Nate Wilcox

1 week ago | themmadraw.com | Nate Wilcox

Dana White was way off his game at UFC 314 fight week in Miami. The Dana White MMA fans are used to was nowhere to be seen. Where was the Dana White who can sell snow during a blizzard? Where was the Dana White who effortlessly commands press conferences before rowdy fight crowds? The lion tamer who handles roaring reporters with his ringmaster’s bullwhip and chair?

1 week ago | themmadraw.com | Zach Arnold |Nate Wilcox

Current time: 0:00 / Total time: -24:56Audio playback is not supported on your browser. Please upgrade. UFC 314 was heralded as a card worthy of hardcore attention. Finally, a modern UFC fight card that was respectable. Intriguingly, early Google Trends revealed good but not great numbers — which may or may not serve as a form of confirmation bias that if you’re into the current UFC product, you’re into it. If you’re not, you’re not.

1 week ago | themmadrawpodcast.substack.com | Nate Wilcox

Current time: 0:00 / Total time: -1:26:45Audio playback is not supported on your browser. Please upgrade. UFC 314 looked incredible on paper and in practice, it was pretty good. It didn’t reach greatness, but it was pretty good. That said, there were some factors that kept it from that greatness that must be acknowledged. Let’s look at the good: Michael Chandler got dominated and choked out, making Paddy Pimblett look like a world-beater.

2 weeks ago | themmadrawpodcast.substack.com | Nate Wilcox

Current time: 0:00 / Total time: -1:48:29Audio playback is not supported on your browser. Please upgrade. UFC V314 is a terrific card, full stop. It’s got all the elements we hope for: ranked fights, plenty of ranked fighters, and we’re not overrun with fighters coming off losses or from the Contender Series. The bouts are matched well and are compelling, with plenty of room for advancement.

2 weeks ago | themmadraw.com | Zach Arnold |Nate Wilcox

Can buying off the UFC buy you political protection? This week’s edition of The MMA Podcast takes a closer look at Meta's sponsorship deal with the UFC and whether or not buying Dana White’s loyalty can help persuade the inner circle around Donald Trump not to aggressively pursue new antitrust action against Mark Zuckerberg’s social media empire. It this sounds like House of Cards, it’s because this is the new world that TKO has created in fight sport.