Combat Chronicles

TT25BOT21C: No.25/24: Israel Vasquez & Rafael Marquez

Will that acronym stand? Who knows, but given we have TWO (yes, TWO!) fighters to cover today, I had to cut it down somehow. So if you get this in your inbox and go what the hell is this spam nonsense never fear, it's another boxing history episode!

I have covered these guys before, in my top 10 fights of all time episode and a top 5 super bantamweight fights episode. Highly recommend checking them out too if you want further listening after this episode.

Also HIGHLY RECO...

UFC 325

Only a handful of fights to get excited about but boy was I enthralled by them! For what reason you may ask? Well the perfect combination of genius and idiocy, as Alexander Volkanovski proved his greatness once again, and all the action fighters showed their true colours, revealing their true ceiling but splattering it with blood in the process. Lovely stuff!

The Andy Cruz Analysis Episode

I may be joined by Taylor Higgins to discuss all things Andy Cruz today, but don't be fooled by his first pro loss this past weekend: the Cuban amateur standout (Olympic gold medallist and three-time, yes, THREE-TIME World Amateur Champion) is as worthy of deep discussion in defeat as he would have been with pro gold wrapped around his waist.

So Andy Cruz vs. Raymond Muratalla was a gorgeous two-way technical that gave ...

UFC 324

We finally found out Paddy Pimblett's level, which is able to beat lots of old washed guys but not all of them and we had at least a couple of meaningful other fights in lieu of the intriguing WMMA championship bout we were promised!

The Top 25 Boxers of the 21st Century: Intro & Criteria

My good pal Remy Mac has joined me again as we lay down our criteria and philosophy for the gargantuan task of ranking the very greatest boxers of the new millennium!

We also look at some shite rankings from ESPN, our honourable mentions for our own list, and look ahead to the format of the series (which will be released on a very regular schedule!!!)

So sit back and strap in for this whirlwind run through the he...

The Petr Yan Love-In (feat. HaXxorIzed & Dan Albert)

Further dissection of the best fighter in MMA was needed and I had to enlist two previous guests and two very like-minded people! The one and only Hax and the legend that is Dan Albert kindly joined me for a conversation all about Yan. Topics covered include (but not limited to) Yan's three-fight skid and why people took the wrong lessons from ...

2025 End-Of-Year Awards

Overall I found 2025 a wonderful year for combat sports! Perhaps because of that, I've had some of the most difficult jobs picking a winner in these categories to date! So now more than ever I need you guys to tell me who YOU think deserved to win fighter, fight, round, performance, and finish of the year! May '26 be just as violent! And of course for patrons only we will see the latest inductee to the Combat Chronicles Hall of Fame!

Naoya Inoue vs. Junto Nakatani: Early prediction

Both Junto Nakatani vs. Sebastian Hernandez and Naoya Inoue vs. David Picasso were interesting for different reasons. But do they inform us of how the big fight between the undefeated Japanese fighters will go when they face off in the Tokyo Dome in 2026?

Full fight between Nakatani and Hernandez is here and honestly I can't recommend it enough, one of the fights of the year in boxing for me.

Nao...

The AJ-Jake Paul debacle / Is Manel Kape a legit title contender?

Catching up on the last weeks worth of notable bouts as well as a deep dive into my thoughts before, during and after the AJ-Jake Paul debacle.

Usyk vs. Wilder: are you kiddin' me?

Will the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, THE MAN at heavyweight really have fisticuffs planned with a shot fighter with one win out of his last three fights in his immediate future?! If you believe what Usyk, Wilder and the WBC are saying then yes, Usyk vs. Deontay Wilder is pretty much a done deal! I've opened the window and stepped out onto the ledge, but luckily I have a great old pal who's offered to try and talk me down.

Thanks to 2025-12-08 19:57:45 +0000 UTC View Post

UFC 323

The latest (last?) UFC pay-per-view event remind us that we need to take a whole fighters record into consideration before making any sweeping statements about them. Petr Yan put forth a masterful performance against a dominant champion, recontextualising the entirety of his career and may set him up for a history-making second run as bantamweight champion. That is the main topic of today's episode, as well as an undercard that in the main totally delivered for a fun night of fights, despite ...

Takuma schools Tenshin in his first loss* in 13 years

*Not including the Floyd Mayweather fight of course, which was officially an exhibition bout and let's be honest, a boxer who can make bantamweight versus a boxer who was at one point arguably the best light-middleweight in the world (who had a win over the future lineal champions of both middleweight and super middleweight) was hardly a fair fight was it?

Find out how Takuma Inoue rinsed Tenshin Nasukawa to win the vacant WBC bantamweight bauble.

'Bam' Rodriguez is the best in the world (and Horiguchi is my boy)

A great boxing card and an enjoyable UFC card with some meaningful fights (and fighters!) give us plenty to talk about today!

I forgot to talk about Jack Hermansson but I think he needs to hang it up after two brutal knockouts and obviously not being revitalised with what was likely a big cut down to 170.

As always but worth saying to any new subscribers who may be listening in the car: inappropriate language for young'uns throughout.

Getting to know...the Galaxy twins

Firm favourites of the hardcore boxing crowd, the Thai twins known as Khaosai and Kaokor Galaxy have different perceptions all the same. The former is seen in some circles as an all-time great, nicknamed the 'Thai Tyson' and a mainstay of lists of greatest fighters, punchers and super-flyweights. The latter is barely known at all, amongst in tiny clusters of fans that consider him somewhat of a master boxer.

Here I try to get to the bottom of why Khaosai is so highly rated by esteemed p...

UFC 322 / ONE 173

Back with a bang as two of the world's biggest combat sports promotions put on excellent, meaningful cards. We also have time to touch on Benn-Eubank Jr II, where a weight drained corpse was made to take a beating in front of 80,000 people due to a dispute his father had 30 years ago, and I found time to have a discussion of boxing's heavyweights in the middle of the show, as a fight that took place when I was on vacation suddenly became relevant again!

I’m back!

Holiday finished and acclimatising after jet lag, so the new episode of ‘Getting To Know…’ will be with you guys later this week!

Do you want to know the subject matter now, or rather wait for the surprise when the episode drops? Let me know in the comments!

Also, buzzin’ for UFC 322, first card in a while I just can’t f’n wait for. That episode will be out Sunday morning with my immediate thoughts. Early prediction: not set in stone but I reckon JDM is scrambly enoug...

Fight Films: The Smashing Machine

Whether you think Benny Safdie's 'The Smashing Machine' is wholly successful or not, for combat historians it's a very compelling piece of Hollywood cinema in terms of its execution, and it allowed me and my brilliant guest Joe Greenwood down memory lane for a wide-reaching conversation about cinema and combat sports history.

Be sure to follow Joe's 2025-10-22 19:49:15 +0000 UTC View Post

Chucky is back...but for how long? And RDR sucks after all!

A round-up of everything in the UFC that has piqued my interest the last couple of weeks.

Coming this week!

Gonna’ cover Chucky-Gamrot (and anything else I cared about from the Brazil card) and RDR-Allen this Sunday but we also have a DEEP DIVE on ‘The Smashing Machine’ coming too! So by Monday there should be two brand new episodes of the pod ready for you to listen to!

UFC 320

Featuring Feño! Some fun fights to discuss for sure including (for me at least) a cathartic shellacking in the main event and a modern bantamweight great continuing his dominant run. Also, one of the great action fighters in all of combat sports comes up with the goods again!

You can find my brilliant guest on twitter here on YouTube here<...

Fight Films: Tokyo Fist

A new series for the Patreon, where we discuss combat sports related films!

The first features Joe Greenwood, filmmaker and podcaster (and ardent combat sports fan) who joins me to talk about legendary Japanese director Shinya Tsukamoto's strangely violent but utterly captivating Japanese boxing movie Tokyo Fist.

Joe and I will be back soon for another episode (most like the Benny Safdie-directed/Dwayne Johnson starring 'The Smashing Machine') where we will talk more about MMA an...

A small Guide to Pride update...

Morning all!

Well, it's morning here anyway. And audio editing for The Guide to Pride 1 has officially commenced.

I have recorded and edited around 8% of the full episode (compared to the finish script anyway, it will be much longer than this when the audio clips/interviews I've done are taken into account) but although this is actually pretty minor in the grand scheme of things, there is one major development I'd like to talk about.

Rather than this being called 'T...

Getting to know...Ricky Hatton

In some ways it's a real shame that Ricky Hatton's tragic death has inspired this episode, as although I would've loved to have covered the legendary career of 'The Hitman' down the line, it happening now is only due to the sadness I've felt this week.

Hopefully the episode is not too melancholic though, as ultimately immense joy is what Ricky brought fight fans during his career for the most part, with the lows of his losses to pound-for-pound greats Floyd Mayweather Jr and Manny Pacqu...

Bud is generational / Inoue still could be / Silva vs. Lopes for FOTY?

All of this and more!

Podcast tomorrow

Was gonna’ drop it today but the episode is going to take a slightly different tone after today’s tragic news about Ricky Hatton, a fighter who meant a lot to me during his active career. So although there are some incredible fights and fighters to discuss, allow me a day to collect my thoughts as I consider the best way to pay tribute to a British boxing legend.

Canelo vs. Bud preview & prediction / UFC Paris

I say prediction because as I try to get across in this episode I think Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez vs. Terence 'Bud' Crawford is a really difficult bout to picture, even with everything I know about both men! Super fight or super shite? We won't know until fight night!

Then it's all my thoughts on UFC Paris, as the Fighting Nerds have a night to forget. Will their team woes continue when Jean Silva fights Diego Lopes?

Coming this weekend I'll be discussing whatever did 2025-09-11 18:43:09 +0000 UTC View Post