Gillian Robertson, country star Michael Ray, Emmett vs. Topuria picks w/ guest co-host Din Thomas

On today's episode of UFC Unfiltered, Jim and Matt are back after a break in honor of Memorial Day for an episode revolving around Saturday's UFC 302 card featuring a pair of fighters on the card in welterweight Phil Rowe and lightweight Grant Dawson. Having gone a week without UFC action, Jim and Matt waste no time by immediately diving into matchups on the card before ultimately bringing on Phil Rowe as the first guest caller. A former excellent basketball player himself, Rowe delves deep into how he has since found solace in his journey as a professional fighter after initially hoping to break into basketball as a professional. Rowe goes on to explain how he wears his jiu-jitsu black belt with honor and takes grappling matches to help improve his skills for MMA fights like the one he has on Saturday against Jake Matthews. Shortly thereafter, Grant Dawson joins the show — and to the surprise of no one, Matt immediately asks his fellow Star Wars fan a series of questions about his thoughts on the franchise's new TV show set to drop. As Jim steers the conversation back to Dawson's fight against Joe Solecki on Saturday's prelims, the guys unpack the dynamics of a matchup that Matt calls a "grappler's delight". Finally, Jim and Matt wrap up the show with three picks atop the pay-per-view card of UFC 302 — and you don't want to miss the BOLD prediction made by one of the two co-hosts for the headlining lightweight title fight between Islam Makhachev and Dustin Poirier.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

30 Maj 20241h 1min

Jim and Matt use today’s episode of UFC Unfiltered to welcome on a pair of first-time callers in UFC women’s bantamweight Kayla Harrison and comedian Che Durena. Shortly after the show begins, Harrison candidly reflects on her judo beginnings and how the ups and downs of her earliest days in the sport helped shape her into the woman she is today. Later on, Kayla hilariously forgives Matt as he admits to mistakenly picking against the two-time Olympic gold medalist in her UFC debut against Holly Holm at UFC 300. When Che Durena calls in, the comedian and UFC diehard looks back at his early days in stand-up performing in front of tourists in Cancún and how stitching together his own reactions to assorted clips on social media helped him make a name for himself as a comedian during the pandemic.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

23 Maj 202454min

On today’s episode of UFC Unfiltered, UFC welterweight Themba Gorimbo joins the show following his third straight win after Matt and Jim talk to WOWfc’s Arturo Guillén about his vision for Spain’s upstart MMA promotion. Joining first is Guillén, who serves as Executive Chairman in addition to co-founding WOW in his native country of Spain after decades of entertainment experience in the movie industry. While promoting the promotion’s upcoming fight card in Madrid, Arturo shares how his country’s burgeoning interest in martial arts after illustrating the details of the company’s international broadcasting partnership with the UFC and UFC Fight Pass. Fresh off a win over Ramiz Brahimaj on Saturday’s card, Themba Gorimbo calls in to explain why even his dominant unanimous decision win didn’t quite meet the high standards he has set for himself in just his fourth fight since entering the UFC.  Hoping to get back to his knockout ways, Themba explains why he’d be all in on a short turnaround against a dangerous opponent on short notice. Finally, Jim and Matt wrap up the show by recapping last Saturday’s fights and delivering their main takeaways from the action at the UFC APEX.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

21 Maj 20241h 1min

On today’s episode of UFC Unfiltered, Jim Norton and Matt Serra invite welterweight Khaos Williams and women’s strawweight Piera Rodriguez on the show ahead of their fights on this Saturday’s UFC Fight Night: Barboza vs. Murphy card. Joining the show first is Khaos Williams, who explains how MMA steered his life in the right direction after being incarcerated early on. A firm believer in fighting fully healthy over taking fights too soon, Williams shares his mindset going into Saturday’s co-main event while reflecting on how he’s been able to successfully rebound from the two losses in his UFC career. Jim and Matt then sneak in some fight picks from this Saturday’s card in Las Vegas before inviting Piera Rodriguez into the mix ahead of her fight against Ariane Carnelossi. Feeling rejuvenated in the 13 months since losing her most recent fight via submission, Rodriguez shares her honest thoughts on a referee stoppage that she maintains was premature. Nevertheless, Rodriguez iterates how her first career loss has served as a great learning experience and how it’ll help her moving forward.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

15 Maj 202451min

On today’s episode of UFC Unfiltered, Jim Norton and Matt Serra recap UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Nascimento with a pair of winners from the card in welterweight Trey Waters and featherweight Sean Woodson. Now $50,000 richer after winning Saturday’s “Fight of the Night” bonus in an exciting win over Billy Ray Goff, Waters talks about how his 6-foot-5 stature shapes his fighting style as a relative newcomer to the UFC and its welterweight division. Jim and Matt then work their way up and down this past Saturday’s main card while listing their key takeaways from the exciting card in St. Louis. Sean Woodson then joins the show for an honest reflection on the pros and cons involved with fighting in front of hometown fans, friends, and family. With a win over a tricky veteran like Alex Caceres in the books, Woodson wraps up his interview by calling out a polarizing featherweight whose style would make for an interesting clash in the Octagon.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

14 Maj 202449min

Jim and Matt are joined by a pair of fighters on this Saturday’s card in St. Louis with lightweight Chase Hooper and light heavyweight Carlos Ulberg as guests on UFC Unfiltered. First, Hooper opens up about the laser focus it’s taken from him to prepare for Viacheslav Borshchev knowing that Chase and his wife are set to become first-time parents in a month’s time. While waiting for Carlos Ulberg to join the show, Jim and Matt take a look at the main and co-main events of this Saturday’s UFC Fight Night: Lewis vs. Nascimento card before offering up predictions of their own. When Ulberg hops on, Matt gets the New Zealander to explain how a career in combat sports superseded legitimate offers by reality TV executives to star in his country’s version of The Bachelor. Carlos discusses the stakes of Saturday’s fight against 11th-ranked light heavyweight Alonzo Menifield and how a win on the main card can propel him into the top 15. Having saved their predictions for after Ulberg’s interview, Jim and Matt ponder the outcome of one last fight to give fans their third fight pick of the show as a way to wrap up the episode.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

9 Maj 202454min

Today’s episode of UFC Unfiltered is headlined by none other than Saturday’s UFC 301 headliner himself as UFC men’s flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja calls in the show shortly after the guys chop it up with lightweight veteran Terrance McKinney. Jim and Matt begin the show by unpacking the action from this past weekend’s card in Rio de Janeiro, expressing their appreciation for the masterful performance José Aldo put on in front of his Brazilian people in a victorious return to the Octagon. Terrance McKinney hops on while en route to St. Louis for his fight on this Saturday’s UFC Fight Night card against Esteban Ribovics. McKinney speaks candidly about his preference to remain active on the heels of his two-fight winning streak — especially with his last win in October requiring just 20 seconds of cage time before securing a highlight-reel 1st-round knockout. While waiting for Alexandre Pantoja to call in, Jim and Matt work their way through the rest of the UFC 301 main card with a particular emphasis on Anthony “Lionheart” Smith’s crowd-silencing upset win vs. a previously unbeaten Vitor Petrino. Finally, Pantoja hops on the call to break down his successfully-executed game plan against Steve Erceg in last Saturday’s main event before sharing how different things have become for him now that he has a target on his back as a champion with multiple title defenses.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

7 Maj 202456min

Jim and Matt are joined by a pair of fighters from this Saturday’s UFC 301 card in Brazil that have yet to lose since signing with the UFC in flyweight Steve Erceg and middleweight Caio Borralho. Erceg begins his interview by recounting the funny story of where he was when he found out he’d be getting a title shot against Alexandre Pantoja. Fully aware of the fact that the fans in Rio won’t be on his side, the Australian flyweight explains why he’s embracing the hostility going into the first main event of his career. After making some fight picks between interviews, Caio Borralho returns to the show to share his thoughts on how cool it is to follow up a fight in São Paulo with a fight on Saturday’s UFC 301 card in Rio de Janeiro underneath a legend like José Aldo. Finally, Jim wraps up the show with a bold prediction in hopes of narrowing Matt’s wide lead in their head-to-head fight pick standings.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

2 Maj 202455min