Midnight Mania! Till Talks (Alleged) Taxi Theft!

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Welcome to Midnight Mania!

When Darren Till lost his undefeated status and consecutive fights, it was unclear how the Englishman would react. When Till then made headlines for allegedly stealing a taxi and deleted all his social media in response, the worst was collectively assumed. Luckily, Till seemed to avoid major consequences, paying a fine quickly to move past the whole event.

It’s been a couple months since the incident, and Till decided to open up about the specifics in an interview with Fighters Only. Till downplayed the incident considerably, explaining that it was simply a night with his buddies gone wrong. Transcription courtesy of MMAJunkie:

“I won’t name no names, but a taxi was not stolen – well, it was stolen and drove around the block a few times. I went (to) the scene. I was somewhere else. I had left the hotel, as well. Then when the police were rounding everyone up, they (saw) me. Straight away, the police was like, ‘Darren Till.’ And I was like, ‘Yeah,’ and I knew what was going on. I was like, ‘It’s all going to fall on me.’”

However, it appears Till’s relative level of fame wasn’t all bad news, even if it earned him unwanted publicity the Daily Mail. In exchange for a follow on Instagram, one of the officers guarding Till brought the knockout artist some food to his cell. In the end, Till writes it off as a “stupid, silly thing… many lads on stark holidays do” and seems ready to move forward.

I guess when you’ve been stabbed twice and left for dead in a pub, a night in a foreign jail isn’t that noteworthy.

Insomnia

The addition of low kicks to Francis Ngannou’s game brings me great joy. Such a simple, smart adjustment!

Over the weekend, the Cage Warriors main event was declared a “No Contest” due to mass amounts of blood. Can’t say I’ve seen that before!

This is a great highlight of the insanely talented Bantamweight division, which rarely produces boring fights.

Ever seen a man throw a headbutt during a mitt session?

After everyone and their mother has done it, I’m officially over the #BottleCapChallenge.

Whether you plan to pull guard or not, this is why it’s best to practice jiu-jitsu from the feet at least occasionally.

Mike Perry with the Monday mood.

Slips, Rips, and KO clips

The Japanese necktie has been my favorite submission for the past year or two. It’s a variation of a d’arce that puts a ton of pressure on the neck crank as well, and it doesn’t need to be secured as tightly. On the occasion that I submit a high-level grappler in the gym (my rank/skill or higher), it’s probably with this choke.

Also, Mads Burnell never should’ve been released, the 25-year-old is super talented.

One of the heaviest overhands that you’ll see this year

It’s a power guillotine (or rear naked choke grip guillotine) from a funky angle. When the choke is that deep, the position really doesn’t matter!

Random Land

Raccoons do not know fear.

Happy Canada Day!

Midnight Music: I spent my writing time catching up on recent releases, and Black Midi’s album Schlagenheim definitely stood out. Four very talented young Brits got together and crafted an album that does not comfortably fit in any one genre, though it definitely could be called math rock. It’s experimental, noisy, and energetic. At some points, a song will begin to build in what seems like a conventional — even catchy — direction only to explode with noise or break down into weirdness.

I like it.

Sleep well Maniacs! There’s always more martial arts madness on the way.