Midnight Mania! Jones: Blachowicz Not Ready For Title Shot

Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

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There was supposed to be a lot on the line for Jan Blachowicz (25-8) over the weekend. A suc…

MMA: UFC 239-Jones vs Santos

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!

There was supposed to be a lot on the line for Jan Blachowicz (25-8) over the weekend. A successful performance opposite Ronaldo Souza (26-8-1) was supposed to push him into the immediate title picture, as the 36-year-old Polish striker has generally been doing quite well as of late. Unfortunately, the split-decision win turned out to be something of a ho-hum performance, one which inspired little hope of a title bout with Jon Jones (25-1 (1)).

Still, Blachowicz took his shot backstage after the win.

Jones, however, does not at all seem convinced and has responded as such:

Jones makes a fair point, as Blachowicz’s callout is hardly one that inspires confidence. Still, is there anyone at 205 lbs. who is ready for “Bones” right now? Probably not. Currently, it seems the UFC intends to push Dominick Reyes (12-0) into a title shot next, but he could certainly use another fight or two worth of experience before stepping into the cage with an all-time great.

Unless Jones opts for a brief trip to Heavyweight, there aren’t many deserving challenges available for him right now.

Insomnia

I’m still not pretending it was a great fight, but this is always nice to see!

Maybe the pad holder shouldn’t be half the size of the kicker?

How long until Bare Knuckle FC brings over a Lethwei guy from Myanmar?

Alright, I need someone to explain to me what exactly happened here — I can offer readers no explanation.

This little clip hints at just how awesome it is to watch Cody Garbrandt and Song Yadong spar. Those dudes are freaking fast.

Further reading on Ben Askren’s hip injury that contributed to his decision to retirement:

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Ben Askren’s Retirement: Hip Arthritis •••••••••••••••••••••••••• Former Bellator & OneFC champion and Olympic wrestler, @benaskren , just retired from MMA. His reason was citing the damage to his hip which would require a total hip replacement while on the @arielhelwani show. . The decision for requiring a total hip replacement are based on his subjective symptoms (pain and a lack of hip mobility), the degree of cartilage damage, osteoarthritis (OA) and joint narrowing in his hip and his surgeon deemed this the most appropriate action. . What is a total hip replacement? A joint resurfacing shaving away the bone damage and replacing with an artificial covering to coat the interface between acetabulum and femur. . Signs for Hip OA in people with unilateral hip pain: •Moderate Anterior/Lateral hip pain with weight bearing activities •Morning stiffness less than 1 hour •Hip internal rotation and flexion <15 degrees of ROM compared to nonpainful side •Hip IR <24 degrees •Increased pain with passive IR . Advise as a physical therapist I feel it is critical for maintaining hip mobility to minimize the progression of hip osteoarthritis. . I wish the former champion the best of luck in retirement. . Reference: 1??Cibulka, M. T., Bloom, N. J., Enseki, K. R., MacDonald, C. W., Woehrle, J., & McDonough, C. M. (2017). Hip pain and mobility deficits—hip osteoarthritis: revision 2017: clinical practice guidelines linked to the international classification of functioning, disability and health from the orthopaedic section of the American Physical Therapy Association. Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy, 47(6), A1-A37.

A post shared by Mike Piekarski, PT, DPT, OCS (@doctor_kickass) on

I swear I was going to shut up about my own fight until the video/my write up was posted, but the Team Alpha Male page put together this side-by-side, and I think it’s neat!

Same skill = best posts.

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Same skill and you can try

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Slips, rips, and KO clips

An Anthony Johnson vs. Alexander Gustafsson-esque knockout:

Sean O’Malley may be a bit of a goofy character, but the man can strike.

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March 18th 2017. 6th pro fight.

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Teeps and knees!

Random Land

Let’s end tonight’s post with some acrobatics.

Midnight Music: I’m pretty confident that I like proto-punk more than actual punk rock (which is not meant as an insult to punk).

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