Podcast appearances and mentions of ben fowlkes

This week on The Craic, Petesy Carroll calls on Ben Fowlkes and Drake Riggs to talk combat sports' biggest and weirdest headlines.They open the show by debating whether the inevitable Amanda Nunes vs. Kayla Harrison bout could be the biggest women's MMA fight of all time (4:09).Next, the trio turn their attention to this weekend's UFC Fight Night main event: Kamaru Usman vs. Joaquin Buckley. Petesy and the boys unpack the key narratives heading into the matchup, including Usman's bold three-fight plan to achieve double-champ status (26:04).It's been another weird week for PFL. Not only does it seem they might be fumbling the Paul Hughes vs. Usman Nurmagomedov rematch, but they've also strangely been linked to Russell Brand. The guys weigh in on another disappointing spread of headlines for the PFL (43:56).To end on a high note, the chaps look ahead to a stacked weekend of combat sports action. From GLORY 100 to BKFC Ice Wars, there's plenty for fight fans to enjoy (1:02:48).

The Craic is back! Petesy Carroll is joined by Craic regulars Chuck Mindenhall and Ben Fowlkes. The boys open the show by breaking down the UFC 316 weigh-in results and analyzing which fighters looked sharp on the scales (5:14). One fighter who had no trouble making weight was Kayla Harrison, who challenges Juliana Peña for the bantamweight title. The guys explore each fighter's path to victory and debate whether the betting line is disrespecting the reigning champion, Peña (10:14). Despite two title fights on the card, the buzz around UFC 316 isn't quite where it should be. The trio discuss the underwhelming ticket sales and whether the UFC is currently in a slump with fans (20:47). Shifting gears to the main event, the guys dive into the biggest storylines ahead of Sean O'Malley's second title challenge against Merab Dvalishvili (23:42). Is Patchy Mix the best fighter to make the jump from Bellator to the UFC? Petesy and the lads break down the challenge ahead for the newcomer, as he takes on Mario Bautista in a bid to enter the top of the bantamweight sweepstakes (35:15). Jon Jones is back in the headlines! The crew react to his latest tweet storm, and weigh in on the increasingly unlikely unification bout with Tom Aspinall (49:03). To close out the show, Petesy and the guys pay tribute to the late MMA media legend Jordan Breen (56:10).

On this week's edition of The Craic, Petesy Carroll is joined by Ben Fowlkes and Drake Riggs. Kicking off the show, they dive into breaking news: Maycee Barber has missed weight for her fight against Erin Blanchfield, along with several other fighters on this weekend's Apex card (4:02). Another UFC product that returned this week is The Ultimate Fighter. The guys discuss why the show feels underwhelming, even with fan favorites Chael Sonnen and Daniel Cormier coaching opposing teams (14:15). The trio then address the troubling news surrounding former UFC champion BJ Penn, who was arrested this week. His mother has reportedly been granted a restraining order, citing a pattern of concerning behavior (30:37). There's also more on the potential Tom Aspinall vs. Jon Jones fight, but it's not good news. Jones's recent comments make the matchup seem even further out of reach, and the guys break down what this could mean for the long-anticipated superfight (39:28). To wrap things up, the fellas discuss Vitor Belfort's recent Hall of Fame induction and examine the evolving narratives around drug testing in combat sports (52:35).

There's a few good men on the latest episode of Submission Radio LIVE as Jed Meshew and Ben Fowlkes join the show! We want the truth as we talk new TUF, UFC 316, Merab, Jon Jones pettitions, Volk/Yair 2 craziness and more! Plus prepare yourself as we reveal our Tom Cruise top 3's as well as a few of his worst movies! All that AND your questions? Strap in for another SR Live experience! Don't forget to use code "SUBMISSION" at https://Manscaped.com for 15% AND FREE SHIPPING (Plus you're helping the show) Download the Saily app and use the code [submission] or go to https://Saily.com/submission  to get an exclusive 15% off your first purchase! IF YOU WANT TO SUPPORT PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO THE CHANNEL: http://bit.ly/2arsrDN   

Petesy Carroll is joined by The Craic alum Chuck Mindenhall and Ben Fowlkes to discuss whether Dricus Du Plessis is being overlooked against Khamzat Chimaev, more bad news for the PFL, and the UFC super-fights that still aren't getting made.On this week's show, Petesy Carroll is joined by The Craic alum Chuck Mindenhall and Ben Fowlkes. After a brief tangent discussing Petesy's dream journal, the fellas dive into the biggest storylines surrounding Khamzat Chimaev vs. Dricus Du Plessis — most notably, whether Du Plessis is being slept on yet again as an underdog (8:29).From there, the conversation shifts to the PFL, which is back in the headlines — and not in a good way. The crew unpacks the organization parting ways with one of its biggest stars, Patchy Mix, and what that might signal for the promotion's future (29:02).That leads into a broader discussion on UFC matchmaking, sparked by the aftermatch of the Ilia Topuria vs. Islam Makhachev super-fight that never materialized. The guys examine what it says about how marquee fights are being made today (42:24). Staying on the topic of missed opportunities, they then turn to another major bout stuck in limbo: Tom Aspinall vs. Jon Jones. The trio break down the potential reasons behind the holdup and what it could take to finally make the fight happen (55:44).To wrap things up, the chaps preview this weekend's matchup between Gilbert Burns and Michael Morales — and discuss whether Morales could be the next elite contender to emerge at 170lbs (1:07:29).

Petesy Carroll is joined by familiar faces Chuck Mindenhall and Ben Fowlkes to talk all things UFC 315.The lads kick off the show by breaking down the fallout from Jose Aldo's weight struggles, including how it could impact his chances against Aiemann Zahabi (3:02).After debating whether the tail end of Aldo's career is being mishandled, Petesy shifts the focus to this weekend's main event. The trio discuss Belal Muhammad finally earning the respect of the oddsmakers, and whether Jack Della Maddalena is being overlooked as the challenger (20:01).The result of the UFC 315 main event will also determine Islam Makhachev's next move, so the chaps unpack just how much intrigue his subplot adds to the card (22:55).There's also plenty of attention on the co-main event. Chuck recaps his conversation with title challenger Manon Fiorot, offering fresh insight into how she sees her clash with Valentina Shevchenko playing out (38:38).Despite the strong matchups, UFC 315 might struggle to fill the arena. The lads weigh in on lackluster ticket sales and whether the UFC is pricing out local fans with steep prices (48:48).To close the show, Petesy touches on Paul Hughes's homecoming fight against Bruno Miranda, as well as some unfortunate headlines surrounding the PFL (1:01:05).Join us on the bike: avironactive.com/uncrowned

The Craic is back! Petesy Carroll is joined by the usual suspects, Chuck Mindenhall and Ben Fowlkes, to break down all the latest headlines. They kick things off by discussing Ilia Topuria, who's set to fight at UFC 317 on June 28th — but who's his opponent? The lads weigh in on who they think would make for Topuria's most exciting matchup (03:58). One of those opponents is Islam Makhachev, but does Makhachev want to fight Ilia, or move up to welterweight to face the winner of Jack Della Maddalena vs. Belal? The trio explore what the lightweight champions options are (07:52). Staying with the welterweight division, the conversation shifts to Ian Garry's recent decision win over Carlos Prates. The chaps discuss Garry's bold push for a title shot and break down the current pecking order for a crack at 170lbs (11:42). Meanwhile, over in the PFL, Dakota Ditcheva is making waves — not in the cage, but online. Her recent social media posts suggest growing frustration. The crew unpacks the situation and what it might mean for the promotion's image (20:35). Next, the focus turns to UFC Iowa, where Ben Fowlkes shares insights from his recent conversation with Reinier de Ridder ahead of his bout with Bo Nickal. Can RDR derail the Bo Nickal hype train? Plus, the team spotlights other intriguing matchups on the card (35:02). Switching gears, the lads react to the headline-grabbing Times Square boxing card, featuring Ryan Garcia vs. Rolly Romero — a spectacle as strange as it is compelling (49:02). To wrap things up, they react to the trailer for The Smashing Machine — the highly anticipated Mark Kerr biopic starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Could this be one of the best MMA films ever made (54:35)? 

With Petesy Carroll away from the helm, Uncrowned's Chuck Mindenhall and Ben Fowlkes man the ship to preview UFC 314.The duo kicks things off by reacting to the weekend's weigh-in results, where all main card fighters successfully made weight (01:15).Chuck and Ben then break down the key paths to victory for main event fighters Alexander Volkanovski and Diego Lopes (02:30), and weigh in on whether a loss could spell retirement for the Australian former champ (12:28). Diego Lopes appears to have his sights set on a different opponent — surprisingly, Yair Rodriguez — despite the two not being matched up. Chuck and Ben dissect their press conference mix-up and explore the potential ramifications heading into their respective fights this weekend (19:26). Next, the duo turns their attention to Yair Rodriguez's bout against UFC debutant Patricio Pitbull, before diving into Paddy Pimblett vs. Michael Chandler, the biggest test of the Scouser's career so far (28:44). Then it's on to the most bizarre matchup of the weekend: Bryce Mitchell vs. Jean Silva. Chuck and Ben unpack the biggest storyline surrounding the fight, Bryce Mitchell's wild fight week antics (41:28), before discussing the rest of the card and spotlighting a few matchups they're excited about (51:27).  Finally, the guys address the predictable mess surrounding GFL's canceled debut events and debate whether the organization has a future in the fight game (54:10). 

Sean O'Malley is getting a second shot at bantamweight king Merab Dvalishvili, but some people aren't happy about it. Petesy Carroll, Chuck Mindenhall and Ben Fowlkes kick off the show discussing the UFC 316 rematch (4:40).With Manel Kape's meeting with Brandon Royval being the only fight announced for UFC 317, the big international fight week card, the lads contemplate a potential super fight between Merab and Alexandre Pantoja, who have both effectively cleared out their divisions (19:22).On the topic of UFC 317, comments from Islam Makhachev's camp have claimed that he will await the winner of Belal Muhammad vs. Jack Della Maddalena before making his next move. Does that obscure the chances of his highly anticipated meeting with Ilia Topuria (23:52)?Looking forward to the weekend, Chuck shares insights he gained from speaking to Lerone Murphy ahead of his clash with Josh Emmett (40:31), before the trio give their verdicts on the revamped PFL (54:11).Finally, Ben discusses his fabulous European vacation, sharing thoughts about the waffles in Belgium, his mastery of the French language and accidentally wandering into Amsterdam's red light district (1:03:40). 

Petesy Carroll is joined by Uncrowned's Ben Fowlkes to discuss Beniel Dariush potentially leaking Dustin Poirier meeting his old rival Max Holloway in his retirement fight (8:39). Just after getting the show underway, the news hits of three weigh misses for this weekend's Apex card (14:40), before the conversation returns to Poirier (19:59). The lads ponder when Ilia Topuria will make his 155-pound debut with Charles Oliveira's camp claiming that the Brazilian has a fight booked for International Fight Week (29:15). In the wake of UFC 313, Petesy and Ben weigh-in on the changing narrative around Alex Pereira with the likes of Daniel Cormier claiming the defeat to Magomed Anakalev underlined how the knockout artist is simply too small for the maximum weight-class (39:56). With the announcement of Paul Hughes' homecoming bout against Bruno Miranda taking place in Belfast in May, Petesy asks Ben if he thinks PFL fumbled the bag by not immediately booking the Irishman's rematch with Usman Nurmagomedov (50:58). Finally, the return of Jeremy Stephens is brought into focus and the lads wonder if his re-signing to the UFC is a bad thing for BKFC on the back of his highly publicised knockout of Eddie Alvarez in Philadelphia (59:58).

With all the talk of what lies beyond UFC 313 for Alex Pereira, are we all discounting the fact that Magomed Ankalaev is by far his hardest test at 205 pounds? Petesy Carroll, Ben Fowlkes and Shaheen Al-Shatti discuss how a victory would impact the iconic Brazilian striker's legacy (4:03). As for the chief support, the lads ponder whether Justin Gaethje will be a changed man following his brutal knockout loss to Max Holloway when he rematches short-notice stand-in Rafael Fiziev (29:56). The conversation then turns to TKO Boxing and whether its boxing revolution will be as easily executed as most people are anticipating (44:32). Petesy shares thoughts from the homeland about Katie Taylor's big Croke Park fight never coming to fruition, as her trilogy bout with Amanda Serrano has been confirmed for July in MSG (59:11). Finally, the trio forecast what Ilia Topuria has teased with a recent post online (1:07:25) and try to formulate a way to destroy Chuck Mendenhall's reign as Uncrowned's king of picks (1:14:22).

Petesy Carroll is joined by Chuck Mindenhall and Ben Fowlkes to discuss TKO's imminent arrival in the boxing world, in conjunction with the Saudi Arabia (2:50) and TKO president Mark Shapiro suggesting that there are some flaws in the Ali Act - an act introduced in 2002 for the welfare of boxers. During the show, news broke of a boxing event taking place in Times Square, and the lads give their thoughts on a boxing card taking place in such a unique location (35:12), before the conversation turned to the UFC's media rights, which will be up for grabs before the end of 2025 (44:48). Finally, Petesy asked Chuck and Ben if the build-up to Chris Eubank Jr. vs. Conor Benn has made a splash across the water (58:42).

Ariel Helwani joins The Craic to give insight on Canelo Alvarez signing with Riyadh Season, his bout with Jake Paul not coming to fruition and the emerging rivalry between MVP and Turki Alalshikh (00:16). Uncrowned's Shaheen Al-Shatti and Ben Fowlkes then give their takes on all the developments described by Helwani (20:09), before the conversation turns to UFC 312 (31:33).The lads ponder whether Sean Strickland's staph infection (49:51) will take a toll on him during his rematch with champion Dricus Du Plessis and discuss Tatiana Suarez finally getting her opportunity to fight for a title against Zhang Weili (51:52). After, the trio give their picks on the main event and co-main event on 312 (1:01:50) before the conversation turns to the retirement of legendary bantamweight, Dominick Cruz (01:06:04).

Petesy Carroll is joined by Uncrowned's Chuck Mindenhall and Ben Fowlkes to discuss Bryce Mitchell and Conor McGregor's latest controversies.Petesy Carroll, Ben Fowlkes and Chuck Mindenhall discuss Bryce Mitchell's outlandish statement about Adolf Hitler being “a good guy” (3:11) and consider whether Dana White's reaction to the situation (04:16) is sufficient. They then look at differing reactions from the MMA community, with Jan Blachowicz offering to educate Mitchell (23:44) and Conor McGregor offering compassion to the featherweight (25:11).The conversation then moves onto the vitriolic tweet from McGregor, laced with racial slurs, going after his old foe Khabib Nurmagomedov (36:01) and question what the Irish fighter has left to give to the sport of MMA (46:02). Finally, the trio gives their thoughts on UFC Saudi Arabia (50:26) before giving their picks for the main event (59:08).

Petesy Carroll is joined by Chuck Mindenhall and Ben Fowlkes for an episode jam-packed with breaking news.Fowlkes speaks about the mystique surrounding Team Khabib and the Dagestan collective (04:06) after covering them for Uncrowned. Then, the lads react in real time to the breaking news that Arman Tsarukyan has withdrawn from the UFC 311 main event due to injury (13:46).Mindenhall gives insights on Merab Dvalishvili after spending time with the bantamweight champion at Syndicate ahead of his clash with Umar Nurmagomedov (27:22).News of Renato Moicano stepping up to face Islam Makhachev breaks (37:28), before the conversation returns to the co-main event (43:09) and Jiri Prochazka vs. Jamahal Hill (53:22).Reports surface about Tsarukyan's injury, leading to Ariel Helwani giving intel on the situation (57:55), before more news breaks, with Chris Weidman announcing his retirement on the UFC's weigh-in show (01:07:26).Finally, the lads react to Islam Makhachev's social media post regarding the eleventh hour change of opponent (01:11:56). 

MMA writer Ben Fowlkes gets us updated on the latest Conor McGregor legal cases, plus United Healthcare murder, and more. (Originally released 12-5-24).

Petesy Carroll is joined by Uncrowned colleagues Chuck Mindenhall and Ben Fowlkes to forecast potential issues GFL may have ahead of its proposed April launch date (00:00). Fowlkes shares details on his recent report regarding a growing number of disgruntled Bellator fighters (34:28) and Mindenhall provides key takeaways from his recent interview with Colby Covington (49:03).

Conor McGregor lost his sexual assault civil case. Petesy Carroll, Chuck Mindenhall, and Ben Fowlkes react to McGregor being found liable for a December 2018 sexual assault in Dublin.

The Viewless Wings Poetry Podcast October submitted poems episode features four wonderful contributions read by the poets. Different forms and themes are featured. The Viewless Wings Poetry Podcast explores the art of poetry through interviews with poets and artists including Safia Elhillo, A.E. Stallings, Dana Gioia, Yanyi, Olivia Gatwood, Lisa Marie Simmons and more. Subscribe today. Featured poets: Things Will Work Out by Madi Huffman Summer Storm by Ben Fowlkes African Black Soap Burns Me Now by Dereka Smith New York Rhino by VA Wiswell --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/viewlesswings/support

A slew of massive MMA bouts were announced for both the UFC and PFL featuring some of the sport's biggest and rising stars. In the main event of UFC 308 in Abu Dhabi, Ilia Topuria defends the featherweight title against BMF champ Max Holloway, while Robert Whittaker and Khamzat Chimaev have been rebooked for the co-main event.  On an all-new edition of Between the Links, the panel reacts to the current UFC 308 lineup, the top-two fights, and where that now leaves UFC307 — which is slated to take place three weeks earlier. Additionally, topics include Francis Ngannou's MMA return announced vs. Renan Ferreira at PFL's superfight pay-per-view in October with Cris Cyborg and Larissa Pacheco serving as the co-main event, Umar Nurmagomedov defeating Cory Sandhagen in the main event of UFC Abu Dhabi, and where that puts his stock at 135 pounds, and much more.  Host Mike Heck moderates the matchup between MMA Fighting's Jed Meshew and the Co-Main Event Podcast's Ben Fowlkes. Follow Mike Heck: @MikeHeck_JR Follow Jed Meshew: @JedKMeshew Follow Ben Fowlkes: @benfowlkesMMA Subscribe to MMA Fighting Check out our full video catalog Like MMA Fighting on Facebook Follow on Twitter Read More: http://www.mmafighting.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A slew of massive MMA bouts were announced for both the UFC and PFL featuring some of the sport's biggest and rising stars. In the main event of UFC 308 in Abu Dhabi, Ilia Topuria defends the featherweight title against BMF champ Max Holloway, while Robert Whittaker and Khamzat Chimaev have been rebooked for the co-main event.  On an all-new edition of Between the Links, the panel reacts to the current UFC 308 lineup, the top-two fights, and where that now leaves UFC307 — which is slated to take place three weeks earlier. Additionally, topics include Francis Ngannou's MMA return announced vs. Renan Ferreira at PFL's superfight pay-per-view in October with Cris Cyborg and Larissa Pacheco serving as the co-main event, Umar Nurmagomedov defeating Cory Sandhagen in the main event of UFC Abu Dhabi, and where that puts his stock at 135 pounds, and much more.  Host Mike Heck moderates the matchup between MMA Fighting's Jed Meshew and the Co-Main Event Podcast's Ben Fowlkes. Follow Mike Heck: @MikeHeck_JR Follow Jed Meshew: @JedKMeshew Follow Ben Fowlkes: @benfowlkesMMA Subscribe to MMA Fighting Check out our full video catalog Like MMA Fighting on Facebook Follow on Twitter Read More: http://www.mmafighting.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A slew of massive MMA bouts were announced for both the UFC and PFL featuring some of the sport's biggest and rising stars. In the main event of UFC 308 in Abu Dhabi, Ilia Topuria defends the featherweight title against BMF champ Max Holloway, while Robert Whittaker and Khamzat Chimaev have been rebooked for the co-main event.  On an all-new edition of Between the Links, the panel reacts to the current UFC 308 lineup, the top-two fights, and where that now leaves UFC307 — which is slated to take place three weeks earlier. Additionally, topics include Francis Ngannou's MMA return announced vs. Renan Ferreira at PFL's superfight pay-per-view in October with Cris Cyborg and Larissa Pacheco serving as the co-main event, Umar Nurmagomedov defeating Cory Sandhagen in the main event of UFC Abu Dhabi, and where that puts his stock at 135 pounds, and much more.  Host Mike Heck moderates the matchup between MMA Fighting's Jed Meshew and the Co-Main Event Podcast's Ben Fowlkes. Follow Mike Heck: @MikeHeck_JR Follow Jed Meshew: @JedKMeshew Follow Ben Fowlkes: @benfowlkesMMA Subscribe to MMA Fighting Check out our full video catalog Like MMA Fighting on Facebook Follow on Twitter Read More: http://www.mmafighting.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In hour two of The Handle, Matt Brown and Mike Somich break down the NFL Draft and their picks for the horse races. Also on the show is Ben Fowlkes, Senior Writer for The Athletic, as they break down UFC 298.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ben Fowlkes of The Pulp visits the studio to talk about his great article about the hockey community in Missoula. Plus: Travis DeCuire after Monday's win over Weber State, and Geoff Safford and Andrew Houghton break down the voting for the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Mixed Martial Arts journalist and long-serving Dad, Ben Fowlkes, joins the show to talk about becoming a connoisseur of home gyms, the necessity of the emergency donut, and the Master and Commander series.

In the final hour of VSiN Final Countdown, hosts Matt Brown & Jeff Parles, filling in for Stormy Buonantony, preview UFC 281 with ESPN's Ben Fowlkes. They also continue their preview of this weekend's NFL slate. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In hour two of VSiN Final Countdown hosts Stormy Buonantony and Matt Brown preview the upcoming Bucks/76ers and Clippers/Lakers matchup, and a review of what is going on at the NFL awards.  Also on the show, Ben Fowlkes, The Co-Main Event Podcast co-host, as they break down the UFC 280 betting slate and some player props.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Find him on all of the social media's because Ben Fowlkes is amazing, and back with a vengeance. He's one of the best in the business of mma journalism, and he's here to conquer Over/Under Kevin UFC 272. Listen in, we had a blast. Oh, and we definitely deep dive into the new Reacher series on Amazon prime, hope you've watched. @benfowlkesMMA

This week on Takeline, Jason and Renee discuss how the embrace of betting by pro leagues will affect the sports industry. Later in the show, Renee talks about her experience at Summer League. Plus, Ben Fowlkes of The Athletic joins to talk about Cheyanne Buys viral press conference and the controversy around how the UFC pays its fighters. Don't forget to smash the subscribe button at http://youtube.com/takelineshow for exclusive video clips and to watch ALL CAPS NBA. New episodes every Friday! Take Crooked's listener survey: crooked.com/survey For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/takeline. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ben Fowlkes, our Kids Ministry Pastor, kicks off our series with the name for God: "Light of the World."

It’s been a big week in the world of news, sport and culture, so Rick tries to digest it all as he discusses the contrast of race in ‘Falcon & The Soldier’ and the Oscars on the week Derek Chauvin was found guilty.   Plus: the insane (lack of) safety regulations at UFC 261 and motives of the men behind it.     TRACK LISTING:   ‘No Parachute’ - Henry Jackman ‘Someone You Should Meet’ - Henry Jackman ‘Fraying Edges’ - Henry Jackman ‘A Pure Heart’ - Henry Jackman ‘Embers in the Dark’ - Osvaldo, Garot Michael Conklin ‘equanimity’ - Through & Through ‘Perspective’ - Barnes Blvd. ‘Sentimental’ - Cloudchord, Soul Food Horns     TEXT TRANSCRIPT: This weekend, Marvel and Disney+ executives will likely be patting themselves on the back, rightfully, for a job well done having received across the board rave reviews for their Falcon & Winter Soldier series that (spoilers ahead by the way) cemented Sam Wilson as Captain America. The show’s six episodes were extremely ambitious in their scope: trying to give us a snapshot of the frustration experienced by refugees suffering after the blip, tackling whether or not America would accept a black Captain America, introducing new characters in John Walker and Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, partially redeeming Baron Zemo, turning Sharon Walker heel...and that’s all before we even talking about our leading character arcs. And, for the most part, they succeeded. I’ve tweeted my reservations about the one aspect of the show I think missed in the Flag Smashers, but for there only to be one miss on that to-do list in just six hours is still pretty impressive. Today I want to discuss what I feel was the biggest home run of the show: its tackling of race relations in America through the inclusion of Korean super soldier war veteran, Isaiah Bradley. That this finale aired on the same week Derek Chauvin was convicted of the murder of George Floyd, the story that sent the #BlackLivesMatter movement worldwide last summer, seems like fate especially once you consider the show’s airing ended up delayed due to the pandemic. Sure, there have been more powerful and impactful movies and TV plots about race. When you consider shows like Watchmen, there may have even been more powerful stories about race involving superheroes released in the past 5 years. But what makes the Isaiah arc, about an embittered war veteran who’d been imprisoned for 30 years for doing the exact same thing that defined Steve Rogers in breaking rank to save lives, so important was the fact that it aired in a Marvel Studios project on Disney+. The fact that the same studio responsible for 9 of the top 30 highest grossing movies of all-time centred its A-plot around race relations, and came out very strongly on one side, was not only a risk in a seriously fractured American landscape, it also forced a world still locked down to confront our own biases. I spoke before on ‘Ask Low Blows’ about learning through listening to Van Latham and Charles Holmes’ breakdown of Sam and his sister’s application for a loan on The Ringerverse podcast. To me, that initially played as a funny scene with a bank teller asking questions I’d been interested in about financial earnings of superheroes, with a wicked twist in the end. But, as Van and Charles explained, to black viewers there was no twist. Sam’s experience of being denied a small loan because of his skin colour, despite being a fucking Avenger, was an all-too-familiar experience even in 2021. And that, frankly, is horrifying. The show continues to prod, provoke and challenge throughout while masterfully treading the fine line of making it a show with racism as a theme, while not being a show about racism. For example, Sam is constantly referred to as ‘Black Falcon’ throughout the show despite the fact that that was never his moniker. The deftness of this approach is worth noting for two reasons: Had they made it a show about racism, people may have decided to opt out by not wanting to confront these themes. Instead, it’s a show about the successor of arguably the most important moniker within the MCU. So if you want to continue to follow along with the action, which you will if you’re an MCU fan, opting out of being confronted with racism isn’t an option. And, From listening to and learning of the experiences of black friends and colleagues, this inherent racial bias that can involve both subtle and seemingly inconsequential othering (‘Black Falcon’) but leads quite quickly to more serious consequences (Sam being denied a loan or being stopped by cops, Isaiah being wrongfully imprisoned and erased from history) aligns more realistically with the experience of victims of racism: it’s not always overt but it is always present in the background with dangerous, life-impacting consequences no matter who you are or what you’ve done. You may be thinking right now, “Rick I don’t know if it’s a good idea for you to speak of the black experience,” and that’s a fair point to raise. It is, in fact, one the show itself even reckoned with this idea during this exchange between Zemo, Sam and Bucky about Marvin Gaye’s ‘Trouble Man’... The truth is that, for years, many felt and still feel uncomfortable discussing their own racial biases. Remember the phrase “I don’t even see colour” was considered a valid defence against racism? It’s actually not. Denying that skin colour makes us different also denies inherent societal biases against those of colour. And if we deny or don’t acknowledge those differences exist, even if we’re well-meaning in our intentions, we actually enable this oppressive system. Airing these issues so openly as part of a global machine like the MCU forces us to not only see those biases at play, we can also see the devastating consequences that enabling them to continue can have for good people like Isaiah and Sam. It forces the world to have these conversations where we can challenge our own biases and, in doing so, hopefully remove them. Because even though there was a tear-jerking ‘happily ever after’ for Isaiah, and even though people celebrated when Derek Chauvin was imprisoned, the reality is that these were both twists with positive consequences only there because of a broken system we prop up to begin with. *** Speaking of racism, the Oscars airs this weekend. And while I’ve long since stopped caring about what a bunch of old lads with serious white guilt thought was the best movie of the year, since we’re speaking openly allow me to use this moment to put what I’m preaching into practise and challenge an old conventional view I held. A previous source of Oscars-fatigue for me was centred around their insistence of including, without fail, at least one movie about racism in its annual list of Best Picture nominees. Part of that was me being young, stupid, placing too much stock in awards and salty because movies like Harry Potter got snubbed. But the other side of me understood that these stories were relevant, particularly in an America where even this week we all felt ill that a police officer recorded murdering a black man in broad daylight may be deemed innocent in a US courtroom yet again. It was an irrational take that I never really acknowledged or challenged until a couple of years back when re-watching Django Unchained, which won Quentin Tarantino his second Best Original Screenplay Oscar, the first being my favourite movie ever in Pulp Fiction. As I’ve stated on various shows before, Tarantino is both my favourite director but someone who regularly makes me uncomfortable. Those of you who know Django Unchained know that it’s a adventure-packed romp through 19th century America, culminating in freed slave, Jamie Foxx’s Django, unleashing hell upon the wealthy, racist family of Calvin J Candie, played by Leonardo di Caprio, who had enslaved and brutally mistreated his wife. The film takes an almost pornographic level of pleasure in the violence, as per usual for Tarantino, in seeing Django get his revenge. And, when I delved into it, what troubled me about the movie as I rewatched it was remembering the one scene in Pulp Fiction that I hated: when Quentin Tarantino cast himself as a retired gangster and repeatedly used the n-word unnecessarily while addressing his former partner-in-crime, played by Samuel L Jackson. The word adds nothing to the scene and, when you consider the movie was produced by Harvey Weinstein, today it plays uncomfortably as Tarantino almost flaunting his newfound power, rubbing it in our faces that he’s so successful now that he can get away with it. Fast forward 16 years and he’s on-stage accepting Best Original Screenplay for the 2nd time for his take on slavery, despite the first nod coming from a movie he gratuitously cast himself to use a racist term. This kind of back-slapping hypocrisy is the white guilt I speak of when I refer to the Oscars. On one hand, every year agreeing that slavery was awful. On the other, just as guilty of the bias that created slavery, keeping in mind that #OscarsSoWhite trended just a few short years ago in 2015 and last year’s Best Actors field included just one person of colour. This year is already being lauded as ‘the good year’, with a record-setting 9 performers of colour in the acting categories and Chloe Zhao hotly-tipped as the first woman of colour to win Best Director. But the reality that the Oscars refuses to realise is, Zhao shouldn’t win just because she’s a woman of colour. And should she do so, it shouldn’t be a moment for the Oscars to celebrate its newfound diversity. It should elicit, like Chauvin’s conviction, a sigh of fucking relief that this award ceremony is being dragged into the 21st century. Her likely victory on Sunday is deserved on merit, but it’s hers to celebrate and not the Academy’s. For the Academy, this is an embarrassing fucking stain that it finally got off its arse to remove. Give me awards that I can take seriously, instead of those that racistly pronounce that racism is wrong, and I’ll care about the winners. In the meantime, I’ve watched the Best Picture nominees and recommend you check out Promising Young Women, Judas and the Black Messiah, The Father, Sound of Metal, Trial of The Chicago 7 and Nomadland. *** It’s a big week in culture and sport, with a lot happening, so let’s move from a heavy subject like racism and instead finish up with the much lighter subject of global pandemics. Because this weekend UFC welcomes a full arena of fans back into its arena and gives the middle finger to COVID restrictions against all medical advice for UFC 261. The card itself, which hasn’t aired as I’ve recorded, is stacked with three exciting title fights for the fans to enjoy...yet it’ll be significantly tougher to enjoy given that it’s being brought to you by the collective brain trust of the world’s foremost covert COVID deniers in UFC President, Dana White and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. You may remember DeSantis as the same idiot that labelled WWE an ‘essential service’ at the beginning of the pandemic because he deemed it a ‘crisis’ that people were “sitting around watching re-runs of shows from the early 00’s.” Believe it or not, that’s a direct fucking quote from a person in a position of power. If you’ve never seen him before, you can now find him doing a victory lap on Episode 5 of UFC Embedded asking Jorge Masvidal such important questions as “How tough is it to lose 7lbs in a day?” DeSantis has bumbled through COVID since the beginning, having overseen 6% of both all COVID cases and deaths in the USA to-date while leaving his economy open for business to his citizens’ detriment. If you have trouble recognising him in the video, here are 5 things he looks like to assist you, because I couldn’t settle on one: The sleazy, suited man your divorced, rich auntie brought over for Christmas that spent the entire meal making eyes at your 15-year old cousin. The guy in court who claimed he was unaware rape was possible within a marriage. The person who always sings slow songs like ‘You...Are...So...Beautiful...To...Me’ in karaoke and ruins everyone’s night while trying to get his hole. A guy in the Fyre Festival documentary who gave himself a fake title like Executive VP of Touring, Staging and Sandwiches. The villain in the first 6 episodes of a series of 24, the guy who works for a guy who works for a guy who works for the real villain. Not the real villain who’s been through some actual trauma that’s led down a wrong path but with some amount of sympathy and justification, the greedy, shit villain who just wanted to be important who’s killed with ease in the same episode Jack Bauer has a 4-course meal. Yeah, that guy! In case you’re thinking to yourself right now that maybe UFC 261 has some regulations guided by experts in place, or that the US is far enough along in its vaccination programme to somehow make this mass gathering safe: no, they don’t and no, it’s not! Here’s an exact quote Dr Zachary Binney, an epidemiologist in Oxford College at Emory University, gave to Ben Fowlkes of The Athletic in discussing UFC 261’s safety recently: “My first thought is that having a full capacity, 15,000-person indoor event right now is morally bankrupt and negligent.” And yet here we are, by the time you hear this you may have watched this mess take place and be lauded by all in attendance as a massive success, which leaves us more uncomfortable about what the UFC actually is. The reality is that UFC fighters are essentially manchildren, walking around dressed in multi-coloured tracksuits, who in most cases have no other way of relating to or succeeding in the world beyond trying to pummel each other like really well trained Jerry Springer participants. It’s an industry-dominating company that has thrived under a $4billion buyout, largely because of Dana White’s ability to take advantage of fighters for low pay that sees them earn a sliver of what bigtime boxing fighters do. Without other alternatives, they place their trust in the morally bankrupt White while he takes advantage of them at every available opportunity. This isn’t a person who gives a flying fuck about their safety, he barely cares enough to pay them, yet we’re trusting him as the first person responsible enough to bring back full arena sports? Why? Because he’s got a sleazy politician with a similar scant regard for the safety of people he represents waving to cameras on his YouTube preview shows? And yet, the show will go on, and I’ll watch it too. There is an argument for sports during the pandemic, as a sports nut I’ll be the first to admit that it’s one of the few things that kept me sane over the past year. But MMA is one of the few sports whose presentation isn’t massively impacted by empty arenas, some would argue the emptiness even enhanced it in many ways, so this rush is entirely unnecessary and driven by greed and the weird need of the Lego-looking UFC President to say he was the first to do something. After a week we’ve called out greed at the top levels of sport, don’t let yourself be distracted by some epic knockouts and save some spite for UFC. If they ever need your support and loyalty down the line, remember this reckless weekend, and how little loyalty they had for the safety of their own fans, fighters and staff.

On this week's episode, respected MMA journalist and podcaster Ben Fowlkes joins the show to discuss "Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg!" We're breaking down the historical significance of the fight, the lead-up, the action inside the hexagon, and the aftermath. How was Carano affected by the pressure of the fight? Was this fight put together too soon? Why didn't Carano come back to MMA? And what is Cyborg's place in MMA history?  All our links can be found here: https://podfollow.com/inside-the-hexagon/view. Download and subscribe, and connect with us on Instagram and Twitter...@TheHexagonPod. Also, please don't forget to rate and review! We appreciate your support! Sources: Tapology, Sherdog, MMA Weekly, MMA Junkie, Figure Four Weekly Special thanks to Joseph McDade for our theme song: www.josephmcdade.com #Strikeforce #UFC #Bellator #MMA #Podcast

Writer for The Athletic and from the Co-Main Event Podcast we have Ben Fowlkes on to talk all things MMA media! We love Ben, and you already should too. On the small chance you don't, listen to this podcast and you will.

MMA Senior Writer at The Athletic Ben Fowlkes joins us to discuss UFC 251 this week and the debut of fight Island and how Dana White’s vision came to light. He then touches on the main event fight between Usman and Jorge Masvidal and if the short term notice (6-days) for Masvidal will affect the outcome of this bout.

Join Tom Bump and his guest, Ben Folwkes- This was recorded during a "White Board Wednesday session on the KMC Facebook Group:  If you struggle with creativity, Ben share's some great ideas on how to stir it up again and find it.  There are 5 ways I go about channeling the inner kid and every time without fail creativity seems to follow…   Where a kid can be a kid - ToysRus Press the Big Red Button - Jetsons Know your hood. - Mister Rogers Break down the walls - Kool Aid Man Be a little Curious - Mr. Bean What happens when we grow up and become less like a child: See the Big H’s  - Hurt, Hardship, Hate, Headaches, and the Hesitations of Life Lose the Fun   Book Suggestions:  Purple Cow- Seth Godin Creative Inc- Ed Cattmill   

On this emergency edition of the The Man and the MITH, Shaun and Chuck are joined by The Athletic MMA's managing editor, Dann Stupp, and senior writer, Ben Fowlkes, to give their immediate reactions to the sudden cancelation of UFC 249, after the heads of Disney and ESPN told Dana White to stand down, a little over a week away from the event. Save 40% on an annual subscription to The Athletic when you visit http://theathletic.com/MATM Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fernanda is joined by friend and colleague, The Athletic’s Ben Fowlkes, to talk about how he got involved in MMA journalism, covering the early days of the sport, dealing with public criticism and feedback, his piece in The Athletic, “The night they got their ass kicked — and the long days that followed”, being able to “put on the white belt” in order to become a more well-rounded person, the inner conflict of covering a sport like mixed martial arts, click-baity content, The Tostines Dilemma, and much more.Subscribe to The Athletic now and save yourself 40% on an annual subscription by going to http://theathletic.com/wellactually

Senior Writer for The Athletic Ben Fowlkes raps with us from the frontier about the value of being able to take your time with writing, the struggle of getting started, and moving beyond telling yourself that you suck. https://theathletic.com/author/ben-fowlkes/ https://twitter.com/benfowlkesMMA --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/artfightpodcast/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/artfightpodcast/support

Join Host Tom Bump and his well... 2 Guests Ben Fowlkes, Senior Kids Pastor at Opendoor.tv and the JOY Germ  catchthejoygerm.com If you'd like $50off a Mentoring Group head to kmcoach.net and request a free30 min consult call to learn more about them! 5 available only! These groups will fill up!  

A hard-to-watch fight at UFC Tampa. An interesting interview with a fighter… or was it with his manager? Another type of manager-related drama. And a disheartening pattern of headlines that show a darker side of fighting. Fernanda didn’t want to get caught up in the news cycle, but sometimes the news cycle just won’t allow that to happen. On the bright side, there’s a little bit for everyone in this week’s episode of Well, Actually…Subscribe to The Athletic now for 40% off your annual subscription at http://theathletic.com/wellactually

Ep. 236: Melbourne – UFC 234 preview with Ben Fowlkes, Oscar Willis, Submission RadioJohn Morgan and Cold Coffee are in Australia for UFC 234, and they've invited MMA's elite to help them break down the card, including a massive title fight between Robert Whittaker and Israel Adesanya.

DARREN TILL FIGHT WEEK! I go over Cowboy's appearance on Joe Rogan's Podcast. I trash Ben Fowlkes for trying to be Bob Costas of MMA. I discuss Conor McGregor trolling of Khabib and I rant on how big of an idiot Brendan Schaub is + more. I end the show with Top 5 Undefeated UFC Champions.

This week in “Press Row,” Jordan Breen and MMAJunkie's Ben Fowlkes discuss the newly-minted UFC interim middleweight champion Robert Whittaker, specifically the origins and details of the “Bobby Knuckles” nickname, why it appeals to fans, why “The Reaper” dislikes it, bad MMA nicknames the historical role of fans and media in christening athletes and how social media has altered this tradition.

On this week's episode, MMAjunkie and USA Today columnist and co-host of the Co-Main Event Mixed Martial Arts Podcast, Ben Fowlkes, joins host Josiah Renaudin to discuss what it's like covering the UFC. They explore how the UFC often sees the media as an extension of PR, how to handle the discussion of concussions, the process of getting a short story published, covering live sporting events from home, and the growth of the Co-Main Event Podcast.

In this episode, we drink and talk about You'll Apologize If You Have To by Ben Fowlkes as published in Crazyhorse. See more at wordsworthing.com

With the world still reeling from two seismic events--Ronda Rousey's 14 second win over Cat Zingano and the birth of Ben Fowlkes' second child--the CME delivers a very special episode. This week, Ben and Chad have you covered on a bunch of health-related topics, such as 1) Revel in the fact you have two working arms, CME Universe, because you never know when the UFC might call you to fight Ronda Rousey. Seriously, they're kinda running out of people for the job. 2) Don't get too caught up in your shockwaves and your dejavus, it may cost you your Bellator light heavyweight title. 3) It's cool if you get super nervous and trembly before your UFC debut. It might even disqualify you from being recruited for the job we mentioned in No.1, which is probably a good thing. All of that, plus AYFKM and Just Sayin' Stuff.

Featuring Frankie Edgar, Bobby Lashley, Melvin Guillard, Amanda Lucas and Ben Fowlkes

Featuring Rich Franklin, Matt Mitrione, Brandon Vera, Jeff Curran, Ben Fowlkes and Ken Pavia.

Featuring Ronda Rousey, Dominick Cruz, Michael Landsberg, Mike Chandler, Ben Fowlkes and Jeremy Botter.

Featuring Sean McCorkle, T. Jay Thompson, Marcelo Alonso and Ben Fowlkes.

Featuring Cesar Gracie, Greg Jackson, Diego Sanchez, Mayhem Miller and Ben Fowlkes.

Ariel Helwani and Ben Fowlkes discuss the Overeem news and UFC 148.

Featuring Chael Sonnen, BJ Penn, Don Frye, Renzo Gracie, Sean Sherk, Braulio Estima, Michael Chandler, and Ben Fowlkes.

Featuring TapouT's SkySkrape and Punkass in studio, Herb Dean, War Machine, Miesha Tate, Mike Brown and Ben Fowlkes

Featuring Ben Henderson, Krzysztof Soszynski, Marloes Coenen, Ronda Rousey, Malki Kawa and Ben Fowlkes

Featuring Jason "Mayhem" Miller, Michael Bisping, Urijah Faber, Cung Le, Alan Belcher and Ben Fowlkes.

Episode 101 of the Co-Main Event Podcast sneaks in before Ben Fowlkes takes his family on a fabulous Florida vacation this week (must be nice, amirite?). Ben and Chad have more than enough to fill all three rounds, after Jon Jones sprinted past Glover Teixeira, Anthony Johnson reduced Phil Davis to ruin and Ronda Rousey said more weird stuff about Cris “Cyborg” Justino (only to be later backed up by even weirder stuff from her boss). All that, plus AYFKM and Just Sayin' Stuff.

A day late and several dollars short, episode 96 of the Co-Main Event Podcast finally makes its way to the streets on Tuesday, after a 24 hour delay caused by Ben Fowlkes' duties as a newspaperman for U.S. Today. Perhaps it's a blessing in disguise however, as the tardiness gives Ben and Chad the opportunity to discuss Chris Weidman's injury and the rescheduling of his middleweight title fight against Lyoto Machida. In addition, the guys look back at Dan Henderson's win over Shogun Rua at UFC Fight Night 38, the banishment of Will Chope from the UFC roster as well as the happenings of Bellator 113 (yes, they watched it). All that, plus AYFKM, Just Sayin' Stuff and MasterTweet Theatre.

MMA writer Ben Fowlkes calls in to talk about TRT and the future of MMA. This podcast is brought to you by: Onnit.com. Use Promo code CHURCH for a discount at checkout. Hulu Plus. Visit Huluplus.com/joey for an extended free trial. Dollar Shave Club. Use promo code CHURCH and get high quality razors sent to your door. Escapepodtank.com Mention Joey or the Church and get $250 off. Recorded live on 03/24/2014.

One thing to be said for episode 56 of the Co-Main Event Podcast: Everybody was sober for the recording. We think. Hard to tell sometimes with Ben Fowlkes, you know? Anyway, with the decision-heavy UFC 161 still weighing considerably on their minds this week, Ben and Chad take up Rashad Evans' victory over Dan Henderson, Roy Nelson's lackluster loss to Stipe (Stipe!) Miocic and Steve Mazzagatti once again getting the raspberry after letting Josh Burkman choke Jon Fitch unconscious at WSOF 3. So, good for World Series of Fighting for actually getting a full round of the podcast devoted to its product this week. Focus on the positives. All that, plus AYFKM, listener mail and Just Sayin' Stuff.

So it turns out some a-hole has been impersonating Ben Fowlkes on the internets, huh? The introduction to episode 51 of the Co-Main Event Podcast is highlighted by Ben and Chad discussing the story of his reverse catfishing, which caused quite a stir over at MMAJunkie.com and the UG early this week. Some of the burning questions that emerged from the ordeal: Just who is lame enough to do this? What could their incredibly lousy motives be? And why on earth would anyone who is not already Ben Fowlkes want to be Ben Fowlkes? There are no easy answers. Once your dudes get around to the actual MMA talk, the upcoming UFC on FX 8 card takes center stage. Specifically, Ben and Chad break down the main event pitting Vitor Belfort against Luke Rockhold as well as the octagon debut of “Jacare” Souza. In the time left over, they squeeze in some talk of the “phantom agent” who allegedly offered Leonard Garcia a contract with Bellator this week and wonder aloud if it might be the same sorry son of a bitch who is also impersonating Ben. All that, plus MasterTweet Theatre, AYFKM and Just Sayin' Stuff.

“I once dated a woman who compared me, not entirely unfavorably, to McNulty, and you know what? It was kind of a wake up call.” -Ben FowlkesMaking his debut on the podcast is writer and podcaster from Co-Main Event, Ben Fowlkes joins Vince and Brent (still filling in for Matt even though his kid is like four-weeks-old which is old enough to get a job damn cut the cord already, Matt) to talk about The Wire season 1 episode 12, “Cleaning Up.”Featuring one of The Wire's most memorable scenes, what you might not remember about this episode, if you've already watched the series, is that Lester really walks a fine line between smooth older man and total creep taking advantage of a terrified young confidential informant. If learning how a beautiful woman likes her coffee and then reminding her of your military service were a crime, Lester would still not be in jail because cops look out for each other.What you probably remember is the end of young Michael B. Jordan's character Wallace. He wasn't cut out for the game. His heart did pump Kool-aid after all. RIP Wallace and RIP the uneaten hot dogs Poot Bodie and Wallace leave on the table just before the murder. Neither Wallace nor the dogs got to reach their full potential, but the game is the game.Tell us what you think is the best hot dog in world history in a five-star review on Apple PodcastsSubscribe to Pod Yourself The Wire on Apple PodcastsEmail us at frotcast@gmail.com; leave us a voicemail at 415-275-0030Support the Pod: become a patron at patreon.com/Frotcast and get more bonus content than you could ever want. Sign up for the Pod Yourself a Shoutout tier to hear Vince give you a corner nickname on the podcast like this week's newest members: Queef, The Gigolo, Trout, Baby Horse, Screwdriver, Staples, Jailbird, Lil Drummer Boy.-Description by Brent FlybergAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy