Midnight Mania! Usyk Was TOO EASY For Fury

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Welcome to Midnight Mania!

It’s been just about a month since Tyson Fury’s undefeated record went up in smoke.

Oleksandr Usyk and Fury battled for 12 competitive rounds, but there was little doubt who was the better man that night when the dust settled. Fury had some strong rounds in the middle of the fight, but a knockdown in the ninth firmly shifted the momentum into Usyk’s corner (watch highlights). The Ukrainian boxer started and finished very strong, earning undisputed champion status in a second weight class as a result of the victory.

In the immediate aftermath of the split-decision defeat, Fury blamed the judges’ decision on sympathy for the Russian conflict with Ukraine and argued that he deserved the victory. Given more time to process, Fury has come up with a different conclusion: he lost because Usyk was “too easy” to hit, and subsequently, he was having “too much fun.”

“It was actually a lot easier than I thought it would be, the Usyk fight,” Fury explained on his Furocity podcast. “A lot easier. People saying, ‘Oh, he’s a hard man to hit.’ I was lighting him up with three-, four-punch combinations, laughing at him. My problem in that fight: I probably had too much fun. It was probably too easy.

“At times, it was too easy. It was like I was in there with a local amateur boxer, and I was just enjoying it too much, messing around. Paid the ultimate price in round nine where I got a 10-8 round and got clipped. That’s what happens when you have too much fun. They always tell me ‘Never mix your work with having fun’ and I always gave them the middle finger, and it’s come back now to me!”

It’s an interesting theory. Fortunately, Fury will have an opportunity to put it to the test in when the duo rematch in late December. Maybe this time there will be less showboating and goofing around from “The Gypsy King” the second time around?

Insomnia

Ikram Aliskerov is the latest contender who grew up in the Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov Sambo school.

Israel Adesanya is back in the gym, getting ready to throw down with Dricus Du Plessis.

Speaking of the South African champion, this old sparring clip featuring him and Alexander Volkanovski is a silly watch.

Here’s a fun prompt! I’m nominating BJ Penn for sloth and Kelvin Gastelum for gluttony.

I’ve written like three different articles about Gastelum’s wasted potential, so here’s Chris Curtis summing it up more concisely.

Fatigued Heavyweight action coming to an Apex near you.

Leon Edwards’ son knows the stats!

Slips, rips, and KO clips

Arguably the most iconic KO in MMA history went down 20 years ago today (June 20 at the time of writing).

… and 24 years earlier, there was a legendary boxing brawl between two of the four kings!

Nasty knees from the A Frame!

Random Land

Rhino relocation.

Midnight Music: Alternative, 1991

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