Rousey vs Carano at the White House? | Future of MMA After the Paramount Deal | RICH CHOU INTERVIEW

·1 hr 6 min·5 clips

Kimbo Slice's peak popularity drew instant ratings for the first MMA event on CBS, making everyone love the numbers.

Josh Thomson welcomes longtime friend and former Strikeforce matchmaker Rich Chou to the podcast. Chou recounts his early days with EliteXC, detailing the promotion's groundbreaking move to premium cable on Showtime and later to CBS. He highlights the first CBS event headlined by Kimbo Slice, which drew massive ratings and excited network executives. The discussion moves to Strikeforce's tenure on CBS, focusing on the Nashville event where a post-fight brawl involving Mayhem Miller and Nick Diaz led to a significant backlash, putting MMA 'on timeout' with the network. Chou contrasts this with modern incidents like Conor McGregor's bus attack, which were leveraged for promotion. The hosts explore how network attitudes have shifted from concerns about blood on the canvas to embracing the sport's unpredictability. They speculate on the upcoming UFC debut on CBS at the White House, questioning the event's format and matchmaking. Chou puts on his promoter hat to analyze the UFC welterweight division, debating whether Kamaru Usman, Ian Garry, or Michael Morales should challenge champion Islam Makhachev. He argues that Usman's legacy and promotability might outweigh Morales' deserving case for the CBS platform. The conversation touches on managerial challenges when fighters from the same camp or management face each other. Finally, they discuss potential returns of legends like Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano, addressing concerns about fighter health and commission oversight.

As heard by us

A White House matchmaking debate sharpens as promotional value runs into recent fight evidence and wrestling realities.

A proposed Gina fight gives WEIGHING IN an immediate spark, then widens into a useful argument about how MMA decides which bouts deserve the brightest stages.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

You want White House matchmaking weighed against Islam's control game?

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from WEIGHING IN