On this week’s edition of What the Heck, MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck speaks with Bellator featherweight Mads Burnell (8:15) following his unanimous decision win over Emmanuel Sanchez in the co-main event of Bellator 263 to discuss his seventh straight victory, how much fun he had in there with Sanchez, the importance of understanding defense when it comes to how judges should score fights, not being surprised about A.J. McKee’s finish of Patricio Pitbull, and wanting to return in November when Bellator returns to Ireland.
BKFC standout Taylor Starling (24:34) recaps her 28-second finish of Cassie Robb at BKFC 19, talks not being able to celebrate the win after testing positive for COVID-19 following the event, how being bullied in school led to the beginning of her combat sports journey, initially choosing MMA over boxing, how doubters motivated her to return to fighting after becoming a mother, when she hopes to return to the ring, thoughts on a potential fight with Paige VanZant, and believing she’s in the conversation to crown the promotion’s first women’s champion.
UFC flyweight Alex Perez (1:03:39) previews his Aug. 28 matchup with Matt Schnell, discusses what he took away from his loss to Devieson Figueiredo at UFC 255 in his first opportunity to fight for a world title, his reaction to Brandon Moreno becoming champion and if that opened the door to getting back to a title shot, Askar Askarov being forced to withdraw from their scheduled matchup in July, Carla Esparza’s title hopes after her most recent performance, and his relationship with the media.
Finally, UFC bantamweight Casey Kenney (1:34:36) talks his UFC 265 matchup with Song Yadong this Saturday, his most recent fight with Dominick Cruz at UFC 259 and feeling like he won the first two rounds, if he feels like he picked up a moral victory, having a feeling he’d be matched up with Yadong in his next fight, hopes that the bonuses get increased to $75,000 once again, and his predictions for the co-main event between Jose Aldo and Pedro Munhoz, along with the interim heavyweight championship main event between Derrick Lewis and Ciryl Gane.
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