Author: admin

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

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

It seems that no matter how UFC President Dana White attempts to keep the worlds of boxing and cage fighting separate, the line cannot help but blur. The money is simply so huge in the ring that mixed martial artists are plenty willing to make the momentary transition for a big payoff, regardless of whether that’s opposite boxing champions or YouTube creators.

When it comes to Conor McGregor, the stakes are elevated further. The Irishman is a money fight regardless of which sport he competes, which is why White wants McGregor to remain inside the Octagon, where he’s in the hunt for the Lightweight title. However, McGregor has recently been chasing a big money fight with boxing legend Manny Pacquiao, and “PacMan” just confirmed his interest.

“They’re my options, but right now I want to experience fighting an MMA [mixed martial artist],” Pacquiao told Business Mirror, referring to McGregor. “I will also donate a big portion of my income to Filipino Covid-19 victims.”

At 42 years of age, Pacquiao remains a force in the ring as the current WBA Welterweight champion, and he rides a three-fight win streak. One has to assume that Pacquiao’s remaining time in the ring is limited, however, but it seems he’s carving out a slot in his schedule for McGregor.

Does it happen?

Insomnia

RIP Strikeforce.

Georgia at 13-1 is clearly the standout on that list, that’s insanely impressive! Also, poor Canadians have been struggling since Georges St. Pierre retired.

One Championship with a rather muscular new fight announcement:

I’ve never seen this image before, but it’s pretty much perfect.

This young lady has HANDS!

I’m going to need someone to explain this training method to me, because I’m not quite sure I get the point.

If you don’t know, now you know, UFC Fight Island 7 edition:

Slips, rips, and KO clips

I challenge readers to name me a funnier UFC knockout than this one.

One hitter quitter on the ice:

Here’s an entire barrage of brilliant Saenchai clips!

Random Land

Battle of the red pandas!

Midnight Music: An awesome Rick James track from his 1979 album Bustin’ Out of L Seven!

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

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is bringing more “Prelims” fights to ESPN+ this weekend (Sat., Jan. 16, 2021) when UFC Fight Island 7: “Holloway vs. Kattar” returns to Abu Dhabu, United Arab Emirates. MMAmania.com’s Patrick Stumberg continues the UFC Fight Island 7 “Prelims” party with the second (and final) installment of a two-part undercard preview series below.

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) kicks off 2021 with three events in the span of a week, the first of which goes down this Saturday afternoon (Jan. 16, 2021) on ABC and ESPN from inside Ethiad Arena in Abu Dhabu, United Arab Emirates. UFC Fight Island 7’s main event sees former Featherweight champion Max Holloway face fellow striker Calvin Kattar atop a card that also features the long-awaited return of Welterweight contender Santiago Ponzinibbio against all-action Li Jingliang.

We’ve got three UFC Fight Island 7 “Prelims” left to preview and predict (check out the first batch here). Let’s have ourselves a look …

185 lbs.: Phil Hawes vs. Nassourdine Imavov

After several early-career struggles — including a knockout loss to Julian Marquez on “Contender Series” — Phil Hawes (9-2)finally punched his ticket to the Octagon with a 78-second wipeout of Khazhimurat Bestaev. His debut proved even more dominant, as “Megatron” flattened Aussie prospect Jacob Malkoun in just 18 seconds.

All of his professional wins have come inside the distance, seven of them by form of knockout.

A knockout of UFC veteran Jonathan Meunier sent Nassourdine Imavov (9-2) to “Contender Series,” but when that fell through, he instead signed on to debut in UFC against Jordan Williams in Oct. 2020. Despite Williams’ persistence, Imavov turned in a dominant striking performance to secure his sixth consecutive victory.

He’ll have two inches of height and five inches of reach on Hawes.

Imavov seriously impressed me against Williams, whom I’d tabbed as a potential headache due to his incredible resilience and relentless approach. Even acknowledging that I underestimated him, however, he looks like he’s in for some trouble against Hawes. Imavov can’t slow things down with takedown attempts when “Megatron” is the better wrestler and his defensive lapses looked poised to sink him against a counter-puncher of this caliber.

If Hawes is what he’s supposed to be, he should dispose of Imavov without too much hassle. Though Imavov’s length and scrambling skills could give Hawes issues if some of the latter’s bad habit crop up, expect Hawes to land a vicious counter right for another early finish.

Prediction: Hawes via first-round knockout

135 lbs.: Wu Yanan vs. Joselyne Edwards

Wu Yanan (11-3) bounced back from a debut loss to Gina Mazany, submitting Lauren Mueller a year later, defying considerable odds in the process. Then came the dangerous Mizuki Inoue, who narrowly edged out “Mulan” via split decision.

This will be her first fight in almost 17 months.

Joselyne Edwards (9-2) brought a seven-fight win streak into her LFA title fight against Sarah Alpar, only to wind up on the wrong end of a split decision. After 20 months on the shelf, she returned to action last July with a 28-second knockout victory.

She steps in for Bethe Correia, who required an emergency appendectomy, on little more than one week’s notice.

This could un-ironically turn out to be one of the better fights on this undercard, as both women are aggressive bruisers who won’t have to worry about the wrestling issues that have plagued them in the past. In other words, expect plenty of output over 15 minutes of action, culminating in a narrow Wu victory.

Wu just figures to be more a seasoned and slightly crisper with her punches, which should give her an edge in the protracted exchanges this fight promises to offer. Plus, while Edwards has some nifty throws in the clinch, her poor positional skills on the ground mean she isn’t likely to secure much top control time from any successful takedowns. In the end, Wu out-slugs her to even up her Octagon record.

Prediction: Wu via unanimous decision

185 lbs.: Omari Akhmedov vs. Tom Breese

Two consecutive knockout losses gave way to a six-fight unbeaten streak for Omari Akhmedov (20-5-1), including a majority draw with Marvin Vettori and a decision over Ian Heinisch. His efforts earned him a spot in the rankings and a clash with former champion Chris Weidman, who out-lasted Akhmedov to end his streak in Aug. 2020.

He stands three inches shorter than Tom Breese (12-2) at 6’0.”

A litany of issues kept Breese out of action from May 2018 to Feb. 2020, when Brendan Allen beat him into submission in Norfolk, Virginia. Seven months later, he squared off against unbeaten prospect K.B. Bhullar, stopping him in 102 seconds to earn his third UFC “Performance of the Night” bonus.

He has tapped seven professional foes and knocked out another four.

Akhmedov genuinely fascinates me in an odd sort of way. Rather than fix the cardio issues that have plagued him for more than a half-decade, he’s turned the art of winning the first two rounds and surviving the inevitable comeback into an art form. Still, I’m not sure that’ll work out in his favor this time. That’s because Breese has him badly out-classed on the feet and boasts the grappling chops to survive on the ground until Akhmedov’s gas tank fails him.

Though Breese isn’t always the most reliable fighter, he’s too sharp and too powerful a striker for Akhmedov’s free-swinging offense to deal with once the latter tires too much to keep the grind going. In the end, Breese drops the first two rounds before pummeling a fading Akhmedov for the late finish.

Prediction: Breese via third-round technical knockout

UFC Fight Island 7 features afternoon action between two of the best Featherweights on the planet on free television? Sign me up! See you Saturday, Maniacs.

Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Fight Island 7 fight card this weekend, starting with the ESPN+ “Prelims” matches, which are scheduled to begin at 12 p.m. ET, then the remaining main card balance at 3 p.m. ET on ABC (also on ESPN+).

To check out the latest and greatest UFC Fight Island 7: “Holloway vs. Kattar” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.

Final UFC “Prelims” Prediction Record for 2020: 140-87-4

The middleweight bout has been bumped back a few days, apparently because of COVID.

As is becoming the norm on fight week, the first UFC card on ABC has lost another fight due to COVID. The promotion announced today that a main card middleweight fight between number 13-ranked Omari Akhmedov and Tom Breese has been removed from the event – but it will apparently take place just four days later, on the next card.

That seems a bit peculiar for a COVID diagnosis, and the announcement doesn’t say if either man actually tested positive.

Akhmedov (20-5-1, 8-4-1 UFC) has competed just once in 2020, dropping a decision to former middleweight champion Chris Weidman. Breese (12-2, 5-2 UFC) is coming off a TKO win over KB Bhullar in October. That quick victory earned him a performance bonus, the third of his brief UFC career.

UFC on ABC 1 goes down on Fight Island on January 16th, and will be headlined by a featherweight fight between Max Holloway and Calvin Kattar. The January 20th event will see Neil Magny and Michael Chiesa facing off in the main event.

Michael Chandler will make his highly-anticipated Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) debut at UFC 257 on Jan. 23, 2021 at UFC 257 when he takes on Dan Hooker on “Fight Island” in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

With a win, the former Bellator MMA Lightweight champion’s options will open up exponentially. Indeed, Chandler has a lot on the line against “The Hangman,” including silencing all the naysayers who say he doesn’t have what it takes to bang with the big boys on UFC.

“Either way, there’s going to be a lot of clarity on Jan. 23 after these two fights happen, and then we kinda see what happens,” Chandler told MMA Junkie. “Obviously I’ll be campaigning for a No. 1 contender fight, a title fight. I’ll be throwing my name in the hat to fight any of those guys. Either way, I’m just excited to be competing in the UFC. I’m excited to be competing with the guys that are the best in the world in the lightweight division at 155 pounds,” he added.

As it stands, Khabib Nurmagomedov is still the 155-pound champion and UFC President Dana White has gone on record saying that the winner of UFC 257’s main event fight between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier will be the No. 1 contender. Should Khabib stick to his guns and stay retired, that means Hooker or Chandler could fill the other spot for the vacant strap. But we can’t forget about this guy.

Still, Chandler is looking for not only clarity but some leverage by making a splash in his UFC debut. But if he has to fight once more before taking part in a title fight, he is more than ready.

“So, if I have to go out there and do my job against Dan Hooker, then I gotta do it again against someone else in order to get to that title shot, so be it. But either way, all roads lead to Jan. 23, and after that we’ll have a little bit more clarity. Then I can start calling some shots.”

Of course, Hooker is more than capable of spoiling Chandler’s plans as he has long been one of UFC’s toughest outs for both Lightweights and Welterweights.