Luke Rockhold, Rory MacDonald, Michael 'Venom' Page and Mike Perry face to face, Tom Aspinall, Chris Wade and Brendan Loughnane face to face, Aaron Jeffery, and more

Ariel kicks off the show with a preview of the upcoming weekend of MMA action including UFC 278, PFL Playoffs and more. Ariel also immortalizes Jessica-Rose Clark on The MMA Hour wall of fame for walking out to the Shawn Michaels classic Sexy Boy at UFC 276. Brendan Loughnane and Chris Wade join the show at (7:08) to talk about their meeting at PFL Playoffs 3. The pair explain their ongoing rivalry and its origins, trade a few verbal jabs over their PFL careers, debate who is the bigger attraction, and Loughnane's underdog status. They also give their sides of what happened during a faceoff promoting the Saturday fight where Wade got heated with Loughnane's teammate. UFC heavyweight Tom Aspinall around (33:06) returns to the show to talk about his comeback from a knee injury suffered in the main event of his UFC London fight against Curtis Blaydes. Aspinall discusses his exact injury and his timetable for rehab. He also reveals a history with knee problems that led to the injury at UFC London and admits he put off corrective surgery for too long. Rory MacDonald joins the show around (1:05:27) to talk about his recent retirement and express his gratitude for the fans' reaction to his announcement. MacDonald explains why he decided to hang up his gloves and when he started to think that his time to walk away was approaching. He also discusses his best moments, his regrets about his MMA career, and what his plans are for the future. Michael 'Venom' Page and Mike Perry join the show around (1:33:10) to talk about their BKFC headliner. They discuss how much weight they have to cut, how the fight came together, and what they see happening when they fight bare-knuckle. They also debate on who has the better dance moves and what will happen to their respective careers with a loss, and their predictions when the fight will end. Aaron Jeffery joins the show for the first time at the (2:02:18) mark to talk about his upset win over Austin Vanderford at Bellator 284, comparisons to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and 'disrespectful' headlines from his win. GC, Helwani and NewYorkRic around (2:21:41) discuss their best bets for UFC 278, UFC 278 parlay picks for Saturday's pay-per-view event, and more. Ariel around (2:49:49) answers your questions about UFC 278, the welterweight title picture, Leon Edwards' rough path to fighting Kamaru Usman, managers "in the pocket" of the UFC, how he'd cast his MMA Hour colleagues as Seinfield characters, Dana White's admission the UFC shouldn't have released Shane Burgos, and more. Luke Rockhold returns around (3:14:24) to talk about being in his UFC first fight week in three years, his career goals at this point in his life, his relationship with the UFC and why he's tried to change his reason for fighting. Rockhold explains why he's been so outspoken about the UFC's business practices and how he felt like he was fighting the promotion from the first step of his career. In Part 2 of On the Nose around (3:44:09), Ariel talks about the most stressful part of doing The MMA Hour, why he continues to support and be inspired by pro-wrestling, what drives him nuts about pro-wrestling haters, breaking fight scoops, who could carry the torch for Canadian MMA, the UFC's plans for Jon Jones, Dana White's reaction to the ESPN fighter pay piece, and more. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537) (IL/IN/MI/NJ/PA/WV/WY), 1-800-NEXT STEP (AZ), 1-800-522-4700 (CO/NH), 888-789-7777/visit http://ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-BETS OFF (IA), 1-877-770-STOP (7867) (LA), 877-8-HOPENY/text HOPENY (467369) (NY), visit OPGR.org (OR), call/text TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN), or 1-888-532-3500 (VA). 21+ (18+ NH/WY). Physically present in AZ/CO/CT/IL/IN/IA/LA/MI/NH/NJ/NY/OR/ PA/TN/VA/WV/WY only. New customers only. Min. $5 deposit required. Eligibility restrictions apply. See http://draftkings.com/sportsbook for details. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices