Midnight Mania! Ngannou Reacts To Broken Bones

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Welcome to Midnight Mania!

There’s definitely a small bit of irony at play in Jon Jones tearing his pec just days removed from the most massive fight of Francis Ngannou’s career. Jones has been forced out of his planned legacy fight versus Stipe Miocic, which reconfigures the whole Heavyweight title picture dramatically. That’s a scene Ngannou knew quite well prior to leaving the UFC roster last year as champion, a decision that gave him the freedom to box a man like Tyson Fury but also prevented Ngannou vs. Jones from ever materializing inside the Octagon.

There’s always been tension and perhaps even bad blood between Ngannou and Jones, but that doesn’t mean “The Predator” is celebrating his would-be foe’s injury. While speaking at Wednedsday’s open workout for his Fury boxing bout, Ngannou expressed his sympathy and wished “Bones” a speedy recovery.

“I think it’s sad news,” Ngannou said (via MMAJunkie). “It’s never good news when athletes get injured. Basically, in training. I hope he recovers well. I was very excited to watch that fight and see who was going to win that fight.

“Something like this is not something you can blame to somebody,” he continued. “It’s something that can happen to everybody. It could’ve happened here. It could happen to anybody. I don’t think that’s a part of the decision, but yes. It sucks, though.”

Barring anything disastrous, Ngannou vs. Fury goes down in the ring this Saturday (Oct. 28, 2023) from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Jones vs. Miocic is expected to be rebooked for sometime next year, as Jones’ recovery is expected to take the better part of a year. Meanwhile, Tom Aspinall vs. Sergei Pavlovich will decide the more immediate future of the Heavyweight division in the form of interim gold on the upcoming UFC 295 pay-per-view (PPV) card on Nov. 11 in New York

Ngannou’s PFL debut is expected in the first quarter of 2024.

Insomnia

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I appreciate Sean Strickland keeping it real on fighter pay, even while in the position as champion.

Beautiful form from one of the greats!

Power bombs in the training room is a risky choice when Jon Jones is ripping muscles off simple overhooks!

Now here’s an unusual way to get injured!

Hector Lombard probably has the worst gym reputation of all time. So many people have talked negatively about his actions in the room, and Dan Henderson made him pay!

Slips, rips, and KO clips

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Yoshiyuki Yoshida accepted a bout against Anthony Johnson after “Rumble” missed weight by six pounds — that was not a good idea.

No amount of steroids can save a tired fighter from a Matt Brown clinch mauling!

Random Land

Fail to hit the brakes and land in a sticky situation.

Midnight Music: Indie rock, 2009

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