Midnight Mania! 180-Pound Aljo Frustrated By August ‘Suga’ Show

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

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

A couple weeks back (Sat. May 6, 2023), Aljamain Sterling defended his Bantamweight crown for the third time by defeating Henry Cejudo at UFC 288 inside Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. After defeating the Olympian via a super close split decision (see official scorecard here), Sean O’Malley entered the cage for a face off, prompting a bit of trash talk and jacket thievery.

Clearly, “Suga” is next in line at 135 pounds. However, the timeline is up for debate. UFC is targeting a quick turnaround for the champion, eyeing August in Boston, Massachusetts for that title clash. Sterling has countered with September, and he elaborated further on his reasoning why in a recent interview.

Unsurprisingly, weight is a big concern.

“It’s very frustrating,” Sterling told MMA News. “What it is, I bloat so bad after making that kind of a drastic weight cut. My body just holds on to everything. I’m still pretty fit, my legs are okay, but my stomach, legs, face get pretty puffy. 177lbs and I probably hit 180 and don’t even know it. And it’s not like it’s a good healthy weight, I’m just big, and when the water starts to flush out I get down to 168, 165… but it’s a little frustrating because I wasn’t expecting that. I wanted a bit more time to enjoy it a little bit.

“I do want to be active, that’s why I asked for September … I want to enjoy my summer a little bit more, and my birthday, so it is what it is. It’s frustrating, but I know this is the job so I know we’ll try to figure it out the best that we can.”

Putting on 40-45 pounds so quickly after a fight isn’t necessarily unheard of, and some of it can be attributed to water retention as Sterling mentioned. Still, it’s a considerable amount of weight that requires both time and effort to shed, as well as the primary reason that Sterling is fairly committed to moving up to Featherweight after his next defense.

Does he pick up one last defense before doing so?

Insomnia

Two funky Middleweight match ups featuring athletes switching weight classes. Predictions?

Kanye West is marching around in shin guards, is MMA high fashion?

Come on man, you always wait for the official victory announcement before starting a post-fight brawl. Can’t let a win get overturned!

I read the quote and assumed it was some crazy conspiracy (MMA loves those), but I’m pleased to report it was just a funny wording mishap.

If your personal pick for GOAT relied on takedowns to win fights, just know that Jose Aldo would’ve beaten his ass! The all-time best counter wrestler in MMA history.

Ian Garry is a talented prospect, but this is an odd move to say the least.

Slips, rips, and KO clips

Inside last Friday’s Midnight Mania, I promoted my team mate Ryan Loder ahead of his UFL fight on Saturday. Here’s the follow up highlights post:

Elite Muay Thai.

Knees into punches, punches into knees.

Random Land

Folks are getting real creative with the new Zelda game.

Midnight Music: Punk, 1977

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