Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC
Bringing you the weird and wild from the world of MMA each and every weeknight!
Welcome to Midnight Mania!
Look, no one knows when Conor McGregor will return to the cage nor who his opponent will be — not even Dana White, who is awaiting the results of UFC 242 before making any final decisions. Plus, if McGregor already has an opponent set in his mind, good luck arguing with him. However, earlier today Anthony Pettis revealed that he was once matched up with McGregor already for a November contest with the Irishman.
Anthony Pettis in the scrum said that he was offered a fight with Conor McGregor at MSG in November, but it never came together.
— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) August 14, 2019
I like that fight a lot, both from a pure entertainment perspective and one of logical sense. After so long away from the Octagon and even longer without a victory, McGregor should not be allowed to jump the Lightweight ladder. It should not matter that McGregor holds a 2014 knockout win over Poirier — there should be no immediate rematch if “The Diamond” were to dethrone Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Tony Ferguson needs his title shot damn it!
A fight with the winner of Nate Diaz vs. Anthony Pettis, however? That makes all the sense in the world. If Pettis is victorious, perhaps that Madison Square Garden bout can still be scheduled. It would be a fairly quick turnaround for “Showtime,” but when there’s this much money on the line, Pettis is not likely to decline the opportunity.
Insomnia
Both Nate Diaz and Pettis brought their unique charm to the open workouts today.
It appears Nate is smoking some kind of herbal cigarette. I don’t recognize the smell but it’s not normal smoke. Looking into it. pic.twitter.com/G5xfT0K3GG
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) August 15, 2019
Even with her recent struggles, I would not have expected Zingano to be released.
Statement from Cat Zingano on her UFC run coming to an abrupt end. pic.twitter.com/zVlTmh7Jwh
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) August 14, 2019
… Except for Anthony Smith, “OSP,” and Thiago Santos to name a few.
Everyone I’ve ever faced has either retired, Lost their rematch, switch weight classes or switch organizations are together #Facts
— Jon Bones Jones (@JonnyBones) August 14, 2019
Assuming Walt Harris’ random bouts of hesitance are truly in the past, this is going to be a really great fight.
A nice, brief look into conditioning in MMA. It’s a lot more complicated than simply spending a lot of time in the gym or running a few miles!
Dear lord, “Cro Cop” is gigantic.
Why do all of the fake wrist-lock masters look exactly the same?
Slips, rips, and KO clips
Bare Knuckle really keeps it brutal:
I love watching boxers that can move this well:
… and then there’s Muay Thai, where most fighters just stand firm against absurdly powerful kicks. I admire both approaches to combat.
Random Land
Absolute talent:
Midnight Music: A great, very much overlooked album from a country legend!
Sleep well Maniacs! There’s always more martial arts madness on the way.