Midnight Mania! St-Pierre thinks Bisping is most dangerous opponent ever … but bad at talking trash

Bringing you the weird and the wild from the world of MMA each and every weeknight …

Welcome to Midnight Mania! Tonight, we’ve got Georges St-Pierre sounding off on Michael “The Count” Bisping, Jon Jones selling his house in upstate New York (if you’ve got $750,000), that leaked pic of Cody Garbrandt choking T.J. Dillashaw becoming a meme, about a billion knockouts and sweet finishes, podcasts, and much more!

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Insomnia

St-Pierre may not have gotten quite the deal he wanted, but he is excited to be back. (see the full interview transcript here):

“Rush” may not have taken the fight fans wanted, either, but in his mind it’s the most dangerous fight he has ever taken. He spoke about the match up on “The MMA Hour.”

Good thing he’ll have plenty of time to train for it — he says the fight won’t be happening before the dog days of summer:

He didn’t have nearly as high an opinion of Bisping’s infamous mouth as he did of the Brit’s fighting abilities.

And if you thought St-Pierre had any illusions about why he’s here — or if you had any fantasies about him fighting your favorite (but not famous) Welterweight — think again:

Hopefully, that also means we don’t ever have to run back the Nick Diaz fight. There are four chances it could still happen, though.

In a way, it’s good to know GSP knows his time back is limited. Maybe he can still retire with his brain cells intact. Maybe.

He also has a very high opinion on Demian Maia (although that’s nothing new), possibly meaning that St-Pierre vs. Maia is a fight that could still happen at some point (cue the jiu-jitsu nerds bursting out of their gis in excitement):

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Bobs and Weaves

Jon Jones is selling his house in Ithaca, New York. He lives and trains completely in New Mexico now and traveling back-and-forth is hectic. The house is listed at $750,000, and includes a training basement with “rubber flooring” and a gorge immediately behind the house.

His legacy will no doubt live on in the hearts and minds of the fans that remain in upstate New York, just as his martial arts knowledge is being passed in sacred filial tradition to little girls across the nation:

This leaked screengrab of Garbrandt choking Dillashaw getting turned into a meme, is why we love and hate the Internet.

Arrianny Celeste is selling a beer pong table with her likeness pictured thereon … and the jokes abound.

Bas Rutten having fun, as he always does, back in 1995.

Tommy Toehold Post-Mortem:

These audience shots are ALWAYS about awkwardly long for some reason. Most people struggle to fill that void with a meaningful gesture, and Luke Rockhold is no exception.

Michael Chiesa met social media playboy, Dan Bilzerian.

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Quick Hits

• Tony Ferguson got paid his show money of $250,000, according to Dana White, although “El Cucuy” says he hasn’t gotten a penny yet. He sounds pretty salty, too, which is understandable. My question is, who was threatening him online and making him feel his family wasn’t completely safe? He makes it sound as though that hate was linked to the Khabib Nurmagomedov bout.

• Khabib released a statement of regret at missing UFC 209.
• Eddie Alvarez wants back in that title mix after Nate Diaz turned him down. Michael Chiesa, meanwhile, is gunning for Eddie:

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Slips, Rips and KO Clips

I had been looking for video of this sweet transition from Cynthia Calvillo on the main card of UFC 209:

I didn’t catch this “Prelims” fight, but that’s a nice crucifix finish.

Petty. Just petty.

Left hooks are a bit of theme tonight on the regional circuit.

This was one of my favorite moments from the weekend, and definitely something I’ve got to try in training someday:

Another look:

Fabio Maldonado winning with his signature body punches:

Another delayed reaction, this time to a body knee:

Foreign MMA is a circus … I believe this is in Russia:

“That was easy!”

Maybe its because I called this — or because it shouldn’t happen — but I still draw immense pleasure from Old Man Kelly beating Rashad Evans.

I’ve always thought these were useless strikes, but I guess not:

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Podcasts and Video

MMAmania.com has a new podcast on Soundcloud! Be sure to subscribe.

Bisping-GSP – ‘By the Numbers:’

“The MMA Hour:”

The Co-Main Event podcast:

The Severe MMA podcast:

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Random Land

Way to take the magic away, except for the part where somehow Peter Dinklage’s acting becomes all the more impressive to watch.

Watch until the end.

Stay woke, Maniacs!