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Tag: Luke Thomas

  • Is The BMF Title A Joke Or Legitimate? UFC Analyst Asks The Hard Questions About UFC 318

    Is The BMF Title A Joke Or Legitimate? UFC Analyst Asks The Hard Questions About UFC 318

    When the BMF title was first created by the UFC in 2019, there were various split opinions about the championship. Some called it genius, some called it a gimmick. But it seemed that such a belt was a one-and-done matter.

    But since then, there have been two other BMF title fights in the UFC and two more BMF champions — all within the last two years. And the title will be on the line again come this Saturday at UFC 318, when Dustin Poirier challenges BMF titleholder Max Holloway in the retirement fight for “The Diamond.”

    This has led to a lot of speculation and debate about the legitimacy of such a title (from the perspective of it being a sanctioned championship) — and if it’s worth the time and money of both the UFC and its fans.

    MMA analyst and personality Luke Thomas sat down with Submission Radio recently and shared his thoughts about the belt. In spite of some feeling that the BMF title would be retired alongside Poirier should he win, Thomas suggests that this won’t be the last we see of such a strap.

    In fact, Thomas goes as far as to say with the UFC’s event schedule, they need such a thing.

    “No, they need it. UFC needs it,” Thomas said. “They need another belt in rotation just to put at the top of this of these pay-per-views. They can’t maintain, again, I’m gonna say it again, they can’t maintain their pay-per-view schedule.

    Luke Thomas: UFC Event Schedule, Dependency On Title Fights For PPVs Is At Fault For Continued Use Of BMF Title

    The BMF title was first created for the UFC 244 clash between Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal. Masvidal won the championship with a third-round doctor’s stoppage TKO, giving him the belt, which was strapped around him by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

    In July 2023, to the surprise of plenty, the BMF belt was brought back in a fight involving Poirier, as he and Justin Gaethje fought for the title in the main event of UFC 291. Gaethje won the bout with a devastating head-kick knockout.

    Gaethje would then face Holloway with the title on the line at UFC 300, with Holloway winning the fight with his legendary last-second knockout of Gaethje.

    The BMF title, however, was not on the line when Holloway fought and lost to Ilia Topuria in UFC 308’s featherweight title main event.

    While Thomas admitted to Submission Radio that such a situation is “wishy-washy,” it’s not going to take away from the UFC’s decision to continue to use the championship. He cited the UFC’s need in this modern era for a championship to be on the line in the main event of almost every UFC pay-per-view — compared to when the UFC could promote a pay-per-view with a non-title main event (and one not featuring Conor McGregor for that matter) in previous years.

    “You might say, ‘Hey, I don’t need a belt on the top of every card.’ But the UFC doesn’t believe that,” Thomas said. “They believe that they have to have one. They don’t have enough of them in rotation at any given time to be able to just like, ‘Oh, we don’t need the BMF belt.’

    “Like, it was once a joke and now they’re like, ‘You know what? We could actually kind of use this thing.’ It’s not the first time that it’s been featured in a headlining bout on a UFC pay-per-view. Like, they need it.”

    UFC 318 takes place this Saturday, July 19, from the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is the third meeting between Holloway and Poirier, with Poirier winning both of the previous outings.

  • UFC 318 Is Missing Hot Sauce – MMA Insider Breaks it Down: ‘There’s very little flavor’

    UFC 318 Is Missing Hot Sauce – MMA Insider Breaks it Down: ‘There’s very little flavor’

    MMA analyst Luke Thomas has questioned the overall quality of this weekend’s UFC 318 pay-per-view event.

    As we know, UFC 318 takes place on Saturday night with the main event being Dustin Poirier’s retirement fight against Max Holloway. The two men will also compete for the BMF title, but of course, the bigger story is the fact that this is the last time we’ll see ‘The Diamond’ make the walk to the octagon.

    Beyond the main event, though, it’s safe to say that UFC 318 isn’t the most stacked event in the world. In a recent interview, the aforementioned Luke Thomas weighed in on the state of the card.

    Luke Thomas says UFC 318 is missing something

    “Who’s a star on that card? Who has any juice as a star on that card? And I’m talking like beyond the MMA bubble, which is what you’re considering. Who is somebody who you could pinpoint outside of the main event that you would look at and say future champion? Who is somebody who is doing something special in the sport…?”

    “It’s missing all of the things that make a pay-per-view special in the way that just the mechanical fight itself cannot. MMA is about—and fight sports more broadly are about—great fights for sure. I mean, if you don’t have that, you know, forget the rest of it. But the magic of fight sports is that plus… drama, plus aura, plus star power, plus rivalry, plus something that elevates the whole thing.”

    “It’s like getting some kind of delicious food and you know, the ingredients are high quality, but there’s like no sauce on it. You know what I mean? Like there’s no—there’s very little flavor. You didn’t put salt. You didn’t put the hot sauce or whatever.”

    Do you agree, fight fans?

  • MMA Analyst Highlights Tom Aspinall’s ‘Biggest Issue’ & It’s Not Less Cage Time

    MMA Analyst Highlights Tom Aspinall’s ‘Biggest Issue’ & It’s Not Less Cage Time

    Tom Aspinall would be eagerly waiting for UFC 309 featuring Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic as the main event. He’ll either get the chance to grab the undisputed UFC heavyweight championship as the backup fighter, or at the very least, he’ll know who to fight for it in the future.

    Aspinall’s run in the UFC and even his pro MMA career stand out instantly. He’s won all 15 of his MMA fights via a finish and has never entered the third round in his career.

    Till now, Aspinall has proved that he’s miles ahead of every other heavyweight fighter on the planet. While many believe that the lack of cage time and never facing adversity could backfire on the interim champ, MMA analyst Luke Thomas identifies a bigger hole in his game…

    Luke Thomas Shares ‘Bigger Concerns’ With Tom Aspinall Than Short Octagon Fight Time

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeNvjkTyRlU

    On his YouTube channel, Thomas recently discussed Aspinall’s unstoppable rise in the UFC heavyweight division. Contrary to popular opinion, he stated that even if the interim UFC heavyweight champion runs into someone who’ll last more than two rounds, he won’t be bothered as much by things like cardio or lack of experience.

    Instead, according to Thomas, Aspinall’s striking defense could lead to his first UFC loss. He pointed out how the English fighter keeps his chin up while striking and he gets hit frequently which isn’t ideal at heavyweight for obvious reasons.

    So, Aspinall’s head placement and range management in the pocket concerns Thomas about his future in the UFC. Currently, he compensates for these shortcomings through his striking speed and movement. However, if a fight goes longer and he slows down, opponents might find his chin as well.

    “My hunch is that that’s [less cage time] probably not going to be his biggest issue,” Thomas continued, “The bigger issue to me, though, like the one that shows up right away is his striking defense. His striking offense, his ability to connect, his power, his ability to cover distance, his speed is such a weapon that he can just land on anybody so quickly so incredibly. But he gets hit! And he’s got some bad habits about head position in the pocket where with what they call head slot. What slots he occupies -there’s A,B, and C slots. He, you know, his chin is kind of like, this, up, a lot of times. Those to me are bigger concerns. Because yes, if he slows down, then that could be a problem but it would actually only magnify the other part which is that there are defensive striking issues.”

    Aspinall has already beaten most of the top-ranked UFC heavyweights effortlessly. This explains why fans expect him to take on veterans like Jon Jones or Stipe Miocic who might survive the early onslaught and give the interim champ a run for his money.

  • Quote: Bryce Mitchell’s Radical Views Are Common In MMA Community

    UFC featherweight Bryce Mitchell’s recent interview with Ariel Helwani has blown up the internet, but his views may not be that surprising.

    In what was expected to be a routine pre-fight interview, Mitchell used it to interview the interviewer Helwani. He discussed his thoughts on mass shootings in America, his opposition to the COVID-19 vaccine mandates, and other oft-kilter topics.

    While the conversation was largely cordial, Helwani challenged Mitchell when the featherweight questioned the legitimacy of mass shootings and if the US government is responsible for them, along with claiming the 2020 US Presidential Election was rigged.

    MMA journalist Luke Thomas, who is an award-winning journalist and a former host of The MMA Hour, touched on Mitchell’s viral interview with Helwani. During a recent segment on his Morning Kombat podcast, Thomas addressed the shockwave that Mitchell caused around the MMA community.

    “So what I would say is in this day and age when we’re asked for our views and you’re doing it in a public way and you have a person who is young, very online, on social media, probably doesn’t have views anyway that are even in lockstep with the wider state to some degree, then you’re going to get these kinds of moments when people espouse views that are impossible to otherwise justify,” Thomas said of Mitchell.

    Thomas went on to explain why he feels Mitchell’s controversial views may not be as uncommon in the MMA community as some are led to believe.

    “I gotta tell you, people were like, ‘This is a shock to my conscience! I can’t believe that someone in the community would hold views such as these!’ I’m like, are you motherfuckers on Twitter for like five seconds? My mentions every day are, fuckin’, ‘Obama drinks the blood of young babies!’ And ‘COVID is a lie! It’s just the flu with a skirt on!’ Or whatever the fuck they say. I don’t even know what they say anymore.

    Luke Thomas mma journalist wife, wiki, age, mma, net worth 2018
    Luke Thomas


    “But my mentions—and not even that, just what I see on different places is filled to the brim with these very online radicalized views. Like, I would argue Bryce Mitchell’s views on this are far closer to what the average person in this community believes than mine. I guarantee that.”

    Mitchell is slated to face Edson Barboza at UFC 272 on March 5. He’ll likely be questioned by media members about his views leading up to the fight, and this controversy may be far from over.

    What was your reaction to the Bryce Mitchell/Ariel Helwani interview?