Episodes

  • Why Sean O'Malley Outstrikes Everyone
    Nov 14 2024
    Sugar Sean O’Malley is one of the hottest prospects in UFC history. As a phenomenal striker and kickboxer in the bantamweight division, Sean O’Malley has gathered sensational knockouts and UFC performances over Terrion Ware, Andre Soukhamthath at UFC 222, Jose Quinonez and UFC 248, Eddie Wineland at UFC 250, Thomas Almeida UFC 260, Kris Moutinho at UFC 264, Raulian Paiva at UFC 269, and Petr Yan at UFC 280. Sean O’Malley may not get the respect he deserves due to his close encounter with former UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan, and his no-contest against Pedro Munhoz. But now with Aljamain Sterling defeating Henry Cejudo, Sean O’Malley is primed for his first title shot against a 3x defending champion in Aljamain Funkmaster Sterling. How will his first UFC championship main event go? Only time will tell for Sugar Sean O’Malley. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/lionelrivera-mma/support
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    21 mins
  • Manliest Fighter Ever: Don Frye
    Nov 14 2024

    #Donfrye #seanstrickland #UFC

    Don Frye is a legendary MMA pioneer, well-known for his exciting fights beginning at UFC 8. Under the tutelage of Dan Severn, Don Frye enrolled in UFC 8 in 1996, knocking out Thomas Ramirez, finishing Sam Adkins, and submitting Gary Goodridge to win the UFC 8 tournament. Don Frye then returned at UFC 9 to TKO Amaury Bitetti and UFC 10 where he TKO'd Mark Hall, and finished Brian Johnston, but unfortunately lost to Mark Coleman in the finals to lose the UFC 10 tournament. After submitting Mark Hall in UFC Japan, Don Frye returned at UFC Ultimate Ultimate 96 to finish Gary Goodridge, submitted Mark Hall and submitted Tank Abbnot to win the Ultimate Ultimate 96 tournament. Don Frye continued his win streak until 2002, defeating Eric Valdez, Gilbert Yvel, Cyril Abidi, Ken Shamrock and ultimately defeating Yoshihiro Takayama at Backstage Pride in what is considered the manliest fight ever. This was the high point of Don's career, but he continued fighting until 2011. Don's contributions to early MMA as a 2-time UFC tournament champion earned him a spot in the UFC Hall of Fame.

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    31 mins
  • Why Daniel Cormier is Greater than Jon Jones
    Nov 11 2024

    Daniel Cormier is one of the greatest UFC fighters of all time, becoming the second-ever simultaneous 2-weight UFC champion as he was the UFC lightheavyweight champion and UFC heavyweight champion. Daniel Cormier has lived a storied life, developing into a dominant freestyle wrestler, winning many gold and silver medals in renowned wrestling competitions and becoming an Olympian in 2008 and 2004. However, Daniel Cormier has suffered terrible tragedies in his life, losing his daughter in a car accident in 2003, motivating him to build himself and his family as much as he could for her. Daniel Cormier transitioned from wrestling to mixed martial arts flawlessly, very quickly becoming the King of the Cage heavyweight champion in 2010 and the XMMA Heavyweight champion. Soon after Daniel Won the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix, defeating Jeff Monson, Bigfoot Silva, and Josh Barnett. In 2013, at 11-0, Daniel Cormier made his UFC debut against former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir, beginning a winning streak that included names like Frank Mir, Roy Nelson, Patrick Cummins and Dan Henderson. Then Daniel Cormier began his rivalry with the light heavyweight champion Jon Jones. This furious rivalry and ferocious buildup culminated into a championship fight at UFC 182 where Jon Jones defeated Daniel Cormier to defend his title. However Jon Jones was stripped of the light heavyweight UFC belt due to violating the UFC's code of conduct. Daniel Cormier then fought for the vacant lightheavyweight title, submitting Anthony Johnson to finally become UFC lightheavyweight champion. Cormier defended his title against Gustafsson, and Rumble Johnson, and even had one more non-title fight to Anderson Silva before reaching Jon Jones in 2014. Despite Jon Jones knocking out Daniel Cormier via head kick, Cormier retained his title due to Jones testing positive for banned substances. DC defended his title against Volkan Oezdemir at UFC 220 before ultimately moving up and challenging Stipe Miocic for UFC heavyweight championship at UFC 226. Daniel Cormier knocked out Stipe Miocic in round 1 to become UFCheavyweight champion and become a 2-division UFC champion. Cormier defended his heavyweight belt by submitting Derrick Lewis at UFC 230. Cormier However, lost both of his final 2 fights against Stipe Miocic at UFC 241 and UFC 252 to end his career. Nevertheless, Cormier remains one of the most respected athletes, mixed martial artists, and UFC legends ever, building a legacy that all fans admire.

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    1 hr and 16 mins
  • Why Sean Strickland Derailed UFC
    Sep 9 2024

    Sean Strickland is one of the most controversial champions the UFC has ever had. Sean Strickland is of course most famous not only for his outspoken and unhinged personality but also because of his shockingly dominant performance at UFC 293 to defeat Israel Adesanya via unanimous decision to become the UFC middleweight champion on September 10th, 2023. Prior to this, Sean Strickland had an extensive MMA career, becoming the King of the Cage Middleweight Champion and defending his KOTC title 4 times before joining the UFC. After Sean Strickland's lackluster welterweight run in the UFC, including a loss to both Kamaru Usman and Santiago Ponzinibbio, Strickland moved up to the UFC's middleweight division, where he gathered a 6-fight win streak before getting knocked out by Alex Pereira at UFC 276 in 2022, which was unfortunately followed by a highly controversial split decision loss to Jared Cannonier in December 2022. Sean Stricklan rebounded in 2023 with 2 victories over Nassourdine Imavov and Abus Magomedov before earning his title shot to Israel Adesanya. After dethroning Adesanya, Strickland's first title defense against Dricus Du Plessis ended in a controversial Split Decision for Dricus Du Plessis. However, losing his title would not keep Sean Strickland down as Sean would rebound with a victory over Paulo Costa at UFC 302.

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    1 hr and 2 mins
  • Greatest Interim Champion: Dustin Poirier
    Aug 10 2024

    Dustin "The Diamond" Poirier was one of the most respected mixed martial artists to ever compete in the UFC. His UFC record contains names of some of the most legendary lightweights and featherweights to ever compete in the sport including Max Holloway, Conor McGregor, the Korean Zombie, Eddie Alvarez, Anthony Pettis, Justin Gaethje, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Charles Oliveira, Michael Chandler, and Islam Makhachev. Dustin Poirier's crowning achievements are his decision win over Max Holloway at UFC 236 to become the interim lightweight champion, his two knockout victories over Conor McGregor at UFC 264 and UFC 257. Dustin Poirier attempted to claim the UFC BMF championship at UFC 291, but was instead knocked out by Justin Gaethje. Dustin Poirier competed for an undisputed lightweight title 3 times but never captured undisputed gold as he was submitted by Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 242, submitted by Charles Oliveira at UFC 269, and Submitted by Islam Makhachev at UFC 302. Dustin Poirier may have never captured undisputed UFC gold, but his legacy lives on as one of the greatest fighters to ever compete in MMA. Fans will forever hold Poirier in high regards no matter his lack of a world title.

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    1 hr and 34 mins
  • Why Max Holloway is the Baddest man on Earth
    Jul 6 2024

    Visit https://DrinkLMNT.com/lionelrivera for a FREE sample pack with any LMNT drink mix purchase! You'll love it! 🛍️ Shop UFC Gear: https://amzn.to/4aMBnhJ 🎬 Videos you'll like: ✅ Why Ilia Topuria Destroys Everyone: https://youtu.be/g- ✅ Why Fighting Broke Anderson Silva: https://youtu.be/-uSCsGFLe3g ✅ Why Dricus is the Last African Champion: https://youtu.be/nORh_u8eBkk 👉 Become a Member: https://bit.ly/LionelRivera 👉 Become a Patron: https://patreon.com/lionelrivera 👉 Buy me a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/lionelrivera #MaxHolloway #alexandervolkanovski #IliaTopuria

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    1 hr and 31 mins
  • Why Dricus Du Plessis Bulldozed the UFC
    Jun 8 2024

    Du Plessis became UFC middleweight champion after defeating Sean Strickland at UFC 297 via unanimous decision, becoming the first South African Champion of the UFC. Dricus Du Plessis has had a storied professional MMA career, making a name for himself in Extreme Fighting Championship. Dricus debuted at EFC 21, building a strong resume of impressive submissions, especially the rear naked choke, and after Dricus Du Plessis lost to Garreth McLellan in an EFC middleweight title fight, Dricus Du Plessis went on an impressive winning streak to beat Martin Van Staden at EFC 50 for the EFC welterweight championship and on top of that, beating Yannick Bahati at EFC 62 for the EFC middleweight championship, turning Dricus into an MMA double champion at EFC. Afterward, Dricus won and lost the KSW welterweight championship, defended his EFC middleweight championship, and debuted in the UFC against Markus Perez at UFC Fight Island 5, where Dricus Du Plessis knocked out Markus Perez in October 2020. Dricus then developed his UFC win streak, knocking out Trevin Giles at UFC 264, defeating Brad Tavares at UFC 276, submitting Darren Till at UFC 282, knocking out Robert Whittaker at UFC 290, and then defeating Sean Strickland at UFC 297 to become the UFC middleweight champion. Along the way, Dricus Du Plessis developed a rivalry with former UFC middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya regarding their African heritage.

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    56 mins
  • Why Everyone Feared Anderson Silva
    May 18 2024

    🎬 Videos you'll like: ✅ Why Alex Pereira Speedran UFC: https://youtu.be/dW92qYrR9Vw ✅ Why Georges St-Pierre is Better than Everyone: https://youtu.be/CvFIH0T5VJQ ✅ How Joe Rogan Made Us All UFC Fans: https://youtu.be/fqhO_ThIghQ 👉Become a Member: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAupuzZQhQNlECnRFlRGg5g/join 👉 Become a Patron: https://patreon.com/lionelrivera 👉Buy Me a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/lionelrivera Anderson Silva is the UFC’s most dominant middleweight champion, holding the record for the longest title reign in UFC history at 2,457 days. Anderson Silva was a mystifying knockout artist who after making a name for himself dominating Pride Fighting Championships, winning the Shoot middleweight championship, and winning the Cage Rage Middleweight championship, ventured to the UFC and knocked out Chris Leben in 49 seconds in his UFC debut in 2006. Anderson Silva then immediately challenged for the UFC middleweight championship against Rich Franklin and knocked him out at UFC 64 to become UFC middleweight champion. Over Anderson Silva’s next 10 consecutive title defenses, Anderson Silva decimated his competition. Anderson Silva TKO’d Travis Lutter at UFC 67, TKO’d Nate Marquardt at UFC 73, TKO’d Rich Franklin in their rematch at UFC 77, Submitted Dan Henderson at UFC 82, knocked out James Irvin, TKO’d Patrick Cote, got a decision against Thales Leites, knocked out Forrest Griffin in spectacular fashion at UFC 101, defeated Demain Main, submitted Chael Sonnen at UFC 117 in one of the greatest comebacks in UFC history, knocked out Vitor Belfort with a front kick to the face, finished Yushin Okami, finished Chael Sonnen in the rematch at UFC 148, and finished Stephan Bonnar in his final title defense. However, Anderson Silva would then go on an unprecedented losing streak by getting knocked out to Chris Weidman, breaking his leg against chris weidman at UFC 168, having a no-contest to Nick Diaz after testing positive for banned substances, and then losing to Michael Bisping, Daniel Cormier, Israel Adesanya, Jared Cannonier, Urijah Hall, and most embarrassingly, Jake Paul in a boxing match. Despite Anderson Silva’s dramatic downfall, he is a beloved UFC pioneer and UFC hall-of-famer with the longest UFC title reign and 10 consecutive title defenses, most finishes in UFC title fights, most knockouts and most knockdowns in UFC title fights, and most UFC middleweight title fight wins. Anderson Silva’s story is magnificent. This is the Anderson Silva Documentary. #AndersonSilva #UFC #ChaelSonnen

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    1 hr and 2 mins