Midnight Mania: The Only Way To Be A Proper Double Champion …

Bringing you the weird and wild from the world of MMA each and every weeknight!

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

UFC Heavyweight champion Jon Jones is the talk of the town this week, but it’s really not because he’s returning after the better part of two years to defend his title against Stipe Miocic. There’s almost no discussion around that fight despite its status as the main event of UFC 309, which takes place in the famed Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York.

Instead, the conversation continues to revolve around Jones and interim kingpin Tom Aspinall. Aspinall’s rise to stardom and championship gold has come at a perfect time to pose an intriguing challenge to the all-time great “Bones,” but Jones has consistently remarked that he isn’t interested. According to Jones, Aspinall is too new and doesn’t do anything for his resume.

Former Featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski, who not that long ago was the top-ranked pound-for-pound fighter on the roster, disagrees. “The Great” knows a thing or two about chasing double champion status, and he believes that Jones simply has to face Aspinall if he’s to be a “proper double champion.”

“If you want to be a Heavyweight champion, you want to claim that crown,” Volkanovski said of Jones on his YouTube channel. “It’s going to be hard to convince me you’re defending champ if you don’t fight Tom Aspinall while he’s the interim champ. Does Jon Jones even need to do this? No. He’s already got an incredible legacy. But if you want to claim the Heavyweight division, say you were a proper double champ — you gotta fight Tom Aspinall!”

“ … If you want that on your resume saying that I’m the best Heavyweight while i was there, you have to fight Tom Aspinall. I think he’s definitely the biggest threat, the wrestling, he can dangerous everywhere, and he’s a legit Heavyweight.”

Volkanovski also explained that he understands why Jones would want to fight a major star in Alex Pereira but thinks dropping the Heavyweight belt would be necessary to do so. All told, it’s going to be very interesting to see whether or not Jon Jones’ career continues beyond Saturday night and what lies in his future.

Insomnia

Bringing back the old gloves for a Jones event is the most unintentionally hilarious thing UFC has ever done.

Just a few guys being dudes.

Wild times on the Russian regional scene! Anecdote of the week: I did once watch a fighter get arrested immediately after his fight at Gladiator Challenge in Northern California. He won via KO in 22 seconds!

No easy fights for Edson Barboza — Steve Garcia has been on a tear!

Dana White casually winning more money than most of his champions will make this year:

A tricky technique from the great Craig Jones!

Fighting Rodtang for $8k is ROUGH!

Slips, rips, and KO clips

Absolutely frantic hand-fighting and a great turn at the end.

Khabib cousins grow on trees, have cool names, and win fights like nobody’s business.

Former One Championship Flyweight king Adriano Moraes is back in the win column.

Random Land

What would you do in this situation?

Midnight Music: Soul, 2020

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