UFC Unfiltered with Jim Norton and Matt Serra

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Grant Dawson, Ryan Clark, previewing UFC Fight Night: Dawson vs. Green Oct 04, 2023

Show notes

With UFC Fight Night: Dawson vs. Green being a matter of days away, Jim Norton and Matt Serra are joined by one half of Saturday's main event as UFC lightweight Grant Dawson joins an episode of UFC Unfiltered that also features NFL-player turned MMA super fan Ryan Clark.

At the very beginning of the show, Matt is pleased to find out that Grant Dawson is as big of a Star Wars fan as him — leading to a passionate conversation about the characters and storylines that live inside of the all-time classic franchise's multimedia universe.

Before wrapping up his interview, the UFC's 10th-ranked lightweight Dawson shares some of his thoughts on what it means to be headlining his first UFC main event against a tough veteran like Bobby Green who fights with a unique, one-of-a-kind style inside the cage.

Shortly after, the guys are joined by retired 13-year NFL veteran Ryan Clark, who begins his conversation with Jim and Matt by explaining how a lifelong football player from Louisiana discovered a passion for consuming martial arts during Chuck Liddell's reign as UFC light heavyweight champion. Clark then goes on to share how he got involved in co-hosting the DC & RC podcast with former two-division UFC champion Daniel Cormier, a Louisiana native himself.

The guys go on to chat about big time fights they’re looking forward to before closing off the show by plugging this Saturday's intriguing UFC Fight Night card in Las Vegas.

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Tom Aspinall, Daniel Zellhuber, looking ahead to Dawson vs. Green Oct 03, 2023

Show notes

On today’s episode of UFC Unfiltered, Matt Serra welcomes Jim Norton back to the United States for a show that features two guest callers in lightweight Daniel Zellhuber and fourth-ranked UFC heavyweight Tom Aspinall.

Shortly after Matt catches Jim up on some things he missed while telling jokes in Toronto, Mexico’s own Daniel Zellhuber makes his UFC Unfiltered debut by giving the guys a glimpse into how being bullied as a kid helped spark an interest in martial arts as a young kid. Reflecting back on his only loss in his UFC debut, Zellhuber explains how losing to an experienced veteran in his very first fight with the UFC has helped shape him into the fighter he is today coming off two straight victories.

Almost immediately after Zellhuber’s interview ends, fourth-ranked UFC heavyweight Tom Aspinall hops on the show to assess his standing in the division as a fan-friendly fighter known for taking judges out of the equation with all types of stoppages. Set to travel to Matt Serra’s home state of New York for a role as a guest TV analyst this November for the UFC heavyweight title fight between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic at UFC 295, Tom uses the end of his interview to inquire about training with Matt while he’s in New York for the week.

Matt and Jim make sure to sprinkle in some talk about this Saturday’s UFC Fight Night: Dawson vs. Green event in select moments of the show’s episode before wrapping up the day.

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Mateusz Gamrot, Kristian Harloff, Pimblett vs. "El Cucuy" w/ guest co-host Din Thomas Sep 28, 2023

Show notes

With Jim Norton out for the day, the one and only Din Thomas steps on up as a guest co-host for Wednesday's episode of UFC Unfiltered alongside Matt Serra for chats with UFC lightweight Mateusz Gamrot and pop culture critic Kristian Harloff!

After a brief introduction to the show, Matt and Din waste no time bringing Gamrot on the show to talk to him about last Saturday's TKO win over Rafael Fiziev. The sixth-ranked lightweight offers his best wishes to Fiziev in his recovery before ultimately outlining his plans inside the stacked 155-pound division, including his reasoning for why he wants to fight former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira.

When Gamrot leaves the show, Din and Matt take a moment to dish their thoughts on the six fighters who earned a UFC contract on Tuesday's Dana White's Contender Series episode before breaking into a discussion about why Tony Ferguson's losing skid is still no reason for unranked Paddy Pimblett to look at 'El Cucuy' as an easy matchup in the young lightweight's first fight back from ankle surgery.

Matt turns into a kid in a candy store when pop culture expert and movie/TV critic Kristian Harloff hops on the show to compare notes on recently released shows and movies that Matt and Din have watched.

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Miles Johns, coach Mike Valle, UFC Fight Night: Fiziev vs. Gamrot recap Sep 26, 2023

Show notes

On today’s episode of UFC Unfiltered, Jim Norton and Matt Serra are joined by UFC bantamweight Miles Johns and VFS Academy’s owner and head coach Mike Valle.

Jim and Matt begin the show by recapping some of Saturday’s action from the UFC Apex, with some thoughts on featherweight Bryce Mitchell’s win over Dan Ige and Rafael Fiziev’s knee injury in the lightweight main event that gave Mateusz Gamrot an injury TKO win.

Fresh off a win on Saturday’s prelims, Miles Johns joins the show for the first time ever to discuss his close fight with Dan Argueta and how his sobriety has been one of many recent changes to his life that have improved his mindset in between fight camps. While discussing his journey from childhood wrestler to professional mixed martial artist, Miles explains why mental health issues are a matter near and dear to his heart.

Shortly after Miles leaves the show, Jim and Matt are joined by VFS Academy’s Mike Valle, who uses his perspective as Belal Muhammad’s coach to dive deeper into the upcoming welterweight title fight between defending champion Leon Edwards and two-time title challenger Colby Covington.

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Former TUF champions Bryan Battle & Mohammed Usman preview their fights on Saturday Sep 20, 2023

Show notes

The Ultimate Fighter is well represented on today's episode of UFC Unfiltered, as former TUF champions Bryan Battle and Mohammed Usman join Matt Serra and Jim Norton ahead of their upcoming fights on Saturday.

Coming off a 14-second knockout win in front of his hometown fans in Charlotte, UFC welterweight Bryan Battle reflects on his journey to the UFC before ultimately previewing his fight against AJ Fletcher on the main card of Saturday's UFC Fight Night: Fiziev vs. Gamrot.

UFC heavyweight Mohammed Usman hops on the show shortly thereafter. The former football player-turned-MMA fighter weighs in on the idea of how high-level NFL players could do in the cage before explaining why he relishes the target that's on his back as the younger brother of the legendary Kamaru Usman.

Turning his eyes to Saturday's fight against Jake Collier, Usman explains why he believes his opponent's recent string of losses makes Collier a dangerous fighter with nothing to lose going into the fight versus an up-and-comer like himself.

Finally, Jim and Matt take a look up and down the bout sheet of UFC Fight Night: Fiziev vs. Gamrot with select thoughts on what they're most excited to see during Saturday's fights.

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Noche UFC recap, Grasso's 10-8 round, women's flyweight title picture w/ Loopy Godinez Sep 18, 2023

Show notes

On today's episode of UFC Unfiltered, Matt Serra and Jim Norton unpack all the action from Saturday's “Noche UFC” card in Las Vegas for an episode that serves as a victory Monday for women's strawweight Loopy Godinez — today’s guest caller.

With all of the talk surrounding the scorecards from Saturday's title fight rematch between women’s flyweight champion Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko, Jim and Matt dish their thoughts on the judges’ verdicts and whether or not an immediate trilogy fight for the belt should be in store.

Jim and Matt then shift the dialogue to the highly competitive fight put on in the co-main event between welterweight contenders Jack Della Maddalena and Kevin Holland.

After going down the card with their takeaways from other fights, Jim and Matt are finally joined by women's strawweight Loopy Godinez — who reacts to her statement win over Elise Reed before explaining how much it meant to her to get the submission victory in front of thousands of supportive Mexican fans on a special night honoring Mexican Independence Day.

Finally, the guys wrap up the show by playing matchmaker for the incredibly deep and talented women's flyweight division — with very specific thoughts on who should be getting the next shot at the title.

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Tracy Cortez, Carrot Top, Noche UFC preview, Grasso-Shevchenko 2 picks Sep 14, 2023

Show notes

On today's episode of UFC Unfiltered, Matt Serra and Jim Norton are joined by legendary comedian Carrot Top and UFC women's flyweight contender Tracy Cortez ahead of her fight on Saturday’s “Noche UFC” card in Las Vegas.

Before any guests make their way to the show, Matt and Jim dish their thoughts on whether women's flyweight champion Alexa Grasso can win her second straight fight against former champion Valentina Shevchenko in Saturday's main event title fight rematch at T-Mobile Arena.

Shortly after giving their picks for the welterweight co-main event between Kevin Holland and Jack Della Maddalena, Jim and Matt are joined by Carrot Top.

Thirty-two years removed from his first big break as a comic, Carrot Top reflects on his journey that began at college campuses and has since led him to his current residency in Las Vegas for his unique style of prop comedy.

Finally, the guys are joined by 14th-ranked women’s flyweight Tracy Cortez, who candidly opens up about how nice it is to get back into the cage after a 16-month layoff induced by an unfortunate string of injuries.

A proud daughter of two Mexican parents who immigrated to the United States, Cortez explains why she feels a tremendous amount of pride representing her roots on Saturday's special card for Mexican Independence Day and would love nothing more than sharing the cage with Alexa Grasso in Mexico sometime in the future.

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Strickland's huge upset, Adesanya's next move, UFC 293 recap w/ guest co-host Sayif Saud Sep 12, 2023

Show notes

Yes… that REALLY just happened! And if there is one thing we know, it's that the great Matt Serra knows a thing or two about dethroning a champion in a MAJOR upset!

On today's episode of UFC Unfiltered, Jim Norton and Matt Serra are joined by MMA coaching mastermind Sayif Saud of Fortis MMA — who helps the guys unpack just how newly-crowned UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland was able to shock the world by dethroning Israel Adesanya at UFC 293.

With Strickland's win opening up a multitude of possibilities for the UFC's red-hot middleweight division, the guys mull over the idea of an immediate rematch while discussing whether Adesanya's high fight activity rate plays a factor in what the former champion will do next.

Later on, Matt takes us from the top of the card on down with his favorite takeaways from the other fights that happened on this exciting pay-per-view card in Sydney.

The guys wrap up the show by circling back to the stakes of Strickland's win and where it stacks up with the greatest championship upsets in UFC history.

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Chris Curtis talks UFC 293, Strickland’s upset potential vs. Adesanya Sep 06, 2023

Show notes

With this weekend’s UFC 293 pay-per-view card rapidly approaching, Matt Serra and Jim Norton use today’s episode of UFC Unfiltered to talk to middleweight contender Chris Curtis — who uses his unique perspective as Sean Strickland’s close friend to discuss the strategies his teammate can use to dethrone middleweight champion Israel Adesanya for the upset victory.

Matt and Jim begin the show by looking at this weekend’s fight card in Sydney before inviting Chris Curtis on for more insight into Sean Strickland’s preparation.

When Curtis hops on the show, he begins by providing an update on the rib injury that forced him to pull out of his scheduled fight on the “Noche UFC” event later this month at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

After a funny conversation about why Chris Curtis has a fear of stairs, Jim and Matt then shift the dialogue to the unlikely friendship between Sean and Chris before ultimately examining which areas of Strickland’s game will be needed to do the unthinkable in front of what figures to be an incredibly pro-Adesanya crowd in Australia.

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Erin Blanchfield, UFC Paris recap Sep 04, 2023

Show notes

Back from a week-long vacation, Jim Norton reunites with his good friend Matt Serra for a fun episode of UFC Unfiltered featuring women’s flyweight contender Erin Blanchfield!

An excited Matt Serra starts off the show by bringing Jim up to speed on all the things the comedian missed while out of town. The conversation then shifts to a recap of UFC Fight Night: Gane vs. Spivac, where Matt and Jim start at the top of the card with their takeaways from Ciryl Gane’s TKO win over Serghei Spivac in front of his hometown fans in Paris.

Jim and Matt then explore whether the outcome of Saturday’s co-main event would’ve differed if Rose Namajunas hadn’t injured her finger against Manon Fiorot in the first round of their women’s flyweight co-main event.

That same conversation about the women’s 125-pound division continues when the guys are joined by second-ranked women’s flyweight Erin Blanchfield, who breaks down Fiorot’s performance against Namajunas before ultimately stating her own case to fight the winner of this month’s highly anticipated rematch between women’s flyweight champion Alexa Grasso and former long-reigning champion Valentina Shevchenko.

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