Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Bringing you the weird and wild from the world of MMA each and every weeknight!
Welcome to Midnight Mania!
Aljamain Sterling is on one hell of a tear. “The Funkmaster” has won five straight bouts over high-quality competition, showcasing consistent improvement. In his last bout, Sterling faced one of his division’s fastest-rising new contenders in Cory Sandhagen, strangling the expert kickboxer in less than 90 seconds (WATCH IT).
Sterilng is ranked No. 2 at 135-pounds, and most would agree he’s the most deserving contender for Petr Yan’s first title defense. However, UFC President Dana White remains hesitant to confirm Sterling as the next fighter in line.
As such, Sterling has gone on the offensive online, doing his best to create some hype for his potential showdown with “No Mercy.”
Sterling wrote, “Paper Yan is a paper champion. His resume is single ply, too thin to even wipe my ass with it. Hasn’t beaten a single guy in the top five. So you know I’m coming on that [peach emoji ]no tissues….pause!”
Beyond the bathroom trash talk, Yan vs. Sterling is simply a fight that makes a lot of sense. Sterling has merit to his argument that Yan has yet to face a fighter currently ranked in the top five, even if Jose Aldo did show his excellent in his losing effort to Yan. Sterling has wins over two top five opponents, and he’s also perhaps the biggest wrestling threat to Yan at 135 lbs.
If the two do face off, who ya’ got?
Insomnia
Bare Knuckle really is a holdout from a bygone era.
Israel Adesanya is one smart cookie.
Reading an old article and Adesanya called exactly how he would beat Whittaker 2 months in advance pic.twitter.com/eaUxrBfqqT
— Abhinav (@AbhinavMMA) July 22, 2020
Fun with photoshop!
Some footage from the latest EA UFC game. I haven’t played one since the first iteration, but who’s excited for this one? Who hates it?
True to the clip’s promise, this is indeed a sneaky elbow!
Get a first look at Alexander Volkanovski’s forthcoming children’s book!
This guy demonstrates better technique in this street (parking garage) fight than a fair percentage of amateur fighters!
Slips, rips, and KO clips
An absolutely perfect slip inside the jab and left uppercut:
#OnThisDay in 1951, Jersey Joe Walcott captured the heavyweight title with this unforgettable 7th round one-punch KO of Ezzard Charles in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania #boxing #history pic.twitter.com/kjb9XeKcsa
— Boxing History (@BoxingHistory) July 18, 2020
If the choke is under the chin, that’s enough! Feeling too comfortable in such a threatening position is a common reason strangles like this work out.
Malin Hermansson cinches up the RNC against Ana Maria Pal. No hooks required, Caol Uno style #BraveCF35 pic.twitter.com/0IOwaLldqe
— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) July 20, 2020
Head kick from the open side is perhaps the most dangerous single shot in MMA.
Mihai Laurentiu KO’s Ioan Vrânceanu pic.twitter.com/iOE4KJmzty
— Streetfight Banned-cho (@streetfitebncho) July 20, 2020
Random Land
Add this big ol’ hand to the must-see list.
Midnight Music: The Rolling Stones released a previously “lost” collaboration with Jimmy Page from 1974, and it sounds like what one would expect for a ‘70s Stones and Led Zeppelin collab!
Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.