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.
Follow The Clinch Podcast for new episodes every week!
The Clinch Podcast
Big Changes and Back to Back Bangers
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Welcome back my friends!
The year opens with a new platform and SUPER stacked cards. This week I dive into the fights I'm most excited for so far, detailing all the aspects of each fighters game that could sway the fight their way. I had so much fun talking about all these fights, let me know what you think down below or on social media @cheymynameee !
What's up, guys? Welcome back to the Clinch Podcast. My name is Shay, and I am so excited to be back with another episode. Thank you to everyone who listened in last week and just caught up with me. And I'm so happy to just dive into all the fights or all the pay-per-views that are happening in 2026 and all the fights that I'm excited about. And just also kind of get used to Paramount Plus and experience that with all of you because it's new for all of us, right? I did a few episodes back in the summer of 2025, last year, um, that were about GFL, and I was super excited about that. And then nothing really happened with GFL. So now that there's something else new that we're all getting to experience together, I am once again, I need to find another word besides excited to keep saying because I feel like I keep saying that, and it's only been like a few seconds in the episode in the episode. But we are on Paramount Plus now. I wanted to see what you guys thought about the layout of the page because when I first went on there and signed up and everything, I noticed that they have little sections in each fight like page where you can see all the fighters like previous fights, or not maybe not all their fights, but a lot of their previous matchups. And I just thought that was so cool. Just easy access to the cards, you know, most recent fights, so that you can really get a vibe and idea of what to expect for that fight night. And you can really just get a feel on how the actual fights themselves could go based on how each fighter performed previously, of course. So it's just dope to have it like right there on the event landing page, especially if you are someone who bets. That's just like another really easy thing to look at if you're just kind of making a lighthearted bet, or if you are someone who does a lot of research, you have research right there. So I just thought it was amazing. I personally don't bet money yet, but that's another thing that I'm starting with you guys. And I'm not gonna go parlay crazy. I don't want to be a parlay bro or anything like that, but I just want to have some fun because it's always the fights where I'm like, I totally would have gotten that one that I like never give a chance on, give myself a chance on. And I've only bet like a few times and it just hasn't worked out. And I see a lot of people doing it, and it makes me so excited, but I also don't want to get too crazy into it because I see how y'all be getting. So we're gonna do it the healthy way. Do it with me, do it more than me, don't do it at all. Who cares? Let's have some fun. So we're gonna be starting off 2026 with back-to-back pay-per-views. We've had we have UFC 324 at the T-Mobile Arena in Vegas, and then UFC 325 at the Kudo Spank Arena in Sydney, Australia. So, of course, two very explosive headliners, and the cards are really just stacked overall. And I wanted to start with UFC 324, of course, which will be on January 24th. And the main event of that is Justin Gagey versus Patty Pimblett. So definitely a star-sitted matchup. They're fighting for the interim lightweight belt, which of course is an interesting situation in itself. It's really weird seeing what's going on with Ilia Taporia right now. Not weird uh like in a bad way, but just it's an interesting situation for the personal issues to get to that magnitude where he has to step away from his career. So really sad to watch. I'm not even not even gonna pretend like I know the ins and outs of that situation. I've just seen statements and allegations, and it just kind of seems like it's not really a good fit to talk about on this podcast. Um, but I'm sure that there's a lot of other podcasts around that do talk about the more like drama side of things in the UFC. This usually isn't one of them, unless, you know, you listen to my previous episodes, but yeah. So we'll just talk about the fights for now. And I wonder how his return will play out, and I'm excited for that, especially after what happens with Patty and Justin. And I will get into my like official fight picks on the next episode, and I'll share, you know, really a really broken down version of those fight picks, but right now I just want to like share some sp some specifics on why I'm excited for matchups instead of actually saying like what my picks are, if that makes sense. So for this one in particular, I think of course it's gonna be a really fun, explosive, high-energy fight. And Justin is ranked fourth, and Patty's ranked fifth. So I know it'll be really cool to see how that ladder shifts in between that fight and um when Ilya returns. So kind of messy, but we're gonna have fun with it. We're gonna have fun watching it all unfold. And then, of course, we have Amanda Nunes versus Kayla Harrison. And I think this fight will just be a show of who is craftier because honestly, both women are incredibly strong, you know, just like physically. And I can see the grappling and defense really being a given for both women. I can see them both being in situations where they're gonna have to deal with that. So when it does, it'll come down to, I guess, who's stronger and who's craftier, like I said. And I do see some striking potentially happening, but I don't really think that Kayla and her team want her in there trading with Amanda Nunes. I'm not saying that Kayla can't. I'm just saying, like when you look at Amanda Nunes and you see what she did to Chris Cyborg, any opponent that she faces is going to have to expect the same outcome being possible if they give her that opportunity. So that's why I'm really excited because Kayla could totally put herself in a situation that Chris Cyborg put Chris Cyborg put herself into and, you know, really trying to bang it out on the feet. But I could, I think it's more likely that Kayla, being seasoned as she is, is going to stick to her bread and butter and really, you know, flex that muscle. Whereas Amanda Nunes is not necessarily someone who is only known for one particular discipline. So I am so, so, so excited for that one, of course, so excited. And then we have Sean O'Malley, which obviously is a fun name to hear at the beginning of the year, especially, um, pitted against a very similarly technical opponent in Songy Dong. We'll say that this fight could be like a game of bulls locking horns. And I say that just because I think that they will both get each other stuck in some really s sticky situations because of how similar their power and technique is. So I'm really interested to see how exactly they fare next uh up against each other. Uh, let me know what you think. I'm not too sure which way that one will go, but between now and next week, I will definitely have an answer for you. And then we have Arnold Allen versus Gene Silva, which should also be really, really crazy. And I think it's an interesting matchup that was made to kind of get one of these men back on track, if you know what I'm saying. But you know, still a close enough uh matchup to be a good little battle. And then we have Umar Nirmaga Meida versus Divis and Figueiredo. And I I hope it's good. I won't say that I'm like ecstatic about it, but I I do hope that uh blah blah blah blah. I do hope that that it's a good fight. And since I do have mixed feelings about it, I will, you know, just be sitting and watching some more to see which way I think the fight will go, you know, probably using the Paramount Plus thing, but it it definitely has barn burner potential, and it also has lackluster potential. So I'm interested to see which direction the fight goes. We can usually tell within the first like 10 seconds of a fight. I can usually tell, but we we don't know. We just don't know with that one because they have both, they both have different uh paces, I think sometimes. And it'll be a good matchup. We'll see, we'll see. And then of course, I'm excited about Natalia Silva versus Rose Noma Yunis. I'm really not too knowledgeable on Natalia Silva, but of course, anytime I get to see Rose, my favorite fighter in the world, perform well in the octagon, I am gonna be happy and really ecstatic. So you see, I'm trying to use something else besides excited. You feel me? So I'm trying to I'm trying to do good for you guys. That I okay. I'll I'll talk to Miriam, Miss Webster next time for you, okay? But I think that Natalia is going to have to break her decision streak by being just a bit more exciting and definitely more risky, especially up against Rose Nama Yunis, because Rose has that veterans fight IQ. So it's gonna be a great challenge for both of these women uh to showcase how they've both evolved since their last fight. And we all know I probably don't even need to make you guys wait until next week to tell you who I'm picking because I will lose money for Rosevelly's any day. Any day I will bet on her name. So that's that on that. And I didn't see any prelims for this fight, also, so I'm not sure if they're still building the card, or if I'm blind and casual, or if maybe what I think is more likely is that the structure of the events are going to be a bit different than they have been in the past, because of the fact that Paramount Plus is the new platform that they're gonna be on. So with that comes a lot of change. So I'm thinking that potentially they're just changing the the uh, like I said, structure. But they also could still be building the card. You know how the UFC is, they're kind of like the lazy uncle sometimes, but we'll see. We'll see if there's some names added to these fights. And if so, of course we'll be talking about them. And now I do want to move on to UFC 325, which is Alexander Volganovsky versus Diego Lopez. And I'm really excited for this fight. I know that there's some beef surrounding the matchup itself and not the fighters themselves, you know, which we did talk about a bit last week, and I did see some of your responses. And I totally agree. I think a lot of us agree that the fighters are entitled to feel the way they feel when it comes to these matchups and rankings. But we as fans just want to enjoy the fight, so it's hard when we see fights like this that we're so excited about, but at the same time, we see that other fighters that we know and love are getting frustrated, so it puts us in a pickle, but we just have to keep supporting these fighters and keep watching and do what you want to do. I'm not gonna tell anyone to do anything illegal. I personally think that with the new Paramount platform, it it's it's more accessible for us not to have to use other avenues of watching the fight. So I think that the best thing that we could do as fans, if we care, if we say we care as much as we do, then we should just support where we can. And if that means getting a Paramount Plus subscription, which is much better than paying what was it, like$70 per event, you know, however much it was, is much better. So do with that what you will. I'm not the angel on your shoulder, and neither am I trying to be the devil on the other side. So okay. And on this fight, I'm just really excited for it. I'm just gonna be a joyful spectator, that it's an amazing matchup, two amazing fighters that I have no beef with. So they're both just so fun, and I think that they both definitely deserve. Obviously, Volk deserves the crown wherever he steps foot, but you know, Diego Lopez, I think, has done pretty well to be in this position. And I think that is gonna be like the other fights I've talked about, super high energy, constant back and forth, and a bloody, bloody like mess of a fight. So I'm ready, I know you're ready. Let's just have some fun when we watch it, okay? Stay off social media, just watch the fight. And after that, we have uh Dan Hooker. Why, okay, I am not sure why Dan Hooker is still main carding on pay-per-views. Like, it's it's really a health concern. I I'm not being a hater, I really feel like it's a health concern. I will only say that, okay, because I'm gonna start. This is gonna be a drama channel, and I just said we weren't that, so let's move on to uh Rafael Fase versus Mauricio Ruffy. Should also be really intense and fun. I'm really excited for that one. Um honestly, like the rest of the card looks really exciting. I think that there's insane matchups, and some of my fave current fighters to watch, like newer ones. Uh, well, these aren't all new, but I really love Jimmy Cruz, High Tweasa, Junior, uh, Tafa, all of them. So um, let me know who you're excited for. Those are some of the fights I'm super fights and fighters that I'm super excited to watch. You know, just good energy fighters. I really love fighters superform. If you've listened to my previous episodes, you know my vibe off of who my faves are. You know, obviously I said Rosenamunis, my fave, um, Isriata Sanya, Valentina Shevchenko. My very first fave was Rhonda Rousey. And I've grown, I've grown, everyone. I've grown, I've grown. You know, I still love Rhonda. Don't get me wrong. I love that she retired off into the mountains and just, you know, built a farm with her husband and popped out his babies and, you know, just has like this beautiful family life. I I think that's fire. Like, hello, dreams, God hear me, take me there. You know, like that is the life right there. That's I love that. But, you know, I know that in general, the people that I tend to find legendary are bold personalities, um, very uh intense people, Rosemama Eunice, because of her uh have and I having very similar backgrounds, and you know, me just having that respect for her and her talent, just seeing her her talent, you know, sing the song. Y'all are about to hear my poetry side. You know, but just seeing her talent sing the song of her life's trauma and hardships is exactly the kind of thing I'm on. Like that's the kind of frequency I'm on, you know, just taking everything, putting it, everything that you've been through, putting it into an outlet, making it positive, and then reaping the fruit of the positivity that you alchemized from your negative past. Like that, it I know it's just fighting, but I kind of get like this in a lot of episodes because I do love it so much. I'm not just this person who um just came to love MMA or, you know, and like an MMA scientist, even like I'm not even an expert. There's a lot of like I probably don't know a lot of what's going on, but I do know a lot of what's going on at the same time, you know, because I I see fighters for who they're store who they are, you know, how they tell a story with Israel Asanya, how how he performs and tells a story with his walkouts and you know, with his montages and everything. And all of these things make my like make up my fandom. You know, everyone loves MMA. You know, everyone listening to this podcast or whoever's an MMA fan, they love MMA for very similar reasons, but maybe different reasons. I know that with uh fighting with MMA, I have the perspective that these athletes are so much more uh expressive of their passion than I tend to see in other sports. But then again, I know that's also probably because not each individual player on a team gets like a post-fight interview like a fighter would, um, a post-game interview, excuse me. So I understand that there's like an individual like aspect or you know, like a one-on-one aspect when it comes to fighters and fans, not like one-on-one, but you know, like fighter-to-fan uh aspect. So they tend to be more personal because they really they are their representative. It's not like that you have, you know, Lionel Messi representing inner Miami, you know, you you have Max Holloway representing Max Holloway, you know. So it's it's really built for different people, you know. So uh I'm so glad that you guys found this podcast if you are one of those people, because you know, you don't have to know what every single submission is or you know, know every single martial art discipline out there that there is to know, to love MMA so deeply and to enjoy talking about it and obsessing over it and just spending your time in this life. Life on this floating rock, you know, enjoying people do something cool and talking about it or listening to me talk about it. So I just say all that to say these are some really amazing matchups. We have another, you know, pay-per-view after that, um, which is gonna be super exciting. It's Max Holloway versus Charles Oliveira for that BMF belt, uh, which is of course gonna be a battle. Classic matchup right there. Um, we've you know got a few other good fighters on there, Brian Ortega, Ronaldo Moicano, um, Callo versus Rainier De Ritter, um, which always makes me think of Red Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer for some reason. I don't know if anyone else has that or if someone has a name for what that even means when I can like look at a name like Rainier DeRitter and see Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. I don't know. I I don't know. Please help me. I need help. I'm blinking twice. Um, but all of these are gonna be some amazing fights. There are a lot of fight nightstone, even in between those. Um, so let me know who you guys are excited for. I'm so excited for the beginning, the first quarter of this year. It's going to be amazing. Start off with a huge bang, and we're gonna keep talking about it. So join me next week as I break down my picks. And thank you so much for tuning in. You can follow me on Instagram at shame, and that's three E's in name. And just comment anywhere that you're listening on, whatever platform you're listening on. You can comment on there, leave a review, share it with a friend, leave a rating. I love you guys, and I will catch you next time.
