Chris Weidman breaks down Merab's title run & Gaethje-Paddy; Coach John Wood previews Merab–Yan II
UFC Unfiltered with Jim Norton and Matt Serra
Ultimate Fighting Championship, Zuffa LLC
4.4 • 2.4K Ratings
🗓️ 2 December 2025
⏱️ 45 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Jim and Matt kick off the week with former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman, who checks in ahead of his trip to Las Vegas to support Merab Dvalishvili before the bantamweight champ’s fourth title defense of 2025.
Weidman shares what he expects from Merab’s continued dominance, and also weighs in on how Justin Gaethje and Paddy Pimblett match up in next year’s interim lightweight title fight — the first numbered event of the new Paramount deal.
Then, Syndicate MMA head coach John Wood joins the show to talk about life inside one of the busiest gyms in the sport. Wood breaks down Merab’s one-of-a-kind approach to fight week and explains whether he foresees anything different in the champ’s rematch with a resurgent Petr Yan in this Saturday’s UFC 323 headliner.
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Transcript
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| 1:21.4 | You know, I felt I was destined for this, but for it to actually happen, it still feels |
| 1:25.6 | surreal. |
| 1:26.6 | He's the unbeatable, freaking Bruce Lee of mixed martial arts. |
| 1:30.3 | And thank God he gave me the power to do it. |
| 1:34.3 | And new, USC middleweight champion of the world Chris Weinbaum |
| 1:46.0 | Welcome |
| 1:50.0 | Welcome to UFC Unfilter |
| 1:55.0 | Please tell me that's on video |
| 1:59.4 | I've never been happier. |
| 2:02.4 | I'm made for a fucking podcast. |
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