There are no fights this week and then we're relying on Conor McGregor actually turning up next week. If you've got a really wordy question, now's the time.

Are there any elite fighters with notably weak chins/durability? And if so how did they cover up that weakness? It seems like high durability is one of the most common and vital traits of elite fighters

do you think it's true that most iconic punches are some variation of corkscrew? prerias left hook starts low finishes high connors uppercut and even long cross both have a weird turnover gaithes chopping half overhand half cross he mauls people with etc when I think of any standout punch unique to a particular fighter it seems to always use some variation of this corkscrew principle of starting at one angle and ending at a completely different or opposite angle

what should Charles Johnson have done differently in his last fight? (as someone with subpar jiu jitsu) I thought his jiu jitsu looked almost as good as anyone in the UFC but asu was always one step ahead also seperately also considering Oliveria lost to tsaryukan, Holloway got destroyed by Oliveria, sandhagen got obliterated by merab etc what should a lanky guy do against a short ripped wrestler? it seems like they almost always get steam rolled no matter how skilled there ground Game is unless they are significantly better, is there something they are missing? only counter example I can think of is Strickland and as far as I remember him and khamzat were about similar heights and also his ground game seems so simple I can't imagine it would work at lower weight classes, am I wrong?

How much of being the best fighter actually is being the best FIGHTER? What would the best fighter look like without film study and game planning? I think fight IQ becomes less critical if the 'puzzle' has already been solved for the fighter before the actual fight starts. After the Usyk/Verhoeven fight (and Fury/Ngannou) I think what makes these fights more difficult for the boxing champions is the fact that there is little tape to study their opponents or at least little tape of them only boxing.

Slightly odd philosophy-of-sports question, but as an observer of the sport, how do you account for the role of luck? It's always felt like (in some sports more than others) there is this huge element of luck that determines outcomes. Sure - in MMA the better fighter out of a pair will win a majority of fights, but we typically only get one or two. A friend swears that tennis is the game with the lowest element of luck in it. I'm curious how you think of MMA/combat sports in these terms. How big a proportion do you allow luck to account for in the result of a fight, or for the sake of your sanity as a commentator do you have to set that aside to some extent?

You talk a big game about this Hundred Years War, but have you read much about the 30 years war? As someone outside of europe, it seems to have had a far greater impact on the modern world

Hi Slacky, I always found it interesting that the Diaz brothers found so much success with their off-speed boxing style, Nick in particular. It worked well for them but I can’t really think of other mixed martial artists that used those high-volume, unpredictable speed punches. Are there other fighters, in mma or other sports, that fight like that?

Hey Jack, What do you think is the main cause for the switch in wrestling dominance to striking dominance. It seems that these days strikers are much better at creating chaos off their back and getting up or is it just favorable matchmaking for strikers

Any reccomendations for books on coaching (general sports or martial arts specific)?

Hi Jack, Copied from last time. Do you have a theory as to why a lot of fighters seem to disregard where they and their opponent are and where they are moving to (ie. putting their backs to the cage or letting their opponents off the cage when trying to pressure) Do you know of any drills that fighters can do to mitigate this? Thanks, Tom

Which demian maia bjj instrcutional do you reccomend. also any suggestions for general and specific(eg a postion like side control or kimura) bjj instructional resource suggesitions. also could i have the same suggestions for wrestling resources/instructionals. also sent u this the other day: hey jack would you be intrested in free strength coaching? all id want in return is to be able to post videos of you(with your face blurred) lifting to future strength coaching insta page showing your strength progress over time. i could get you to a 2plate bench/3plate squat in less than a year.

Mr slacky I know this is annoying but can you reupload this to Patreon?? A Filthy Casual's Guide to Julianna Pena vs Amanda Nunes_哔哩哔哩_bilibili https://share.google/J7A0Tts53wVVIg42t

Hey jack, would be really interested in hearing your thoughts on nak muay's from russia and former soviet countries. I've heard them reffered to as soviet style muay thai fighters because of a few things adopted from soviet style boxing. One just had a flyweight muay thai title fight with Asadula Imangazaliev from russia and Aslamjon Ortikov from uzbekistan which i though was excellent and showcased a lot of interesting technique. These types of fighters seem to be giving a lot of high level nak muays hell with their pressure and unorthodox styles. I would really like to hear a breakdown of this style and why you think it has been so successful against traditional techniques?

I'm late but how do you deal with personal disillusionment in combat sports, specifically involving the rules and fairness? I'm a long time fan and knew combat sports were shady coming in, but it feels worse now than a decade ago. Rules don't seem to matter. In today's landscape someone like Golota would be handed wins and rewarded for his behavior while fans would be admonished for complaining. I watched the recent Zuffa Boxing, and they let a guy uppercut a downed opponent and then the commission told the fans to ignore their eyes, that the punch didn't land or matter...they used video replay and said this was clean. https://youtube.com/shorts/bqauLbYMVFQ?is=yhW0B_su65gZ-pbs https://www.cbssports.com/watch/boxing/video/zuffa-08-highlights-de-los-santos-at-valenzuela Gamesmanship has always been a factor in sports but it feels ubiquitous and more accepted now. Do other long term fans run into this?

Hi Jack, I’ve been trying to convince boy of the podcast Ryan Cafaro to watch the cinematic masterpiece “master and commander: the far side of the world” for some time now and despite his insistence that he will at some point watch it, he hasn’t. Can you speak a little about this criminally underrated film?

How does one pick fighters to study? For example, I would like to get better at clinch striking and at securing back control on the ground; how would I search for and pick fighters to study for that?

Where could I find more information on the yakuzas and who they are and what they are?

Whats the craic Jack Have you ever seen the 1949 Noir boxing film The Set-Up??

Hello Jack! I'm a BJJ white belt in the Gi. I've been training for about a year and am pretty happy with my technical development. My main problem so far is that I used to be physically disabled and thus am extremely skinny, and find myself getting out-strengthed by teenagers. Obviously I'm working on my strength but I do find that in the third or fourth roll of any given class I always have better cardio than my opponents and am able to have enough relative strength to actually apply technique. Do you have any tips for using this cardio edge earlier on? Especially in competition settings where I have five minutes to work. I try to put a pace on people but often they can just grab me and slow me down. Thank you!

How do you motivate yourself to do weight & strength excercises when technique training is what you love doing? Thoughts on VR boxing? Thrill of the Fight & Boxing Underdog are a blast but do you think there's training value in, say: VR boxing to practice your pure shadow boxing technique under 'pressure.' What are different ways of doing heavy bag work to service mma training that isn't just combination reps and power striking? (ex: I love practicing Frankie Edgar's jab fake into single leg pickup on my grappling dummy hung like a heavy bag)

The eye poke, cage grab, low blow holy trinity of fouls was at risk of getting stale, but Shara blew it wide open with a kinky little hair pull last week. What other fouls do you think are underused in the current meta and what fighters would benefit the most from fouling more?

As a professional hater, what prospects in the ufc excite you right now, and which feel like hot air. Also do you think prospects are getting worse? Is there a noticiable progression you’ve gotten used to? I’m a newer fan and I used to feel like nobody showing up measured up to the Volks, Dustin’s, and Charles etc but I think my opinion has changed in so far I’m just biased towards my current favorite fighters. What do you think professional Debbie downer sir.

Hey jack, with all the talk of past fighters being inferior to modern day athletes due to their lack of strength and conditioning, nutrition, training methods etc, are there any fighters or athletes from bjj,mma,boxing etc you think could fair well in today's landscape due to having a "weird" style or having things in their toolkit that you just dont see a lot of in today's combat sports. I think it would be very interesting to hear your take and if you could provide any weird or funky fighters with things that made them special that you think could set them apart from fighters today it would be much appreciated! May our lord and savior Justin Gaethje help us all, bless.

Why do you not see the shoulder crunch used more in MMA?? BJJ athletes such as Gordon Ryan used it to great effect in No-Gi matches. Seems like it would prevent the top person from posturing up for strikes as well a providing sweeping opportunities

Is the mid-2010s to early 2020s lightweight division the best pfp in the sport's history? Or was there another division that has a higher percentage of skilled fighters for longer? I am inclined to think that so many of the top 10 not being able to be cleared out even when clearly out of their prime is a pretty strong indicator. Second question, is there any better mechanism for disincentivizing drastic weight cuts? They could send a guy to stay at the camp of any title fighter for like a month in advance and weigh them daily or something, but I doubt the organization would want to put resources towards that. In general, are there any rules/mechanisms you think could be instituted to protect the health of the fighters? (beyond giving them insurance etc.)

What is your opinion on the North South position in mma? It feels underrated to me, b/c it allows you to punch to the body, slightly elbow to the head, and gives you multiple submissions as well as good control

You’ve talked about offensive counter punching as a strategy before- what advice would you give to a fighter trying to implement that while having trouble being too patient, hesitant and waiting too long to pull the trigger consistently?

Do you think mount is making a comeback as a position for ground and pound in MMA? In addition to 12-6 elbows creating an answer for the face-in-chest defense, it seems like there’s been an increase in fighters controlling the position effectively of late (Lopes, Brady, Taira)

Is there any utility to the chopper in gloved fighting? I’ve tried it on the heavy bag and there’s barely any power on it. I thought the main strength of the blow may have been from its ability to cut by landing with the knuckles on the forehead.

Does anyone know how the PFL continues to operate? It's not backed by Singaporean money. Also, will you testify about what a great guy I am at my upcoming involuntary manslaughter trial?

Hello Mr slack, long time listener just got the patreon because I'm no longer broke. I play rugby and I could talk your ear off about how to manipulate a defence or play beautiful attacking rugby but when it comes to MMA I only know the basics and I don't particularly need to increase my chances of getting CTE by taking up muay Thai. I don't exactly have a question but I just wanted to ask if you could wax lyrical about your favourite setups, feints and strikes etc but focusing solely on what you think are the most aesthetically pleasing. Just ignore entirely how effective or fundamentally sound they are and go off pure vibes. Stuff like how to set up a brautiful lead body hook, McGregor corkscrew uppercut (though you covered that in your most recent video) or feinting a lead teep into a clean elbow. I'm sure you have better examples. I'm looking to absolute stunt on 12 year olds in UFC 6 like I'm prime anderson silva. Thanks for all the great content.

Assuming he beats Khalil, how many times should Ankalaev have to beat Johnny Walker before he gets another title shot?

If you pit one current BJJ athlete versus one boxer in a MMA fight, who would it be? The only caveat being that they have never competed in MMA.

What is the best way to conceptualise the ideal hip height in your stance? Boxing will teach to have a deeper squat for power generation and defensive tightness whereas kicking arts will have tall, open hips for turning kicks over easier which inturn makes it easier for a grappler to get under and shoot. Would you teach it as something to be adjusted by style and opponent based on heurisitics or do you have a definitive answer?

Dear Slacky J, You've talked before about how when it comes to fight choreography you don't want to just see a MMA simulation. While I totally agree with this, I've noticed when I'm watching a good fight scene full of spinning kicks, as soon as someone mixes in some meat and potatoes MMA, my hype level increases exponentially. Examples of this include finding out Reiko in Mortal Kombat 1 has a blast double to ground and pound and characters in Blood Hounds season 2 sprawling on take downs then hitting a go a behind on their opponent. What are some examples you've seen of realistic fighting elevating the fiction of fight choreography rather than weighing it down? As always thanks for all your work and everything you do. Love the Clay Guida of Herb Dean never calling out a cheeta - Drake

What do you think of the idea of 4 ounce boxing? seeing the success of 4 ounce Muay Thai I feel like it would make the sport a lot more fast paced with less hiding behind your guard. cheers !

Alright Jack, can you do a rundown of your favourite old wives tales/mystic nonsense in MMA/martial arts. Im thinking Machida drinking pee, etc. Cheers!

What’s the secret sauce to hitting hard in the lower weight classes?

Thoughts on using half guard as a sweeping position in mma? Any fighters to study other than maia, yahya and b#rnoui?

What are the main differences in between fighting inside against an orthodox or southpaw, you mentioned Benavidez making them look different on the pod recently

Dear Jaque Slaque. I am once again asking, are you a short king or a long boi? Depending on which, what are your favourite techniques and tactics?

Hi Jack, do you have any good "we trained him wrong on purpose" camp sabotage stories? I was just wondering if there have been any notable instances of gameplans that are so suspiciously abysmal that it makes you go "hmmm". Kung Fury bless

Whats the craic Jack? I've been watching alot of Marcelo Garcia and Danaher instructionals as of late and perhaps im projecting here but can't help but feel like there is a certain aggressive quality to Marcelos "attack the attacker" style compared to Danahers cold calculated systematizing of applying there game. I'm definitely more of a passive player if that makes sense, relying on opportunity in later rounds and was wondering have you ever heard of having to have a certain mindset or aptitude for making a style or techniques work in combat sports. Appreciate the content as always.

Nobody seems to be able to wrestle at light heavyweight at the moment. How does a prime Nathan Corbett do?

How do you see a rematch between Holloway and Geathje going? Or do you think Connor will KO Max and ruin it?

I think I remember you saying you have a child/kids. How do you balance the gym and the parenting? I hope I'm not mis remembering, if so, this is a shit question. Edit: to clarify I'm not asking how I/people should balance it, I'm wondering how you do specifically.

Posted this one before but: Hey Jack your stuff is very insightful but also I am heading towards financial ruin. Im getting started in boxing and always looking for good videos on governing principles to help me learn faster. As a tall lanky guy (196 cm 76kg atm) are there articles or anything of your work you’d particularly recommend? Will watch all of that and then cancel the membership for a while, while I nurse my purse.

With most mma fighter falling in love with boxing when we see them shoulder rolling in takedowns, and using more traditional boxing techniques to initiate takedowns.

Hey Slack, As I teach katas to my students I find that there is a lot of grabbing and hitting in my style of karate. My question is are there combat sports like karate combat but with the top gi on where I can go full hockey punching? If not what are some techniques/combos I can use like Sean Strickland going 2-on-1 Izzy’s hands and kicking or other longer clinch exchanges.

What are some key pivotal moments / matches / instructional / whateva in the evolution of sport and MMA grappling? Both have metas but I want to know how they evolved over time. Think Griffin v Bonnar magnitude-level events, but for touching sweaty men.

Dear Jack Slack, In a world where punting the dick becomes legal in MMA what techniques and habits might arise in your opinion? Hoping this happens so I feel less bad knee slicing my partner’s crotch off bless!

Sup Slack Dog? Since rules shape tactics, what rule change would have the biggest effect on the overall game? I'm thinking allowing headbutts would mean any fight that hits the ground would be over due to cuts in approx 45 seconds either way.

Do you know any MMA Megastars who are free next Saturday?

Repeat question that you liked in the last question thread. You've been covering mma for a long time. How has your content and skills evolved from when you first started to where you are now? I’m not familiar with anything you wrote before 2019 so I can’t make a comparison. Two examples of growth I have seen- are my friend from uncrowned drake riggs who started out as a sherdog writer of basic news, has since written big deep dives on obcsure mma stories like Megumi Fuiji and Rousimar Palhares for uncrowned, and my other friend Ghost (9h6st21) who actually started out using microsoft paint and the photos app to do his analytical videos to now where he is combining animation and analysis. Do you feel like your skills and talents for watching fights and writing about them have seen remarkable growth over the years when looking back at your old pieces? Why do you think most content creators and writers choose not to grow and stay stagnant? I'm not talking about people like Garrett Kerman that are lazy and use AI, im talking about content creators that just do the same interviews or write pieces with no visible growth in their style.

How badly will McGregor's lifestyle and substance abuse effect his cardio? And more generally, is it possible for athletes to party and then sober up for a fight camp and get in great shape? Or does it permanently take something away from them?

If you could take one sports jiu jitsu athlete and have them compete in MMA, purely on their BJJ skill set and not the intangibles, who would it be? I've always liked Jozef Chen's style and find it's application to have some of the best crossover. Hard mode: you can't pick Dorian Olivarez.

Hi Jack, I heard you mention Duan99 in several podcasts recently and absolutely fell in love with his style and fairly unique approach to Muay Thai. Even though he lost his recent fight against Jigsaw quite convincingly by mostly following him around the ring eating jabs, could you please talk a bit about what makes him special and some of his tricks? Im especially interested in how he deals with getting stalled out in the clinch and incoming elbows if you have any thoughts on that. Thanks!

What's the funnier and/or more likely outcome, Conor McGregor actually turning up for a fight making Michael Chandler into the new UFC Cuckweight Champion OR the fight being cancelled and Dana having an aneurysm live on stage during the presser?

Big slack, for those of us who’ve partially given up watching the fight nights unless there’s a really good fight headlining, and because you’re obligated to watch them because I pay you, could you do us the solid and tell us which fights are worth watching for each card? This way I can go back and watch them after the fact.

Cheers Jack! I was able to attend RWS 200 last weekend and got to see Daniel Rodruigez get a beautiful ko. What do you think makes his simple looking boxing so effective for muay Thai, even compared to many kickboxers who transition and classic muay mat fighters?

Why do so few people use snap kicks to the chin? It seems like half the time I see them they either KO the opponent or leads to the TKO. If this technique is leading too even "here for a long time, not a good time" Michael Chandler and saggy flacid Bo Nickal making quick work of their opponents. As far as I know there has never been a snap kick extraordinare but it's an opening I see all the time. Why do you think in a time with so many creative and excellent fighters, does no one leverage this incredible strike? Cheers P.s I was watching my local regional MMA promotion eternal MMA and I saw a fighter with "the fighting pen" logo tattoo'd on his chest. He won😁

Masaaki Noiri gets in close and throws a knee to the quad of his opponent in some fights. I do this in sparring to my brother sometimes, and have found success in how it deadens his leg. A similar technique in terms of effect is called, I think, the Valerie kick, where you kick outside your opponents leg and whip your heel back into their leg. The Cereal Gane inside out tummy toe kick is another. What are some other sneaky, painful shots that you could land once per round if your goal is to make your opponent grimace and shake their head?

Hi Jack, there are multiple questions that I've been dying to ask. The first, is whether you would be willing to post up some of your older Filthy Casual Guides (Joanna vs Weili, the old Poirier FCGs), as I, and presumably many of your longtime fans, would get some fond nostalgia out of watching those. The second is whether you would be willing to do alternate fight commentaries on banger fights on slow or slop weeks like UFC Canada. I loved watching your grappling commentaries and I was wondering if you were willing to do them for some K1 fights (as you may already know, K1 seems to be revitalising themselves with plenty of new blood in their 70kg division), or something like Petchmorakot beating Petrosyan much to the ire of Chatri. The third and last question is, who are your top 5 strikers that everyone should look at and learn from all across combat sports? Thanks for doing this Slack. Long time listener and reader from 2018 and I really look forward to your future articles and podcasts as always. Cheers!

Should the ADCC super fight be Craig Jones v Isaak Mitchell.

What do you think the next faze of MMA meta will be for the fighters that have wrestling heavy game plans? It’s not easy to score clean takedowns and pin, and it’s getting harder and harder to ride without wasting a ton of energy due to wrist controls and constant wall walking evolution.

Any Advice or tips on becoming an MMA Fighter? I have been an avid listener to you for years and have finally gotten that itch to go for it and am willing to do whatever it takes to win (Legally)

What's your favorite fighter after-his-time hypothetical? The fighter that could have been great in a prior era but was just alright in his actual era

Hi Jack, have you seen Joe Ryan’s MMA debut yet? He used a fantastic switch-kick and switch kick feint to lead him to a first round win. Just wondering your thoughts on his transition from stadium Muay Thai to mma at such a young age. And also what you think might be some good Thai style setups that could be built upon like this in mma - what more could Strickland do with his marching/teeping game?

Hello Jack! Might have asked this one before. Do you have any favourite small characteristics or quirks that are idiosyncratic to specific fighters? I find what keeps me coming back to combat sports is the gallery of strange characters and how their fighting expresses small things about their backgound or mentality. My personal favourites are Poirier's short pull, Pantoja's opening charge and flurry (he's so cool), and last and not least, Anton 'The Pleasure Man' Turkalj's weird off-putting sexual trash talk. Thank you! Much love from the home of the Unmerciful Steve Percival.

Heavy Hands talk about "athletic cheaters" - fighters who get away with bad technique or tactics because they have so much speed, strength, etc. Who are your top three "unathletic overachievers"? I want to hear about successful fighters who might have been picked last in schoolyard football games, at least by the standards of professional combat sports

Hi Jack, in this lack of fights, and relying on Conor McGregor next week I have decided to ask the most important question - which mma fighter fanbase is the most fruity and why is it the one that wrote this recently discovered smut fanfiction of Islam Makhachev? https://archiveofourown.org/works/86597016?view_adult=true

Do you think theres a clear explanation for why older fighters have been at the top recently in the UFC? Sport plateauing? Dilution of new talent? Road to title contention taking longer? Lack of USADA?

Top 5 favorite prospects right now?

Is Daniel Rodriguez the best farang? If not, then who?

Do you think there's a world where the sport recovers from the funk it's in or do you think we're doomed to mediocrity forever due to the UFCs business model?

What would be your fantasy match-ups of fighters from different eras of the same weight class fighting eachother prime versus prime?

Can Conor, If he really puts the work, still be top 5 LW?

Hey Jack, why don’t we see the butterfly guard in MMA anymore?

Thoughts on Barry Robinsons coaching?