Spinning Back Clique: Islam Makhachev's dominance, Gegard Mousasi's statement, UFC 272 look-ahead
Check out this week’s “Spinning Back Clique,” MMA Junkie’s weekly show that takes a spin through the biggest topics in mixed martial arts.
This week, our panel of Mike Bohn, Danny Segura and Brian “Goze” Garcia discuss these five topics with host “Gorgeous” George Garcia:
- This past Saturday night, Islam Makhachev defeated Bobby Green in the UFC Fight Night 202 main event. The fight didn’t get out of the first round, and Makhavchev made it known that he wants a title shot in the lightweight division, of course meaning the winner of Charles Oliveira vs. Justin Gaethje. The question here is which matchup would be more favorable to Makhachev, and why? Should he actually be favored?
- Because the UFC lightweight division is stacked with talent, this might be the marquee division in the sport. So, is Makhachev the clear No. 1 contender? Keep in mind that Rafael dos Anjos fights Saturday. He’s a former champ. He could derails plans. Dustin Poirier owns a win over Gaethje. He could derail plans. Conor McGregor is a pay-per-view machine that wants to return in the summer. He could derail plans. Even Beneil Dariush, he had an injury setback. He could derail plans.
- Also this past weekend, Gegard Mousasi ran right through Austin Vanderford to retain his middleweight title at Bellator 275. This was his third overall title defense and afterward, Mousasi staked his claim as the top middleweight in the world. Do you agree? If not, where do you rank him?
- Turning the page to this week, two guys, who don’t like each other, get to punch each other in the face at UFC 272. You know the story: Former best friends, roommates, training partners, turned enemies. So, does Colby Covington or Jorge Masvidal have more at stake on Saturday night, and will the loser be able to rebuild from a loss of this magnitude?
- With such a big spotlight on Covington vs. Masvidal this Saturday night, the rest of the UFC 272 card hasn’t been spoken about as much. What’s your other most pivotal fight to watch and why?
“Spinning Back Clique” is released each Tuesday on MMA Junkie’s YouTube channel. You can watch the full episode in the video above.
