Bringing you the weird and wild from the world of MMA each and every weeknight!
Welcome to Midnight Mania!
Rose Namajunas’ performance last weekend (Sat. May 7, 2022) at UFC 274 was baffling. Seemingly able to defend her opponent’s takedowns and top control without much effort, “Thug Rose” still refused to let her offense fly and lost a split-decision to Carla Esparza as a result.
Who’s to blame? Some pointed to the corner of Pat Barry and Trevor Wittman, who seemed to give Namajunas conflicting messages and told the former champion that she was winning. Barry responded to these claims on The MMA Hour, pointing to a slippery canvas as holding Namajunas’ up.
Barry also addressed another issue: the origin of his relationship with Namajunas. Recently, outspoken Middleweight contender Sean Strickland accused Barry of grooming Namajunas, and the former kickboxer wanted to set the record straight about when they started dating. He also laid some of the blame for UFC 274 at Strickland’s feet!
“This whole Sean Strickland thing that is all over the place everywhere,” Barry said (via BJPenn.com). “Years ago, Rose did an interview and said ‘I joined Rufussport when I was 14 years ago, and then I left Rufussport for a few years. Then I came back to Rufussport, to pursue my MMA career, and that’s where I met my fiancee Pat Barry’. When the guy wrote the interview up, he wrote ‘Rose Namajunas joined Rufussport when she was 14 years old where she met her fiance Pat Barry, when she was 14 years old’.
Pat Barry continued, “That’s where everyone is getting this s—t from, a botched interview. That’s where everyone is getting all that from because someone decided to write it that way. It must’ve seemed credible and they just run with it. It’s those types of things everywhere that cause Rose to get into the fight with Carla, and be emotional.”
Never one to stay quiet, it didn’t take Strickland long to respond to the above quote. Unsurprisingly, Strickland did not recant, instead doubling down on his previous accusations.
Here’s the thing guys 99 percent of what I say is usually wrong.. This is not that time.. @rosenamajunas @TheAspenLadd like my post if you need help. I’ll treat Pat Berry and Jim West like they treat minor.. Without consent, although it won’t be behind closed doors lmao! https://t.co/caZfbGiWLn
— Sean Strickland (@SStricklandMMA) May 12, 2022
Insomnia
There is a 100% chance that Vicente Luque vs. Geoff Neal is a BANGFEST!
In the works … Vicente Luque (@VicenteLuqueMMA) vs. Geoff Neal (@handzofsteelmma) for a UFC Fight Night on Aug. 6, location TBD. Fun, important matchup in the UFC’s welterweight division. pic.twitter.com/paN8sYEklY
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) May 12, 2022
Another top-tier slugfest, this time courtesy of the Lightweight division:
Drakkar Klose vs Diego Ferreira slated for UFC 277 on July 30 in Dallas, sources say.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) May 12, 2022
I wish I didn’t found Paulo Costa’s social media presence so funny. The line between genius and idiot is so thin …
i could watch this movie my entire life pic.twitter.com/J3WxG4YYWg
— Paulo Costa ( Borrachinha ) (@BorrachinhaMMA) May 12, 2022
Be careful with chokes!
Daniel Cormier trying to deny Towel Gate with a straight face is hilarious. It worked and you won! Time for the tell all.
You really think I grabbed that towel? https://t.co/SYhv0F40Mq
— Daniel Cormier (@dc_mma) May 12, 2022
Thiago Alves is releasing an instruction series. “Pitbull” is an active BKFC champ and seems to have an important coaching role at ATT as well — good for the veteran!
Slips, rips, and KO clips
“El Cucuy” may be a bit cuckoo nowadays, but it’s more than worth clicking through this thread for the highlights of all his UFC finishes from the good ol’ days.
va mike rio pic.twitter.com/WB8x53lQNy
— boomgirl (@THERealBoomgirl) May 12, 2022
Sumo? Sumo!
Day5: Yokozuna Terunofuji (L) is expending more effort to beat foes, but even so is still a cut above foes. Hokut?fuji is only 1-3 so far and hasn’t beat TNF since back in 2017 when TNF was hobbled by his knee troubles, since TNF’s resurgence he’s won all 8 times straight. pic.twitter.com/RmUWI6IyWc
— Sumo Soul ??? (@TheSumoSoul) May 12, 2022
Day5: End? (L) vs ?zeki Sh?dai. It’s a 5-10 matchup favoring SD. End? likes left hand inside grip and good at catching foe off guard. SD mixes it up but likes a right hand inside grip. SD finally won ystrdy, a similar scenario to last basho. #natsubasho2022 pic.twitter.com/Xh1cjhVbbx
— Sumo Soul ??? (@TheSumoSoul) May 12, 2022
A “Groovy” Lando KO from a decade ago:
Random Land
Perspective is a tricky thing.
Midnight Music: My mom put forth a suggestion or two … Post-punk, 1983
Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.