On this week’s episode of What the Heck, MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck chats with Ariel Helwani (4:08) about the return of The MMA Hour beginning Aug. 16, how it came together, when he thought about bringing the show back, fans wanting the return of The MMA Beat, how the Ric’s Picks theme came to be, the upcoming UFC 264 trilogy fight between Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor, and where a win over Gilbert Burns could put Stephen Thompson in the welterweight title picture.
Featherweight Justin Jaynes (42:55) discusses betting his purse on himself in his UFC Vegas 30 split decision loss to Charles Rosa, not having any regrets about it, the decision to shoot for a takedown when he had Rosa hurt in the third, how he scored the fight, what his future in MMA looks like, how fans and some of his fellow fighters reacted in the aftermath, and his thoughts on one judge scoring the fight 30-27 for Rosa.
UFC heavyweight Tanner Boser (1:10:28) recaps his second-round TKO win over Ovince Saint Preux in the UFC Vegas 30 co-main event, talks how the fight came together so quickly, signing a new four-fight deal with the UFC, the extra pressure he put on himself heading into the fight, being annoyed that the controversy surrounding the finish may have outweighed the result, and hoping a fight with Ben Rothwell is in his immediate future.
UFC bantamweight Julia Avila (1:28:33) discusses her third-round submission win over Julija Stoliarenko, what it meant to get her first submission inside the octagon, how much fun she had during the crazy fight with the former Invicta champion, the emotions that poured out after the win, starting her own gym with her husband after getting kicked out of her old gym, cross-training with James Krause, and when she hopes to return.
Finally, ONE Championship atomweight champ Angela Lee (1:43:41) talks returning to the gym in preparation to return to action for the first time since October 2019, welcoming a baby girl into the world earlier in the year, what her first training session was like, seeing the improvements of her little brother and sister—fellow ONE fighter—Victoria Lee, her brother Christian Lee’s recent success, when she hopes to have her next title defense, and her thoughts on the upcoming atomweight grand prix.
Check out the video above, or the audio-only podcast can be found below, on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, and Stitcher.