Crooklyn’s Corner 25: John Nash talks Jake Paul, Ngannou, Khabib, UFC

June M. Williams

Episode 25 discussion: John Nash stops by to discuss Francis Ngannou’s contract, Jake Paul’s promotional ability, Khabib’s business empire, UFC finance and more Welcome to Crooklyn’s Corner, the podcast …


Crooklyn’s Corner, MMA Podcast, UFC Podcast, Stephie Haynes, Fantasy MMA
June M. Williams

Episode 25 discussion: John Nash stops by to discuss Francis Ngannou’s contract, Jake Paul’s promotional ability, Khabib’s business empire, UFC finance and more

Welcome to Crooklyn’s Corner, the podcast that’s basically a hodgepodge of topics focused on the combat sports and entertainment community. The show will feature special interviews, fantasy matchmaking/analysis and whatever else we can come up with to keep our listeners steeped in fresh and engaging content. The show is hosted by Stephie Haynes and airs when needed to fill gaps in our Bloody Elbow Presents podcast network.

Crooklyn’s Corner, Stephie Haynes, John Nash, MMA, UFC, Combat Sports, MMA Financials, MMA Money, MMA Business, MMA Economics, Combat Sports Finance,
June M. Williams

EPISODE 25

Here is a summary of the topics discussed or questions asked. Time stamps won’t always be available as our conversations tend to be very fluid and bounce back & forth frequently. As always, I hope you enjoy listening to the show as much as we enjoyed recording it. This week’s guest was Bloody Elbow’s own Chief Financials Columnist, host of our ‘Show Money Podcast’, co-host of our ‘Care/Don’t Care Podcast’, & co-host of the ‘If the Shoes Fit Podcast’. Here are the questions Stephie put to John to discuss on this episode:

  • Francis Ngannou is out for most, if not all of this year with that knee injury. What does that mean to his contract? Will they be able to extend it by virtue of him turning down a fight if they offer him one during that time?
  • Will Francis be able to help affect some change to how fighters are paid or will this likely be another scenario where maybe his personal demands might be met but nothing will really change for the rest of the roster?
  • Just how well versed is his manager, especially after being away from the UFC for so many years? Like, how much have the contracts changed since his tenure with the UFC ended?
  • Mainstream media has picked up this story and it’s clearly gaining steam. How much do they get wrong in their summations of what’s happening between Big Franci and the UFC?
  • Recently, a lower tier UFC fighter put out a tweet with a letter from Dana White that basically thanked him for a good fight and gave him a $7K backroom bonus. What’s the biggest backroom bonus you’ve heard or seen proof of being given?
  • Jake Paul is talking a really big game and recently bought a super small block of shares. Was that just a gesture and what are the red flags you see with his whole “help the fighters” movement?
  • What do you think of his ability as a promoter?
  • Boxing will be seeing some big money moving through its ranks in March and April, to the tune of $150M. Is this a sign that boxing’s tough stretch is finally coming to an end because the pandemic sure put a dent in the sport.
  • Joe Rogan is the hottest topic both in and out of the sport, eating up twitter hashtags for weeks. Should the UFC worry about his constant issues or does this just add to their brand which seems to cater to the right side of the room predominantly?
  • A few days ago, you tweeted that Carlos Newton is basically patient zero in the antitrust suit. Please go into a bit more detail on that and how much involvement he has in it.
  • Khabib was able to leverage his UFC purses into a business conglomerate. An empire, if you will. How many fighters would you say have been paid enough to be able to do this?

You can check out the entire show here. Remember, if you’re looking for us on SoundCloud or iTunes, we’re under the Bloody Elbow Presents name. Follow Crooklyn’s Twitter account: Stephie Haynes and the show account Crooklyn’s Corner.

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