Spinning Back Clique REPLAY: Announcing fights that aren’t yet fights, un-retirements, rejuvenations and more
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, Nolan King and Danny Segura will join host “Gorgeous” George Garcia live at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) to discuss and debate:
We thought we had Dustin Poirier vs. Benoit Saint-Denis for UFC 299. Then Poirier said he was out – because he never was in to begin with. There was some short-lived drama, and then Poirier said things were all good, after all. But it brought up something that seems to be increasing as an issue: UFC CEO Dana White announcing fights that aren’t signed yet. Should he cool it with that until the bouts really are finalized?
One recent hot take was that the UFC’s women’s bantamweight division should go away. Amanda Nunes retired last year, so why keep it? But then Ryan Clark’s opinion got obliterated when the UFC announced Kayla Harrison had arrived – to fight at 135 pounds. Will this revitalize the division? What do we make of Clark’s comment? And what of opponent Holly Holm’s thoughts about Harrison making weight?
Nassourdine Imavov beat Roman Dolidze in the UFC Fight Night 235 headliner. It wasn’t celebrated much, pre- or post-fight. Was the perceived lack of major interest an issue of matchmaking? Oversturation? What went wrong?
Molly McCann was a hot commodity, but back-to-back losses had her trying to figure out her future. She made the tough call to drop from flyweight to strawweight and had a brilliant debut with the first submission win of her career and a $50,000 bonus. We’ll discuss her move, what it will mean for her career, and who could join her soon with a weight class change to jumpstart things.
Another MMA retirement didn’t stick that long, it seems. Kevin Lee said he’s coming out of retirement to fight again. He’s just the latest fighter to change his mind. Is it the right move for him? When and whom should he fight? And what are our thoughts in general when fighters hang up the gloves, then change their minds shortly afterward? Henry Cejudo retired once, came back, now has another fight booked – and already is talking about retiring again.
