Photo credit should read PHYO HEIN KYAW/AFP/Getty Images
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Welcome to Midnight Mania!
Someone, somewhere has been listening to too much Joe Rogan Experience and watching lots of Lethwei, because we have a true monster on our hands.
New promotion WOTORE promises “the most brutal bare knuckle fights” and features a truly wild rule set. Along with nixing gloves, WOTORE allows headbutts. The Burmese martial art Lethwei has similar rules but is stand up fighting only, whereas WOTORE includes wrestling and ground work. In addition, the fights will take place in an “open arena,” and there is no time limit or separate rounds.
Per the promotion’s website, “The fight ends with the surrendering of the opponent, K.O., leaving or being thrown out of the arena.”
At this time, further details are scarce. The thread on Reddit indicates that the promotion will debut on April 1st, 2020, but I cannot confirm that information on the website. Per the Polish tweet below, it also seems that there will not be weight classes, and the location will not be made public.
Miejsce gali Wotore nie zostanie nigdzie podane, a samo wydarzenie transmitowane b?dzie w PPV. W karcie walk pojedynek 70 kg muay thai vs 180 kg sumo.
— Maciej Szumowski (@MaciekMMA) October 3, 2019
Tweet translation via Google Translate: “The place of Wotore will not be given anywhere, and the event will be broadcast in PPV. In the Battle Card duel 70 kg Muay thai vs 180 kg sumo.”
It sounds like a complete disaster, and I’m here for it. Who else is now planning to tune in for this nonsense?
Insomnia
Wrestling legend Lee Kemp has a documentary on him being released, check out some old school clips!
It’s hard to see Jorge Masvidal’s flying knee being dethrone as MMA moment of the year.
It’s really time for Charles Oliveira to receive a ranked opponent (again), but I’ll never miss a “Do Bronx” fight.
Charles Oliveira will fight Jared Gordon at UFN 164 in São Paulo, Brazil. (Nov. 16, 2019). #UFC #UFCSaoPaulo #MMA #UFCESPN pic.twitter.com/LU1e8tO1IN
— MaRCeL DoRFF (@BigMarcel24) October 3, 2019
Dominick Cruz flowing on mitts with longtime UFC vet Ross Pearson.
Some sweet art/edits for Saturday’s brilliant main event:
Dan Hooker talks the mental aspects of fighting ahead of his bout with Al Iaquinta.
Slips, rips, and KO clips
Young Dan Hardy brought the violence.
It’s always a bad sign when your mouth piece shoots across the cage like a thrown dart.
This one-armed Muay Thai fighter is a badass. It’s interesting how Nick Newell thrives on the mat, whereas Jake Peacock is succeeding in striking matches.
Random Land
Fantastic novel, movie, and performance! What’s the most you’ve ever lost on a coin toss?
Psychiatrists studied 400 movies to find the most realistic psychopath — and Anton Chigurh from “No country for old Men” is the winner. “He seems to be effectively invulnerable and resistant to any form of emotion or humanity,” the researchers wrote
(https://t.co/w0ShBkHvem) pic.twitter.com/NUyiVMSB28— 41 Strange (@41Strange) October 2, 2019
This knee-to-the-face may be worse than the aforementioned Masvidal KO…
Midnight Music: Nick Cave’s latest album Ghosteen premiered earlier today, and of course I listened to it. It’s a frequently bleak double album with ambient passages, largely focused on the sudden death of his son. It is not an easy listen on any level. But then, neither was his 2016 album Skeleton Tree, which is probably my second or third favorite LP of the decade (so far). It will take a lot more time to process Ghosteen.
On a side note, readers have probably noticed my general preference for older music. While I do listen to most major new releases and plenty of minor ones too, in truth there are perhaps a dozen modern artists/bands whose new releases seriously excite me. At the time of posting, three of those 12(ish) will officially release new albums and quite a handful more in the rest of October. Happy Friday folks!
Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.