Bringing you the weird and wild from the world of MMA each and every weeknight!
Welcome to Midnight Mania!
James Krause is in some serious hot water.
The last few years have largely gone well for the veteran. Outside of the occasional gutsy short-notice performance, Krause set himself up for success by building his camp, Glory MMA. As head coach, Krause elevated several fighters with middling records to the UFC level, developing a reputation as a technically sound coach and good corner.
Cracks emerged more recently. Krause made headlines for running a gambling advice service, the legality and morality of which quickly came under question. It wasn’t terribly long afterward that UFC fighters were banned from betting on themselves! Then, former title challenger Megan Anderson came out with allegations about Krause and Glory MMA’s legitimacy.
Then, the Darrick Minner vs. Shayilan Nuerdanbieke controversy began. Minner is a Krause-trained fighter, and suspicious betting surrounding the fight immediately raised eyebrows. Soon afterward, the dominoes started falling. Gambling on UFC fights started getting banned in Canadian provinces, NSAC opened an investigation into Krause, and now, all of Krause’s fighters who continue working with him are banned from fighting inside the Octagon.
Unarguably the most high-profile fighter on Krause’s roster is interim (and former undisputed) Flyweight champion Brandon Moreno. “The Assassin Baby” relocated to Glory MMA ahead of his bout vs. Kai Kara-France, and he’s currently midway through his training to face Deiveson Figueiredo for the fourth time.
At the moment, it’s unclear what Moreno will do or where he’ll complete his camp. However, Moreno did go on Instagram to support Krause, posting a picture of the two hugging alongside the caption, “Waiting for justice.”
Stay tuned for further updates to this scandal.
Insomnia
Charles Jourdain caught a submission loss while on vacation.
charles jourdain is literally a treasure pic.twitter.com/JZEXpE3AdN
— do bronx elbow ?? (@tonyselbow1) December 2, 2022
Rafael dos Anjos has correctly identified a problem that exists most notably at Lightweight and Welterweight: established contenders don’t want to fight up-and-comers!
RDA talking about the ranking system & top of 155 not wanting to fight the new era of fighter’s . pic.twitter.com/906MyQGiVV
— R?Á N?TIØN ??? (@AlexioMMA) December 2, 2022
Charles Oliveira deserves his rest and recovery after championship-level “emotional stress.”
— Charles ‘DoBronxs’ Oliveira (@CharlesDoBronxs) December 2, 2022
Despite a seemingly endless amount of evidence that it’s a bad idea, people continue allowing Tito Ortiz to speak for them.
In his endorsement speech for Eric Deters, Tito called him Eric Deters, Eric Deter, Eric Jeters, and Eric Leaders. pic.twitter.com/0xxVYL6gvH
— Borrachinha Depot (@FullContactMTWF) December 2, 2022
Don’t ask me what’s going on here, because I don’t have any answers.
Kevin Holland entertains, one way or another.
Slips, rips, and KO clips
Is there a nastier single punch in UFC history? Francis Ngannou sending Alistair Overeem to the shadow realm stands alone, or perhaps alongside Dan Henderson over Michael Bisping.
#OnThisDay 5 years ago, @Francis_Ngannou gave us one of the biggest knockouts in UFC history pic.twitter.com/utOlrhR2Ac
— UFC (@ufc) December 2, 2022
Level change fake into front kick is a sweet setup.
Wow! Front kick KO at #Eternal72 as Sonny Kirisome flattened Osh Boonchu! pic.twitter.com/8oEPhyn1FT
— Al Zullino (@phre) December 2, 2022
Jabbing low then firing the overhand is a technique that never goes out of style in MMA.
Sergey Ignatenko stops Ravshan Akhmedov in 45 seconds #EFCSelection6 pic.twitter.com/wKiDJzGDsw
— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) December 2, 2022
Random Land
There are quite a few odd comics in this thread for those willing to click through.
For my money this is the funniest comic panel ever pic.twitter.com/5hTdsuE6KA
— fiona apple neck tattoo (@CathoIicConvert) November 30, 2022
Midnight Music: Reggae, 1982
Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.