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Guest, Ditch on the way. Conceive, believe, achieve. Shut the fuck up.

You're listening to Believe You Me with.

Michael the Count, Big Bang, and Anthony Lionheart Smith. Ladies and.

Gentlemen, welcome to the show, everybody. Thank you for being here. Of course, Anthony Smith isn't here yet. A tough fight at the weekend. We did a live stream on that. We watched the fight. It was heartbreaking. It was frustrating. It was sad to see. We know that everyone that watches this show is a proud supporter of Anthony. It's a tough sport. It was a tough loss. It was a tough night. He knows that. He's not here today. We're only going to get one show out this week. I'm jumping on a plane. I'm traveling to England very, very shortly.

Do you have something going on over there? Pardon me?

I said, do you have something going on over there?

Yeah, tell us from the octagon. We won't be doing a second show. Today we're going to do a big focus on U-of-C 296 because there is a lot to talk about there. I'm very, very excited. By the way, it's perfect timing because when I do tell from the octagon, it's Thursday, and then on the Manchester one, it's Saturday. So it's not a preview as such. We're not going to break down the fights. We're not breaking down the fights at all, but we're breaking down the fighters. We're going to be taking the piss and having a laugh, and it's given me a lot of material. Okay, so very, very excited for U-of-C 296. I guess we just get into that main event. The main event, Leon, Edwards versus Colby, Covington. The shit talk is now started. Colby, Covington, never shy of words. I saw there was a great image doing the rounds yesterday as Leon was like a red coat and Colby was, I don't know what you call, an American patriot. Face-to-face, I thought that was great. Colby saying that Leone's not active, that he's going to move up in white class when he beats him and all the rest of it.

Let's just see how the fight goes down.

Yeah. I mean, I assumed it was trolling when Kolby called someone else inactive. I mean, it's the shit talking has begun. I just saw a headline about Leon Edwards not too long ago where he's like, I grew up in Jamaica. I'm used to death. Colby's not used to that lifestyle. It's like, Whoa, dude, that's a scary guy to fight.

Not talking shit. Leon Edwards said he grew up in Jamaica. He said he was the first ever British champ. Not talking shit. I'm just saying. It's worth the mention. It's worth the mention. Which one did you grow up in? But in all seriousness, let's go, Leo. I'm saying that if Leo wins, he's the first Brit to ever successfully defend the belt twice, so he will be the most successful.

Yeah, but he's got.

Leo for sure.

He would still be tied with you for defenses on home soil.

There you go. There's always a positive spin from Harrington. I appreciate it. Kobe also, he's getting ahead of himself because Leo is talking about moving up a weight class. He's talking about Sean Strickland. And here's what he had to say. He said, Sean, he's pretending to be everything he wishes I was. I would love to slap Sean Strickland around. He's just a pathetic excuse of a human being. The guy literally has no freaking IQ. The guy is so fucking stupid. The things he says he needs to get his mouth wired shut. And I'm the guy to do it. The USC knows that I'm the one that can end these guys that hate the company and they hate the world. So I would love to fight Sean Strickland.

Okay. Honestly, that line, he needs his jaw wired shut, and I'm the man to do it, top notch, Kolby. That's a solid, solid trash talking line. Everything else about that was absurd.

From the guy that had his jaw broke against Kamara Useman. Not talking shit about Kolby. I love Colby. But you got to see the hilarious. I'm not talking to you. I do like Colby. I like the character. I like the person. I think he's very entertaining. He's a master of hyping fights. But you got to say the irony of him saying he's going to get his jaw wired shut. Can't be got the broken jaw and he's not exactly a power puncher.

I think maybe that's the third act of Colby Covington. It's like now he's literally just cutting promos on himself and framing it as other people. You know what I mean? Yeah.

He's.

Calling Leon in active when he hasn't fought in two years.

This show is coming out on a Wednesday, which is unusual for the show because we're only getting one. Now, I wish we were doing this when the press conference had happened. We've talked about this a lot. We've hyped it up, but it is that press conference is going to be amazing. It is because there's so much drama. There's Leon and Kolby, there's Tony and Paddy, there's Ian, Gary, and Vincente Luque. And I think Kolby is just going to go after everyone. He's going to talk shit about Paddy. He's going to talk shit about Ian, Gary. He's going to talk shit about Leon Edwards. Leon probably won't say too much because he's just not that guy, but he will. He's confident. He's not shy. He's going to talk a bit, but it's going to be Colby, Covington, Tony Ferguson losing his mind. He'll have the sunglasses on trying to avoid cables everywhere he goes and just coming out with some weird shit and doing elbow shit like he does. It's Tony time. Let's go bitches. It's going to be good. Brian, welcome to the show if you're around.

Quick question about that press conference. Do you think Colby, Covington talk shit to Shaavkott, Rockmanov, or is he steering clear of that iceberg?

Well, the thing with Shavcat, the answer to your question is no. And I'm going to say I understand why you're asking it. You're saying, Oh, because he doesn't want the smoke. He doesn't want the smoke. He's 17 and all. He's undefeated. They're all finishes, and he's very good. But also, Shavcats, it's like an unassuming guy. Do you know what I mean? Kind of like Leon. I was going to say was because he's coming out of his shell a little bit more, being a champion does that for you. But there's no reason to have beef with Shavcat. Where is he from? It was Beckyistan or Kazakhstan? He's from Kazakhstan. He doesn't talk English. He doesn't say anything anyway.

Mountain murderers are made. Pardon me? He's from where mountain murderers are made. He's like one of those dudes who's wrestling goats this whole childhood.

Yeah. So yeah, I don't think he'll talk shit to Shavcat. He doesn't need to. There's enough people to go out on stage. Ian, Gary, he's turned back on the comments on his social media if you saw.

I have not. But my God, I want to go check them so badly right now.

Oh, I've been studying every day. I've been waiting and waiting and waiting. No, no, no, no, no. Good for him. You can't do that. People say it's a bitch move. It's bit of a bitch move. You know what I mean? Disabling comments, you're just going to get a lot of shit when you put them back on.

Yeah. What do.

You think people are going to forget between the time you shut them off and turn them back on.

It's like you crank up a hose. You're just adding pressure to the stream of comments you're going to get.

That's it. Yeah, now listen, you're just going to stop. We've talked about this. He's just going to ignore all the shit. You know, the amount of shit that I used to get back in the day was unbelievable. It was unbelievable, especially after I had a very close fight with Matt Hamel and then I trashed him on the microphone because I was a young and mature little asshole, and I didn't like the guy at the time. And then on top of that, his death. Do you know what I mean? It's just a PR nightmare. The hatred I got was unreal. But you're just going to turn the other cheek. You're just going to do what Jesus would do.

What's Matt Hamel's shit-talking game like? Like? Surprisingly good.

Oh, really? Surprisingly good. Yeah, so you just got to ignore it all. Do you know what I mean? You can't please everybody. Just crack on. And if there's something that's really nasty, you just delete it and block them.

Matt Hamel saying, I hit you so hard, I heard it.

Yeah, whoa, death jokes, bro. Don't be doing that, Harrington. I'm saying this- Ladies and gentlemen, disclaimer, the Believe in Me Podcast does not condone making fun of deaf people.

Not making fun of deaf people and making fun of the guy who got beaten up by a deaf person.

Shame on you. Okay. Deaf people, Harrington.

Yeah, I know. My dad's one of them.

Is he? Is he deaf? He's hard of hearing because he's an old bastard. It's not quite the same thing. Today's episode is sponsored by Landscape. You know the one, Landscape, the world's leader, the men's leader, the best stuff you can get to groom your face, your balls, your downstairs area to take care of the nose hairs, the ears hair, whatever it is. And by the way, the Man's Game performance package 4.0 has all of those things. In the package, you get the lawmower 4.0, the gold standard to trimming your downstairs junk without cutting yourself is waterproof. It's got a light, it's got a long battery, titanium coated, T-bled, you name it, it's got it. It's got the weed-wacker. It's got the nose hair trimmer. It's got the crop preserver, bold deodorant. It's got the crop Reviver toner. It's got performance box of briefs and a bag to put it all in. There's also the shear put 2.0 kit, which has stainless steel nail cutters, tweezers, and grooming scissors, so you can take care of your feet. So if you're by the pool, you're at the beach, or just walking around your house on Christmas Day and you haven't got shoes and socks on, you don't look gross.

So take care of your feet, take care of your face, take care of downstairs, and do it all by going to manscape. Com. Use the code, bisping20, 20 % off and free shipping, by the way. Manscape. Com, the code is bisping20 for 20 % off and free shipping. So anyway, let's get into this whole Ian, Gary versus Vincente Lique fight. We had Vincente on air recently. Obviously, they know each other very well. Vincente, Luque, I haven't got his record up right here, but he's had some losses along the way, but he's a very good, well-rounded, mixed-marcial artist. They know each other, so you would assume when you know someone, when you train with them, you know the weaknesses, you know the strengths. The strengths of Iain Gary are being, Gary, a blatantly obvious. Very fast. He's powerful, he's tall, he's young. He's confident, he's cocky, but that's fine. He's undefeated. He's 13 and a 0. You're going to be confident. You're going to have all those qualities, which is great. But there's weaknesses as well. Vincente, Luki will know them, but more importantly, not only will Vincente know them, all the coaches, all the coaches from the gym, they will know them as well.

Just looking at Vincente, Luki. Let's have a look. Last win of RDA. Lost to Jeff, Neil, lost to Bilal, Muhammad. Bilal is a tough matchup. Kiesha Woodley, Randy Brown, Nikho Price, they were the four wins before those two. What's your thoughts on that fight? For Vincente, Luki, I say he's got to close the distance, get on the inside and try and take him down. I don't think standing toe to toe and having a kick-boxing match will work out in his favor. Ian's faster. Ian probably hits harder. Ian's quicker. He's taller, he's longer. He's Taylor May for that fight. But how good is his take-down defense? How good is his ground game? Because we don't see him there too often. Yeah, Rafael do Sanchez tried to take him down, but Rafael do Sanchez with respect to the former champ and the legend, is at the end of his career. Yeah.

I think my big thing with Vincente Luque is I've seen him get knocked out, right? And Ian Gary has that confidence of somebody who's never lost a fight, never been finished. So until I see that get cracked, I'm typically going to favor that, especially given the injury that he had and how long he was out. There were concerns for me heading into the RDA fight where I thought even as you're saying, maybe the very tail end of his prime, I thought RDA was going to get the job done against him. The step up to Ian and Gary, it feels like it's too much for me.

So you think Ian and Gary gets the job done?

I do.

Yeah. When you look at... Sorry, Ian and Gary, last one against Neil Magne used the calf kicks to tremendous effect. I think he took Magne off his feet several times. And to be fair, that fight could have been stopped potentially on a couple of occasions, because anytime you start hitting the deck so frequently, sometimes the referee is stepping and say, Right, this fight's done. You can't stay on your feet. He was lucky to see the final bell. I think Lucas is probably going to have an answer for that. And the answer for that is to push forward, to get in the range, get in his face, close the distance, get in the clinching game, which again, leans into trying to take him down. Ian did pass the takedown test against Neil Magne, but again, Neil Magne. Again, no spring chicken. Not saying he's out to roost. I'm not saying he's old. I'm not saying he's done, but he's getting towards the end of his career. He's pushing 40 for crying out loud. Before that, D Rod, he looked phenomenal against D-rod, but D-rod, he's no way near as fast. And he's also... He's just not as slick.

I'm not slagging him off. I'm not saying anything bad, but he's not even very slick. D-rod wasn't as slick before that Son-Kanan, he got the finish, but he was almost knocked out in the first round by Son-Kanan. So I think it's a closer fight. I think I'll probably lean towards Ian, Gary. Ian, Gary, this has been a lot of distractions, though. A lot of distractions. Negative energy. Saying that his family aren't safe to come to America. This is a nation where every man and their dog has a gun. I don't think anyone's coming for him, though. I don't think anyone's coming for the family. I don't think anyone's coming for the baby. I don't think America is a nation or even MMA fans are not trying to murder Ian Gary's family.

Dude, I think that's the generational difference, right? Because Ian Gary is what, like 26, 27, something like that? He's about 10 years younger than me. And that's where the psychosis comes in, where people are being mean to me online. So they now want to hurt my family. I don't know, that does seem like a big distraction. Now, remembering that Magne fight, thank you for bringing that up because it's like, I remember walking away from that fight saying, Does Ian Gary have the killer instinct it takes to become a champion? When you have a guy that hurt in front of you, when you know how much the difference in having a finish on your record means versus having a decision against somebody like Neil Magne, does he have that gear to kick it up to the next level? I mean, Vincente Luque is the guy to test that against.

Well, Vincente is a high-level jiu-jitsu player, and when you get to that level of jiu-jitsu acumen, that means your brain, it means you're smart, right? To learn Brazilian jiu-jitsu to a high level, it's extremely technical. You know what I mean? It is very technical. That means you have to have a certain level of intelligence. He's a smart guy. And the reason I'm saying that is that means if the smartness is there to become a jiu-jitsu black belt, is also there to follow a game plan. That doesn't mean that every jiu-jitsu guy can go out and become a USC world champion because you're going to have a well-rounded skill set. Vincent does have a well-rounded skill set, and he's also got all the benefit of Gilbert, Burns, Shavka, all those fighters, all the coaches, because there's not just Henry Hove. There's a team of coaches down there that will work with him all and they'll say, He's not good at this. When he tries to get back to his feet, he does this. When he defends a take down, he does that. You know what I'm saying? So there's lots of little things. And that's why Ian, Gary's gone on the road and been thrown out of a few gyms.

But I'm still leaning towards Ian, Gary. I'm still leaning towards you. Then it's Tony Ferguson, Patty Pimblet. Brian and Harrington. Give me your predictions on this.

Have you seen Tony Ferguson was hitting the wing-chong dummy earlier this week? I think Patty Pimblet's in some trouble.

I haven't seen that video, no. But anyone that's doing winged John is wasting their time. No offense. If you're 75 years old and you want to do a bit of Tai Chi, good for you. Move the body, walk, take the cat out for a walk. Take the cat litter out of the house. Do something with your body. Tai Chi is great. Winged John in modern day mixed martial arts, limited.

But in all seriousness, I think Tony Ferguson is in a lot of trouble. I think at the age and with the miles that have been put on his body, plus going through a hell week with David... I don't think the hell week with David Goggins helped him at all.

I don't know, Brian.

I.

Don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't think... Pavee Pimlet came out and talked about this. He said he needs to learn how to fight better, essentially. It's not what he said, but that's paraphrasing what he said. He said he needs to work on technique. He needs to work on this and that. He doesn't need to be doing long-distance conditioning type of stuff, and I understand that. But I think, Tony Ferguson, what he's trying to take from David Goggins is mental strength, self-belief, because that's ultimately what's at stake here. Does Tony believe in himself anymore? Do you know how hard it is to keep stepping foot in a USC Ox-Gong when you've lost six in a row? Right? It's been hard. So yeah, okay, running long distances, doing a hell week, all the rest of you. Your cardio base will get very high, but maybe you'll overdo it. Maybe you'll over train. But we install that self-belief. And having somebody like David Goggins around and installing that, he's got no choice. He is force-feeding him confidence and self-belief every day. Do you know what I'm saying?

My point is I'm wondering how much the damage and the wear on his body is going to take a toll, because he doesn't usually do that shit before a fight. It's like, but I also don't know anything.

No, but let's be honest. Tony Ferguson does a lot of things that people don't normally see before a fight. Fair enough. Remember when he broke his leg? He came back and he was like, I forget what it was. There was that video. He was doing some weird training and like breakdancing on blocks and doing all kinds of mad stuff.

Kicking steel rods.

-kicking steel rods. He's out of his mind. He's a character, but that's the appeal of him. And that's what made him so great in the first place. Yes, six losses. Yes, lots of mile on the clock. I guess almost 40. But against the losses are against some of the best people on the planet. Olivera couldn't finish him. Bobby Green did. Nate Diaz did. Justin Gagey had the ref step in. But is Patty Pimblet that level of threat?

I don't think he's got the hands like that. I don't think he's got the one-shot power to put somebody like Tony Ferguson down. You need that headkick from the front kick from Michael Chanler. We all know how Bobby Green hits like a tank. I have not seen Patty hitting guys with one hit or quit or power like that. I don't think so. I don't, right? I do think that Tony can make a fight ugly, especially when he breaks the elbows out, right? I want to see how Patty does when he's got a giant cut right here and blood's coming into his eyes. What's he going to do when he's in there with El Kukui?

Yeah, that's the big question because we haven't seen Patty have to really dig deep and fight through adversity like that. I do think he has advantages. Obviously, he's younger. I think he's faster. I think that's obvious, actually. It's not even I think he is faster. He doesn't have as much power. Striking-wise, who would you give advantage to striking-wise? I think it's pretty even. I think Tony's got more power. I think Paddy has got speed on.

His side. Experience too. I mean, Tony's been doing it for how much longer than Paddy?

I'm not to mention pressure and the pressure on Paddy as well. He was the bell of the bell. He came out, he had that fight against Jared Gordon. Big backlash. He's had a year off. He's coming back from an injury. Maybe he's over training as well. And then obviously he's got to feel a lot of pressure because, as I say, where he was, it's been a bit of a dip and he's been away for a year. So he needs for his brand to continue to rise, for his star to rise, for the endorsements to keep coming in and try and become the cash cow like he said he was going to be, he needs to come out here and finish Tony Ferguson. Not a win. He's going to finish it. You know what I mean? That brings a lot of pressure because Tony Ferguson is not easy to finish. Yeah, man. I don't know. Who do you think? What's your pick?

I like the unorthodox striking from Tony. My problem is his head movement has never been that good. And I feel like Patty's pressure might overwhelm him. I don't know, man. There's just something in me where I, Come on, man, it's Tony time. It has to be Tony time one more time.

It just has to be-Yeah, but that's the problem. It has to be Tony time one more time. And that's why you keep stepping in there when you've lost fights. That's why fights keep coming back to the octagon because they don't want to retire on a loss. Do you know what I mean? That one more, it has to be Tony time, is what keeps them coming back.

I feel like DJ Pej went through something very similar.

It's what keeps them getting beat as well. You got to know when to retire. I'm not saying it's time, but if he loses, it's definitely Tony time to retire. Paddy does carry his chin high in the air a little bit. I'll be honest, I've seen better defense and power slap. So he carries his chin a little high. Tony, I think, has got bigger power. I think Tony is probably the better wrestler. He wrestled in college. Paddy did get taken down by Jared Gordon, who's a great mixed martial artist. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know who does it. I'll say Paddy. I'll say Paddy, probably just because he's on better form. And I do believe the six losses, but what are you saying? Say something. You're on a podcast.

I think I'm going to go. Yeah, that's it. I'm sticking with it. I said it. Yeah, Tony Ferguson gets it done. Tony Ferguson-All right.

I'll be honest. I'd be happy to see that.

Right.

And that's nothing against Paddy. I wish him all the best and may the best man win. But just for Tony Ferguson, for the time served with the company, for the wars that he's put on, the entertainment, the damage he's taking inside the Oxford, it would be nice. Regardless of the opponent, it would be nice to see Tony get a win. And it'd be nice if he then retired. Do you know what I mean?

Yeah.

Yeah, because he's not going to be chap. He's not going to be chap. He's not going to go on some crazy winning streak. No. Get the win, take your gloves off, put them down in the octagon at the T-Mobile arena on pay-per-view, and then forget about the stick and the act and all the rest of it and speak from the heart. Say what this sport has done for him, how it's changed his life, the money that he's been able to earn, the love and the appreciation that he's felt from the fans, and then put on gas station sunglasses, give it one of them. I can't do a woo. And then walk off into the sunset. That would be the way.

I think the only guy who's managed it, Robbie Lawler, and it might be like the most perfect retirement from the sport ever. If we get two of those in a year, I think that'd be a miracle.

Yeah, it's Tony Ferguson. We ain't going to get that. Even if he does win, he's going to call out Conor McNuggets. Do you know what I mean? That's true. He is. All right, this episode is sponsored by Chalk. That is C-H-O-Q. Com. Listen, Chalk, you know all about Chalk by now because they have one of the best natural testosterone boosters. But they've also got pre-workouts. Yes, they're taking over that world as well because pre-workouts are awesome. But when they're not filled with natural products, you feel weird. You feel tingly, you crash really badly. And that is why they have brought out Chad mode, which is the best, all-natural, clean pre-workout, and the ultimate way to get pumped up naturally. It will give you the edge that you need before any activity, whether you're lifting weights, hiking, or just crushing it at work. Unlike 99 % of the garbage-filled supplements on the market, ChadMode, as I said, all-natural, free of artificial flavors, no preservatives, sweeteners, or dyes. It's just organic lemon, cherry, and maple crystals, and no synthetic caffeine, just organic green bean extract. By the way, Chuck uses full disclosure labeling. You can see it all right there.

There's no label, fluffy, proprietary blends, under dosing, none of that stuff. So if you're looking for a super high potency junk-free pre-workout, there is no better way to start your day than using ChadMode. And along with Chad mode, as always, check out the male vitality stack and the Stack Ultra along with the Chalk daily. So give it a shot, you won't be disappointed. And by the way, we're going to give it 35 % off. Go to chalk. Com, C-H-O-Q. Com. And when you're there, use the code bisping for a huge 35 % off your order. Chalk. Com, C-H-O-Q. Com. Use the code bisping, 35 % off. Before we get into the other one, should we get a little non-MMA story? What have we got here, Aaron?

Which one grabs your fancy?

I don't know. I know how a woman was arrested. See, I've been busy with tales from the Oxcon. You picked all of these.

I stand by this one.

This is what?

I stand by this one. This one's good.

All right, so you've put in here, An Ohio woman was arrested after she got angry with the woman preparing her food and flung a burrito bowl at her. The judge could have given her six months in jail with half suspended, but instead opted to make her work 20 hours a week at Chipotle for two months. I love it. I love it. God bless that judge. God bless that judge. Do we have a link or a picture or something like that, Brian, or how would you don't have it, give me.

Your thoughts? Yeah, I think in the story, there's stills of her throwing the burrito bowl, and it is a pretty nasty act. You can see them shouting at each other beforehand. Like I said, the judge could have added to the prison population or you have these fast food restaurants that are having a hard time staffing people. If you're going to act a fool in one, that's an awesome punishment for a judge to be able to dole out.

Well, yeah, because they get to experience firsthand just exactly what they're going through and what they were the torture that they're putting on. These people... This is not disrespect to anybody that works in a fast-food place. But I'm sure it's not their first choice. I'm sure when they were a kid, they didn't dream of working at Chipotle or McDonald's or Wendy's or whatever it is, standing there dealing with high rate customers, and granted, sometimes these places can be annoying, and sometimes people might have a legitimate problem. But don't be a dick with the person working there. They're just working for a massive corporation. They're not getting paid good money. They're not living out their hopes and dreams. They're just trying to pay the bills because they've got responsibilities at home. They've got a wife, they've got children, they've got a husband. Maybe they're a single mother, whatever. They're struggling to pay the bills. Maybe they're a college kid and they're a little smarmy ass dickhead. If that's the case, go to town. But you know what I mean? Just have a little bit of respect for just human beings in general. I think that judge, what a sentence.

Go and work in Chipotle for 20 hours a week. What was it? 20 hours a week?

Twenty hours a week for two months.

That's brilliant. Is this the video? Yeah, I mean, that woman's awful. That woman's awful. I mean, what the hell is going through her mind? Listen, I've got a bad temper, but I don't think these days it's better. But when I was younger, I did use to get into the red mode pretty quick. Quick, but I don't these days. But even then, even at that point, you're going to throw your meal when you're starving over a Chipotle work. Have you ever worked in a fast-food place, boys?

I used to work in fine dining. Not quite the same.

It's not quite the same thing as it would. Would you have some grape and palm?

Yeah, I was that guy. I had a suit and everything. But the worst part about this is you have to prepay for that food before they even start making it. So she wasted all of her own money.

Yeah, I see stuff like this all the time. There was that video recently. Did you see that? It was a woman at McDonald's.

Where she threw something back at.

The cashier? She wanted the cookies and the cookies weren't ready, and I think they said pull over. And she was swearing, screaming at her. She threw stuff at her. I think she might have spat at her. Or maybe I'm making that story worse. But I think she did. I think she spat at her in all sorts. I said, Dude, get a grip. Get a grip. Anyway, well, I do.

Like that idea, though, of a punishment leading to rehabilitation and a better society. You send someone to prison, you're only going to get a messed up person that comes out of prison nine times out of ten. I do know some well-dressed people who've been to prison, but nine times out of ten, it messes people up. Versus, Hey, you're acting like this in a fast-food place. Go step in this person's shoes, experience what they experience, and see if you engage in that behavior in the future. I love it.

Yeah, no, absolutely. I totally agree with you. You send somebody into prison. Not only is it a strain on the system, but a lot of the times the people that you're going to be surrounded by, you're not going to come out more than likely the same person than what you were when you went in. Have you seen that? What's it called? What's it called?

60 days in?

-six days? Is it.

60 days in? 60 days in.

Yeah. For anyone that hasn't seen it, they take normal members of the public, like a good subsect of society, and they put them in there and it's all completely undercover and it's not undercover, but they film it to where the other inmates don't know, and they make out that they're filming a documentary in there. But even the other inmates that are part of the program don't know each other and all the rest of it, and it's just to try and get an insight into prison life when the guards aren't watching and the people. They turn in to the prisoners themselves, they get almost as bad as the hard and criminals in there. It's pretty good. I gave up watching it after a bit because every episode was the same. But yeah, 60 days in.

Dude, I heard the most... It's not even fit for air. I heard the most disturbing story from that show, and it's like, How is this still on the air?

It's crazy. I'm not fit for air on 60 days in, you can't say it's not fit for air to whiz and then not say it because that's terrible podcasting.

A man who volunteered to be on this TV show was sexually trafficked on the show.

How does that happen?

There was another guy who went in.

What do you mean sexually trafficked? He was in prison.

He was pimped out to another prisoner.

Yeah, well, just say that, man.

There's a guy who went in and became the leader of a gang.

Yeah. It just shows what happens. It's a slippery slope. Do the community service. My God. Secularly trafficked. He was pimped out by the other guy whilst filming on a fake prisoner onthe TV show.

It's disturbing.

Yeah, and then there was that one guy that went in and he thought the whole thing was a joke. You know the guy I'm on about? And he went in and he was underestimating the whole thing and he was acting like a smart ass and making silly jokes. And he stood out like a sore thumb straight away and all that the other criminals had this mouth for this guy. Do you know what I mean? Yeah. I don't think it ended well for him, but I gave up watching him. But still, well done to that judge. Community service. I've done a bit of community service myself. You've done community service, Hamilton?

Never court-mandated, no.

Indeed, I have, sir.

Have you, Brian?

Good?

Yeah, I was on the side of a highway with a stick picking up garbage one time, like in the cartoons.

It's crazy. Yeah, I was in graveyards cleaning up a graveyard and digging some graves and stuff back in the day in Wally at the Church.

That's worse than what I did.

Yeah, yeah. Anyway, back to the fight stuff. After that, we got Shavcat, Ratmanov, Steven Wonderboy, Thompson. Love Wonderboy, love Shavcat. Both respectful dudes. Don't expect any shit talk from that Shavcat. As we said before, is phenomenal. No weak carriers. He can get the job done everywhere. And I do believe there will be a time and the future where he is the world to weight champion of the world. I don't know when that's going to be, but he's still a relatively young man, I believe. What is it? He's 29. Yeah. 29 years old. He's that good. But Steven Thompson is a special guy. He's never been the champ. He's fought for the belt twice against Tyrone Woodley. He's almost 40, 39, or maybe he's even 40. He's at a disadvantage in the grappling area, but he's fought lots of guys that want to take him down. I don't know. I think Steven gives him a really good fight. I think he gives a really good account of himself. But I think Chavkai gets it done.

It's really, really, really hard to pick against the guy who is undefeated and all of his fights are finishes. But we have seen as he's gone up the ladder in the USC fighting tougher and tougher guys, he struggled more and more like that Jeff Neel fight was very, very competitive. So if he is willing to actually stand and strike with Stephen Thompson, this has the makings of a fight of the year candidate. Because if you're ever willing to just stand up and let Stephen Thompson throw some strikes at you, over time, over the course of a fight, it's not going to go well for you. Nine times out of ten.

The thing about Shafcat, though, as well, he's very well rounded and he's smart and he can get the job done everywhere. But as you said, the Jeff Neale fight, very close. I mean, Shafcat was taking over. He was winning the fight, I would say. If he went to a decision, he would have got the decision. But it was a good, close fight. Jeff, Neil's a tough son of a bitch, though, as well. But Jeff Neale is not as fast as Steven. He's not as fast and he's not as diverse and he's not as varied as Steven Thompson. And Jeff Neale is also not as experienced as Steven Thompson in stopping takedowns. I say that because Steven Thompson is a karate master. Everybody he fights wants to take him down. Do you know what I mean? So you get a little bit of experience at stopping those takedowns. But yeah, you nailed it. It's hard to pick against a guy that's 17 and old that are all Finishes. And hold on, how many in the UFC is it now? It's a good few. Hold on. Jeff Neale, Neil Magne, Carlton, Harris, Michael Pazares, Alex Olivera. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.

Magne and Jeff Neale, that's his real tough fight before that, but whatever. Brian?

I mean, you have to bet on Shavcat because I don't see him doing what Kevin Holland did and just being like, No, let's just stand and karate fight. Yeah.

No, there's no way. There's no way. And more than likely, Shafquat won't break his hand either. All right, today's episode is sponsored by Shopify, which is something that you need to use, need to take advantage of, need to get involved with. If you're an entrepreneur, if you have a business or you've got an idea for a business, if you've got an idea right now, action it. Take it off the ground. Get it online and do it quick, easy, and conveniently. By the way, do it cheaply as well. Whatever you are selling, you've got to be online. You've got to sell to the entire world. Shopify covers everything. It also covers every single channel from an in-person POS system to an all-in-one e-commerce platform. It even lets you sell on TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram. They've got 24/7 customer service help. They've got an extensive library course. Shopify is there to support your success. Every single step of the way. By the way, it lets you instantly accept every single major payment method as well. Right now, get serious about selling and try Shopify today. Take your business to the next level. Go to Shopify today. Sign up for a one dollar per month trial period at Shopify.

Com/believe or lowercase. One more time. Shopify. Com/believe to take your business to the next level. Shopify. Com/believe for a trial period of one dollar per month. What are you going to do on Thursday this week, Harrington, when we've got no show? Are you just going to float around New York City all lost?

Yeah, dude, that's it. I'm going to beI'm going to get my cup back out. I'm going to head back to the trains and just start panhandling.

Yeah, there you go. Get back on the bench. Hopefully Sean Strickland will see you. What did he say to you that time? He wishI knew you were going to kill you.

Yeah, you said, Well, my producer used to be homeless, and he said, Oh, you used to be homeless? Man, I wish I would have run into you then. I could have killed you and not even felt bad about it. I was doing society a favor.

Did we see the video from Sean Strickland that he posted last week?

Which one?

About bloody Gary.

And his wife? And Gary? Yes, we did. We did play that one. The song.

Did we play it on the show? Oh, the song?

Yeah. No, we did not play the song on.

The show. Yes, Brian, you got to pull this up. Sean Strickland, was his name Tyler? Whatever. Who cares? Tyler something. Tyler something, some guy. Some guy does cameo. He's a country singer. Sean's obviously gone to him and said, Do a song about Ian Gary. And this guy has done it. He's sung the song, he's made the song, he's wrote the song, he's done a music video. The music video is very entertaining in its own weird, offbeat way. The lyrics, somebody say me because I don't want to see them with a 40-year-old gold dig in European.

So this guy, he's like a comedic musician. I've seen him before. For the YouTube people, we're going to cut this out. Oh, really? Why? Because this is probably copyrighted.

It's on Instagram.

Oh, then we might be all right. We'll find out when I upload it.

Yeah, let's give it a do. Oh, you all watch out now. There's a cougar down there. She done got herself a calf. Ain't that a damn shame? Somebody save Ian, because I don't want to see him with the 40-year-old gold dig and hear a pan. From the king can she sing? That's what the clean sing mean while the ring, it's obscane, it's a stain. Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh, God. I mean, I guess in terms of shit talk, in terms of like trash talk, that's as good as it gets. That's as good as it gets. Because you're not even saying anything. You get someone else to do it. The write a song, it's catchy, it's great.

What's a dig at who sang a song about you?

Who?

You, before you're fired.

Oh, Jorge Rivera.

See, if he would have been half as talented as this, you wouldn't even got mad.

Yeah, no. It's just impressive. Granted, I'm not the subject here. I'm not the intended victim. Do you know what I mean?

No, but that dude needs to take notes for next time.

That is good. That is good. And it's bloody catchy as well. It's very, very catchy. So anyway.

In the 90s with rap beeps, you would have 24 hours to respond to something like that. How Ian Geary hasn't gotten like a Limerick band on Sean Strickland. Kind of blows my mind, dude. Keep it coming.

Yeah. Anyway, let's get into the main event, and then we'll do the Cole main. Lioncoby, Cvington, it's a good fight. We've talked about this a lot. Leon's way better on the feet. He's taller, he's longer, he's younger. He's technically a far better striker. He's faster. I don't know if he's more powerful. I mean, definitely, headkicks generate a lot of power, but it would be totally honest. I'm not just hyping him. He's not like a knockout artist. Yeah, he got that beautiful knockout. He was stunning against Camaro, but he's not known for that. Just being honest. Kolby, better wrestler, more experience, if you will. I don't even know about that. But yeah, the path to victory, the key to victory for both men is extremely simple. It's very simple. Kolby's going to close the distance. He's going to try and take him down. He will be relentless with that. That is what he does. That is what he's built his entire career on, right? And he won't stop. I think he will be in tremendous shape. He'll push a pace. He'll chain the takedowns together. I believe he will have some success. Well, there's no way you're going to look at this fight for five rounds, I think.

Colby's not going to get a single takedown, you know what I mean? This phone, he's going every two bloody seconds. Sorry. It's vibrating there. Leone's built his career. If he gets taken down, he'll have a good way to get back to his feet. What do you think?

I don't see Kobe. I don't see Kobe successfully keeping Leon down for three out of the five rounds. I do see a world where even if he does, Leon could get a 10-8 in one of the rounds. I don't see the path to victory for Kobe Covington. That's not taking anything away from Colby, Covington. I've seen how much Leon has had difficulty dealing with guys who pressure him and get in his face, especially late in fights, like thinking about the Nate Diaz fight and how much Camara was able to keep him on his back foot for rounds two through four in their first fight. But I don't know, man. It feels like Leon is definitely... He's hit a new gear. The Leon who just went out and fought Camara Oostman earlier this year looked head and shoulders above the guy who won the title. I just don't see any way that Kolby is going to crack him.

I find a hard way to come up with a reason to say why Kolby would win. It's not. I think Kolby is going to go out there and give him a test. He will. But it will be a test that Leon passes with relative flying colors. Because if you just look at Leon's record, for the last God knows how many fights, it's people that all want to take him down. Good and Nelson. His MO is always to try and get you to the ground. Beat him. Dos and Jos, same thing. Bilal Muhammad are like granted Ipog. Bilal Muhammad is trying to take him down. That's a fight. So not just the fights, the training camps, the preparation, they all parlay into the next one. And that's why you get better at that. After that, it's Nate Diaz. That was a different affair. That was more a boxing fight, really. Camara, Oizman, twice on the bounce. Again, every one of them, every training camp you do, you get better at this. Towards the end, I had very good takedown defense. When I started my career, I didn't. Why is that? Because you learn, you get better.

You tips and tricks. You train with the best people. As you become champion of the world, other people then want to come and train with you because you've got something to offer them. You know what I mean? You can afford to bring in the best training partners. I would assume, I don't know this, but I would assume that now, given the resources, and another word for resources is money that Leon has, you can fly in a couple of wrestlers from Bulgaria or Russia. There's people in the UK that can wrestle. There's British fights that can wrestle. But there's also a lot of Russians and Europeans that live in the UK that can wrestle. You can bring those guys in. So he's definitely got access to those types of people. And ever since he came to the USC, he's been fighting these people. I think Kolby is going to show up, but I think Leone wins by a pretty dominant decision, I'd say.

Yeah, I couldn't agree more. There's something about the way that Kolby comes in. It does feel a little bit reckless the way that he throws hands coming in to set up these exchanges, and I feel like Leon's just too much of a sniper. I'm going to call my shot and say that Leon wins by back pedaling, countershot, knockout.

Yeah, that's what it will be. Leon's not a stupid person, and he's very calculated in there. He knows what he's doing. He picks his shots. He knows he's going to establish the range, maintain the range. He'll keep his fence, so his back off the fence. He'll use a lot of lateral movement. He'll probably create some scenarios with a crowd of booing because it's going to be a very pro-American crowd, of course, and they love their own. There will be lots of chance of USA, Donald Trump is going to be in the building, and Leon is going to play spoiler to all of that, right? He's going to dance around. He's going to keep him on the end of the jab. He'll probably utilize a lot of pushkicks to keep him away. He'll use a lot of headkicks because when you throw in headkicks, you have to use your hands to block. If you're using your hands to block, you're not necessarily shooting takedowns. Colby's not as long. I think he will get on the inside at times. He will get his hands on him, and he might even get a takedown. But for the most part, it's going to be Leon stopping the crowd from seeing the fight they want to see, which is like A, either a slug-fest because we always won that, or with it being a pro-American crowd, Colby having success and taking him down.

There's no disrespect to Colby Covington. I'm a fan of him, but I think Leon has the recipe, he has the skill set and the experience to beat him. And even if he does get on the inside, the knees and the elbows from Leon are deadly. Against Camaru last time, Floyd punished him to the midsection. Beautiful elbows, great knee to the body, and then he would step off. It's the same thing. It's rinse and repeat. So there it is. Still, question is, Bryan and Hamidton, who is next for the belt, though?

That's a good question.

Well, look, they just made Balal Muhammad the backup fighter. I feel like nine times out of ten, that means you're going to get the next title shot, no?

Of course, it's Balal Muhammad. We need to stop forgetting about Balal Muhammad. Balal Muhammad gets the next title shot. Why is this.

Even a-No, I know. I even did a video the other day on YouTube about Balal is the backup fighter. I forgot about that. No wonder his name is Remember the Name.

He's trying to remind us.

Guys, remember me. Yeah, his nickname should be Remember Balal, not Remember the name. He was like, If only I could remember that. You know what I mean? Remember Balal. Save Balal. It's going to be Balal, but you never know, because Leo is talking about going up to 185. Kobe's talking about going up to 185, and they're both talking out of their goddamn asses. What are you on about? Come on.

Yeah, I mean, there's so many real contenders at 1:70.

Yeah, exactly. Right now, León's defended the bell, of course he has, but against the same person. There hasn't been fresh blood. It's not his first defense, but it's his first new defense. Excuse me, his first new opponent. So when you look at the rankings, there's a ton of people. And listen, I know why León wants to do it, and I support him in that. I want him to go out there and have the biggest fights possible and make as much money and achieve legendary and all that shit. But if you're in the well to win division, you're losing your mind. Colby is also saying the same thing, and we've said this many times, it's a risk-free fight. You win, you're a legend. You're a two-way division champ. You lose you still the chap. Brian, you said something?

So what happens if Wonderboy beats Shavcat and Leon beats Kolby, does that put Wonderboy in the running to fight Leon for the title?

I don't know. Potentially. I think stylistically, that would make for one of the funniest fights you could make.

Yeah.

Does Shaqqat get it next? 18 and a 0? I mean, I don't think his resume necessarily deserves it. But he beat Jeff, Neil, and Neil Magne. He's undefeated. They're all stoppages. He can't speak English. I think that does, sadly. It does affect the popularity and pay-per-view sales. But if we're speaking what's right, undefeated. I mean, when we look at the rankings, you got Camaru.

You got Bilal. We're the winner of Bilal.

We got Kolby. It's Bilal. It has to be. It has to be Bilal. There's Gilbert, Burns, Schaffgat, Wonderboy. It's Bilal. Remember the name?

Yeah. I was just looking... I mean, I don't know, the Wonderboy thing, I hate to throw Bilal under the bus, but if Wonderboy gets a clean knockout, that's a much more fun fight for Leon Edwards and a much easier fight for Leon to sell.

Well, you heard it here first, Mike Harrington is campaigning for Wonderboy versus Leon. Mike Harrington has forgot about Bilal. Literally. No, no, no. I mean, yeah, it'd be great. I just don't see him. Bilal is going to be the backup fighter. He's on a ridiculous streak. He is 10, 11, 12 fights or something like that. Undefeated with one, no contest. So yeah, it's going to be him. All right, today we're going to talk about Fitbod, which is the smart workout app that you have on your phone that will create custom dynamic exercise programs for you based on your goals, your experience, and your equipment. It gives you varied routines as well, so you avoid over training, and it does it cheaper. They also have an algorithm on there which uses data and analytics to scientifically build your next best workout so you can maximize results. You can also see your muscle usage, recovery, achievements, and workout streaks right there in an app, and you are in control because the workouts are designed just for you, so you're getting precisely what you need. By the way, access to Fitbod for one year will cost you less than one session with a personal trainer.

You can get a full year of personalized workouts with Fitbod to exercise into your schedule and learn how to do the workouts as well, because Fitbod, it works with any Android or iOS device. By the way, the app's super easy to use because it has HD video tutorials with thousands of videos right there showing the exercises and showing the exercises, which you can do with the available equipment. So if you're just going to garage, you're in the park, you're at home, you're in a hotel room, it will show you a workout with what you have available and it will teach you how to do it so you don't get injured. Sign up to Fitbod right now and get 25 % off when you go to fitbod. Me/believe. That is 25 % of this. Start 2024 the right way with a bang, with the workouts, which are cheap, which you can try for free. You can try it out for free when you go to fitbod. Me/believe and you'll get 25 % off the subscription by going to fitmod. Me/believe. All right, and of course, the one fight that we're yet to talk about is the Co-Main event.

I am excited about this. I haven't done this last because they're little guys. The Flyweights are fantastic. The skill, the speed, the pace, the technique on display is amazing. And Alejandro Pantosia is amazing. I am such a huge fan of this guy. I love the fight he had with Brendan Moreno, when he won the belt, unbelievable. The performance was crazy. His opponent, Brendan Royval, I think he's like 15 and six, lot of stoppages, pulls it out the bag. Very, very quick submissions. He just snatches them out of nowhere. His last three, I think they were all, what was it? Metau, Nicolau got him. That was a knockout, guillotine against Machnell, both round one. Oh, yeah, and then a split decision of a Rogerio, Bonterrey. What do you think about that one, Harrington?

Well, I mean, his last loss is to Pantosia. So it's like, I don't know, I've seen this before. I have to lean Pantosia. And it's like if the guy's getting 20, 50, whatever percentage you want to say better once you get the belt, I don't know how Roy Val overcomes that, but that's why we watch these fights, right?

Pantosia is just amazing, man. I was so impressed with that Moreno fight. In fact, every time I see him fight, he is phenomenal. I mean, his jiu-jitsu is ridiculous. The striking is ridiculous. He's got a tremendous team. We had him on the podcast as well. I'm a big fan of that guy. Yeah, I think he does it. I think he does it. I think he does it just like last time, probably gets a submission. He's dangerous on the ground, man. He's like a little Ninja in there. So Yep, and still for that guy, and then it's probably, and I'm going to throw it out there, Manel Kopp. I would like to see Manel Kopp. He's going to beat Matau's Nicolau. Of course, that fight is lined up. But if he does do that, then Manel Kopp gets the job done. Now, today's a show to one. It's a 296 preview because I've got to go. I've got to get on a plane. I've got to get sorted. I've got to pack. I've got to get to L. A. X. I've got to rehearse tales from The Octagon. We've got myticket. Co. Uk if you want to come and join the fun.

We've got Brendan Lofton joining us, the EPL champ. We've got Michael Ben and Paige joining us as well. We've got Tom Astor on stage. We've got Paul Craig. We got me as well for a bit. Trying to be funny, but it is going to be funny because I got some wild shit. So myticket. Co. Uk if you want to grab a ticket, there's still a few available. With that said, if you have a question, please send it in to bympod@gmail. Com.

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There you go. You had that little fumble there, but then you came back with Venon. Okay, I'm going to make up for that little... We're going to take you to fifth gear.

Hell, yeah. I'm glad you noticed, Michael.

That's the effort that counts. Today's question is from Ben Smith.

Michael, I heard you talking to Brendan Allen about getting Lucas into hunting. Why not get him a slingshot? You can take out plenty of small game, set up target practice in your back garden. It's a lot of fun. If Lucas wants any tips, tell him to check on my channel, The Slings Den. Anyway, shameless plug there, but here's my question. With the UFC 300 right around the corner, why are so many fighters calling to be on it? Mike, you fought a 100. We've also seen 200. I don't remember any fighters calling for it like they are this one.

What's the big deal?

Anyway, keep up the good work.

Love the.

Podcast, and I hope you all have a great Christmas. Even you, Harrington. No, blessing. That's Ben from Slingden, was it?

Yeah, Ben from Slingden.

Right, number one is English. We call it a catapult.

The little ones you call catapults?

We call that a catapult. I'm well aware that in your mind you're thinking about, what are the old school catapults called?

-rebouche?

-trabouche. Trabouche. There you go. But yeah, I'm pretty sure we call it a catapult in England, and we did it in our house anyway. I used to love a catapult when I was a kid. I was at a very good shot with it. I'm going to get Lucas a catapult. I don't think he's going to master it and take out bloody vermin. Yeah, get him a little catapult. What was the question? Usc 300. Well, it's USC 300, Ben. And you're right, he does have a point because there is a lot of people calling for it now. A lot of people. And he is correct. I don't think there was quite the same demand. There certainly wasn't high profile names coming out six, seven months before Hanson, I want to be on that one. Jim Miller, I think, was one of the first, and that made sense because he was on 100, 200. Would be cool to have him on 300. And I think now just with the popularity of the sport, I think now with there being a big distinction and even bigger distinction between the Fight Nights and the pay-per-views, you know what I mean?

Because there's... The pay-per-views one a month. Fight Nights, a lot of them. Some of them are the apex. Some of them are on the road. Do you know what I mean? And everybody knows you want to be in front of those big, big crowds. And why not try and be on the biggest card of the year or one of the biggest? I mean, it makes sense.

I think he's also mistaken because I do remember Connor McGregor mapping out the roadmap. I'll beat and then I'll challenge for the lightweight belt at USC 200. Guys were talking about that, at least from what I remember, with 200. It became a thing where there was just so much star power on that card that I think people who were fans back then who are now in the company, remember the popping circumstance and the gold cage at U. Of. C. 200 and Brock Lesner coming back and the super fight with Sylva and DC that they want... It's natural. People just want to be immortalized like that.

Yeah, no, absolutely. I remember that as well. And I think also it's cool because the U. S. Does now have a lot of these murky events. Obviously, we've got the U. S. 300, which is coming in April. The shortly after that, we've got International Fight Week. We're going to have some international events this year as well, some big ones. There's also the yearly or the annual fight at MSG. There's the end-of-year show. Yes, Hamilton?

Don't forget the Sphere for USC Nochay, which I'm so excited for, dude.

The Sphere for USC Nochay? Good one. But there is a lot of, Dude, I would love to fight at the Sphere. I would love to commentate at the Sphere. I would love to just go to the Sphere. Somebody I knew. I think it was Molly McCann. She was there recently. We're there watching you too, obviously, they're the residents. And I think who was it? Was it not David? David Bowen was dead. Who was it on stage with them? Elton John or Paul McCarney, I think it was. Yeah.

Oh, my God. That sounds incredible.

Yeah.

I can't believe Fish is replacing them. That's a little weird.

Fish?

Yeah, Fish is going to be the next residency at.

The sphere. They're going to go from you toyou to Fish.

Yeah.

I think I remembered this conversation not on the podcast with somebody else. That's why I do it with someone from the USC, and I was like, Who's Fish? I had to look them up. I do know one or two of their songs, but I'm not a Fish-a-Fish-Iado.

A Fish-a-Fish-an-Ado.

A Devil's Avocado. And there it is, guys. It's a short show this week, so we apologize, but I got to go. But the commitment to the game is still strong. We'll be back with another show next week. Thank you all for watching. Subscribe and ring the bell. Enjoy the fights. It's going to be a wild one. If you're in London, if you're in Manchester, it's going to be a wild one. And we're going to have an after-party. We're going to watch the fights. So myticket. Co. Uk if you want to come and join the fun. Hopefully, we'll have Anthony back on next week. Guys, wherever you are in the world, we know it's an international audience. Thank you for tuning in. Thank you for watching and supporting The Little Show. Take care. All the best. See you soon.