Midnight Mania! Death Penalty Sought For Alleged Blanchard Killer

Walt Harris Instagram

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

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

I’ll be honest, I really was hoping to find a different headline for tonight’s article. The circumstances surrounding the abduction and murder of Aniah Blanchard — UFC Heavyweight Walt Harris’ step daughter — are neither “weird” nor “wild.”

It’s all just disgustingly sad.

Nevertheless, more details have emerged regarding Blanchard’s death and the subsequent case against her alleged killers. Lee County District Attorney Brandon Hughes revealed today that Blanchard was killed via gunshot by the first of the three men arrested, Ibraheem Yazeed, and that the prosecutors will seek the death penalty against him.

Here’s the relevant quote from Hughes, courtesy of MMAFighting: “In the interests of public safety, I can say that the investigation has determined Ibraheem Yazeed to be the lone person responsible for Aniah’s abduction and her murder and he remains in the Lee County jail without bond,’’ Hughes said on Monday. “Mr. Yazeed remains innocent of any charges against him until his guilt is proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

From its first moments, law enforcement moved swiftly and methodically to find Aniah’s abductor, her murderer, and her. The process of seeing justice done on behalf of Aniah and her family will not be swift, but it will be thorough. It is my intention that the response to this horrific crime serve as a warning to anyone who believes they want to come to Lee County and engage in violent criminal behavior. You will be dealt with and the consequences will be severe.”

There is no real solace in a situation like this, but at least it appears that justice will be swift.

Insomnia

Sorry if the rest of the article is not particularly zany — jokes don’t seem appropriate anymore. At any rate, John Wayne Parr ended his legendary combat sports career with a win over the weekend.

This young man knows how to put torque on his punches, and his father (I’m assuming) is a tough dude.

Is the next Chinese UFC champion in this picture?

Israel Adesanya vs. Yoel Romero seems more and more likely.

“Everything’s impossible until somebody does it.” – Batman

Slips, rips, and KO clips

Aleksander Emelianenko picked up a win over the weekend, how long until he makes his Bare Knuckle debut?

A clip for those who hate functional elbow joints:

A couple quick touches to set up the real power shot:

Random Land

Best of luck sleeping tonight.

Midnight Music: My Discover Weekly playlist introduced me to Jesse Jo Stark and her homage to one of my favorite musicians, Mr. Lou Reed.

Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.