The Anik & Florian Podcast Is Back — And This Episode Was MUST-WATCH TV 🥊

By Cody Merrow | Fight Bananas

WHAT IS UP, Fight Bananas faithful! Buckle up, because the Anik & Florian Podcast — now proudly partnered with All The Smoke Fight, powered by All The Smoke Productions — delivered one of its best episodes in recent memory this past Monday, and if you missed it, I don’t know what you were doing with your President’s Day. Sledding? Put the kids back inside. We had FIGHTS to discuss.

Jon Anik and Kenny Florian were locked in from the jump, and the guest list was absolutely stacked. Let’s break it down.

🥊 Michael Chiesa Drops a BOMB — And We Were Here For It

The show opened with Michael “Maverick” Chiesa joining live, riding the high of the Seattle Seahawks’ Super Bowl win like the proud 12th Man he is. And look, the Seahawks talk was fun — the Knicks beating the Celtics before the big game? Chiesa called it one of the best Sundays of his life, and honestly, fair enough.

But here’s where things got REAL. Jon and Kenny started dancing around Chiesa’s future, and somewhere in the middle of this conversation, Mike just… said it.

This is his last fight.

March 28th. Seattle. UFC returns to Climate Pledge Arena against Guyana’s Carlson Harris. And Chiesa confirmed to Anik and Florian first that this is the Last Dance. Now, I don’t say this lightly — that was a genuinely emotional moment. The man talked about missing last year’s Seattle card because his dog of nearly ten years passed away the same day he was supposed to make the call to Sean Shelby about taking the fight. You can’t write that stuff.

What makes this retirement fight so compelling? March 28th falls on his parents’ anniversary. It’s his 22nd UFC fight, and 22 is his number. The universe is speaking, folks.

Chiesa wants a FINISH against Harris — he’s had a great camp, he’s walking around at 190, and he’s leaving no stone unturned. The man has been coaching high school wrestling for 15 years at his alma mater, Shadle Park High School, and talked about how much the Seattle fans meant to him after watching that Climate Pledge crowd lose their minds last year. I’m fired up for this one. The 12th Man energy is going to be unreal.

On top of that, Chiesa casually announced he’s got eyes on a broadcasting career — crediting Jon Anik himself for planting that seed. Ray Longo jumped in to shower the kid with love, and honestly, the whole segment had me getting a little misty. Good on ya, Mike.

Michael Chiesa is looking to go out with a bang on March 28th 💥🍿

No place better to close the book than in Seattle 🫡

Watch the full episode with @mikemav22 & more on the @anikflorianpod YouTube! pic.twitter.com/1m1d26Atch

— Anik & Florian Podcast (@AnikFlorianPod) February 16, 2026

🥊 The Heavyweight Division: A Beautiful Dumpster Fire

Jon and Kenny spent some quality time clowning on the UFC’s heavyweight division — and honestly, they’re not wrong, but it ain’t all bad.

Tom Aspinall is out the other side of double eye surgery, but his future is murky as hell. Reports suggest he may be asking for free agency if the UFC wants him to vacate the title. Jailton Almeida, who had announced a move to light heavyweight, was cut entirely. Jon Jones — not reliable enough in the UFC’s mind. Kenny put it best: the heavyweight division is nowhere near bantamweight or lightweight in terms of depth, but the belt still means something.

So if Tom’s out for the White House event on June 14th, what’s the fight? Jon threw it out there: Alex Pereira vs. Cyril Gane for the heavyweight strap. And you know what? Kenny agreed. Poatan moving up to challenge himself, the star power, the contrast of styles — THAT is a fight that gets fans salivating. Let’s see if the UFC makes it happen.

🥊 Islam vs. Ilia — Or Is It Ian Gary’s Time?

Here’s where it got spicy. The Islam Makhachev situation — does he defend at lightweight against Ilia Topuria, or does the matchup shift elsewhere?

Our own producer Cody Merrow (hey, that’s me 👋) dropped a note in the chat about Ian Machado Garry potentially heading to Georgia — the Republic of Georgia — to sharpen his wrestling for a possible title shot against Islam. Kenny LOVED this. He praised Garry’s footwork, his striking, his charisma, and pointed out that Islam is not exactly a promotional juggernaut. Garry IS.

Kenny’s actual argument for Topuria? He thinks Ilya should stay at 155 for a while before making the jump to 170. Topuria is already small at lightweight — jumping to welterweight against a monster like Makhachev would be giving up way too much of a physical advantage. Let the man marinate at 155. Build those wins. THEN make the superfight.

Fresh matchups. That’s what we want. That’s what Kenny wants. I’m on board.

🥊 Mario Bautista — Battle Born and DANGEROUS

If you’re not on the Mario “Battle Born” Bautista train right now, I don’t know what to tell you. The man headlined, he finished, he banked a $100K bonus, and then came on the show to talk about it with the calm energy of someone who absolutely knows where he’s going.

Bautista broke down his short-notice UFC debut against Corey Sandhagen — literally got the call right before eating a bowl of spaghetti — and talked about how a loss to Trevin Jones early in his career taught him the most important lesson: trust yourself, go for it, stop thinking so much in the cage.

Eight-fight win streak. Main event experience. His coach Jon Crouch telling everyone in the gym to “do what Mario does.” And now he’s eyeing a Sandhagen rematch, a potential shot at Marab Dvalishvili, or anyone in that top-five. He said it plainly — whoever gets him closer to that belt.

You want someone to watch at 135? This is your guy.

Mario Bautista is ready to run through whoever stands between him and the belt 💨🏆

The top of bantamweight is loaded with options 👀

Watch the full conversation on the @AnikFlorianPod YouTube! pic.twitter.com/UL9sscaP53

— Anik & Florian Podcast (@AnikFlorianPod) February 17, 2026

🥊 Three Punch Convo — The MMA Community Platform You Need

Russ Makowski of Three Punch Convo joined mid-show and brought with him what might be the coolest concept in MMA fan community right now. Three Punch Convo (threepunchconvo.com) is a moderated, ad-free space built BY MMA fans FOR MMA fans — where fighters like Chase Hooper, Steve Garcia, Virna Jandiroba, and Nazeem Sadikov are active, engaging directly with the community.

The headline feature? Robbery Insurance. If 80% of the Three Punch Convo community votes that a fighter got ROBBED by the judges, the platform cuts that fighter a check to help offset the financial hit. I mean — COME ON. What an idea.

Kenny Florian is an advisor on the platform, and for those tuning in this weekend for Strickland vs. Hernandez in Houston, Three Punch Convo is running a FREE full-card pick ’em — sweep the card, win $1,000. Use code AFPOD for three free months of premium access.

Go to threepunchconvo.com right now. Seriously.

🥊 The White House Card — Chaos, Titles, and Opportunity

Jon laid it out clearly: June 14th at the White House, and nearly EVERY undisputed champion would theoretically be ready to go. Islam. Topuria. Pereira. Shevchenko. Volk. Hamzat.

Ian Parker joined late in the show with a smart, simple take: don’t stack the whole card with titles. Two, maybe three undisputed fights. Fill the rest with number-one contender bouts, rising prospects, and star-making moments. The UFC doesn’t need to over-deliver on paper to under-deliver on the night.

Less is more. Make the fights COUNT.

Final Word

This episode had everything — an emotional retirement announcement, heavyweight chaos, bantamweight brilliance, a legitimately cool fan platform, and great fight analysis across the board. Jon and Kenny are doing their best work right now, and the new partnership with All The Smoke Fight has only elevated the platform.

New slot, by the way — Mondays at Noon Eastern, live on YouTube. Don’t miss it.

👉 Watch the full episode here: The Anik & Florian Podcast – February 16th

Follow me on X at @cody_merrow — let’s talk fights.

Cody Merrow is the Live Producer of The Anik & Florian Podcast and Remember The Show, and formerly of MMA Underground and the Pound 4 Pound Podcast newsletter.

Pro athlete or not… it takes a different breed to walk into the spotlight and take a punch to the face 🗣️

Are there any athletes who could actually make the jump to the UFC?

Watch the full episode on the @AnikFlorianPod YouTube! pic.twitter.com/6C2bV2VoAw

— Anik & Florian Podcast (@AnikFlorianPod) February 18, 2026