Joe Rizzo brings you MMA on Rear Naked Choke Radio, breaking down the UFC 269 main card. Charles Oliveira meets Dustin Poirier for the 155-pound belt, while Amanda Nunes defends her title against Juliana Pena. Riz also gives a look at some of the fights on the undercard, including a female underdog worth taking a look at. For this and more, subscribe wherever you find your podcasts, be it Apple Podcasts, Spotify or YouTube. FOLLOW, WATCH, LISTEN, SUBSCRIBE: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RNC...
Dec 11, 2021
Joe Rizzo brings you MMA. As Rear Naked Choke Radio kicked off its 15th (!) year, Riz was joined by Nick Kalikas (@FightOdds) of Circa Sports in Las Vegas to talk about Conor McGregor and his fight against Dustin Poirier at UFC 257 on January 23. Nick is the Risk Supervisor and works in the Risk Room at Circa, and he specializes in making the betting lines for MMA, plus most of the other major sports. He offered incredible insight into the McGregor vs. Poirier fight, including the opening line, ...
Jan 21, 2021
Joe Rizzo brings you MMA. Riz broke apart the UFC 253 title matches and a lot more with a crew from The Building Downtown, which includes long-time former co-host Jay Kelly. The middleweight division features champ Israel Adesanya against Paulo Costa, and there's a new champion to take Jon Jones' vacated spot in the light-heavyweight class between Dominick Reyes and Jan Błachowicz. There was more than just critical fight analysis, as the crew reviewed Colby Covington's Trump-fueled shtick, polit...
Sep 25, 2020
Joe Rizzo brings you MMA. Riz broke apart the UFC 252 heavyweight title trilogy match between champ Stipe Miocic and former belt-holder Daniel Cormier. He talked about what it would mean for either fighter to win the title, in terms of their future prospects, legacy in the division and in the whole of MMA. Riz looked at this "old guy" card as fans' best opportunity to see the greatest in the UFC for at least a month, as the next Pay-Per-View is slated for the middle of September. He also broke d...
Aug 14, 2020
Joe Rizzo brings you MMA. Riz (@RearNakedChoke) and Jay Kelly (@JayKellyMMA) now of The Building Downtown (@TheBuildingDT) brought back the good ole days of RNC Radio on the heels of The UFC Fight Island event in which Deiveson Figueiredo wiped out Joseph Benavidez for the 125-pound title. They kicked it off with some talk about the event, which had ended mere moments before they talked, but then transitioned to the state of broadcasting in MMA, including critiques of UFC play-by-play announcer ...
Jul 19, 2020
Joe Rizzo brings you MMA. RIz (@RearNakedChoke) finally sat down with Sergio Da Silva to discuss all aspects of his amazing life. Da Silva (@TheSavage125) might not be the most recognizable name in MMA, but he's kept company with some of the biggest names in the world. Born in Rio and moved to Queens when he was 3, Da Silva explained his most unlikely introduction to late Soprano's lead James Gandolfini, and detailed how he ended up working for him for years and enjoyed a brother-like relationsh...
Jul 11, 2020
Joe Rizzo brings you MMA. Riz devoured the UFC 249 card. After a few days to come back down to earth, he broke down what we saw in real time and what it means going forward, from the excitement of Sam Alvey absorbing cheers from a non-existent crowd, to Bryce Mitchell's domination, to Henry Cejudo's retirement and Dominick Cruz's criticism of referee Keith Peterson. Then there is the matter of Justin Gaethje. Riz explained why this destruction of Tony Ferguson somehow meant even more to Gaethje'...
May 13, 2020
Joe Rizzo explains why UFC 249 never stood a chance. The event was slated for April 18 at Tachi Palace in Lemoore, Calif., but was scuttled when UFC president Dana White was asked by the top brass at ESPN and parent company Disney to cancel the event, and others that were being planned there for the coming weeks. White told ESPN that he still plans on moving forward with his plan for Fight Island, and says that the infrastructure is being built at this time. For this and more, subscribe wherever...
Apr 10, 2020
The Corona Virus (COVID-19) is sweeping the globe with tremendous ramifications. Joe Rizzo (@RearNakedChoke) and Jay Kelly (@JayKellyMMA) break down what it could make UFC events look like in the future. Find out how they arrived at the big question: If Tony Ferguson vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov had only 1,000 seats available, how much would people pay? Tweet your answers to the guys and @RNCRadio. There was also a full deconstruction of the meaning of the epic fight at UFC 248 in which Zhang Weili e...
Mar 10, 2020
Jason Kelly (@JayKellyMMA) and Joe Rizzo (@rearnakedchoke) hooked up RNC Radio with The Building Downtown to chat UFC 248, BTC 9: Rampage, Tyson Fury vs. Deontay Wilder, and a strangely true comparison. UFC 248 is headlined by middleweight champion Israel Adesanya vs. Yoel Romero, with a co-main event between strawweight champion Zhang Weili vs. former division queen Joanna Jedrzejczyk. Kelly and Rizzo talked about the four fighters at the top of the card, who they think will win, as well as som...
Mar 06, 2020
Joe Rizzo (@RearNakedChoke) is joined by fellow gray-beard Joe LoZito (@Joe_LoZito) to reminisce about the day 30 years ago this week that the unbeatable Mike Tyson was knocked out by 42-1 underdog Buster Douglas, and the cultural impact of the event as they saw it with their own eyes. Eventually some other important subjects were covered, like Roadhouse, Heartbreak Ridge, the art of acquiring hockey-fight tapes, and how to follow MMA when VHS was a thing. This week also marked another anniversa...
Feb 14, 2020
UFC 247 featured some dubious judging, in a sport where we have seen way too much of it. Joe Rizzo (@RearNakedChoke) and Jay Kelly (@JayKellyMMA) assessed what happened on a night where Dominick Reyes appeared to be robbed of the light-heavyweight belt with a great performance against legendary Jon Jones. In addition, Andrea "KGB" Lee and Ilir Latifi were on the wrong side of stunning decision. And James Krause missed a chance to have a career moment when he was not given the nod against Trevin ...
Feb 10, 2020
The underdogs in the main events of UFC 247 are live, according to Rear Naked Choke Radio's Joe Rizzo and Jay Kelly. The hosts did another shared episode with The Building Downtown, and dove in depth to the fights in Houston. Joe gave reasons why old friend and former occasional RNC Radio host Katlyn Chookagian could upset Valentina Shevchenko in the women's flyweight division title fight, and why he thinks Dominick Reyes might be the one to finally upset Jon Jones, and take the belt for the lig...
Feb 06, 2020
The big return of Conor McGregor at UFC 246 against Cowboy Cerrone was good enough to get Joe Rizzo (@RearNakedChoke) and Jay Kelly (@JayKellyMMA) on the air. Jay now also hosts The Building Downtown (@BuildingDowntown) and the guys got together to share this episode, so you can also catch it over there. McGregor returns to MMA for the first time since getting beaten by Khabib Nurmagomedov on Oct. 6, 2018, and has not won in the UFC since beating Eddie Alvarez on Nov. 12, 2016. Cerrone headed in...
Jan 16, 2020
Technically we are shooting for having this episode cover our entry in 2019. We DID a show, but technical crap on the back end with Talkshoe prevented us from ever airing it (until now). So here it is. Joe and Jay actually did it, and it literally took us a year (actually just a few days shy of a year) to post it. We talked about UFC Fight Night 143, and if anyone remembers that off the top of their heads, then kudos to them. Whether this is your first time listening to MMA's longest-running pod...
Jan 09, 2020
It happened! Joe Rizzo and Jay Kelly have hosted RNC Radio together for years, but this show in front of a live studio audience in Mississauga, Ontario was the first time they have ever met in person! The guys talked about UFC 226, but it was the dynamic of having them in the same room at the same time with beers that made this one of the most special RNC Radio episodes ever. Whether this is your first time listening to MMA's longest-running podcast, or you have been with us from the beginning d...
Jul 09, 20180
Conor McGregor, what have you done? Jay Kelly (@JayKellyMMA) and Joe Rizzo (@RearNakedChoke) make the assessment of McGregorâ??s criminal antics ahead of UFC 223 at the Barclayâ??s Center in Brooklyn. They captured the moments where the news broke that McGregor had surrendered himself to police some eight hours after starting a melee that at once left a wake of damage to fellow fighters and the UFC 223 card. Did McGregor abdicate his throne as the king of the UFC? It might not be too early to te...
Apr 05, 20180
Max Holloway, you have officially been declared a Jersey Guy. The declaration came on Rear Naked Choke Radio (@RNCRadio), as Joe Rizzo (@RearNakedChoke) declared it to Jay Kelly (@JayKellyMMA) after Hollowayâ??s heart-felt tweet to Frankie Edgar after UFC 222. Rizzo and Kelly took the opportunity to do a deep dive into the careers of Holloway, Edgar, Cris Cyborg and even the retiring Mike Pyle. There was talk of the rash of split decisions at UFC 222, plus the latest on reactions from Nate Diaz,...
Mar 05, 20180
Rear Naked Choke Radio turns 11 years old as Joe Rizzo (@RearNakedChoke) and Jay Kelly (@JayKellyMMA) returned to the podcast ethernet to talk MMA. It's a hang in which the listeners get to know the hosts (and guests) as real people. With UFC 223 in Brooklyn in the offing, Rizzo and Kelly broke down the two title fights, and the possibilities for the men's 155-pound division, and women's 115-pound circuit. Rose Namajunas defends her title against Joanna Jedrzejczyk. Tony Ferguson puts his interi...
Mar 02, 20180
Emily Miller was the first guest in the history of the show known today as Rear Naked Choke Radio. For the 10th anniversary celebration, Joe Rizzo (@RearNakedChoke) and Emily (@EmilyMillerLV) shot the shit for an hour. It was in typical RNC Radio fashion - no frills, just a hang in which the listeners get to know the guests as real people. The first time Emily was on the show, she was a mere 20 years old and was just starting out as a ring card girl for the International Fight League (IFL). A th...
Mar 30, 20170
Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather MIGHT happen. Georges St. Pierre vs. Michael Bisping WILL happen. Joe Rizzo (@RearNakedChoke) and Jay Kelly (@JayKellyMMA) broke down the where, when and how for both in the latest installment of Rear Naked Choke Radio (@RNCRadio). Rizzo and Kelly immediately gave their thoughts on McGregor-Mayweather, as they explained why this would be the biggest pay-per-view in combat sports history. When it came to St. Pierre vs. Bisping, the angles changed, with the focu...
Mar 16, 20170
There's barely enough intriguing MMA going on right now just to keep the conversation going ... so that's what we did. Joe Rizzo (@RearNakedChoke) and Jason Kelly (@JayKellyMMA) on Rear Naked Choke Radio talked about Tito Ortiz vs. Chael Sonnen at Bellator 170, Bellator as a promotion, the upcoming UFC events, the fight they like, and kept the conversation going. Bellator is notorious for putting on tentpole events. They typically feature sideshows or over-the-hill fighters, but that wasn't nece...
Jan 23, 20170
Ronda Rousey's future as a fighter is in peril as we hit 2017. With Rousey's loss to Amanda Nunes at UFC 207, Jay Kelly (@JayKellyMMA) and Joe Rizzo (@RearNakedChoke) took a hard look at what got the former champion to the top, why she fell, and where she can go from here. Their unique, in-depth analysis comes from a different angle; not the same recycled phrases and thoughts that have been bounding around the internet. This was a complete dissection, from opponents to career plateaus, and train...
Jan 03, 20170
Caroline Pearce has emerged as a star across the Atlantic and the Pacific. Americans and Canadians should expect to see and hear more of her soon. Pearce has moved from a career in international athletics to the side of the Octagon as a host for British-based BT Sport. When she is not interviewing the Conor McGregors of the world, she is sitting beside Gareth A. Davies talking about the happenings of the UFC. Otherwise, the newly minted Los Angelino could be on a plane to India, Australia or any...
Nov 23, 20160
The odds maker himself, Nick Kalikas (@FightOdds), joined hosts Joe Rizzo (@RearNakedChoke) and Jason Kelly (@JayKellyMMA) on Rear Naked Choke Radio to talk bets, corruption and fights. Kalikas, who you can find on mmaoddsbreaker.com, came through to chat about betting lines surrounding UFC 205, UFC Belfast and Invicta FC 20. Gambling can be viewed as a seedy hobby, especially combat sports betting. Boxing has a history of throwing fights, corrupt promoters and paid off judges, but MMA has seeme...
Nov 17, 20160
You wouldn't be here if you didn't watch UFC 205, so let's just skip the lede. Amy Barton (@AmesBelle) joined the UFC 205 preview show and returned to discuss the aftermath on Rear Naked Choke Radio with Jason Kelly (@JayKellyMMA). Barton is the former host of Punch Drunk Radio and social media handler of MMA DieHards. She may not be in the MMA media game anymore, but she still keeps tabs on the UFC. The self-proclaimed â??Kick Ass Wonderchickâ?? is joining us for back-to-back shows to discuss...
Nov 14, 20160
The UFC stacked the card, so we stacked the show. King of the Dot's Corey Charron (@CharronKOTD) and Dirtbag Dan (@DirtBagDan408) , as well as former Punch Drunk Radio host Amy Barton (@AmesBelle) joined Rear Naked Choke Radio's Jason Kelly (@JayKellyMMA) to preview the phenomenal card that is UFC 205. Charron and Dan made their bones on the battle rap circuit, but have since branched out into so many more avenues. Charron, a former MMA show host on MMA Cypher, is still a top tier battle rapper,...
Nov 09, 20160
The new regime of the UFC is now in full force. Weeks removed from large layoffs outside the cage, the company heads full-steam into the signature event of a stacked 2016 campaign, on Nov. 12 in New York. The card at Madison Square Garden marks the legal return of the promotion to the Empire State, and the card is overloaded, from top to bottom. Joe Rizzo (@RearNakedChoke) and Jay Kelly (@JayKellyMMA) pull down the covers on the big questions of today, and look ahead to the years to come for the...
Oct 25, 20160
Just when you think a hilarious guest is about to join Rear Naked Choke Radio, a host gets comedic and fools the listeners. If youâ??d like to know what that means, you have to listen to Joe Rizzo (@Rearnakedchoke) trick Jason Kelly @(JayKellyMMA) as well as the pair talking about UFC 204, UFC 205, UFC 206, UFC this and UFC that. With the rematch of Michael Bisping and Dan Henderson on the verge of happening, Rizzo and Kelly talked about the middleweight title match and other bouts and on UFC 20...
Oct 06, 20160
In the words of Jay Z, guess who's bizzack! Rear Naked Choke Radio hosts (@RearNakedChoke) and Jason Kelly (@JayKellyMMA) talked the return of Canadian welterweight Jordan Mein, CM Punk and UFC 203, the UFC adding a women's flyweight division, and had a fun-filled show that ended on a serious tip. Mein showed potential from the beginning of his career, which began at 15 years old in a bout against a 16-year-old Rory MacDonald. Mein brought main stage attention to himself in Strikeforce, with a h...
Sep 13, 20160
