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Welcome to Midnight Mania!
After yet another delay to his long-awaited return, former Bantamweight kingpin TJ Dillashaw once again has a return date scheduled.
Dillashaw was expected to face rising Bantamweight knockout artist Cory Sandhagen just a couple weeks ago at UFC Vegas 26, but a clash of heads in the training room derailed that main event from taking place. Per a report from MMAJunkie, the bout has been rebooked for a scheduled Fight Night event on July 24, 2021. Though it was not officially reported as the main event, one would assume it will once again receive that position atop the card.
Barring any further injury or incident, it will be roughly 2.5 years from his last bout, a first-round knockout loss to Henry Cejudo that cost him his double-champ opportunity. Of course, a failed USADA test was much more costly, relieving Dillashaw of his Bantamweight crown and sitting him on the sidelines for two full years.
It remains to be seen if Dillashaw will return still at the height of his powers.
As for Sandhagen, the Colorado-based kickboxer rebounded from a loss to Aljamain Sterling last Summer about as well as is humanly possible. He brutally and efficiently stopped both Marlon Moraes and Frankie Edgar, promptly returning his to the title mix. With a win over the former champ, Sandhagen likely secures his first title shot.
Now, fingers crossed for no further injuries, drug test failures, or COVID-19 delays.
Insomnia
The face-off between these two kids is hilarious, but it grows even funnier when SO MANY ACCOUNTS make Henry Cejudo jokes.
Winner will fight @HenryCejudo pic.twitter.com/p6Fmt2LyP2
— Petr “No Mercy” Yan (@PetrYanUFC) May 17, 2021
UFC has officially gone global!
Aljamain Sterling is currently the only US born male UFC Champion.
Francis Ngannou- Cameroon
Jan B?achowicz- Poland
Israel Adesanya- Nigeria
Kamaru Usman- Nigeria
Charles Oliveira- Brazil
Alex Volkanovski- Australia
Deiveson Figueiredo- BrazilThis is an international sport
— MMA History Today (@MMAHistoryToday) May 17, 2021
Max Griffin was being nice and still sent this child flying!
This is what a wrestling legend in his 60s looks like!
You never want to be known as the snot guy.
I am 100% sure that by the time this publishes, MMAmania will have written an entire article about this incident, but Derrick Lewis beating up a would-be car thief demands inclusion.
Slips, rips, and KO clips
Is this one of the best knockouts of the last few years, or am I biased?
Fight week! pic.twitter.com/70X6TZVCqE
— MS (@UFC_Obsessed) May 17, 2021
The duality of man:
Sangtiennoi, a champion from Muay Thai’s golden era, committed suicide three days ago. Obviously, I know nothing about the specific situation beyond what is easily available to read online, but there’s definitely a connection between head trauma (especially in one’s youth) and depression. RIP
Random Land
My lifting buddy (and actually my first BJJ student!) sent me this, described as “a deadlift that fights back!”
Midnight Music: The lyrics of this track made me laugh, and I hope the same for my readers.
Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.