UFC Unfiltered with Jim Norton and Matt Serra

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Mackenzie Dern, Jared Gordon, UFC 295 picks Nov 09, 2023

Show notes

Just days away from this Saturday’s return to Madison Square Garden for UFC 295, Matt and Jim get two fighters from the card to hop on the show in women’s strawweight Mackenzie Dern and lightweight Jared Gordon.

Looking to build momentum off her unanimous decision win over Angela Hill in May, Dern explains why Saturday’s fight against Jéssica Andrade is her most important fight yet as Dern discusses the type of pressure that comes with fighting a former champion looking to avoid dropping her fourth straight fight.

The guys then shift their eyes to Saturday’s stacked UFC 295 card and dole out some of their picks for the two title fights atop the billing.

Then, Queens, New York native Jared Gordon joins the show, reflecting on the perseverance it took to battle through life’s low points to be where he is today — gearing up to fight Mark Madsen in Madison Square Garden; the legendary stadium where his grandfather boxed as a professional back in the day.

Finally, the guys finish the show with the rest of their predictions from the main card and a few other notable fights from the prelims.

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Dennis Buzukja talks fighting at UFC 295, Adam Carolla catches up w/ Jim and Matt Nov 07, 2023

Show notes

On today’s episode of UFC Unfiltered, Jim Norton and Matt Serra are joined by featherweight Dennis Buzukja ahead of his fight on the UFC 295 undercard before catching up with a comedian and podcasting icon in Adam Carolla.

Set to fight Jamall Emmers in the very first fight of Saturday’s card, Long Island’s own Dennis Buzukja expresses his excitement to fight in front of friends and family at Madison Square Garden before looking back on his journey to the UFC.

As Jim and Matt shift the conversation to how thankful they are to be able to make a living out of their passions, Buzukja reflects on how long drives from his construction job to tough training sessions with the Serra-Longo Fight Team created the opportunity for him to fight full time.

Shortly after Buzukja leaves, Adam Carolla hops on the show for his second appearance on UFC Unfiltered. Adam and the guys catch up and talk about a multitude of topics — including how the prevalence of smartphones has changed human behavior.

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Caio Borralho, is Leon Edwards’ gym justified for banning Ian Machado Garry? Nov 01, 2023

Show notes

Jim Norton returns for this Wednesday’s episode of UFC Unfiltered alongside Matt Serra to a show that invites rising Brazilian middleweight Caio Borralho on ahead of his fight on Saturday’s card in São Paulo.

Borralho, who is set to fight middleweight Abus Magomedov on Saturday’s UFC Fight Night: Almeida vs. Lewis card, dishes his thoughts on his upcoming fight — unpacking the stylistic matchup before dishing his thoughts on his opponent’s most recent outing against Sean Strickland.

On the topic of Strickland, Borralho explains what it was like sparring the newly-crowned UFC middleweight champion as he explains the thought process behind his accurate pre-fight prediction that nailed the outcome of Israel Adesanya’s loss to Strickland at UFC 293.

To wrap up the show, Matt and Jim strike a conversation regarding Leon Edwards and whether the UFC welterweight champion’s gym was justified in disallowing Ian Machado Garry to continue training there.

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Joe Pyfer on his upbringing & what’s next, coach Plinio Cruz talks Procházka-Pereira w/ guest co-host Phoenix Carnevale Oct 31, 2023

Show notes

With Jim Norton out for the day, friend of the show Phoenix Carnevale steps on up as a guest co-host for Monday’s episode of UFC Unfiltered alongside Matt Serra for chats with coach Plinio Cruz and rising UFC middleweight Joe Pyfer.

Matt and Phoenix waste no time by bringing coach Plinio Cruz on to the show to listen on as the former Brazilian heavyweight fighter discusses the brotherly dynamic he and former UFC light heavyweight champion Glover Teixeira both have as coaches for former UFC middleweight champion Alex Pereira.

Seeking to help Pereira become a two-division champion in a second sport, Cruz walks through the elements that make Alex’s upcoming light heavyweight title fight against Jiří Procházka a special matchup to sit atop the UFC 295 card at Madison Square Garden — the very same building where Pereira won both his UFC debut and middleweight title.

Then, Pennsylvania’s own Joe Pyfer joins the show to talk about how his rough upbringing shaped him into the fighter and man he is today before dropping a couple of names of top-15 middleweights he’d be interested in fighting to crack into the division’s rankings.

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Ripple effect of Jon Jones’ injury, catching up with Ben Askren Oct 25, 2023

Show notes

On today’s episode of UFC Unfiltered, Jim Norton and Matt Serra react to the monumental news about UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones’ injury with guest caller and former UFC welterweight Ben Askren.

Jim and Matt begin the show by immediately diving into the ripple effect of Jon Jones’ torn pectoral tendon injury. With Sergei Pavlovich and Tom Aspinall agreeing to fight each other in an interim heavyweight title co-main event at UFC 295, Jim and Matt look into what another delay could mean for former heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic as he looks to return to the cage for the first time since March of 2021.

Ben Askren joins the show shortly after, filling the guys in on how he balances his post-retirement life as a father and wrestling coach with interest in writing books and investing.

While listing all of the things keeping him busy without fighting, Askren names the one and only veteran fighter he’d willingly end his retirement for.

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Recapping UFC 294 w/ guest co-host John Morgan Oct 23, 2023

Show notes

On this episode of UFC Unfiltered, Jim Norton and Matt Serra recap all things UFC 294 with longtime MMA writer and journalist John Morgan, who joins for the duration of the show as today’s guest co-host.

The guys open the show with initial thoughts on how Kamaru Usman looked on short notice in his majority decision loss to Khamzat Chimaev in Saturday’s middleweight co-main event.

As a collective group of three, the guys then shift the conversation to Saturday’s cageside doctor, sparking a spirited debate about whether or not Johnny Walker was in a position to keep fighting after Magomed Ankalaev struck him with a knee.

After singing the praises of Alexander Volkanovski for his courage to accept a difficult lightweight title fight rematch against Islam Makhachev on short notice, Matt unpacks what went wrong for Volkanovski before the guys chime in with their thoughts on whether Charles Oliveira or Justin Gaethje has a better chance at becoming the UFC’s new 155-pound king.

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Arman Tsarukyan, UFC 294 preview & predictions Oct 18, 2023

Show notes

With this Saturday’s UFC 294 pay-per-view just a matter of days away, Jim Norton and Matt Serra use today’s episode to preview and predict winners for the massive fights atop the card — with 8th-ranked lightweight Arman Tsarukyan providing some additional perspective on as a guest caller.

Jim and Matt waste no time by diving straight into the main card, unpacking the elements that make both of Saturday’s short-notice fights intriguing. When discussing Alexander Volkanovski’s readiness for a 5-round title fight, the guys assess whether or not the UFC’s 145-pound king has to find a way to finish Islam Makhachev in order to dethrone the lightweight champion.

Midway through the show, Arman Tsarukyan hops on the call to look back at his own experience taking a short-notice fight against Makhachev before weighing in on whether Volkanovski has a chance at pulling off the upset.

Finally, the guys wrap up the show by making their picks for three fights in particular — the main event, Kamaru Usman’s middleweight co-main event against Khamzat Chimaev, and the light heavyweight featured bout between second-ranked Magomed Ankalaev and seventh-ranked Johnny Walker.

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Chris Gutierrez, Gerald McCoy, UFC 294’s short-notice changes Oct 17, 2023

Show notes

On today’s episode of UFC Unfiltered, Jim Norton and Matt Serra are joined by 15th-ranked UFC bantamweight Chris Gutierrez and former 6-time NFL Pro Bowl defensive tackle Gerald McCoy!

Joining the show first is Chris, who himself is fresh off a unanimous victory over Alatengheili after an injury to Montel Jackson pushed back Gutierrez’s expected fight date exactly one week to this past weekend’s card headlined by Sodiq Yusuff and Edson Barboza. Gutierrez discusses the significance of getting back in the win column after his previous 8-fight unbeaten streak was snapped with a loss in April to Pedro Munhoz.

While waiting for Gerald McCoy to hop on the show, Jim and Matt dish out their takeaways from Saturday’s action at the APEX, ever impressed by Gutierrez and his Factory X teammate, Jonathan Martinez among others.

Once Gerald McCoy arrives, Jim and Matt waste no time — diving straight into a discussion about Israel Adesanya’s decision to temporarily step away from the sport after 5+ years of incredible activity marked by multiple title reigns in his 16 fights with the UFC thus far.

With 11 years of NFL experience to his name, McCoy uses the backdrop of his football playing career as a reference when the topic shifts to the intriguing short-notice changes atop this Saturday’s massive UFC 294 card in Abu Dhabi and the feasibility of Kamaru Usman and Alexander Volkanovski accepting monumental matchups with less than two weeks to prepare.

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Adrian Yanez on bouncing back from loss, chopping it up w/ comedian Robert Kelly Oct 11, 2023

Show notes

Joining Jim Norton and Matt Serra on today’s episode of UFC Unfiltered is bantamweight Adrian Yanez and comedian Robert Kelly.

Looking to bounce back from his first loss inside the UFC, 14th-ranked bantamweight Adrian Yanez gives a sober assessment of what went wrong as he abandoned his game plan in the midst of his one-round firefight against Rob Font. Yanez further explains how the great deal of mutual respect between himself and 13th-ranked bantamweight Jonathan Martinez will have to be put aside briefly as the two prepare to clash on Saturday night in a significant fight for the UFC’s 135-pound division.

Shortly thereafter, Jim and Matt are joined by a long-time friend of the show in stand-up comedian Robert Kelly, who himself is no fighter but shows an incredible ability to take Matt Serra’s friendly jabs in stride while throwing some back himself in a hilarious appearance on the show.

The guys wrap up the show by taking a look at Saturday’s UFC Fight Night: Yusuff vs. Barboza card.

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Drew Dober, coach Eric Nicksick, UFC Fight Night: Dawson vs. Green reactions Oct 10, 2023

Show notes

On today’s episode of UFC Unfiltered, Matt Serra and Jim Norton are joined by coach Eric Nicksick of Xtreme Couture and UFC lightweight Drew Dober following his knockout win vs. Ricky Glenn over the weekend.

Jim and Matt open the show with a brief intro before shortly thereafter bringing coach Nicksick on to talk about the recent success coming from the Xtreme Couture stable. With Jim and Matt incredibly impressed by newly crowned middleweight champion Sean Strickland, coach Nicksick goes on to explain how Matt Serra’s upset win over Georges St-Pierre was periodically brought up during Strickland’s training camp as a way of instilling a sense of belief in the idea that upsetting Israel Adesanya was more than just a possibility.

After coach Nicksick leaves the show, Jim and Matt shift their attention to the action that took place over the weekend at the UFC APEX during UFC Fight Night: Dawson vs. Green — just in time for Drew Dober to call in and recap his own fight from that card. Now 4-1 in his last five fights, Dober explains how getting knocked out by Matt Frevola helped him recenter his focus and get back in touch with the skills that helped him become a fan-favorite.

With Bobby Green using his one-of-a-kind style to pull off an upset win in Saturday’s main event over 10th-ranked lightweight Grant Dawson in Saturday’s main event, Dober reflects on his own fight with Green — ending the interview with a hilarious story about the back-and-forth trash talk between himself and Green from they fought.

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