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Welcome to Midnight Mania!
Rizin 20 was objectively a pretty awesome event. The fights were fun, the knockouts were many, and the Lightweight Grand Prix actually played out well without any injuries throwing a wrench into plans. Plus, unlike Bellator Japan the night before, it was not an event propped up on the backs of faded legends — Rizin 20 was carried by its young talent.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to draw as many eyes in Japan as previous years. Per a report from Sponchi.co.jp, the Rizin 20 ratings are the worst in the promotion’s five-year history of holding New Year’s Eve events.
Here are the numbers, pulled out by someone with presumably better Japanese reading skills than myself.
RIZIN ??? ?????
2019 ?3.2? 5.2? 3.7?
2018 5.7%?5.0%?6.9%?7.5%
2017?4.8%?6.4%?6.2%?4.3?
2016 5.6% ?7.1% 5.7% 3.6%
2015 5.6% 7.3% 3.7??????????????????????????
— ????? (@majan_saitou) January 2, 2020
Rizin 20 ratings in comparison to past NYE averages across multiple broadcast blocks. R20 looks to be the worst yet https://t.co/4TUoaufjkK
— Karaev fan (@Karaev_Fan) January 2, 2020
Uninspired television ratings are rarely a good thing, but it does make sense that there was a drop off this year considering the lack of Floyd Mayweather. Plus, the event also reportedly sold out all 26,000 seats in the Saitama Super Arena, so that’s a solid silver lining for the Japanese promotion.
Insomnia
Michael Chandler wants to throw hands in Japan again, and I’m here for it. He’d be a tremendous match up for Tofiq Musafaev if nothing else.
With the @BellatorMMA lightweight title tied up, I posed the question to @MikeChandlerMMA about competing against the winner of the @rizin_PR Lightweight GP in 2020. Full Video-> https://t.co/5lNLkJ7rFl pic.twitter.com/rnL94pjkAN
— [John] Hyon Ko (@JHKMMA) January 2, 2020
Let’s take a poll to see if Petr Yan is right.
Fans are tired of his antics, more people will pay to see his ass getting knocked out by me, than watch him fighting someone on the losing streak…https://t.co/tSwJzmOIsh https://t.co/SZGTyVM1LO
— Petr “No Mercy” Yan (@PetrYanUFC) January 2, 2020
The Internet would never lie!
A lesson from one of the best trainers in the game, who also gives great, honest answers when interviewed: Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov.
L’homme qui a tous appris à Khabib, Abdulmanap son père.
Technique très efficace en side control, pour MMA. pic.twitter.com/qLM5wfdIED— ?? Lethal BJJ Wrestling (@lethalbjj) January 2, 2020
Haggerty Vs. Rodtang 2 is going to be an awesome fight.
Who throws the first punch, and who is its target?
New Years’ remix, Platinum edition.
Slips, rips, and KO clips
Here’s a pretty badass montage of clean knockouts.
Wei Rui wonderful KO, KO seven people with 5 different parts pic.twitter.com/16VSvviSim
— Glory of Heroes (@GOH_league) December 30, 2019
In case someone doesn’t have time for the whole clip above, here’s a real quick one.
This is one of the more interesting jump triangle setups I’ve seen!
Random Land
This is the wildest clip I’ve ever seen — a mildly disturbing must-watch.
Midnight Music: Every once in a while, things just play out perfectly. We were wondering around our new island (Koh Lanta) and taking it all in, deciding which of the dozens of restaurants to chose from. We landed on The Garden, mostly because my girlfriend likes plants, and it turned out to have incredible food, a very pleasant nature setting, and an awesome cover band who pumped out soft renditions of ‘70s hits.
I already posted a Beatles song this week, so I won’t pick “Imagine” from their set list, but there wasn’t a bad choice on there.
Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.