Bringing you the weird and wild from the world of MMA each and every weeknight!
Welcome to Midnight Mania!
Conor McGregor made headlines over the weekend by getting into a mildly physical altercation with rapper Machine Gun Kelly. Details regarding the source of the conflict were scarce and often contradictory. There were some claims that McGregor wanted a picture with “MGK,” while others implied that the Irish athlete was in the DMs of Kelly’s girlfriend, Megan Fox.
McGregor and DMing drama; that sounds strangely familiar.
At any rate, the altercation gained enough hype that there are now boxing odds available between the two if anyone would like a bookie to hold onto their money pointlessly for a year or two. In fact, McGregor confirmed today that it’s “all love” between the two.
“I’ll tell you what happened,” McGregor told Adam’s Apple (via MMAJunkie). “I’ll tell you what it is. I’m free here in New York City, you know what I mean? I’m back in New York. I got to go to the Barclays Center. I got to present an award. I was just going to have a good time, you know what I mean? That’s it. All love. It’s all good. Come to the next fight. Come watch me perform any time. I’ll perform, no problem. Everyone is more than welcome to come to my fights, to the shows.”
Hopefully this award at the Barclays Center remains uneventful and dolly-free! Continuing to squash the beef, McGregor also explained that he doesn’t really know Kelly at all.
“(There’s) no beef,” McGregor said. “I don’t even know the guy. I don’t even know him. Who is he? You’re telling me he’s been at the fights. Megan has been at the fights (for) years. Megan has been at the fights (for) years. I know Megan. I don’t know the guy. There’s no problem. Come to the fights. There’s no problem.”
Sounds like this bit of drama is over and done with.
The Return Of Shameless Self-Promotion
It’s fight week, and there’s not much left to do now but make weight and compete! A major thanks to everyone for the continued support. While the banner is closed off, the various fight camp support options are still open for anyone interested (venmo: AndyLRichardson (1572), PayPal, GoFundMe page). Otherwise, tune in on UFC Fight Pass this Thursday night!
Insomnia
A new (old) challenger emerges!
THAT’S THE FIGHT pic.twitter.com/mGt0rkoLPi
— Keith Ó Gealbháin (@KeithGalvin) September 13, 2021
Some UFC reps making the rounds to other pro sports — a side effect of the ESPN deal?
Yesterday, Michael Buffer at Rams game.
Tonight Bruce Buffer at Raiders game pic.twitter.com/1bRWT8UcX8
— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) September 14, 2021
His first pitch in the big leagues! pic.twitter.com/B9u7qsvVg8
— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) September 13, 2021
Some humanity and sportsmanship between soon-to-be opponents Nasrat Haqparast and Dan Hooker:
Big John McCarthy cannot help but find himself in outdoor shenanigans, but at least this one ended better than the tree incident!
The duality of Tito Ortiz cannot be contained even by his considerable dome.
A wholesome epilogue to the Triller fights pic.twitter.com/wCWWGepgNA
— Borrachinha Depot (@FullContactMTWF) September 13, 2021
Tito’s complaining that Anderson illegally punched him in the back of the head. (The Instagram post got deleted.) pic.twitter.com/WRI9X59kDv
— Borrachinha Depot (@FullContactMTWF) September 14, 2021
An interesting mix of knuckle/wrist strengthening plus reaction training from Lomachenko!
Charles Oliveira’s kickboxing improvement has been a joy to watch.
Warmin’ up#UFC#UFCBrasil #UFCnoCombate #ESPN pic.twitter.com/XoSgKbh5eT
— Charles Oliveira (@CharlesDoBronxs) September 13, 2021
Ricky Simon is still angling for the Sean O’Malley fight, and I’d still really like to see it!
Loser shaves their head? https://t.co/A9rbZU54vV
— Ricky Simón (@RickySimonUFC) September 13, 2021
Slips, rips, and KO clips
SUMO!
Day3: Komusubi Ichinoj? (L) vs ?zeki Takakeish?. Ichi goes right on offensive likely because he knows TKS isn’t himself. Hard to watch. #akibasho2021 pic.twitter.com/VIyQPvpAX9
— Sumo Soul ??? (@TheSumoSoul) September 14, 2021
Day3: ?zeki Sh?dai (L) vs Hokut?fuji. HTF’s is 2-0 and his win vs Mitake ystrdy was convincing but he only has a 2-9 matchup record with SD. #akibasho2021 pic.twitter.com/35XcexAGDZ
— Sumo Soul ??? (@TheSumoSoul) September 14, 2021
Hard punches, big throws, quality transitions — Gukov looks like a problem!
Impressive showing by “The Ruthless Kid” Albert Gukov submitting Daniyar Zaripbek in R1. The 22-year-old improves his record to 11-1 #OpenFC10 pic.twitter.com/wIZQuXX0mj
— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) September 12, 2021
A very young Sergio Pettis handles business:
Random Land
An urban climber is bamboozled by a sliding glass door:
Midnight Music: An all-time great OutKast track!
Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.