Bringing you the weird and wild from the world of MMA each and every weeknight
Welcome to Midnight Mania!
Daniel Cormier can always be counted on for an honest take.
At today’s press conference, on the dais next to Stipe Miocic and Francis Ngannou, the light heavyweight champion said he had to rethink his earlier comments about moving back to heavyweight to compete.
Man, do you see these guys? Do you see these dudes?? Sometimes I read that stuff and I’m kinda like, I don’t even know what I was thinking back then! So no, I’m not gonna fight Stipe Miocic, or… I’m definitely not fighting Francis Ngannou. No, I’m good.
Cormier also dished on what he hopes happens with Jon Jones’ hearing:
Cormier: Come on. You know me, right? I’m the guy that tries to run through a wall, constantly, just to try to break it. I won’t go around it, I’ll keep running through the wall. So what do you think I’m hoping for? Say it! What do you think I’m hoping for?
Reporter: You want him to come back so you can have another fight…
Cormier: There you go.
Skip to the 11:00 mark for Cormier’s thoughts on moving to heavyweight.
White also mentioned that they are working on UFC Hawaii, which Max Holloway and the several Hawaiian fighters on the roster will be happy to hear.
Insomnia
Thinking about this heavyweight fight is going to give me insomnia all by itself.
Our first face off was intense and made me excited to be there on January 20th and get this done. #ufc220 #AndNew pic.twitter.com/ayziyXNNvW
— Francis NGannou (@francis_ngannou) December 30, 2017
Dana White spends a lot of time watching viral videos of kids almost dying, but hey, it’s better than asking how McGregor has never defended a title, right?
HOLY SHIT!!!! This guy is lucky to be alive. pic.twitter.com/By2nOqCZSE
— Dana White (@danawhite) December 29, 2017
It seems that Pietro Menga wasn’t given any second chances after missing weight on short notice against Tim Elliot.
Surprising move. Yes, he missed weight and didn’t fight, but it was super short notice and he’s a big-time prospect in a division that could big-time prospects and personalities. Historically, mulligans are given in these cases but alas…
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) December 29, 2017
Ian McCall is cursed to high heaven, and he’s not exaggerating calling himself the unluckiest person in the sport of MMA, ever.
Well I’m officially the unluckiest person the sport of mma ever … cut from Fucking a ring rope. Not the loud mouth cunt I was about to smash.
— Ian McCall (@Unclecreepymma) December 29, 2017
They are super hard LED piping. That coupled with the fact that in japan they don’t let fighters put Vaseline on our faces like everywhere does. That’s one stipulation I’ll make sure is in my next contract. We have to have it on our faces or things like tonight happen. https://t.co/s8WMxlNF6C
— Ian McCall (@Unclecreepymma) December 29, 2017
This is an amazing illustration of how training and gameplanning can play out in the fight.
Zach Makovsky tore his ACL, another reminder the physical toll the fight game takes on it’s athletes.
Sidelined. This is my likely viewpoint for the first half of 2018. Unfortunately, I’ve suffered the 1st serious injury of my career, a torn acl. I plan on doing whatever I can to make a full recovery & have a stellar last couple years of competition. pic.twitter.com/UNvSkwMe2b
— Zachary Makovsky (@ZachFunSize) December 29, 2017
I guess we can rule out a title shot for young SuperBoy.
(VIDEO) @KoreanSuperBoy7 Doo Ho Choi just made an appearance. Here’s his media scrum. Says he has one year to go until his mandatory military service begins.https://t.co/5hmsNhwqPC
— Chamatkar Sandhu (@SandhuMMA) December 29, 2017
Cowboy Cerrone’s underwater kettlebell training makes my lungs want to burst just watching it:
Mackenzie Dern having year-end fun:
Cris Cyborg is spending her days as champion doing good, and that’s admirable.
UFC women’s featherweight champ @CrisCyborg sharing a smile with the media at her toy drive for the kids of the Sunrise Children’s Hospital in Las Vegas???? . : @allelbows pic.twitter.com/hvzPI1bUcq
— MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) December 29, 2017
She even tried to answer Covington’s A-hole quips with positivity and kindness, but the only language that guy understands is a boomerang to the head
I will help promote any community outreach projects you are a part of. Your platform can help change communities and lives one day too. God bless
— #UFC219 #CyborgNation (@criscyborg) December 29, 2017
Stipe Miocic puts Ariel Helwani in a rear-naked choke.
.@stipemiocicufc vs @arielhelwani pic.twitter.com/lSEvU0EkB8
— Zombie Prophet (@ZPGIFs) December 29, 2017
Podcasts and Video
Flyin Brian J gives you his beer pairing suggestions for tomorrow night:
Joe Rogan waxes lyrical one last time on Cyborg-Holm
Random Land
I love this kind of story:
Against all the odds, this tiny mammoth survived the ice age. It was crafted in woolly mammoth ivory with simple flint tools 35,000 years ago in southern Germany. It was then found in the post-excavation spoil at Vogelherd Cave 70 years after the original excavations! #IceAgeArt pic.twitter.com/S2KFr2wTHP
— The Ice Age (@Jamie_Woodward_) December 26, 2017
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