Bringing you the weird and wild from the world of MMA each and every weeknight!
Welcome to Midnight Mania!
Michael Chandler made the most of his Monday night (Feb. 19, 2024) visit to WWE’s RAW event in Anaheim, California. “Iron” scored some mic time, and at this point, how the Lightweight contender chose to use his moment shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. Almost immediately, he was calling for Conor McGregor to finally show up.
“What’s up Anaheim!” Chandler screamed to the crowd. “You are now in the presence of the most entertaining UFC fighter on the planet! Hey, now there’s a man from Ireland that’s been making me wait for way too long, and I still got one dude on my mind. Conor McGregor, get your candy ass back to the Octagon! We got some unfinished business boys! God bless, and I’ll see you at the top!”
The pair of opposing Ultimate Fighter (TUF) coaches have been linked to fight one another since at least February 2023, but the match up continues to get delayed. The latest update from Dana White is that McGregor is possibly gone forever, whereas the frustrated Irishman is demanding a fight sooner than later. Clearly, there’s a disagreement there, and until it’s settled, Chandler will remain waiting on the sidelines.
At least, however, UFC and WWE merging under a single corporate entity, TKO Group Holdings, Inc, has given him something to do. WWE may be too hard for UFC fighters, but collaborations like this in which one athlete crosses into the other’s realm to promote their match up may become more common in the future.
Insomnia
Hold up … Merab Dvalishvili fight week may be over, but Merab Mania rages on! “The Machine” is too interesting to stop just yet.
| Team Serra-Longo head coach Ray Longo has revealed that Merab Dvalishvili and Aljamain Sterling went 3×5 minute rounds in the back before Merab went out and beat Henry Cejudo at #UFC298.
@AnikFlorianPod #UFC298 #UFC #MMA pic.twitter.com/Kg3znGmJdf
— MMA Orbit (@mma_orbit) February 19, 2024
No (light) division for old men.
Men’s UFC fighters after their 35th birthday are now 0-15 in UFC title fights at lightweight and under, per@ESPNStatsInfo. #UFC298
— Marc Raimondi (@marcraimondi) February 18, 2024
I don’t care for the Meta CEO, but let Mark Zuckerberg be mildly awkward in peace. If we started kicking the socially odd out of jiu-jitsu classes, the sport’s popularity would plummet!
Mark Zuckerberg trying his hardest to look like a normal functioning human at the UFC last night pic.twitter.com/qKJOoS1bkq
— george (@StokeyyG2) February 18, 2024
If you’re planning to bet on UFC Mexico City, this is highly, highly pertinent information.
How long fighters have taken to acclimate to elevation:
Brandon Morento: trains in MX
Brandon Royval: trains at elevation
Brian Ortega: Was still in California as of recently, not sure if he even has gone to Mexico to acclimate yet. ( )
Yair Rodriguez: trains in MX… pic.twitter.com/521rCSRuio
— MMA Prediction Guru (@PredictionMma) February 18, 2024
It’s interesting to see Dominick Cruz really sitting down on his punches and stringing together combos.
Young, aggressive, exciting — MMA could do a lot worse than Ilia Topuria as its next star.
Slips, rips, and KO clips
Have you ever seen this angle of one of MMA’s most famous knockouts?
https://t.co/JnEwCHo2Kc pic.twitter.com/9KQ13YRMu7
— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) February 18, 2024
Don’t know if I’ve ever seen anyone react to punches quite like this.
Dustin Garrett made an attempt to get up but decided he was going back to sleep.#BKFCVA pic.twitter.com/KGgwig2AiG
— TrillerTV (@FiteTV) February 17, 2024
Every Jonathan Haggerty fight in recent memory has been a ridiculous, must-watch affair.
Jonathan Haggerty and Felipe Lobo go to war in Bangkok. That 2nd round could be round of the year. All heart and violence. #ONEFightNight19 pic.twitter.com/4pYYSIRtSJ
— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) February 17, 2024
Random Land
An interesting thread of forgotten wonders:
A thread of lesser-known architectural wonders that we lost over the ages (and what happened to them)…
1. Old London Bridge – the longest inhabited bridge in Europe pic.twitter.com/iNc4ynbDux
— Culture Critic (@Culture_Crit) February 17, 2024
2. The Round City of Baghdad, Iraq
Residence of the Abbasid caliphs and the de-facto center of Islamic world from 766 until its destruction by the Mongols in 1258 – thus ending the Islamic Golden Age. pic.twitter.com/e5vHkM0iHp
— Culture Critic (@Culture_Crit) February 17, 2024
7. Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, Ukraine
Built near Kharkov in the Russian Empire (modern-day Ukraine) and pictured in 1894 shortly after completion. It was razed in the 1930s when thousands of churches were demolished by Stalin. pic.twitter.com/57ZcxCHbp5
— Culture Critic (@Culture_Crit) February 17, 2024
Midnight Music: New wave, 1982
Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.