Knee On Belly MMA Podcast

Episode 171: Ilia Topuria Is New Featherweight Champ | Full UFC 298 RECAP | UFC Fight Night Mexico City Picks/Predictions | UFC 300 Main Event Reaction

There's nothing crazier than getting to say "And New!" especially when it's accomplished with such an exclamation point! We start this episode talking about the performance that saw Ilia Topuria knock out long-time champion Alexander Volkanovski. We dive into what this could mean for both fighters, as the new young champion and the featherweight G.O.A.T. could very well run it back. From there, we cover the rest of the main card, including a great fight between Whittaker and Costa. Also, Merab is seemingly setting himself up for a title fight after defeating Henry Cejudo. Next, we move into our picks and predictions for this weekend's UFC Fight Night in Mexico City. We break down the main event, which will feature Brandon Moreno vs. Brandon Royval, and a co-main event of Yair Rodgriez vs. Brian Ortega. Lastly, we move on to the news. We give our reactions to finally finding out who will fight in the main event of UFC 300. We also talk about some other topics that were connected to UFC 300, including Leon Edwards and Conor McGregor. Like always, please be sure to like, comment, rate, and subscribe.

Episode 170: Jack Hermansson Derails Pyfer Hype | UFC 298 Picks/Predictions | Does UFC Have A Plan For 300?

With UFC 298 just a handful of days away, let's get into a jam-packed episode to get you ready! We start the episode off by talking about the huge veteran performance by Jack Hermansson in the win over Joe Pyfer. Besides talking about his veteran mindset, we also talk about what could be next for him and Joe Pyfer. We also give a recap of the rest of the card, which included a KO by Dan Ige and all the other standout performances. Next, we move into our picks and predictions for UFC 298. We highlight 4 of the 5 main card fights. Volkanovski verse Topuria, Costa verse Whittaker, Merab verse Cejudo, and even Ian Garry verse Geoff Neal round out the card. This card has a lot of big names, even on the undercard, so you won't want to miss it! Lastly, we go into the news, which has become a segment to discuss what they'll be doing for UFC 300. And this time was not different, and we discuss if they actually even have a plan for the main event, or are they just going by the seat of their pants? We also talk about the week that Sean Strickland had, some fight announcements, and more. Like always, please be sure to like, comment, rate, and subscribe.

Episode 169: Nassourdine Imavov Defeats Dolidze | Money Moicano Becoming UFC's Next Star? | Hermansson vs Pyfer Picks/Predictions | Dream MMA Super Bowl Style Cards

We hope everyone had a great week, and after a great night of fights, we are ready to get to it! We start the episode off talking about the huge performance by Nassourdine Imavov in his defeat of Roman Dolidze. We all came away impressed with Imavov and looking forward to his next fight. From there, we move into the co-main event, in which Renato Moicano outlasted a very tough Drew Dober en route to a decision win. We also talk about the budding star that seems to be growing as Moicano has become more active on social media and is really giving fans a glimpse into his personality, and they are loving it. We also talk about a few other great performances on the card. Next, we give our picks and predictions for this coming weekend's UFC Fight Night, featuring Jack Hermansson and Joe Pyfer. Although this was the only fight we made predictions for, we also spoke about some of the names we are looking forward to watching. From there, we have a fun segment where we create a Super Bowl-style dream card. In this format, we were allowed to match up fighters from any promotion to create a dream card that we would love to see. Finally, we covered all the news, which included some miscommunication with the UFC's fight booking, some fight announcements, and even some injury updates. Like always, please be sure to like, comment, rate, and subscribe.

Episode 168: Dolidze vs. Imavov Fight Night Picks/Predictions | 2 Truths And A Lie: UFC Fighter Edition | Kayla Harrison Signing To The UFC Reactions

We hope everyone had a great weekend. There are no fights to recap, but we have a fun one in store, so let's get to it! We start the episode off with our picks and predictions for UFC Fight Night Dolidze vs. Imavov. Outside of the main event, we also picked Renato Moicano and Drew Dober for the co-main. This card features a lot of fun fights, so we highly suggest you tune in! Afterwards, we move into a fun game that we've played before, which is "2 Truths and a Lie". The game is pretty self-explanatory; a fighter is presented, and then three statements are made, two of which are true, and it's the contestant's job to deduce the one lie. The game starts out a little slow but picks up and comes down to the wire. Lastly, we move into the news, which featured some really interesting talking points. Among them were the signing of Kayla Harrison by the UFC, Conor possibly being back for the UFC 300 main event, ONE Championship results, and more. Like always, please be sure to like, comment, rate, and subscribe.

Episode 167: Full UFC 297 RECAP | Du Plessis Vs Adesanya Next? | Movsar Evolev Emerges As Title Contender | Is The Khabib Return Coming?

UFC 297 brought in a double "And New!" and some interesting storylines to touch on. We start things out by talking about the performance by Dricus Du Plessis in his win over Sean Strickland. With it being such a close fight, we discuss where the fight may have been won or lost in the judges eyes. We then move into what could be next for DDP, as he called out former champion Israel Adesanya after his win, but there are other names available as well. Next, we move on to Raquel Pennington and her victory, making her the new women's bantamweight champion. We have some harsh words for the performance of both ladies, but ultimately we know it's because of the comparison to Amanda Nunes. It's going to be hard for any of the women to live up to the fights and dominance that she displayed. From there, we give a full recap of the remaining main card fights on UFC 297 including the title contender worthy performance by Movsar Evolev. With no fights to preview, we jump right into the news next. In the news, we have some great discussion on some topics, such as Max Holloway facing Justin Gaethje for the BMF title, is Khabib making his return, the huge PFL Champions vs. Champions card, and more. Like always, please be sure to like, comment, rate, and subscribe!

Episode 166: Magomed Ankalaev Next For Title | UFC 297 Picks/Predictions | UFC Lacking Star Power?

Our first fights of the year have happened, and they did not disappoint! We have a great episode for you all, so let's get to it. We start things off talking about the amazing performance by Magomed Ankalaev and his knockout of Johnny Walker. With the win and performance, we were also prompted to really consider his position at the top of the division and if he is next for a title shot! Especially if Jamahal Hill isn't ready to go by the summer. After that, we move into some of the other standout fights on the card, including Jim Miller's big win, Mario Bautista impressing, and more. From there, we move into our picks and predictions for this year's first PPV, UFC 297, headlined by Sean Strickland vs. Dricus Du Plesis. We also pick the co-main, with Bueno Silva fighting Pennington and Arnold Allen against Movsar Evolev. Lastly, we move into the news, which included a bunch of fight announcements, including some fights for UFC 300, UFC 299, and some other fight nights. With some of the backlash over the booking of UFC 300, we also talk about whether the UFC is lacking star power. Like always, please be sure to like, comment, rate, and subscribe.

Episode 165: UFC Fight Night Ankalaev VS. Walker | Our 2024 Bold Takes And Predictions For The UFC | Francis Ngannou VS. Anthony Joshua Reactions

After a 3-week break, we finally have fights to make predictions for! We also have some bold takes and predictions for this year, so let's get to it! We start the episode off by giving our picks and predictions for UFC Fight Night: Ankalaev vs. Walker. We also give our picks for the co-main, featuring Matheus Nicolau and Manel Kape. This card is full of good fights and fighters, so we highly suggest watching as much of the card as you can because we feel strongly that a lot of those names will be part of big fights later in the year. Next, we move into our bold takes and predictions, which ranged from "Which champion will still have their title by the end of the year?" to "Which fighter will be Pound for Pound #1 by the end of 2024?". We even go into a round of true or false that made us consider a plethora of MMA situations, including whether McGregor will fight more than once this year and even if Paddy Pimblett will be in the top 15 by the end of the year. Lastly, we move into the news, where we talk about Francis Ngannou and Anthony Joshua agreeing to fight this year and what that means for Francis, the PFL, and boxing. We also talk about the recent interview with Sean Strickland and some good fight announcements. Like always, please be sure to like, comment, rate, and subscribe.

Episode 164: 2023 MMA Awards | Conor McGregor Fight Announcement Reaction | Who Should Main Event UFC 300?

New year, same goal, and that's to provide you all with the most entertaining MMA coverage we can! With that, we get into our first episode of 2024, the KOB MMA Awards show. We give our picks for multiple categories, including fight of the year, event of the year, knockout of the year, submission of the year, male and female fighter of the year, and more. In between different categories, we also answered some trivia questions. The winner will get 3 points towards our fight picks for this year, and it ends in a lot of controversy; you won't want to miss it! With no fights to preview, we end the episode covering the news, but even that prompted some great conversation. The biggest bit of news that got some spicy feedback was Conor McGregor and his fight announcement. We give our thoughts on what we think is right about it and spend a lot of time on what we feel they got wrong. Also in the news were some UFC 300 fight announcements, including Leon Edwards saying he'll be defending his title on the card. With that, we talk about whether that will be the main event or if they have a bigger move in store for the main event. With other big fights also being announced, we're very interested to see where they go with booking the rest of the card. Like always, please be sure to like, comment, rate, and subscribe.

Episode 163: Full UFC 296 RECAP | Who Should Be Next For Leon Edwards | Alexandre Pantoja Impressive In First Title Defense | Is Paddy Pimblett Ready For Ranked Opponent?

UFC 296 was a great card filled with big performances, so for the last time in 2023, let's get into it! We start things off with the main event, where Leon Edwards completely controlled the fight on the road to a decision victory over Colby Covington. We talk about how impressive Leon was despite the pre-fight comments made by Colby, and even his ability to grapple with him as well. With the big win, we then moved into who could be next for Edwards, with some big and exciting names to choose from. Among them are Belal Muhammad, Shavkat Rakhmonov, or even superfights with Islam. We then move into the co-main event, where champion Alexandre Pantoja defends his title against Brandon Royval. Pantoja came away with a hard-fought victory but showed a very good mix of skill and grit. Even prompting us to question who is going to be able to defeat him anytime soon. We finish up 296 with a full recap of the rest of the main card and mention some of the undercard. With that, we had to discuss Paddy Pimblett's win over Tony Ferguson, which weirdly left us with maybe more questions than answers. Because of this, we try to answer what should be next for Paddy, including if he's ready for a ranked opponent. Lastly, we cover the news, which includes some huge fight announcements for UFC 299, Jake Paul's win, and more. We just want to wish everyone happy holidays and thank everyone who's tuned in and supported our content. Like always, please be sure to like, comment, rate, and subscribe.

Episode 162: Song Yadong Win’s Over Gutierrez | Khalil Rountree Steals The Show | UFC 296 Picks/Predictions

As the year winds down, the fights are still on fire! We start things off by giving a recap of last weekend's fight night card. We talk about the performance by Song Yadong and what could be next for him. There seem to be more options below the top 5 than above them, but we have a few matchups we like for him next. After that, we move on to the co-main event, which saw Khalil Rountree take a huge step in his career with his win over Anthony Smith. We all feel like he's ready for a big fight next, as he's fought his way up the light-heavy weight ladder. We also touch on what could be going on with Anthony Smith. He's had some rough performances and seems to be struggling with the mental side of fighting as well. We talk about a few more fights on the card before moving on. Next, we give our picks and predictions for UFC 296. This is the last PPV and fight card of the year, and on paper, it does not disappoint. It will be headlined by champion Leon Edwards vs. Colby Covington. And not to be outdone in the co-main event, they will have Alexandre Pantoja defend his title against Brandon Royval. This fight will be a rematch, but both fighters have grown a lot since their last fight. On top of that, we give our picks for the three other fights on the main card. Lastly, we covered the news, which included some fight announcements, Khamzat getting surgery, and more. Like always, please be sure to like, comment, rate, and subscribe.