Midnight Mania! Khamzat Vs. Usman Is Bulls—t

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Welcome to Midnight Mania!

I don’t know what Kamaru Usman was supposed to be doing tomorrow morning (Sat., Oct., 21, 2023), but he was never intended to square off against Khamzat Chimaev in the co-main event of UFC 294. When Costa was forced out with an infected elbow, UFC first turned towards Jared Cannonier to replace, but an injury to the Texan opened a path for “The Nigerian Nightmare” to save the day.

Not everyone is thrilled.

UFC Middleweight champion Sean Strickland was among those offered the fight versus Chimaev, but he declined … because he’s the freaking champion and just won a five-round fight last month! According to Strickland, however, Usman is a man without anything to lose and a whole lot of dollars to gain. As such, he doesn’t even consider the result as official.

“Here’s the thing: Usman is not in a camp, (Chimaev) has been bulking to middleweight, Usman took this fight for a paycheck,” Strickland said on his YouTube channel (via MMAJunkie). “They (UFC) said, ‘Hey, Usman. Here’s a couple of million. Do you want to take this fight? We’ll give it to you.’ Usman said, ‘I can’t say no. I’m going to do it.’

“It’s a win-win for Usman. So, I think it doesn’t really count, because Chimaev has been training his d—k off and bulking up for middleweight, and then you have Usman who’s been like, ‘I’m going to take this and get a paycheck.’ To me, this is kind of a bulls—t fight. They just needed to fill a seat, and I got Chimaev.”

Overall, Strickland believes that Usman is the better fighter. However, he thinks the deck is too stacked against him, and thus expects Chimaev to win the fight.

“Usman is a vet and with that comes patience, skill,” Strickland said. “170, full camp, I got Usman. 170, full camp, five rounds, Usman. Three rounds, coming off the f—king couch, I got Chimaev.”

Insomnia

Alex Pereira is in on the joke.

Tim Elliott accuses Muhammad Mokaev of missing weight at yesterday’s weigh-in.

A UFC signing Michael Venom Page announcement feels imminent.

Alexander Volkanovski underwent a serious physical transformation in less than two weeks to

Was the forward neck bridge totally necessary here? Classic Russian wrestler move.

BJ Penn remains steadily dropping pivotal information in Instagram comments.

Deron Winn defeating Kamaru Usman in a wrestling match is not a piece of trivia I would have guessed correctly.

Sean O’Malley is staying fight ready!

Slips, rips, and KO clips

Open stance high kick is one of the best weapons in combat sports, plain and simple.

Spinning in the pocket is risky, but it can pay off!

Important reminder: letting go of the submission is always an option.

Random Land

I would like some baked goods now, please.

Midnight Music: Folk rock, 1976

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