Photo by Tijana Drndarski on Unsplash Happy Wednesday aka On the Nose day! Hit me with your best questions below. As always, everything and anything goes. Again, try to keep them short and sweet, if possible. That increases your chances of having the question answered.
Your thoughts on GLORY Collision 4 and especially the Badr Hari vs Alistair Overeem fight?
I attended the event and the fights were great! Had a very good time there.
Absolutely tremendous atmosphere aswell with the whole “Badr Army” attending the event.
Also, what do you think about the Rico Verhoeven - Alistair Overeem matchup that is likely next for GLORY Collision 5?
They already had a little altercation in the ring after Reem’s victory over Badr, where imo Rico acted a little over the top, but Reem handled that pretty well.
Shortly after while still being in the ring, Badr announced that he’s thinking about retirement with the whole crowd applauding him.
Let’s fast forward to this weekend and to the long awaited main event fight between Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev. Hypothetically if Oliveira where to not only win but do so in spectacular fashion and finish Islam, how would you write his post fight promo if given the chance?
Do you take advantage of having Khabib being present in the corner of his defeated protege in his own backyard and call him out? Do you call out Volkanovski for stepping up to the plate? Would you seek the money fight with McGregor? Would you just state your claim as champion and leave it open? Truly feels like there’s just so many ways Charles can decide to take it if he were to remain champion.
So you say that the UFC chooses to stay at The Apex for financial reasons...can we dig into that a little more?
Is it actually more profitable to stay at The Apex than to go on the road? I'm probably totally off here, but let's just say it costs the UFC $200,000 to put on an Apex show, and they bring in $500,000. When they go to Orlando, sure, it'll cost them $1M to put it on, but they'll bring in $2M in profits.
So they spend more to go on the road, but they also make more in return.
Does it work anything like that? Or am I totally off?
Hey Ariel, Tito Ortiz announced that he would be fighting Chael Sonnen for a second time in February but Chael has yet to comment, is there any truth to this fight booking?
P.S. New York Ric is the best, I look forward to his segment the most each week!
First time questioneer, (your charm and suave finally convinced me to send in a question)
I seem to have noticed that some fighters are quickly forgiven for cheating by the MMA community, while others are never able to live it down.
Frankly, I think anyone after who cheats and their entire purse should be taken away and given to the other fighter. Brock Lesnar walking away with millions from the Mark Hunt fight while having used steroids and overtly denying it is one of the best examples. I also think anyone after Jon Jones who cheats should be disqualified from the UFC Hall of Fame or any other MMA awards.
Hi Ariel, do you know if there are any hygiene rules before fights. Do fighters have to shower, etc. I’m sure if they were riddled with BO before the fight starts it could be used as an advantage if it goes to the mat. Just imagine.
Hi Ariel, I couldn’t agree more with your comments regarding fights at the apex and the long-term implications for the UFC of holding events without fans. It’s so frustrating to shell out thousands of dollars / year on espn+ and PPVs to then be rewarded with noiseless, soulless, subpar cards.
The UFC will be king for quite some time, but I really feel like their mafia-esque business decisions are creating a ton of opportunity for the PFL (if run correctly), to fill a gap and create an even more fan-driven product. Do you see the PFL becoming a legitimate competitor in the next 10 years?
Thanks! And GC, how bout them Falcons! Don’t drop your fandom.
I personally don’t like how the UFC frequently does immediate rematches of championship fights. Whether it be the likes of long term champs (Nunes-Pena, likely Edwards-Usman) or short term (Jiri-Glover). To me, it’s just feels like hitting the reset button, even though the PPV buys may go up. Why is it they look to book these more frequently than just embracing a new champion and giving top contenders a rightful shot?
If Charles beats Islam do you think he is the genuine Lightweight Goat? Consider not only the finishes, The 11 win streak but also most submissions in UFC history. Personally I don't think his early losses should count against him - If he had been beating cans in a small organisation would that really make his legacy any better?
Stylistically I would say Islam is the hardest matchup for him.
Also.. Oat Milk is disgusting - Oats don't even have nipples.
First time subscriber, long time content consumer from Perth, Western Australia.
Q. Do you believe that the UFC will be able to convince Islam to fight Volk in Perth shall he be successful this weekend? - Although they’ll fight in the morning here it’s not an ideal time slot for his main fanbase and is a huge distance to travel from the UAE and/or Dagestan. Also I doubt we’d let Robert E. Britton into the country, although I’m sure he’s a nice guy but I’ve never met him.
Thanks for all that you and the team do, it keeps me sane whilst working away from home in the mines.
Cheers.
Ps. Let’s get Jack Della on the show and get him a big fight for Perth 💪🏼
Well I did not get the job that you gave me the advice for last week. So my natural follow up question, how do you personally deal with failure or being rejected from a job.
Aloha Ariel. My friends had our annual “Friendsgiving football potluck “ last weekend. All the food was great, even the charcuterie board, with the exception of the mashed potatoes. At the end of the night, all the food was gone except 2/3 of a tray of mashed potatoes. The whole night, the mashed tater maker was fishing for compliments and I can’t tell a lie so I avoided her like the plague. What would you do in that scenario? Lie and tell her the potatoes were great and risk them being brought back next week, avoid the l situation entirely, or do you just tell the truth that the mashed potatoes are god awful and you can’t be friends anymore? I’d love to know what mysterious Frank would do.
PS. I saw one of my friends was going to throw a big scoop of potatoes in the trash and then saw me walk around the corner and stopped 😂😂
My friend Eldag is a big Sean O’Malley fan since he fought in the Contender Series.
Eldag predicts “Sugar” will win against Petr Yan, but I couldn’t agree less.
Sure, Sean got a big height and reach advantage, but I can’t see him winning.
Personally, I think he can’t compete with the top echelon of the division because he’s investing so much in his “brand” and has less time to train.
I’m not blaming him by any means, and I guess he can earn much more money from his other stuff than fighting, but I think Petr is a monster and will smoke him.
I know you and the guys love this fight, so I would love to hear your thoughts.
What's up ariel and crew, being born and raised in lancaster California approx an hour and half away from dodger stadium in my 27 years of life I never been to a dodger game till this summer and most recently went to game 2 of the series. I'm having a hard time coping with the elimination after a "historic" season. This in fact is worse than a breakup and would like to know how the crew copes with eliminations of their teams
What is up Ariel, it’s finally UFC 280 fight week, which feels like we’ve been looking forward to for a long time now. But today my question is about the UFC’s recent press release that prohibits fighters from betting on any UFC fights. Now I understand that in the NFL, NBA and other major sports leagues, the players are not allowed to bet on anything related to their league or organization, but man it just feels like more and more the UFC is taking away things from the fighters, while the company is benefiting from that same thing that they are taking away. How much longer until the fighters and/or managers actually do something about it, if ever?
And we really couldn’t think of a better name than Dana White’s Power Slap League??
Hola Ariel,
Your thoughts on GLORY Collision 4 and especially the Badr Hari vs Alistair Overeem fight?
I attended the event and the fights were great! Had a very good time there.
Absolutely tremendous atmosphere aswell with the whole “Badr Army” attending the event.
Also, what do you think about the Rico Verhoeven - Alistair Overeem matchup that is likely next for GLORY Collision 5?
They already had a little altercation in the ring after Reem’s victory over Badr, where imo Rico acted a little over the top, but Reem handled that pretty well.
Shortly after while still being in the ring, Badr announced that he’s thinking about retirement with the whole crowd applauding him.
Very special moment..
Greetings from the Netherlands,
Maurits School
👋 Hola Ariel!!!
Let’s fast forward to this weekend and to the long awaited main event fight between Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev. Hypothetically if Oliveira where to not only win but do so in spectacular fashion and finish Islam, how would you write his post fight promo if given the chance?
Do you take advantage of having Khabib being present in the corner of his defeated protege in his own backyard and call him out? Do you call out Volkanovski for stepping up to the plate? Would you seek the money fight with McGregor? Would you just state your claim as champion and leave it open? Truly feels like there’s just so many ways Charles can decide to take it if he were to remain champion.
Viva Heelwani 🦹🏻♂️
So you say that the UFC chooses to stay at The Apex for financial reasons...can we dig into that a little more?
Is it actually more profitable to stay at The Apex than to go on the road? I'm probably totally off here, but let's just say it costs the UFC $200,000 to put on an Apex show, and they bring in $500,000. When they go to Orlando, sure, it'll cost them $1M to put it on, but they'll bring in $2M in profits.
So they spend more to go on the road, but they also make more in return.
Does it work anything like that? Or am I totally off?
Hey Ariel, Tito Ortiz announced that he would be fighting Chael Sonnen for a second time in February but Chael has yet to comment, is there any truth to this fight booking?
P.S. New York Ric is the best, I look forward to his segment the most each week!
שלום אריאל!
First time questioneer, (your charm and suave finally convinced me to send in a question)
I seem to have noticed that some fighters are quickly forgiven for cheating by the MMA community, while others are never able to live it down.
Frankly, I think anyone after who cheats and their entire purse should be taken away and given to the other fighter. Brock Lesnar walking away with millions from the Mark Hunt fight while having used steroids and overtly denying it is one of the best examples. I also think anyone after Jon Jones who cheats should be disqualified from the UFC Hall of Fame or any other MMA awards.
What are your thoughts on this phenomena?
!תודה
Hi Ariel, do you know if there are any hygiene rules before fights. Do fighters have to shower, etc. I’m sure if they were riddled with BO before the fight starts it could be used as an advantage if it goes to the mat. Just imagine.
Hi Ariel, I couldn’t agree more with your comments regarding fights at the apex and the long-term implications for the UFC of holding events without fans. It’s so frustrating to shell out thousands of dollars / year on espn+ and PPVs to then be rewarded with noiseless, soulless, subpar cards.
The UFC will be king for quite some time, but I really feel like their mafia-esque business decisions are creating a ton of opportunity for the PFL (if run correctly), to fill a gap and create an even more fan-driven product. Do you see the PFL becoming a legitimate competitor in the next 10 years?
Thanks! And GC, how bout them Falcons! Don’t drop your fandom.
Hello Ariel!
I personally don’t like how the UFC frequently does immediate rematches of championship fights. Whether it be the likes of long term champs (Nunes-Pena, likely Edwards-Usman) or short term (Jiri-Glover). To me, it’s just feels like hitting the reset button, even though the PPV buys may go up. Why is it they look to book these more frequently than just embracing a new champion and giving top contenders a rightful shot?
Much thanks,
Gym Leader Tom
Word Up Ariel!
If Charles beats Islam do you think he is the genuine Lightweight Goat? Consider not only the finishes, The 11 win streak but also most submissions in UFC history. Personally I don't think his early losses should count against him - If he had been beating cans in a small organisation would that really make his legacy any better?
Stylistically I would say Islam is the hardest matchup for him.
Also.. Oat Milk is disgusting - Oats don't even have nipples.
Hey Mate,
First time subscriber, long time content consumer from Perth, Western Australia.
Q. Do you believe that the UFC will be able to convince Islam to fight Volk in Perth shall he be successful this weekend? - Although they’ll fight in the morning here it’s not an ideal time slot for his main fanbase and is a huge distance to travel from the UAE and/or Dagestan. Also I doubt we’d let Robert E. Britton into the country, although I’m sure he’s a nice guy but I’ve never met him.
Thanks for all that you and the team do, it keeps me sane whilst working away from home in the mines.
Cheers.
Ps. Let’s get Jack Della on the show and get him a big fight for Perth 💪🏼
Shalom Ariel,
Well I did not get the job that you gave me the advice for last week. So my natural follow up question, how do you personally deal with failure or being rejected from a job.
Also thoughts on Seungwoo Choi?
Noah
Aloha Ariel. My friends had our annual “Friendsgiving football potluck “ last weekend. All the food was great, even the charcuterie board, with the exception of the mashed potatoes. At the end of the night, all the food was gone except 2/3 of a tray of mashed potatoes. The whole night, the mashed tater maker was fishing for compliments and I can’t tell a lie so I avoided her like the plague. What would you do in that scenario? Lie and tell her the potatoes were great and risk them being brought back next week, avoid the l situation entirely, or do you just tell the truth that the mashed potatoes are god awful and you can’t be friends anymore? I’d love to know what mysterious Frank would do.
PS. I saw one of my friends was going to throw a big scoop of potatoes in the trash and then saw me walk around the corner and stopped 😂😂
Shalom Ariel,
My friend Eldag is a big Sean O’Malley fan since he fought in the Contender Series.
Eldag predicts “Sugar” will win against Petr Yan, but I couldn’t agree less.
Sure, Sean got a big height and reach advantage, but I can’t see him winning.
Personally, I think he can’t compete with the top echelon of the division because he’s investing so much in his “brand” and has less time to train.
I’m not blaming him by any means, and I guess he can earn much more money from his other stuff than fighting, but I think Petr is a monster and will smoke him.
I know you and the guys love this fight, so I would love to hear your thoughts.
Toda raba,
Eran
What's up ariel and crew, being born and raised in lancaster California approx an hour and half away from dodger stadium in my 27 years of life I never been to a dodger game till this summer and most recently went to game 2 of the series. I'm having a hard time coping with the elimination after a "historic" season. This in fact is worse than a breakup and would like to know how the crew copes with eliminations of their teams
What is up Ariel, it’s finally UFC 280 fight week, which feels like we’ve been looking forward to for a long time now. But today my question is about the UFC’s recent press release that prohibits fighters from betting on any UFC fights. Now I understand that in the NFL, NBA and other major sports leagues, the players are not allowed to bet on anything related to their league or organization, but man it just feels like more and more the UFC is taking away things from the fighters, while the company is benefiting from that same thing that they are taking away. How much longer until the fighters and/or managers actually do something about it, if ever?
And we really couldn’t think of a better name than Dana White’s Power Slap League??
Good day Ariel -
You shared on Monday that the UFC has prohibited fighters from gambling on UFC fights. Is this fair to the fighters?
Thanks,
Logan