Bringing you the weird and wild from the world of MMA each and every weeknight …
Welcome to Midnight Mania!
There was a time when Anthony Paul Pettis was the golden boy of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. With the well-earned nickname “Showtime” and the shiny lightweight title belt around his waist, Pettis seemed like the future. All that was not to last; Pettis hit a sudden and steep decline, losing his belt to a dominant Rafael Dos Anjos. Once the holes in his game had been exposed, it seemed everyone found a way to exploit them; he lost three straight and dropped to featherweight. He managed to pull out a win there, and somehow cartwheel kicked his way to an interim title shot at 145. Then he missed weight, and Max Holloway finished him in brutal fashion. During this time, he also experienced a lot of car trouble: he had several cars torched and carjacked. After a couple old ladies fought the carjackers and tipped off the police, the criminals were finally caught.
Since then, he’s moved back up to lightweight and beaten Jim Miller, getting his errant career back on track. Apparently he still has money to burn, too. His last win netted him $180,000; he decided to get his car situation back on course too, so he dropped some of that cash on a new set of wheels: a luxury Mercedes G-Wagon.
UFC President Dana White was, however, less than impressed with Pettis’ purchase. He said he himself purchased the G-Wagon … and returned it after two days.
I hate to be Debbie downer but I Had mine for 2 days and returned it. They are pieces of shit kid. There are 1,000 cars/trucks u can buy that are less money and much better.
What do you think of Dana White’s comment? Was that candid advice welcome, or was it uncalled for?
Insomnia
ATT strength and conditioning coach Phil Daru finished up Joanna Jedrzejczyk’s camp with these powerful-looking drills. I talked to Phil about Joanna’s conditioning on my podcast, the MMA Outsiders. Listen on SoundCloud as well as iTunes and Stitcher, on the official MMA Mania channel! Joanna comes up around the 1:08 mark.
Hop step rotational med ball toss @joannamma last session before #UFC217 #AndStill #darustrong pic.twitter.com/H19M2Lfysz
— Phil Daru (@DaruStrong) October 27, 2017
It’s not all hard work, though. Camp involves fun in the sun, too:
Is this the last we have seen of Artem Lobov?
Short Film :
The Retirement of The GOAT – Artem Lobov !
Full on YouTubehttps://t.co/aY5xyHw4pp pic.twitter.com/7RdE3FjJIt— Mojahed Fudailat (@MojahedFudailat) October 26, 2017
Machida’s finest hour. Can he replicate this kind of performance at 39 against Derek Brunson?
Ian McCall is talking shit again now that he got his release from UFC.
I’m perfect fighter … champion Rizin 2017 … K.O !!! #rizin #Prodigy #perfect pic.twitter.com/qYWK3yQH3o
— Manel Prodígio Kape (@ManelKape) October 25, 2017
Aaaaahahahahahah perfect at what? Being slow? Go fight some more taxi cab drivers so you feel better about yourself. https://t.co/YFXbE0ka2C
— Ian McCall (@Unclecreepymma) October 27, 2017
#herecometheinstacoaches is a great hashtag. I just like the body work.
I agree, UFC heavyweight Chase Sherman.
Delusional. pic.twitter.com/h1a88AL1r6
— Chase Sherman (@ChaseShermanUFC) October 27, 2017
This is an undefeated bantamweight fighter known as Mark “The Bumblebee” De La Rosa out of Forth Worth, Texas. And I’m not sure at all what he’s doing here.
Where do I begin with how terrible this is? From the concept to the execution. All bad. pic.twitter.com/uCmbM85m64
— D.E.Over it. (@ImJustDEO) October 27, 2017
Rampage continues the online quest to protect his girl from Nick Diaz.
Bob Arum’s comments on UFC being a monopoly (and now a desperate one) aren’t without self-interest, but he does make a legitimate point about low UFC fighter pay:
Bob Arum. #boxing pic.twitter.com/oPOdRE2Az6
— Jed I. Goodman (@jedigoodman) October 27, 2017
Josh Thomson, whose old American Kickboxing Academy friend Jon Fitch is currently in an anti-trust lawsuit against UFC, agrees.
TRUTH! Spoke by one of the biggest boxing promoters in the business…. Ever! https://t.co/mnD7UcrRCU
— Josh Thomson (@THEREALPUNK) October 27, 2017
I’ll believe Holly wants this fight when they step into the Octagon. To be fair, the UFC should pay up for anyone willing to step in the Octagon with Cyborg Justino.
This is horrific: A woman is knocked out cold on the sidewalk and all people do is take pictures and video of her. Black Mirror isn’t fiction any more.
HORRIFIC VIDEO: #Pittsburgh woman knocked out cold. Men take videos, rob her, even take selfies. NOBODY CALLED 911. https://t.co/5dftQwAzT6 pic.twitter.com/sSEOlWIRnx
— Tim Williams (@realtimwilliams) October 26, 2017
Ronda Rousey plays video games, too:
McGregor is on top of the world (as usual) for Halloween.
Slips, Rips, and KO Clips
Before we get to knockouts, enjoy some Demian Maia!
Demian Motherfucking Maia! pic.twitter.com/LhWoTzPigN
— JayDee Garcia (@Hereditary_Funk) August 29, 2016
And some stretching, always necessary before an athletic endeavor.
ok, M-1 started well, from our favorite rescue action pic.twitter.com/Ylf579pQjh
— Jolassanda (@Jolassanda) October 27, 2017
Alright, knockouts:
nice TKO by Dmitriy Menshikov, it looks like that he really enjoyed every knockdown
(vs. Surik Magakyan) Tafnet pic.twitter.com/EeeRAlZrBC— Jolassanda (@Jolassanda) October 27, 2017
Dinis Paiva vs Branden Seyler, Sr. #CES46 pic.twitter.com/khtoC8Gfmm
— Zombie Prophet (@ZPGIFs) October 28, 2017
Up-and-coming heavyweight Filip Hrgovi? delivered a brutal KO a few minutes ago!! #BraehmerBrant #AliTrophy pic.twitter.com/ZAZB8PhwNL
— WBSuperSeries (@WBSuperSeries) October 27, 2017
This body shot shut him down entirely:
GLORY LHW champ Artem Vakhitov returns tomorrow. Listen to this liver shot. #GLORY47 pic.twitter.com/0ACk6qyMBN
— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) October 27, 2017
That Aaron Pico knockout was awesome, but the truly scary one is at the end, because it resulted in a fractured skull:
With #Halloween just around the corner, we look back at the scariest knockouts inside the #BellatorMMA cage! pic.twitter.com/ODD8OpFAqy
— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) October 26, 2017
Podcasts and Video
Alright, you know I’ve got to put it here: One last chance to hear Andrew Richardson’s technical analysis on The MMA Outsiders podcast:
Just a note: If anyone has something to advertise to a niche MMA audience, we are currently looking for sponsors.
Machida-Brunson predictions with Flyin’ Brian J:
Watch Lyoto Machida work out in sunglasses (for some reason) and the Brazilian fans chant death at Colby Covington:
Quick Hits
- KHABIB NURMAGOMEDOV IS FIGHTING EDSON BARBOZA. That is all.
- This is almost undeniable: GSP says early weigh-ins have been a disaster for UFC.
- Fedor called his rapist brother Aleks a “Judas” in an open letter. And that made my day.
Random Land
Eat your heart out, Sage Northcutt:
So this was very funny, and more than a little disturbing …
The is the greatest romance story in the history of the internet: pic.twitter.com/zjNCd8bLDm
— Fury’s Fight Picks (@FurysFightPicks) October 27, 2017
Some things are too cute to not post here.
Stay woke, Maniacs! Follow me on Twitter and Facebook @Vorpality