Midnight Mania: Stop The Bulking! Mac Vs. Chandler To Take Place At Lightweight

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Welcome to Midnight Mania!

One of the biggest narratives surrounding Conor McGregor’s absence and return from injury has been his size. McGregor has packed on so much muscle that there’s been an endless discussion on Instagram thirst traps, potential performance enhancing drug (PED) usage, and possible photoshop. As a result, it’s been widely assumed that McGregor will make his planned 2023 return at 170 lbs.

For what it’s worth, McGregor has even talked about making the jump to Middleweight.

His recently confirmed opponent and opposing coach on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF), Michael Chandler, has no issue with beefing up. The jacked wrestler and knockout artist promises to match McGregor’s size and strength without issue, claiming to weigh up to 190 pounds many months away from the fight.

The two may want to put down the steaks and pick up some salads, however. During an appearance on the Pat McAfee show, UFC President Dana White switched course from earlier reports, claiming the fight would take place at 155-pounds instead.

As for whether or not the victor will be awarded a title shot at Lightweight? White is less convinced than Michael Bisping, but he didn’t confirm one way or another.

“I don’t know,” White said (via Cole Shelton). “What we do with that is, like when everyone was talking about when Conor comes back who’s he going to fight, you got to look at the landscape, who’s already got fights, who doesn’t. The Chandler fight is a fight people love. That fight is going to be absolutely violence.”

The fight is still a long time coming, so it’s not unreasonable to expect that the weight class could be negotiated one way or another. Either way, both Chandler and McGregor enter the fight in must-win scenarios if they’re to remain in contention. McGregor has lost two straight fights to Dustin Poirier, whereas Chandler has just two wins in his five trips to the Octagon.

Insomnia

Dan Hooker vs. Jalin Turner, a surefire scrap of a ranked Lightweight match up, has unfortunately gone up in flames.

Grant Dawson chose violence in an unexpected manner.

This is a very Alex Pereira response to all the snowy selfie videos at 205 lbs.

Does Rafael dos Anjos vs. Belal Muhammed make a ton of sense? No, but it would be very watchable anyway.

IT HAPPENED AGAIN!

Xtreme Couture head coach Eric Nicksick has a unique strategy for keeping things calm in his room.

FLYWEIGHT BANGER ALERT!

Bobby Green has been in the game forever, so if he does indeed retire, it’s more than well-earned. Still, it’d be tough to watch “King” walk away given how well he’s been performing.

Slips, rips, and KO clips

Surviving a bunch of slams then submitting his tired foe was PEAK Sakuraba!

Alexander Volkanovski hasn’t lost since 2013 in a fight where he was comically outsized.

Escaping a deep submission like this can really break an opponent’s will.

Random Land

Man ran in place like Wile E. Coyote.

Midnight Music: I’d previously heard and liked several singles from JID’s 2022 rap LP The Forever Story, but I listened to the whole thing today for the first time. It’s very solid!

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