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 Brian “Goze” Garcia, Mike Bohn and Nolan King will join host “Gorgeous” George Garcia at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) to discuss and debate:
- With the Islam Makhachev era upon us after his second-round submission of Charles Oliveira to claim the vacant lightweight title at UFC 280, can you see the new champion ruling the division for years to come and, dare we say, surpassing Khabib Nurmagomedov’s greatness?
- Aljamain Sterling retained his bantamweight title at UFC 280 with a second-round TKO of T.J. Dillashaw, but the big story afterward was Dillashaw dislocating his shoulder in the first round and admitting that he hid a pre-existing shoulder injury from the UFC. Was it wrong for Dillashaw to fight with the shoulder ailment, and was his apology necessary?
- At UFC 280, Sean O'Malley came away with a controversial split decision win over Petr Yan after a 15-minute war that saw both men land big punches and almost finish, although the difference seemed to be Yan’s control time. Not to the judges, though. Did you agree with the decision, and what was the biggest takeaway?
- Finally at UFC 280, Belal Muhammad and Beneil Dariush both had impressive wins that moved their streaks to eight apiece. Muhammad finished the previously undefeated welterweight Sean Brady by TKO, and Dariush mostly dominated Mateusz Gamrot at lightweight. While it doesn’t seem likely that Muhammad or Dariush will get a title shot next, which fighter do you think will compete for the title first?
- Robert Whittaker vs. Paulo Costa is official for Feb. 11 at UFC 284 in Australia, which is interesting timing considering middleweight champion Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira fight Nov. 12 at UFC 281. What implications does this have on the title picture?
- Dana White and the UFC are moving forward with their Power Slap League of slap fighting. Both the promotion (for going through with this) and the Nevada Athletic Commission (for voting to regulate it) have taken heat, with the pervasive negative sentiment from critics centering around unnecessary brain trauma given the rules of slap fighting don’t allow contestants to defend themselves. How do we feel about this venture?
- It’s put-up-or-shut-up time for Jake Paul, who meets former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva in the boxing ring on Saturday after weeks of buildup. This is considered Paul’s toughest matchup to date by many. How do we see it playing out?
“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.
