The Clinch Podcast
Welcome to The Clinch Podcast, your go-to source for all things combat sports! Im your host Chey, and this podcast dives deep into the world of mixed martial arts, boxing, and everything in between. Whether you're a seasoned fan, an aspiring fighter, or just starting to explore the sport, I've got you covered.
Each episode, I break down the biggest fights, the most exciting up-and-comers, and the stories behind the athletes who live and breathe the fight game. From interviews with fighters, coaches, and analysts to in-depth discussions about the strategies, training, and culture that shape the world of combat sports, The Clinch brings you the pulse of the fight world with a unique perspective.
No topic is off-limits – whether it's the hottest fight night previews, game-changing industry news, or tackling the personal journeys of those in the ring and beyond, The Clinch Podcast always delivers fresh, exciting, and honest conversations.
Get ready for powerful discussions, intense analysis, and the raw energy of combat sports. Join me and step into the clinch – where the action happens.
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The Clinch Podcast
Making Men Lose Money, Jon Is Annoying Again, And I Cry on Cam
Hi friends!!! Did you watch the fights last week? Listen to me breakdown why I was wrong about my fight picks, the state of the UFC, Jones vs Aspinall and what’s REALLY going on, and upcoming picks!! Enjoy fight freaks!
Hey guys, welcome back to the Clinch Podcast. My name is Shay, if you don't already know, and I'm super excited to be back. We're going to be talking about a few fun things today and I hope you like the video format of this. It's also going to be available in podcast form, as always, but I wanted to just see how the video worked, so I hope you like it and we're just going to go ahead and jump in.
Speaker 1:I want to start off with UFC 316. That was a little sad for me and I'll get into why, but I thought that Shawn was going to win and I know that's super foolish to a lot of people, but I underestimated Marab's strength again. I thought that there would be a technical workaround that Sean would try to do, but he didn't, and I think I know why. In the buildup to the fight, I saw how Sean was speaking in the interviews and everything, and I'm a deeply spiritual person and I was understanding a lot of the stuff that he was saying and so I was like, oh, yeah, like it's, yeah, it's here, it's clicking, like he understands how to proceed and he's going down this path, and I didn't stop what he was doing. I still keep doing that. But you know, I thought it was cool to see that he said he had stopped smoking and you know all the other things he said that he was working on and I was like, okay, yeah, mental game is gonna be a one, and it might have been. Unfortunately, you also have to round out your technical ability when you're fighting someone like Marab. So it's dope that his mental game was sharp, but you have to bring that skill and harness it into the 3D as well. And I think Sean learned that after that fight is that you have to apply the spiritual growth to your physical growth, because it is applicable, it can be transferred.
Speaker 1:So it was very difficult to see because I really thought that it was going to go one way. But I understand why it didn't and I hope that Sean did too, because Merab is not going to get any easier to beat. Like he is either going to maintain that strength or get stronger, or either way, he's just going to advance and people have to be prepared for that. You can't just prepare one aspect and then expect all the rest to follow. Like you have to harness it all. So I hope that's a lesson that Sean learned, because it was stressful watching the lesson enact or the lesson play out in real time. So, yeah, everyone can pick on me for picking Sean. I don't care. I said what I said and I believed what I believed, and we all. Just, you know, it's one of those sports you just don't know. That's what I tell myself.
Speaker 1:But with Pena versus Harrison, I also thought that was going to go a different way. I knew it was going to be difficult, but I thought that Julie was going to bring a little more and it wasn't that she wasn't trying enough, of course. It was just that Kayla, just like Maram, is strong as hell and there's just no beating it if you're not prepared for every aspect of her game, because she is very well-rounded and I didn't think that she was. I thought that she was just judo Kayla, just naive thinking of me and I really wanted Julie to win. Like that was.
Speaker 1:A big part of it is that I did not like Giuliana Pena for a long time and if you've been listening to the podcast for a while, you know that, like since the tough days, I have not been a fan of her. I've thought that she was just uber cocky and oh, I'm a preteen boy. Y'all hear that I'm going to try to keep the camera rolling as long as possible. The attitude that she had on the show was just very off-putting to me. But as years went on I started to gain respect for her, especially after the injury that she had, as well as just how she returned Her first one or two fights back after her injury. She wasn't prepared for the competition. She hadn't prepared herself for the level of competition that was there, and she corrected that and I saw it and I respected it so much because I love seeing fighters adjust. Like that's one of my favorite things about being an MMA fan is seeing fighters evolve and get better and better and just become just these nasty animals. And I loved that about her and I still absolutely believe that about her. I think she's a G. I think that she'll take anyone else out in that division.
Speaker 1:I just think that Kayla was a bit much for her and they weighed in the same and all that you know. But just body composition is just different and I know Juliana would never use that as an excuse, but it just was a sad fight for me to watch. I really wanted her to win. She just has that tenacity that I really admire. I love women who are just like just gritty and in your face and they're like, yeah, I'm the best Because, guess what, I'm the same, I know who I am and I know what I bring to the table. And when I see that in other people, I respect it so much and it makes me just, it makes that part of me come even more alive. So I was really sad to watch her lose. But I also saw that in Kayla as well, you know. So I couldn't even be really mad because she's just such a beautiful person with certain politics Like I said earlier, I'm a spiritual person. There's not a lot of room for politics in that but I think that she's a beautiful, beautiful person and she absolutely deserved the win. She's an incredible athlete, just a beautiful technique and fight IQ. She's just brilliant.
Speaker 1:And I thought it was a really fun fight to watch, even though it sucked to see. It was fun to watch because I was learning, you know. I got to see mental chess and see Juliana try to think her way out of things and Kayla, you know, just think of what to do next. And it was just so beautiful and, of course, amanda's coming back. So excited, I'm so excited. I have been rolling with Amanda Nunes for a minute, if you know. You know, like her coming back is just like, oh, I almost cried, like it got rid of like all the sadness that I felt, for I just realized I don't have any makeup on, but, like I said earlier, I'm the best. But back to the point, that's my dog. Um, she is just incredible, just so beautiful.
Speaker 1:In her career it's just been so, uh, exciting to see a fighter really reignite women's mma. Because when I first started watching mma, it was ronda rousey and misha tate, like that's at least who I focused in on as far as women. And of course there were other women that I admired, but like those were the two that were front and center and they were just holding the torches for everything Longstead, holly Holm, of course, you know just, I'm going to start naming all of them, you know, but now it's all of them. You know, um, but now it's. Well, let me choose my next words wisely. I have not.
Speaker 1:I personally have not been that excited in women's mma as I have been before in the recent years. Um, it kind of took a dip, I think, maybe when, like rosenama yunus lost her belt and then, um, valentina shevchenko like those were, are absolutely still my favorite women's mma fighters ever just mma fighters, period. Like rosenama yunus she is. She will forever, ever, ever be my absolute favorite fighter in the world. Like her and Israel Adesanya and Valentina Shevchenko that's my Holy Trinity right there the mother, the mother and the son. Like I love them so much. But, um, since then I have been just like it's been. It's been cool, you know, it just hasn't been like on fire, exciting, like all, with all the gusto that was behind all the marketing when Rhonda and Misha were popping.
Speaker 1:So now that we have Kayla in there, julie brought some heat. What's her name? Erin Blanchfield yeah, I still want to see that her fight. Macy Barber, because that's so much beef. But just other fighters have come in and they have been good.
Speaker 1:But now that Amanda's coming back, I'm super excited that we are going to get another women's super fights, because I don't remember a fight, a women's super fight, being that big since Amanda fought Chris Cyborg. Like I mean some Valentina fights, yeah, but like this fight and if you disagree, you disagree, but I think it's as big as Amanda Nunes versus Chris Cyborg Like this is years, like people have said years in the making, just two dope women who aren't like evil, you know marketing disasters and just pure good energy, good talent, tenacity. Oh I just I'm so excited I might just actually like go to the actual venue to watch it instead of just watching at a bar. So stay tuned on if I decide to do that, because, yeah, I'll just keep you guys updated, but, yeah, I'm really excited about that and I also just real quick, before we move on to the next subject, I think that they should just freaking bring back 145. They should just bring back 145.
Speaker 1:I don't understand why they even got rid of it in the first place. Like you can say, oh, there wasn't enough competition, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. What I think it was is that the girls who were in the UFC a lot of them didn't want to move up. They didn't, and the UFC didn't want to pay to get other fighters to come over to their 145. So I think that it was a weak decision and now that Amanda and Kayla are in the picture, 45 should absolutely come back for women. I don't see a reason why not. It should be that the fighter if the UFC says they care about their fighters, they should give them a weight class that they're comfortable in, because Kayla should not be cutting one. She shouldn't have to cut 135. And she said it. She was like I did it, but I don't think I'm going to do it again.
Speaker 1:So I think hopefully they'll just bring back 145 instead of just making it like a what is it? Is it a catchweight? I don't know if it would be considered a catchweight, because I don't know. Let me know, please, let me know. Y'all. Just DM me right now when you're listening to this, and let me know Also at any point while you're listening to this. You want to DM me? Please do and answer my questions, because I'm going to be incorporating that into episodes going forward. Just, you know, just like comments and discussions and stuff like that, because I do this because I want to connect with more people in the MMA community and I could yap about this all day long. I could yap about MMA for years and years and years on end with no problem and still not be done. You still couldn't get rid of me. So no one can listen to me. Yap that long. So no one can listen to me, yap that long.
Speaker 1:I really hope that they bring it back so that we can finally stop seeing these fighters not in the weight classes they should be in. I also think they should add a 165 for men. A lot of the guys have been talking about doing that for a really long time, so I think that would be a really good addition too. I'm also sorry I'm not like consistently looking at the camera. Deal with it. So yeah, let's go ahead and move on.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, and UFC BJJ. I'm super excited about that. That, if you don't know, the UFC has opened A Jiu Jitsu organization Under the UFC's banner, so I thought that was a really good idea. I know so many people, even just locally in Jacksonville, that this would open a lot of doors, for Jacksonville has an insane jiu-jitsu community. Like you can't go anywhere really without seeing someone with BJJ on their shirt or some kind of gym logo somewhere. Like at least or maybe it's just me, because I know it and I recognize I see it but it seems to me that there's a huge community out here. So I'm hoping to see lots of Jacksonville people in the BJJ, ufc or UFC BJJ. That would just make my heart so happy. So y'all go do that, make me happy and you'll be happy. Okay, happy Shay, happy Jacksonville. So, oh my gosh, yeah. So, uh, jones versus Aspinall.
Speaker 1:I have been waiting to talk about this for a while now. I've been waiting to just get all these words off my chest. So where do I begin? I initially wholeheartedly believed that Jon Jones versus Tom Mastinol was going to happen. I was like bet Jones was just pretending that he wasn't going to do it because of the money. I was like, oh, it's just marketing and UFC's done this before. Tom's pretty quiet. He probably doesn't know how to market things. Well, blah, blah, blah. And you know, time's gone on and John has done exactly why, exactly what I have hated him for for so long. He's so aggravating. It's like he toys with his food, but everything's his food. He can't just be. Just do it Like just stop taunting people and be a normal person, stop being a narcissist, stop holding people back. Connor did the same shit. Connor did the same shit. Connor did the same thing.
Speaker 1:He held Michael Chandler forever, making Michael Chandler actually think that he had a fight with him, only to be doing coke and banging hoes in Irish bathrooms. So it's just not fair to these fighters who are competing. They're like, okay, this is going to market so much money into my pockets. Like I'm going to lock in, I'm going to focus, I'm about to fight. A legend Like this is all talk, this is all just going to make the gate bigger, blah, blah, blah. And then you have guys like freaking Jones and freaking McGregor who truly, to their core, are incapable of allowing good.
Speaker 1:I think Like maybe not within you know his personal life, but like within the sport, there's a point where you market and there's a point where you toy with people and stop messing with people's money. Tom Aspinall is not a vet in this game. He's still got stripes to earn. He still has money to make. So it just makes me so upset that people like that are getting held on a rope, holding on to hope and not seeing these fights come to fruition. Chandler, he had a lot of money behind him from Bellator and all of that you know. So I wasn't as mad. I think he honestly did it to himself, because if you really thought that you were going to fight Conor McGregor within a year and you see him as bloated as he is not showing any signs of change, then jokes on you a little bit.
Speaker 1:But with Tom, he's ready to move on. He's like I'm not getting Michael Chandler, I am out of here. Give me someone else. I'm not waiting for your ass. Stop messing with me, stop messing with my money. Keep my name out of your mouth so I can fight someone else and it not be about you, because the moment he fights, he books a fight with someone else. I guarantee you, john's going to all of this and the attention is going to be on John and not on Tom's fight. That's how people like John operate. That's how narcissists operate. When the attention gets off of them, they must throw their name back in the ring to stay relevant, even though he really, truly, at his core, had no intentions of coming back.
Speaker 1:I will bet money john jones will not fight again in the ufc. He won't. He doesn't want to, because this is in reality. When you strip out, if you strip down his ego, this is why he's not fighting. This is in reality. If you strip down his ego, this is why he's not fighting. He really doesn't need to and if that's the case, then he would shut up and stop egging fighters on who they know aren't going to get a check off him, or he really is scared that he is going to get that loss and he's not going to be able to retire undefeated, just squeaky clean, and that's a valid fear. That's a valid fear. But stop jerking people around because of your ego. Like, own up. If you don't want to lose, then shut up and enjoy retirement. Go do a movie. Go enjoy retirement. Go do a movie, go, I don't know. Retire as a freaking monk who cares. Just let the people who want to make money make their money. That's just how I feel. So let me know if you think that they will actually fight Fat chance, fat chance, fat chance. But if you disagree, let me know, I'll be glad to talk about it.
Speaker 1:So yeah, I just wanted to wrap up with the fights we have going on next week real quick. I won't go over all the fights, just the names that I saw that I'm super excited for. You already know one of them, but we'll start from the beginning. I am actually really excited to see Vanessa Zomopoulos fight. I think I'm pronouncing that correctly. She is the I think the Greek girl who twerks, but she's dope Like she has earned every bit of that twerk she does after a win. She is so good at grappling and she's so quick and she's very smart. She's very her fight IQ is so good at grappling and she's so quick and she's very smart. Her fight IQ is very good. So I'm excited to see her, see her evolve and see her move up in the game. Then we've got Phil Rowe. He fights out of Fusion XL.
Speaker 1:I love that gym. I have nothing but good things to say about that gym If you've heard any of my previous episodes where I've talked about Fusion. They are a very committed gym. They are very honorable. They work very intentionally with their fighters. No-transcript, I just speak from experience of having been there. I didn't do any of the MMA there, I just did the fitness because I was really overweight at that time. But I just got to see them practice and it was just as good. I saw Elias Theodoru while he was still alive and he was there and actually tripped on my face right in front of him. That was super embarrassing, but you know they don't care. They go there and they live, eat, breathe and hail MMA and it's beautiful. Live, eat, breathe and hail MMA and it's beautiful. So I hope Phil gets the win for Fusion.
Speaker 1:I'm also really excited for Ricky Simone. He is always really exciting to watch Michael Chiesa. He had a great run last night, so I'm hoping that is going to be something he carries with him to this fight. Paul Craig Y'all know I love me some Paul Craig, that Scottish demon, he's just insane. Cody Brundage he's also super fire. Edmond Shabazzian, if I'm not mistaken. He used to fight or he used to train under I don't know why I almost called them the Targaryens. They're not the Targaryens, the people that Ronda fought under her mentors, I believe. He fought or trained with them as well, trained with them as well, and then he switched, switched camps shortly after his UFC debut and he's been doing pretty well since then. So I'm excited to see him.
Speaker 1:And then, of course, you know I'm excited for Rose, my girl, rose Nama Yunus, always excited to see her fight. She I am a little worried about the performance just because, um, she, she seems to be on a very similar journey that Sean is on and even myself are on, and she is super hands-on in ministry and just being a good person and being a light to others. And I'm just curious. I mean, she's an athlete, she is a brilliant athlete, so of course she's going to train correctly and all of that. But I wouldn't be surprised if, here soon, maybe she completely devotes her time to service, to ministry, and we'll see how this fight plays out. I think if she does well, she'll continue.
Speaker 1:But if, if we're nearing the end of Rose Nami Yunus' MMA career, I'm not sad about it because it's been so good, it's been so inspirational and it's something that I look to when I do anything Like. I have a jewelry business, I have this podcast, I was in school for a while, just anything that I do. I try to apply those kinds of principles to it, because her and I have been through a lot of similar things. So seeing her, I'm going to get emotional. I'm going to get emotional. Seeing her rise to the top of her game, having been in so much darkness in her life, is fire. Because I can relate.
Speaker 1:God is good and if you don't believe in him, that's cool, it's. You know I'm not here to convince you, but I look at people like Rose and I see myself and I personally can't question there's a God. I can't question whether or not I'm alone. I can't question whether or not I'm doing the right thing, because she went out there and lived her dream and kicked ass and is starting a new chapter serving ministry, and I think that is so fire. So is starting a new chapter Serving ministry, and I think that is so fire. So I'm going to stop crying Because that's stupid.
Speaker 1:And yeah, we're going to move on to the main event. Miranda Maverick is cool too, man. Miranda, you're cool too, dude. I love Lisa Rose, but yeah, so bless you, baby.
Speaker 1:And yeah, we've got Kamara Wiseman versus Joaquin Buckley. I dang this one's really hard Dang, this one's really hard Dang. I think maybe Joaquin Buckley, I'm going to say Joaquin Buckley, I'm going to say Joaquin by knockout. No, I don't know, I don't know. Kamaru could submit him. It could just be five rounds of wrestling. I hope it's a knockout. And if it's a knockout, I'm thinking Joaquin. So we'll see.
Speaker 1:Let me know what you think. Let me know what you think. I've been looking at my recording thingy the whole time, and not you guys. So I'm very sorry. If you're listening in the podcast version, you don't care, so ignore my apology. You don't get one, you suck. I listening in the podcast version, you don't care, so ignore my apology. You don't get one, you suck, I'm just kidding. So, guys, I think you're great. I appreciate you for listening to me and I hope you listen to me again next week. I'm super excited for the fights this weekend. Let me know who you think is going to win. Let me know your thoughts on Jon Jones, on Sean O'Malley, on 145 pound for women, 165 for men. Just let me know all your thoughts. Give them to me. Give me all of them. I love you guys and I will talk to you next time. Thank you for joining me in the clinch.
