Midnight Mania! McGregor Being ‘Protected’ From Masvidal?

Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

Bringing you the weird and wild from the world of MMA each and every weeknight! Welcome to Midnight Mania!
Earlier in the week, Jorge Masvidal’s manager, Abraham Kawa, explained that Masvidal would onl…

MMA: UFC 239-Masvidal vs Askren

Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

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

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

Earlier in the week, Jorge Masvidal’s manager, Abraham Kawa, explained that Masvidal would only accept two possible fights: a championship showdown with Kamaru Usman or major money fight with Conor McGregor. After his massive flying knee knockout at UFC 239, Masvidal was certainly has some leverage, but UFC president Dana White pretty quickly shot down the idea of McGregor vs. Masvidal.

As a result, Kawa told MMAJunkie earlier today that he believed the promotion was protecting the Irishman from Masvidal, saying “God bless Dana, he’s protecting Conor. He wants to make sure Conor doesn’t get his ass whooped. And that’s fine.”

Luckily, hope is not lost for Masvidal, who Kawa states has “crossed over into that sphere of Conor and Nate.” There’s still hopes that he’ll be the next title challenger, largely dependent upon the upcoming result of Colby Covington’s main event slot opposite Robbie Lawler. Seeing as Covington and Masvidal are room mates and close friends, it certainly seems like one of the Floridian duo is destined for a title shot in 2019.

As for McGregor, the Irishman has not yet answered Masvidal’s callout, likely because he’s busy retiring on Twitter and awaiting the result of Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Dustin Poirier. It may not be his first choice, but it’s definitely a high-profile option for McGregor if he’s unable to secure another immediate shot at Lightweight gold.

Insomnia

This is a new level of trash talk: Greg Hardy’s baby mama is in Juan Adams’ DMs talking about how Hardy is a bad father.

Contrary to what the Internet says, not all wildlife in Australia is deadly.

There’s a lot on the line tomorrow for “Rocky.”

View this post on Instagram

Rocky’s story (via @marcraimondimma)

A post shared by ESPN MMA (@espnmma) on

All gold everything.

View this post on Instagram

Ta-da!

A post shared by ????????? Amanda Nunes (@amanda_leoa) on

Tit-for-tat

Problem-solving in the WME-IMG era.

#BlackGuysWithHands

Perspective is everything!

View this post on Instagram

Focused #cheeks • • • • : @ericcoleman

A post shared by Eryk Anders (@erykanders) on

One of perhaps a dozen classic Urijah Faber speeches.

Slips, rips, and KO clips

A fundamental principle in wrestling — displayed in this sumo match — is that if the head is looking downward, the body will follow.

Big man with a big jump knee.

View this post on Instagram

Rocky’s story (via @marcraimondimma)

A post shared by ESPN MMA (@espnmma) on

View this post on Instagram

Ta-da!

A post shared by ????????? Amanda Nunes (@amanda_leoa) on

View this post on Instagram

Focused #cheeks • • • • : @ericcoleman

A post shared by Eryk Anders (@erykanders) on

The use of the teep to set up the knee (and vice-versa) here is pretty brilliant.

Random Land

After the comments of Monday night’s post, I feel obligated to end the week with one last China post.

Can’t we all just get along?

Midnight Music: On a friend’s recommendation, I listened to the new Drugdealer album Raw Honey and liked it. For anyone who loves the ‘70s and is looking for some psych pop, it’s worth a listen.

Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.