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Welcome to Midnight Mania!
Credit to Henri Hooft and the Blackzilians team for raising up two 170 lbs. fighters to elite status, but being so successful can make things awkward! In order to properly face his team mate, Kamaru Usman has relocated away from Florida to Colorado, home of Grudge Training Center, head coach Trevor Wittman, and interim Lightweight champion Justin Gaethje.
Separated by just a single weight class, the two champions are a powerful duo, and the meetup comes at a great time. For Usman, he could definitely use a sparring partner with real physicality, aggression, and powerful hooks to emulate Gilbert Burns. Meanwhile, barring the Dagestani himself, there is no one better to prepare for Khabib Nurmagomedov’s strength and unrelenting takedowns than “Nigerian Nightmare.”
The brief snippet above really showcases the benefits for both men. Gaethje is forced to scramble out of bottom position then immediately goes on the offensive, forcing the clinch brawl Gaethje desires and Usman must be prepared for.
There are definite hints of the legendary Don Frye vs. Yoshihiro Takayama exchange, but fortunately these two are targeting the body and saving their brains for the fight itself. As Gaethje says in his caption, iron sharpens iron!
Usman is scheduled to face Burns at UFC 251 on Sat. July 11, 2020 on Fight Island, while Gaethje will likely square off with Nurmagomedov in September.
Insomnia
Dustin Poirier’s ability to fight through hard low kicks is seemingly unmatched, but he surely still feels them afterward.
Kankle pic.twitter.com/ofUaa2qcZG
— The Diamond (@DustinPoirier) July 1, 2020
If you like fights, August is your month!
The Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) has just approved #UFC events for the following dates:
Aug. 1
Aug. 8
Aug. 15
Aug. 22
Aug. 29Also, #DWCS events for:
Aug. 4
Aug. 11
Aug. 18
Aug. 25August is going to be a busy month, MMA folks!
— Nolan King (@mma_kings) July 1, 2020
UFC has a backup plan this time if Deiveison Figueiredo misses weight again, as Alexandre Pantoja will serve as back up should either “God of War” or Joseph Benavidez fall out/miss weight.
UFC escala Alexandre ‘Pantoja’ como reserva de Deiveson Figueiredo em luta por cinturão
https://t.co/3Ov0kfiO5X— Ag. Fight (@AgFight) July 1, 2020
Breaking: Cody Garbrandt is still really fast.
Introducing a new Internet challenge: can you listen to an entire 20 seconds of a Tito Ortiz speech?
Inspiring… pic.twitter.com/7gigZYKkTr
— Borrachinha Depot (@FullContactMTWF) July 1, 2020
In the sea of underpaid fighters, this stands out as particularly egregious. “The Korean Zombie” is South Korea’s biggest star, best fighter, and he either scores brutal finishes or puts on “Fight of the Night”-type brawls.
The Korean Zombie got 26k/26k in his last fight.
— DRE. (@snapintuit) June 30, 2020
Slips, rips, and KO clips
Talk sh*t, get hit is applicable regardless of race, color, or creed.
lol at bigots thinking gay dudes don’t have them hands tho pic.twitter.com/rawPoPspy2
— Zeus Tipado (@tipado) June 29, 2020
To add onto the questions below, who has the most powerful jab in UFC? What about best overall?
The Legendary Jab of Larry Holmes
1. Who possessed the best jab that you have seen?
2. Who has the best jab in boxing today? pic.twitter.com/olU1vT02ho
— Steve Boxman (@SteveBoxman) June 29, 2020
Robert Whittaker vs. Darren Till is going to be an awesome fight.
Robert Whittaker hitting cool left hooks pic.twitter.com/OYkUIvcnwJ
— Sriram Muralidaran (@SriramMSays) July 1, 2020
Random Land
10 years worth of footage of the Sun, condensed into 60 seconds!
10 years.
20 million gigabytes of data.
425 million hi-res images of the Sun.A new time-lapse video marks a decade of operations for our @NASASun Solar Dynamics Observatory. Watch: https://t.co/jRRWuBfcLb pic.twitter.com/SPBDWfJwzP
— NASA (@NASA) June 24, 2020
Midnight Music: New Ty Dolla $ign track dropped today and features FKA Twigs and Kanye, so I had to check it out! Also Skrillex apparently?
Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.