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A compelling MMA VIDEO Podcast, with a smattering of social commentary & ramblings, as well as some colorful anecdotes from your host’s life.

“Did Volk get robbed?

Yes. And?” – Eugene S. Robinson 2.12.2023

Welcome to our weekly guest podcast, which fills our Wednesday Bloody Elbow Presents Podcast Network content slot. If you aren’t familiar with the show, it’s probably best described as a compelling MMA video podcast, with a smattering of social commentary & ramblings, as well as some colorful anecdotes from your host’s life… sometimes directly pertaining to combat sports, sometimes barely touching upon it – but always interesting, if you hang in there.

Check it out, you might learn something new, or find something that was said kinda worms its way into your head all week and really makes you think, or not. Shrug. We’re fans and are happy to share it with you.

The opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the host: Eugene S. Robinson. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of BloodyElbow.com, its staff, or parent companies. It is merely a guest podcast.

Produced by June M. Williams

If you dig the show, then subscribe to eugenesrobinson.substack.com, follow Eugene on twitter @EugeneSRobinson, on Insta @MrSleep3. PAY here at his show #Patreon IF you wish: www.patreon.com/thestomper OR use [email protected] for #PayPal, OR eugene-robinson-28 for #CashApp, OR PlanetOxbow for #Venmo.

Give the LIVE video broadcast of ‘The Eugene S. Robinson Show Stomper Podcast’ a “thumbs up”, subscribe on The Stomper YT page every Sunday afternoon.

OR: Give the premium video production of the show a “like” and share on The Stomper’s Facebook every Monday night.

OR: Listen to premium audio on SoundCloud, Spotify, Apple Podcasts & Apple TV, iHeartRadio, OverCast, PlayerFM, TuneIn, Stitcher, blubrry, audible, Amazon Music, PocketCasts, Castro, Castbox, Downcast, PodCruncher, iCatcher, Castaway 2, Podcast Republic, BeyondPod for Android, and more! Also, coming soon to Simplecast, Pandora, & SiriusXM

Production, videography, syndication, graphics & logos, via – June M. Williams: [email protected]/@JuneMWilliams2 on twitter.

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Your talented host is Eugene S. Robinson, author of the ‘Eugene S. Robinson Substack’, the upcoming “A Walk Across Dirty Water and Straight Into Murderer’s Row: A Memoir”, & the ‘Fight Book’, “Fight: Everything You Wanted to Know About Ass-Kicking but Were Afraid You’d Get Your Ass Kicked for Asking”, and “A Long Slow Screw”.

He hosts this ‘Eugene S. Robinson Show Stomper! Podcast’ of course, and is one of the hosts of the ‘Care/Don’t Care Podcast’, as well as a co-host on the ‘If The Shoes Fit’ socio-political podcast, & the recently released ‘Bad Boss Brief Podcast’. He is also a recurring guest of the ‘Crooklyn’s Corner Podcast’, the host & demonstrator on the ‘JJB! – Jiu Jitsu Breakdown!’ show, as well as the wildly popular host of the former ‘Knuckle Up Podcast’, which can be found in the Bloody Elbow Presents SC playlists.

He grew up in New York City, where he first understood the surreal joy of a bloody nose obtained through fighting. The 6’1”, 235lb Robinson is a practicing, black belt bjj artist, having studied boxing, kenpo karate, muay thai, & wrestling. He’s also a former bouncer, ‘98 CAAT HW Men’s Sanshou champ, 2nd place overall & 1st place divisional ‘03 CA Submission Fighting champ.

He has also worked in magazine publishing, film, & TV. His most recent writing gig was part of his duties as the former Assistant VP of Marketing Content for WONGDOODY.com, including his work on TheEndofNowhere.com/Interviews. He routinely creates freelance pieces for The New York Times, among others. Over the years he has been a literary gunslinger for publications including GQ, REVOLVER Magazine, Real Fighter, Gladiator, TheWire Magazine, Grapple Wrestling Magazine, Vice Magazine, Hustler Magazine, Mac|Life, SF Weekly, LA Weekly, Corporate Computing, PC Gamer, Decibel, and ALTA Magazine, among many others. He has also been Editor-in-Chief of CODE Magazine, and EQ Magazine.

Eugene is also the vocalist & front man for the alt metal band: OXBOW, a rock group-cum-fight club, whose most recent album, ‘Love’s Holiday’, will be released this year with Ipecac Records. The band has achieved a substantial international cult following, still conducting European Tours. Some of his music is in the intro & outro of this ‘Show Stomper’ pod, as well as in the custom video of the show, airing on both his Stompville fb & BloodyElbow YT pages; there is a 1 min snippet he owns from #Stigmata. He was also a founding member of the band, Whipping Boy prior to branching out into #OXBOW & Buñuel. He can be found on numerous recordings, having performed a wide variety of musical collaborations over the years.

On film & TV he’s appeared in Leonard Part 6 with Bill Cosby, NBC’s Midnight Caller, ABC’s The King of Love, MTV’s Liquid Television’s #LasApasionadas, and commercials — most notably one directed by Gus Van Sant for Miller Genuine Draft.

Above all else, he is the adoring, devoted father of four incredible young ladies, and an outstanding spouse to his lovely wife. They currently reside near the Stanford, California area, with exciting future plans to reside off the coast of Spain.

For more on Eugene visit his wiki here.

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About the author: June M. Williams is a midwest-based graphic designer, videographer, author & editor for Bloody Elbow. She began work for the Combat Sports Division in 2010, with B.E. since 2013. Among other tasks, she currently manages our ‘Bloody Elbow Presents’ Podcast Network & YT Channel. (full bio)

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Bringing you the weird and wild from the world of MMA each and every weeknight!

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

The stakes of UFC 284’s main event were supposed to be clear cut. The top two pound-for-pound fighters on the roster meet at a weight class, collide, and the better man walks away the victor and pound-for-pound king. Simple and easy, right?

Of course not! Alexander Volkanovski outperformed the general public perception, doing better than anyone else in handling Islam Makhachev’s wrestling (watch highlights). Despite a noticeable size disadvantage, “The Great” finished the fight in top position after knocking Makhachev down in the final round. Unfortunately for the Aussie, the judges sided against him, naming Makhachev the winner via unanimous decision.

To his credit, Makhachev did land plenty of hard shots and a couple fight-changing takedowns. It wasn’t a robbery by any means, but the UFC rankings panel deemed Volkanovski’s performance impressive enough to retain his top spot. That news released earlier today, and Russian outlet Za Khabiba reported Makhachev’s first reaction to the news.

“About the rankings, I never expected justice and still don’t, because we saw on the example of our other fighters, Ankalaev, Petr Yan, saw the attitude towards us always,” Makhachev said. “The main thing I flew 13,000 kilometers there, defeated their champion. They raised my hand, and with a raised hand, confidently with a belt flew home.”

The next move for both men is unclear. Volkanovski could return to Featherweight to square off with Yair Rodriguez, the interim champion. However, he’s also expressed interest in sticking around for another showdown vs. the Russian talent, but Makhachev has other contenders like Beneil Dariush waiting in the ranks.

Insomnia

Happy Valentines Day! Paulo Costa is here to help anyone especially desperate for a date.

A PERFECT summary of Makhachev’s quest for the top pound-for-pound spot:

Bellator is continuing its strategy of signing top-notch wrestling prospects early in their MMA careers.

Israel Adesanya vs. Robert Whittaker 3 will now include an unlikely bromance angle in its promotion.

An update to next weekend’s UFC Vegas 70 event:

Maybe this is why Jorge Masvidal recently ditched First Round Management …

Fishing WITH THE BOYZZZ!

Slips, rips, and KO clips

Click through for a full recap of the UFC’s winningest fighter’s highlights! Jim Miller is one of like two reasons to tune in this weekend.

Expect plenty of Jens Pulver highlights this week.

I’m not even entirely sure what rule set we’re seeing here, but you won’t find a better example of why to take your head off the center line when throwing a right hand.

Random Land

I find this unsettling.

Midnight Music: Hard rock, 2000

Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is bringing more “Prelims” fights to ESPN+ this weekend (Sat., Feb. 18, 2023) when UFC Vegas 69: “Andrade vs. Blanchfield” returns to UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada. MMAmania.com’s Patrick Stumberg continues the UFC Vegas 69 “Prelims” party with the second (and final) installment of a two-part undercard preview series below.

After weeks of mishaps, the Octagon returns to UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada, this Saturday (Feb. 18, 2023) with a makeshift main event between former women’s Flyweight champion, Jessica Andrade, and fast-rising prospect, Erin Blanchfield. Up at Light Heavyweight, The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 30 runner-up, Zac Pauga, looks to bounce back against Jordan Wright, while Josh Parisian welcomes Jamal Pogues to UFC’s Heavyweight division.

Three UFC Vegas 69 “Prelims” undercard bouts remain to be examined (check out the first batch here), so let’s not dally …

135 lbs.: Lina Lansberg vs. Mayra Bueno Silva

Undeterred by a 1-2 UFC start, Lina Lansberg (10-7) put together a 3-1 run, capped off by an upset decision over Macy Chiasson. She’s winless since, dropping three straight to Sara McMann, Pannie Kianzad and Karol Rosa.

“The Elbow Queen” stands one inch taller than “Sheetara,” but gives up one inch of reach.

Mayra Bueno Silva (9-2-1) initially struggled to capitalize on the momentum from her UFC debut submission of Gillian Robertson, winning just one of her next four bouts. She returned to the win column with a Fight of the Night decision over Wu Yanan, then tapped Stephanie Egger in 77 seconds to secure her first multi-fight win streak since 2018.

Six of her seven stoppage wins have come by submission.

It’s beyond frustrating to see someone with Bueno Silva’s power and submission skills fail to develop cage cutting or wrestling. She’s someone who relies on opponents giving her the fight she wants, which allowed Maryna Moroz and Manon Fiorot to run circles around her.

Even if she can’t take the next steps she needs, what she’s got should be enough to carry her past Lansberg. She’s by far the heavier-handed on the feet, which should let her offset any difference in volume, and Lansberg’s preference for the clinch plays into “Sheetara’s” hands. Plus, Bueno Silva’s jiu-jitsu should serve as a deterrent if Lansberg considers taking it to the mat. Eye-catching power shots win the day for Bueno Silva.

Prediction: Bueno Silva via unanimous decision

145 lbs.: Jamall Emmers vs. Khusein Askhabov

Jamall Emmers (18-6) bounced back from his controversial UFC debut loss to Giga Chikadze by cruising past Vince Cachero five months later. “Pretty Boy” looked poised to make it two straight after dropping Pat Sabatini in the opening seconds of their August 2021 bout, but quickly fell victim to a comeback heel hook.

He stands two inches taller than Khusein Askhabov (23-0) at 5’10.”

A professional since 2012, “Lion” racked up 16 finishes during his run through the European circuit. His accolades include an 11-0 record under the WWFC promotion and a reign as its Bantamweight champion.

This marks his third attempt at a UFC debut and his first bout in nearly three years.

Honestly, it’s anyone’s guess what’ll happen here. Askhabov’s been out since 2020 and Emmers can snatch defeat from the jaws of victory like few others. From refusing to wrestle Giga Chikadze until midway through the second round to trying to play leglocks with Sabatini, Emmers’ skills are matched only by his penchant for self-destruction.

I’ve flip-flopped a couple of times, but I think I’ll bite the bullet and go with Emmers. Though clearly talented, Askhabov built his record on very limited opposition, and the version of him that last entered the cage lacked any one dominant area that Emmers could blunder into. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if Askhabov flying kneed him within 30 seconds, but Emmers’ size and wrestling should let him eke out a decision.

Prediction: Emmers via split decision

205 lbs.: Ovince Saint Preux vs. Philipe Lins

Once a consistent contender and one-time title challenger, Ovince Saint Preux (26-16) now sits at 3-5 in his last eight bouts. He last saw action in May 2022 when he edged out “Shogun” Mauricio Rua by split decision in their rematch.

“OSP” will enjoy one inch of height and two inches of reach on Philipe Lins (15-5).

Lins struggled out of the UFC gate with consecutive losses to Andrei Arlovski and Tanner Boser. He’s had one fight since, a unanimous decision over Marcin Prachnio in his UFC Light Heavyweight debut, and eight different cancellations.

He has knocked out eight professional foes and submitted another four.

Honestly, the biggest question here is whether Lins will make it to the cage. For all the out-of-cage shenanigans, he’s actually a pretty solid striker, definitely good enough to box up what’s left of Saint Preux. “OSP” still has enough power to end things in one shot, but it can’t make up for his waning speed and stagnant technique. Hell, the guy couldn’t even stop the broken remnants of Rua last time.

Lins just needs to stay busy and stay mindful to win a comfortable decision. I think he’s up for it; expect him to out-work and out-maneuver Saint Preux to a decision victory.

Prediction: Lins via unanimous decision

I’m not going to sugarcoat it: outside of UFC Vegas 69’s main event, this might be the worst card in recent memory. At least it’s an afternoon/early evening show. See you Saturday, Maniacs.

Current Prediction Record for 2023: 20-9

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Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Vegas 69 fight card right here, starting with the ESPN+ “Prelims” matches, which are scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. ET, then the remaining main card balance (also on ESPN+) at 7 p.m. ET.

To check out the latest and greatest UFC Vegas 69: “Andrade vs. Blanchfield” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.

Henry Cejudo isn’t feeling deterred by Alexander Volkanovski’s great performance against Islam Makhachev at UFC 284 this past weekend (Feb. 11, 2023).

Outside of Adriano Martins’ flash knockout in 2015, the reigning UFC Featherweight champion, Volkanovski, performed better than anyone else ever has against Lightweight kingpin, Makhachev. Unfortunately for “The Great,” he still walked away on the wrong end of a hard-fought unanimous decision in favor of Makhachev (watch highlights).

Volkanovski has had a sizable target on his back at 145 pounds since becoming the champion and fighters above and below his division had an interest in fighting him. Former Flyweight and Bantamweight champion, Cejudo, feels a bit slighted when comparing both of their attempts.

“So, a lot of people are dismissing me now,” Cejudo said on his YouTube channel. “Alexander Volkanovski had an amazing performance against a guy who has never been in five rounds with somebody for the first time.

“Kudos, Alexander,” he continued. “You did a great job. You went all five rounds and people thought you won. The problem that I have is when I went up a weight class I stopped ‘em. There was no decision that I was going to allow the judges to take this from me. I went out there, I stopped him, and I did what I had to do to really solidify yourself as champ-champ.”

Cejudo is in the midst of returning from a May 2020 retirement after defeating Dominick Cruz via a second-round technical knockout. While nothing has been made official by UFC, Cejudo has been linked to a title fight against current Bantamweight champion, Aljamain Sterling.

“Triple C” wants to reclaim what was once his, defend it, then move up to try and dethrone Volkanovski at 145 pounds. With Yair Rodriguez as the new Featherweight interim champion and Volkanovski seeking a Makhachev rematch, a lot of things will need to align for Cejudo to perfectly venture down this mapped-out path.

“Sometimes people will overhype something, and I’m guilty of it, too,” Cejudo said. “Guess what, Alexander? I wasn’t giving you a chance. Why? Because I just thought he was bigger and too much of that wrestler would overwhelm you. I am man enough to say, ‘Hey, Alexander Volkanovski’s a lot better than I thought he was defensively.’

“Okay, he defended a couple takedowns, but guess what?” he continued. “Islam’s not an Olympic champion. Guess what? Islam doesn’t have my striking. Guess what? He’s not faster than me. Guess what? Yeah, he is bigger than me, but I’m a smaller target. It’s the same reason why people are super problematic with Alex Volkanovski. He’s short, he’s fun size.”