Photo by Mike Roach/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!
It has been an incredible 12 months for Francis Ngannou. The Cameroonian athlete rebounded from his first UFC loss in July of 2018 by simply destroying each of his opponents, stopping three high-quality opponents via knockout in less than three minutes total. He’s closer than ever to the title, potentially next in line for a rematch with Stipe Miocic.
In addition, Ngannou announced at the start of 2019 the creation of the Francis Ngannou Foundation. Seeking to help others escape the poverty that once trapped “The Predator,” Ngannou’s foundation offers free martial arts lessons to Cameroonian youths. It’s the first combat sports gym in the African country, and the foundation just posted footage of Ngannou himself stopping by to help coach.
Check it out:
With all the bar fights and controversies dominating martial arts headlines, it’s nice to see a high-profile fighter like Ngannou using his influence for something positive. Similarly, one half of next week’s main event, Dustin Poirier, frequently auctions off his fight gear to help out a local elementary school. Cheers to both of these excellent fighters and humans!
Insomnia
Just a few hours after this post airs, it will be main event time!
Koalas are awesome.
Miocic is back to a less-than-glamorous regular life after defending his title in a legendary bout just weeks ago.
Refs beating up fighters is my new favorite sub-genre of fight video.
Kamaru Usman’s phone booth fighting is brutal.
Congrats to the Cali Kid!
Rockhold’s back control carries over to rodeo activities.
Slips, rips, and KO clips
Bulldog chokes are always fun.
2R bulldog choke by Mikhail Doroshenko (M-1) pic.twitter.com/dARIS8vW2Q
— Jolassanda (@Jolassanda1) August 30, 2019
A high-risk toss pays off!
1R mounted guillotine by Asia Klyutova (M-1) pic.twitter.com/5O5BW61Y0c
— Jolassanda (@Jolassanda1) August 30, 2019
Inverted triangle + kimura is an underrated combo.
nice geometrization by Serik Razgaliev (GFC) pic.twitter.com/eKPbeKTfXi
— Jolassanda (@Jolassanda1) August 30, 2019
Great slam and follow up submission! It’s really easy to get re-rolled after a hip toss like this, but Mukhtarov did an excellent job of stabilizing the position afterward.
airlines and RNC by Imam-Shapi Mukhtarov (GFC) pic.twitter.com/Hu4zK1HEqS
— Jolassanda (@Jolassanda1) August 30, 2019
Random Land
A nice reminder that we really don’t know nothin’.
Midnight Music: After a single listen, the new Tool album is pretty good. If I had one main complain, it’s that the vocals are a bit samey for a 70 some minute album.
— Consequence of Sound (@consequence) August 30, 2019
Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.