Mma On The Rocks

This week we break down UFC Fight Night 155 from Sacramento, California, headlined by bantamweight contenders Germaine De Randamie and Aspen Ladd. We talk about the return of MMA legend Urijah Faber and his knockout victory over Ricky Simone and our thoughts on whether or not the stoppages in the main and co-main events. We talk about the rest of the main card including victories by Josh Emmett, Karl Roberson, Marvin Vettori and John Allan Arte. We discuss Team Alpha Male getting five wins out of six fights on the card, which is a very impressive statistic. We talk about the surprising strategy of Ryan Hall in his decision win over Darren Elkins, the only Alpha Male on the card who did not get his hand raised. We continue scotch month with a pour of Macallan 18-year-old scotch whisky. We talk the difference between peated and unpeated scotch and which are best-suited for dessert and some cigar pairings as well. We preview UFC on ESPN 4 from San Antonio, Texas, headlined by welterweight contenders Rafael

I sit down with Billy Quarantillo - The Ultimate Fighter season 22 alumni, King of the Cage Lightweight Champion and soon-to-be contestant on Dana White's Contender Series. We talk about Billy's training ideologies, how he wound up in Tampa and some unusual circumstances that led to him becoming a full-time mixed martial artist. Billy goes into detail about his experience on The Ultimate Fighter in 2015, being coached by Uriah Faber, the relationships he developed and maintains to this day and what the tension was like during the filming between Uriah and Conor McGregor. He also tells the story of wearing a suit during his audition for the show - including the striking and grappling demonstrations. We talk a little bit of booze. It may surprise you what a professional cage fighter chooses to sip on while he's not training for a fight. We also talk about the upcoming Fight Night 155 card from Sacramento California, headlined by bantamweights Germaine De Randamie and Aspen Ladd. While we don't dive into the

Jeff The Animal Wilson is back to help break down UFC 239, headlined by Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones defending his crown against Thiago Santos. We also saw Amanda Nunes defeat Holly Holm to become the only UFC champion in history to win belts in two divisions and defend her original championship. Jorge Masvidal takes only five seconds to end the undefeated streak of Funky Ben Askren with a flying knee that sends him into another dimension. Luke Rockhold's light heavyweight debut is thwarted by the knockout power of Jan Blachowicz. Diego Sanchez is overwhelmed by Michael Chiesa and Song Yadong continues to build the Chinese representation in the UFC. We also kick of scotch whiskey month! I sip some Glenlivet and discuss the difference between peated and unpeated scotch. We also talk about the importance (or lack of importance) of the term "single malt." We have some laughs along the way and preview UFC Fight Night 155 headlined by Germaine De Randamie and the undefeated Aspen Ladd - cheers! ---

I'm joined this week by John "The Manimal" Beneduce. Manimal is a second degree black belt under Matt Serra, Bellator featherweight fighter and also hosts the MMA and Beyond Podcast with Steve Maraboli and Ray Longo. We talk about Manimals history in MMA, proper use of drugs outside of training camp, old school training tactics, injuries, time off, Manimal's last fight at Bellator 222 and what the future may hold for his career. We also get into what the MMA scene was like 20+ years ago in NewYork, how training has changed over the years and why fighters train smarter today. Cheers! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/mmaontherocks/support

This is part B of an episode co-hosted by The Manimal, John Beneduce - Bellator featherweight fighter, Matt Serra black belt and host of the MMA and Beyond Podcast. We break down fight night on ESPN 3 from Minneapolis, Minnesota which included a short main event with Francis Ngannou knocking out Junior Dos Santos in 71 seconds of the first round. We also saw bonus-winning performances from Joseph Benavidez, Alonzo Menifield and Eryk Anders. We saw some abysmal refereeing which resulted in Demian Maia being stood up while having his opponent mounted against the cage. The same referee also allowed Eryk Anders' opponent take many unnecessary blows to the head while his head was pinned in the corder of the cage. Don't forget that scotch month is July on the podcast, so make sure to reach out on social media and let me know your favorite scotch whiskey pours. Happy Fourth of July to everyone - cheers! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/mmaontherocks/support

Back to break down a packed weekend of combat sports, including Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship live coverage, UFC Fight Night 154 and Bellator 223. Palie Malignaggi was unable to settle his vendetta against Conor McGregor's camp, as he lost his bare knuckle boxing debut to Artem Lobov. David Mundell has the must exciting fight of the BKFC 6 card with a 90-second knockout. Other UFC veterans such as Chris Leben, Joey Beltran and Joe Riggs also appear on the card. The UFC put on a great show this weekend in Greenville, South Carolina despite losing its co-main event. The Korean Zombie, Chan Sung Jung made short work of top featherweight contender Renato Moicano with a TKO less than a minute into the first round. Welterweight Randy Brown bounces back after almost a year off with a TKO of Brian Barbarena. Andre Ewell and Anderson dos Santos put on an epic slugfest. Jairzinho Rozenstruik disposes of Allan Crowder with an amazing nine-second knockout that started with a jab moving backwards. All this and muc

A special Father's Day episode to discuss the retirement of the American Gangster, Chael Sonnen. We also talk about the biggest wins and losses from Bellator 222, including Rory MacDonald ending the undefeated streak of Neiman Gracie to move on to the finals of the $1 million welterweight tournament. Kyoji Horiguchi becomes the first cross-promotional champion by defeating Darrion Caldwell by unanimous decision. Other notable wins include the undefeated Patrick Mix submitting Ricky Bandejas, Juan Archuleta KO's Eduardo Dantas with one second to go in the round, and Adam Borics earns a dramatic flying knee knockout of super prospect Aaron Picco. Dillon Danis wins his second professional fight and then calls out Jon Jones for some reason. We also preview UFC Fight Night 154 from Greenville, NC - headlined by featherweights Renato Moicano Carneiro and Chan Sung Jung, who are both trying to rebound from dramatic knockout losses in their last fight. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/mmaontherocks/

We're back after a week-long layoff for vacation to break down UFC 238, headlined by a bantamweight championship fight between Henry Cejudo and Magic Marlon Moraes. We talk about the whole card including the vicious knockout of Jessica Eye by Valentina Shevchenko, the controversial war between Donald Cowboy Cerrone and Tony Ferguson, the ridiculousness of Aljamain Sterling vs Pedro Munhoz being on the prelims and the rest of the fights as well. Since we took a week off, we also talk about UFC Fight Night 153 from Stockholm, Sweden which was headlined by light heavyweights Anthony Smith and Alexander Gustafsson. We talk Gustafsson's retirement as well as the retirement of Jimi Manuwa after suffering a devastating knockout loss to Aleksandar Rakic. I also briefly discuss my vacation to Asheville, North Carolina and promise to do a separate episode where I talk about all the amazing craft breweries I visited there. Cheers! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/mmaontherocks/support

This week we preview UFC Fight Night 153 from Stockholm, Sweden, headlined by light heavyweights Alexander Gustafsson and Anthony Smith. We talk about the co-main event between Volkan Oezdemir and Ilir Latifi as well as the rest of the card. We also preview UFC 238 from Chicago, Illinois, which will be headlined by a bantamweight title fight between Henry Cejudo and Marlon Moraes. We discuss the amazing matchups on this card like Valentina Shevchenko defending her flyweight title against Jessica Eye, Donald Cowboy Cerrone vs Tony Ferguson, Aljimain Sterling vs Pedro Munhoz and much more. I also discuss my upcoming road trip to Asheville, North Carolina - I'm still looking for brewery recommendations so reach out on social media! This episode was recorded on Memorial Day weekend, so of course we are thinking about all of the brave men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice and given their lives for this great country. We also appreciate all of the active military and veterans out there who have don

This week we take a deep dive into UFC Fight Night 152 from Rochester, NY, headlined by former lightweights and current welterweights, Kevin Lee and Rafael Dos Anjos. We discuss the future of both contenders, break down the performances on the rest of the card from Ian Heinisch, Antonio Carlos Jr, Felicia Spencer, Megan Anderson, Vicente Luque, Derrick Krantz, Charles Oliveira, Nik Lentz, Aspen Ladd, Sijara Eubanks and many more. We also talk some craft beer, preview UFC Fight Night 153, headlined by Alexander Gustafsson and Anthony Smith and we have some laughs along the way - cheers! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/mmaontherocks/support

A special Mother's Day episode to break down UFC 237, headlined by Thug Rose Namajunas putting her strawweight title on the line against contender Jessica Andrade. We also discuss the unfortunate injury of Anderson Silva at the hands of Jared Cannonier, Jose Aldo dropping a decision to Alexander Volkanovski, Bethe Correia missing weight and getting arm barred by Irene Aldana, the Bellator 221 main and co-main events and much more in a short episode. Cheers! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/mmaontherocks/support

We're celebrating Cinco de Mayo by talking about UFC Fight Night 151 from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, headlined by Donald Cowboy Cerrone and Ragin' Al Iaquinta. We talk about the epic lightweight showdown in the main event. We discuss the co-main event and how a patient Derek Brunson dominated the hometown fighter Elias Theodorou, Cub Swanson possibly passing the torch to the young contender Shane Burgos, Walt Harris almost killed a guy, Merab Dvalishvili ends the undefeated streak of Brad Katona and much more. We also talk a little bit of Mexican history, Mexican beers and more Mexican beers - cheers! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/mmaontherocks/support

This week we review the events of UFC Fight Night 150, from Sunrise, Florida, headlined by middleweight contenders Jack Hermansson and Jacare Souza. We talk about the arena-erupting action between Mike Perry and Alex Cowboy Oliveira, the comebacks from veterans like Glover Teixeira and other veteran performances from Jim Miller and Andrei Arlovski, poor decisions, Florida man encounters, rum, beer and everything in between. I also discuss my road trip across Florida to attend the event in person. Cheers! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/mmaontherocks/support

Back for a quick episode to break down UFC Fight Night 149 and preview UFC Fight Night 150, which I will be attending live in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. I talk about the unusual headlining match between Alistair Overeem and Alexey Oleynik and the epic wrestling exchanges between Islam Makhachev and newcomer Arman Tsarukyan. I talk about the exciting card that is UFC Fight Night - from the main event between middleweight contenders Ronaldo Jacare Souza and Jack Hermansson all the way to the early prelims which shockingly features Jim Miller and a dose of Andrei Arlovski in between. Cheers! Bonus Content: Jeff and I sample Blackheart Rum, UFC Edition! Be sure to stay tuned in at the end of the episode to hear our thoughts on this $10 rum! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/mmaontherocks/support

We break down most of the UFC 236 card including the main event - a lightweight interim title match between Dustin Poirier and current Featherweight Champion, Max Holloway. We also discuss the potential fight of the year candidate - the co-main event and interim middleweight championship fight between Kelvin Gastelum and Israel Adesanya. The rest of the card delivered as well - especially friend of the show, Matt Frevola getting his first UFC victory in a decision over fellow Tuesday Night Contender Series alumnus, Jalin Turner. We take a break to sample some Stagg Jr bourbon from the Buffalo Trace distillery in Kentucky, take shots, talk grappling, vacations and much more - cheers! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/mmaontherocks/support

An early episode this week to preview UFC 236 from Atlanta, Georgia, headlined by an interim lightweight championship fight between Max "Blessed" Holloway and Dustin "The Diamond" Poirier. This is a rematch from 2012 and we talk about the first fight, what each fighter has accomplished since, the odds and we even make a bet on the winner. We also break down the rest of the card, I do a live tasting of Old Forester Rye Whiskey. It's a good time on a Friday night - cheers! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/mmaontherocks/support

Back for a second episode this week to break down UFC on ESPN 2 from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and headlined by lightweights Justin Gaethje and Edson Barbosa. The card was packed with dramatic finishes, dominant grappling and explosive striking. We cover all of the main card and give a sneak peek to our preview of UFC 236. As always, shares and feedback are appreciated - cheers! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/mmaontherocks/support

I'm joined by UFC Lightweight and Tuesday Night Contender Series Season 2 Winner, Matt "Steamrolla" Frevola. We talk about his training camp for UFC 236 in Atlanta, Georgia where he will take on Jalin "The Tarantula" Turner on the ESPN prelims. We also discuss his move from Long Island, New York to Tampa, Florida and back, his epic fight at UFC 230 with Lando Vannata, fight contract negotiations, high school lacrosse, whiskey and much more. Cheers! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/mmaontherocks/support

UFC Fight Night 148 from Nashville, Tennessee saw Anthony "Showtime" Pettis stepping up in weight to challenge Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson in an attempt to figure out a puzzle that few have been able to solve. I break down the rest of the main card, preview fight night 149 headlined by Edson Barbosa and Justin Gaethje, talk some Irish whiskey and the movie "Us" by Jordan Peele. As always, shares and feedback are appreciated - cheers! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/mmaontherocks/support

Jorge Masvidal and Darren Till put on a show for the crowd in London at UFC Fight Night 147 at the O2 Arena. Welterweights stole the show inside the cage and out as we address the altercation between Masvidal and co-main event victor Leon Edwards. Three fighters get their eye sockets broken, yet it seemed to be the judges who had trouble seeing. Solid fights all around, Michael Bisping is inducted into the hall of fame, we talk breweries and show some love to Tony Ferguson who is going through a tough time right now. As always, shares, reviews and feedback are greatly appreciated - cheers! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/mmaontherocks/support