Welcome to Midnight Mania!
Let’s start the night off by taking a look back over the three biggest stories of
- Bait and switch? Conor McGregor ‘not fighting’ at UFC White House — ‘They’re using him to promote it’: This feels like a tremendously possible explanation, but I do think UFC would prefer if McGregor is on the card. Like him or not, his return would do numbers!
- Paramount panic? Bad cuts and awful matchmaking lead to frustrating 2026 UFC start: Want to know why I’m concerned about the future of the UFC? This article breaks it down.
- Gordon Ryan calls Khamzat ‘not the best jiu jitsu guy,’ insists UFC champ ‘would get beat pretty easily’ in ADCC: Gordon Ryan is the rare type of guy to post about being too ill to ever compete again (for the millionth time) and talk down about Khamzat’s grappling in the same weekend.
Insomnia
Ian Garry might be next for Islam Makhachev, which is a great matchup that makes much more sense than giving Kamaru Usman a title shot after a single win.
Am I wrong to think Dumont vs. Santos could well be a title eliminator match up? Women’s Bantamweight is in dire straights.
Excellent guard work in elevating the top player, reaping the knee, and generally refusing to allow Akaev to settle.
Beneil Dariush’s career may be coming to an end, which feels like a very reasonable decision given some of his recent losses.
Tom Lawlor with a “filthy” tale from Gold’s Gym in Shibuya:
I believe I speak for a majority of men when I say we’ve all been here before.
I enjoyed watching Justin Gaethje break down his own strategy against Paddy Pimblett here.
Slips, rips, and KO clips
Tony Ferguson was partial to the d’arce rather than anaconda, but the quickness with which Prieto snatched up the neck reminded me of “El Cucuy.”
Two hard spinning shot connections inside 20 seconds is impressive work.
It’s dangerous to get tall in the pocket.
Random Land
When my X-Factor prediction is completely wrong but the fighter I picked still wins.
Midnight Music: Tonight’s track is a request from MMAmania user .Y.
Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.
