Bringing you the weird and wild from the world of MMA each and every quarantined night!
Welcome to Midnight Mania!
These are dark times, full of bad news and general paranoia. The Coronavirus pandemic has brought about ugly reactions from many around the globe, such as panic-induced hoarding of basic essentials or those goofy Florida spring-breakers who continued to party and put others at risk.
It can be disheartening, which is why the video below comes as such a joyous occasion, a wonderful moment of instant karma. Not long after spitting onto oranges, thus confirming himself a garbage person, and potentially spreading the virus, the hand of an angry shop keep — or perhaps, the hand of God — struck down with a dizzying blow.
Man Spits on Oranges: Shopkeeper slaps him into his next attempt at life. pic.twitter.com/18FZ9yeuDO
— @Emma Down Under (@emm_downunder) March 28, 2020
The account that posted the video included this additional context in a reply, “…. here’s what I know. I got it in an email, explaining he spat on oranges, was told off by a female – he got abusive with her & got slapped for both. But the person who recorded it only started after voices were raised. That’s why he didn’t capture the entire conflict.”
Aside from the general joys of watching justice distributed, it’s an excellent reminder: keep your fluids to yourself!
Insomnia
A great thread breaking down the UFC’s finances and potential losses due to COVID-19.
Saw some discussion about this so I thought I’d take a quick look at the UFC’s numbers and try to guesstimate how much shutting down events is costing them 1/
— John S. Nash (@heynottheface) March 28, 2020
Darren Till with the accuracy:
Given all the sensual photo shoots between these two I’ve seen while gathering content, this is the least surprising news of the year.
Commentary reactions are endlessly entertaining.
You could put 5 hours of the commentary teams reactions on here and I’d watch it all like it was nothing pic.twitter.com/CLXaNgrtNe
— Connoisseur of Combat (@ConOfCombat) March 31, 2020
Somehow, I don’t remember seeing this story back when it happened. Regardless, imagine being that little dude and squaring off with a gigantic boxer known for hellacious punching power — time to rethink some life decisions.
Remembering when Deontay Wilder travelled to LA and beat up internet troll Charlie Zelenoff back in 2014. Wilder claimed Zelenoff racially abused him and made threats about his daughter.pic.twitter.com/2RMhuveYGO
— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) March 31, 2020
Angela Hill brought the heat with this amazing sketch of Chase Hooper’s lineage.
Angela Hill sketched a family portrait featuring @Benaskren, @SugaSeanMMA and @chase_hooper, and it’s magnificent (via @AngieOverkill) pic.twitter.com/hIbimJW3l6
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) April 1, 2020
Slips, rips, and KO clips
It’s generally easier to hit an opponent that is moving forward, which is particularly important at Heavyweight where it really only takes one shot. A lot of big men steamroll early opposition until they run into someone with even a bit of counter punching skill …
Two examples!
When in doubt, yank!
I think a lot of fans don’t understand that taunts and showboating can be more about feeling the moment of the fight rather than actual disrespect.
Random Land
Midnight Music: I saw this on Twitter today commemorating a combat sports legend …
The first black man to become king of the big man division, Mr. Jack Johnson, was born #OnThisDay back in 1878, so here he is test driving a high-powered racing car and smoking a cigar like the bad-ass he was. #Heavyweight #History #Boxing #Sports #Legend #OTD #HBD pic.twitter.com/OhACMJAxbW
— HeavyweightHistory (@HVYWeightHeroes) April 1, 2020
… and figured I’d use this as a chance to share one of my favorite Miles Davis albums: A Tribute To Jack Johnson. The follow-up to Bitches Brew, 1971’s Tribute moves even further from jazz fusion to jazz rock with a brilliant pair of 25-minute tracks.
Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.