Midnight Mania Chaos! You Have To See This Absurd 3-On-1 MMA Fight

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

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

There’s been too much news and too many quotes lately — it’s time to get back to this column’s “weird and wild roots.”

Enter Dogfight Wild Tournament, a promotion in Spain that held their second event on Friday evening (Feb. 9, 2024) inside Tarraco Arena in Tarragona, Spain. Already, the promotion is making an impact by embracing the bizarre, promoting a variety of freak show fights. For example, the DWT2 event saw two vs. two fights, a no rules match, and something called a “Bloodsport Tournament,” which saw its combatants compete in the middle of a ramped platform where gravity forced the action.

The highlight, undoubtedly, was the three vs. one MMA fight at the top of the page (video courtesy, per usual, of MMA Twitter legend Caposa). In that bout, professional Light Heavyweight Eduardo Riego (7-2) went to battle opposite three smaller opponents, but unlike some freak show match ups of a similar variety, these smaller men approached the bout with a bit of strategy and know-how.

The trio swarmed Riego, tripping him to the floor right away. All three referees closed in as a knee seemed to drop Riego moments later, but he covered up and endured the storm. He found a couple moments to swing back, but mostly, Riego was getting walloped in the opening two minute round.

His fortunes changed early in the second when Riego wrapped up a guillotine choke, ignoring the punches of the other two men to put the caught athlete to sleep. This earned him a brief reprieve as the referees reset the bout, but Riego was nearly put in a rear naked choke when he tried to go on the offensive upon the restart.

In the third round, the comeback was completed in short fashion. Riego locked up another guillotine, and then in a one vs. one battle, there was no contest. The third tap came via rear naked choke … so does that now mean Riego stands with a 10-2 pro record? He earned it!

There’s plenty more chaos to be enjoyed, so check out the full event replay below:

Based on the seemingly large and enthusiastic crowd, I’m optimistic that this will not be the final time this column features Dogfight Wild Tournament clips. Fight Circus has some competition!

Insomnia

I want One Championship to succeed because their events are fun to watch and competition is a good thing, but anyone pretending they don’t do their fair share of sketchy business practices is delusional.

Charles Oliveira and Ian Garry are training together in Brazil.

Jack Shore has spent a lot of time at Bantamweight, and Joanderson Brito seems to be one of the strongest and biggest men at 145-pounds. It’ll be interesting to see how that plays out!

Some fan art for Andre Fili ahead of his co-main event clash vs. Dan Ige tomorrow evening:

Have you signed?

One thing I’ll give Luke Rockhold credit for: he’s never been afraid to tell a story that doesn’t paint him in the best light.

Slips, rips, and KO clips

I’ve never seen this setup for a straight armlock. Love it!

A lovely slip and overhand from the Southpaw side:

Martin stayed composed amidst the chaos and did real damage in the clinch to slow down those wild flurries.

Random Land

Trippy!

Midnight Music: New wave, 1978

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