Bringing you the weird and wild from the world of MMA each and every weeknight!
Welcome to Midnight Mania!
Mark Zuckerberg may have more martial arts experience than Elon Musk, but the Tesla CEO is calling in the big guns. Last week, Musk was seen training with podcaster and Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Lex Fridman. He’s still rolling with Fridman, but now, Musk is sharing the mats with Brazilian jiu-jitsu visionary John Danaher as well as all-time great MMA legend Georges St. Pierre.
A bit of background for those who don’t know: Danaher is a legend in the jiu-jitsu community. He’s coached many of the best grapplers in the world, as well as fighters like “GSP,” to great success. Most notably, he was the head coach behind the Danaher Death Squad, a collective of no-gi grapplers that dominated the scene for several years before their break up in 2021.
The biggest star of the Danaher Death Squad was Gordon Ryan, who remains a trainee of Danaher. Though he’s faced serious health issues, Ryan still hasn’t lost a match in many years and is one of the most accomplished grapplers of all time. He’s also Team Musk, sharing the training photo above and poking at Zuckerberg.
“Your move, cowboy,” Ryan prodded.
Zuckerberg was recently seen with training with BJJ world champion Mikey Musumeci, so he’s not totally outgunned. He’s also been offered elite MMA training from former world champions, so if nothing else, the “laughing stock” fight could produce some world-class corner teams!
On a more realistic note, a jiu-jitsu match between the two seems a whole lot more feasible than an MMA fight.
Insomnia
Petr Yan is in need of a change up after his current rough patch. Where would you like to see “No Mercy” land?
| Petr Yan has announced that his next training camp will be at a different gym.
Yan has trained most of his career at the Tiger Muay Thai gym in Thailand.
Where do you think would be the best gym for Yan to get back on track? pic.twitter.com/6Ii1kVhm2K
— MMA Orbit (@mma_orbit) July 3, 2023
Best of luck to Josiah Harrell, who steps up a weight class ultra short-notice to likely get mauled by one of Welterweight’s heaviest hitters. Hopefully he gets a fair shake in his sophomore appearance!
Josiah Harrell slammed his opponent through the LFA cage door and now is reportedly fighting Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 290
He has had quite the monthpic.twitter.com/aKuGHzMcwn
— Alex Behunin (@AlexBehunin) July 2, 2023
DRAMA SEASON! Bryan Ortega and Tracy Cortez are long since broken up, and the latter was seen hanging with Paulo Costa, leading to a hilariously bad sports analogy …
Good morning mtfks . I mean me and Tracy are just friends, nothing happened, we just took a selfie for a mutual friend . Stop bullying pic.twitter.com/VMP7AfkNuN
— Paulo Costa ( Borrachinha ) (@BorrachinhaMMA) July 2, 2023
Everyone out here talking bout I fumbled. Y’all must not know the rules of the game. When you drop the ball on accident that’s a fumble , but when you throw it away on purpose. That’s called a complete pass . Top G shit!
— Brian Ortega (@BrianTcity) July 1, 2023
Gordon Ryan’s foot sweeps, standing and on the ground, are a thing of beauty.
Gordon Ryan throwing GSP around in training pic.twitter.com/grbBKcIvY5
— ??????????? (@TheArtOfWar6) July 2, 2023
Will Joe Lauzon ever return to action? If so, who would you like to see him fight?
Tidbit: The longest-tenured member of the UFC roster Joe Lauzon hasn’t competed since 2019.
Recently, Lauzon asked the promotion to be on the upcoming #UFC292 in Boston, sources say. However, there wasn’t an option that worked for both him and the UFC brass, so talks fizzled. pic.twitter.com/XYpcedSQV7
— Nolan King (@mma_kings) July 2, 2023
Stephen Thompson has hops!
Slips, rips, and KO clips
Few things give me greater joy than seeing a crappy headlock throw get immediately countered.
Adrielle Castro RNCs Ranna Cortez at Shooto Brasil 118 pic.twitter.com/Ff4JA3LbRx
— Will (@ChillemDafoe) June 30, 2023
Just a theory, but I’m guessing the dozen elbows and knee this guy absorbed before the jab contributed to the KO.
What? A stiff jab to the face by Raul Zaragoza sends Jesus Wong crashing to the canvas in the 2nd round. That was a weird one. #LUX033 pic.twitter.com/eNqeANKobK
— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) July 1, 2023
Lightning quick counters and combinations to the mid-section:
JUST LIKE THAT!
RISE Flyweight champion Toki Tamaru leaves Petchsila no chance, stopping him with body shots at the end of round one.@Toki_Tamaru | #RISE_WSpic.twitter.com/yVy3NSxYwz
— Beyond Kickboxing (@Beyond_Kick) July 2, 2023
Random Land
This is someone’s last night reading Midnight Mania with all 10 of their fingers. Godspeed, Maniacs!
Midnight Music: Mom pick #4
Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.