UFC Unfiltered with Jim Norton and Matt Serra

It’s a special day, because today marks the 700th episode of UFC Unfiltered! To start things off, Jim Norton and Matt Serra are joined by welterweight veteran and friend of the show Kevin Lee ahead of his fight on Saturday’s UFC Fight Night: Strickland vs. Magomedov card. Fighting for the first time since the birth of his 6-month-old son, Kevin discusses the danger in taking a fight against a relatively unknown UFC newcomer like Rinat Fakhretdinov riding a 19-fight winning streak and how big it would be for him to get a win over the combat sambo specialist. Then, innovative surfing legend Laird Hamilton joins the show, and the Hawaii native discusses the importance of breathing exercises and how it can benefit combat athletes in recovery. Finally, the guys wrap up the episode with some predictions for Saturday’s middleweight main event between Sean Strickland and Abus Magomedov and Kevin Lee’s prelim fight against Rinat Fakhretdinov.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

29 Jun 202358min

With Matt Serra out for the day, friend of the show Phoenix Carnevale fills in as a guest co-host alongside Jim Norton for today’s episode of UFC Unfiltered — which features two guest callers in lightweight veteran Jim Miller and women’s flyweight Maycee Barber. Fresh off an exciting knockout victory that only took 23 seconds, Jim Miller assesses his place in the lightweight division as a 39-year-old veteran with the record for the most UFC fights and wins in promotional history before discussing why he enjoys hunting, fishing, and farming the majority of his own food. While waiting for Maycee Barber to hop on the show, Jim Norton fills in Phoenix on his jiu-jitsu progress, which leads the two show hosts into a discussion about Mark Zuckerberg’s martial arts training regiment and reported mutual desire to get in the Octagon with Elon Musk. Then, Maycee Barber hops on the show while in line to board her flight, saving enough time to talk about her scintillating 2nd-round TKO victory over Amanda Ribas in Saturday’s UFC Fight Night: Emmett vs. Topuria co-main event. Finally, Phoenix and Jim wrap up the show with a recap of Saturday’s card and whether fast-rising featherweight Ilia Topuria’s victory over Josh Emmett was decisive enough to skip past a fight against Max Holloway and instead place him next in line for a shot at the featherweight title following Alexander Volkanovski and Yair Rodriguez’s unification fight at UFC 290.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

27 Jun 20231h 5min

With Jim Norton out for the day, the honorable Din Thomas swoops in to save Wednesday’s episode of UFC Unfiltered as a guest co-host alongside Matt Serra for chats with women’s strawweight Gillian Robertson and country music star Michael Ray! Without Jim to steer the ship, Matt opens the show with his trademark Serra-style, beginning with a show-opening interview with Gillian Robertson that’s made even more interesting considering that Din Thomas has guided her MMA career since she was 16 years old. Robertson wraps up the conversation by discussing her mindset as she inches closer to a showdown with 15th-ranked women’s strawweight Tabatha Ricci on the prelims of Saturday’s UFC Fight Night: Emmett vs. Topuria. Shortly thereafter, country music star and devoted MMA fan Michael Ray joins the show to dish his two cents on the exciting matchups the UFC has booked for this summer while promoting the release of his “Dive Bars & Broken Hearts” six-song EP set to hit stores and streaming services this Friday. Finally, Din and Matt conclude the show with picks for Saturday’s featherweight main event between Josh Emmett and Ilia Topuria, the women’s flyweight co-main event between Amanda Ribas and Maycee Barber, and a sleeper prelim scrap between welterweights Neil Magny and Phil Rowe.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

22 Jun 20231h 3min

Matt and Jim are joined by a special guest co-host in UFC welterweight Mike Malott on today’s episode of UFC Unfiltered! To begin the show, the guys review the fights that took place over the weekend by unpacking the results from Saturday’s UFC Fight Night: Vettori vs. Cannonier card. Canada’s Mike Malott then takes it back just one week prior by assessing his own performance on the main card of the UFC 289 pay-per-view in Vancouver with his 2nd-round submission win over Adam Fugitt. The Canadian welterweight also takes a look at his own division while assessing which fighters around the top 15 could make sense on the list of potential next opponents.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

20 Jun 20231h 13min

On today’s episode of UFC Unfiltered, Jim and Matt are joined by 8th-ranked UFC lightweight Arman Tsarukyan and comedian and podcaster Mark Ellis. As Tsarukyan looks ahead to his upcoming fight in the co-main event of Saturday’s UFC Fight Night: Vettori vs. Cannonier card, the 26-year-old lightweight reflects on how much he’s changed since making his UFC debut against current lightweight champion Islam Makhachev. While on the topic of Makhachev, Tsarukyan dishes his thoughts on whether Charles Oliveira’s knockout win over Beneil Dariush at UFC 289 demonstrated anything that’d pose problems for Makhachev in a title fight rematch. Shortly after, Jim and Matt are joined by comedian and Rotten Tomatoes movie critic and podcaster Mark Ellis. Mark’s presence on the show brings out Matt’s inner comic geek, as the host of the “Rotten Tomatoes Is Wrong” podcast dishes his movie opinions to the guys as the period of summer blockbuster films approaches. Finally, Jim wraps up the episode with his best impression of a game show host, as he puts Matt and Mark through a fun game of combat movie trivia that pits the UFC Hall of Famer against a true film buff.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

15 Jun 20231h 7min

Two days removed from UFC 289, Jim Norton and Matt Serra return for a today’s episode of UFC Unfiltered alongside actor Aleks Paunovic as guest co-host and UFC featherweight Dan Ige as a guest caller. Matt Serra begins the show shirtless because that’s what Matt does sometimes and we love him for it. As the guys jump immediately into a recap of UFC 289, Aleks tells Jim and Matt all about the VIP treatment the UFC hooked him up with for this past Saturday’s much-anticipated PPV return to the Canadian actor’s home country. The guys break down lightweight contender Charles Oliveira’s statement 1st-round knockout over Beneil Dariush in the co-main event of this past Saturday’s PPV before entering a discussion about the impact that UFC double women’s champion Amanda Nunes’ has made on the sport after retiring atop with a win in the main event over Mexican challenger Irene Aldana. Finally, featherweight Dan Ige joins the show fresh off his win over Nate Landwehr. The 13th-ranked featherweight speaks candidly about how seeing a sports psychologist helped him climb out of the funk of a previous three-fight losing skid to his current position as a guy riding back-to-back wins. After Ige’s interview ends, the guys wrap up the show with their thoughts on the rest of the card.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

12 Jun 20231h

On today’s episode of UFC Unfiltered, hosts Jim Norton and Matt Serra are joined by former UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira ahead of his co-main event fight on Saturday’s UFC 289 pay-per-view card in Canada. The guys begin the show with some thoughts on what to expect from women’s bantamweight and featherweight champion Amanda Nunes as she headlines the UFC’s Canadian return with a matchup against fifth-ranked women’s bantamweight contender Irene Aldana, who is seeking to become the UFC’s fourth active Mexican champion. Then, Charles Oliveira and his translator join the show to preview the Brazilian’s co-main event fight against Beneil Dariush. Oliveira delves into the intricacies of his upcoming bout, analyzing the unique dynamics that arise when two Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belts collide inside the Octagon. As the episode unfolds, Matt and Jim lend their expertise and provide insightful predictions for Saturday’s UFC 289 card. Their knowledge and passion for the sport shine through as they offer their thoughts on various matchups, highlighting key fighters to watch out for and sharing their predictions on the night's outcomes.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

8 Jun 202352min

On today’s episode of UFC Unfiltered, Jim and Matt are joined by UFC heavyweight Don’Tale Mayes and lightweight Diego Ferreira off the heels of their respective knockout wins. Mayes hops on the show to discuss what’s next for the heavyweight up-and-comer after knocking out former champion Andrei Arlovski during the prelims of last Saturday’s UFC Fight Night: Kara-France vs. Albazi card. While waiting for Diego Ferreira to call in, Jim and Matt recap the rest of the fights from Saturday’s card. Thoroughly impressed by veteran Jim Miller’s 23-second KO win, the guys discuss what could be next for the 39-year-old UFC veteran as he keeps his eyes set on keeping his UFC career going long enough to have fought on the PPV cards of UFC 100, UFC 200 and UFC 300. As Jim explains why he felt the judges got it wrong during Kai Kara-France’s split decision loss to Amir Albazi in Saturday’s main event, Matt offers a different perspective of rounds he thought were closer than others saw. The guys are then joined by lightweight Diego Ferreira, who discusses how ending his three-fight losing skid and 17-month hiatus from fighting with a scintillating KO of Michael Johnson has re-energized the 38-year-old veteran.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

6 Jun 202357min