘Fight of the Year’ candidates, Aaron Pico, Kayla Harrison and more

Check out this week’s “Spinning Back Clique,” MMA Junkie’s weekly show that takes a spin through the biggest topics in mixed martial arts.

Check out this week’s “Spinning Back Clique,” MMA Junkie’s weekly show that takes a spin through the biggest topics in mixed martial arts.

This week, we look back at the UFC Fight Night 197 and Bellator 271 headliners, look ahead to Saturday’s , and talk a little Jon Jones.

Our “Spinning Back Clique” panel of Mike Bohn, Nolan King and Danny Segura discuss these topics with host John Morgan.

  • UFC Fight Night 197 produced another contender for “Fight of the Year” when Max Holloway outworked Yair Rodriguez in the main event. That came just a week after another monumental battle between Justin Gaethje and Michael Chandler. So which one is the leader in the clubhouse as we come down the stretch in 2021?
  • After Holloway’s big win, should he be next in line for featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski, who beat him to win the belt, then beat him a second time to defend it? Both were close fights. Or should Holloway be thinking about a big-money fight like a rematch with Conor McGregor?
  • Aaron Pico has won five straight fights for Bellator and finally is starting to look like a title contender and not just a prospect. Now that he’s well clear of a slightly stunning two-fight skid, will 2022 be the year Pico breaks out and wins a Bellator title?
  • Jorge Masvidal is out of his fight against Leon Edwards at UFC 269, which was a long-awaited grudge match. Should the UFC give Edwards a title shot in the wake of that news? And what does it mean for Masvidal?
  • Kayla Harrison won her second $1 million PFL title in October, but now she’s a free agent. UFC president Dana White has seemed ho-hum about the potential to sign her to the featherweight division. But Bellator’s Scott Coker seems much more open about it – and Harrison was on hand in South Florida to watch Cris Cyborg’s latest title defense this past Friday. So where do we think Harrison will wind up: The UFC? Bellator? Or back in the PFL?

“Spinning Back Clique” is released each Tuesday on MMA Junkie’s YouTube channel. You can watch the full episode in the video above.

[vertical-gallery id=1577711]