As Trump manipulates the markets and the ABC is working with promoters to potentially modify the Ali Act in a way that could harm the fighters, MMA continues to roll on. I like this card! I can’t tell if it’s because I’ve been starved and only fed bread and this is like getting some soup, or if this is actually a decent meal. I feel like it’s a decent meal.
Volk vs. Lopes
Technically speaking, there are many flaws in Lopes’ game and, despite pushback from pundits, I feel Lopes has cardio issues. There are plenty of fights to point to, but he takes rounds off to recompose himself because he goes so damn hard. Youth, power, recklessness, and hype are all on Lopes’ side, while Volk has the age statistic and has been KO’d. I always go against my best judgment because history shows that Lopes should win this fight, but I cannot commit to that. I feel like it’s a bit much, a bit too soon. My assumption is that Volk will find a way to survive the initial rounds in a violent affair in the first 12 minutes until Volk finds a path to victory. Method? Great question… I’m not trying to overthink it, so Volk by decision. Can’t wait to see Lopes win by knockout in the first minute…
Chandler vs. Pimblett
I can’t remember if I’ve picked Paddy to win yet. I definitely picked Bobby Green to win, and that was abysmal. I feel similar about Paddy as I do about DDP—not a direct comparison, but somewhat similar. I’m not completely sold on the skill and the wonkiness of their styles to win. Chandler is definitely an entertaining fighter with some solid skills, no question, but he defeats himself in most of the fights he’s in. This may be the first time I lean on the side of Pimblett… Will this be one of those situations where I finally side with the guy I pick against, and he loses? Haha… maybe. I will be honest and say when I first heard about this matchup, my friend Keenan asked me who I was picking, and I said I’m leaning Chandler. He said he’s picking Pimblett. To be fair, I said I hadn’t really looked into it and reserved the right to change my pick. Here is my reserved right. Leaning Pimblett, although I hate that his chin is so high and he gasses out, but he’s huge. Hopefully Chandler contacted Merab for some of that EPO he’s been using. Pimblett to win… How the fuck will he do it, though? Do I really think Chandler is going to get submitted by Pimblett? He’s only been subbed once! I suppose at this age, it’s possible. Fine… in real-time, you’ve just read that I’m picking Pimblett by submission. But I am fairly confident this fight has all the elements to be a Loony Tunes, wacky-ass fight. Best of luck to both.
Mitchell vs. Silva
A couple of months ago, Bryce Mitchell started a firestorm by essentially saying that because he loves Jesus and Jesus loved everyone, he doesn’t have hatred for any man, even giving a shout-out specifically to Adolf Hitler. In fact, he claimed Hitler wasn’t so bad if it wasn’t for the meth he was using, and that he would’ve even gone fishing with the guy. As Dana White and the UFC proceed with allowing this extremely far-right Christian Nationalist who supports Hitler and dehumanizes anyone who isn’t what he deems a male, female, or follower of Jesus Christ, we now have him on the PPV main card facing Silva, because of course we do. In Dana White’s eyes, if you don’t like what he says, then here’s our opportunity to pay $85 to see him get punched in the face.
Unfortunately, that means I’m subjected to the stupid shit Bryce Mitchell has to say, even if I try my best to avoid anything he says. This means denying actual history; he will learn his own history by doing his own research and, yes, he said this, teach it to his son. No one is going to tell him what to do in his household. The way he said it out loud was with such vitriol and heat, you can tell the backlash to his comments has penetrated his mental state. However, instead of actually taking the time to understand why what he is saying is dehumanizing, factually incorrect, arrogant, and ignorant, he chooses to double down and use Jesus Christ’s name as a shield. I hate religious extremists. Bryce is incapable of understanding the actual science and/or history of any of the subjects he so vehemently has opinions on and opts for religious and Nazi propaganda that he will indoctrinate his children into, for the sole purpose of not letting public or even private education indoctrinate them. If there is a God, I hope this child is of sound mind and logic and trusts that there are actually thousands of people who take the time to study, test, write, and debate subjects to bring forth the very best explanations for the world around us, instead of the false words that can be so easily disputed around him.
That being said, if I were to blur the faces of the two involved in this matchup, I would say it’s a very tight one. I actually feel Bryce has a decent shot of getting this to the ground and finding a submission. But at the same time, Silva and his entire team have been on fire lately, and Bryce has been violently knocked out before. It’s a tough fight on paper. I will side with Silva on this one because I do believe he has the capabilities to get back to his feet, and I think he is the better striker than Bryce. However, there is no world where I don’t think Bryce can win.
So, to align with my own moral fabric and put the best wishes for humanity out into the Universe, I hope Bryce loses, fails to make the weight, gets injured before the fight, and ultimately has to exit the sport so I don’t have to endure the absolute garbage that falls out of his mouth. For the sake of SEO and moving forward, I think this is the last time I’ll write about Bryce on this site. I don’t wish him a bad life. I just don’t wish to be subjected to his over-the-top ignorance and the fanbase that he brings with him. Silva by KO.
Rodriguez vs. Pitbull
Now that I’m at the bottom of the PPV card, I’m realizing its tall dudes vs. short dudes. I have trust issues with Yair but overall, I think he gets it done. Sometimes he finds a way to royally fuck up but I think Pitbull will have a tough time with the volume and varity. Not to say that Pitbull wont find a way to counter with straight punches because he can but if Sergio Pettis can get a victory over Pitbull, I would think Yair can, too. Don’t ask me why that math works out in my head, it just does. Yair Rodriguez via decision.
Here are my picks:
Volk, Pimblett, Silva, Yair
I’m pumped for this card, even though I fully expect to get absolutely wrecked on these picks from top to bottom. Still, these matchups are close or just plain interesting, and I’m here for it. But hold up—I’ve got one more thing to share. A little story. Today, someone commented on a Joe Rogan video I posted on Instagram. It’s a clip from 2013 where Joe’s on a TV news show promoting Joe Rogan Questions Everything, rambling about psychedelics, Bigfoot, and his usual wild topics. This commenter, though, was convinced it was AI-generated because it “looked weird” and didn’t match how they think Joe Rogan talks—whatever that means, since it’s literally Joe being Joe. They were borderline offended, calling it an obvious deepfake and acting like I’d committed a crime by posting it.
I hit back with some sarcasm, letting them know I don’t post AI garbage or rip off other people’s shorts (eat my shorts while you’re at it). I sourced the video myself, edited it, and added the captions. I use Adobe Premiere for the nerds out there. But this guy wasn’t having it. He called me a liar, said he spent 45 minutes “researching” and couldn’t find it anywhere, and kept nitpicking how the video looked.
So I cut the bullshit and laid it out: the video’s old, so it looks sketchy when blown up; it’s not floating around because I pulled it from the Internet Archive; and it’s not some viral clip worth obsessing over. He fired back with a wall of text I didn’t even bother reading. That’s when I slid into his DMs with the original video link, explained my editing process, and broke down why Joe was talking the way he did. He responded with more long messages and random screenshots, trying to dodge the point and pivot to stuff like “credible sources” or how I didn’t “10-7” him (a jab I’d made earlier about smashing his arguments). Spoiler: I did 10-7 him—every point he threw out crashed and burned. I kept dragging it back to the main issue: the video isn’t a deepfake or AI. Eventually, he admitted he was wrong but still tried to cling to side arguments like, “Okay, fine, but it’s not a credible source.” Dude, that’s irrelevant—we were debating if it was fake or not.
Here’s the moral of the story: instead of arguing like a jackass, just ask for the source. Take that, dig deeper, and come to a reasonable conclusion. But in 2025, “doing your own research” usually means parroting someone else’s opinion off some shitblog and calling it a day. Sad times.
- Matlock