Check out this week’s “Spinning Back Clique,” MMA Junkie’s weekly show that takes a spin through the biggest topics in mixed martial arts.
Our panel of Brian “Goze” Garcia, Mike Bohn and Danny Segura discuss five topics with host “Gorgeous” George Garcia.
- This past Saturday’s UFC 279 devolved into one of the craziest 48 hours before an event in UFC history. Thursday, the UFC had to cancel its press conference when multiple backstage incidents between camps threatened to turn into bigger issues. Then Friday, headliner Khamzat Chimaev missed weight so badly that the UFC had to shuffle the top three fights – and everyone got a new opponent with just a day’s notice. Did the UFC make the right calls now that we have a few days to look back on it?
- In the new UFC 279 main event, Nate Diaz fought out his contract with a submission over former interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson. Diaz was supposed to fight Chimaev – against whom he was a massive underdog. Instead, he pulled off a mild upset of Ferguson and then confirmed he will leave the UFC to pursue other options, likely outside MMA in boxing. So what do we want to see the fan favorite do next?
- Chimaev’s fight week at UFC 279 was filled with incidents and controversy. He tried to pick a fight with Paulo Costa at the UFC Performance Institute, which was caught by cameras. He was involved in the biggest backstage altercation at the press conference with Kevin Holland, whom he wound up fighting in the co-main event. He had one of the worst weight misses in UFC history ahead of what was supposed to be the main event, which forced the UFC to shuffle three fights on the main card just to keep the event together. But ultimately, he made easy work of Holland in a 180-pound catchweight fight. Given everything that went down, including his weight issue, what should the UFC do with Chimaev next?
- Ferguson threw down in a gun-slinging battle with Diaz in the UFC 279 main event. Both fighters got beat up a bit, but when the fight finally went to the canvas, Diaz caught Ferguson in a guillotine choke and forced him to tap. After 12 straight wins that included an insane nine post-fight bonus awards and an interim lightweight title that he never got the chance to defend, Ferguson has lost five straight. But he was competitive against Diaz. Did he look improved at welterweight after some camp changes? Should he stay there? Should he retire? What’s next for “El Cucuy”?
- Irene Aldana picked up a big win with a third-round TKO of Macy Chiasson on the main card. It was her fourth win in five fights and second straight by knockout. Given the women’s bantamweight landscape, in which champ Amanda Nunes has beaten just about everyone, was Aldana’s win enough to make a claim to be next in line for a title shot?
“Spinning Back Clique” is released each Tuesday on MMA Junkie’s YouTube channel. You can watch the full episode in the video above.
