Bringing you the weird and wild from the world of MMA each and every weeknight!
Welcome to Midnight Mania!
Contenders Series was very different animal back in 2017.
Six years ago, it wasn’t the sole source of most new UFC talent. As a result, a win alone was nowhere near enough to guarantee a UFC contract. In fact, an exciting win wasn’t even a guarantee, nor was a finish. Something spectacular was needed, as usually only a couple contracts where handed out each week as opposed to five.
Another big difference was that UFC didn’t know what it wanted the show to be yet. Whereas nowadays there’s very little difference in production between a UFC “Fight Night” card at the Apex and regular ol’ Contenders Series Tuesday, the promotion was still experimenting. One of those experiments was the Snoopcast, an alternative commentary option provided by UFC Hall of Famer Urijah Faber and west coast rap legend Snoop D.O. Double G.
Sadly, there was some controversy regarding the SnoopCast. Snoop Dogg may be a fight fan, but his enthusiasm didn’t make up for ignorance of the rules, and he could get a bit disrespectful to some of the debuting athletes. As a result, the Snoopcast did not survive to season two.
However, we still have to give Snoop Dogg credit as the first man aboard the Sean O’Malley hype train. He went wild for O’Malley’s first-round knockout win over Alfred Khashakyan, the victory that earned him a UFC contract, and deemed him a future champion.
Over the weekend (Sat., Aug. 19, 2023), “Suga” smoked Aljamain Sterling via second-round knockout at UFC 292 to become undisputed champion of the world. In the video above, O’Malley shared a congratulatory message from the hip-hop star, who exclaimed, “Great f—king win champ! The ‘Suga’ show starts now. You made me some money last night nephew, good s—t.”
Insomnia
Ladies and gentleman, the UFC Bantamweight champion of the world:
champ life pic.twitter.com/ejwZCoxuw0
— Spinnin Backfist (@SpinninBackfist) August 20, 2023
This is an understated Bantamweight banger: two young talents without huge names, but they definitely can fight!
Christian Rodriguez (9-1) vs. Cameron Saaiman (9-0) is back on the books, multiple sources confirm. This time for Oct. 14 at the #UFC Apex. First posted by @ceerod97 himself. pic.twitter.com/0AM5THophq
— Nolan King (@mma_kings) August 21, 2023
It’s not every day an athlete SPRAYS blood like this!
Please don’t get blood on my suit !! @GLORY_WS pic.twitter.com/PypLBQiUIW
— Joseph Valtellini (@BazookaJoeV) August 22, 2023
I am fully aboard the Rinat Fakhretdinov hype train. Are you?
Elizeu Zaleski Dos Santos will fight Rinat Fakhretdinov at #UFCSP on November 4th. #UFC #MMA #UFCESPN #UFC2023 #UFCSaoPaulo pic.twitter.com/TxuvVt6u1M
— Marcel Dorff (@BigMarcel24) August 19, 2023
MMA fighters and nudity are a classic pairing. One cannot cut weight without exposing themselves to all their buddies!
Bros being bros….i guess? pic.twitter.com/waBAr0ksC3
— MMA Mania (@mmamania) August 20, 2023
Fun fighter animations! If you’re like me and couldn’t identify the new one, the answer is in the replies.
These are for my breakdowns weekly. Here’s a few more.
Aldo-Faber
Moreno-Figueiredo
Holloway-Ortega
And Mayweather-Marquez pic.twitter.com/yKEqbs4CoD— Blaine Henry (@BlaineHenryTFL) August 20, 2023
Great breakdown of great defense! Another key note is that Weili kept her head high and/or near the armpit, whereas a ninja choke usually traps the head beneath the center of the chest.
Weili’s defense against Lemos Ninja choke.
As Weili gets the double leg, Lemos takes the opportunity to use the Ninja choke since Weili’s hands are on his legs and his neck free.
She then succeeds in raising Weili’s legs and locking them.
Weili frees his leg from the lock… pic.twitter.com/gjNpNTavNp
— Sweet Punch Memories (@SPM_staff) August 20, 2023
Slips, rips, and KO clips
Both of these gentleman were throwing heat, and yup, somebody goes airborne!
Violent KO by Gasmire Diatta. Sent that man flying#AKO2 pic.twitter.com/qsqwHtgWGJ
— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) August 19, 2023
Being really precise is a difficult skill to learn with striking, but it can massively pay off.
Salahdine Parnasse pic.twitter.com/bzBjk4hzvz
— Neo Vale Tudo (@NeoValeTudo) August 19, 2023
A sweep with bonus style points:
Random Land
High art!
Asked for an MJ tattoo… WTF IS THIS pic.twitter.com/d2Xk1M1434
— Buttcrack Sports (@ButtCrackSports) August 21, 2023
Midnight Music: Stoner metal, 2006
Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.