Two-Cent Tuesday on Bryce, Chito-Yan, PVZ's debut, Masvidal-McGregor and more
Hi hello. Hope you’re all doing well. We’re getting awfully close to June, which will just about mark my one-year anniversary since leaving ESPN. More on that in the coming days, but I just can’t believe how fast this year has gone. What a life. What a year!
In any event, feels like a pretty quiet time in MMA, to be honest. But I still have some thoughts/notes/nugz for ya so here goes …
Bryce Mitchell told me today that he’s hoping to return in September or October. He said he wants the winner of Brian Ortega vs. Yair Rodriguez or Alex Volkanovski or Max Hollway, if either pull out, or Chan Sung Jung.
Honestly, I don’t hate any of those ideas, but I also have a hard time seeing any of them happen next, especially if he wants to return so soon. Why? 1) Ortega and/or Rodriguez will likely need more time after their fight. 2) I don’t see him filling in for a title fight 3) Zombie probably needs more time, too. Ige/Evloev winner, which takes place this weekend, perhaps?
Speaking of this weekend, the UFC’s offering is so-so, but I can’t wait for George Kambosos Jr. vs. Devin Haney in Australia Saturday night. That is going to be an incredible scene and fight.
I spoke to Haney about that fight recently:
I saw highlights of Paige VanZant’s pro wrestling debut this weekend, and well, I wasn’t too impressed. She is super green, though. She’ll need to devote all her time to the craft if she wants to be successful.
The current MJF vs. AEW story is a fascinating one that I’m watching from afar. I honestly don’t have any insider knowledge on that one, other than knowing his feelings are legit. It’s going to be very interesting to see how this plays out because, as he said in our interview, his deal is up on January 1, 2024, which is about a year and a half away. He needs to remain hot in AEW in order to keep his leverage. If he gets sidelined, he’ll lose momentum AND leverage. He knows this. It’s all good PR … for now. But a wrong move or two could hurt his negotiation power. Intriguing stuff.
