Ronda Rousey has come and gone, and in her wake, she left a new MMA organization.
MVP MMA 1 was an unequivocal success this past weekend, with Rousey, Gina Carano, Nate Diaz, and the rest of the gang drawing very respectable numbers for Netflix. So, let’s talk about the fallout from that event, plus Conor McGregor’s official return against Max Holloway.
Related to your Ronda Rousey vs. Julianna Peña poll: How many of the current Top 10 women’s bantamweights would Rousey beat right now?
I want to be extremely clear: everything I’m about to say is NOT the result of me being super impressed with Rousey’s win over Carano, but a statement to the moribund state of the UFC’s women’s bantamweight division. The promotion has let this division die.
Here’s the thing about Rousey: for as much as you may not like her, and for as limited as her game is, Rousey is still one of the greatest female fighters of all time, and even at this age, a better athlete than most of the division. Rousey is a legitimate world-class athlete, with a unique and dangerous set of skills, and just generally the ability to actually punch with power. That alone makes her a threat to all but the very top of the women’s bantamweight division right now.
I wouldn’t bet my life on it, but I think Rousey would have a good shot at beating almost everyone in the bottom of the current UFC top 10, and a few in the top of it, too. In fact, the only fighters I would comfortably pick to beat Rousey are Kayla Harrison (total slaughter) and Raquel Pennington (durable enough and capable enough). Julianna Peña would be a favorite, and rightfully so, but she also got tapped by Germaine de Randamie; Ronda could throw her and finish it.
The sad reality is that the women’s bantamweight division has all but collapsed in recent years, and the promotion seems content to let it stay that way. Ranked women’s bantamweight fights on the prelims for APEX cards for crying out loud! I kinda think that once Kayla retires, the UFC might fold up the entire division. A dramatic fall for what was once the premier women’s division in the sport.
What would have been Nate’s trajectory had he never fought Conor?
Entertaining mid-card fighter riding off his Brother’s name making 5 figures before red panty night.
I think this is a very fun question that you got entirely incorrect in your answer.
A thing that I think has been lost to time (and the short turnover of the average MMA fan life cycle) is that before he beat Conor McGregor, Nate Diaz was still a big name. In fact, that’s why he got the opportunity to fight McGregor in the first place. The UFC didn’t throw Diaz in against McGregor on short notice because he was the only guy who answered the call; they did it because Nate was already over.
Now, did beating McGregor change everything? Absolutely. Before McGregor, Nate was popular, but he was Nick Diaz’s little brother. After McGregor? Nate was a star and had surpassed Nick Diaz in fame. That opened up doors that never could be opened otherwise, but it’s also unfair to assume that had Nate lost to McGregor, everything would have stayed the same.
Nate was 31 years old when he beat McGregor, so it’s not like he was on the last legs of his career. Even losing to McGregor would have given him a bump, and then it’s anyone’s guess as to where that leads him. It certainly wouldn’t be as big as beating Conor, but that doesn’t mean he never breaks out.
Stardom is like an explosion: it doesn’t happen randomly. First, all the necessary ingredients have to be in place, and then there’s a spark — BOOM. And while any one spark may be random, if you just leave combustible chemicals around long enough, eventually it’s a matter of time before they go up. Sure, McGregor was the biggest spark possible for Diaz, but he’s not the only one. Sooner or later, Nate would’ve blown up. Just ask Jorge Masvidal.
Conor McGregor vs. Max Holloway
Which x-factor hits McGregor-Holloway harder? Mac’s ring rust or Max’s accumulated mileage.
I think prime Max takes this easily. But 2026 Max is a lot more beatable if Conor takes this seriously (also a big If).
To me the answer is extremely obvious, but maybe not in the way you assume: Holloway’s accumulated mileage plays a much bigger factor in the outcome of this fight, because McGregor’s ring rust doesn’t really matter. But to be clear, I don’t think Holloway’s mileage matters much, either.
Max Holloway is going to beat the stuffing out of McGregor this summer, but it won’t be because Conor has been out for five years; it will be because he’s a better fighter than McGregor and a stylistic nightmare for him. Yes, Conor has the win over Max already, but that was before Max even really got good at fighting. Since then? He’s become an all-time great and developed a style that McGregor has no real tools to defeat.
Even if Holloway’s durability is finally starting to crack, Max has one of the best chins ever, and it’s still good. Even at the peak of his powers, Conor wasn’t going to KO Max, meaning he’d have to grind out a disciplined win over 25 minutes. That’s never been Conor’s game, and it’s simply a non-starter against Holloway’s volume. Unless Conor can somehow go full Charles Oliveira, he’s going to get put through the wood chipper.
But, if there is one reason to talk yourself into a McGregor upset, it’s Max’s mileage. McGregor has great timing and power, and we have finally seen Max’s chin cracked, so we can at least imagine a world where Conor catches Max early, especially up at 170, where Max should be giving up some size. Unlikely, but it’s the only thing that makes this fight compelling at all.
Ilia Topuria and Josh Hokit
How long would Josh Hokit have survived if there wasn’t any security between him and Ilia Topuria? Answers in milliseconds only.
Fun answer: Topuria is so good he might actually be able to scrap with Hokit for a bit.
Real answer: Hokit could simply sit on Topuria. Weight classes are a real thing.
W, L, or D, how fast does McGregor leave the UFC after he fights Holloway and Chandler back to back?
First, I don’t think he’s getting Chandler after Max. The Max fight doesn’t make a lot of sense to me promotionally in the first place, but a Chandler fight for Conor’s last dance makes none. The UFC will try to send him out the door by building someone off him. I’ve long thought Paddy Pimblett was the logical choice, so I’ll stick with that.
Second, SO FAST. Since McGregor fought Poirier, I’ve been saying he just needs to fight out his contract (two fights) and move on. Outside the UFC, I think McGregor can make close to $500 million on various fights — Nate Diaz 3, Jake Paul, Floyd Mayweather 2, Manny Pacquiao, hell, even Mike Tyson — so why stick around the UFC? I’m of the opinion that Conor is trying to get out of his contract to start making some money again, and now that he’s seen the financial proof of concept that is Netflix, he’s trying to expedite it.
I bet Conor is fighting Jake Paul by next summer.
Thanks for reading, and thank you to everyone who sent in questions! Do you have any burning questions about things at least somewhat related to combat sports? Then you’re in luck, because every week I put a prompt into The Feed for your questions. Fire them into there, and I’ll answer the best ones in the Mailbag, and try to get to the rest in the responses.
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