Midnight Mania! Is McGregor’s ‘Head In The Right Place?’

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Welcome to Midnight Mania!

2020 was an odd year for Conor McGregor, even barring the various reasons 2020 was odd for everyone! The Irishman returned early in the year with a vengeance, battering Donald Cerrone into dust with ease and revving all the excitement back up. He didn’t end up fighting again throughout the year, retired at one point, and even exposed some direct messages with Dana White regarding a potential bout with Diego Sanchez.

White talked to ESPN earlier today, explaining how his relationship with McGregor suffered as a result of that final incident. “We were in a really bad place then,” White said (transcription via MMAJunkie). “I was really upset. It wasn’t because he put out private messages. It was (because) we were talking about another fighter. I like Diego Sanchez a lot and I have a lot of respect for Diego Sanchez. I care about Diego Sanchez. I was very upset about that. I talked to Diego face-to-face about it. Being the great human being that he is, we’re all good. Then I was really, really upset with Conor.”

Fortunately, the beef did not last for long, as the pair were able to move past the issue and return to good terms.

“Conor and I fixed that and we talked and we got through it,” White said. “We’re in a good place now. … Me and everybody are always in a good place as far as business goes.”

In addition, White spoke about McGregor’s mentality, about how the Irishman has returned to his previous anyone, anywhere outlook that saw him rise up the ranks to stardom.

“There’s nothing more exciting or more fun than a motivated Conor McGregor when his head is in the right place,” White said. “You can tell when he is, and you can tell when he isn’t. Right now, you can tell he’s in. … If something happens to Dustin Poirier, he is the Conor McGregor right now that does not give a (expletive) who we put in that fight on that night. He’s that guy right now.”

McGregor is scheduled to face Poirier at UFC 257 on Saturday 23, 2020 from “Fight Island” in Abu Dhabi.

Insomnia

All the fighters are stuck in hotel rooms as they quarantine in Fight Island, which means staying active can be tricky. Here’s Poirier’s workout!

Roxanne Modafferi with an appropriately Mortal Kombat reaction to her upcoming island fight!

Fighting with the flu sounds really, really unpleasant.

Remember: font choice is important.

An attempt at a snap down goes wrong … real wrong!

Weili Zhang has learned English impressively fast!

Slips, rips, and KO clips

A historic knockout with a context-providing historic comic as well!

One of those results that sort of gets lost in time: Rafael Cavalcante handed Yoel Romero his first professional — and only knockout — loss back in Strikeforce.

Counter headbutts are an interesting concept.

Random Land

An alternative method to prepare one’s dinner:

Midnight Music: For the first time in a while, I listened to Raekwon’s mafioso rap classic Only Built 4 Cuban Linx in full. Best Wu-Tang record is a hard title to hold, but this one has a claim, even if Liquid Swords is my favorite.

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