The MMA Hour: Tom Aspinall, Yair Rodriguez, Arnold Allen, Mackenzie Dern, and More | Feb 12, 2024

The Mixed Martial Arts Hour is back in your life! Below is a rundown of Monday’s show, which begins at 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT / 6 p.m. UK time.
00:00:00 Standby
00:00:57 Intro
00:09:15 Ariel Helwani and crew look recap the weekend that was.
00:33:20 Craig Jones joins the show to talk about UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski and the rest of the MMA world.
01:10:41 Parlay Boys
01:32:42 Arnold Allen reacts to his disappointing loss to Movsar Evloev at UFC 297 and what comes next.
02:09:57 Tom Aspinall returns to talk about the UFC heavyweight title picture and his situation with Jon Jones.
02:42:43 Mackenzie Dern previews her fight with Amanda Lemos at UFC 298.
03:04:06 Former UFC interim featherweight champion Yair Rodriguez returns the show to talk about his upcoming rematch with Brian Ortega at UFC Mexico.
03:21:13 Rest
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[@MMAFightingonSBN]

00:00:57 Intro 00:09:15 Weekend recap 00:33:20 Craig Jones 01:10:41 Bets 01:32:42 Arnold Allen 02:09:57 Tom Aspinall 02:42:43 Mackenzie Dern 03:04:06 Yaír Rodriguez 03:21:13 Rest

[@RossiBoku]

When's the ending?

[@camko11]

Home from work because of surgery, going to watch along for the first time ever! I've only been am audio listener for 2 years 😊

[@vinnierkc]

Get well soon man 🫡

[@camko11]

@vinnierkc thanks mate, only down and out for a fortnight then back to truckin 🚛

[@melting_dave]

You will never go back haha! Speedy recovery man 👊🏻

[@RossiBoku]

Ariel is the bald one with a big nose and bad breath. Get well soon brother 👃 👍

[@georgefraser1137]

Rick is so wrong, people are definitely tuning out for apex but tuning in for fight nights in an arena.

[@chiraqdrilla6875]

arial glazzing tom was killing me

[@Surre4LSoto]

Bro seriously lmao he loves Tom so much that he becomes a Jones hater it’s crazy

[@bubbaye8221]

Does he glaze Tom or Francis more? Would like to hear his opinion on who would win if they fought.

[@StandTherenBleed]

Craig Jones is hilarious! 😂

[@im-gi1nl]

How quickly we forget Khamzat missed weight by 8 lbs last time he had a welterweight fight. Not to mention it is promotional malpractice not to have belal in the next Welterweight championship fight turn up. Like it or not, he has earned it

[@lakesification]

I skipped the last two cards, I aint done that in years. That ESPN Plus commercial is %50 the reason why.

[@d50mx6]

I also skipped the last 2 cards. I have better things to do and don’t care for the Apex cards. Last Apex card I buzzed through was when Jim Miller fought.

[@GlasshouseaquaticsGHA]

For probably 7-8 years I haven’t missed a single card let alone fight. I’ll admit, it’s a long streak that I have gone out of May to keep because every single card is something I look Forward to each week. Just wanna see fights

[@conord7643]

Coach G started the “who me?” bit. He retired from professional karate and now goes by weregonnalose on KZbin

[@bigp7323]

Yair would kick Topurias head to the next block

[@Weregonnalose]

Why are you guys taking credit for my "Who me" line 😂?

[@rooster5572]

I'm sure his fight was a real battle

[@Weregonnalose]

Haha ​@@rooster5572

[@joecoreano]

Gotta love mma hour

[@albaviris]

i mean you dont have to

[@AAK-.]

The lineup was so stacked Craig Jones didnt even get his name in the title lmao

[@dixieechann]

Yair and Ilia would be a great fight

[@iluvmyboba]

You ain't lying. I think Ilia matches up well with Yair. They both have very explosive styles. I'd like to see them kick it around in the octagon.

[@georgefraser1137]

Does Ariel actually think wwe is a combat sport? Closer to a theatre production than a sport

[@bobbydueces71]

I turn him off whenever he goes there, can’t listen 😒

[@ChainZxNuke]

Aspinall 🐐

[@Trickiestree]

Love the fact that Ariel's one of us, a Super Red, and he spoke about his love of Nottingham Forest and how it come about to his son. You ought to pay the world famous City Ground a visit if you ever over here, Magic bruh.

[@curtgregersen5867]

Why u not talk about The Joker, Ariel? Why u not talk about legalise mma in Norway 🇳🇴? Im a bit dissapointed man

[@bananaclipper7692]

2:07:12 crowd work videos are popular on comedy tiktok and IG cause they’re perfect snippets and also they don’t want to post their material

[@disismeman]

Ariel, did you forget that Yair got head butted badly - causing a ref stoppage - like 1 min before Volk KO’d him?

[@CombatSports01]

3:16:00 Yair 1:02:12 Craig

[@lawranceprasad2059]

LETS GOOOOO YAIR!!!

[@itscje5784]

Love to this guy - bring him back

[@euandenniston3243]

I feel like the reason for the Apex being flogged at the moment, is because Dana is padding out 298,299 and 300 with all the good matchups, which doesnt leave a lot of top tier fights to headline these Fight Nights. Dana is likely to be hesitant to put these weaker Fight Nights into an arena as he will be worried that they wont sell. (got to keep up those gate records!) He will consider an Apex event to be preferable to a half empty arena. Hopefully things will even out once we get past these big PPVs in the early year... (Hopefully!).

[@amhmnsh]

They can use smaller venues, Merab vs. Petr Yan fight was cool, the UFC brand is more than enough to sellout that kind of venues

[@euandenniston3243]

@@amhmnsh I agree that Merab vas Petr is a top teir fight, but look at the headliners recently. Hermansson vs Pyfer (No. 11 vs Unranked), Dolidze Vs Imavov, Upcoming is Rozenstruik vs Gaziev, Tuivasa vs Tybura etc. etc. These fights just arent at the level you build an arena card around and expect a sell out. I think the UFC recognises this and are protecting their brand, so people arent pointing out that the UFC isnt selling out cards all of a sudden. I think they have "blown" 3 months of Fight Night headliners, by stacking the upcoming PPVs.

[@mitchellportnoy9524]

Where does he talk about ufc 300?

[@MufcGgmu38]

30 mins in

[@MufcGgmu38]

Wasn’t ready for Waitrose on mma hour. 😂

[@technodromen]

Man, i do not like Dern taking this fight. Short notice against an opponent whom have been preparing for Suarez which means her wrestling and grappling will be on point. And Lemos has real KO power behind her hands. And the way Derns striking looked against Andrade.... sheeeesh.

[@Eamador3]

Tommy Aspinal looks like Mr Incredible from the Incredibles hahaha 😂 HW King!

[@121pompey3]

I love the Football chat!

[@themmapanda]

What about main event for the sphere? Dana is obsessed with it

[@IS-db6pn]

“Wait Rose”

[@arnaldorivera7031]

Craig Jones is hilarious

[@zuddha2268]

Mackenzie Dern is just lovely. Nice to see her in such good spirits. LFG!

[@Trickiestree]

Keep the faith Triple A, a tough test for anyone in your weighclass still bruh.

[@systemdnb214]

Did anyone ever tell Ariel that Khamzat was here in Vegas after Jacksonville? I didnt watch the whole thing. I can’t believe he missed that. He’s usually better with his memory of PPVs.

[@1014192324]

Tom saying it as it is once again. Hope Jon steps up after stipe 🤞

[@noelperies8406]

Craig Jones was hilarious, want to watch more of his content now

[@contourplasteringtilingplu107]

4am: U up?

[@user-tn1nr5jw3z]

This is the aspinal we needed to see… I think I’m number 1… me

[@archiekeen376]

Guys trying to defend the southern border and he can’t even defend his own driveway. Craig Jones is a killer on the mats and with the mic

[@Nik-bk2fb]

Is the UFC the last sports organization that still has covid restrictions?

[@tellerxx4868]

Props for ignoring the most viral event this weekend , Strickland doing gods work

[@adrianohare]

Feelings get hurt just thinking about Sean.

[@TheIvanMilky]

For a second I thought Ariel was going to tangent into Ray Lewis murder charges out of nowhere 😂😂

[@Ian-km7ks]

I would like to see Tom v Francis in mma since nobody else wants to fight Tom

[@maximilianborden313]

Why does area keep talking about WrestleMania and www e like? It's like this huge f****** combat sports event like dude, nobody cares about WrestleMania anymore.

[@nickstacey3066]

Dude Ilia vs Yair would make me crum

[@im-gi1nl]

Should have asked Mackenzie Dern about not working with Jason Perillo anymore. Curious as to what happened

[@williamlehecka2351]

Best you tube in the game next fullsend

[@user-hd5ee2rc6g]

Mackenzie got schooled in her last fight. She has to improve her striking and learn how to tuck her chin if she is going to be a champion in mma. She reminds me of ronda rousey but hopefully she will be able to get better at these fight skills.

[@TheJewinator]

You guys are hurting my pockets lol

[@rayhanatalferdaws7363]

The best fight is Hamzat Chimaev vs. Leon Edwards for the title

[@TenggisKhan]

I don't understand how gordon Ryan and craig jones can be at such odds when they were both in the highly successful danaher death squad. maybe that's why they split up I don't know the details

[@SGT..ROCKtm]

Tell me you've seen Ronnie Chieng International Student..

[@MufcGgmu38]

1:56:53 the 99 Manchester United team Respect 🫡 Ariel game recognise game

[@ericregnier8142]

Tired of everyone complaining about apex shows I would rather get to watch ufc almost every week of the year then alot less than that and I strongly believe that within the next 5 to 10 years there will be very little apex shows cuz they will have enough "stars" they can go to arenas 2 to 3 times a month but right now they can't and I'd rather watch more of it then less

[@RossiBoku]

Hiiiiiyaaaaaa EVERYONE 👋 👋 👋. Iv just found out that Im not the only person in the world thats bringing sexy back!! But on a serios note HEY ARNOLD 👋😏 🏈

[@sroy5993]

What’s up Ariel? No eating horse. You’re from Quebec and that’s the only place I’ve ever eaten horse.

[@noelperies8406]

Yair vs Topuria is the next fight if Illia loses and Yair wins

[@jamespeacock5175]

Put Craig Jones in video title. The disrespect.....

[@GlasshouseaquaticsGHA]

Dana doenst care if ilia or volk win, it’s a win win for them

[@frankgofundme]

Did aspinal fart 3 or 4 times during the interview?

[@24inchdubz]

who me?

[@sportinguista09]

Was that a fart at 2:17:14

[@psychgaming.4397]

Same thing should be said in return both them are old stipe is 40+ jon almost 40. Could tom feel good about himself beating 2 past there prime old man. I couldn't

[@billgalyean9140]

I get it but if they’re in the way of him getting the belt then so be it, it’ll be his job to take them out no matter their age. It may take a KO from Aspinall for them to realize that.

[@MainCardMinute]

8-0 betting on the last 2 PPVs, ALL PLUS MONEY💰💰💰

[@Truesk8er1]

Tom gotta just keep his mouth shut haha

[@tuffneggah]

ariel trying to get yair to piss on brandon's main event was scummy. but on brand for a tunnel digger. hope brandon comes on with a palestine tee next time

[@JrE-il7cf]

Did he really? Wow. But Israel will always own the land.

[@rooster5572]

​@@JrE-il7cfAt least since the early 20th century after they killed almost a million Palestinians. There was a country there before WW2 ya know?

[@JrE-il7cf]

@rooster5572 Israel owns the land.

[@Indigenous-English-Man]

Yanks don’t get British football rivalries. On derby days we fight our relatives if they support the rival team.

[@MaximumEffxrt]

First

[@GlasshouseaquaticsGHA]

Why take their picks first of all lol

[@TheJewinator]

Stop losing me money

[@bigben42]

Long live Dana White, without him none of this would be possible

[@buckminsterfullerene2149]

Boxing, professional rastling and dart throwing are not MMA. Change the name of the show and stop misleading people.

[@gavinhale1133]

I don't like Ariel the way he's talking about Jon jones like he hasn't fought the best of the best for the longest time. he fought every killer at light heavyweight and now he takes a break and gets injured and Ariel just constantly saying who cares about Jon jones

[@FattySnacks]

Y’all sound like casuals saying aspnial is the champ over bones

[@davesmithson5634]

The old casual comment. SMH.

[@FattySnacks]

@@davesmithson5634 the old casual comment to a comment. SMH

[@davesmithson5634]

@@FattySnacks yep

[@williamboyle8918]

Dern had an Akron Ohio accent here. Odd.

[@noelperies8406]

Couldn't care less for ufc apex events

[@gerardmccarthy8468]

Anyone else think Ariel is a worm at this point ?

[@90876589]

Ffs hearing this dummy say "Voke" is so annoying. Ariel trying to be like Chael.

[@clintperlman1492]

Stipe is such a coward. He's ready to fight but knows Tom will f him up he spoil his fight with Jon....in which Jon will f him up anyway. Ur retiring with an L no matter what Stipe

[@skdyer94]

M8 rate your game but hate your intro song soon as I hear it I turn off the podcast inless its Eddie hearn

[@dujon06]

Was Aspinall farting in the interview?🤔🤔😭

[@doziermuzic]

UFC pushed Dern too fast. She should be going through her growing pains in Invicta. The goal should've been to win a title there first while working on her blaring weaknesses.

[@albondeb]

This woman gave her child a broken home because of her ego

[@samsneed5099]

Of all videos ive ever seen on youtube or tv in last 40 years. This is the worst intro of annoying sounds ive ever heard in my life.

[@GrimzReapr]

Nobody wants to see khamzat rn he doesnt even deserve a title shot and cant even make weight

[@bobbydueces71]

Stop with the fake wrestling banter. Soap opera fan 😂

[@benwellek5349]

Cut the soccer talk.

[@iluvmyboba]

Can't wait to see Yair with the strap around his waist.

[@pormaTV99]

This guy always attacks the ufc yet still covers it . I’m amused how ufc fighters still like getting interviewed by you

[@lachlan1441]

Ever think UFC fighters might have grievances with the company too?

[@technodromen]

this is the actual dumb comment. ariel is covering the sport. without him doing he job we would basically have 0 people how are even close to being critical of the UFC's business practises. you don't the fighters feel all kinds of thing regarding the UFC but can't say anything since they are expendable and the UFC is a monopoly and rules with an iron fist. i'm amused you don't understand a single thing of this. you don't have to watch ariel or like him. but you damn well have to respect him and his contribution to the sport we love.

[@bryanciacco4181]

Tom Aspinall absolutely sucks! Fight Curtis Blades who beat you! How about that! LMFAO talking about Jones who has more title defenses than all Tom's wins combined! Ohhh I get it it's because Ariel helwani hates Jon Jones and Jones just like DDP won't go on the MMA hour. Booo whoooo I live in the reality of facts!

[@noremorse4379]

Did you even watch the interview he literally said he wants that fight

[@Carlosibarras]

why the F no likes? fing people

[@noremorse4379]

Starta the show saying its a combat sports show then talks about football and wrestling... Please stop this

[@puntsize]

GC lying about the odds he played yet again. Surprise surprise.

[@sheajackson4187]

What did he lie about?

[@Dylb-fz2vo]

Ariel don’t be a sore loser now 😉 ‘Shitty Newcastle, look at their form’ 4 wins 1 draw 1 loss & top 7 in the prem, come off it ! 🖤🤍