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Welcome to Midnight Mania!
Tomorrow night (Sat., Dec. 14, 2024), UFC will venture to the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida for the final event of the year. UFC Tampa is a fun card with some good match ups, particularly the main event between established contender Colby Covington and rising finisher Joaquin Buckley. The rest of the event features the usual mix of veterans, Contenders Series products, and a handful of particularly fun action fighters like Adrian Yanez and Joel Alvarez.
It’s not one of the best events of the year or anything, but it should be an exciting night with a live crowd. If you’re looking for a little extra push to tune in, however, UFC commentator Brendan Fitzgerald teased a surprise in the main event. According to Fitzgerald’s comments during the MMAFighting weigh-in show, there’s something special planned during Covington’s walkout.
“We always manage to top ourselves each year,” Fitzgerald began. “For the first time in a while, I’m like ‘what are we going do in 2025 to outdo [UFC 300] and The Sphere?’ I don’t know. We’re going to try and I’m sure we’ll think of something …
“Don’t miss the Colby walkout. That’s all I’m going to say. It’s going to be a moment, going to be fun.”
Shout out to Brendan Fitzgerald who hopped on the @MMAFighting #UFCTampa weigh-in show and says Colby Covington’s walkout tomorrow night is something that shouldn’t be missed. pic.twitter.com/HDN1rfCPHT
— Mike Heck (@MikeHeck_JR) December 13, 2024
“Chaos” has put more effort into his UFC walkouts than many. Not only has Covington adopted the beloved Kurt Angle “YOU SUCK!” walkout, but he’s also been walked to the cage by Lil Wayne of all people. If I were a betting man, I would lean towards the idea that Donald Trump is involved somehow …
Fight fans will just have to tune in tomorrow to find out the surprise.
Insomnia
… I don’t think Colby’s walkout is going to be crazier than THIS!
What a walkout yesterday in #Romania.
What the hell? pic.twitter.com/LnLRJ2xQNW— Martin Glover (@MartinGlover71) December 13, 2024
Alexandre Pantoja reigning atop a throne of bones feels appropriate.
Words of encouragement from the 2024 Coach of the Year!
2019 X 2024 Never Give up on your Dreams, if someone try to tell you something different , Don’t listen to them , Chama #ufc #glorykickboxing #coachcruz #alexpereira #chama #cruzmma #mma pic.twitter.com/oh6Gw59E6W
— Plinio Cruz ( Coach Cruz ) (@pliniocruzmma) December 13, 2024
One of the big reasons behind the success of Team Khabib is the fact that they really invest in their training camps, bringing in elite partners and coaches.
Umars main training partners for the fight against Merab:
•Magomed Tiger (20-4)Bellator BW
•Kasum Kasumov(16-1) Bellator BW
•Rashid Vagabov (12-2) UAE warriors BW
•Renat Khavalov (8-0) UAE warriors BW
•Kadimagomedov (Olympic champion)
•Javid Basharat(14-1) UFC BW pic.twitter.com/aKTQrb2cyU— General?Usman (@UsmanTime) December 13, 2024
Umar Nurmagomedov training with Henry Cejudo ahead of his fight against Merab
@TeamKhabib #UFC311 #UFC #MMApic.twitter.com/jHnLsxekvm
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) December 13, 2024
Matt Serra is unimpressed by both Sean O’Malley and coach Tim Welch.
This series of goofy clips reminds me of the random old Russian man who would repeatedly and very loudly belly-to-back suplex the body-size punching bags while pro practice was going on.
UFC has no idea what to do with Curtis Blaydes.
Curtis Blaydes will fight Rizvan Kuniev at #UFCSeattle on February 22nd. (first rep. Bigi Boy on @LynchOnSports) #UFC #MMA #UFCESPN #UFC2025 pic.twitter.com/tnMmmSyQge
— Marcel Dorff (@BigMarcel24) December 13, 2024
Slips, rips, and KO clips
Uppercut vs. overhand is always a dangerous game to play, but it REALLY worked out here!
ROGERIO SOBRINHO WITH AN ABSOLUTE NUKE #SHOOTO127 pic.twitter.com/ir9LNGjZAV
— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) December 14, 2024
Follow up shots made it official, but this fight was over when the right hand landed.
J.T. Botha knocks out Khulekani Hlongwa in 39 seconds. Huge overhand right and GNP #EFC120 pic.twitter.com/O7LWTUpN7a
— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) December 12, 2024
Dueling elbows!
XAVI IS BACKKK
Beautiful counter elbow dropping Petkitti then finishing him with a punch combination. Xavi’s fight is never a boring one.#ONEFridayFights90 pic.twitter.com/aZGOcOYnbg
— Tetsuya (@TetsuyaMT789) December 6, 2024
Random Land
Behind-the-scenes info on an all-time classic:
For this scene in Goodfellas, there wasn’t a script. Martin Scorsese’s mother was simply told to behave like a typical mom, and the whole bit about her cooking a meal at 2 AM was entirely improvised by her. pic.twitter.com/escTFOms22
— Scorsese Universe (@scorsesepoint) December 11, 2024
Midnight Music: Folky R&B (?), 2009
Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.