Bringing you that weird and wild from the world of MMA as always
Welcome, Midnight Maniacs!
Israel Adesanya dropped some verbal bombs today on Anderson Silva today, revealing that he had initially been reluctant to fight his hero, but now that the fight is booked, he is looking to assume Silva’s mantle of greatness- “I’ll take the torch by force if I have to.”
“I get to fucking beat the guy that actually put me on in the game. So it’s the perfect story.”
“He’s been the greatest middleweight champion of all time. But I’ll take it from here. I’ll take the torch by force if I have to.” #UFC234
— Bestrafer7 (@Bestrafer7) November 26, 2018
He also said that he’s been studying Silva his entire career, and claimed he knows Silva better than the Spider knows himself. Silva famously said that his ideal opponent would be a clone of himself. Adesanya is saying he is that clone- but better.
Adesanya “If you want to fight your clone, you can fight me. But I’m better than your clone because I’ve studied every single thing you’ve done and every fucking move you made,”
“I know this man better than he knows himself.” #MMAHour #UFC234
— Bestrafer7 (@Bestrafer7) November 26, 2018
Adesanya, “The Last Stylebender”, is in many ways the spiritual successor to “The Spider”. Silva was for years known as the best striker in mixed martial arts, looking nigh untouchable during his 16-fight unbeaten streak, including 10 title defenses as middleweight champion. Adesanya, 75-5-1 in kickboxing, brings a truly elite track record to mixed martial arts, a record he has backed up by going 4-0 in his first year with the company. His latest win was a highlight-reel KO of Derek Brunson at UFC 230, leaving him one fight from a title shot.
This will most likely be the last opportunity to see these two striking savants in a cage together. Anderson Silva is not who he was at the height of his powers. Does the old Jedi master still have a few last tricks up his sleeve? Or will the young lion be too much for him?
Insomnia
Will this be the scene at UFC 234?
This interview with Jon Jones is truly fascinating, a man who boldly proclaims his innocence in the face of evidence, while touting Lance Armstrong as the example of USADA’s legitimacy. He truly is one of a kind.
Here is some of the interaction between Max Kellerman and Jon Jones (@JonnyBones) on First Take this morning, which Jones just referenced on his Twitter account. pic.twitter.com/OQLGdwGXvP
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) November 26, 2018
Jon Jones and former training partner and foe Rashad Evans traded words on Twitter over the weekend. Jones claims that any theory saying he normally juices, but was clean for the Ovince St. Preux fight makes no sense because he was bigger for that fight than any before it… but being big isn’t what all steroids do. A lot of PEDs, like the ones Lance Armstrong took, help with endurance, which Jones was having some issues with in that bout.
First of all I never accused you of cheating. What I did say was in the fight with OSP you had a bit of ring rust. I worked broadcasting that night and I even said then you were different. I alluded to nerves and what you been through. I keep it real. I dont speak bad about you.
— Rashad Evans (@SugaRashadEvans) November 25, 2018
What in the world is going on at Combate Americas?
Things are heating up as we get closer to #CopaCombate ! We do MMA BIGGER AND BETTER . pic.twitter.com/QtGp8QmOe5
— Combate Americas (@combateamericas) November 26, 2018
Daniel Cormier really enjoys sparring day
Strap up and go to work! I’m not sure any person should be this excited about getting into a fist fight! These are the best times!! @cowboywrestling #dcchamp #WeAreAKA #grinder #kingofthegrind pic.twitter.com/Pfz4Rev27s
— Daniel Cormier (@dc_mma) November 26, 2018
Sometimes stuff is just impressive
This was by far the funniest part of the weekend. These officials evidently had no idea Tito digs the grave after his wins.
— Jed I. Goodman (@jedigoodman) November 25, 2018
Fighter was just grazed by an illegal soccer kick at WOCS and gave an Oscar worthy performance. Give him the Georgi Karakhanyan lifetime achievement award. pic.twitter.com/IJewAidDE0
— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) November 24, 2018
This made most of us kinda sad, even if we knew it was coming.
Chuck still celebrated like a champion though
This guy was living his best life and so was his human.
Shoutout to the dude who brought his dog to #LiddellOrtiz3 pic.twitter.com/GbyrH78Rf2
— Jonathan of Kowloon & Geylang (@GlobeSvcs) November 25, 2018
Mickey Rourke just looks rough these days.
When a soccer player turns to MMA:
Fighter was just grazed by an illegal soccer kick at WOCS and gave an Oscar worthy performance. Give him the Georgi Karakhanyan lifetime achievement award. pic.twitter.com/IJewAidDE0
— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) November 24, 2018
Something’s happening here. What it is ain’t exactly clear.
There are worse fighting gimics
Sadly, Jean Pascal did not succeed this weekend.
Eryk Anders has been doing tape study
These are fun. A lot of your favorite fighters looked weird as kids
Frank Shamrock fan art
Meditation ??? pic.twitter.com/GVmdxHAlTZ
— Frank Shamrock (@frankshamrock) November 24, 2018
Curtis Blaydes is going to keep the same energy off a loss as he had on his win streak. He will surely be back.
Took one on the chin tonight, I will be back with the same confidence #sometimesyourthenail #minorsetback #tooyoungtostopnow
— Curtis Blaydes (@RazorBlaydes265) November 24, 2018
Michael Bisping told Anderson Silva to get over himself.
He won, but let’s listen in to one last Tito Ortiz clip that makes zero sense:
#LiddellOrtiz3 pic.twitter.com/xNXd4SNhGo
— Borrachinha Depot (@FullContactMTWF) November 24, 2018
Kevin Holland also had a great sophomore win at middleweight, his first UFC victory after a fun but losing debut against Thiago Santos.
Much love @JohnPhillipsmma you threw some bombs and also absorbed some good shots that I threw. That’s the type of scrap I live for! FIGHT GAME #ufc #ufcbeijing pic.twitter.com/BpHJggEn7q
— Kevin Holland (@Trailblaze2top) November 24, 2018
Louis Smolka had a great win back in the UFC- he knows his motivation.
It’s all for you little one, daddy loves you. Thank you @ufc for having me back and giving me the chance to give her a future pic.twitter.com/PJzECdACXJ
— Louis Smolka (@LASTSAMURAIUFC) November 24, 2018
I didn’t know this. “add oil” is kind of a cool idiom.
I think the best translation for “jiayou” would be to Spanish – “Vamos”. To English, I’d say “let’s go” or “Come on!”
Sometimes you’ll see Chinese ppl writing +oil as a translation. https://t.co/NXiEcydLYk
— Jonathan of Kowloon & Geylang (@GlobeSvcs) November 24, 2018
There is a lot of fighting happening this weekend.
Live Combat Sport Schedule: 11/28 – 12/2
Full schedule here: https://t.co/WzdZHpk4vf pic.twitter.com/P1GzZFDdx4
— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) November 26, 2018
Slips, Rips, and KO Clips
In some Lethwei rulesets, they don’t end a fight at a knockout. Sometimes they give a fighter a two-minute timeout. It sounds like a great recipe for secondary concussions, but Lethwei is crazy like that.
KO by Phoe La Pyae forces a timeout on his opponent in round 3. pic.twitter.com/7H03NBxB7J
— inxxane (@inxxane) November 26, 2018
The smile beforehand
hellbow !
Payak-Samui KOs Muhammad Khalil (Thai Fight) pic.twitter.com/0nrcV5CQU9— Jolassanda (@Jolassanda) November 24, 2018
Kevin Holland is the fun action fighter middleweight needs
WOW!@Trailblaze2top is unleashing all his moves in round one! #UFCBeijing pic.twitter.com/vY93lIssSe
— UFC (@ufc) November 24, 2018
Back-to-back subs at #UFCBeijing!@Trailblaze2top shows his whole arsenal as he gets the round three finish! pic.twitter.com/31zPq2W86H
— UFC (@ufc) November 24, 2018
Houston’s own Alex Morono is doing our local scene proud
For a couple of years now, Alex Morono has been one of my favorite trivial UFC talents. He’s incredibly self-aware, stages fun brawls and generally succeeds in a deep division whilst fighting like an orangutan. I’m glad to see him win. #UFCBeijing pic.twitter.com/ZWSW9iIcxF
— Kyle Johnson (@Maldobabo) November 24, 2018
When Overeem was UBEREEM
Alistair Overeem vs. Ewerton Teixeira – 2009 K-1 World Grand Prix Quarterfinals #UFCBeijing pic.twitter.com/3LZh0OY0O1
— Bestrafer7 (@Bestrafer7) November 22, 2018
Great combination
911: “911 Emergency”
Me: “I’d like Ricky Palacios charged with murder!” #LiddellOrtiz3 pic.twitter.com/1Y3pTWmz7t
— Dave Madden (@DaveMMAdden) November 25, 2018
One of my favorite knockouts
1 of the best punches ever thrown
9-1 underdog Jersey Joe Walcott destroyed Ezzard Charles at the 3rd time of asking to win the world heavyweight title. Ring Magazine Fight Of The Year 1951. pic.twitter.com/sQzbpLOsIk
— EditinKing Boxing (@EditinKing) November 24, 2018
Sleep well, Maniacs! A better tomorrow is always possible. Follow me on Twitter and Facebook @Vorpality