Midnight Mania! ‘I Don’t Want Them Losing Their Money’

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Almost five years after their first showdown for the inaugural BMF belt, Jorge Masvidal and Nate Diaz are rumored to be competing once more. Masvidal battered Diaz en route to a third-round doctor’s stoppage back in 2019, but there’s always been unfinished business between the duo. This time around, Diaz and Masvidal are rumored to be competing in the ring in Las Vegas, Nevada sometime in March 2024, though details have yet to fully materialize since the initial announcement last week.

Longtime UFC veteran and analyst Chael Sonnen is hoping the news never crystalizes.

According to Sonnen, a Diaz vs. Masvidal rematch is, quite simply, a bad idea and doesn’t expect it to be profitable. In fact, he expects that it will cost somebody a whole lot of money.

“This is amongst — if not the worst — idea I have heard in a meaningful period of time, unless your goal is like Brewster’s Millions to see how fast you can [run] out of money,” Sonnen said on his YouTube channel (via MMAFighting). “The only thing that has kept [boxing] alive is that you keep finding a bigger fool who is willing to lose money.”

Sonnen doesn’t like any part of the match up outside of the names involved. He deems boxing a worse decision than an MMA rematch, and he also thinks competing against UFC 300 — by holding the bout in Las Vegas in March — is also setting them up for trouble. With so many signs pointing towards failure in his opinion, Sonnen has serious concerns about who is financing the bout.

“That’s my one big question, who is promoting this,” Sonnen asked. “Who is putting this event on? The information [being reported] is these boys were going to box, it was going to be in March, and it was going to be in Vegas — and that is mistake, mistake, mistake. Anything in life is baseball rules … if you get three strikes, get out, whatever it is.

“The [report] that I read had three points, all three were a disaster. Baseball, get out.

“My fear is that Nate, and/or Jorge, is putting their money in, and I don’t want them losing their money. I don’t want them doing this. I don’t know that they are, I’m just suggesting on this piece of information that I got.”

If the bout does go down as rumored, will you tune in?

Insomnia

This is … not a good UFC 297 poster.

Signing posters directly across from your opponent while in the midst of the weight cut is at least a little awkward.

Artur Beterbiev has one of the most insane workout regiments in modern combat sports.

I read this tweet thinking it was an overreaction or exaggeration, but watch the clip and tell me you’re not wondering the same thing …

I will always tune in to see both Paul Craig and “Huggy Bear” Chris Barnett.

Surely one of the craziest moments of 2023:

Slips, rips, and KO clips

These videos make me laugh every time.

Will Dricus Du Plessis’ grappling come into play against Sean Strickland? His ability to mangle Robert Whittaker in roughly 60 seconds of top position was kind of shocking.

Rustam Khabilov had a gift for picking people up and dropping them on their head.

Random Land

Octopi are basically aliens.

Midnight Music: A request from the inbox, specifically an homage for the anniversary of the death of Cranberries front-woman Dolores O’Riordan … How could I say no to “Zombie?”

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