UF127: Demetrious Johnson and Tyson Pedro

On today’s episode of UFC Unfiltered, Jim and Matt are joined by two friends of the show in bantamweight contender Merab Dvalishvili and guest co-host Sayif Saud to talk all things UFC 284. Merab tells the guys about where he stands in training camp with a little less than a month until his upcoming fight against Petr Yan. Having already seen what Yan looked like against fellow Serra-Longo fighter Aljamain Sterling in a pair of bantamweight championship fights, Matt explains why he thinks Merab is an even tougher stylistic matchup for Yan than Sterling was. The topic then shifts to the all-time classic battle in the UFC 284 main event featuring featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski and lightweight champion Islam Makhachev. As Jim sings the praises of City Kickboxing’s risk-taking champions, Sayif explains why the UFC’s pound-for-pound number 1 and 2 fighters can confidently feel like they raised their stock on Saturday night. Sayif mixes in some talk about Ciryl Gane’s matchup against Jon Jones at UFC 285 before wrapping up the show with why he thinks his fighter Brandon Moreno’s dreams of defending his flyweight championship in Mexico City against rival Alexandre Pantoja would make for an electric co-main event to Alexander Volkanovski vs. Mexico’s Yair Rodríguez following Yair’s interim featherweight title win on Saturday night against Josh Emmett.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

14 Feb 20231h 6min

On today’s episode of UFC Unfiltered, Jim and Matt are joined by three guests — actor Wes Chatham, heavyweight contender Curtis Blaydes, and gambling analyst Gianni “The Greek” Karalis.Chatham begins the interview by discussing how his passion for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu led him to earning a purple belt. As the topic shifts to all things science fiction, Wes opens up about the six seasons he spent acting on Amazon Prime’s The Expanse — one of Matt's favorite Sci-Fi shows.The guys are then joined by Curtis Blaydes, who assesses his status as a contender in a rapidly-changing heavyweight division now that Francis Ngannou is no longer with the UFC.With Jon Jones vs. Ciryl Gane locked in for a vacant heavyweight title fight at UFC 285 this March and Stipe Miocic rumored to fight the winner, Blaydes dishes his thoughts on how he matches up in hypothetical eliminator fights against both Serghei Spivac and Sergei Pavlovich following both of their impressive wins.Jim and Matt wrap up the show by inviting Gianni the Greek on for an inside look at how the gambling analyst separates emotion from his fight predictions ahead of Saturday’s UFC 284 card. As the guys reveal their picks for Saturday’s main and co-main event, Gianni reveals if lightweight champion Islam Makhachev’s status as a sizable betting favorite makes betting on him to beat featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski worth betting on at all.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

9 Feb 20231h 11min

It’s pay-per-view fight week! With merely five days remaining until UFC 284, official Octagon announcer Bruce Buffer hops in as a guest co-host for the duration of today’s episode of UFC Unfiltered and also recently-crowned UFC light heavyweight champion Jamahal Hill joins. Bruce dishes his thoughts on Dana White’s bombshell announcement that not only is former UFC double champion Conor McGregor set to return as a coach on this upcoming 31st season of The Ultimate Fighter, but that the coach on the opposite side of the Irish superstar will be none other than exciting lightweight contender Michael Chandler. While the guys wait until Jamahal Hill hops on the show, Bruce opens up about how his upbringing in Philadelphia helped foster his early affinity for mixed martial arts as both a practitioner and a consumer. Buffer then talks about his friendship with coach Ray Longo — and as luck would have it, Ray calls Matt during the show, who jokingly accosts Ray for spending too much time with Buffer and not enough time with him. Finally, Jamahal Hill joins the show live from the UFC Performance Institute with an idea of what’s in store for his first light heavyweight title defense. And as Jamahal’s call ends, the guys briefly recap last Saturday’s UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Spivac card and look ahead to Saturday’s UFC 284 event in Australia.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

7 Feb 202356min

On today’s episode of UFC Unfiltered, longtime friend of the show Phoenix Carnevale returns alongside Matt and Jim as a guest co-host to offer up her takes on some of the latest fight announcements and discuss Saturday night’s UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Spivac card. Joining first as a guest caller is 15th-ranked UFC heavyweight Blagoy Ivanov, who reflects on how his near-death experience from a stabbing that hospitalized him for three months has shaped him into the mentally tough fighter he is today. Ivanov wraps up his interview by previewing his matchup with 10th-ranked heavyweight Marcin Tybura. The crew are then joined by their second heavyweight caller of the day, 12th-ranked Serghei Spivac, who alongside his translator discusses what a win against popular heavyweight contender Derrick Lewis can do for his career. Finally, Matt and Jim cap off the show by bouncing off some upcoming fights with Phoenix, who shares her thoughts on how former featherweight champion Max Holloway would stack up in a rumored matchup against Arnold Allen.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

2 Feb 202357min

On today’s episode of UFC Unfiltered, Matt and Jim are joined by The Schmo as a special guest co-host.The group chats about their favorite fights coming up on the UFC’s 2023 calendar, and then the Schmo plays matchmaker for the UFC’s biggest stars.As the topic shifts to the UFC’s heavyweight division, Matt explains why he feels very strongly about Jon Jones’ ability to dominate Ciryl Gane in his heavyweight debut at UFC 285.The guys talk through the welterweight title picture and discuss how so much hinges on whether Khamzat Chimaev decides to go up to middleweight or stay at 170 pounds.Finally, they wrap up the show by looking ahead to Saturday’s UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Spivac card.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

31 Jan 202350min

On today’s episode of UFC Unfiltered, Matt and Jim are joined by lightweight Thiago Moisés and fast-rising women’s flyweight contender Erin Blanchfield. Fresh off a second-round submission victory over late-replacement opponent Melquizael Costa, Thiago talks about what it felt like going from five consecutive fights in the crowdless UFC Apex to fighting in front of a passionate crowd of friends and family in his native Brazil on last Saturday’s UFC 283 card. Thiago then explains how his kickboxing father helped instill a passion for martial arts that led Moisés to American Top Team in Florida, where he currently lives and trains in an attempt to re-enter the lightweight rankings. As Erin Blanchfield hops on the show, Matt can hardly contain his excitement to talk about the ins and outs of jiu-jitsu with the 23-year-old New Jersey native.  After discussing her most recent win over Molly McCann, Erin explains her reaction to the UFC matchmakers’ decision to match her up against No. 2 women’s flyweight Taila Santos and how it could fast-track her to a title shot against the winner of the upcoming match between women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko and 5th-ranked challenger Alexa Grasso. Jim and Matt then wrap up the show by looking ahead to some of the intriguing matchups recently announced as part of a 2023 UFC calendar that’s quickly taking shape.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

26 Jan 202350min

On today’s episode of UFC Unfiltered, lightweight contender Michael Chandler returns as a guest co-host alongside Jim and Matt for a recap of the fights from Saturday night’s UFC 283 card in Brazil — with a special bonus interview with bantamweight Rob Font.Matt explains why he was particularly impressed with Glover Teixeira’s classy post-fight behavior after Jamahal Hill’s UFC light heavyweight title win in front of Brazil’s fervent MMA fans.As the guys react to Brandon Moreno recapturing the flyweight championship and closing out the UFC’s first-ever quadrilogy in impressive fashion, Chandler explains why he thinks Deiveson Figueiredo is well-positioned to succeed in his future as a bantamweight with less weight to cut.After revisiting all five of Jim and Matt’s predictions from Saturday night’s card and explaining what stood out to them most, the guys welcome bantamweight Rob Font on to the show.With his next fight tentatively scheduled for April against fast-rising bantamweight Adrian Yanez, Font explains why a win over his tough 29-year-old opponent with a perfect 5-0 record in the UFC can provide a big boost for him.Chandler wraps up the show with a sales pitch for why Conor McGregor’s highly-anticipated return to the UFC should be a blockbuster fight at welterweight against him this summer.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

24 Jan 20231h 4min

Ahead of the first pay-per-view of 2023, we wanted to get listeners a bonus episode of Din Thomas’ new podcast, Din’s Got Answers!A little about the show:Got questions about the UFC? Well, Din Thomas is here to answer them. Din will use his experience as a UFC veteran, analyst, comedian, coach to the biggest names in the sport, co-star of Dana White: Lookin’ for a Fight, host of The Din Diaries, and more to answer your questions about everything and anything UFC related.On this episode, Din answers three questions.First, who will win each main card fight at UFC 283? Second, what’s up with fighters bulking up lately? And third, who’s the top bantamweight contender?Who will win each main card fight at UFC 283? As the UFC returns to Brazil, Din gives his picks for the main card fights. Glover Teixeira and Jamahal Hill face off for the vacant light heavyweight belt and in the co-main event, flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo takes on interim champion Brandon Moreno in the UFC’s first ever quadrilogy fight. Find out Din’s answers to who will win these fights and more!Second, what’s up with fighters bulking up lately? Din has his answer. He looks at fighters that have bulked up recently, including Conor McGregor and Khamzat Chimaev. Din also touches on fighters that just get plain big in between fights, such as Paddy Pimblett. Tune in to hear Din’s answer to why so many fighters are bulking up!Who’s the top bantamweight contender? Din has his answer. To help answer this question, Din hollers at his homie, Rob Font, who is the 6th ranked UFC bantamweight. Font gives insight into other top contenders like Marlon “Chito” Vera, Cory Sandhagen, and also answers the question. You won’t want to miss Din and Rob’s answers!Feel free to reach out to Din on Twitter (@DinThomas) or Instagram (dinthomas) with any questions for him to answer on a future show! DISCLAIMER: Betting odds stated in the episode are from the time of the recording and not reflective of any live betting odd changes.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

20 Jan 202331min