Spinning Back Clique: Did Belal Muhammad earn a title shot? Illegal strike rules, Paul vs. Bisping, more
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.
Our “Spinning Back Clique” panel of Matthew Wells, Danny Segura and Brian “Goze” Garcia discuss five topics with host “Gorgeous” George Garcia.
- UFC welterweight Belal Muhammad defeated Vicente Luque in the main event of UFC on ESPN 34 this past Saturday. It was an impressive performance through five rounds that lead to a clear unanimous decision win. After the fight, he called out Colby Covington and said he should only be fighting the top dogs in the division. He’s in a great spot, but what makes the most sense for him next?
- UFC on ESPN 34 produced two technical unanimous decision outcomes after fouls caused the fights to end early. Martin Buday landed an elbow to the back of Chris Barnett’s head and Caio Borralho landed a knee to the head of the downed Gadzhi Omargadzhiev. The fighter who landed the illegal blow ended up walking away with his hand raised in victory in both instances. Do we need to make a change in the rule book? How would you change the result?
- Patricio Freire reclaimed his Bellator featherweight title by defeating A.J. McKee via unanimous decision in their title rematch at Bellator 277 on Friday. Is it a bigger deal that McKee suffered the first loss of his professional career or “Pitbull” becoming a three-time champion? Will we ever see a trilogy between these two men? Do we even need it?
- The co-main event of Bellator 277 was a light heavyweight title fight and grand prix finale between champion Vadim Nemkov and challenger Corey Anderson. An accidental headbutt late in the third round led to a doctor’s stoppage, ultimately resulting in a no contest. Had the fight continued just three seconds longer, it would have gone to the scorecards. How do you feel about the result and does this sour your interest in the tournament format?
- Jake Paul is at it again, this time poking and getting a reaction from former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping. The two have exchanged words over social media, but is this a beef that could lead to the two meeting inside the boxing ring? Is there any interest in this matchup?
“Spinning Back Clique” is released each Tuesday on MMA Junkie’s YouTube channel. You can watch the full episode in the video above.
