Hot Takes

The smaller cage at the Apex changes fights more than anyone admits.

Islam Makhachev's résumé is already better than Khabib's. Say it.

Wrestling is the most boring road to a belt and also the most effective one. Deal with it.

Belal Muhammad's title run proved you don't need a highlight reel to become champion.

Georges St-Pierre in his prime beats Islam Makhachev at welterweight. Five rounds, clear decision.

Women's strawweight was the best women's division ever and the UFC stopped selling it.

Judge a fighter by who they beat in their prime, not by their final record.

Anderson Silva's middleweight run is still the most dominant stretch the UFC has ever seen.

Israel Adesanya was a great champion who stayed about two years too long.

Winning a belt by disqualification should come with an automatic rematch. Nobody wants a champion by DQ.

Fighters who miss weight should lose their whole purse, not 20 percent.

The Octagon should be bigger. More room means more striking and fewer cage-grinding decisions.

Light heavyweight is the best division to watch right now. Every fight is a finish or a war.

Heavyweight is the weakest division in the UFC and it isn't close.

MMA judging won't be fixed until judges are full-time professionals who study film.

The calf kick changed MMA more than any other technique in the last ten years.

Middleweight hasn't had a truly great champion since Anderson Silva.

Alexa Grasso submitting Valentina Shevchenko is the biggest women's upset since Holm and Rousey.

Mackenzie Dern holding a UFC belt is the best advert jiu-jitsu gyms could ever ask for.

Stripping a champion for inactivity should be automatic after 12 months. No exceptions, no favourites.