Midnight Mania! GSP: Nick Diaz Could Still Be Champion!

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Welcome to Midnight Mania!

Georges St. Pierre will go down as one of the most respectful athletes in UFC history. “I was not impressed by your performance” aside, “GSP” was rarely dragged into any trash-talking or ugliness, yet still became one of the sport’s biggest stars.

As such, it’s hardly a surprise that the Canadian athlete is still respectful to an old foe, even if said opponent was less kind to him back in the day. Asked about Nick Diaz’s potential return to the cage, “Rush” was more optimistic than most.

“I wish him the best, I love to see him fight,” St. Pierre began. “I just wish and hope that he comes back as good or even better than he was. I believe he can be champion. He has a crazy style. He comes forward, and his game is very, very, very underrated. When you fight him, you feel the feeling of claustrophobic.

“He’s playing with your mind. He’s very well-rounded. I think he can get up there and cause a lot of problems to a lot of guys. I always said it, I believe when Tyron Woodley was champion, he should have gone and fight Tyron. It would have been a great fight for the fans, and he would have had a chance to win because of the style.

“Now, the champion is Kamaru Usman, who’s a different style of fighting. I don’t know how he’s going to match with that, but he should give it a shot before it’s too late, he’ll regret it. If he feels as sharp as he was or even better, he should do it.”

Hypothetical match ups or not, it’s always interesting to hear St. Pierre’s insight. Indeed, Diaz’s pressure could theoretically have troubled Woodley. That statement seems less crazy now after having seen Woodley struggle with opposite strategy, but St. Pierre has been saying it for a while now, once calling Diaz a “nightmare” for “T-Wood.” Usman — with his endless gas tank, absurd strength, and excellent wrestling — would likely have far less trouble, though “GSP” was polite enough to avoid saying that directly.

Currently, Diaz remains unbooked. Meanwhile, St. Pierre is officially retired, but rumors of a potential super fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov refuse to die.

Insomnia

Ronaldo Souza is opening a jiu-jitsu gym in Orlando, Florida, which is a killer opportunity for any grapplers in “The Sunshine State.”

Choose your approach to street fighting (I’m partial to No. 9):

Corey Anderson would be well-advised to shoot immediately.

From experience, I can tell you the regional fight scene has dried up terribly. There’s zero hope of fighting in California right now. I am fortunate enough to have connections through Team Alpha Male, but any up-and-coming fighter not at a similarly major gym is in a really tough position.

This is an awesome match up. Welterweight is ridiculous when the fighters actually agree to fight one another!

I loved Darren Till’s rant against those on social media who are over-eager to extoll the virtues of waking up early and working hard (without having a real point).

Slips, rips, and KO clips

I’ve never seen this fight in full (wasn’t a big combat sports fan in 1997), but this is one hell of a brawl from the highlights alone.

ACA provided the violence this weekend.

Magomed Bibulatov should not have been released from UFC.

Random Land

These clips are apparently over a decade old (makes sense from the music choices), but it’s still the most haunting thing I’ll post this October.

Midnight Music: Apologies for dropping the ball, this should have been featured last night.

Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.