UFC Unfiltered with Jim Norton and Matt Serra

Just three days remain until one of the most stacked non-PPV cards in UFC history comes to Austin, Texas! So, with that in mind, Jim Norton and Matt Serra are joined by a pair of fighters from Saturday’s card in former title challenger Kelvin Gastelum and lightweight Drakkar Klose. Making his return to welterweight for the first time in nearly seven years, Kelvin Gastelum joins Unfiltered to talk at length about the lessons he’s learned from previous issues with weight cutting. Confident from the durability he has shown against hard-hitting middleweights, Gastelum explains what he expects from 9th-ranked welterweight Sean Brady in their fight on Saturday before discussing how his significant experience edge over Brady comes with a string of injuries that have changed Gastelum's approach to training camps. Later on, the guys are joined by Drakkar Klose — who shares his excitement over the upcoming birth of his second son before ultimately sharing his thoughts on what it’s like to fight an opponent who shares the same manager as him. Jim and Matt wrap up the episode by making predictions for the majority of Saturday’s card.

On today's episode of UFC Unfiltered, Matt Serra and Jim Norton return from a mini-Thanksgiving break with a show that sees UFC middleweight Punahele Soriano and fourth-ranked lightweight Beneil Dariush join as guest callers. First to join the show is Punahele Soriano, who tells the story of how a non-confrontational kid from Hawaii found his way from wrestling into the world of professional MMA through friend and fellow UFC fighter, Dan Ige. Soriano previews his upcoming fight on Saturday's main card against Dustin Stoltzfus before finishing his interview by discussing what he enjoys most about playing pickleball. Jim and Matt are then joined by Beneil Dariush, who headlines Saturday's stacked card in a lightweight fight against 8th-ranked Arman Tsarukyan. Dariush praises Tsarukyan before ultimately breaking down the stylistic matchup between the two and explaining why he has no problem fighting whoever the UFC puts in front of him — even if it's young, up-and-coming fighters that other veterans don’t want to fight.

Feeling rejuvenated by the stem cell treatment he received in Colombia, guest co-host Jason Parillo joins Matt Serra and Jim Norton for a fun episode of UFC Unfiltered as the guys recap Saturday's fights and talk through coach Parillo's process of guiding Marlon “Chito” Vera to victory in next year's scheduled rematch against Sean O'Malley for the UFC bantamweight title. The guys begin their recap of UFC Fight Night: Allen vs. Craig by debating whether referee Mike Beltran's premature decision to wave off the fight in Trey Ogden vs. Nikolas Motta merited NSAC to rule Saturday's lightweight bout a no contest. After breaking down more fights and talking through Brendan Allen's impressive submission win over Paul Craig in the middleweight main event, Parillo opens up about his role as a coach. The guys wrap up the show by looking at Marlon “Chito” Vera's growth as a fighter and how the five-round fight against newly-crowned bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley could play out.

On today's episode of UFC Unfiltered, Jim Norton and Matt Serra are joined by lightweight Chase Hooper and middleweight Brendan Allen ahead of their fights on this Saturday's UFC Fight Night: Allen vs. Craig card. Right out of the gate, Jim and Matt find themselves on opposite ends of a quick debate regarding whether or not UFC matchmakers should rethink the previously-planned Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic heavyweight title fight due to Tom Aspinall's scintillating performance last Saturday. Then, Chase Hooper hops on the show to discuss how the friendly interactions he’s had with Jordan Leavitt at the UFC Performance Institute are something he’ll have to look past as the two gear up to fight each other in Saturday's featured bout in Las Vegas. The guys finish up the show by interviewing Brendan Allen ahead of his main event fight atop Saturday's card on ESPN+. The 10th-ranked middleweight breaks down his stylistic matchup with Paul Craig before explaining how fatherhood and seeing a sports psychiatrist have helped him mature as a fighter.

Fresh off a history-making night at Madison Square Garden, Jim Norton and Matt Serra return for today's episode of UFC Unfiltered to react to UFC 295 as they speak to two guest fighters — bantamweight John Castaneda and injured light heavyweight Jamahal Hill. Matt and Jim open the show with their immediate takeaways from Saturday's fights — including whether or not referee Marc Goddard's decision to stop the fight was unfair to Jiří Procházka. Shortly thereafter, Castaneda hops on the show while enjoying his extended stay in New York following his win on Saturday's prelims. Castaneda opens his interview by assessing his performance against Kyung Ho Kang before ultimately explaining why he's eyeing a fight with Adrian Yanez next. Jim and Matt revisit some of their UFC 295 predictions and break down fights up and down the card before finally being joined by former light heavyweight champion Jamahal Hill. Eyeing a return from his ruptured Achilles sometime in the second quarter of 2024, Hill provides his thoughts on what he brings to the table in a title fight against newly-crowned light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira — a fight that Dana White has seemingly confirmed will be next for the two of them.

Just days away from this Saturday’s return to Madison Square Garden for UFC 295, Matt and Jim get two fighters from the card to hop on the show in women’s strawweight Mackenzie Dern and lightweight Jared Gordon. Looking to build momentum off her unanimous decision win over Angela Hill in May, Dern explains why Saturday’s fight against Jéssica Andrade is her most important fight yet as Dern discusses the type of pressure that comes with fighting a former champion looking to avoid dropping her fourth straight fight. The guys then shift their eyes to Saturday’s stacked UFC 295 card and dole out some of their picks for the two title fights atop the billing. Then, Queens, New York native Jared Gordon joins the show, reflecting on the perseverance it took to battle through life’s low points to be where he is today — gearing up to fight Mark Madsen in Madison Square Garden; the legendary stadium where his grandfather boxed as a professional back in the day. Finally, the guys finish the show with the rest of their predictions from the main card and a few other notable fights from the prelims.

On today’s episode of UFC Unfiltered, Jim Norton and Matt Serra are joined by featherweight Dennis Buzukja ahead of his fight on the UFC 295 undercard before catching up with a comedian and podcasting icon in Adam Carolla. Set to fight Jamall Emmers in the very first fight of Saturday’s card, Long Island’s own Dennis Buzukja expresses his excitement to fight in front of friends and family at Madison Square Garden before looking back on his journey to the UFC. As Jim and Matt shift the conversation to how thankful they are to be able to make a living out of their passions, Buzukja reflects on how long drives from his construction job to tough training sessions with the Serra-Longo Fight Team created the opportunity for him to fight full time. Shortly after Buzukja leaves, Adam Carolla hops on the show for his second appearance on UFC Unfiltered. Adam and the guys catch up and talk about a multitude of topics — including how the prevalence of smartphones has changed human behavior.

Jim Norton returns for this Wednesday’s episode of UFC Unfiltered alongside Matt Serra to a show that invites rising Brazilian middleweight Caio Borralho on ahead of his fight on Saturday’s card in São Paulo. Borralho, who is set to fight middleweight Abus Magomedov on Saturday’s UFC Fight Night: Almeida vs. Lewis card, dishes his thoughts on his upcoming fight — unpacking the stylistic matchup before dishing his thoughts on his opponent’s most recent outing against Sean Strickland. On the topic of Strickland, Borralho explains what it was like sparring the newly-crowned UFC middleweight champion as he explains the thought process behind his accurate pre-fight prediction that nailed the outcome of Israel Adesanya’s loss to Strickland at UFC 293. To wrap up the show, Matt and Jim strike a conversation regarding Leon Edwards and whether the UFC welterweight champion’s gym was justified in disallowing Ian Machado Garry to continue training there.

With Jim Norton out for the day, friend of the show Phoenix Carnevale steps on up as a guest co-host for Monday’s episode of UFC Unfiltered alongside Matt Serra for chats with coach Plinio Cruz and rising UFC middleweight Joe Pyfer. Matt and Phoenix waste no time by bringing coach Plinio Cruz on to the show to listen on as the former Brazilian heavyweight fighter discusses the brotherly dynamic he and former UFC light heavyweight champion Glover Teixeira both have as coaches for former UFC middleweight champion Alex Pereira. Seeking to help Pereira become a two-division champion in a second sport, Cruz walks through the elements that make Alex’s upcoming light heavyweight title fight against Jiří Procházka a special matchup to sit atop the UFC 295 card at Madison Square Garden — the very same building where Pereira won both his UFC debut and middleweight title. Then, Pennsylvania’s own Joe Pyfer joins the show to talk about how his rough upbringing shaped him into the fighter and man he is today before dropping a couple of names of top-15 middleweights he’d be interested in fighting to crack into the division’s rankings.

On today’s episode of UFC Unfiltered, Jim Norton and Matt Serra react to the monumental news about UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones’ injury with guest caller and former UFC welterweight Ben Askren. Jim and Matt begin the show by immediately diving into the ripple effect of Jon Jones’ torn pectoral tendon injury. With Sergei Pavlovich and Tom Aspinall agreeing to fight each other in an interim heavyweight title co-main event at UFC 295, Jim and Matt look into what another delay could mean for former heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic as he looks to return to the cage for the first time since March of 2021. Ben Askren joins the show shortly after, filling the guys in on how he balances his post-retirement life as a father and wrestling coach with interest in writing books and investing. While listing all of the things keeping him busy without fighting, Askren names the one and only veteran fighter he’d willingly end his retirement for.

On this episode of UFC Unfiltered, Jim Norton and Matt Serra recap all things UFC 294 with longtime MMA writer and journalist John Morgan, who joins for the duration of the show as today’s guest co-host. The guys open the show with initial thoughts on how Kamaru Usman looked on short notice in his majority decision loss to Khamzat Chimaev in Saturday’s middleweight co-main event. As a collective group of three, the guys then shift the conversation to Saturday’s cageside doctor, sparking a spirited debate about whether or not Johnny Walker was in a position to keep fighting after Magomed Ankalaev struck him with a knee. After singing the praises of Alexander Volkanovski for his courage to accept a difficult lightweight title fight rematch against Islam Makhachev on short notice, Matt unpacks what went wrong for Volkanovski before the guys chime in with their thoughts on whether Charles Oliveira or Justin Gaethje has a better chance at becoming the UFC’s new 155-pound king.

With this Saturday’s UFC 294 pay-per-view just a matter of days away, Jim Norton and Matt Serra use today’s episode to preview and predict winners for the massive fights atop the card — with 8th-ranked lightweight Arman Tsarukyan providing some additional perspective on as a guest caller. Jim and Matt waste no time by diving straight into the main card, unpacking the elements that make both of Saturday’s short-notice fights intriguing. When discussing Alexander Volkanovski’s readiness for a 5-round title fight, the guys assess whether or not the UFC’s 145-pound king has to find a way to finish Islam Makhachev in order to dethrone the lightweight champion. Midway through the show, Arman Tsarukyan hops on the call to look back at his own experience taking a short-notice fight against Makhachev before weighing in on whether Volkanovski has a chance at pulling off the upset. Finally, the guys wrap up the show by making their picks for three fights in particular — the main event, Kamaru Usman’s middleweight co-main event against Khamzat Chimaev, and the light heavyweight featured bout between second-ranked Magomed Ankalaev and seventh-ranked Johnny Walker.

On today’s episode of UFC Unfiltered, Jim Norton and Matt Serra are joined by 15th-ranked UFC bantamweight Chris Gutierrez and former 6-time NFL Pro Bowl defensive tackle Gerald McCoy! Joining the show first is Chris, who himself is fresh off a unanimous victory over Alatengheili after an injury to Montel Jackson pushed back Gutierrez’s expected fight date exactly one week to this past weekend’s card headlined by Sodiq Yusuff and Edson Barboza. Gutierrez discusses the significance of getting back in the win column after his previous 8-fight unbeaten streak was snapped with a loss in April to Pedro Munhoz. While waiting for Gerald McCoy to hop on the show, Jim and Matt dish out their takeaways from Saturday’s action at the APEX, ever impressed by Gutierrez and his Factory X teammate, Jonathan Martinez among others. Once Gerald McCoy arrives, Jim and Matt waste no time — diving straight into a discussion about Israel Adesanya’s decision to temporarily step away from the sport after 5+ years of incredible activity marked by multiple title reigns in his 16 fights with the UFC thus far. With 11 years of NFL experience to his name, McCoy uses the backdrop of his football playing career as a reference when the topic shifts to the intriguing short-notice changes atop this Saturday’s massive UFC 294 card in Abu Dhabi and the feasibility of Kamaru Usman and Alexander Volkanovski accepting monumental matchups with less than two weeks to prepare.

Joining Jim Norton and Matt Serra on today’s episode of UFC Unfiltered is bantamweight Adrian Yanez and comedian Robert Kelly. Looking to bounce back from his first loss inside the UFC, 14th-ranked bantamweight Adrian Yanez gives a sober assessment of what went wrong as he abandoned his game plan in the midst of his one-round firefight against Rob Font. Yanez further explains how the great deal of mutual respect between himself and 13th-ranked bantamweight Jonathan Martinez will have to be put aside briefly as the two prepare to clash on Saturday night in a significant fight for the UFC’s 135-pound division. Shortly thereafter, Jim and Matt are joined by a long-time friend of the show in stand-up comedian Robert Kelly, who himself is no fighter but shows an incredible ability to take Matt Serra’s friendly jabs in stride while throwing some back himself in a hilarious appearance on the show. The guys wrap up the show by taking a look at Saturday’s UFC Fight Night: Yusuff vs. Barboza card.

On today’s episode of UFC Unfiltered, Matt Serra and Jim Norton are joined by coach Eric Nicksick of Xtreme Couture and UFC lightweight Drew Dober following his knockout win vs. Ricky Glenn over the weekend. Jim and Matt open the show with a brief intro before shortly thereafter bringing coach Nicksick on to talk about the recent success coming from the Xtreme Couture stable. With Jim and Matt incredibly impressed by newly crowned middleweight champion Sean Strickland, coach Nicksick goes on to explain how Matt Serra’s upset win over Georges St-Pierre was periodically brought up during Strickland’s training camp as a way of instilling a sense of belief in the idea that upsetting Israel Adesanya was more than just a possibility. After coach Nicksick leaves the show, Jim and Matt shift their attention to the action that took place over the weekend at the UFC APEX during UFC Fight Night: Dawson vs. Green — just in time for Drew Dober to call in and recap his own fight from that card. Now 4-1 in his last five fights, Dober explains how getting knocked out by Matt Frevola helped him recenter his focus and get back in touch with the skills that helped him become a fan-favorite. With Bobby Green using his one-of-a-kind style to pull off an upset win in Saturday’s main event over 10th-ranked lightweight Grant Dawson in Saturday’s main event, Dober reflects on his own fight with Green — ending the interview with a hilarious story about the back-and-forth trash talk between himself and Green from they fought.

With UFC Fight Night: Dawson vs. Green being a matter of days away, Jim Norton and Matt Serra are joined by one half of Saturday's main event as UFC lightweight Grant Dawson joins an episode of UFC Unfiltered that also features NFL-player turned MMA super fan Ryan Clark. At the very beginning of the show, Matt is pleased to find out that Grant Dawson is as big of a Star Wars fan as him — leading to a passionate conversation about the characters and storylines that live inside of the all-time classic franchise's multimedia universe. Before wrapping up his interview, the UFC's 10th-ranked lightweight Dawson shares some of his thoughts on what it means to be headlining his first UFC main event against a tough veteran like Bobby Green who fights with a unique, one-of-a-kind style inside the cage. Shortly after, the guys are joined by retired 13-year NFL veteran Ryan Clark, who begins his conversation with Jim and Matt by explaining how a lifelong football player from Louisiana discovered a passion for consuming martial arts during Chuck Liddell's reign as UFC light heavyweight champion. Clark then goes on to share how he got involved in co-hosting the DC & RC podcast with former two-division UFC champion Daniel Cormier, a Louisiana native himself. The guys go on to chat about big time fights they’re looking forward to before closing off the show by plugging this Saturday's intriguing UFC Fight Night card in Las Vegas.

On today’s episode of UFC Unfiltered, Matt Serra welcomes Jim Norton back to the United States for a show that features two guest callers in lightweight Daniel Zellhuber and fourth-ranked UFC heavyweight Tom Aspinall. Shortly after Matt catches Jim up on some things he missed while telling jokes in Toronto, Mexico’s own Daniel Zellhuber makes his UFC Unfiltered debut by giving the guys a glimpse into how being bullied as a kid helped spark an interest in martial arts as a young kid. Reflecting back on his only loss in his UFC debut, Zellhuber explains how losing to an experienced veteran in his very first fight with the UFC has helped shape him into the fighter he is today coming off two straight victories. Almost immediately after Zellhuber’s interview ends, fourth-ranked UFC heavyweight Tom Aspinall hops on the show to assess his standing in the division as a fan-friendly fighter known for taking judges out of the equation with all types of stoppages. Set to travel to Matt Serra’s home state of New York for a role as a guest TV analyst this November for the UFC heavyweight title fight between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic at UFC 295, Tom uses the end of his interview to inquire about training with Matt while he’s in New York for the week. Matt and Jim make sure to sprinkle in some talk about this Saturday’s UFC Fight Night: Dawson vs. Green event in select moments of the show’s episode before wrapping up the day.

With Jim Norton out for the day, the one and only Din Thomas steps on up as a guest co-host for Wednesday's episode of UFC Unfiltered alongside Matt Serra for chats with UFC lightweight Mateusz Gamrot and pop culture critic Kristian Harloff! After a brief introduction to the show, Matt and Din waste no time bringing Gamrot on the show to talk to him about last Saturday's TKO win over Rafael Fiziev. The sixth-ranked lightweight offers his best wishes to Fiziev in his recovery before ultimately outlining his plans inside the stacked 155-pound division, including his reasoning for why he wants to fight former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira. When Gamrot leaves the show, Din and Matt take a moment to dish their thoughts on the six fighters who earned a UFC contract on Tuesday's Dana White's Contender Series episode before breaking into a discussion about why Tony Ferguson's losing skid is still no reason for unranked Paddy Pimblett to look at 'El Cucuy' as an easy matchup in the young lightweight's first fight back from ankle surgery. Matt turns into a kid in a candy store when pop culture expert and movie/TV critic Kristian Harloff hops on the show to compare notes on recently released shows and movies that Matt and Din have watched.

On today’s episode of UFC Unfiltered, Jim Norton and Matt Serra are joined by UFC bantamweight Miles Johns and VFS Academy’s owner and head coach Mike Valle. Jim and Matt begin the show by recapping some of Saturday’s action from the UFC Apex, with some thoughts on featherweight Bryce Mitchell’s win over Dan Ige and Rafael Fiziev’s knee injury in the lightweight main event that gave Mateusz Gamrot an injury TKO win. Fresh off a win on Saturday’s prelims, Miles Johns joins the show for the first time ever to discuss his close fight with Dan Argueta and how his sobriety has been one of many recent changes to his life that have improved his mindset in between fight camps. While discussing his journey from childhood wrestler to professional mixed martial artist, Miles explains why mental health issues are a matter near and dear to his heart. Shortly after Miles leaves the show, Jim and Matt are joined by VFS Academy’s Mike Valle, who uses his perspective as Belal Muhammad’s coach to dive deeper into the upcoming welterweight title fight between defending champion Leon Edwards and two-time title challenger Colby Covington.

The Ultimate Fighter is well represented on today's episode of UFC Unfiltered, as former TUF champions Bryan Battle and Mohammed Usman join Matt Serra and Jim Norton ahead of their upcoming fights on Saturday. Coming off a 14-second knockout win in front of his hometown fans in Charlotte, UFC welterweight Bryan Battle reflects on his journey to the UFC before ultimately previewing his fight against AJ Fletcher on the main card of Saturday's UFC Fight Night: Fiziev vs. Gamrot. UFC heavyweight Mohammed Usman hops on the show shortly thereafter. The former football player-turned-MMA fighter weighs in on the idea of how high-level NFL players could do in the cage before explaining why he relishes the target that's on his back as the younger brother of the legendary Kamaru Usman. Turning his eyes to Saturday's fight against Jake Collier, Usman explains why he believes his opponent's recent string of losses makes Collier a dangerous fighter with nothing to lose going into the fight versus an up-and-comer like himself. Finally, Jim and Matt take a look up and down the bout sheet of UFC Fight Night: Fiziev vs. Gamrot with select thoughts on what they're most excited to see during Saturday's fights.