As a follow-up to yesterday’s posting, Absolute Best Sites to Watch FREE UFC and MMA Fight Videos Online, I thought I’d share my thoughts on the 5 best Podcasts that cover the UFC and the great sport of MMA. Whether you’re just starting to get into the UFC and MMA or an MMA addict as I am, these Podcasts will help you keep

up with the latest in MMA action, teach you more about the sport and give you inside information on all the latest rumors, fighter interviews, fight breakdowns and the MMA talk you can take. You won’t get this type of coverage on ESPN or anywhere else other than maybe Inside MMA on HDNet.

Ground Rules – I only included podcasts that have been active within a month. More points were given to those who were consistent in publishing (reliability), points for entertainment value, points for quality of fighters that visit the show, points for knowledge and incite and of course points for listen-ability. Enjoy!

Honorable Mentions

The Ultimate Podcast: All UFC All the Time; MMA – Monthly Podcast with some great Video Interviews.

The Jordan Breen Show on Sherdog Radio Network – Sherdog Radio MMA talk, two episodes per week.

Figure Four Daily Pro Wrestling and MMA Podcast - Weekly podcast that focuses a bit more on wrestling, but is entertaining.

MMA Sunday School with Scott Holmes and Rodney Dean - Every two weeks or so, this podcast integrates comedy into MMA.

Gross Point Blank with Josh Gross – Weekly interviews with some of the greatest fighters in MMA from Yahoo! Sports Writer Josh Gross

IT’S TIME! With Bruce Buffer – Weekly podcast that features some great stories from Ring Announcer Bruce Buffer and fighter interviews.

Top 5 MMA Podcasts

5. Inside the Ultimate Fighter - Inside The Ultimate Fighter reality series, this podcast features interviews with the fighters and coaches of The Ultimate Fighter 11. Guests have included Kimbo Slice, Rashad Evans and Dana White. If you’re a fan of the show, I highly recommend this podcast.

Ratings/Reviews: 4.5 Stars, 23 Ratings, 10 Reviews

Show Frequency: Each Wednesday

Duration: 35 to 45 minutes

4. Pro MMA Radio Hosted by Larry Pepe – Weekly interviews with a different fighter each week. The interviews are very well done and Larry Pepe does his homework. For interview focused podcasts, this is my favorite. Guests have included greats such as Brock Lesner, Randy Couture, Miguel Torres and many more of the best.

Ratings/Reviews: 5 Stars, 10 Ratings, 8 Reviews

Show Frequency: Weekly Podcast

Duration: 1 to 1.5 Hours

3. The Savage Dog Show with Greg Savage and Jeff Sherwood – Excellent MMA podcast that features the guys from Sherdog.com. This podcast features interviews from some of the best fighters as well as MMA coverage and chatter. Guests have included Randy Couture, Kenny Florian, Dan Henderson and many other elite fighters.

Ratings/Reviews: 4 Stars, 22 Ratings, 15 Reviews

Show Frequency: 2 per week

Duration: 2 hours

2. “Beatdown” with TJ De Santis – Another Sherdog.com MMA podcast, but in my opinion this is the absolute best of the Sherdog group. Guests have included Shane Carwin, Roger Huerta, Big John McCarthy and all the best in MMA. Definitely worth a download.

Ratings/Reviews: 4.5 Stars, 44 Ratings, 29 Reviews

Show Frequency: 2 times per week

Duration: 1.5 to 2 hours

1. MMAjunkie.com Radio – The best in the business. This MMA podcast is the official podcast for the best and my favorite MMA news site, MMAJunkie.com. Guests include the absolute best fighters in the sport, bar-none. Brought to you by hosts Gorgeous George, Goze and John Morgan, the podcast is thoroughly entertaining, thought provoking and the best commentary you can get. There’s no better way to keep up with news, rumors and anything else that is MMA.  The regular callers of the show are also quite interesting characters (some more than others) and bring yet another element to this great show. With this MMA show, you don’t have to wait for the podcast. You can watch it live at MMAJunkie Radio Monday through Friday from 12pm to 2pm EST.

One of the best trainers in all of MMA, Marc Laimon, has recently been serving as a co-host and his contributions are invaluable. He uses his high-level skills and expertise to break down fights and fighters in a manner that no other podcast can match. Here’s hoping Laimon becomes permanent co-host! I couldn’t recommend this MMA and UFC podcast more! 5 Stars and the clear number 1 MMA podcast!

Ratings/Reviews: 5 Stars, 95 Ratings, 85 Reviews

Show Frequency: Monday – Friday

Duration: 2 Hours

What’s your favorite MMA Podcast? What are your thoughts on the list?

Podcasts 1.1.69.2 ($3.99, free trial version available) – 5 Stars, 3 reviews, 227KB

“Subscribe, download, and listen to podcasts on your BlackBerry. Listen to internet radio, weekly podcasts, and more. Listen to the Pinstack podcast with the free trial version. Listen to any podcast with the full version. Works with all standard audio and video podcast RSS feeds. MP3 files are downloaded to the SD card. Integrated with built-in BlackBerry media player.”

nuTsie iTunes Music Player 1.0.10 ($19.99) – 3.5 Stars, 7 reviews, 334KB

“Listen to your iTunes music, and discover new music from your BlackBerry Smartphone. nuTsie lets you listen to your iTunes playlists, your friends’ iTunes playlists, anybody’s playlists, on your BlackBerry Smartphone…nuTsie “learns” what music you have in your iTunes, and then streams that music from its servers. No sideloading or uploading of music required. nuTsie does NOT stram from your computer so it need not be on to listen to your BlackBerry.”

PodTrapper 2.1 ($9.99, free trial available) – 4.5 Stars, 39 reviews, 330KB

“Robust podcast player and download manager for BlackBerry devices…Automatic downloading of new episodes via Wifi, Cellular and Desktop. Keeps track of last played podcast. Remembers where you left off in every episode. Reliable pause and resume of downloads when connectivity changes. Built in keylock to allow for control of audio in your pocket. Pauses for phone calls and resumes when completed. Built in large file downloader for downloading files from the web. Allows for bookmarked playback of any file on the device. Support for video podcasts  that your device support. Automatic playlist management. Automatic deletion of old episodes  if configured.”

Stitcher News Radio 1.1.3 (FREE) – 3.5 Stars, 24 reviews, 449KB

“Stream your favorite podcasts, news, and radio shows right to your phone…Stitcher ‘stitches’ together your favorite news, talk, sports and entertainment audio into always current, on-demand stations… some of our most popular content: News- NPR Hourly News, Fox News Radio, Fresh Air, CNBC, CNN, APM, MSNBC Countdown, CBS, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Marketplace Morning Report, Slate, Politico, The Economist. Talk- The Adam Carolla Podcast, Car Talk, Woman s Hour, Oprah, TWiT, Leo Laporte, Keith Olbermann. Entertainment & Sports- Mike & Mike, ESPN Countdown, NASCAR, NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, NCAA, English Premier League Soccer, Entertainment Tonight, E!, American Idol. Tech- IDG, TechCrunch Diggnation, IGN, Idle Thumbs, PC Gamer.”

i2b iTunes on Your BlackBerry 1.0 (FREE) – 2.5 Stars, 18 reviews, 103KB

“Gives BlackBerry smartphone users access to their iTunes library anytime, anywhere. This free beta version supports replicating up to 100 tracks from your favorite iTunes® playlists on Windows XP and Windows Vista…Access to their iTunes library from anywhere. i2b works wirelessly through the cellular network and Wi-Fi hotspots, so there s no need for USB cables. Tracks can be moved to the users BlackBerry smartphone from anywhere with cellular coverage… Favorite playlists are automatically updated on the BlackBerry smartphone…set it once and let i2b do all the work to make sure the music and podcasts they want are available when they want them.”

Didiom 0.9.1.1 (FREE) – 4 Stars, 10 reviews, 586KB

“With Didiom, you can stream music, podcasts and audiobooks from your PC to your BlackBerry, wirelessly and for free. Choose from your own library, or buy and download from the Didiom MP3 Store of over 2 million songs and audiobooks. To use Didiom, you will need to set up a free Didiom account and download Didiom Desktop at didiom.com/setup.exe. Just choose the folders where you store your audio files and playlists on Didiom Desktop, and make sure your PC and BlackBerry are connected to the Internet.”

Ultra Podcast Player 1.0 ($4.99) – 2.5 Stars, 6 reviews, 156KB

“Ultra Podcast Player puts thousands of podcasts and over a million episodes at your fingertips.  Watch video podcasts from channels such as MTV and CNN to audio podcasts like Bloomberg and The Economist. Whatever the topic, chances are there’s a podcast about it. Other features include: Ability to search for a library of thousands of podcasts, Automatic downloading using WiFi, Ability to download podcasts in the background, One click playback using the Blackberry Media Player, Changeable Colour Scheme UI, Intuitive and easy to use, Easy to install &  upgrade, Support for touch screen navigation.”

For my money, Didiom and i2b are my first choices. However, I must say that Podcasts and Podtrapper are quite intriguing to try. I’m typically not a fan of Paid Apps, but if the functionality isn’t there for the free Apps, I may turn to Podcasts or Podtrapper beginning with their free trial versions. Do you have any other great Apps for BlackBerry users to listen to their favorite Podcasts? What’s your favorite Podcasts? My two favorites are The BS Report with Bill Simmons and MMAJunkie Radio. I also listen to TWIT – This Week in Tech and many others.