The Life N Times Network
Born from the unexpected friendship of two college freshmen from different worlds, The Life N Times Network has matured into a multifaceted podcast that delves deep into the nuances of modern life. Hosts Natheer Brunson Jr. and Aaron Salada navigate the complexities of their 20s, offering listeners a blend of introspection, humor, and cultural commentary.
From the introspective discussions in "Of Music & Men," where Dre and Natheer dissect contemporary music and its cultural implications, to the candid reflections in episodes like "Healthy Habits," the podcast offers a raw and authentic look into personal growth and societal observations. Whether it's the spirited debates in "The Fight" series or the laid-back vibes of "Smoke Sessions," each episode invites listeners into a space of genuine conversation and shared experiences.
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The Life N Times Network
The Fight # 65
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In episode 65 of The Fight, I break down all the chaos from UFC 323 in Las Vegas, from Petr Yan’s career-defining performance to reclaim the bantamweight title against Merab Dvalishvili over five brutal rounds to Joshua Van’s shocking coronation after Alexandre Pantoja’s early injury, plus Tatsuro Taira’s statement finish of Brandon Moreno, Payton Talbott’s shutout of Henry Cejudo, and the wild majority draw between Jan Blachowicz and Bogdan Guskov. Tune in to relive the atmosphere, the scorecards, and what these results really mean for every division going forward.
It's Lena Le. The fights tapping in. Listen, UFC 323. Let's get into it. Main car only. Top dogs only. Big fights. Only. It's only me. Listen, tap in in the fight. UFC 23. Let's get right into it. Mario Torres gets the win done in one dog. Talk about starting the card off with a banger. Manual Torres gets the TKO off of damage, off of punches, and bunches. There was a lot of older fighters being turned away by the new school fighters. Manuel Torres is one of those guys who showed the older guy what was going down. He dropped them, finished them, TKO. Shout to him. I'm glad he got the 50k bonus. Then we go into Jan versus Bogan. Listen, Jan once again has gotten a draw. In his last four fights, he could have easy it's easily arguable that he won all four. But Alex Barrera needed to do what he needed to do. So the UFC probably let him slide on the cards. And that's what happened. I'm sorry. Jan is being robbed by the UFC. He's being trying to, they're trying to sweep him under the rug, but he's too good. He's too good to be swept under the rug. It's crazy. His last string of fights, and just how good this guy is, just how tough, just how his will to win, even after being dropped. How his his resurgence in the third round and even dropping his opponent, which they should have called for him. Listen, man, Jon deserves a lot better than what he is getting from the UFC. It was sad to see. I mean, they were trying to get this guy to be a showcase piece for the new fighter, and he turned that away. You know, he pushed that away. He isn't a gatekeeper. He should be fighting for that belt. He should be getting some nods in these next decisions. You know, it's just it's wild to see. But moving on, we have Peyton Toblet versus Henry Sehuda, another older fighter versus a young star, a showcase fight. Peyton did everything he was supposed to do and even took down an Olympic level gold medalist. Listen, man. MMA is a vicious, cruel game. These kids, these guys, these men, these fighters can mix it up with the best of them. Not kinda sorta the best of them. With the ability to mix their techniques, MMA artists at the peak level can overcome any one skilled specialty. And listen, man, these guys are getting used to it as well. You know, Toblitz uh takedown defense jumped so many levels after that loss. So it's good to see him on a two-fight win streak, getting the UD over the champion. Couldn't knock him out, though. So shout out to Henry for being that tough champ, pushing the young kid, and really, you know, seeing what Toblett is made of. It was a showcase event for Peyton Toblett. It was a goodbye to Henry Sahudo. Shout out Henry Sahudo, two-time champion, Olympic gold medalist, a triple C champ, a true credit to the sport of wrestling and MMA, a giant legacy. I'm so happy for this guy. And listen, I think he was winning so much he had to lose some point in his life. Like, imagine the amount of winning Henry Sehudo had to do to lose at this point, right? Like he's losing on the biggest stage. Like, people don't get there. And he's dominated at the biggest stage as well. So, you know, he spent most of his life a winner, and now he's tasting some defeat as he gets older. I think it's a perfect story, especially for a brass person like Henry Sehudo. I give him all the credit in the world. Terrific champion, incredible legacy. Now, talking about terrific champions and incredible legacies, listen, Alexander Pantoja fought Joshua Van for 26 seconds. Now, unfortunately, he was injured in the very first round from contact for Joshua Van. So he gets the TKO on the technicality because his collision with Joshua Van caused the injury. And that's what people have to deal with that. It's not the best, it's not a cop-out, but the injury was caused by Van. He is 24 years old. He beat the number one competitor in his division to get this opportunity, and he has succeeded his dreams. He's going to be excited. I do not care about anybody else. He took the kick and did the push that caused the damage. He deserves that victory. Now, talking about deserving victories, listen, Peter Jon broke down the machine. He disassembled him over five rounds. It was systematic, traumatic, and very damaging. Peter Jan is very mean in there, and once he understands how you're coming and how it's going to go down, he's going to pick you apart. He spent the first round getting the range and the timing of Marab's takedowns and his offense. Marab's offense, especially striking, is mundane if he's not threatening a takedown. The only time it gets good is because of his takedown threat. Like, there's few strikers and grappl that fight striking and grapple at the same level. Islam does that very well. High-level striking, high-level grappling. Listen, Marab's striking was not up to par, and he got picked apart for five rounds. Shout out to Peter Yan, the vicious new champion, champ again. This is his second time touching the belt since his loss against Aljo. True champion. I am excited for what he does for what he does next. I do believe Marab should get an immediate rematch. And I also believe Marab needs some time off. Four weight cuts in one year. That is a lot of fighting. That is a lot of fighting. And maybe hubris and ego played a part of his loss as well. We will never know. I know this. He has to tighten up the striking. And if his wrestling is a big part of his offense, he has to start making submissions a part of his game. He has to have a deeper layer and a month more things to threaten. If the wrestling isn't working, you have to be able to threat something else. A solid jab, too. Like, you know, a lot of fighters like Usman and I would say Michael Chandler, they found what striking works for them as a grappler-based person, and they mastered those. And they they, you know, they like mastered those, and then every other punch becomes a little bit easier to land. I'm just saying, get your jab robb, you know, get your jab right, Marab. Get certain boxing mechanics because a lot of this was like basic boxing mechanics mixed with MMA ranges and danger as far as kicks and takedown defense. But the boxing range that Peter Jan kept him in and started to punish him with was impeccable to watch. He broke down the machine piece by piece. This is the fight Episode sixty-five.