Midnight Mania! Is Do Bronx Delegitimizing Khabib?

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

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

Few expected Charles Oliveira to take over Khabib Nurmagomedov’s mantle, but that’s precisely what has happened.

After “The Eagle” retired at the height of his powers, the next title contenders were not immediately clear. Dustin Poirier opted to chase the money fight vs. Conor McGregor rather than undisputed gold, clearing the way for Charles Oliveira and Michael Chandler to throw down. Oliveira defeated his foe in one of the year’s best scraps, walking away with a gold belt as a result.

Just a few weeks ago at UFC 269, Oliveira further established himself as the best Lightweight in the world but punishing and strangling Poirier, who many marked as the next champion. Per Welterweight standout Colby Covington, however, Oliveira may have done more than just proven his own name.

He may have also struck a blow to Khabib’s legacy.

“It definitely kinda delegitimizes his (Khabib) legacy,” Covington told Submission Radio (via MMANews). “He never really fought a high, high-level wrestler that could challenge him, that was good, in both areas of striking and wrestling, and submissions and defensive wrestling. So, you know, there’s always been doubts about Khabib’s legacy. He had an interesting route and he took some time off in-between his career. He got good matchups, you know, people that didn’t know how to wrestle. Even, a lot of people thought that he lost to a guy I used to train with all the time, Tibau, Gleison Tibau. He won a split decision over him but a lot of people thought he lost that fight.

“I definitely think that kinda puts a dampener into Khabib’s legacy. That guy’s (Poirier) going out there and getting submitted just like you did to him; the same exact way. So how would that matchup go with him and the Brazilian?”

It should be noted that Nurmagomedov scored three defenses to Oliveira’s single title defense, but Oliveira is likely to try to even that gap a bit with his next bout vs. either Justin Gaethje or Conor McGregor, former Nurmagomedov opponents. Additionally, Covington’s claim that Nurmagomedov never fought anyone who could wrestle does fall a bit flat when considering Gaethje’s All-American credentials.

Perhaps more than anything else, this is another attempt from Covington to dunk on Poirier and line up a fight vs. “The Diamond.”

Insomnia

Tecia Torres seems like a tough rebound fight for Mackenzie Dern following her last loss, but there aren’t many easy fights once an athlete breaks into the Top 10.

Some of the clips from tonight’s Fury Pro Grappling event!

It’s always fun to watch Tenshin Nasukawa flow on mitts.

2021 was indeed the year of Tai Tuivasa, and we’re all better off for it.

I follow this guy Samuel Wride for his knight-fighting clips, but he stepped into the boxing ring vs. a legit pugilist and … I got major “Is Butterbean okay?” vibes.

I find the “Francis Ngannou is an arrogant monster” narrative a bit hard to believe.

Slips, rips, and KO clips

Twitter user Cerebral Vigilante posted his list of the Top 40 knockouts of 2021. I’ve grabbed a trio of the clips, but if you want a varied mix of awesome finishes, click through the full 40!

Random Land

“Mighty Mouse” put to shame.

Midnight Music: An ‘80s classic.

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