Midnight Mania! ‘Stupid As F—king Dirt’

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Welcome to Midnight Mania!

Marvin Vettori seems to have hit his 185-pound ceiling.

Last weekend (Sat. June 17, 2023), Vettori was beaten from pillar-to-post by Jared Cannonier in the main event of UFC Vegas 75. Strike records were set at the expense of his face, and the 29-year-old Italian suffered his third loss to current members of the Top Five. Since 2016, he hasn’t lost to anyone beside those three athletes: Israel Adesanya, Robert Whittaker, and now Cannonier.

Losing to almost all of the men ranked above him severely limits Vettori’s options to climb up the ladder. His youth helps, but Vettori has been traveling around the world and training at various high-profile gyms, and it doesn’t seem to be enough to get him over this final hump.

Fortunately, his longtime sparring partner Sean Strickland has the answer. He knows what Vettori’s problem is and how to fix it! According to Strickland, Vettori needs better people around him, but he isn’t smart enough to realize the issue.

“The problem with Marvin, you guys: Marvin’s dumb,” Strickland told The Schmo (via MMAJunkie). “Marvin’s stupid. If I went to Marvin and he put me in a position of power and I said, ‘Marvin, I want you to stand on one leg, just for five days and I think you’re still gonna win the fight,’ he would stand there on one leg for five days and not move. I just think Marvin needs to find a better short bus driver.

“You know what I’m saying? Right now, he’s on that short bus, and the people driving the short bus, they’re taking him in bad directions. I think if Marvin could find a better special needs helper, it will put him in the right direction. Marvin is a tough guy, great cardio, a lot of heart, stupid as f—king dirt, but he has all the potential in the world. He just needs better voices.”

Next weekend (Sat. July 1, 2023), Strickland will fight Abus Magomedov in the main event of UFC Vegas 76. Whether Strickland succeeds or not against the relative newcomer, perhaps it’s time for former team mates to throw down? Vettori travels to camps beyond Xtreme Couture, and it would be a fresh match up at 185 lbs.

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It just kind of works?

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Marcelo Garcia, BJJ GOAT, and his signature move:

The way this man froze and fell stiff — that’s a bad knockout.

Random Land

A close look at a tornado forming and destroying.

Midnight Music: Midwest emo, 1999

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