Welcome to Midnight Mania!
Let’s start the night off by taking a look back over the three biggest stories of Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026.
- Manager on Justin Gaethje’s UFC 324 pay-plaints: ‘Like every other athlete, he wants to be paid a lot’: Just as a blanket rule, Ali Abdelaziz is not to be trusted.
- Michael Johnson’s management issues official statement on UFC 324 cancellation, sketchy betting movement: ‘These matters have to be taken seriously’: I highly doubt there was anything fixed in this matchup, but a leaked injury is entirely plausible and even likely based on recent evidence.
- Motivated Tai Tuivasa returning to UFC 325 to save the ‘Heavysh-t’ division – ‘I had to miss it’: Permission to use “Heavys—t’ division for the rest of my writing career?
Insomnia
A year ago, Patchy Mix was 20-1 riding a massive win streak over excellent opposition and set to make his UFC debut with a ton of hype behind him. Now, he’s off the roster entirely and heading to RIZIN on March 7 to fight Japan’s Kyoma Akimoto. This sport moves fast!
Tecia Pennington (15-8) has retired and is also off the UFC roster. Though undersized for the division, Pennington fought literally every Strawweight champion in UFC history, defeating two of them (Rose Namajunas and Carla Esparza). Respect!
Arnold Allen does not consent to being a surfboard, this is outrageous.
Rafael Fiziev is deep in his UFC 325 weight cut feelings.
Any outfit can be a gi if you believe hard enough.
Michael Morales punching power explained: he’s a big lad.
I actually liked the naked shots from Quillan Salkilld here as a strategy to avoid/stymie the boxing of his opponent.
Checking in on a pair of old school legends/former foes:
Slips, rips, and KO clips
Some throwback clips of Rafael Fiziev destroying his opposition while fighting in Thailand:
I love the mid-flurry straight right to the breadbasket.
This is what going to a regional MMA fight feels like. All UFC fans should check out their local show in person at least once!
Random Land
If anyone missed the spectacle over the weekend, Alex Honnold enjoyed a fun romp up the second tallest building in the world.
Midnight Music: Psych rock, 1967
Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.
