00:00Let's get to the main event as an example that is like a near-pick-em type of deal.
00:08So Mike Mallott is minus 125 right now.
00:11So Mike Mallott is the Canadian fighter. He's on a four-fight win streak.
00:16He generally, listen, he always fights in Canada.
00:19And they really, you know, they've built him up.
00:22You know how it operates. They go to different countries and they want the local fighters to win.
00:28And Canadians have done a good job of taking advantage of it.
00:31But Mallott's actually pretty good, right?
00:34But is he, is he like good, good? Is he championship contender good?
00:39I don't really think so. I think he's sort of mid-tier.
00:43But I'll tell you what, Buckley's a badass and has definitely fought tougher dudes than Mike Mallott before.
00:51This is an intriguing fight to me.
00:53Not that Buckley can't handle wrestlers, but that's why he lost to Usman, right?
00:59That's why he lost to a Sean Brady.
01:02But Mallott's not a wrestler, Tom.
01:05I don't need to tell you, but for everybody tuning in, Mallott's brother's in the National Hockey League.
01:09Like he's a classic, you know, Canadian punch-you-in-the-face type of dude.
01:13He's well-rounded, but you know what I'm saying?
01:16He's not a wrestler, Tom.
01:18So how do you break, when you look at this fight, what stands out to you?
01:22Because it is very evenly matched.
01:24And Buckley definitely has fought in tougher opponents.
01:29Yeah.
01:30When I, they show, you know how they show the card on the fights, the upcoming cards on the fights.
01:37I was watching with my buddy.
01:39I had a few drinks and I, you know, I'm like, Buckley, we're going to put all our money on
01:42Buckley.
01:43You know, he's going to, he's going to kill Mallott.
01:46But then usually the first impression is the best one, Tom, for me.
01:50I know.
01:50I know.
01:51It's always that.
01:52Whenever I see a fight announced or like fights announced, I'm like, oh yeah, this guy's going to win.
01:57You start overthinking three months later and stuff in your head.
02:00Right.
02:01Exactly.
02:02Yeah, the worry is that, you know, Mallott can wrestle, but he doesn't really wrestle.
02:08I mean, he does have that in his back pocket, but the one fight where he did wrestle a lot
02:13and he landed four takedowns was the Neil Magny fight.
02:16And we all know what happened there.
02:17He gassed out.
02:18So he ended up getting TKO'd at the end of that fight.
02:23So there's these things with these fighters that are like semi, you know, Mallott's not like the youngest guy in
02:28the world, but he is kind of new to MMA still.
02:30You see them gas out in a fight and then you think, well, and now it's a five-round fight.
02:35Can his cardio hold up?
02:37And then, you know, somehow they train for five rounds and the cardio does hold up.
02:42But, you know, this one's interesting to me because Mallott could wrestle.
02:45He's definitely got a path there.
02:48But can his cardio hold up doing that over the course of five rounds?
02:51Does he mix it in?
02:52You know, maybe takedowns late in rounds.
02:55Kind of just kind of, you know, do his thing.
02:58But Buckley is, you know, like you said, he's a really tough guy.
03:01He fought a lot of times at 185.
03:04He had some decent success up there.
03:06He had some rough times as well.
03:08But he's a guy that's going to be there.
03:11And we have seen a couple grapplers take him down and just kind of, you know, whitewash him on the
03:16mat.
03:18But, you know, to me, this is kind of a 50-50 on the feet.
03:22I think Buckley's a very good striker.
03:25Buckley's got very good cardio.
03:26We know that for a fact.
03:28He's going to be there late.
03:29I think Mallott is a dangerous fighter.
03:32I'm not super high on him.
03:34I think he could, you know, have some success early in this fight.
03:38And he could find a finish early.
03:40But as the fight goes long, I feel like Buckley, from what we've seen, has the advantage here.
03:47So, you know, I'm not, I don't want to get too excited about Buckley as a massive dog here.
03:54But I do feel like Buckley is a decent side.
03:57And I feel like if you're betting him a lot, you're kind of betting him with the early props, you
04:01know, maybe getting an early finish.
04:02But the longer this fight goes, I feel like Buckley might be a good live spot.
04:07And I feel like you're betting on the right side.
04:07So, I'm doing it.
