Midnight Mania! Cover Any Open Wounds ASAP!

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

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

There was a time when Alexander Emelianenko was considered the more talented brother of Heavyweight legend Fedor Emelianenko. The all-time great’s younger brother possessed ruthlessly quick hands and serious knockout power, but he never matched his brother’s success, seemingly due to a problem with dedication.

The last few years have not been kind to Alex Emelianenko, who’s done everything possible to see the inside of a jail cell. A rape charge sentenced Emelianenko to four-and-a-half years behind bars, but “good behavior” saw the Russian walk free but was released less than 18 months later. That behavior did not extend to life on the outside, apparently, as Emelianenko was arrested earlier this year for driving drunk and crashing into cars while evading arrest. He’s also accused of being an extremist.

In short, “Red Devil” is probably not the man to make the face of your burgeoning new promotion.

According to a report from TheBodyLockMMA, Bare Knuckle FC — the promotion which brought you the civility and delight of Artem Lobov vs. Paulie Malignaggi — is talking to and interested in the Russian striker. I understand that the picking is thin for Heavyweights who want to pummel each other without gloves, but isn’t there someone better available than a past-his-prime convicted rapist?

Further complicating matters is the longtime rumor that Emelianenko was denied a license due to having hepatitis. Given just how bloody bare knuckle fights tend to be, this seems like a truly terrible idea, one that’s unlikely to be sanctioned by a commission — and that’s assuming Emelianenko and his criminal record can even score a US visa in the first place.

Insomnia

Deron Winn already proved he’s no softie in his “Fight of the Night”-winning war with Eric Spicely, but this is bonus points.

Hadouken!

Masvidal is looking jacked ahead of his showdown with Ben Askren!

I greatly appreciate Vagner Rocha’s thorough embrace of roughness. If somebody slaps you upside the head or tweaks your wrist in a jiu-jitsu match, that’s definitely a *you* problem.

I told y’all last week that Rockhold is always doing cool stuff on the ‘gram.

A neat look inside Petr Yan’s training camp at Tiger Muay Thai in Thailand prior to his most recent win.

Check-frame-kick!

Slips, Rips, and KO clips

Powerful, flowing combinations like this require a certain level of confidence and looseness that’s incredible to watch.

Some more brilliance from caposa — I dig the shirtless black belt in gi pants aesthetic (plus the ref in a gi too!), feels like an ‘80s action movie.

Based on this clip, the man kicking has never seen someone try to counter his kick with punches before.

I always find writing about Amanda Nunes in-depth difficult, because her game is so simple. That’s no fault of hers though; when you can drop insanely powerful right hands on the jaw with such consistent accuracy, why do anything else?

Random Land

It’s either time to sob or get another tattoo for the Crocodile Hunter.

Happy 4th! If you happen to lose a finger or two in today’s festivities, kindly do the responsible thing and upload the video to YouTube.

PolandBall

Midnight Music: I finally got around to listening the Billie Eilish’s chart-topping album When We Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? — and I liked it! Crack a joke if you’d like, but the 17-year-old and her brother wrote/produced every track, seldom the case in pop music. It reminds me a bit of Kanye’s Yeezus and Lorde’s Melodrama, if not as great as either.

Sleep well Maniacs! There’s always more martial arts madness on the way.