Heavy Hands

Heavy Hands is a combat sports podcast that focuses on technical analysis. If you're a fan of fighting sports and martial arts and you want to expand your understanding of the finer points of face-punching, then this show is for you.

606 - Wrestling with Ryan feat. Ryan Wagner 01/15/2026

606 - Wrestling with Ryan feat. Ryan Wagner Ryan Wagner returns to the show to teach Connor about a promising new martial art called "wrestling." Heavy Henka with Miguel Class returns soon! Join us, chubby chasers, to break down another thrilling sumo tournament, only on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/heavyhands Predatory instinct: how Max Holloway attacks: https://open.substack.com/pub/facepunching/p/predatory-instinct-how-max-holloway?r=evbq&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false Heavy Hands merch: https://www.redbubble.com/shop/ap/64577943?asc=u /episode/index/show/heavyhands/id/39736935

605 - MMA is Too Hard 01/08/2026

605 - MMA is Too Hard Do MMA fighters have bad defense because the sport is just too hard, or are they all missing the forest for the trees? Support the show and listen to bonus episodes on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/heavyhands Predatory instinct: how Max Holloway attacks: https://open.substack.com/pub/facepunching/p/predatory-instinct-how-max-holloway?r=evbq&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false Subscribe/listen to the pod: Heavy Hands merch: https://www.redbubble.com/shop/ap/64577943?asc=u /episode/index/show/heavyhands/id/39654905

604 - When welterweight was good 01/01/2026

604 - When welterweight was good When did welterweight become the new middleweight? Talking about Royval vs Kape and the rest of UFC 323 in our latest bonus episode: https://www.patreon.com/heavyhands Predatory instinct: how Max Holloway attacks: https://open.substack.com/pub/facepunching/p/predatory-instinct-how-max-holloway?r=evbq&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false Heavy Hands merch: https://www.redbubble.com/shop/ap/64577943?asc=u /episode/index/show/heavyhands/id/39581195

603 - RIP ESPN 12/18/2025

603 - RIP ESPN Rest in piss to the ephemeral sports programming network. Talking about Royval vs Kape and the rest of UFC 323 in our latest bonus episode: Predatory instinct: how Max Holloway attacks: Heavy Hands merch: CONTENTS: 00:00 Intro 13:05 Kape vs Royval 22:02 Vallejos vs Chikadze 31:06 Misc. 34:22 RIP ESPN 1:06:21 205 before Jones /episode/index/show/heavyhands/id/39449840

602 - Petr Perfect 12/11/2025

602 - Petr Perfect I hereby take back every criticism I have ever leveled at Petr Yan. He is God. Talking about Royval vs Kape and the rest of UFC 323 in our latest bonus episode: https://www.patreon.com/heavyhands Predatory instinct: how Max Holloway attacks: https://open.substack.com/pub/facepunching/p/predatory-instinct-how-max-holloway?r=evbq&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false Heavy Hands merch: CONTENTS: 00:00 Intro 00:46 Yan vs Dvalishvili 2 43:26 Pantoja vs Van (and what's next) 51:33 Talbott vs Cejudo 1:03 Moreno vs Taira /episode/index/show/heavyhands/id/39364210

601 - Age of the Wrestler 12/04/2025

601 - Age of the Wrestler Someday, scientists may recreate the wrestler, possibly using frog DNA. Until then, we have to appreciate the ones we have left. Moreno-Taira and more from the UFC 323 undercard on our Patreon: Predatory instinct: how Max Holloway attacks: Heavy Hands merch: CONTENTS: 00:00 Intro 5:48 Dvalishvili vs Yan 2 36:15 Pantoja vs Van 57:50 Cejudo vs Talbott /episode/index/show/heavyhands/id/39264450

600 - Is Ian Garry Actually Good? 11/27/2025

600 - Is Ian Garry Actually Good? Arman Tsarukyan and Kyoji Horiguchi both reestablished themselves as top contenders. Ian Garry reestablished himself as the guy who sort of makes other middleweights look mediocre, sometimes. Completely changing our tune on Bo Nickal--PLUS the return of Heavy Henka with Miguel Class--all on our Patreon: Predatory instinct: how Max Holloway attacks: Heavy Hands merch: CONTENTS 00:00 Intro 5:19 Tsarukyan vs Hooker 23:06 Garry vs Muhammad 48:15 Horiguchi vs Ulanbekov 57:55 Orolbai vs Hermansson 1:05:45 Riley vs Grad /episode/index/show/heavyhands/id/39188900

599 - Reign of Terror 11/20/2025

599 - Reign of Terror War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Valentina Shevchenko is the GOAT. Completely changing our tune on Bo Nickal--PLUS the return of Heavy Henka with Miguel Class--all on our Patreon: Predatory instinct: how Max Holloway attacks: Heavy Hands merch: CONTENTS 00:00 Intro 5:07 Makhachev vs Della Maddalena 28:22 Shevchenko vs Zhang 51:13 Tsarukyan vs Hooker /episode/index/show/heavyhands/id/39105365

598 - Now or Never 11/13/2025

598 - Now or Never Why has Islam Makhachev chosen this moment to go up to 170? Is he at the end of his prime? Or maybe it's just because Jack Della Maddalena SUCKS. Praying for Bo Nickal's downfall in our latest bonus episode: Predatory instinct: how Max Holloway attacks: Heavy Hands merch: CONTENTS: 00:00 Intro 7:29 Della Maddalena vs Makhachev 54:33 Shevchenko vs Zhang 1:20:18 Edwards vs Prates /episode/index/show/heavyhands/id/39016250

597 - UFC is Fake? 11/06/2025

597 - UFC is Fake? IT'S A SHAM, I TELL YOU. A SHAM. Talking Volkov-Almeida and Murzakanov-Rakic in our latest bonus episode: Predatory instinct: how Max Holloway attacks: Heavy Hands merch: CONTENTS: 00:00 Intro 2:37 Steve Garcia vs David Onama 23:29 Isaac Dulgarian and fight fixing 50:13 Gabriel Bonfim vs Randy Brown /episode/index/show/heavyhands/id/38932885

596 - All Eyes on Me 10/30/2025

596 - All Eyes on Me Sign our petition to have every heavyweight on the UFC roster summarily executed. Talking Volkov-Almeida and Murzakanov-Rakic in our latest bonus episode: Predatory instinct: how Max Holloway attacks: Heavy Hands merch: CONTENTS: 00:00 Tom Aspinall vs Ciryl Gane 23:27 Mackenzie Dern vs Virna Jandiroba 44:37 Umar Nurmagomedov vs Mario Bautista /episode/index/show/heavyhands/id/38838340

595 - Gane-orrhea 10/23/2025

595 - Gane-orrhea The heavyweight division has a disease. One man has the cure (we hope). Our thoughts on Brendan Allen's triumph over Reinier de Ridder, plus some thoughts on the previous week's card that got lost in the shuffle in our latest bonus episode: Predatory instinct: how Max Holloway attacks: Heavy Hands merch: 00:00 Intro 4:43 Tom Aspinall vs Ciryl Gane 31:27 Virna Jandiroba vs Mackenzie Dern 44:56 Umar Nurmagomedov vs Mario Bautista /episode/index/show/heavyhands/id/38752145

594 - Uh, Vai Morrer 10/16/2025

594 - Uh, Vai Morrer Charles Oliveira isn't done yet, Reinier de Ridder may just be getting started, and we're enjoying the fact that we've got two cards with full, interesting undercards to talk about. In our latest bonus episode, we use Montel Jackson as an example of how NOT to use a reach advantage, discuss Joel Alvarez's future as a welterweight, and struggle to wrap our heads around Chito Vera vs Aiemann Zahabi: Predatory instinct: how Max Holloway attacks: Heavy Hands merch: CONTENTS: 00:00 Intro 2:47 Charles Oliveira vs Mateusz Gamrot 27:09 Reinier de Ridder vs Brendan Allen 56:11 Charles Jourdain vs Davey Grant /episode/index/show/heavyhands/id/38600110

513 - Two True Kings 10/09/2025

513 - Two True Kings Alex Pereira had about 90 seconds before his body started to explode piece by piece--fortunately, that was more than enough. Also, Merab Dvalishvili is the GOAT. Josh Emmett vs Youssef Zalal, more from the UFC 320 prelims, and our thoughts on the travesty that was Carlos Ulberb vs Dominick Reyes in our latest bonus episode: Predatory instinct: how Max Holloway attacks: Heavy Hands merch: CONTENTS: 00:00 Intro 4:38 Alex Pereira vs Magomed Ankalaev 2 19:48 Merab Dvalishvili vs Cory Sandhagen 45:54 Jiri Prochazka vs Khalil Rountree 58:07 Youssef Zalal vs Josh Emmett /episode/index/show/heavyhands/id/38520015

592 - Golden Boy 10/02/2025

592 - Golden Boy How much you wanna bet Dana White has some intern knife Magomed Ankalaev before the fight like Joaquin Phoenix did to Russell Crowe in Gladiator. Josh Emmett vs Youssef Zalal, more from the UFC 320 prelims, and our thoughts on the travesty that was Carlos Ulberb vs Dominick Reyes in our latest bonus episode: Predatory instinct: how Max Holloway attacks: Heavy Hands merch: CONTENTS 00:00 Intro 4:03 Ankalaev vs Pereira 2 37:41 Dvalishvili vs Sandhagen 1:05:36 Prochazka vs Rountree Jr /episode/index/show/heavyhands/id/38434510

591 - Lite Heavyweights 09/25/2025

591 - Lite Heavyweights The UFC returns to the southern hemisphere with a harsh lesson for the Australian people. Next: the White House. Heavy Henka returns! And our boy Hoshoryu has fighting like a true yokozuna for the first seven days of the September tournament: Predatory instinct: how Max Holloway attacks: Heavy Hands merch: CONTENTS: 00:00 Intro 8:26 Carlos Ulberg vs Dominick Reyes 33:57 Jake Matthews vs Neil Magny 52:09 USA! USA! USA! /episode/index/show/heavyhands/id/38348140

590 - How Crawford Broke Canelo 09/18/2025

590 - How Crawford Broke Canelo Friend/nemesis of the show Kyle McLachlan returns to talk about Terence Crawford's career-defining win over Canelo Alvarez. Breaking down Benoit Saint Denis vs Mauricio Ruffy and the rest of UFC Paris in our latest bonus episode: Predatory instinct: how Max Holloway attacks: Heavy Hands merch: CONTENT 00:00 Intro 4:42 Terence Crawford vs Canelo Alvarez 59:19 Jean Silva vs Diego Lopes 1:18:40 Rob Font vs David Martinez 1:21:48 Alexander Hernandez vs Diego Ferreira /episode/index/show/heavyhands/id/38260770

589 - Last Nerd Standing 09/11/2025

589 - Last Nerd Standing Jean Silva is now the last nerd standing. In other news, two of the best boxers in the world are about to fight. Breaking down Benoit Saint Denis vs Mauricio Ruffy and the rest of UFC Paris in our latest bonus episode: Predatory instinct: how Max Holloway attacks: Heavy Hands merch: CONTENTS: 00:00 Intro 4:38 Jean Silva vs Diego Lopes 26:44 Canelo Alvarez vs Terence Crawford 56:28 Nassourdine Imavov vs Caio Borralho /episode/index/show/heavyhands/id/38175390

588 - Rise of the Nerds 09/04/2025

588 - Rise of the Nerds A compelling main event and an undercard full of pilfered regional champs? What is this, 2015? Predatory instinct: how Max Holloway attacks: https://open.substack.com/pub/facepunching/p/predatory-instinct-how-max-holloway?r=evbq&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false Support us and listen to bonus episodes on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/heavyhands Heavy Hands merch: https://www.redbubble.com/shop/ap/64577943?asc=u CONTENTS: 00:00 Intro 4:29 Imavov vs Borralho 31:16 Saint-Denis vs Ruffy 45:59 Pitbull vs Keita /episode/index/show/heavyhands/id/38080255

587 - Despair 08/28/2025

587 - Despair A thoroughly dispiriting night of fights with two bright spots: Charles Johnson letting out his inner G, and Sergei Pavlovich beating a top heavyweight prospect by being only slightly good at MMA. Predatory instinct: how Max Holloway attacks - read my latest breakdown on Substack: Talking about how MVP is the only Bellator/PFL guy currently killing it in the UFC, plus Loopy Godinez, Lone'er Kavanagh, and more in our latest bonus episode: Heavy Hands merch: CONTENTS: 00:00 Intro 2:40 Walker vs Zhang 18:23 Sterling vs Ortega 38:29 Pavlovich vs Cortes-Acosta 47:44 Johnson vs Kavanagh /episode/index/show/heavyhands/id/37988500

586 - Dricus Takes it Lying Down 08/21/2025

586 - Dricus Takes it Lying Down Dricus Du Plessis is back with his funniest performance yet! Talking about how MVP is the only Bellator/PFL guy currently killing it in the UFC, plus Loopy Godinez, Lone'er Kavanagh, and more in our latest bonus episode: https://www.patreon.com/heavyhands Predatory instinct: how Max Holloway attacks - read my latest breakdown on Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/facepunching/p/predatory-instinct-how-max-holloway?r=evbq&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false Heavy Hands merch: CONTENTS: 00:00 Intro 6:28 Du Plessis vs Chimaev 41:53 Murphy vs Pico 50:48 Prates vs Neal 1:01:07 Walker vs Zhang 1:05:48 Ortega vs Sterling /episode/index/show/heavyhands/id/37898460

585 - The Unstoppable Force vs the Uncoordinated Object 08/14/2025

585 - The Unstoppable Force vs the Uncoordinated Object An unreliable contender and an inexplicable champion make for one hell of a compelling matchup at UFC 319. Reveling in Fluffy Hernandez's triumph (and Roman Dolidze's defeat) in our latest bonus episode: https://www.patreon.com/heavyhands Predatory instinct: how Max Holloway attacks - read my latest breakdown on Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/facepunching/p/predatory-instinct-how-max-holloway?r=evbq&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false Heavy Hands merch: CONTENTS 00:00 Intro (UFC/Paramount Plus deal) 8:01 Du Plessis vs Chimaev 38:54 Murphy vs Pico 1:02:11 Neal vs Prates /episode/index/show/heavyhands/id/37810870

584 - Middleweight is a Joke 08/06/2025

584 - Middleweight is a Joke A meaningful but deeply depressing middleweight main event, plus a discussion of how to counter MMA's fast-paced, pressure-fighting meta. Predatory instinct: how Max Holloway attacks - read my latest breakdown on Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/facepunching/p/predatory-instinct-how-max-holloway?r=evbq&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false KotoshoWHO? Discussing the shocking results of the July sumo tournament on Patreon with Miguel Class: https://www.patreon.com/heavyhands Heavy Hands merch: CONTENTS: 00:00 Intro 8:34 Dolidze vs Hernandez 32:12 Erceg vs Osbourne 44:10 Fili vs Rodriguez 59:43 Countering the Pressure Meta /episode/index/show/heavyhands/id/37712695

583 - Bobby's Sticky Situation 07/30/2025

583 - Bobby's Sticky Situation Sad day. Robert Whittaker has been beaten up by a Dutchman--again. Predatory instinct: how Max Holloway attacks - read my latest breakdown on Substack: KotoshoWHO? Discussing the shocking results of the July sumo tournament on Patreon with Miguel Class: Heavy Hands merch: CONTENTS: 00:00 Intro 00:44 Whittaker vs de Ridder 23:56 Yan vs Mcghee 42:15 Magomedov vs Barriault 50:33 Grant vs Blackshear /episode/index/show/heavyhands/id/37615025

582 - Paid in Full 07/23/2025

582 - Paid in Full Dustin Poirier goes out with class, and Max Holloway's legend continues to grow. Also Oleksandr Usyk. Good weekend of fights! Read my huge, two part breakdown of Joshua Van vs Brandon Royval on Substack: Sumo is back, and that means more Heavy Henka with Miguel Class on our Patreon: Heavy Hands merch: CONTENTS 00:00 Intro 2:50 Holloway vs Poirier 3 33:19 Costa vs Kopylov 43:43 Holland vs Rodriguez 49:47 Usyk vs Dubois 2 1:02:27 Johnson vs Zellhuber /episode/index/show/heavyhands/id/37527720

581 - Third time's the charm? 07/17/2025

581 - Third time's the charm? Our Max, who art in N'awlins, Blessed be thy name. Read my huge, two part breakdown of Joshua Van vs Brandon Royval on Substack: Sumo is back, and that means more Heavy Henka with Miguel Class, coming soon to the Heavy Hands Patreon: Heavy Hands merch: /episode/index/show/heavyhands/id/37435625

580 - Now that's a lotta glue! 07/10/2025

580 - Now that's a lotta glue! A couple weeks ago we got Ilia Topuria and Joshua Van. Now we've got Tallison Teixeira and Steve Garcia. Oh well. The first part of my breakdown of Joshua Van vs Brandon Royval FREE on substack: Payton Talbott also got a big test at UFC 317 and, while it wasn't perfect, he showed real improvement. We're talking about that in our latest bonus episode: Heavy Hands merch: /episode/index/show/heavyhands/id/37355015

579 - The Future is Now 07/02/2025

579 - The Future is Now Ilia Topuria has now killed all of your favorite fighters. His next target: your mom. Payton Talbott also got a big test at UFC 317 and, while it wasn't perfect, he showed real improvement. We're talking about that in our latest bonus episode: https://www.patreon.com/heavyhands Heavy Hands merch: CONTENTS: 6:36 Topuria vs Oliveira 29:50 Pantoja vs Kara-France 47:06 Van vs Royval /episode/index/show/heavyhands/id/37264855

578 - The UFC's Last Action Hero 06/25/2025

578 - The UFC's Last Action Hero The UFC is making an effort to feature all their brightest young talent at UFC 317. It's an actual, honest-to-god pay-per-view card! Discussing Hill-Rountree, Usman-Buckley, and everything else we missed in our latest bonus episode: https://www.patreon.com/heavyhands Subscribe/listen to the pod: Heavy Hands merch: CONTENTS: 00:00 Intro (& Jon Jones) 11:01 Topuria vs Oliveira 32:43 Pantoja vs Kara-France 49:32 Royval vs Van 1:04:41 Talbott vs Lima /episode/index/show/heavyhands/id/37155460

577 - Titans of Brain Thinking 06/12/2025

577 - Titans of Brain Thinking Sean O'Malley once again had a terrible gameplan. But at least he wasn't alone. Joe Pyfer assumes Kelvin Gastelum isn't good enough to survive one round, gets confused and angry when he does. Hear us talk about it in our latest bonus episode: https://www.patreon.com/heavyhands Heavy Hands merch: https://www.redbubble.com/shop/ap/64577943?asc=u /episode/index/show/heavyhands/id/36965415

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