- 1 day ago
Mike Maher was boots on the ground at UFC Freedom 250 last night, and he recaps his wild experience here!
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00:00Mike Marr told us there were 70K plus at the UFC Freedom 250 watch party that he was at.
00:07I mean, D.C. was jumping over the weekend.
00:09There was a lot happening down in the city.
00:13There was so much going on in the city.
00:14There may have been even more.
00:15I mean, towards the end of the night, right before the main event,
00:17they announced that they thought there was 85,000.
00:20But they started to funnel in because I was sending you guys videos and pictures
00:23or at least trying to, and there was probably 30,000 around 7 o'clock.
00:27But the fight started at 8.
00:30As soon as 8 o'clock hit, it just completely doubled,
00:32and then people were trickling in as the fight started.
00:34But you had to have tickets?
00:36I thought there was an area where you didn't need tickets where you could just hang out, no?
00:40No, so the UFC did a giveaway back in February or March.
00:44300,000 people tried to get these free tickets.
00:48And you would either get day one, which was for the weigh-in and some fan engagement stuff,
00:52or the real coveted ones were day two where you would go for the fight at a watch party.
00:56So they gave away 85,000, but 300,000 people tried to show up.
01:00I put my name in the drawing, but wasn't lucky enough to win.
01:02So on Friday, we were chilling here, and a listener reached out to us.
01:06He was in studio back in September.
01:08His name is Brian.
01:08Big thank you to Brian.
01:10And he reached out to me, and he was like,
01:11Hey, man, I know you're a big UFC guy.
01:13Would you like my tickets?
01:15Just you?
01:15You couldn't bring your boys?
01:17No, it was two tickets.
01:18And I mean, I absolutely love my dad.
01:21He got me into UFC back in 2012, and I've watched a lot of fights with him growing up and
01:27stuff.
01:27So when I got two tickets, it was a no-brainer.
01:29I was like, I've got to bring my dad.
01:30Oh, that's awesome.
01:30That's great.
01:31Yeah, and he was over the moon excited when I told him about it.
01:34And we had a great time yesterday.
01:36It's literally one of those days and nights that I will never forget.
01:38So hold on.
01:39When you're hanging with your dad, is your dad big?
01:41Is he a Zen guy too?
01:43No, no, no.
01:43Is he a vibes guy too?
01:45No, he's not doing Zins or anything.
01:47We threw back a couple beers and stuff.
01:48And then there was actually, because Monster is one of the biggest sponsors for the UFC,
01:52they had a giant Monster building set up in the yard.
01:54Free Monster.
01:55Any flavor.
01:56So you would just wait in line.
01:58Nice.
01:58The lines were super fast.
02:00Everything there was shocking.
02:02For 85,000 people, everything was so smooth.
02:06Like getting in and out of there, going to the bathroom, getting food, getting drinks.
02:12They did the event well.
02:14Very well.
02:14The UFC cut no cost.
02:17And you could totally tell.
02:19I think Dana said originally, at least a couple weeks ago, they were set to lose 30 million
02:23on it.
02:24Really?
02:24Yeah.
02:25Wow.
02:25I totally believe it.
02:27Yeah.
02:27But they just did it just to do it for, I guess, the marketing and everything.
02:31When's the last time they had fights on a Sunday?
02:36I don't know if they ever have.
02:38I think you'd have to go back like at least a decade.
02:41Yeah.
02:41Because it's usually late on Saturday nights.
02:43Sunday is just different.
02:44I mean, especially starting late on Sunday, ending at 1.40 in the morning.
02:48What was the first fight?
02:49The first fight started around 8.45.
02:51And thankfully, I mean, the weather was not looking good.
02:54Like the clouds were.
02:55Oh, it was looking ominous.
02:57When I left D.C. at around 8, 8.15, I was like, this is not looking great.
03:01So there was an initial delay at the very start of the card.
03:04It bumped it back about 20 minutes.
03:05But the entire night, not one raindrop.
03:08And I did see a little bit of lightning around like 10 o'clock.
03:12I think the UFC just, I didn't see that.
03:14They looked the other way.
03:15I don't think we saw anything.
03:17We saw nothing.
03:18The show goes on.
03:20If you watched it, it looked awesome.
03:22Like the backdrop.
03:23I've only seen it on social media.
03:24And then the fighters walking out through the White House.
03:26Yeah.
03:27It looked electric.
03:29Yeah.
03:29The visuals were pretty impressive.
03:31So it came off great on TV.
03:33Oh, I mean, the whole structure that they built and then the setting and the backdrop.
03:39It was impressive.
03:41Yeah.
03:41And I'm not a big UFC fan.
03:43And I'm watching it.
03:44I'm watching it just to watch it because it's here.
03:46And I want to get a look at it.
03:48And I was drawing it.
03:48I was drawing it.
03:49Did you have to buy the pay-per-view?
03:51No.
03:52It was on Paramount+.
03:53It was on Paramount, yeah.
03:54Yeah.
03:54There was 4,000 people in attendance.
03:57Those were all very exclusive people.
04:00Friends of the White House or whatever.
04:02People in politics got to watch it.
04:04Then the people like Mike Marr, the 85,000 people, were a quarter of a mile away or whatever
04:10it was in the Eclipse watching it on giant screens with the stage.
04:14They brought the fighters over there afterwards.
04:16And then it was on Paramount+.
04:19And that's where everybody else watched it.
04:21I thought they were complaining that they wanted CBS to air it, but they wouldn't.
04:25So they just put it on Paramount+.
04:26Originally, it was supposed to be on CBS, I believe.
04:29Yeah.
04:30I got a text from my dad at 2.30 in the morning, our time, and said, I can't believe
04:34we stayed
04:35up and watched every single second of that.
04:36Wow.
04:37Your dad is into that kind of thing?
04:38No.
04:39No.
04:39He just...
04:39Yeah.
04:40He said your mom...
04:40Just because of the event?
04:41Your mom is going to bed now.
04:43My mom has never seen one punch in her life.
04:44That's crazy.
04:45I mean, I'm not even into UFC, and I stayed up until 11 watching it.
04:49Right.
04:49Yeah.
04:50That's wild.
04:51He's bringing in the most casual eyeballs.
04:53Were people excited about the card before, or was it just kind of a normal UFC card?
04:59It was a stacked card, but a lot of the attention was on the final two fights, because the final
05:04two were heavyweight.
05:05It was a heavyweight title fight, and then a lightweight title fight.
05:09And it was just because Ilya Teporia is like the face of the UFC.
05:14He's like number two pound for pound in the rankings, and he only fights...
05:17Like, last time he fought was over a year ago.
05:19So it was like the final two were the most marquee fights.
05:22But I will say, I met so many people out there.
05:24People were coming from all over the country.
05:26I met people from California, from Texas, Arizona, Florida, because everyone was saying
05:31this is a one-of-one event, and I think that translated over to TV, and I think the
05:35ratings and viewership is just going to be through the roof when we get those numbers.
05:38Look at you circulating through the crowd, just meeting people from the left.
05:41Was there a huge...
05:42All the coasts.
05:43Was there a huge upset in any of the fights?
05:45Well, the final one was a huge upset.
05:47That was the big upset.
05:48Final fight, main event, was the biggest upset, I'd say, since Ronda Rousey, Holly Holm.
05:53I mean, the guy was plus 450.
05:55Everyone basically had written him off, saying he was going to get knocked out in the first
05:58round.
05:59And the thing with Ilya Teporia...
06:01Is he just a journeyman, this guy, Gage, or however you say his name?
06:04He's very elite, but he just has not been able to win the title.
06:08He's fought for the title twice before against Habib, who's undefeated, and then Islam,
06:13who's Habib's cousin, training partner, who has only lost one fight.
06:17So he's just always been knocking at the door, but he's never been able to get over that hurdle.
06:21And this guy Teporia...
06:22Did you think he had a shot?
06:23To be honest, no.
06:25Yeah.
06:25I mean, Teporia has just been putting people's lights out.
06:28And they didn't come out...
06:30He didn't come out for the fourth round?
06:31Is that how it ended?
06:32Yeah.
06:33So in the first round, Gaethje landed a strike on him, and Teporia's never been cut.
06:38He's just been whooping everyone's ass, and he shattered his orbital bone.
06:42And so Teporia...
06:43Continued.
06:43Continued.
06:44Yeah, yeah.
06:44And then Gaethje just kept on whooping his ass.
06:47But Teporia...
06:47I mean, it was a scrap.
06:49It wasn't just like a one-sided beatdown.
06:50They were just throwing hands, but Justin Gaethje, his claim to fame is he's the most
06:54violent fighter in the UFC.
06:56He'll just stand and bang with anyone, and he just took Teporia...
06:59He said he was going to do this prior to the fight.
07:00He just took him to deep waters and just wanted it more, and just put a beatdown on him.
07:05Shattered his orbital, shattered his nose, his eye was swollen shut, and his corner
07:10threw in the towel.
07:11I saw Sugar Sean won.
07:14Yeah, Sean O'Malley won a knockout.
07:16He hadn't gotten a knockout in three years.
07:18He had lost his last fight, right?
07:20Yeah, and he had been fighting for the title.
07:22He lost to a guy in the Rob.
07:22So does this get him back in the mix a little bit?
07:25Definitely, because he has a win over the current champion right now.
07:29He's the guy that has the pink hair or whatever.
07:31He's always got a very colorful guy.
07:32It was so sick, too.
07:33After he got the knockout, he got on the microphone, and he was like,
07:37shout out everyone at the Ellipse.
07:38I'll be there in a second.
07:39And we erupted, and then they literally brought him directly from the octagon to the Ellipse.
07:45And he was jumping on stage in front of us, throwing t-shirts, screaming into the microphone.
07:49And that just set everyone on fire.
07:52What a weekend for Mike Martin.
07:54The USA chant going at Hyde on Friday night.
07:57Then he goes right to the USC event.
07:59So since it was such a positive reaction with the attendance and the coverage,
08:04do you think they'll do it again here?
08:06No.
08:07It was a one-time thing.
08:07One of one.
08:08I doubt they could keep spending all that money.
08:11There was no gate.
08:12There's no charging for tickets.
08:15They've lost millions and millions of dollars, and it costs all the setup to get it.
08:18He said he'll never do this again.
08:20He said it last night.
08:20I'll never do this again.
08:21I'll never have a fight at the Sphere again.
08:23So he basically just hooked it for Trump.
08:26Sounds like it.
08:27And just for the marketing of it all.
08:29The imagery that they got out of there is pretty incredible.
08:32Yeah.
08:33Dana White said in the press conference last night, I was listening to it this morning,
08:36that Trump pulled him aside and said, I want to do a special show for the Army.
08:39And Dana said, it's going to have to be a couple years.
08:41I need to financially recover from this White House.
08:44Let's pump the brakes on these big special shows.
08:48So you think this is ultimately, is this going to be a boost?
08:51Because I get the sense that, not that UFC is waning, but that, I don't know,
08:56it's hard to put on bangers every month or whatever they do.
09:00Last night, it could not have been more successful for them.
09:03But now it leads into, in three weeks, or I guess four weeks, July 11th,
09:08Conor McGregor is coming back.
09:09And they did a whole special package for him to help promote the fight.
09:13And it was him and Max Holloway going back and forth in an interview.
09:15So the UFC now is running hot.
09:17Because last night, could not have been more successful.
09:19Every single fight ended in a knockout.
09:22And now you lead into Conor McGregor.
09:24Wasn't Conor supposed to fight at the White House, though?
09:27Yeah, but it's...
09:28That would have been electric.
09:29But it goes back to the gate.
09:31If you can't sell tickets, you have to sell tickets.
09:33Might as well save them.
09:33Yeah, exactly.
09:34Because they already said they're shattering the record for the UFC gate.
09:37So Conor's still...
09:39I mean, obviously, everybody knows Conor.
09:41But the expectations, aren't they kind of meh for him at this point?
09:46Well, the thing is, he hasn't fought in five years.
09:49But he is going to be a buzzsaw for the first round.
09:53After that, he might fall apart.
09:56His cardio might fail him.
09:57But that first round, he is going to go right at Max Holloway.
10:02And we'll see if he can let him...
10:03What's Max Holloway?
10:03I've heard the name, but what's his deal?
10:05Is he a tough guy?
10:05Or is he basically up there to take a beating?
10:07No, he's just like Justin Gaethje.
10:08He's just a savage.
10:09Oh, so he'll probably beat him.
10:11We'll see.
10:12Because he's gotten knocked out a couple times now.
10:15I mean, he just got his ass whooped by Charles Oliveira.
10:17But that was a boring wrestling fight.
10:19But Conor's known for swinging, right?
10:21He's not like an on-the-ground guy.
10:23Not at all.
10:23It's going to be a stand-and-bang fight.
10:25And I'm telling you, the first round is going to be cinema.
10:27You know, Mike Mars, he's the second most plugged-in UFC guy that we know.
10:31That's behind Luke Thomas.
10:33He's right there.
10:33You are a certified UFC expert.
10:36Eric, you know how we just get chills and goosebumps any time Tiger tees it up?
10:41It's the same thing with Conor.
10:43Yeah, I know.
10:43He's electric.
10:44I get it.
10:45I get it.
10:46I mean, he's got all the personality in the world, and he brings that.
10:50He's got that history behind him.
10:51Yeah, so now it sets up.
10:52It's just five years, though.
10:54That's a long time, man.
10:55It doesn't matter.
10:56If Tiger teed it up at the Masters, you would still get excited.
10:59Yeah.
10:59Same type of energy.
11:01Yeah.
11:01So what's going to happen is if Conor goes out there next month and delivers on a knockout,
11:08and now granted, he's like plus 300, it'd be a big upset, but he could do it.
11:12They're going to make Justin Gaethje against Conor McGregor for the title, and then that
11:16will be probably in like December.
11:18That fight would be so...
11:20Well, Gaethje would kill him.
11:20It would be so box office, though.
11:22No, they would make that fight because those guys have history.
11:24How old is Conor now?
11:2638, and Gaethje's maybe like a year or two under him.
11:29Oh, so they're similar.
11:31Yeah, but I mean, that fight would be chaos, but they're both 155, 170, like around that
11:36weight, but they've talked smack to each other in the past, just their paths have never crossed.
11:40So when you're watching this thing, are you standing the whole time?
11:44The whole time.
11:44And in between fights, though...
11:45Oh, my God, Gaethje.
11:46In between, you know, people are sitting down.
11:48So you're basically just standing for the fight.
11:50And then what, do you sit on the grass?
11:52Oh, you're just, yeah, ass on the grass.
11:54How's your dad handling that?
11:56That's like four or five hours of just standing up the whole time.
11:58Did he ever say, hey, we got to get out of here?
12:01No, no, absolutely not.
12:03But there were times where he was like, I got to sit down.
12:05And I was like, for sure.
12:07So, you know, he was sitting down.
12:08How did you guys get there?
12:09We Metro'd.
12:10So on Saturday...
12:12Was that a circus?
12:13Yeah, kind of.
12:14But on Saturday, I worked myself and did a shoot because I drove from my house in Arlington
12:19to Audi Field for the Defenders game.
12:21It took an hour and a half.
12:22So you got to the Defenders game, too?
12:23I can't believe he did all this.
12:24Do you have extra hours in the weekend that we don't have over here?
12:26What's going on here?
12:27I was in the beer snake section.
12:28It was chaos.
12:28But it took me an hour and a half.
12:29Which he spent on concessions.
12:31Unbelievable.
12:32Listen, it was an hour and a half to go from Arlington to Audi Field.
12:36So when my dad was like, how do you want to get to the fight?
12:38I was like, well, we're not driving and we're not Ubering because the road closures are insane.
12:42So we actually Metro'd or we Uber'd from my house to Hyde.
12:45I had to show my dad Hyde.
12:46Yeah, right.
12:47So...
12:47You go in and give him a beer or whatever.
12:49That was my spot.
12:50Yeah, yeah, yeah.
12:50So your dad could see you getting the special treatment and all that?
12:57Yes, yes.
12:57And he was over the moon with it.
12:58He had a great time.
12:59He really enjoyed Hyde.
13:00And then we just got on the Clarendon Metro and went to Federal Triangle.
13:05Man, what a weekend you had, right?
13:07And then how long?
13:08And then you took the Metro back at 2 in the morning.
13:10It stayed open late last night.
13:11I don't think it closed until like 2.30 because it was just madness getting out of there.
13:15There was only one way in and one way out.
13:16Don't the Metro people always bitch about not staying open like for Nats games or whatever?
13:21Yeah, I guess they made a special exception for this.
13:23This one they decided to.
13:24I guess.
13:24Or Skins games even.
13:25They give us a hard time.
13:27Definitely for Nats games.
13:27Definitely for Nats games.
13:29Was the Metro...
13:29It had to have been packed.
13:30It was so crowded.
13:31I've never seen so many people on a train.
13:33And then I got back to my house at 2.50?
13:36Jeez.
13:362.45?
13:37I feel like four or five hours ago.
13:39I can't believe you're actually here.
13:40I can't believe you went to sleep.
13:41I'm just...
13:42I'm having so much fun.
13:43I mean, I'll crash later today for sure.
13:45What happened?
13:46I don't even know.
13:47What happened with the defenders?
13:49Loser.
13:49Oh, man.
13:50It was devastating.
13:51They were winning at halftime.
13:52Their quarterback got hurt.
13:53They had some nubs.
13:54You know, just terrible quarterback.
13:57Some nubber.
13:57The guy was in an electric factory, though.
13:58He would get like a four-yard run and he'd be like, yeah!
14:01I mean, this guy was at an electric factory.
14:02But it came down.
14:03There was a minute left.
14:04We were down by seven.
14:05Fourth and goal from the five.
14:06And they botched it.
14:08Yeah, beer snake snapped in half.
14:10Ruined the box.
14:11Yeah, yeah, yeah.
14:12Trouble.
14:12It was definitely like, you know, leaning towards if they scored,
14:15where they were going to go for two in the win.
14:16So you got hooked because you came on the air and kind of begged for some help.
14:19And that paid off?
14:20Yes.
14:20I also got to give a shout-out to my guy, Larry, the listener.
14:24Larry, the listener.
14:25Thank you, Larry.
14:25Thank you, Larry.
14:26And he actually saved us seats in the beer snake section
14:29because those are first-come, first-served general admission.
14:31Yeah.
14:32And he saved us, you know, super close down there.
14:34What a freaking night.
14:35What a weekend.
14:36So he went Friday night.
14:37He went to Hyde to watch the World Cup.
14:39Right.
14:39Team USA.
14:40Saturday, he's at the Defenders.
14:41Yes.
14:42And then Sunday, all night, he's at UFC.
14:45UFC with his dad.
14:45The best 72 hours of my life.
14:47If you parlay, I'm all together.
14:48He's running hot.
14:49Unbelievable.
14:50A lot of fun.
14:51Super run good for Mike Marr over there.
14:53You're going to be dead in about six hours.
14:55And then tomorrow, actually, I got to get back on the horse.
14:58Valdez and I are golfing with, you want to tell him who?
15:01I don't know if we can.
15:02No, it's fine.
15:02He's a listener.
15:03His family owns the Italian stores.
15:06So Marr's all excited for cold cuts.
15:10Yeah.
15:11I've played with Bobby before.
15:13He's great.
15:13Where are you guys playing?
15:15Washington Golf and Country Club.
15:17Uh-huh.
15:18In Arlington.
15:18Yeah.
15:19Nice spot.
15:19Oh, yeah.
15:20I got to ask him, though, about what they're putting in those olive oils and the sandwiches.
15:23So Marr's all excited.
15:25Yeah, because I'm a die-hard Italian store fan.
15:27I'm there all the time.
15:28Yeah, you're going to get all the inside skinny.
15:30Good for you.
15:30Marr's going to get a billion gift cards.
15:32That's amazing.
15:33Excellent.
15:34Amazing.
15:34All right.
15:34Excellent recap there, young fella.
15:36Well done.
15:37Nice job.
15:37What a weekend for everybody.
15:39Oh, yeah.
15:40Yeah, it was a packed weekend all the way around.
15:42God bless America.
15:43USA.
15:45All right.
15:45Speaking of USA, when we come back, we'll get into the USA's big win over Paraguay on
15:50What does it mean, Cakes?
15:51Are we good?
15:52And are you pumped for their matchup with Australia?
15:55They're a top group.
15:57What group is it?
15:58Oh, hold on.
15:58I don't have it in front of me.
15:59But they're a top of their group, and they meet this Friday at 3 p.m.
16:04When we come back, we'll talk more USA soccer here on The Fan.
16:08I don't have it in front of you.
16:08I don't have it in front of you.
16:08I don't have it in front of you.
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