Midnight Mania! Masvidal Down For Trilogy, But Usman Ain’t No BMF

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Welcome to Midnight Mania!

Less than a year after their first clash back at UFC 251, Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal are set to go to battle once again. Many would argue that the result — a dominant decision win for the champion — didn’t necessitate a rematch, but there were some unusual circumstances. Notably, Masvidal took the fight on just about a week’s notice, which definitely does affect one’s performance.

Plus, it sold a whole lot of pay-per-views (PPV).

Of course, part of the decision to rematch came down to Usman, who wasn’t quite satisfied with his earlier win. If “Gamebred” is victorious this time around, he is willing to extend the favor, preemptively offering Usman the rubber match after being questioned about the potential situation.

“Definitely, he gave me a chance,” Masvidal said at the UFC 261 pre-fight press conference (via MMAFighting). “Whether we see eye-to-eye on things or not, he gave me another chance to compete, so I’ll definitely give him the chance to compete again.”

Despite this show of respect, Masvidal made it clear that there was no way Usman could ever earn his “BMF” title, which he won by stopping Nate Diaz in November 2019. “You gotta be a BMF to compete for that one, and this dude ain’t it,” Masvidal said.

Naturally, the actual champion was unimpressed with his foe’s more ceremonial tattoo, firing back right away. “What belt?” Usman replied. “There’s three belts, three shiny belts here. This is what’s important. Not that piece of sh*t.”

Insomnia

Charles Oliveira might just be the best representation of BJJ in MMA once Demian Maia retires. Congratulations to “Do Bronx!”

This throw is too good not to post.

Denim vs. Denim for the UFC Strawweight title:

Anthony Johnson has gone through some serious physical changes over the years.

I would absolutely watch Dan Hooker vs. Arman Tsarukyan, but that’s a painfully high-risk fight for Hooker given his recent pair of losses.

I understand that it’s probably my job investigate this rather than ask my audience for assistance, but who is this woman? I see speculation that it’s Jorge Masvidal’s ex, but no one seems sure.

Either way, Colby Covington can still occasionally mix a funny post in with his consistently poor trash talk.

Slips, rips, and KO clips

Reminder: Darren Till is definitely the best win of Masvidal’s resurgence.

A brilliantly quick read:

Kamaru Usman’s thoughtfulness as an athlete is underappreciated.

Random Land

A sad bird.

Midnight Music: I saw this absolute insanity on Twitter, and the night’s music was INSTANTLY DECIDED! This reads like Swans lyrics, a band I love but always considered too f*cked to ever use as a walkout song — clearly, I don’t have Petr Yan’s champion mentality.

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