Check out this week’s “Spinning Back Clique,” MMA Junkie’s weekly show that takes a spin through the biggest topics in mixed martial arts.
This week, we cover Jon Jones’ future after his most recent legal issues and look ahead to Mackenzie Dern’s return at UFC Fight Night 194.
Our “Spinning Back Clique” panel of Mike Bohn and Matthew Wells discuss these topics along with panelist/host John Morgan:
- Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones is once again in the news for all the wrong reasons. Based on a couple of recent posts to his social media accounts, he and his fiancee are publicly expressing their commitment to each other following their domestic incident in Las Vegas. Jones says he is swearing off alcohol, but he still needs to face the legal repercussions of what occurred just hours after being inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame. As details start to become clear, how does it make you feel about Jones’ future in the UFC? Was the UFC’s response to the situation satisfactory?
- At UFC Fight Night 193, Aspen Ladd’s issues with the scale prevented her from competing again. She was scheduled to face Macy Chiasson, but the bout was scrapped after a scary-looking weight miss that saw Ladd shaking behind the privacy box as her weight was recorded. Ladd has owned up to the miss, but there has been bickering in the fallout with former UFC champ, Miesha Tate. What does the UFC need to do with Ladd going forward?
- The UFC’s bantamweight division is one of the deepest in the company, but it’s also providing us with some controversy as of late. Aljamain Sterling was announced to compete at UFC 267 before we found out he wasn’t even medically cleared. Now we’re doing an interim title fight with Petr Yan and Cory Sandhagen, who are amazing fighters but coming off losses. Was there a better way to handle things here, or is the UFC doing the best it can given the circumstances?
- Mackenzie Dern returns to action this weekend in the main event of UFC Fight Night 194. Her career has been incredibly interesting to the point, and she seems to be one of the more polarizing figures in women’s MMA, but right now, she’s on a four-fight winning streak and currently sits at No. 5 in the latest MMA Junkie strawweight rankings. If she beats Marina Rodriguez at No. 6, can we finally say she is a legitimate title contender? What is her ceiling?
- We wrap up this week’s episode with a little game of “Foolish or Fantastic,” where the panel gives their quick take on a few recent hot topics.
“Spinning Back Clique” is released each Tuesday on MMA Junkie’s YouTube channel. You can watch the full episode in the video above.
