“I definitely thought it was going to be what was next,” Robertson said with confidence. “Weili [Zhang] was the only thing in question. That was the only one where I’m like, if she does come back, it’s technically still her belt. That’s what people are going to say.”

The former strawweight champion vacated her belt in November in order to chase the flyweight title. When she came up empty handed in that fight, many speculated that she would be the rightful challenger for a belt that she never lost. It’s that public perception that makes Robertson feel like the fight with the old queen would need to be next.

“I think that it’s something that’ll need to happen eventually. I think that right now with McKenzie, they’re saying it with me. They’re going to say it – it’s not my belt. It’s Weili’s belt,” she said. “The second I get it, it’s going to be Weili’s belt still, so I think that I need to fight her next. I think that needs to be – it’s the only right move.”

Of course there is always the looming doubt as to whether that fight can happen. The former champion could decide to stay and work for another shot at the 125lbs strap or she could walk away from the sport altogether. While she is definitely the toughest fight for Robertson, she hopes she’s also the next one.

“I know that a lot of people are talking right now that they’re questioning her even coming back with her whole makeover and everything. Maybe she is. You know, she’s 35 and she’s done a lot in the sport. Maybe she is done with it,” Robertson suggested. “I hope for my sake that she’s not. I hope she does come back and I hope that we are able to get that fight.”

For now, Robertson is focused on her title fight this weekend. She takes on Mackenzie Dern with a chance to become the first women’s champion from Canada. That fight is the co-main event of UFC 330 this Saturday, which begins at 5pm EST on Paramount+.

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Kicking off this UFC 330 edition of TTP is our interview with UFC strawweight contender, Gillian Robertson. Robertson shares her thoughts on the strawweight picture and the absence of Weili Zhang. Plus she takes a look at the long road from the Ultimate Fighter to the UFC title picture. Now with that dream just one fight from being realized, she takes a look ahead at the matchup with Mackenzie Dern. She gives us a breakdown of that fight as well as a prediction for the action.

Fights, Dogs and Parlays: UFC 330 (15:06)

After another Apex card, the UFC is back on the road for a numbered card. UFC 330 takes place in Philadelphia with a pair of title fights on top. In the main event, Islam Makhachev defends the welterweight crown against Ian Machado Garry. Then, in the co-main event, friend of the show, Gillian Robertson, looks to strangle the strawweight strap away from champion Mackenzie Dern. We’ll break down those fights as well as some of our other favorite fights on the main card. Plus, as always, we’re hitting you with an underdog and a plus-money parlay that we think will make your wallet fat this weekend. For this segment, all odds via FanDuel Sportsbook.

Trent Miller Interview (23:02)

Closing out this UFC 330 edition of TTP is our interview with Dana White’s Contender Series Middleweight, Trent Miller. Miller discusses getting the call to fight on Contender Series last year and the lessons he learned from the experience. Now with that under his belt, he’s ready to make good on the chance this year. He talks about the fight he took to get back as well as his feelings when the call came in for the second time. Plus, he breaks down his fight which takes place on week 2 of this year’s show.

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Not only have these last twelve months been tough with training, but it has included a huge life change as well.

“It’s been a grind, man. On top of that, I just moved across the country from Massachusetts to Colorado. I came out here for a month in January with my wife.  I definitely liked it here. Trained the whole time. We signed a lease while we were here,” Pagliarulo explained. “She flew back, had to get things wrapped up at home. I went back with her, then came back out a week later just to stay ready and keep training.”

Although working with the crew at the New England Cartel got him to where he is today, he felt it was time to make a change. It’s helped him both find more and less comfort.

“I’ve been doing this for like 10 years now. Sometimes a change of scenery is just good for the brain, good for the body. Sometimes back home, the consistency of guys in the room – we had great training partners, I had great coaches, I love my coaches back home – but sometimes the numbers would run slim,” he said. “And that was a scary thing to see when I’m at this point in my career knowing I could be fighting in the UFC very soon. I want to just be a little more confident in what I have in the room.”

And there are no hard feelings from his crew back in Massachusetts. In fact, they encouraged him to give it a try and support him through his new environment.

“I just came out here to try. My coaches encouraged it. They’re like, ‘man, like we think you maybe need to go somewhere else to reach the goals that I want to reach’,” Pagliarulo shared. “Could I have done this back home? Sure. But I just think I needed a new fire maybe and just a bigger push from guys like Cory [Sandhagen] and [Justin] Gaethje and all the talent that’s just out here. Just coming out here and feeling refreshed, you know? New minds, new process, new culture.”

Now with the work finally coming to a head, he’s got his chance to earn a UFC contract. That will come against Ananias Mulumba, and Pagliarulo feels like he’s got the edge.

“I’m 10-2 with eight knockouts, so a knockout sounds pretty good. I’d say if I had to gamble on myself, I’d probably say a knockout, right? I think Dana likes that. That’s kind of how you get contracts in these things,” he said. My goal is just going there and fight this guy disciplined for 15 minutes and when I’ve done that in the past knockouts come. That’s my plan, to knock this kid out on August 11th.”

You can catch that bout as part of Week 1 of Dana White’s Contender Series. The card airs this Tuesday at 7pm EST on Paramount+.

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While his performances speak for themselves and there has never been a question if he belonged, a run to the UFC – never mind one this long – was never something he imagined. 

“It was never my intention. That’s what I say sometimes, it is all God’s plan because I never thought about fighting UFC. I thought I like World Series [of Fighting] or Bellator – those were the doors I was kind of looking to go through,” Ferreira explained. “But I never thought about fighting in the UFC.”

Part of the reason he didn’t really consider fighting at the top oif the game was because he never thought MMA was going to be his occupation. While he wanted to dabble in it, he saw a different way of life for himself. 

“I never thought I was going to have mixed martial arts as a job. For me, my work was going to be, ‘oh, I gotta be just another Brazilian Jiu Jitsu coach – open a gym, be comfortable in this,” he said. “But looking back, it was a great experience and I never thought about it – 12 years in the UFC.”

Now, with plenty of experience under his belt, he’s not ready to pack it up. In fact, he’s feeling better than ever going into a bout with Billy Quarantillo this weekend. And that’s a bout, he believes, could win him another bonus. 

“He likes to throw down and I’m gonna be meeting him out there. So whatever is coming first, coming first. I want to put on Fight of the Night,” Ferreira said. “I know my last fight, it could have gone my way. I was there and I know he’s going to be the same way, thinking the same way. And so both, we’re going to have the same mentality. So I think we’ve got to meet in the middle and throw down – whoever is going to go down first.”

You can catch Ferreira’s fight with Billy Quarantillo as the co-main event of UFC Vegas 120. That fight card starts at 5pm EST and airs on Paramount+. 

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Kicking off this UFC Vegas 120 edition of TTP is our interview with UFC lightweight, Diego Ferreira. Ferreira discusses his time off and how the 11 months helped him to improve. Plus, he discusses the joys of coaching and how he was able to spend more time helping his team grow in that time. With the focus back on him, we took a look at his fight for this Saturday. He takes on Billy Quarantillo and looks to get back on the right foot. He breaks down that fight and gives us a prediction for it.

Fights, Dogs and Parlays: UFC Vegas 120 (15:23)

After a pair of cards overseas, the UFC heads back to home sweet home inside of the META Apex. This card is headlined by Mateusz Gamrot as he looks to depend his spot in the rankings against fast-rising prospect Quillan Salkilld. Plus, in the co-main event, friend of the show Diego Ferreira takes on Billy Quarantillo in a lightweight banger. We’ll break down those fights as well as some of our other favorite fights on the main card. Plus, as always, we’re hitting you with an underdog and a plus-money parlay that we think will make your wallet fat this weekend. For this segment, all odds via FanDuel Sportsbook.

Adam Livingston Interview (20:49)

Closing out this UFC Vegas 120 edition of TTP is our interview with Dana White’s Contender Series lightweight, Adam Livingston. The Long Island native discusses his first run on the show and discusses what he thought he needed to do to get back. All he did was hit a viral spinning back elbow KO that got him the call immediately. He talks about that KO blow and his rowdy cheering section. Plus, he gets into his upcoming fight on Contender Series where he takes on Hunter Smith.

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Fleury, in a rare instance, finds himself the co-main event for the fight card in Prague, Czech Republic. The main event features his partner, Lucie Pudilova, as she looks to get her hands on the bantamweight title. And with Fleury not wanting to miss the occasion, he knows his performance could be an important part of it.

“I will have to go back and do a medical, I assume,” Fleury said. “I’ve kind of been thinking about this. It’s about making my fight as clean as possible – getting out so that medical is as short as possible where they basically look at you and go, ‘yeah, you’re breathing, you’re healthy, you’re fine. Okay. Best of luck.’ And I can head back out and watch hers.”

He’s already considered the time that he’ll likely have for such events. While he’d like to map the whole thing out, he knows that the fight game is not an easy one to predict.

“There will probably be about 15 minutes between my fight ending and her fight starting.
So I will have a little bit of time, and I hope to God I don’t miss much of it because look, it’s fighting, man, it’s crazy, isn’t it?” he said. “We could both end up in the hospital that night – you never know how it’s all going to go. Hopefully I’ll go in and do it clean and I’m able to watch her whole fight.”

And while some might think he’d prefer to be the main event so that he could see what she’s doing, he’s actually happy to be in the co-main this weekend. He feels he simply wouldn’t be able to focus with her doing her thing out there.

“I don’t want to be thinking about her fight while I’m warming up and trying to sneak a peek. It’d be a massive distraction,” Fleury said, “It’s kind of selfish for me to want to be the first fight because she has to deal with that now with my fight, but I’m glad I won’t be warming up while she’s fighting.”

You can catch Fleury looking to get the job done clean as the co-main event to Oktagon 92 this Saturday. The fight card airs at 12:00pm EST and can be seen on Oktagon.tv.

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Kicking off this UFC Belgrade edition of TTP is our interview with Oktagon double champion, Will Fleury. Fleury discusses the change in opponents to his upcoming title fight. With Daniel Skvor falling out, he’ll now face interim middleweight champion Makhmud Muradov. He shares his excitement for both his fight and the fight of his partner, Lucie Pudilova. He also digs into the complicated logistics of trying to get to her fight after he finishes his own. Following all of that, he gives a breakdown of the fight and a prediction to watch out for.

Fights, Dogs and Parlays: UFC Belgrade (13:20)

Following one event overseas, the UFC stays on that side of the world for UFC Belgrade. The event is headlined by their home town star Uros Medic as he takes on a returning Daniel Rodriguez. Plus, in the co-main event, former UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz takes on surging prospect Navajo Sterling. We’ll break down those fights as well as some of our other favorite fights on the main card. Plus, as always, we’re hitting you with an underdog and a plus-money parlay that we think will make your wallet fat this weekend. For this segment, all odds via FanDuel Sportsbook.

Alik Lorenz Interview (19:34)

Closing out this UFC Belgrade edition of TTP is our interview with Dana White’s Contender Series light heavyweight, Alik Lorenz. Lorenz discusses his first trip to Contender Series and shares the frustration of not getting to show off his skills. Having picked up a win in LFA this past March, he discusses the timeline of getting back in contact with the UFC for this shot. Then he digs into his thoughts on having the Apex experience under his belt already and what he thinks of his new opponent, Brazilian KO artist Mahamed Aly.

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Kicking off this UFC Abu Dhabi edition of TTP is our interview with Dana White’s Contender Series featherweight, Tom Pagliarulo. Pagliarulo discusses getting his call to fight for his UFC contract this August. He’ll fight on week one against Ananias Mulumba. He gives us a quick breakdown of that fight and a prediction. Plus, he also talks about his move out to Colorado and what prompted moving his training camp there. He now works out of the brand new Tiger Beetle Martial Arts with Cory Sandhagen and Carrington Banks.

Fights, Dogs and Parlays: UFC Abu Dhabi (17:24)

After a few domestic fights, the UFC heads overseas for UFC Abu Dhabi. Headlining the card is former light heavyweight champion Magomed Ankalaev. He’ll face a late replacement, Bogdan Guskov, who steps in for an injured Khalil Rountree Jr. Plus, in the co-main event, former flyweight title challenger Steve Erceg faces Ramazan Temirov. We’ll break down those fights as well as some of our other favorite fights on the main card. Plus, as always, we’re hitting you with an underdog and a plus-money parlay that we think will make your wallet fat this weekend. For this segment, all odds via FanDuel Sportsbook.

Lex Ludlow Interview (24:08)

Closing out this UFC Abu Dhabi edition of TTP is our interview with BKFC cruiserweight contender, Lex Ludlow. The most hated man in combat sports discusses where his microphone abilities originate from. Between studying some of his favorite MMA fighters to idolizing the best trash talkers of professional wrestling history. He also digs into what went into his recent nine second knockout win at BKFC Liberty Brawl. Then he digs into what the future holds for him. Will it be a title shot in the cruiserweight division? Will it be a super fight with the biggest name in BKFC? He tells his preference.

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Her chance came quickly. Just a couple months removed from that contest, she was asked if she wanted to step in against Fatima Kline after her original opponent, Amanda Ribas fell out. The spot seemed as good as any for Ricci.

“Yeah it was a little rushed. Of course I was already in shape. I had a really hard camp with Virna. It wasn’t that long ago, the fight,” Ricci said. “So I was in shape and then I want to fight. I got the offer – like of course anybody anytime. I just want to get back to the octagon as soon as possible. Then, actually, I had to move a lot of things around and then get together with the team quick – I think it was perfect.”

In fact, she prefers that a camp be short everytime. While longer camps are more traditional, she feels the mental grind of those can take some of the joy away from fighting.

“You know sometimes when you have a long camp you’re like thinking of the fight like for so long,” she said. “Sometimes it gets boring, it’s hard. When you have a short camp, it’s just like right away – specific tuning, hard sparring. It’s actually pretty fun.”

Now with the hard work done, she’s ready to prove herself in the cage once again. And she’s not planning on just beating the prospect, but she’s planning on making a statement.

“She probably wants to try to keep the distance. I mean if she watches other fights too and then she’s probably expecting me to grapple her. I think who does their thing best is going to win the fight,” Ricci said. “I really want to get the finish against her and get my way back to being next for the title shot.”

You can catch her bout with Fatima Kline as part of the UFC Oklahoma City main card. The fight card begins at 5pm EST and airs on Paramount+.

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Following his first win in the octagon, Bashi has been sidelined for 13 months. Some of that was recovering from a minor injury in the fall that pulled him from a bout with Jamall Emmers. However, the rest of the time has been spent improving himself – which can be vital at this early stage of his career.

“I’ve been working just all parts of my game, from the stand-up game to the ground game, wall game, every single part of it,” Bashi said. “So even though I’ve been at this long layoff, it gave me enough time to grow and get better and better this last year. It was still good that it happened.”

That growth has been accelerated by work with two-time featherweight title challenger, Diego Lopes. The two have worked together for a year and a half, which has been big for his development as a fighter.

“I went out for his first [Volkanovski] fight, and then the Jean Silva fight, and then his last [Volkanovski] fight as well,” he explained. “So, I’ve known him for a couple years now, and it’s really good training, great training. Obviously, he’s one of the best in the world, so being able to spar with him when I’m out there and train with him and learn things from him is pretty big for me.”

And it’s not just the work inside the cage that has seen growth. Bashi notes that seeing Lopes carry himself outside of the cage has helped him as well.

“[He’s also helped outside of the cage] for sure. A hundred percent. The thing I like about him most is how humble he is,” Bashi explained. “He obviously has a very, very big name, but he’s super humble and he never shows off or nothing like that. Just a real nice guy, humble guy.”

With all of that training under his belt, Bashi is ready to show the world just what the new version looks like. He’ll get his first chance to at UFC Oklahoma City this Saturday. He fights Jose Miguel Delgado as part of the prelims. They air on Paramount+ starting at 5pm EST.

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