The real reason why Skip Bayless, ‘Undisputed’ taking a hiatus

Sharpe left Fox Sports in June after several disagreements with the always-controversial Bayless. His departure reportedly took the network by surprise and they were left scrambling to find a suitable replacement host.

However, the decision was made for “Undisputed” to go on hiatus to allow Fox Sports more time to find a willing adversary for Bayless and the one-on-one, debate-style hot-take sports talk show, which draws an estimated daily audience of 154,000 viewers.

Several names have been linked to the vacant hosting job including current Fox Sports employees LeSean McCoy, Nick Wright and Emmanuel Acho, and Keyshawn Johnson and Max Kellerman, who were recently laid off by ESPN.

Bayless himself has stated he prefers former NBA All-Star and current TNT and CBS Sports NBA analyst Charles Barkley as Sharpe’s successor.

“What a joy it would be to do battle every day with Charles Barkley live on television,” Bayless said on the “Skip Bayless Show.” “Please, please, please, Charles, come be this damn ‘idiot’s’ debate partner. Please let me annihilate you on a daily basis. Ten times per show. Let me make barbecue chicken out of you.”