Midnight Mania: AND STILL FEATHERWEIGHT CHAMPION!

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

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

Ilia Topuria isn’t abandoning the 145-pound division just yet.

Earlier this week, an interview clip circulated of Topuria explaining that his recent title defense against Max Holloway (watch it) would be his final fight at Featherweight. Topuria has never been shy about his intentions to move to Lightweight and flatten Islam Makhachev, and he even fought once at 155-pounds already during his UFC rise.

Still, nobody really expected it to happen so soon. There are plenty of viable options left at 145-pounds, including but not limited to an Alexander Volkanovski rematch, Diego Lopes slugfest, and scuffle of the undefeated versus Movsar Evloev. When Topuria’s coach co-signed the Lightweight move, it was quite a surprising shake up that had the rest of the division scrambling.

… or not. Earlier on Thursday, Topuria himself went on social media and clarified that he isn’t leaving his division just yet.

“I will not leave the title vacant,” Topuria wrote on X. “The decision to move up to the next category is entirely mine. I haven’t had any conversations with the UFC yet, so everything is still to be decided. Stop celebrating because I’m not going anywhere. I have conquered my division and I will do the same in the next one.”

Based on the above tweet, it sounds like Topuria wants a double champ opportunity without abandoning his Featherweight crown. That’s going to take some negotiating while there are still dangerous 145-pound contenders he has yet to face. While an eventual Lightweight move is still on the table, odds are UFC still wants “El Matador” to handle some Featherweight business first.

We’ll have to wait and see what comes from Topuria’s next UFC conversation to know more.

Insomnia

Too much, too soon for Iasmin Lucindo I expect, but a banger matchup nevertheless!

I rate the bottom two as feasible and the top two as wildly unlikely. Maybe at a funeral sans-smiles?

Consecutive Kamaru Usman memes in one Midnight Mania? I didn’t predict or plan this.

It is extremely funny that Ali Abdelaziz manages to post from the wrong account so often.

Active fighters have to be at least a bit careful in how much technique they post online.

I have to imagine Demetrious Johnson could have a lucrative career flying out to assist at various training camps around the globe if he’s interested.

WTF is this? Why is it called that? I miss Dynamic Fastener.

Slips, rips, and KO clips

Ali Abdulkhalikov is 15-2 as a pro and fights for the ACA Lightweight belt this weekend.

Planted his feet suddenly and placed a left around the guard:

A perfectly placed front kick seals the deal!

Random Land

I’ve never seen anything stand up to the hydraulic press like this.

Midnight Music: Techno, 1996

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