Bringing you the weird and wild from the world of MMA each and every weeknight
Welcome to Midnight Mania!
The Malignaggi-McGregor saga ended today; Malignaggi issued the following statement to his social media. He wants everyone to know he won’t “give away anything tactical that I saw in 2 sparring sessions with Conor” and he wishes McGregor and his team the best. He did hint that after the fight, we might hear more details on his grievances.
— Paul Malignaggi (@PaulMalignaggi) August 4, 2017
His grievances doubtless include the photos of McGregor landing on him that have made their way onto social media through various channels. Malignaggi had gone on social media earlier in the evening to demand the UFC release the unedited sparring footage from their 12-round session yesterday
The @ufc PI has cameras all over the gym recording 24/7. The video exists UNEDITED of rounds 1 through 12 Tuesday night, let the fans see.
— Paul Malignaggi (@PaulMalignaggi) August 4, 2017
I came to help this camp out, not to be exploited, now your gonna get the truth though. Post FULL UNEDITED VIDEO FROM TUES night #Ethics
— Paul Malignaggi (@PaulMalignaggi) August 4, 2017
That, obviously, is not happening, and Malignaggi knows this.
Waiting for that Conor/Paulie footage pic.twitter.com/O4xY9a5E8d
— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) August 4, 2017
He pivoted pretty quickly from ‘it was back and forth, he came on strong at the end’ to “I actually beat his ass”. Which was it?
I actually beat his ass, 24 hrsoff a flight 2 lol, which is why Im saying post the vid, I try not 2 be petty but seems it’s late 4 that now. https://t.co/vSE2Iw4ffM
— Paul Malignaggi (@PaulMalignaggi) August 4, 2017
One particular photo Malignaggi did get out ahead of, saying there was a pushdown, but no knockdowns in their second, 12-round sparring session. Perhaps it was a pushdown. But a picture of Malignaggi on his back with McGregor standing up exists.
Umm you missed the most important one… pic.twitter.com/2s1TMTQlTk
— DB (@NotoriousDB23) August 3, 2017
A+ meme work here
I’m as skeptical as the next fella but if Paulie wasn’t really hurt then how do you explain Arlovski’s reaction? pic.twitter.com/HJAgngAJNe
— smoogy (@smoogymma) August 4, 2017
Malignaggi has been relishing the attention that came with being a sparring partner for McGregor and to be involved in the Irishman’s training camp; however, this is something he should have probably foreseen. McGregor was posting pics of himself connecting on his other training partners earlier in camp. Another professional boxer he sparred, Chris Van Heerden, was savvy enough to record his own video of the sparring session; a year after McGregor posted a video showing exchanges he got the better of, Van Heerden posted his own clip showing moments more favorable to him. In other words, this is nothing new from McGregor. McGregor’s goal is to convince people that somehow, he has a shot against 49-0 Floyd Mayweather. As it turns out, that means Malignaggi has become collateral damage on the promotional path.
Insomnia
“I called you my brother”
When Jon Jones and Brock Lesnar were cool with each other. https://t.co/CcspmSlenw pic.twitter.com/bfuwXNXZyY
— Chamatkar Sandhu (@SandhuMMA) August 3, 2017
The real reason Jon Jones won’t rematch the GOAT Matt Hamill
Jones doesn’t wanna catch these hands again pic.twitter.com/xoo1UsHW5D
— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) August 3, 2017
Wladimir Klitschko retired today, meaning that rematch with Anthony Joshua is off the table. Klitschko was the greatest heavyweight of the past decade.
I heard the news this morning from Bernd Boente that Wladimir Klitschko has decided to retire from boxing. We wish him all the success
— Eddie Hearn (@EddieHearn) August 3, 2017
Here is his official statement:
Klitschko tributes:
Arguably Klitschko’s last Great Performance, and one of his most ruthless. Another unbeaten record falls, this time Kubrat Pulev in R5, 2014 pic.twitter.com/Lk5Vk4C7Tl
— KO KINGS (@KOKINGS4) August 3, 2017
— Mookie Alexander (@mookiealexander) August 3, 2017
Werdum being weird
Werdum pic.twitter.com/nVcp5LD5O7
— Zombie Prophet (@ZPGIFs) August 4, 2017
Quick Hits
- With Pay-Per-View numbers in freefall, is the UFC still worth 4.2 billion dollars?
- Jon Jones smells what our future president, the Rock, is cooking
- Andrew Richardson breaks down the technically sound game of Sergio Pettis
Podcasts and Video
Sergio Pettis’ diverse jab setups by Andrew Richardson
Flyin Brian J picks the main event between Pettis and Moreno.
The MMA Ratings Podcast, talking Tyron Woodley’s win, the contender series on Tuesday night, and Pettis vs. Moreno
Discussion on when, where, and if Jones vs Lesnar will happen
UFC 214 Post-Mortem by Tommy Toehold
A look at the training camp of an actual professional boxing great, Vasyl Lomachenko
Stay woke, Maniacs! Follow me on Twitter @Vorpality