Bringing you the weird and wild from the world of MMA each and every weeknight!
Welcome to Midnight Mania!
Love or hate him, Jake Paul is more than willing to put his money where his mouth is.
Few social media celebrities would choose to pursue an additional paycheck by stepping into the boxing ring, but that’s the path Paul has chosen. While he started out fighting fellow Internet stars, Paul has slowly progressed to professional athletes, and he most recently defeated a former UFC champion in Tyron Woodley.
Due to Tommy Fury’s injury, he’ll have a chance to do so again. The pair will rematch, and this time, Paul wants to ensure there’s no rumors about a “no knockout clause.”
“There’s been this rumor going around about a ‘no knockout’ clause in my contracts,” Paul told MMAJunkie. “Someone started it and everyone else ran with it. People are like sheep. They believe everything they read or see and they go which way the crowd is going.
“That’s been a rumor that’s completely untrue. I’d be in jail for rigging fights. That’s illegal. We just wanted to squash that rumor right away and from now on we’ll be giving bonuses to my opponents if they can knock me out. We want to incentivize them and prove to the media and the world that all of these rumors aren’t true.”
Incentive is a vague description. Fortunately, Paul’s advisor Nakisa Bidarian confirmed that there is language in Woodley’s contract guaranteeing a significant payout in the event of a stoppage victory.
“And to be clear, that’s contractual in Tyron’s agreement,” Bidarian said. “There’s a contractual agreement that if he knocks out or TKOs Jake, he’ll get a $500,000 bonus payment.”
Think that’s enough motivation for Woodley to finally let his hands go?
Insomnia
Happy Amanda Nunes fight week:
UFC promoting Amanda Nunes opponents pic.twitter.com/0AQMmVTZEH
— mmaconscience (@mmaconscience) December 6, 2021
Still shots of training are not always all they’re hyped up to be:
Sometimes I get excited to get action shots and then I get this. I really said …. pic.twitter.com/wPmy527Ff7
— Kay Hansen (@KayHansenMMA) December 6, 2021
If UFC is beginning to phase its Fight Night events out of the Apex, I will miss those quiet cards.
Per @raphamarinho, the UFC are planning to hold their March 26th UFC event in Columbus, Ohio.
Could this signal a return to Fight Night cards taking place outside of the Apex? https://t.co/7F7Zr0Q5EM
— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) December 6, 2021
Jose Aldo vs. TJ Dillashaw is definitely the fight to make.
This d’arce setup was too cool not to share.
Based on the first bookings, Khabib Nurmagomedov intends to grow Eagle FC by *checks notes* booking old people fights?
Eagle FC’s United States debut card has its main event: Tyrone Spong vs. Bigfoot Silva in a heavyweight MMA bout Jan. 28 in Miami, per officials.
Khabib Nurmagomedov’s promotion will also have the return of Rashad Evans on the same card, which was first reported by @KevinI.
— Marc Raimondi (@marc_raimondi) December 6, 2021
Is Conor McGregor’s new “190 pounds of granite” build a bit suspicious, or is the Internet seeing things?
Slips, rips, and KO clips
The cage can make taking the back tricky, but if the arm is under the neck, that’s still game!
Akhmed Musakaev sinks in the choke against Francisco De Assis with less than 30 seconds left in the fight. What a performance. #ACA133 pic.twitter.com/zWg7zeBvsl
— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) December 4, 2021
Liam Harrison has some horror stories to go with all the sweet knockout wins.
This probably was declared a “No Contest,” but I’d certainly call it a moral victory!
Yesterday at Home Fight Championship 3 in Santa Luzia (Brazil)
Romero Reis flying knees Diogo Galo out of the damn cage pic.twitter.com/8kkkr4BqH4
— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) December 5, 2021
Random Land
Perhaps the most incredible high school bathroom fight yet:
Midnight Music: An undeniable classic.
Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.