00:00Yeah, I like this weekend's card. If you're a Canadian fight fan, you've got pretty much everyone in here.
00:04There's so many good stories. They signed a couple guys to the UFC and Julian LeBlanc and Jamie Siraj.
00:09Like, there's a lot of feel-good stories on this event.
00:11I realize outside of Canada, this might not be the most appealing card to the average fight fan.
00:14But if you live in Canada, if you're familiar with the Canadian MMA scene, this is a really fun card.
00:18I think it's great to see Mike Mallott get an opportunity like this as a main event on this card.
00:23And I'm really excited for it on Saturday.
00:26So the Canadian fight scene used to be one of the premier fight scenes.
00:30And it was, you know, listen, there's only one place where they filled up a stadium in UFC history, and
00:35it was in Toronto, right?
00:37So, you know, but it was kind of carried by GSP.
00:40And then you have Rory, who was just so damn good and so much fun.
00:43And there were a bunch of other Canadian fighters.
00:46But let me ask you now, James, is there a buzz at TriStar again right now?
00:50I mean, dare I say, Zahabi's fight against O'Malley is the biggest fight that a Canadian has been in in
00:56years.
00:57And now you've got Mallott, who's headlining a card.
01:01I mean, and so is Mallott.
01:03It's sort of two parts of this.
01:04You speak to a lot of people.
01:06Is there a buzz around TriStar right now?
01:08And I want to get to Nalo as well.
01:12So you've got Mandel and Nalo fighting on this card.
01:15But it seems to me that, yeah, you know what?
01:17A little buzz at TriStar right now.
01:19There's an energy there.
01:20We see them, you know, training for O'Malley with the wigs and Zahabi's bringing it every day.
01:25You've got a bunch of other fighters there.
01:26They've got fights coming on.
01:28A little bit of a buzz with TriStar again.
01:31A little bit.
01:32Yeah, I would agree with that.
01:33And, yeah, Mike Mallott's actually at Niagara Top Team.
01:36And that's another gym that's really come to prominence over the last little bit.
01:38Like, if you ask people in Canada who the best gyms are, it's TriStar and Niagara Top Team.
01:42So those are two really prominent gyms.
01:44It's great to see Eamon get that spot on the White House.
01:46I was super happy for him.
01:47And this is a guy that I don't, including myself, I did not see him going on a seven-fight
01:51win streak after, you know, losing to Vince Morales in Ottawa, you know, way back in, I don't know what
01:55year that was.
01:56But, you know, to see the run that he's gone on and to see him get rewarded with an O'Malley
01:59fight is super cool.
02:01Mandel Nalo.
02:02Gabe, you talk to anyone at TriStar and you ask them who the most talented guy in the gym is
02:05outside of GSP, they'll tell you it's Mandel Nalo.
02:08So this is a case of a fighter that, you know, maybe hasn't reached his potential in the cage, but
02:11really good opportunity this Saturday against Jai Herbert.
02:14A lot of people are really excited for Mandel to break through.
02:16He's a little bit older, but I think there's some potential there in the lightweight division for Mandel Nalo.
02:22Yeah, but haven't we seen now, James, over the last, like I said, the business, the sport changes and evolves
02:27in which it used to be, you know, almost like a running back.
02:31He's on the wrong side of 30s in his mid-30s almost yet.
02:33We see a lot of guys, some guys only sort of click in their mid-30s now.
02:39Some guys get that second and third wind.
02:42I thought Andre Arlovsky was done 15 years ago, James.
02:46Right.
02:46Yeah, I did too.
02:48He's the BKFC.
02:49He did.
02:49He lost like four fights in a row, whatever, in Strikeforce.
02:52It's like, yeah, he's done.
02:53Like, it's over.
02:54It's like, no, no, he's not over.
02:56It's 15 years later.
02:58And, you know, so you get these second wins, but this Nalo dude has really put it together, has he?
03:04I mean, he fought in Bellator, like he's fought in before, and, you know, he didn't win.
03:08He was sort of, you know, win-lose, win-lose type thing.
03:11But, dude, he's just been murdering and smashing people for the last couple of years.
03:15Now he makes his UFC debut, fought in the Contender Series.
03:20What are your thoughts on this fight?
03:23I'm really excited for it, and I think Jai Herbert's a good opponent.
03:25Remember, Jai Herbert knocked down Ilya Teporia when he fought at Lightweight a couple of years back.
03:29So Jai Herbert's been in there with some good opposition.
03:31But I think the big thing with Matt Mandel, just kind of looking at his career,
03:34is he just needs the opportunity to really break through.
03:36And I think being in the UFC now, he's going to get that.
03:38When he was in Bellator, let's be honest, Gabe, he wasn't really properly used.
03:41He was on undercards.
03:42He wasn't prominently featured.
03:43And now that he's, you know, on a main card, on a UFC event coming up this Saturday,
03:47I think he's going to really break through.
03:49He's got the talent.
03:50It's just the matter of putting it all together.
03:51And I think he will this Saturday against Jai Herbert.
03:53And I'm really excited to see what they do.
03:55They seem to be, the UFC anyway, seems to be very generous to the Canadian side of things
03:59with some of the signings, with some of the names they put on this card.
04:02So I think it's a really good opportunity for Mandel.
04:04And I think he goes out there and finishes.
04:05I think he does make a statement on Saturday.
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