Midnight Mania! Mac Begs Boxing World: Stop Betting Your Own Purse!

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

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: Fighter A bets his entire fight purse that he beats Fighter B, who matches his offer in an imaginary pot. What was originally a bold display of confidence is now a bit of a cliche, particularly after Jake Paul has tried to bet his purse multiple times now.

Good thing Tommy Fury fumbled that bag.

The latest combat sports athletes to fall victim to the trend are Ryan Garcia and Gervonta Davis, who are scheduled to collide in a huge event this Saturday (April 22, 2023) at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Earlier this week, Davis fell victim to the purse betting trap, and Garcia played into it.

As a result, an unlikely voice of reason has emerged. Conor McGregor, no stranger to pre-fight promotional antics, took to Twitter to beg the combat sports world to stop with this silliness.

“Has any competing fighters bet their purse against each other and then followed thru?” McGregor pondered on Twitter. “We should stop doing this. Fighting is tough. It can go anyway. Luck plays a hell of a part. Don’t be saying you are betting your fight purse against each other. Because it never happens. And it’s stupid. Train hard. Fight hard. Earn your dough. And then enjoy it. God bless.”

After his appeal to good sense, McGregor was asked if he would bet his purse against Michael Chandler, whom he’s expected to face at some point later this year. Calm and wise McGregor continued, though he of course didn’t miss a chance to remind the world of his star power and mega salary.

“I make substantially more than everyone on the roster combined so it’s not feasible,” he replied. “I could bet a portion however. But it’s ridiculous, and no. This game, and the longer you are in it, gets tougher and tougher. I’m keeping my hard earned money for my loved ones.”

Lastly, Khabib’s name came up, and there remains no love lost between that duo.

Insomnia

I thought that Indigenous People’s Day was the October replacement for Columbus Day, but I’m not about to argue with Alex Pereira.

PFL is continuing to do PFL numbers with little recognizable growth.

Can UFC make Jan Blachowicz vs. Paulo Costa happen? Seeing as Costa just signed a new contract that he’s allegedly very happy about, I’m not sure what the obstacle is here.

Classic Brendan Schaub moment.

Canadian talent Michael Malott has been petitioning for a spot on UFC 289, and now he’s calling out Robbie Lawler as a potential dance partner.

Joaquin Buckley’s move to Welterweight is long overdue, and I’m excited to see how he does without a significant height and reach disadvantage.

Filthy.

Slips, rips, and KO clips

Lost in his absurd wrestling dominance is the simple fact that Khabib’s submission game was also really f—king awesome. There’s a reason you never saw other grinders like Kamaru Usman falling to their backs and locking up triangles!

Catch the kick and fire!

I’ve sparred with many of the CSA ladies, and they will beat your ass if you let ‘em!

Random Land

Reader submission, and it’s a wild one.

Midnight Music: Indie rock, 1993

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