Bringing you the weird and wild from the world of MMA each and every weeknight!
Welcome to Midnight Mania!
Twelve years after his championship run on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF), Tony Ferguson may be returning to the TUF house. The tweet above from Ferguson is, per usual, garbled in “El Cucuy” speech, but fortunately, years of experience reading Tony Ferguson tweets has granted me a certain fluency in deciphering his code.
“I’ve Been Asked To Coach On TUF Against Ol’e Fathead” is a reference to Khabib Nurmagomedov, the rivalry that never actually made it into the Octagon despite four attempts to book the “cursed” fight. The two were reportedly on track to coach against one another as recently as September 2022, but perhaps Khabib’s decision to step back from the sport has interfered with those plans.
With Nurmagomedov out, Ferguson’s “I Choose You McKnacker @TheNotoriousMMA See Ewe Soon” seems to be a direct answer to Conor McGregor’s recent post about coaching the show.
Entertainment aside, the fight does make a bit of sense. Both men most recently competed at Welterweight, and they’re undergoing rough patches. Admittedly, Ferguson’s skid is far more severe. He’s lost five fights in a row, mostly via stoppage, whereas McGregor lost merely lost two in a row to Dustin Poirier. Still, McGregor’s recent activities include recovering from a shattered leg and filming scenes for the Roadhouse reboot, so it makes sense for him to challenge an opponent outside of the Top 10 on his return.
Insomnia
Georges St. Pierre with a very Canadian moment:
Jiri Prochazka is a gift to the MMA community.
Gilbert Burns vs. Jorge Masvidal on the same card as Kamaru Usman vs. Leon Edwards? WOULD WATCH!
LONDON? https://t.co/mn8rLNrw6Z
— GILBERT BURNS DURINHO (@GilbertDurinho) January 26, 2023
Kyler Phillips vs. Raphael Assuncao is a banger of Bantamweight match up. Can Assuncao’s crafty counters keep up with the younger man’s athleticism?
Kyler Phillips vs. Raphael Assuncao headed to UFC Fight Night 221 in March #UFCLasVegas https://t.co/QK0lfWFxdS
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) January 26, 2023
English fight fans are feeling the pain of UFC London ticket prices.
£397 for a UFC286 ticket???? if any UFC fighters or people who have contacts can get me X2 tickets I’ll happily give you a foot massage for an hour, might suck a toe if you have nice feet too x
— Sammy-Jo Luxton (@sammyjoluxton1) January 26, 2023
Gerard Meerschaert vs. any Middleweight prospect is always a recipe for a fun scrap.
Gerald Meerschaert will fight Joe Pyfer at #UFC287 on April 8th. (first rep.@JakeNoeckerMMA) #UFC #MMA #UFCESPN #UFC2023 pic.twitter.com/O9P8caXynD
— Marcel Dorff (@BigMarcel24) January 25, 2023
Kyle Daukaus had a difficult, head clash-filled UFC run.
? Fighter removed: Kyle Daukaus
— UFC Roster Watch (@UFCRosterWatch) January 25, 2023
Here’s the medical explanation as to why Liam Harrison didn’t get to box Floyd Mayweather.
Happy Chinese New Year!
Slips, rips, and KO clips
One overhand right > four punch combination
Hyuma Hitachi is my new fave because he ever gets bored of the fight he can just do this pic.twitter.com/nG3EwImyvU
— Jack Slack (@JackSlackMMA) January 26, 2023
Gerald Harris is an underappreciated innovator. His forearm to the throat pre-slam strategy produced quite a few knockouts and has yet to really be replicated.
The angle on this right high kick is so sneaky …
Sergey Osipov. Placed second in the 8th world open tournament. The kick that made him famous. Just beautiful stuff. pic.twitter.com/KJZR5ukw3y
— Karate Pathfinder (@xKaratepath) January 25, 2023
Random Land
Alfred Hitchcock foretold this.
Starlings migrating over Rome making the sky look like static. pic.twitter.com/7UbfaLuRqo
— Fascinating (@fasc1nate) January 26, 2023
Midnight Music: Rock, 1974
Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.