Art of MMA: The Podcast #5 - Bellator 249, UFC Fight Island 6 & look ahead to UFC 254 Khabib/Gaethje

It's easy to say but even harder to do. Episode 5 of The Podcast is packed from start to finish. We jump off talking about Sergio and Brandon's obsession with #SupermarketSweep, and if you don't tune out after that then we will hook you in talking about #McGregor/#Poirier 2, #MichaelChandler jumping the line, whether or not fighters today need the UFC and then we do a full breakdown of #Bellator249 featuring #Cyborg and #UFCFightIsland6 with #Ortega vs #TheKoreanZombie. And oh yeah... we breakdown and give our predictions on this weekend's #UFC254 featuring #Khabib vs #Gaethje. So sit back and enjoy, this is a long episode jam packed with the guys dropping knowledge.

Show Notes:

In the news, Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier seem to have a date set on January 23rd, 2021 at UFC 257 in Cowboy Stadium. But as with any McGregor news, it's always TBD. The guys break down if the fight will happen, fighting at 170, if it will be in 2021 and if this fight is any different than the first fight between the two.

Michael Chandler is on deck if anyone falls out of the main event of UFC 254 and has no interest in other fights. He seems locked in and is next in line. But is he jumping the line and does he deserve it? Is that how Dana White got him to sign by promising a shot at the belt?

Do fighters still need the UFC? Independent fighters, Bellator fighters, OneFC... fighters around the world are making way more money than what the UFC is offering, especially older fighters moving to Bellator. Do fighters need to fight in the UFC to still prove they are the best? Or are fighters like Lima, Mighty Mouse and Alvarez proving that wrong?

We jump into Bellator 249 and take a look at the card. Is Gonzales the toughest man on the planet and can other fighters respect the fact that Xhema basically quit due to exhaustion? Aviv Gonzli is up next and Crutchmer was derailed by a man that feels no pain. On the main card, the first fight never really got started and finished in a painful way and after Blencowe is there anything left for Cyborg in Bellator or has she already run through her possible opponents? Does she need a cross-promotion fight to find a challenge?

The UFC Fight Island 6 card had no shortage of solid fights including a fight of the night that stole the show with Guram Kutateladze defeating Mateusz Gamrot by Split Decision in questionable decision. Jun Yong Park set a record in beating John Phillips with 258 ground strikes. A record that was set 11 years ago by now WWE Superstar and former UFC fighter Matt Riddle. The main event saw T-City Brian Ortega return to form and maybe better than ever with an easy win over the favorited Korean Zombie. Ortega controlled the fight from the get go and Jung doesn't even remember the last 3 rounds.

Then the main event, we jump in head first to UFC 254 and all the action taking place this week. Breaking down the card and give our thoughts on the main event... Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Justin Gaethje for the Lightweight Championship. The pro's took Gaethje, the journalists took Khabib. We can't wait to see what happens on Saturday!

So Pay Attention! Like we said, this episode is stacked. We even talk about Jake Hager and Bobby Lashley.

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