Tom, Rich and Tony recap UFC 222 and Deontay Wilder vs. Luis Ortiz, along with the last week’s biggest combat sports news stories. We have a short discussion about the Canelo Alvarez positive PED test, and we also preview upcoming boxing events.
Listen to the full show below:
This week on the FNU Combat Sports Show we recap a packed weekend of fights, including world class boxing on Saturday and excellent Bellator (Friday) and UFC Fight Night (Sunday) cards to review. We also take a look ahead to this weekend’s UFC on Fox card and the upcoming boxing matches. We also cover some recent combat sports news and update listeners on the latest Conor McGregor/Floyd Mayweather talks. Listen to the whole show below:
Tom, Tony and Rich discuss the week in combat sports news. We also recap the boxing and MMA events from last week and preview upcoming events.
Tony (Eagles Fan) and Rich (Patriots Fan) make a friendly wager for the big game and talk football during the show, too.
Listen to the show below.
Tom, Tony and Rich discuss the week’s boxing and MMA news, kick around the idea of Floyd Mayweather, Jr. facing CM Punk in the Octagon, and preview the upcoming events for this weekend. UFC 219 features an amazing matchup of the top female fighters in the world in Holly Holm and Cris “Cyborg” Justino. Tony also invites us to his fantasy football championship parade in Philadelphia.
Listen live here:
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This week Tom, Tony and Rich catch up with Professional Boxer “Fast” Eddie Chambers. Unfortunately, a recording glitch left us without the first half of the broadcast tonight where we had a great discussion about what Chambers accomplished in his career so far. We did save the whole Eddie interview, though. Rich apologizes for the fourth co-host (Tom the Cat) for his constant interruptions in the early going. Be patient, though, folks. This is one of the best interviews we’ve conducted in a long time, and Eddie is a real class act. It is worth the listen and will probably be the first of many chats with Chambers we will likely have in the future.
This broadcast of the FNU Combat Sports Show starts off with one of the most controversial stories of the week. Many sports pundits are quick to ridicule Guillermo Rigondeaux for bowing out of his blockbuster boxing match with Vasyl Lomachenko last Saturday. ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith wasted no time during the broadcast, ripping into the Cuban boxer for refusing to come out for the seventh round of the one-sided fight. Teddy Atlas, exiled from his ringside reporting duties thanks to his outspoken views on boxing corruption and his abrasive treatment of lesser-experienced commentators, came to Rigo’s defense. Atlas argued with Smith from his own home studio, basically explaining that everyone is human. Tom, Tony and Rich all offer their own takes on the situation and their thoughts on the “fight.”
We also track the latest news in combat sports, recap the past week’s events and preview competing UFC and Bellator events this Saturday. We even touch on the multiple story lines involving Floyd Mayweather Jr. that are making the rounds in the sports media this week. “Money” claims he can make up to a billion dollars if he goes into the UFC for a three or four fight deal. Well, good luck, Floyd. I hear CM Punk wants another fight.
Listen to the two part broadcast below.
Part 1:
Part 2:
Rich Bergeron opens this week’s FNU Combat Sports show by giving his unique take on the Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson feud with the UFC brass, namely Dana White. Upon refusing to take a fight with T.J. Dillashaw without getting certain assurances and conditions met, many fans on social media insisted DJ was running scared. Even Dillashaw took the opportunity to blast the move by the flyweight champ as “chickenshit.” Dana White even reportedly threatened to shut down the entire flyweight division if Johnson refused to fight TJ. “Mighty Mouse” didn’t blink and didn’t cave to the organization’s demands, and Rich explains in his opening dialogue why DJ should be respected and given the benefit of the doubt for his decision rather than being criticized and dragged through the mud for standing up for himself.
During the rest of the broadcast, Tony “The Tornado” Penecale details his night out at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia for a fight card headlined by Hank Lundy. He also recaps Fonfara vs. Stevenson II and calls the fight “a disgrace.”
“Psychic” Tom Padgett chips in with some post-fight analysis of Aldo vs. Holloway. He also predicts Mark Hunt will benefit from home cage advantage in his battle with Derrick Lewis this weekend at UFC Fight Night 110 in New Zealand.
There’s also an update on Hunt’s lawsuit against the UFC and Brock Lesnar and lots of other fight previews and recaps. Listen to the whole broadcast to catch up on what’s new in combat sports this week.
The FNU Combat Sports show concentrates heavily on boxing this week with the big heavyweight bout between Anthony Joshua and Wladimir Klitschko to review and discuss first. Then we move on to preview Cinco De Mayo weekend in The Sweet Science, which is headlined by a Saturday night fight between Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Julio Cesar Chavez Junior. Additionally, we discuss some additions to UFC 213, Anderson Silva’s retirement threat, the creation of a women’s featherweight division in the UFC for the next season of The Ultimate Fighter, and the viral video featuring the demolition of a Tai Chi “Master” by an MMA fighter. Listen to the broadcast below.
June White (@JuneWhiteMMA) will join Tom, Tony and Rich on the FNU Combat Sports Show Thursday to discuss her unauthorized biography on the UFC President known for his brash language and a ruthless approach to building and expanding the UFC brand. Her book is an unflattering, honest look into the life of the former boxercise instructor who now rules over the UFC with an iron fist and a loud mouth. Check out this telling YouTube Promo for “Dana White, King of MMA:”
“Psychic” Tom Padgett, “Rabble Rousin'” Rich Bergeron and Tony “The Tornado” Penecale also have a ton of combat sports events and news to discuss this week. Boxing will be a huge part of the conversation. From Al Haymon’s new NBC Sports venture, to Deontay Wilder’s bout with Bermane Stiverne for the WBC Heavyweight championship this weekend, to Roc Nation’s merger with Gary Shaw Promotions, to the increasing likelihood that Manny Pacquiao will finally fight Floyd Mayweather Jr. on May 2nd, there’s a ton of buzz surrounding the sport of boxing right now.
We’ll also discuss this Sunday’s UFC Fight Night event in Boston featuring Conor McGregor vs. Dennis Siver in the main event and Donald Cerrone vs. Benson Henderson in the co-featured bout. Bellator also kicks off the 2015 Season this Friday with Patricio Pitbull taking on Daniel Straus in the main event.
Click Here to Listen to our broadcast Live from 8-10PM EST Thursday night.
Click on the book photo above to order June’s book.