Midnight Mania! Daniel Cormier flat out denies any chicanery in “Towelgate”

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

Welcome to Midnight Mania! Today was a day chock-full of the weird and wild in MMA. Daniel Cormier lost his belt on the scale, then magically lost 1.2 pounds in two minutes. Newcomer Pearl Gonzalez had her fight cancelled because of breast implants, then the New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC) realized that wasn’t a rule, and her fight is back on. The Internet exploded in response to all this, and I was here to catalog a little of the fallout for y’all. Not only that, but I’ve got the usual complement of knockouts and submissions from regional MMA that you have come to expect from this column, and much more. Enjoy!

Insomnia

Here’s Cormier on the towel pic.twitter.com/wtZEgpGAja

— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) April 7, 2017

You have to do this, of course, if you are Daniel Cormier. You can’t admit it to anyone, despite the fact that it happened right in front of the watching eyes of the world. No, you need to instead take a page from Donald Trump and lie as if you believe it yourself. If you are Daniel Cormier, you have to look the cameras straight in the eye and say, “no, I didn’t do that.”

Well, that’s exactly what Cormier did.

DC- “I didn’t want you guys to see my junk.”

Reporter- “No, man, you hold the towel.”

DC- “To not see my junk?”

Reporter- “No, man, you hold the towel.”

DC- “That’s your belief, not mine.”

Different reporter- “… because there were a lot of people who thought that the towel was…”

DC- “But what does doing that do? I don’t understand. It’s not something I’ve done before, you know, so I don’t… no. I just wanted to make sure I didn’t show my junk.”

Brilliant. Even if the Cheshire cat grin on his face gives it away, Cormier did what he needed to do.

Something tells me this video shall be analyzed over and over again, Zapruder style, for years to come. https://t.co/kViEYrGUxS

— Shaheen Al-Shatti (@shaunalshatti) April 7, 2017

Yes, it will indeed.

2 things to look at 1. The way it looks like DC is balancing himself with the towel and 2. the slack when DC lets go…. pic.twitter.com/MK2ReMaL9q

— Zombie Prophet (@ZPGIFs) April 7, 2017

Bobs and Weaves

The internet, of course, is not merciful. An account called DCsTowel was created almost immediately to roast Cormier. How many would actually purchase one of these great t-shirts?

Like any great Twitter account…..we got merch. @joerogan what size you need? How about you @JonnyBones? #towelgate #towelgreat? #ufc210 pic.twitter.com/mToU3l3S5F

— Cormier’s Towel (@DCsTowel) April 7, 2017

Beastin’ 25/8 knows what’s up.

Lol any wrestler that knows the tricks to beating the scale can obviously see that DC use the towel to float them lbs. #vetmove #ufc210 https://t.co/XL6NFi0qPD

— Corey Anderson UFC (@CoreyA_MMA) April 7, 2017

So does Matt Brown.

Lol! Definitely using the towel! https://t.co/SZAyCXctKe

— Matt Brown (@IamTheImmortal) April 7, 2017

Pearl Gonzalez and Cynthia Calvillo nearly ran into trouble today, as the NYSAC nearly followed through on a non-existent rule that banned breast implants to cancel the fight.

So to recap – NYSAC makes up a rule that does not exist, tells world Pearl has breast implants, learns the actual rule and lets her fight…

— Erik Magraken (@erikmagraken) April 7, 2017

STOP listening to web sites and whoever. If u don’t hear it from us it’s probably not true. THIS FIGHT IS ON!!!! pic.twitter.com/tnbzWyAz5w

— Dana White (@danawhite) April 7, 2017

According to UFC president Dana White, though, you shouldn’t be listening to “websites and whoever” (He means us). This fight is on. Sure, Dana. We should just listen to you. The guy who said McGregor-Mayweather would never happen, said women would never fight in the UFC, denied the UFC was for sale even as negotiations were pending, denied that Anderson Silva would be fighting at UFC 200, and generally disregards the truth whenever it suits you as a promoter. You are the only trusted source for all our information.

This is a wacky and wonderful sport we follow.

MMA: If you think the weigh-ins are weird…. pic.twitter.com/sVgfEsafcv

— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) April 7, 2017

@Grabaka_Hitman Nice work bringing him away from the cage to prevent this expert escape pic.twitter.com/gfMvRsxS79

— Karl (@karlt187) April 7, 2017

You guys are surprised that everything surrounding this “sport” is a clusterfuck? A sport where this is possible? pic.twitter.com/JTFNZodDEt

— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) April 7, 2017

Cung Le has always trained and fought like he’s in an action movie. Which makes sense, given he has been in several.

Train like your life depends on it! Using spin kicks back kicks and side kicks with my gun training. #EscapeEvadeFight #FightOrFlight #MMA pic.twitter.com/0GLXqLtW1m

— Cung Le (@CungLe185) April 7, 2017

I’m in the minority with this but this looks good to me.

Na drogę Nawet gdy masz zabiegany dzień, możesz jeść zdrowo Bezglutenowy chlebek z tunczykiem | To go Even whe… https://t.co/XTziN4vA6v pic.twitter.com/DpY0OOhGiF

— Joanna Jedrzejczyk (@joannamma) April 7, 2017

Mark Coleman feels we have forgotten him. Go follow the Hammer on Twitter!

I’ve been told I have been forgotten and no body knows me Is this true?really need to build some followers.is it @HammerHouseMMA the prob

— Mark Coleman (@HammerHouseMMA) April 7, 2017

Knockout of the year!

A post shared by renergracie (@renergracie) on Apr 7, 2017 at 9:57am PDT

Slips, Rips, and Knockouts

Davis Dos Santos ends things QUICKLY here at #TKO38 on #UFCFIGHTPASS! pic.twitter.com/3W24IYHRJg

— UFC Fight Pass (@UFCFightPass) April 7, 2017

Perfectly placed! #KSW38 pic.twitter.com/zsTpIkG1XN

— KSW (@KSW_MMA) April 7, 2017

These dudes have terrible tattoos and apparently, great fights.

There is no such thing as a boring fight when @SzymanskiMMA is in the cage! #KSW38 pic.twitter.com/x4pzzh6j00

— KSW (@KSW_MMA) April 7, 2017

There was no time and place to escape. Szulakowski is now 3-0 in KSW. #KSW38 pic.twitter.com/uhepCDFHr5

— KSW (@KSW_MMA) April 7, 2017

Speaking of KSW…

What on earth is going on at KSW pic.twitter.com/6YCWGpYVjp

— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) April 7, 2017

John Sweeney vs Jon Sparks #LFA8 MONSTER Takedown! pic.twitter.com/4xBoRmTNAP

— Zombie Prophet (@ZPGIFs) April 8, 2017

John Sweeney vs Jon Sparks #LFA8 Nice! pic.twitter.com/4kRFWSotM0

— Zombie Prophet (@ZPGIFs) April 8, 2017

There are different levels of spinning shit.

nice ballet boyz 🙂
(Cesar Almeida vs. Marcelo Nuñez – WGP #36) pic.twitter.com/o7YiS0407S

— Jolassanda (@Jolassanda) April 8, 2017

Another one for the LFA spinning shit chronicles pic.twitter.com/FEegL5BGD4

— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) April 8, 2017

Ryan Jett vs Joe Elmore #LFA8 Nice comeback!!! pic.twitter.com/G051zcQhFn

— Zombie Prophet (@ZPGIFs) April 8, 2017

This reminds me of that time Junior Dos Santos dropped Stipe Miocic in their first fight.

TKO – Marc-André Barriault with nice walk off KOpic.twitter.com/LPjIZy0BZ5

— Jolassanda (@Jolassanda) April 8, 2017

Here’s the thing about rings #WGP pic.twitter.com/PXLjloBK4J

— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) April 8, 2017

Almost as crazy as pro wrestling.

Classic @superCalo pic.twitter.com/gC0EKlarri

— Rich (@high_light) April 7, 2017

Yeah uhh.. the round is not over. #LFA8 pic.twitter.com/rtBR2mZfOc

— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) April 8, 2017

Random Land

What in blue blazes

Full GIF pic.twitter.com/UEx5j6ET4G

— Zombie Prophet (@ZPGIFs) April 7, 2017

Stay woke, Maniacs!

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

Welcome to Midnight Mania! Today was a day chock-full of the weird and wild in MMA. Daniel Cormier lost his belt on the scale, then magically lost 1.2 pounds in two minutes. Newcomer Pearl Gonzalez had her fight cancelled because of breast implants, then the New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC) realized that wasn’t a rule, and her fight is back on. The Internet exploded in response to all this, and I was here to catalog a little of the fallout for y’all. Not only that, but I’ve got the usual complement of knockouts and submissions from regional MMA that you have come to expect from this column, and much more. Enjoy!

Insomnia

You have to do this, of course, if you are Daniel Cormier. You can’t admit it to anyone, despite the fact that it happened right in front of the watching eyes of the world. No, you need to instead take a page from Donald Trump and lie as if you believe it yourself. If you are Daniel Cormier, you have to look the cameras straight in the eye and say, “no, I didn’t do that.”

Well, that’s exactly what Cormier did.

DC- “I didn’t want you guys to see my junk.”

Reporter- “No, man, you hold the towel.”

DC- “To not see my junk?”

Reporter- “No, man, you hold the towel.”

DC- “That’s your belief, not mine.”

Different reporter- “… because there were a lot of people who thought that the towel was…”

DC- “But what does doing that do? I don’t understand. It’s not something I’ve done before, you know, so I don’t… no. I just wanted to make sure I didn’t show my junk.”

Brilliant. Even if the Cheshire cat grin on his face gives it away, Cormier did what he needed to do.

Yes, it will indeed.

Bobs and Weaves

The internet, of course, is not merciful. An account called DCsTowel was created almost immediately to roast Cormier. How many would actually purchase one of these great t-shirts?

Beastin’ 25/8 knows what’s up.

So does Matt Brown.

Pearl Gonzalez and Cynthia Calvillo nearly ran into trouble today, as the NYSAC nearly followed through on a non-existent rule that banned breast implants to cancel the fight.

According to UFC president Dana White, though, you shouldn’t be listening to “websites and whoever” (He means us). This fight is on. Sure, Dana. We should just listen to you. The guy who said McGregor-Mayweather would never happen, said women would never fight in the UFC, denied the UFC was for sale even as negotiations were pending, denied that Anderson Silva would be fighting at UFC 200, and generally disregards the truth whenever it suits you as a promoter. You are the only trusted source for all our information.

This is a wacky and wonderful sport we follow.

Cung Le has always trained and fought like he’s in an action movie. Which makes sense, given he has been in several.

I’m in the minority with this but this looks good to me.

Mark Coleman feels we have forgotten him. Go follow the Hammer on Twitter!

Knockout of the year!

A post shared by renergracie (@renergracie) on

Slips, Rips, and Knockouts

These dudes have terrible tattoos and apparently, great fights.

Speaking of KSW…

There are different levels of spinning shit.

This reminds me of that time Junior Dos Santos dropped Stipe Miocic in their first fight.

Almost as crazy as pro wrestling.

Random Land

What in blue blazes

Stay woke, Maniacs!