Midnight Mania: And New Super Lightweight Champion?

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Welcome to Midnight Mania!

Finally, Conor McGregor’s return is official. The Irish superstar has been away for nearly three years now, but he’ll be back in the cage opposite Michael Chandler at UFC 303 on June 29, 2024. Chandler waited an awful longtime for the match up, and his patience is finally paying off.

Perhaps it results in a golden title too?

UFC color commentator Daniel Cormier is in favor of adding some extra flavor to the match up. It’s rare to see a pay-per-view (PPV) headliner without a title on the line — that’s how the BMF belt became a thing! — but Cormier feels this is the perfect moment for UFC to introduce the much-talked about and long-awaited 165-pound weight class, which he’s dubbing “Super Lightweight.” According to “DC,” McGregor is the perfect star, and Chandler is the right opponent at the right time for such a landmark change.

“Here’s my thought process, right? When it comes down to championship opportunities, I have said this time and time again — a lot of times it comes down to being at the right place, at the right time,” Cormier said Good Guy / Bad Guy (via MMAFighting).

“Even going back to me, they had no intent of giving me my first championship opportunity [in 2015]. But then Alexander Gustafsson got hurt, they called me in, I stepped in. I never left the title picture after because I was reliable. They could always call me and say, ‘Hey, do you want to fight this guy for the belt?’ It was also the same way with Dustin Poirier right now, we see it happening [at UFC 302], where, if you’re in the right place at the right time under the right circumstances, sometimes it happens faster.

“I believe that if they’re going to do a 165-pound division, it should have a name attached to the weight class that is so big that it draws people’s attention,” Cormier continued. “Conor McGregor being that name. Michael Chandler, on the other hand, will benefit from being in the right place at the right time, where these guys would then fight for the super lightweight championship of the world, because that’s what I believe it is. Because it’s only 10 pounds heavier than 155, so let’s call it the super lightweight division. Move 170 to 175, move 185 to 195, keep 205, [keep] heavyweight.”

Moving Middleweight to 185-pounds is an unusual twist, but this is hardly the first time an 165-pound division has been proposed. Being that Lightweight and Welterweight are two of the deepest divisions in the sport, it’s reasonable that a three-way split could be introduced without hurting the depth too severely.

One top-ranked Lightweight contender says it’s happening!

Unfortunately, UFC CEO Dana White said years ago that it’s not happening while he’s in charge. Perhaps enough time has passed to shift his opinion? A Conor McGregor triple champ moment would sell a lot of pay-per-views, after all.

Insomnia

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Slips, rips, and KO clips

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Early aggression doesn’t always pay off.

Random Land

Seems like a worst case scenario.

Midnight Music: Pop, 1964

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