An irreverent and unscripted look at the week's mixed martial arts news from longtime MMA journalists Ben Fowlkes and Chad Dundas. Topics include the latest happenings in the UFC, Bellator and other promotions.
Episode 450: We all went on an emotional journe...
From seeing Chris Weidman's leg shatter against Uriah Hall's leg to a trio of stoppages--at least a couple of them fairly shocking--in the event's three title fights, there were a lot of mood swings during UFC 261. An emotional toll was exacted, you...
Given the assembly-line nature of the UFC content these days, you can't blame MMA fans, boxing hardcores and casuals alike for being interested in Triller, which is (if nothing else) EXTREMELY different. So, when that dude Ebenezer Paul knocks out Ben...
71 min
228
Episode 448: A bad deal for everybody
Marvin Vettori defeated Kevin Holland in the main event of UFC on ABC 2 on Saturday, but it turned out to be the sort o fight that didn't really help either guy's standing in the middleweight division. Plus we talk about last week's efforts from One...
77 min
229
Episode 447: It's Patricio Pitbull the world's ...
Patricio "Pitbull" Freire advanced to the final of the Bellator featherweight grand prix Satuday night during that promotion's debut on Showtime, by choking Emanuel Sanchez to damn sleep with a quickness. Now, as he prepares to take on AJ McKee for...
79 min
230
Episode 446: Francis Ngannou does everything right
Francis Ngannou pitched damn near a perfect game on Saturday at UFC 260, stopping Stipe Miocic via second-round KO to claim the heavyweight title. By all rights, Jon Jones should be next, but somehow it feels like the UFC is going to screw us out of...
75 min
231
Episode 445: I'll follow you home, bitch
The UFC heavyweight title rematch between Stipe Miocic and Francis Ngannou is set to go down this weekend. The featherweight title scrap between Alexander Volkanovski and Brian Ortega? Not so much. Plus, Kevin Holland drops a unanimous decision to...
78 min
232
Episode 444: Sometimes it be like that
Well, fudge. That's not how we wanted it to go. That's obviously not how Belal Muhammad wanted it to go. Dare we say, that's not how Leon Edwards wanted it to go, either, though his suggestion that maybe we just let it go and book him a title fight...
69 min
233
Episode 443: Speak your truth, Jan Blachowicz
Israel Adesanya's foray into the light heavyweight division did not go as planned, courtesy the Legendary Polish Power of Jan Blachowicz. Oh, Janny Blackjacks, you never stop surprising us. Plus, Amanda Nunes still ain't nothing to fuck with and ......
74 min
234
Episode 442: Can Adesanya defeat The Legendary ...
Knock on wood, people: Five UFC titles are scheduled to be on the line during March, including this weekend's UFC 259 and its triple bill of championship bouts. Can Israel Adesanya end Janny Blackjacks' Cinderella run with the light heavyweight title?...
81 min
235
Episode 441: Heavyweight Bacchannal!
The current moment in the UFC belongs to the big fellas. With Derrick Lewis' KO of Curtis Blaydes last weekend and the Biggi Boy vs. Ciryl Gane coming up next, the heavyweight division is taking center stage. On top of that, it looks like Stipe vs....
70 min
236
Episode 440: Real Champ Shit from Kamaru Usman
After a first round where it looked like Gilbert Burns was on the verge of capturing the UFC welterweight title, Kamaru Usman put his foot down. The power jab, the low kicks, the third-round TKO victory--all these things served to make Usman look like...
70 min
237
Episode 439: A tough one for the old guys
Both Alistair Overeem and Frankie Edgar had rough nights at Saturday's UFC. Alexander Volkov busted Overeem's nose en route to a second-round TKO. Corey Sandhagen put Edgar's chin into the stratosphere with a KO-of-the-year-candidate flying knee. So,...
73 min
238
Episode 438: All Questions Considered
Alistair Overeem fights Alexander Volkov this Saturday during Super Bowl weekend, but you already knew we weren't going to spend the entire show talking about that. Instead, we take listener queries in another one of our All Questions Considered episodes.
70 min
239
Episode 437: Put some respect on Dustin Poirier...
Dustin Poirier walked out to James Brown's "The Big Payback," stopped Conor McGregor in the second round and then declared himself the uncrowned champion. A pretty nifty piece of business from The Diamond all the way around at UFC 257. Now, we ask...
71 min
240
Episode 436: Does McGregor fight week still hav...
Max Holloway amazed us all with his performance at Saturday's UFC on ABC card. Never one to rest on its laurels, however, the UFC ramps back up for two events this week. (We see you, Michael Chiesa vs. Neil Magny!) And as Conor McGregor prepares to...
76 min
241
Episode 435: What to expect from UFC on ABC
The UFC returns to network television this week for the first time since 2018, as Saturday afternoon it presents its debut broadcast on ABC. What to make of this, especially after the fight company's tenure on Big Fox started with a bang and then...
77 min
242
Episode 434: All Questions Considered
On the first episode of The Proper since mid-December, we've got some catching up to do. So, we're going All Questions Considered this week. What's up with the UFC raising PPV prices? Have we witnessed the fatal flaw in Greg Hardy's MMA evolution? And...
72 min
243
Episode 433: CME Office Christmas Party
Let's be honest, ain't nobody doing any work the week of Christmas. This episode, we present (or, uh, re-represent, as the case may be) our year-end awards. Plus, Sir Nigel Longstock stops by to read the best tweets of 2020. We pop champagne and hand...
58 min
244
Episode 432: The greatest majority draw of all ...
Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno threw DOWN on Saturday in the main event of UFC 256 and, while it probably wasn't the fight of the year, it was perhaps the greatest majority draw of all time. In the co-main, Charles Oliveira wore Tony Ferguson...
71 min
245
Episode 431: Say it ain't Yo-el!
The UFC says its release of perennial title contender/lovable weirdsmobile Yoel Romero is one of about 60 cuts it will make before the New Year to trim its "inflated" roster. Inflated, huh? That's an interesting, hey-this-was-nobody's-fault kind of...
68 min
246
Episode 430: Tyson-Jones delivers, UFC plays mu...
Ben watched the Mike Tyson-Roy Jones Jr. exhibition boxing match on Saturday night and gleefully reports that he got his money's worth ... of entertainment, if not exactly top flight boxing action. Meanwhile, the UFC scrapped Curtis Blaydes vs....
72 min
247
Episode 429: Figgy Smalls, Shevy Chenks & the '...
UFC 255 was definitely a thing that happened, as Deiveson Figueiredo and Valentina Shevchenko retained the men's and women's flyweight titles, respectively. This week on an All Questions Considered episode of The Proper, we talk the greatness of Figgy...
75 min
248
Episode 428: Did Felder's gamble pay off?
Paul Felder didn't beat Rafael dos Anjos Saturday night, but it still feels like Felder's choice to step in on short notice for a five-rounder against a former champion was the right thing to do. Plus, the Bellator 145-pound grand prix deserves your...
61 min
249
Episode 427: Five Questions About the Light Hea...
So, Glover Teixeira pretty much handled Thiago Santos in their main event fight Saturday night. This week, the CME turns its attention to the most vexing questions facing the 205-pound division, including: In a world where Jon Jones is absent, could...
62 min
250
Episode 426: Can the UFC just end Anderson Sil...
Anderson Silva lost to Uriah Hall on Saturday via fourth-round TKO. It wasn't great. It also wasn't terrible. But, jeez louise, Dana White sure showed up at the postfight presser in a shitty mood. He says Silva still has one fight left on his UFC deal...