Francis Ngannou’s PFL debut, UFC 310, more

Check out this week’s “Spinning Back Clique,” MMA Junkie’s weekly live show that takes a spin through the biggest topics in mixed martial arts.

This week’s panel of Brian “Goze” Garcia, Matthew Wells and Danny Segura will join host “Gorgeous” George Garcia live at 1 p.m ET (10 a.m. PT) to discuss and debate the following topics:

• UFC Fight Night 244 saw the end of flyweight prospect Tatsuro Taira’s undefeated record. Recent title challenger Brandon Royval picked up his second win since he lost to champ Alexandre Pantoja this past December when he outpointed Taira in a hard-fought split decision. Does Royval deserve the next title shot? Where does Taira go from here? We discuss.
• UFC CEO Dana White announced the headlining bouts for the promotion’s final pay-per-view of the year. A welterweight matchup between champion Belal Muhammad and challenger Shavkat Rakhmonov headlines the event, with a flyweight championship fight between Alexandre Pantoja and Kai Asakura in the co-main. We review these UFC 310  headlining bouts along with the overall strength of the card.
• Ilia Topuria and Max Holloway had a digital faceoff this past week ahead of their featherweight championship bout in the main event of UFC 308. The dual interview, organized by the UFC, had plenty of highlights and tense moments. We discuss some of the comments made by Topuria and Holloway, along with the news that Diego Lopes will serve as the backup for the fight.
• Saturday, the PFL will put on arguably its biggest event yet – PFL: Battle of the Giants. The pay-per-view card features the highly anticipated return of former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou, who takes on Renan Ferreira in the main event. Additionally, Cris Cyborg makes her PFL debut against Larissa Pacheco, A.J. McKee returns to action against Paul Hughes, and much more. We preview the card.