Midnight Mania! ‘Lionheart’ on DC’s Future at 205: ‘He Knows Right Now’

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Welcome to Midnight Mania!

Anthony “Lionheart” Smith, fresh off his huge knockout of Mauricio “Shogun” Rua in the main event of UFC: Hamburg, has some thoughts on the state of the light heavyweight division. Via MMAFighting.com:

“The top of the division is a disaster right now. ‘Shogun’ was supposed to be next and now he’s not. No one knows what’s going on with Cormier. I think that that’s the first step, we need to figure out if Cormier’s staying or going. I’ve said this before, I think that Daniel is an honorable man and it wouldn’t be a very honorable thing to do to hold up the division. He knows right now. You guys could ask him 100 times and he won’t tell you, but he knows if he’s coming back down or not, and I think that he needs to make that public so we can figure out what we’re all doing.”

Smith had attempted to call out Alexander Gustafsson after making quick work of Shogun, but as it turned out, Gustafsson had suffered some minor injuries and was no longer fighting at UFC 227.

“That’s ironic, isn’t it?” Smith said at the UFC Hamburg post-fight press conference. “It’s kinda weird how that works out. He needed an opponent yesterday. What happened between then and now? I don’t know, but that’s mighty ironic.”

Smith is completely right about Cormier’s future at light heavyweight. Gustafsson has speculated that Cormier is never cutting to 205 lbs. again, and frankly it makes no sense to jeopardize what surely would be his biggest payday ever for the lesser-known contenders at light heavyweight. Cormier will no doubt attempt to hold onto both belts for as long as he can, but it isn’t fair to the contenders- including the “entitled” Alexander Gustafsson– to hold up the belt while waiting for Lesnar to make it through six months of drug testing.

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Insomnia

Nick Newell is here to be an inspiration, but not just because he’s got one hand. He fights tomorrow night on the Tuesday Night Contender Series.

Mike Perry wonders why anyone would risk their lives for an obscure sport.

I would watch Alex Volkanovski vs. Chad Mendes in a heartbeat.

This deeply disturbs me for whatever reason. Sage Northcutt should not have reposted this cursed image.

Eddie Alvarez’s response to what he was thinking when he landed those illegal knees: he wasn’t thinking. It was just a moment of pure instinct.

When I was this age I played soccer, and there was a black girl built like a miniature tank and she also ran me over just like this. All that to say, I empathize very much with the kids getting ran over.

Oddball strongman Bud Jeffries trains to be Thor and I’m very entertained by it.

So true.

I feel for Marc Diakese, who showed improvement yet still got wrecked for a third consecutive loss by Nasrat Haqparast, whose name is extremely fun to say.

Who did this to Mark Hunt? It’s perfect.

Don’t mess with this guy. He will end you.

I just assume a large number of you can relate to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu memes, and the resigned terror of rolling with a black belt.

Daniel Cormier using his best Dad voice to scold Alexander Gustafsson. I wonder how different the world would be now if Gustafsson had taken that split decision in Houston in 2015.

Zabit Magomedsharipov showing us his roots in kung fu competition

Suga Sean O’Malley smoking a joint while hitting pads is extremely on-brand for him.

You can see the strong MMA influence in this street fight. The sport has changed the world forever.

I can appreciate this approach, and the joke.

In the dudevorce of the week, Floyd Mayweather is tearing his old pal 50 Cent apart. It seems doubtful based on this screed that 50 Cent really got a million dollars from Bellator for his phrase, “Get the Strap”.

It is good to see Brian Ortega did finally receive some compensation (though he doesn’t specify what) for his expenses prior to his cancelled bout with Max Holloway at UFC 226.

I can’t wait for The Korean Zombie, Chan Sung Jung, to return against the Answer, Frankie Edgar.

Invicta allows fighters to express their creativity in ways the UFC can’t because they made the disastrous Reebok deal.

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Slips, Rips, KO Clips

I don’t know about knockout of the year but this was a solid KO

The delayed collapse KO is a classic subspecies of knockout I find particularly pleasing, aesthetically.

Remember when Erik Silva was the Next Big Thing at welterweight? Good to know he’s still out there getting dropped and then snatching armbars.

This shouldn’t be illegal in a grappling competition, but that’s just my two cents.

I got a strong feeling of deja vu watching this, which means I’ve been compiling KO highlights for too long.

Ran right into it

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Random Land

This seems safe and not at all dangerous.

I love this old picture posted by Disney imagineer Joe Rohde, and his explanation of the unpredictability of the future.

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SwitchKick

I have a personal project I’ve been working on for the better part of a year in between writing Midnight Mania for you, and my day job. It is live on Kickstarter starting today– it has nothing to do with combat sports, but feel free to consider sharing and pledging if it’s something you’re into. Here’s me explaining what its about- you can learn more at SwitchKick.org.

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