Sean O'Malley, Dakota Ditcheva, John Kavanagh, favorite combat stories right now, shower saga, news & notes

Ariel Helwani kicks off the show with a story about his nightmare evening (04:04).

Coach John Kavanagh stops by to talk about his new role as an ambassador for Scott Coker’s Ki MMA and his thoughts on potential MMA rule changes, before reflecting on Conor McGregor’s preparation for UFC 329 and the injury he suffered in the fight, McGregor’s mindset and mentality, another McGregor comeback and potential opponents if he returns, and more (31:10).

Dakota Ditcheva is back to discuss recovery from the hand injuries she suffered in July, already being back in training, plans for her to fight Liz Carmouche falling apart, hoping to return in February or March for a rematch against PFL champion Jena Bishop, how teammate Kayla Harrison looks in training, and more (1:17:46).

Sean O’Malley returns to react to Petr Yan’s win over Merab Dvalishvili, believing his rematch with Yan would be the biggest bantamweight fight of all time. He also touches on his conversation with Daniel Cormier to clear the air about any perceived friction, why he’s a bad matchup for Yan, being able to bounce back with two wins in 2026, and more (1:46:34).

Ariel covers news and notes (2:31:26), before previewing some upcoming sporting events (2:55:28).

The show ends with fan-submitted entires for the best current story in combat sports (3:03:03) and your Super Chats (3:11:58).