Game On! UFC 312

Summary

Adam Carolla Show – Episode: "Game On! UFC 312" Release Date: January 25, 2025

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Introduction

In this episode of The Adam Carolla Show, Adam Carolla and co-host Mike Catherwood delve deep into the events surrounding UFC 312. Known for their candid and humorous take on various subjects, the duo navigates through their personal experiences, fight analyses, and upcoming UFC events, all while maintaining their signature dynamic banter.

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Adam’s UFC 312 Experience

Seating Woes and Distractions

Adam begins by recounting his experience attending UFC 312, highlighting the challenges of watching fights from the front row. He humorously describes the distractions posed by the ring apron camera crew:

Adam Carolla [00:58]: “There is the ring apron camera guy. And if you're sitting just so, you're basically looking at the ass of the ring apron camera guy a lot and then some.”

Mike echoes Adam's frustrations, emphasizing the lack of fight visibility from such prime seats:

Mike Catherwood [00:16]: “Adam Carolla show didn't get one drop of. Of the fight experience.”

Optimal Seating Recommendations

The hosts discuss the ideal seating arrangements for an immersive fight-watching experience. Adam suggests moving back a few rows to gain a better vantage point:

Adam Carolla [01:02]: “If you want to watch a fight, move back about 20ft, go up about 4ft. And now you can watch.”

Mike adds his own insights, reminiscing about a better setup he experienced:

Mike Catherwood [02:25]: “I've been trying to do this for a long time. Because I fought in arena in Atlanta that had that exact setup.”

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Analysis of UFC 312 Fights

A. Hanato Moicano’s Replacement Fight

The conversation shifts to the unexpected substitution of Hanato Moicano replacing Arman, leading to an underwhelming performance:

Mike Catherwood [03:15]: “Hanado Moicano, who replaced Arman, ... Hanato Moicano getting tapped out by a dart in a minute and 40 seconds.”

Adam reflects on how this substitution affected the overall night:

Adam Carolla [07:03]: “It was sort of a grappling thing. And the guy never really did touch him.”

They critique Moicano's grappling skills compared to his kickboxing background, questioning his preparedness for such a swift defeat.

B. Jamal Hill’s Performance

Jamal Hill’s performance is another point of contention, especially post his Achilles injury:

Mike Catherwood [07:10]: “Ever since the ruptured of Achilles, his legs just don't look in shape.”

Adam expresses his disappointment with Hill’s lackluster performance:

Adam Carolla [07:38]: “Yeah, it started with me when I was talking to Mel Gibson's guy...”

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The Rhythm of Fight Night

The hosts elaborate on how unexpected changes can disrupt the night's flow, affecting both fighters and the audience's engagement:

Mike Catherwood [05:12]: “...some weird substitutions at 311, right? ... Something happens to all the fighters. It spooks everybody.”

Adam draws a parallel between disrupted fight rhythms and off-beat nights in comedy:

Adam Carolla [09:17]: “No, I get it. There's a thing. It happens in comedy, too, where it's like the crowd's just not feeling it.”

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Upcoming UFC Events

A. Daniel Cormier vs. Sean Strickland

The discussion moves forward to the anticipated matchup between Daniel Cormier (DDP) and Sean Strickland:

Mike Catherwood [11:34]: “The next big card is DDP. Drake is to play C versus Sean Strickland.”

They analyze the fighters' styles, predicting potential strategies and outcomes:

Adam Carolla [14:42]: “I’d say he’s favorite.”

Mike Catherwood [15:19]: “Plus, ... 195 favorite for du Plessis.”

Both agree that despite Strickland’s tactical approach, the odds might favor Cormier due to his dominance:

Mike Catherwood [15:22]: “It's pretty even.”

B. Other Notable Fights

Mike briefly mentions other upcoming fights, including a match involving a Chinese superstar, though details are scant.

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Crossover Fights and Jake Paul vs. Conor McGregor

The conversation takes a turn towards crossover fights, specifically addressing the rumored bout between Logan Paul and Conor McGregor:

Mike Catherwood [16:30]: “We have a story about Jake Paul ripping Conor McGregor's relationship with Dana White...”

Adam questions the seriousness and feasibility of such a fight:

Adam Carolla [17:08]: “What are they gonna. What. What kind of catch weight Are they meeting at.”

Mike critiques Logan Paul's boxing skills, suggesting the fight might lack technical prowess:

Mike Catherwood [19:03]: “I don't think Logan Paul is quite a boxer.”

Adam remains skeptical about the fight's quality:

Adam Carolla [19:07]: “I don’t know. I would tend to think this fight would be more active than the one.”

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Conclusion

In "Game On! UFC 312," Adam Carolla and Mike Catherwood provide a comprehensive and entertaining breakdown of the night's events, offering personal anecdotes, critical analyses, and insightful predictions for future fights. Their discussion not only highlights the intricacies of fight management and fighter performance but also underscores the unpredictable nature of live sporting events. Whether you're a seasoned MMA fan or a casual observer, this episode delivers valuable perspectives wrapped in humor and candid conversation.

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Notable Quotes:

• Adam Carolla [00:58]: “You're basically looking at the ass of the ring apron camera guy a lot and then some.”

• Mike Catherwood [05:12]: “...Something happens to all the fighters. It spooks everybody.”

• Adam Carolla [07:03]: “...Kind of went down that road.”

• Mike Catherwood [16:30]: “We have a story about Jake Paul ripping Conor McGregor's relationship with Dana White...”

• Adam Carolla [19:07]: “I would tend to think this fight would be more active than the one.”

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This episode encapsulates the essence of The Adam Carolla Show—blending humor with in-depth discussions, making it a must-listen for fans seeking both entertainment and insightful commentary on the latest in MMA and beyond.

Transcript

[Adam Carolla]

It's time to get out of your safe space and into the octagon. This is MMA with MM and Ace. Good.

[Mike Catherwood]

Fired up for the Dead online segment.

[Adam Carolla]

I like fired up. What are you fired up about?

[Mike Catherwood]

I'm fired up. You did. We talk all week on the show. Adam Carolla show didn't get one drop of. Of the fight experience. You talked about hanging out with Mel Gibson. Hanging out. You didn't appreciate the art. You're all wrapped up in the front row.

[Adam Carolla]

I gotta say. I didn't. First things first. It's better to watch something from a little bit of a distance. You can see a lot more than where I was sitting. Also, I had the ring apron camera guy staring at his ass the entire time.

[Mike Catherwood]

Nuts and nuts right in your face.

[Adam Carolla]

Nuts and nuts and taints and.

[Mike Catherwood]

Exactly. And he wore jeans.

[Adam Carolla]

Well, they always wear black.

[Mike Catherwood]

Yeah.

[Adam Carolla]

But there are. So there is the ring apron camera guy. And if you're sitting just so, you're basically looking at the ass of the ring apron camera guy a lot and then some. So I found myself looking at a 14 inch monitor.

[Mike Catherwood]

Yeah.

[Adam Carolla]

That was in front of me more than I was looking up into the ring and also down. Like when you're up, like, okay, everyone wants. I want seats on the floor. But the reality is the seats on the floor are on a folding chair on the floor. The ring is four feet off the ground. So you're already sort of looking up and missing some stuff. The ring, I mean, you would know better than me, but it could be 4 or 5ft off the ground. Okay. You are much better off back four rows where it's elevated just a little bit.

[Mike Catherwood]

I know. Yeah.

[Adam Carolla]

You go back, let's say from where I was. You go back like three or four rows, you're still on the floor. Maybe two, three rows, you're still on the floor. And then you end up going up the rake. Just that one.

[Mike Catherwood]

First one is the primo first one.

[Adam Carolla]

That's where you want to be. Now, it's not. Or Mel Gibson, Kevin Costner's, but if you want to watch a fight, move back about 20ft, go up about 4ft. And now you can watch.

[Mike Catherwood]

My idea is just to build stadium seating right on top of the damn thing. I've been trying to do this for a long time. Yeah. Because I fought in arena in Atlanta that had that exact setup. The best place to watch a fight, you cannot have a bad seat. You are right there. Even if you're up there, the. The seats were at like a 50. I don't know, 90 degree angle, super jacked up. So you were right on top of the action. It was way different experience. I don't know why UFC doesn't really do it that way.

[Adam Carolla]

Well, UFC is playing in places that aren't bespoke to UFC fights. They're, they have the Clippers and Snoopy on Ice rolls in on Sunday. Right. And then the Harlem Globetrotters on Thursday. You know, they're a utility Swiss army knife. That can't be all things to everyone, you know what I mean?

[Mike Catherwood]

Yeah, you're right.

[Adam Carolla]

So they clear out the floor, they clear out the wooden, you know, basketball floor. They set up the octagon and they put, they put folding chairs around it, you know what I mean?

[Mike Catherwood]

Listen, so you didn't see any good knockout. I mean, look, it was a grapple heavy card. There was weird substitutions at 311, right? At the like the same, the final day, they made a substitution with the main event. And we'll get to that with.

[Adam Carolla]

I don't think anyone really looks forward to day of substitution, main event.

[Mike Catherwood]

Yeah, well, you know, that's interesting you say that because Hanado Moicano, who replaced Arman, who's supposed to fight for the title against Islam, Makachev says that there are more pay per views, but because of the hype, that's what he says. His camp says there was more pay per view sales because Hinata Moicano, this like flashy kind of kickboxer style, was now going to fight for the title instead of Armand, who is more of a grappling style fighter. And this might have been a. I don't know. I would have liked to have seen a high level grappling battle other than what we got, which is Hanato Moicano getting tapped out by a dart in a minute and 40 seconds.

[Adam Carolla]

Was it 140 the first?

[Mike Catherwood]

I think so, yeah.

[Adam Carolla]

Or was it 140 into the second?

[Mike Catherwood]

Second.

[Adam Carolla]

Yeah, he made it into the second.

[Mike Catherwood]

Ye second. And you know, it was like a one sided fight, you know?

[Adam Carolla]

Yeah, I see. From my perspective, I was just staring at the taint and the camera guy.

[Mike Catherwood]

It was the first round. I was thinking of another fight.

[Adam Carolla]

It wasn't a great night of mixed martial arts, but I couldn't figure out was it me drinking free vodka soda waters and talking to Mel Gibson that got me a little off of where I normally would be in this environment, or was this really sort of not a great night of mixed martial arts?

[Mike Catherwood]

There was something in there. I've been doing this a million Years, it feels like. And some nights there's something in the air. Some. Especially when something strange happens when somebody falls off the card at the end of the last minute, you know, it's. Something happens to all the fighters. It spooks everybody. And then everyone fights a little more conservative. Like, for instance, earlier in the card, Jamal Hill and Jury, and they both are, like, notorious for reaching out at their opponent. They both poke each other. I slow the card down. You gotta think about it. You know, it's the gladiators in the back room, like, getting ready, warming up. When the rhythm of the night is off, everyone back there is off, too. Like, everyone's like, what happened? What? Oh, yeah. No, it's not over. He poked him in the eye. And then you get this weird rhythm in the locker room where everyone's a, what the fuck's happening out there? Oh, my God. Like, because they tell you, oh, you're going out, and you know you're going to be going out in 10 minutes. And then some weird injury time. And then you're like, what the hell? And then, I swear, guys fight safer and different. Like. And I felt that come through the card. Meanwhile, you were Mel Gibson. Them. I happened into, like, a Russian bar that, like, had a lady just suddenly start fire dancing in the middle of, like, at the beginning of the main event.

[Adam Carolla]

Really?

[Mike Catherwood]

Like a bodysuit? Yeah. It gave everybody sparklers. Really? Yeah, it was. Yeah.

[Adam Carolla]

Where was this?

[Mike Catherwood]

It was in Hollywood. Zori's. It's like a place up there then in Hollywood or not South Hollywood, but, you know, Fire Dance, I want to call it. Yeah, Fire Dance, everything. It was a nice place, I got to admit. It was so. But I went there thinking, I'm at Buffalo Wild Wings. No, no, no, sir. You were at a highfalutin place.

[Adam Carolla]

Jamal Hill, watching that fight with Jerry, Didn't. Didn't. It just didn't seem like he wanted to be there that much.

[Mike Catherwood]

I don't think that ever since the ruptured of Achilles, his legs just don't look in shape. I was screaming at the tv, if Jerry would kick this man's legs, he would have maybe ended that fight even earlier because he was standing in his, like, modified boxing stance. He just didn't have it. You just wasn't in there. I don't know. Ever since that injury, we've been talking about him over and over again, and every time it's lackluster after lackluster performance.

[Adam Carolla]

Yeah, it started with me when I was talking to Mel Gibson's. What I'M assuming is his sober buddy.

[Mike Catherwood]

Yeah.

[Adam Carolla]

And he was explaining to me that it was the last prelim fight, I think, about the young guy, the kid who was the knockout artist, and he was going against the Brazilian guy. This guy was gonna knock him out. He's gonna knock. And it just turned into kind of a grappling thing. And the guy never really did touch him. He didn't. Couldn't quite get to him. And that guy lost. And it was sort of. It sort of. That set the tempo. The tempo, as you would say, for the night. So the rhythm of the night. Like, first I sit down and I got this guy who knows all about the ufc, and he's like, keep an eye on this kid. He's got hands, man. He's devastating. He's on the rise. He's knocking about early in the card. This was either the last prelim.

[Mike Catherwood]

Yeah.

[Adam Carolla]

Or the first of the card.

[Mike Catherwood]

All right. And.

[Adam Carolla]

And this guy, he's an American guy, and he's got great hands, and he's knocking everybody out. He's a fast riser. And keep your eyes on this guy. And then that guy just gets kind of grapple, grapple. And the other guy wins.

[Mike Catherwood]

Yeah.

[Adam Carolla]

And. And Mel Gibson's guy just looks at me and goes. I don't know what happened. That guy normally knocks everybody out, but he just got kind of slowed down. A grapple. Fuck. And the rest of the car just kind of went along like that. Yeah, yeah. Just kind of, like. Kind of went down that road.

[Mike Catherwood]

Yeah, yeah, that happened. I'm telling you, there's something in the air sometimes where.

[Adam Carolla]

No, I get it. There's a thing. It happens in comedy, too, where it's like the crowd's just not feeling it. Like, things. Rhythms get interrupted, get to be a little off, and it's just one of those. One of those nights.

[Mike Catherwood]

Well, speaking of grapple. Fuck. Like that story, Hinata Meccano actually said that he made 950 grand for that minute of work. Yeah. So. Because he replaced somebody short notice, and. I don't know, something about some, you know, got 250,000 base pay, and along with sponsorships and everything, that guy made more money than. I don't know anybody ever for that amount of work in the ufc. I mean, that time on the mat, you know.

[Adam Carolla]

Yeah. You know, kind of makes you wonder, I don't know if you've taken any short notice fights.

[Mike Catherwood]

Oh, yeah.

[Adam Carolla]

In a weird way, as long provided you or I or whoever was in shape, I would, in a weird way, prefer it that way, like, in a weird way, I wouldn't want to be crossing off the days on the calendar to the whatever. I'd rather someone just tap me on the shoulder the night before and go, we're starting tomorrow.

[Mike Catherwood]

Well, here's the thing that could be true, but see, Henato also was trained for a buddy of mine from back in the day, Kings mma, Benil Dal Rouge Ben beneath El Ruch, who's like a kickboxer type guy. So he's preparing this whole time for kickboxer. And then last day, they tell you, oh, no, you're gonna fight this grapple master from Dagestan. I think that was a big difference. Like, he was slow to, like, the defense for a darts position. He didn't go to it immediately because he probably wasn't that grapple training. He was ready for a kickboxing war or, you know, his level of jiu jitsu is just not that high. And, you know, he. He has his. His go to his favor. He gets on people's back and chokes him. He's great there. But if he doesn't, you know, he's on the bottom or if he's in a front headlock position, I don't think he has that level of wrestling to really deal with them. But he made a pretty penny for coming in short notice.

[Adam Carolla]

Who's. What's the next big card?

[Mike Catherwood]

The next big card is ddp. Drake is to play C versus Sean Strickland. That's the interesting fight because that could be one of those grapple fuck situations. Sean is a good jiu jitsu guy, but not a stellar one. He's more like a kickbox type guy. And, you know, we saw, you know, with Izzy, DDP got him down and it was over. You know, it was like a quick, you know, once the adrenaline wears off a bit and you get a little more tired, breathing heavy, you know, the grappling really is, like, important.

[Adam Carolla]

So the man, I. I don't know that he's had many boring fights. No, I guess is what I'd like to say.

[Mike Catherwood]

Well, partially because his wild ass, but, like, he gets in a bar fight with you and hopes that we go on the ground because he's really good at that. So he, like, makes it exciting by. Because he's not a very, like, technical striker. You know, he's not no sweet boxer, but he's a big, like, throw a club punch, got big arm energy. He's just out there slugging. And then he hopes he causes a scramble to get on top.

[Adam Carolla]

Yeah, I, I found him to be a pretty exciting fighter. And Strickland's gonna be fun, especially leading up to the fight.

[Mike Catherwood]

But Strickland gonna try to make it boring, I think. I mean, that would be the smart movie. Standing at like a Philly shell. He throws kicks in the front. Kicks, you know, he like shells up and whips a jab a lot. And, you know, he's very patient, you know, and so people get mad. Then he goes and throws crazy at that end of round, 30 seconds to go, and he just turns on, tries to steal the round. That's kind of the smart way to run it for Strickland. But DDP ain't going to play that game. He's going to shell up too, and march forward, try to run him around the cage, I believe.

[Adam Carolla]

Is this the main event?

[Mike Catherwood]

That's the main event, yeah. The undercard has some good fights. There's going to be, you know, well, aging the, the Chinese superstar later, you know. But the rest of the card, you might not even know there. It's.

[Adam Carolla]

What's the date of this?

[Mike Catherwood]

That's going to be, I believe. Let's look back. March or February. Sorry, February 8th. Yeah, the March card is really good. But this card's coming up and I don't know, I'm. I'm pretty interested in it.

[Adam Carolla]

Where is the fight?

[Mike Catherwood]

Looks like the Kudos bank arena, which is in.

[Adam Carolla]

I don't know where that is.

[Mike Catherwood]

Me neither.

[Adam Carolla]

Got to find that Sydney.

[Mike Catherwood]

Oh, my mistake. I remember that. Yeah. Australia.

[Adam Carolla]

Oh, wow.

[Mike Catherwood]

Okay.

[Adam Carolla]

So is it going to be one of those weird time fights?

[Mike Catherwood]

I believe so, yeah.

[Adam Carolla]

I don't like the ones noon or whatever.

[Mike Catherwood]

They catch me off guard. But this time we're ready. We're ready. Obviously. You know what I mean? They always catch. I know, I don't like, remember? Oh, this one's going to be in Bumblefuck, Ghana. So, you know, I got to make time zones accordingly.

[Adam Carolla]

Well, Du Plessis probably favorite in this fight.

[Mike Catherwood]

I would think so, but it. There's enough. I don't know.

[Adam Carolla]

I'd say he's favorite.

[Mike Catherwood]

Yeah, I would say he's favored, but.

[Adam Carolla]

Well, he's a champion, right?

[Mike Catherwood]

Absolutely. Yeah. And he's been dominant. Like, you know, the Izzy fight showed big holes in his game. If Strickland's smart, he'll exploit those. Like, I think that there is a case to say Strickland can jab and move and be in shape enough to stay off, stay out of submissions. I think there's a case for that. Where he can actually pull that off. So if he's a big dog, I don't know. I'm not against it. Yeah, 1 6C. It's pretty even.

[Adam Carolla]

Pretty even, yeah.

[Mike Catherwood]

Plus, you know, 165 for Strickland and, you know, under or, I'm sorry, 195 favorite for du Plessis.

[Adam Carolla]

I. I'll tell you, I. I like Strickland. I think money is going to move toward Duplessis. Yeah, that's what I think. I think he'll end up being a little more of a favorite than he is if it's pretty even money or close ish to even. Now if it's close ish to even, I think the money's going to move toward Duplis.

[Mike Catherwood]

I'd love to take a peek into Strickland's training camp, to tell you the truth. Like, just go in, hang out for a week, come by, watch practice just a little bit, just to know what he's doing, you know, because on the surface it's straightforward, you know, anti wrestle and, you know, kickbox. But I don't know, there could be something where the scrambles from Strickland are not bad. He doesn't have bad jiu jitsu at all. So I don't know. I don't know if the line's going to move which way, but it's going to be interesting fight. Yeah.

[Adam Carolla]

Well, I'll be watching, I think.

[Mike Catherwood]

Yeah. We have a story about Jake Paul ripping Conor McGregor's relationship with Dana White, saying, you don't control your own career. We might have some footage of it. How we do.

[Adam Carolla]

What?

[Mike Catherwood]

Very quiet.

[Adam Carolla]

What did you think the best course of action was for that? I didn't hear the last five seconds.

[Mike Catherwood]

I was in the air for a second. Yes. Bring it home for me.

[Adam Carolla]

It's 8am how this is the real deal.

[Mike Catherwood]

Yeah. In front of you, you know, okay, I will do it. He couldn't do what? 190. 195. He was sick. He was sick. He was sick. I'm sick. You're sick. I'm gonna slap the head up to two EOs and KSOs to me. You understand that? Side jobs, a little side job.

[Adam Carolla]

You can't even do your main job.

[Mike Catherwood]

How you gonna do a side job?

[Adam Carolla]

Simmer down. Simmer down, boy.

[Mike Catherwood]

It's crazy being on a bus with you. If there's a dolly, bro. If you're going through a. Yeah. Yacked out. Conor is my favorite.

[Adam Carolla]

Conor, what are they gonna. What. What kind of catch weight Are they meeting at.

[Mike Catherwood]

Yeah, you're just talking about, like, 190, 195. See, and that whole thing was that they had mentioned. They had said Logan Paul called out Conor for being, you know, Dana's dog. And he kind of is, in a way, because the UFC contract's so burdensome, you can't go outside of it without talking to Dana, you know, so he's giving him smack for that. But he brought up a great point that WWE has a vested interest in making sure Logan Paul can do his job. So he also has contractual obligations. They're trying to do that $500 million fight in India, and that's the talk of the town right now, that they're going to do this. Some shady billionaires are going to do it, but I don't know. Right now, it looks like contract negotiations are locked up.

[Adam Carolla]

Mm, I'll watch. I. I do think that, you know, having Mike Tyson at age, you know, 59 is just not. It's just there's a thing it did.

[Mike Catherwood]

Numbers.

[Adam Carolla]

I know, kind of McGregor is going to move around and throw some volume.

[Mike Catherwood]

That's.

[Adam Carolla]

That's. Oh, no.

[Mike Catherwood]

But this is Logan Paul, so it's different. It's okay.

[Adam Carolla]

But I still. I still.

[Mike Catherwood]

I don't think Logan Paul is quite a boxer.

[Adam Carolla]

I don't. Yeah, I don't. I don't know. I would tend to think this fight would be more active than the one.

[Mike Catherwood]

Gonna be in shape for that one.

[Adam Carolla]

All right. Said your piece.

[Mike Catherwood]

Said mine.

[Adam Carolla]

I'm.