Grappling Debates and Pound-for-Pound Kings

This episode of Budocast explores a monumental week in combat sports, ranging from historic title wins in Bangkok to legacy-defining ambitions in the UFC. We break down Stella Hemetsberger’s victory at ONE Fight Night 40, where she became only the third two-sport queen in the promotion's history by adding the strawweight kickboxing title to her Muay Thai gold.The discussion shifts to the UFC, focusing on Islam Makhachev’s desire to compete on the "once-in-a-lifetime" White House card to cement his historical legacy. We also provide a deep dive into Gordon Ryan’s technical analysis of the "fence wrestling system" used by elite grapplers like Khabib Nurmagomedov and Khamzat Chimaev. Finally, we cover the latest PFL rankings featuring pound-for-pound king Usman Nurmagomedov, the UFC’s new high-performance protein bar partnership, and critical roster updates for UFC Houston.