Check out this week’s “Spinning Back Clique,” MMA Junkie’s weekly live show that takes a spin through the biggest topics in mixed martial arts. This week’s panel of Danny Segura, Brian “Goze” Garcia, and “Gorgeous” George Garcia will join host Mike Bohn live at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) to discuss and debate:
- Israel Adesanya finally exorcised his demons against Alex Pereira in Saturday’s UFC 287 main event, beating him with an insane second-round knockout to recapture the middleweight title. For Adesanya, it really doesn’t get any bigger than scoring a win like that against your personal boogeyman to become the first two-time middleweight champ. What does this do for Adesanya’s legacy?
- The co-main event of UFC 287 saw Jorge Masvidal lose by unanimous decision to Gilbert Burns and then announce his retirement afterward in his hometown of Miami. At 38, on a four-fight losing skid and just a couple months shy of the 20-year anniversary of his MMA debut, was the timing right for Masvidal‘s retirement? And how do you view his legacy in the sport?
- On the flip side of the coin, Burns was not shy in the aftermath of beating Masvidal at UFC 287 as he issued an ultimatum at the post-fight press conference, demanding he get a backup role for the planned Leon Edwards vs. Colby Covington title fight to ensure his shot against the winner. UFC president Dana White obliged, which is great news if you’re Burns, but not so much if you’re Belal Muhammad. Is this the right way to use Burns in the 170-pound picture given all that’s going on?
- Switching gears away from UFC 287, the narrative of Francis Ngannou’s free agency appears to be shifting. In the past week, BKFC boss David Feldman said Ngannou is asking for “unrealistic money,” Chael Sonnen trashed Ngannou in an interview with MMA Junkie Radio, and Michael Bisping questioned who is guiding Ngannou’s career right now. Given that it’s been nearly three months since White announced Ngannou and UFC had officially cut ties, do you feel like Ngannou’s value has dropped off? What do you think is the delay in locking down his next move?
- Moving on to some fight announcement news, the UFC announced it’s finally returning to Canada with UFC 289 on June 10 in Vancouver. The main event will be a women’s bantamweight trilogy bout between Amanda Nunes and Julianna Pena, which has been met with some mixed reaction. What’s your guys’ level of excitement for this trilogy? Was this the fight to make at this point, or was there a better direction to go with Nunes’ next title defense?
“Spinning Back Clique” is released each Monday LIVE on MMA Junkie’s YouTube channel. You can watch this week’s episode in the video above.
