Midnight Mania: UNRETIRED!

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

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

Jorge Masvidal’s online message is a simple one: “Gamebred” is back!

The 39-year-old veteran called it quits in April 2023 after coming up short to Gilbert Burns in his fourth consecutive loss. Admittedly, each of those four defeats came to top-ranked Welterweight competition — including a pair of title fights versus Kamaru Usman — but it was still clear that Masvidal had lost a step in regards to explosiveness, timing, and conditioning.

It’s hard to keep a BMF down for long, however. Shortly after retiring, Masvidal began to publicly discuss his options about returning to action in one form or another. For example, the Floridian floated a BMF vs. BMF match up opposite current (sort of) strap-hanger Justin Gaethje. Alternatively, he also talked about stepping into the boxing ring, pitching a Jake Paul throw down amongst other options.

He’s also been called out by the face of Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC), Mike Perry. Finally, Masvidal is currently running his own bare knuckle MMA promotion, Gamebred FC, and he could certainly draw some extra eyes to his show by fighting outside the Octagon for the first time since July 2012.

There are lots of lucrative options, so stay tuned as we learn more about what the “unretired” athlete is envisioning.

Insomnia

Aljamain Sterling came up short in his grappling match, but he made it entertaining!

Judo throws are endlessly watchable.

I cannot help but feel that Ian Garry just tries too hard.

I have nothing but respect for Tom Aspinall, an (interim) champion who desires activity and the toughest opponents.

Shavkat Rakhmonov went to the Alexander Volkanovski school of dancing.

Instagram numbers are a confusing game.

Paulo Costa is a USADA-evading genius.

Gregor Gillespie is one of the great Lightweight “what if’s.”

Slips, rips, and KO clips

Kevin Holland knocking out Geoff Neal on the regional scene while both were on the come-up is an underrated fun fact.

Paterno moved from half guard directly into this armbar with seriously impressive speed.

A beautiful right hand contributes to an incredible winning run..

Random Land

This clip went viral on Friday night, and I’m sure many readers already saw it. Yet, it’s so good it must be here.

Midnight Music: Hip-hop, 2002

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