Midnight Mania! Holly Holm Out Of UFC 243

Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

Bringing you the weird and wild from the world of MMA each and every weeknight! Welcome to Midnight Mania!
Just eight days out from UFC 243, Holly Holm has been forced to withdraw from her scheduled re…

MMA: UFC 239-Nunes vs Holm

Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

Bringing you the weird and wild from the world of MMA each and every weeknight!

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

Just eight days out from UFC 243, Holly Holm has been forced to withdraw from her scheduled rematch with Raquel Pennington.

The two first fought in 2015, with Holm scoring a split-decision victory. Since then, both women have challenged Amanda Nunes for the title, though neither came close to dethroning “Lioness.”

It’s a definite blow to UFC 243, which is not the deepest pay-per-view (PPV) event of the year. Luckily, the main event is an absolute must-watch bout between Robert Whittaker and Israel Adesanya. So long as that fight remains intact, the night is not ruined.

Insomnia

Me, two days ago: Cutelaba is an psychopath in the best way.
Cutelaba, today:

Paulo Bananada drinking a fan’s beer between rounds is almost as wild as the fact that his last name begins with the word “banana.”

Matt Riddle apparently still holds a grudge. They never should’ve released “Chipper!”

Ngannou armed and in military-type clothing is somehow no more intimidating than his regular appearance.

Holloway hasn’t given up hope on UFC Hawaii just yet.

View this post on Instagram

#UFCHawaii. I’ve said it a million times… but it’s never been about only me. I’ve just been the lucky one to have the mic. Hawaii has more MMA athletes than almost anywhere and getting the UFC here would give some of them a chance. To grow their gyms. To be champs for their families. To show our kids in some sad situations a better way.? ? Abu Dhabi has a 5 year deal with the UFC for many events and my brothers Khabib and Dustin just put on a show. Melbourne just invested several million to fill a 60,000 stadium next week and boost tourism. The Hawaii Tourism Authority has a $80M year budget but nothing has been invested in MMA events yet. Maybe we just can’t compete with these other cities? I don’t know. ? ? But I know this. MMA is part of our culture in Hawaii and it’s getting bigger every day. It’s in our DNA. We warriors. The HTA invests our tax dollars in a lot of events… PGA golf, pre-season LA Clippers, Hawaii Bowl, and you know I’mma probably show up to all of those with Rush. But if we’re going to invest $80M a year to support tourism and spread our culture, I hope we consider how martial arts fits into that. The kickboxing mamas getting in workouts this morning. The young girls learning jiu-jitsu for self defense after school today. My training partners who are gonna get blessed this afternoon. There are thousands of people across Hawaii who make MMA what it is and now that there’s been a change in leadership at the HTA after the audit, I hope we figure out how all of them will be represented in the future.? ? Until then… it is what it is. #UFC245 is #UFCHawaii on the 9th island. My team is working on travel deals, meet and greets, and after parties to make this as special as we can for everyone from Hawaii. More soon. And to my Canadians see you in Vegas for the holidays! We’ll make it feel like Hawaii for you ? UFC 245: Holloway vs Volkanovski? 12.14.19: Las Vegas, 9th Island ? 10.18.19: Tickets on sale ? ? #BlessedExpress

A post shared by Max Holloway (@blessedmma) on

Extremely high-level wrestling below!

Slips, rips, and KO clips

Let’s begin with a fun faceplant.

Here’s another really cool throwback fight, this time featuring an adolescent Brian Ortega sporting a blue mohawk.

Mark Madsen is set to fight Danilo Belluardo in tomorrow’s co-main event.

Random Land

Corn hole greatness:

This may be the slowest slide in human history.

Midnight Music: Psychedelic and rowdy, Sturgill Simpson is perhaps the most interesting voice in modern country music. His new album SOUND & FURY released today, but it’s not really a country album… at all. It’s a torrid rock album with wacky synths. There’s a lot of distortion and chaos instrumentally. There’s an accompanying anime film released on Netflix. After two listens, I’ll be fully honest and say that I probably prefer his previous albums and sound, but risk-taking and creativity of this level demands respect.

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