Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Bringing you the weird and wild from the world of MMA each and every weeknight!
Welcome to Midnight Mania!
Colby Covington is taking his heel status to new heights. When he won his interim title last year, he donned his best “Make America Great Again” hat and brought the title to the white house for some face time with President Donald Trump.
Per “Chaos,” his continued support — and dare I say friendship? — with the Trump family will continue on Saturday, as the two eldest sons of the president, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, will supposedly be in attendance to watch Covington compete.
The entire short interview is a truly awkward and uncomfortable art piece. Covington goes on the discuss what President Trump’s martial arts strengths might be — boxing, apparently — and also says he “might have to speak at his RNC (Republican National Convention) next year.”
I’ll set the line at 10-1 that this is all nonsense. Any takers?
Insomnia
Brian Ortega with a nasty low kick is an exciting concept.
I’m told Brian Ortega, in addition to his work with longtime head coach James Luhrsen and Rener Gracie of course, has done some training with retired kickboxing champion Rob “Mr. Low Kick” Kaman recently … who you can check out below. pic.twitter.com/7TlN5epU0R
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) July 29, 2019
Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Alexandre Pantoja proved to be an amazing fight, but there really weren’t any big names on the UFC 240 prelims.
UFC 240 averaged 722,000 viewers which is the worst since UFC 230 Cormier v. Lewis which aired on FS1. UFC PPV prelims in 2019 are up about 30% from 2018 FS1 average of 810k viewers. pic.twitter.com/a6bkOtclzC
— Fight Oracle (@fightoracle) July 30, 2019
Demetrious Johnson walks us through his latest submission win.
This quote from “Wonderboy” made me laugh.
Johnny Walker responds to Corey Anderson’s callout:
Let’s dance together, and have a little fun, LHW needs a new king . ?
— Johnny Walker (@Johnnywalkermma) July 30, 2019
A 16-year-old just made upwards of $3,000,000 for winning a Fortnite tournament, but Mike Perry is here to keep things in perspective.
This is going to be a scrap, but I thought Winn was heading to 170 lbs.?
A middleweight fight between Deron Winn and Darren Stewart is being discussed for the UFC’s return to Boston on Oct. 18, per sources. Pen has not gone to paper at this time, but it’s close, I’m told.
— Mike Heck (@MikeHeck_JR) July 30, 2019
Shaq next to anyone is hilarious.
Good scrambling is as much a mentality as it is technique!
In case you were unaware, Faber’s daughter is pretty freaking adorable.
Slips, rips, and KO clips
The rear naked choke is a great equalizer.
Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series delivered a pair of flying knee KOs tonight.
OH MY GOODNESS #DWCS
(via @espnmma) pic.twitter.com/sZDD0SJPoE
— ESPN (@espn) July 31, 2019
NO. WAY. Another flying knee?! #DWCS@Aleksa_Camur follows up with a highlight of his own pic.twitter.com/ynKq1dRNUr
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) July 31, 2019
Random Land
My former Olympic weightlifting coach and current grip strength buddy, “The Wizard of Occam” Ben Claridad of Occam Athletics, is picking up popularity on IG for his weekly reviews of caffeinated beverages. I love it!
Midnight Music: Angel Olsen is a very talented songwriter with a special and unique voice. Her 2016 LP My Woman was among the best of the year, but she announced a new album for the fall and released a new, fairly experimental first single today! Below is the catchiest cut from My Woman.
Sleep well Maniacs! There’s always more martial arts madness on the way.