From ignoring interim titles to jumping weight classes, our “Spinning Back Clique” discuss the worst fight ideas to take place in 2024.
A new year brings new fights, but some of the proposed matchups ahead for 2024 don’t exactly make the most sense.
Perhaps the shining example, for better or worse, is the UFC’s plan to stick to having the heavyweight champ [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag]’ next fight be against [autotag]Stipe Miocic[/autotag]. The fight scheduled for UFC 295 was scrapped due to a Jones injury that will likely have him sidelined until Q4, led to the creation of an interim title that Tom Aspinall won.
But the UFC wants to overlook Aspinall’s piece of gold, and forgo unifying the title at the next opportunity? Red card!
As has been the recent trend in the UFC, whenever a fighter wins a title, they want to jump to the next division to capture a second quickly. Chasing title defense records seems to be a thing of the past, with a few exceptions.
In 2023, we saw featherweight champ [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] attempt to win lightweight gold twice and come up short. Heading into 2024, multiple champions including [autotag]Islam Makhachev[/autotag], [autotag]Leon Edwards[/autotag] and [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag] have expressed a desire to move up to the next weight class to chase champ-champ status.
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Which of these ideas prompted by the promotion or the fighters worthy of a yellow or red card?
That’s what we asked our “Spinning Back Clique” panel of Brian “Goze” Garcia, Mike Bohn and Danny Segura, who tackled the topic with host “Gorgeous” George Garcia.
Check out their conversation above, and don’t miss this week’s full episode below.
For Belal Muhammad, it’s full steam ahead toward a UFC title fight vs. Leon Edwards – and he oozes confidence.
It’s all coming together for [autotag]Belal Muhammad[/autotag], at least in his self-assessment.
With a title challenge against [autotag]Leon Edwards[/autotag] rumored for the UFC 300 card April 13 in Las Vegas, Muhammad (23-3 MMA, 14-3 UFC) recently told MMA Junkie he hasn’t heard any specifics himself. Regardless of the where and when, Muhammad voiced confidence there was no question of “will.”
“I’m just hoping (UFC CEO) Dana (White) is waiting to do one of those epic announcements,” Muhammad recently told MMA Junkie Radio. “But for me, I think it’s the time that’s going to happen. I feel like I’m ready for it. He said he wants to fight on 300. It makes sense but nothing is finalized until I get a contract. Once I get that, I’ll be satisfied. But for now, it’s just knowing that’s the last thing that Dana told me. I’m next. Dana is not a man to go against his word. We’re just waiting for everything to be finalized and set in stone and ready to go.
“… My last fight, we took it on three weeks notice, for Gilbert Burns. It was one of those moments where I was over there and I was like, there was still a lot of unknowns before taking that fight. It was like, ‘Well, it could be this or it could be that. We don’t know what’s next yet.’ But when I took that fight, they’re like, ‘If you beat Gilbert Burns, you’re next.’ So now, there is no more unknown. We know who’s up next for the title fight. Now, it’s the date, which doesn’t even really matter to me. I’ll fight next week. I’ll fight tomorrow. Just give me that title on the line, I’ll show up and be ready to go.”
Muhammad is already in training hard, which isn’t totally unusual for him. His home base is a small gym, Chicago Fight Team, so Muhammad is constantly assisting his teammates with their fights.
For that, and many other reasons, Muhammad will be ready whenever the promotion calls and has some travel plans for his official training camp.
“I’m planning to go to Dagestan and train with those guys, like you said, to get a new look, to get different feels,” Muhammad said. “Those guys don’t let you take any days off or any easy rounds. That’s always perfect for me. Last time I trained with those guys, we got a dominant finish. I plan to do the same thing.”
It’s been nearly three years since Edwards poked Muhammad in the eye, which resulted in an unfortunate no contest. Since then, Muhammad has hankered for a rematch – but to no avail (yet).
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Having closely watched his foe’s path thereafter, Muhammad explained in detail why he feels confident he’ll walk away with the title should the rematch happen.
“The path I had to go since the Leon fight was way different than him,” Muhammad said. “You fought Nate Diaz, who you should’ve been able to walk through. You didn’t. You fought Usman, who was killing you. He had you broken mentally and you landed a head kick. OK. Then, your rematch, you did what you just did to Colby. You made it a lackluster fight. You didn’t fight. You hit and moved, hit and moved, hit and moved. I think it was more so that Usman wasn’t himself that fight because he came back a little bit too soon. I still thought Usman won that fight. If we’re looking at growth, if we’re looking at complete martial artists, if we’re looking at who’s bettering themself, I’ve gotten better every single one of my fights. He hasn’t.”
While they’re unlikely to agree on much, Muhammad echoed Covington’s recent sentiments that Edwards struggles with mental toughness – particularly pointing to coach Dave Lovell’s motivational mid-fight speeches.
“I think Leon having to fight somebody like me, who is hungry, who has been fighting the best guys in the world, it’s going to be a different kind of fight for him,” Muhammad said. “He’s going to realize that when he’s in the cage and his motivational speaker who he has in his corner in between rounds, he can’t really give him advice. ‘Beautiful, Leon. Beautiful.’ When you have coaches like that who give you that type of advice in between (rounds), that just tells me how weak mentally you are. You need those type of guys with you. Like, have David Goggins in your corner because you’re going to need more motivation that ever when you fight me.”
Michael Chiesa thinks Leon Edwards’ well-rounded skillset plays to his detriment.
[autotag]Michael Chiesa[/autotag] thinks [autotag]Leon Edwards[/autotag]’ well-rounded skillset plays to his detriment.
Welterweight champion Edwards (22-3 MMA, 14-2 UFC) retained his belt in a lackluster unanimous decision win over Colby Covington at UFC 296.
Edwards’ performance was criticized by many, especially with Covington looking rusty after almost two years off. Chiesa theorizes that Edwards’ conservative showing could have come because he was in firm control of the fight against Covington.
“He definitely slowed down in the Colby fight,” Chiesa said on his “Round-Up” show with Paul Felder. “He didn’t even get a vintage Colby pace. I think Leon is not underrated, skill-wise. I think if anyone underrates his skills, then they don’t know what the hell they are talking about when it comes to mixed martial arts. There’s not a person I’ve talked to who says he lacks in the skill department. But on the flip side of that, sometimes the people that are the most skilled go for it the least.
“When a guy has maybe deficits in his skills, they’re more prone to putting themselves – you have to put yourself in harm’s way sometimes to get a finish. When you’re like Leon, the perfect head kick KO like he had against Kamaru (Usman), they’re definitely counter strikes. Sometimes you have to just not try to be so skilled and just take a chance. Really skilled guys will be really reserved instead of putting themselves out there.”
Chiesa compared Edwards to former UFC dual-champion Georges St-Pierre, who got most of his wins by decision, but reigned over the welterweight division for more than five years.
“Unless (Edwards) landed a good counterstrike to hurt you, I don’t see him trying to force an opportunity to create a finish,” Chiesa said. “It’s one of those things where he’s almost too skilled. Sometimes when someone is too skilled, they don’t go for it enough. They just try to be perfect – kind of like what Georges used to do.”
This week’s “Spinning Back Clique” panel discusses Conor McGregor’s fight announcement, the state of UFC 300, the end of USADA 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 special Tuesday edition after New Year’s Day is in the rear-view mirror.
This week’s panel of Mike Bohn, Brian “Goze” Garcia and Danny Segura will join host “Gorgeous” George Garcia live at 12 p.m. ET (9 a.m. PT) to discuss and debate:
[autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] took to social media and announced he will fight Michael Chandler during International Fight Week on June 29 in Las Vegas, and it will happen at middleweight. UFC has not confirmed McGregor’s claims, but we’ll react to it and whether we’re buying or selling the details.
[autotag]Leon Edwards[/autotag] revealed his third welterweight title defense will happen at UFC 300, which would be the first title booking for the historic card on April 13. Who will he fight, and what are impressions of the card so far given the other already confirmed bouts?
[autotag]Jorge Masvidal[/autotag] says he’s unretired less than nine months after hanging up his gloves: What’s the best option for his fighting future?
UFC officially switched anti-doping systems on Jan. 1, with USADA now a thing of the past and a new structure in place. The panel will react to the press release with all the details.
What fight bookings do we DISLIKE the most so far on the MMA schedule in 2024?
We don’t know Leon Edwards’ next dance partner yet, but the “Save the Date” card went out Saturday from Edwards himself.
We don’t know [autotag]Leon Edwards[/autotag]’ next dance partner yet, but the “Save the Date” card went out Saturday from Edwards himself.
The British welterweight champion said he’ll return to defend his title at UFC 300 in April at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. UFC CEO Dana White the type of legendary top-to-bottom card befitting of the historic event number, and Edwards said he’ll be part of it.
The 32-year-old was honored at halftime of Aston Villa’s home win over Burnley at Villa Park in Birmingham, England. Edwards was born in Jamaica, but moved to Birmingham when he was 9. Two weeks after his unanimous decision win over Colby Covington at UFC 296, Edwards got a customized Aston Villa home kit shirt with “Champ” and the number 1 on the back.
Edwards (22-3 MMA, 14-2 UFC) told the crowd he’ll fight at UFC 300 in a title defense. Several names have been floated as candidates. Nate Diaz threw his hat in the proverbial ring this past week. He lost a decision to Edwards in 2021, but mounted a late rally that had fans clamoring for a Round 6. Lightweight champion Islam Makhachev wants to attempt to be a two-division titleholder, and a shot at history would be on brand for something like UFC 300.
But the most likely opponent may be [autotag]Belal Muhammad[/autotag] (23-3 MMA, 14-3 UFC). Edwards and Muhammad fought once before, but their matchup was a no contest when Muhammad took an accidental eye poke just 18 seconds into the second round of their UFC Fight Night 187 main event. Muhammad has been campaigning for a title shot for a while based on merit, but had to wait out a Kamaru Usman rematch with Edwards, then Covington’s title shot, which came on the heels of nearly two years of inactivity.
Initially, Edwards didn’t seem all that keen on a fight against Muhammad after his win over Covington. But he appeared to warm to the idea, perhaps out of inevitability of the matchup.
Edwards has 12 straight wins. He also told the crowd at Villa Park that he hopes to fight again next summer in Birmingham, which would make him one of the most active titleholders in UFC history.
Paul Felder doesn’t like the UFC champ-champ craze. “How about you get a whole lot of title defenses first, then you go and step up?”
[autotag]Paul Felder[/autotag] is not a fan of fighters chasing dual-champion status so early in their title reigns.
Felder specifically has an issue with UFC lightweight champion [autotag]Islam Makhachev[/autotag] (25-1 MMA, 14-1 UFC) expressing interest in moving up to challenge welterweight champion [autotag]Leon Edwards[/autotag] (22-3 MMA, 14-2 UFC). Edwards also mentioned moving up to middleweight to capture a second belt, but Felder would like to see both of them rule their divisions first.
“We established that this (Muhammad) is the No. 1 contender, you’re (Edwards) also saying that you want to break Georges St-Pierre’s record, but then we got Islam Makhachev out there saying he should be next for the welterweight belt,” Felder said on his “Round-Up” show with Michael Chiesa. “Guys, stay in your freaking divisions, reign over your division. Can we get dominant champions before you all start wanting to fight for other belts?
“It didn’t used to be like this. The guys that did this in the beginning – obviously Conor is an exception. He did it; it was craziness. He was a superstar. (Daniel Cormier) did it because he earned it and was a 205’er. Amanda Nunes earned it. Now it’s just like everyone and their mother wants to be able to be a double champ. And it’s like, ‘Well, how about you get a whole lot of title defenses first, then you go and step up?'”
Jon Anik believes UFC champ Leon Edwards has to take on all comers if he wants to be considered welterweight great.
Jon Anik believes UFC champion [autotag]Leon Edwards[/autotag] should take on all comers if he wants to be considered welterweight great.
Edwards (22-3 MMA, 14-2 UFC) expressed his desire of surpassing Georges St-Pierre’s nine title defenses, and UFC play-by-play commentator Anik thinks he has the potential to do it. Edwards notched his second title defense when he defeated Colby Covington by unanimous decision earlier this month at UFC 296.
Going off of rankings and resume, [autotag]Belal Muhammad[/autotag] (23-3 MMA, 14-3 UFC) appears to be a clear-cut contender, but Edwards was dismissive of his former foe – even though their first fight ended in a no contest. If Edwards wants to eclipse St-Pierre, Anik says he should run things back with Muhammad.
“I’m not necessarily surprised,” Anik said in an interview with Bodog Canada. “It’s not Leon Edwards’ job as undisputed UFC welterweight champion to lay the foundation for his next title defense. Certainly if his aspiration is to go down as the greatest welterweight champion of all time – and by the way that is well within reach when you just beat Kamaru Usman twice and then Colby Covington. If that’s the goal, he should want to take out and beat all of these guys.
“I think you need to marry the financial goals with the career-aspirational goals. I mean, he’s a Hall of Famer first ballot, but to go down potentially as the greatest welterweight of all time, if Belal Muhammad is indeed easy work, I think that fight makes a lot of sense.”
Anik doesn’t see a rightful contender outside of Muhammad, who’s unbeaten in his past 10 fights. The only other case he can make is Khamzat Chimaev, who is currently competing at middleweight.
“When you look divisionally at some of these guys who have ironclad cases – Merab Dvalishvili comes to mind – of course he vaulted to No. 1 contender status in and around the time where his teammate Aljamain Sterling was the champion,” Anik said.
“Khamzat Chimaev is the only man who can lay claim to a welterweight title shot right now, as far as I’m concerned, other than Belal Muhammad, and he’s not competing at the weight class. Belal has one of these unbeaten streaks like all of the champions do, and he doesn’t get any pound-for-pound consideration. I just think we have to restore a little bit of order, and I do think the UFC is going to make the right decision here.”
Our “Spinning Back Clique” closes out 2023 by looking back at the biggest storylines of the year. Tune in!
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, panelists Brian “Goze” Garcia, Mike Bohn and Nolan King have a special 90-minute show with host “Gorgeous” George Garcia live at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) to discuss and debate the biggest stories of 2023:
The PFL’s purchase of Bellator
Francis Ngannou’s departure from the UFC and the aftermath
Jon Jones returns from more than three years off to claim the vacant UFC heavyweight title
Bo Nickal thinks UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards would struggle against Khamzat Chimaev but not Islam Makhachev.
[autotag]Bo Nickal[/autotag] thinks UFC welterweight champion [autotag]Leon Edwards[/autotag] would struggle against Khamzat Chimaev but not [autotag]Islam Makhachev[/autotag].
Nickal, who was a standout wrestler at Penn State, thinks if Chimaev (13-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) dropped back down to 170 pounds, he would pose serious problems for Edwards. UFC lightweight champion Makhachev wants to move up and challenge Edwards, but Nickal doesn’t see him dominating despite his Sambo background. He pointed to size as a factor.
“I think there are guys that are going to be able to give him some resistance and stuff,” Nickal said of Edwards on his YouTube channel. “If Khamzat goes back down, that’s a freaking tough fight for him. Islam would be a tough fight for him, as well, but I think that’s really competitive.
“I feel like Khamzat comes down, he would probably beat him up. But Islam coming up, even though he’s a big 55’er, Leon’s big. Leon can freaking strike. Colby was able to hold him down a good amount, so who knows? And Leon’s smart, he keeps his cool so, I don’t know.”
Makhachev (25-1 MMA, 14-1 UFC) is coming off a first-round head kick knockout of Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 294. Even though most of Makhachev’s wins have come by submission, Nickal doesn’t entirely categorize him as a grappler.
“And Islam, he’s not 100 percent grappler,” Nickal continued. “He tries to strike a lot with all the guys he’s fought pretty much.”
