Fighter vs. Writer Reacts to Jon Jones’ Win Over Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 and a Possible Conspiracy Theory About His Future in the Sport

The Fighter vs. The Writer returns with Matt Brown and Damon Martin discussing the fallout from UFC 290 including Alexander Volkanovski’s lopsided win over Yair Rodriguez, Alexandre Pantoja defeating Brandon Moreno and Dricus Du Plessis’ stunning upset over Robert Whittaker. Plus Brown will offer some advice to his fellow fighters about planning for the future and following Robbie Lawler's retirement, he teases an upcoming card that could potentially serve as a landing spot for the final fight of his own career. All this and more on the latest episode of The Fighter vs. The Writer Subscribe: Apple Podcasts Subscribe: Spotify Read More: MMA Fighting Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

11 Juli 20231h 38min

Where does Alexander Volkanovski go following his one-sided main event victory to retain his UFC featherweight championship in the UFC 290 main event? What about the challenger Yair Rodriguez after getting stopped in the third-round by Volkanovski? On an all-new edition of On To the Next One, MMA Fighting's Mike Heck and Alexander K. Lee attempt to answer those questions from a matchmaking perspective, and discuss whether Volkanovski's best potential option is another featherweight title defense against Ilia Topuria, or a lightweight title rematch with Islam Makhachev. Additionally, future matchups are discussed for new flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja and now former two-time champ Brandon Moreno, Dricus Du Plessis following his shocking finish of Robert Whittaker, along with fellow main card winners Dan Hooker, Bo Nickal, and more.  Follow Mike Heck: @MikeHeck_JR Follow Alexander K. Lee: @AlexanderKLee Subscribe: http://goo.gl/dYpsgH Check out our full video catalog: http://goo.gl/u8VvLi Visit our playlists: http://goo.gl/eFhsvM Like MMAF on Facebook: http://goo.gl/uhdg7Z Follow on Twitter: http://goo.gl/nOATUI Read More: http://www.mmafighting.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

9 Juli 20231h 1min

UFC 290 delivered one of the best fight cards in quite some time on Saturday night in Las Vegas, and it was capped off by a dominant performance from arguably the best fighter on the planet today in Alexander Volkanovski. Following the UFC's latest pay-per-view offering, MMA Fighting's Mike Heck, Shaheen Al-Shatti, and Jed Meshew react to Volkanovski's sensational third-round TKO win over Yair Rodriguez in the main event, and if Islam Makhachev or Ilia Topuria will be his next opponent. Additionally, they discuss the overall greatness of the card as a whole, Alexandre Pantoja's emotional title win over Brandon Moreno, Dricus Du Plessis' stunning finish of Robert Whittaker and future matchup with Israel Adesanya, Robbie Lawler's perfect ending to his legendary career, and more. Follow Mike Heck: @MikeHeck_JR Follow Shaun Al-Shatti: @ShaunAlShatti Follow Jed Meshew: @JedKMeshew Subscribe: http://goo.gl/dYpsgH Check out our full video catalog: http://goo.gl/u8VvLi Visit our playlists: http://goo.gl/eFhsvM Like MMAF on Facebook: http://goo.gl/uhdg7Z Follow on Twitter: http://goo.gl/nOATUI Read More: http://www.mmafighting.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

9 Juli 20231h 19min

Relive the magic of UFC 290's live watch party with Mike Heck, Conner Burks, plus a few special guests! Check out the original UFC 290 Watch Party video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFE8ee_wfyg Reaction to Robbie Lawler's incredible final fight (6:09) Bo Nickal vs. Val Woodburn (33:48) Bo Nickal wins via first-round KO (36:35) Dan Hooker vs. Jalin Turner (52:38) Hooker hurts Turner in Round 2 (1:06:06) Hooker hurts Turner in Round 3 (1:09:45) Hooker wins split decision (1:15:06) Robert Whittaker vs. Dricus Du Plessis (1:30:25) Du Plessis finishes Whittaker in Round 2 (1:41:40) Brandon Moreno vs. Alexandre Pantoja (2:03:01) Pantoja wins title via split decision (2:38:00) Alexander Volkanovski vs. Yair Rodriguez (2:59:11) Volkanovski stops Rodriguez in Round 3 to retain title (3:20:30) Follow Mike Heck: @MikeHeck_JR Follow Conner Burks: @connerburks Subscribe: http://goo.gl/dYpsgH Check out our full video catalog: http://goo.gl/u8VvLi Visit our playlists: http://goo.gl/eFhsvM Like MMAF on Facebook: http://goo.gl/uhdg7Z Follow on Twitter: http://goo.gl/nOATUI Read More: http://www.mmafighting.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

9 Juli 20233h 33min

Alexander Volkanovski and Yair Rodriguez will cap off Saturday's championship doubleheader at UFC 290, along with a tremendous flyweight title co-main event between Brandon Moreno and Alexandre Pantoja. With UFC 290 a day away, MMA Fighting's Mike Heck, Shaheen Al-Shatti, and Alexander K. Lee preview the top storylines from the International Fight Week card, the spectacular main event and potential changing of the guard at 145, the under-the-radar co-main event and the questions surrounding it, bold predictions from the panelists for the rest of the card, whether a Dricus Du Plessis win over Robert Whittaker would be more shocking than a Bo Nickal loss to Val Woodburn, and more. Follow Mike Heck: @MikeHeck_JR Follow Shaun Al-Shatti: @ShaunAlShatti Follow Alexander K. Lee: @AlexanderKLee Subscribe: http://goo.gl/dYpsgH Check out our full video catalog: http://goo.gl/u8VvLi Visit our playlists: http://goo.gl/eFhsvM Like MMAF on Facebook: http://goo.gl/uhdg7Z Follow on Twitter: http://goo.gl/nOATUI Read More: http://www.mmafighting.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

7 Juli 20231h 33min

As the UFC is hours away from their main attraction of their annual International Fight Week, Alexander Volkanovski will look to take one step closer to featherweight all-time greatness when he defends his title against the dangerous Yair Rodriguez. With a win, does Volkanovski remain at 145 to face the likes of Ilia Topuria, or even an Aljamain Sterling should he make the move up? Or, will he move back up to 155? On an all-new edition of Heck of a Morning, MMA Fighting's Mike Heck returns for another Free-For-All Friday, where listener topics include Volkanovski's future depending on how things play out in the main event of Saturday's big card in Las Vegas. Additionally, topics include the UFC middleweight title picture and Sean Strickland's chances to get a championship fight with Israel Adesanya in September, Brandon Moreno vs. Alexandre Pantoja, UFC's merchandising for fans attending events, Robbie Lawler's retirement fight, the 2023 UFC Hall of Fame ceremony, and more. You can listen live to Heck of a Morning Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays at 10 a.m. ET on the MMA Fighting Twitter Spaces. Follow Mike Heck: @MikeHeck_JR Subscribe: http://goo.gl/dYpsgH Check out our full video catalog: http://goo.gl/u8VvLi Visit our playlists: http://goo.gl/eFhsvM Like MMAF on Facebook: http://goo.gl/uhdg7Z Follow on Twitter: http://goo.gl/nOATUI Read More: http://www.mmafighting.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

7 Juli 202355min

This Saturday, the UFC's annual International Fight Week extravaganza will be capped off by UFC 290, featuring two title fights, and one of the top pound-for-pound fighters on the planet in Alexander Volkanovski putting his featherweight title on the line against interim champ Yair Rodriguez in the main event. Stylistically, is Rodriguez the toughest 145-pound test to date for Volkanovski? On an all-new edition of Between the Links, the panel will break down the featherweight unification bout, discuss where Volkanovski goes with a win, and more. Additionally, topics include the under the radar co-main event between flyweight champion Brandon Moreno and challenger Alexandre Pantoja, how the rest of the card stacks up compared to past International Fight Week cards, Sean Strickland's big win over Abus Magomedov and his chances of getting a title fight with Israel Adesanya next, Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler's pull-apart on TUF, and more. Host Mike Heck moderates the matchup between MMA Fighting's Jed Meshew and Morning Kombat's Brian Campbell.  Follow Mike Heck: @MikeHeck_JR Follow Jed Meshew: @JedKMeshew Follow Brian Campbell: @BCampbell Subscribe: http://goo.gl/dYpsgH Check out our full video catalog: http://goo.gl/u8VvLi Visit our playlists: http://goo.gl/eFhsvM Like MMAF on Facebook: http://goo.gl/uhdg7Z Follow on Twitter: http://goo.gl/nOATUI Read More: http://www.mmafighting.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

6 Juli 20231h 31min

UFC 290 might not be the most star-studded International Fight Week card in UFC history, but there the two title fights seem incredibly competitive on paper, and there are a lot of interesting storylines in play. Although there are some big favorites on the card, could there be a big underdog who could shock the MMA community on Saturday night in Las Vegas? On an all-new edition of Heck of a Morning, MMA Fighting's Mike Heck responds to listener bold predictions for UFC 290, along with Yair Rodriguez's chances against Alexander Volkanovski in the featherweight championship main event. Additionally, listener topics include where Robbie Lawler ranks in the all-time welterweight list ahead of his final fight this weekend, Bo Nickal and Jack Della Maddalena's debuting opponents, the stakes in the Dan Hooker vs. Jalin Turner fight, past and present fighters on the UFC commentary desk, and much more. You can listen live to Heck of a Morning Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays at 10 a.m. ET on the MMA Fighting Twitter Spaces. Follow Mike Heck: @MikeHeck_JR Subscribe: http://goo.gl/dYpsgH Check out our full video catalog: http://goo.gl/u8VvLi Visit our playlists: http://goo.gl/eFhsvM Like MMAF on Facebook: http://goo.gl/uhdg7Z Follow on Twitter: http://goo.gl/nOATUI Read More: http://www.mmafighting.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

6 Juli 20231h 13min