Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
Bringing you the weird and wild from the world of MMA each and every weeknight!
Welcome to Midnight Mania!
November 2, 2019 is set to be a big day for combat sports fans. At UFC 244, the promotion heads to Madison Square Garden and features the main event debut of the BMF title, pitting fan-favorites Jorge Masvidal and Nate Diaz opposite one another. On the West Coast, superstar Canelo Alvarez will fight for WBO Light Heavyweight title opposite Sergey Kovalev.
The two bouts may actually air at the same time, a decision UFC President Dana White takes issue with:
Dana on DAZN and #CaneloKovalev going at the same time as #UFC244. “If you do that you’re fucking nuts.”
— MMA mania (@mmamania) September 19, 2019
Realistically, I have to say that White best hope DAZN and Golden Boy choose to air their main event later in the night. Diaz may be a needle mover, but Alvarez is the highest paid athlete on the planet for a reason. Going head-to-head with boxing’s biggest star will likely hurt UFC 244’s buy rate more than DAZN’s viewer numbers, though anything is possible.
Insomnia
As of posting, the bid is at $26,100. Anyone feel like ponying up for a good cause?
UFC 242 fight kit auction is live!@TheGoodFightFDNhttps://t.co/kKAiAyRzin
— The Diamond (@DustinPoirier) September 19, 2019
Regular sports folk getting exposed to our beloved brand of savagery is always fun.
Just watch @AdamSchefter the whole time pic.twitter.com/QNA0NdNaZH
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) September 19, 2019
“El Cucuy” weirdness is always an instant inclusion.
Aljamain Sterling does not like his former manager, Malki Kawa.
The “sorry ass” pot should never call the “sorry ass” kettle black. I live in Long Island, NY and you promised me an oceanfront in West Bubba-fuck, Idaho. As fighters, we trust you guys w/our life/career. And you push us to side to only focus on guys already at the top. #NotCool https://t.co/hoNfiQahW7
— Aljamain Sterling (@FunkMaster_UFC) September 18, 2019
Does this qualify as a sled pull?
Speed kills!
Chandler has one of the meanest suplexes in the game.
Slips, rips, and KO clips
Let me introduce a submission most probably haven’t seen before: the Persian pry bar. Once a certain level of positional dominance is attained, the finish can be as simple as yanking any nearby limb in an unpleasant direction.
This Aussie boxer has some slick moves.
Watch this 45-year-old killer throw spinning elbows and beat up his foe:
Random Land
One of my S&C coaches, Ben Claridad, wrote an article about the training and value of grip strength. It’s aimed at Olympic weightlifters, but grip strength is a valuable asset in martial arts as well. Check it out HERE! or just watch Ben pick up heavy stuff with his hands below:
Not a bad view!
Midnight Music: Stereogum’s Tom Briehan set himself the task of writing up a short column on every Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 single since the chart’s inception in 1958. He’s currently in the era of disco, but I went back to his first articles (nearly two years old at this point) and will catch up soon. The variety of songs that have hit No. 1 is pretty incredible. Some are great, some are truly annoying (The Chipmunk Song topped the charts?!?). It’s been fun so far!
Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.