Midnight Mania! Can Johnny Walker Wrestle With ‘Bones?’

Jason Silva-USA TODAY Sports

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Welcome to Midnight Mania!

Jon Jones may be discussing Daniel Cormier at the moment, but Johnny Walker is closing in on a title shot.

In general, many are critical of UFC’s habit of rushing prospects into title contention, but when a fighter simply destroys opponents like Walker, it’s hard to keep him on the slow path. Walker has stopped three opponents in less than two minutes total, demonstrating an impressive instinct for finding the knockout shot. He’s currently set to face Corey Anderson on Nov. 2nd at Madison Square Garden in what’s very likely a title eliminator bout.

Walker will likely be the favorite in that bout, and he’s already discussing how he matches up with Jon Jones as a result. In a recent interview with MMAFighting, Walker explained how his own bout with Jones would go differently from the recent Thiago Santos match up, and how he can test Jones in new areas:

“But Thiago injured both knees, a bad injury, he needs a lot of surgery. Jon Jones need a lot of time to beat a guy with a lot of injuries. I know Jon Jones can do better than that, and that’s why I want to fight him — I know I can give him the proper fight. I can push him to fight better and then everyone will see who Jon Jones is, then everyone can see who is the real champion. I could use his style as well. He can take me down, but I can take him down as well. I could give him a proper ground fight, nobody has been able to give him any punishment on the ground, I think I can punish him on the ground.”

This is really interesting talk from Walker. In his short time in the Octagon, he’s relied almost entirely on his kickboxing, preferring (like Jones) to do his work from long distance or in the clinch. As Santos proved, a fighter who can kick with Jones and match his range work is certainly a tough opponent for the champion, but if Santos’ can back up his talk of successfully wrestling with Jones?

Walker might just be more than a hype train.

Insomnia

A dedicated section to Mike Perry’s disfigured nose and some of the social media reactions:

Miesha Tate with some technical difficulties:

Here’s hoping stomps someday return to prevalence in MMA.

A pretty hilarious reaction to something you just don’t see every day:

Nate Diaz has really secured a good spot for himself as the face of CBD/marijuana in combat sports.

Slips, rips, and KO clips

This was an awesome throwback to a really fun fight.

Often, the difference between a successful and failed guillotine choke is how long the attacked fighter waits to defend… This guy waited too long.

Absolutely brutal knockout from the weekend’s BKFC event:

FRONT KICK TO THE FACE!

Random Land

That’s a pretty major drop!

Midnight Music: When I say I’m listening to Freak Out! all the time, I mean it. However, I also listened to Frank Zappa’s frequent collaborator Captain Beefheart’s Safe as Milk tonight, a bluesy record in which the weirdness is held to a relative minimum.

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