Bringing you the weird and wild from the world of MMA each and every weeknight!
Welcome to Midnight Mania!
The Paul brothers are becoming a staple of the combat sports world. Like it or not, there’s big money in boxing with these YouTubers, and everyone from Ben Askren to Amanda Nunes is willing to chase that (seemingly) easy payday. Of course, if a fighter contracted to the UFC wants to compete outside of the Octagon, they need approval from Dana White.
It doesn’t seem likely, as the UFC President has made it clear he is not a fan. On the “SHOUT!” Buffalo podcast, White doubled down on trashing the Paul brothers.
“The answer to that question is, who gives a (expletive)?” White said (transcription via MMAJunkie). “Neither one of those guys can fight. It’s all a big gimmick. Like I said in a (recent) press conference, there’s a market for that. If people are dumb enough to spend their money watching that (expletive), I don’t know what to tell you. Good luck to them. I (couldn’t) care less what that guy (does). I get it. He’s trying to make some money and is doing his thing. There are people who want to spend money on that. I’m not that guy.”
In addition, White did not take kindly to Paul’s comments about other athletes, including UFC double-champ Nunes.
“Amanda Nunes will knock that kid out,” White said. “To even think about that guy fighting, he’s like, ‘I’m never going to fight a woman.’ You shouldn’t. You shouldn’t because she’ll put you in a coma. That guy is just some kid off the street. One of the big problems with him right now, he’s lucky there’s a pandemic. He’s talking smack about real people – real people that he could run into at a restaurant some night and things like that. This isn’t a real guy. This is just some kid on YouTube.”
Insomnia
Anthony Pettis has seen his share of ups-and-downs, but at no point has “Showtime” been anything less than smooth.
Art in motion ???? @ProFightLeague 2021 pic.twitter.com/DQSSOfSc0G
— Anthony Pettis (@Showtimepettis) December 29, 2020
Anyone else planning to stay up for RIZIN 26? It should be a fun night! In addition, their rules punishing athletes who miss weight are intense!
2019 Greco World champion and 2016 Olympic silver medalist Shinobu Ota is great at exploding into short duck-under entries to get to bodylock and trap arm positions.
He makes his MMA debut vs. Hideo Tokoro at RIZIN 26 on NYE. pic.twitter.com/TqpC3NzH0o
— Ed (@EdwardGalloMMA) December 30, 2020
Rizin announce the rules of Sakura bout.
50% deduction on fight purse and will start the fight with a red card which is a 50% deduction point from the judging criteria. Sakura finishing the fight will be ruled no contest. If her opponent wins, results will be official.
— Bruno Massami (????? ???????) (@BrMassami) December 30, 2020
An excellent prank:
Though I somehow doubt UFC ever suffers consequences for anything, this remains an interesting storyline to keep an eye on.
Ankalaev represents Chechen dictator Ramzan Kadyrov’s Akhmat MMA fight club, which was sanctioned by the U.S. government a few weeks ago.
Not abiding by the sanctions can result in hefty fines or, in some cases, jail time.
UFC is playing with fire. https://t.co/F4ff3BFcui
— Karim Zidan | ???? ????? (@ZidanSports) December 30, 2020
Leon Edwards vs. Jorge Masvidal is never going to happen.
Do you know that Leon Edwards has been calling out Masvidal since June 23, 2018 when he beat Cowboy Cerrone? Masvidal has ducked for over 2 years. https://t.co/HmNuLOLlAA pic.twitter.com/ILjOBTW5xb
— Mayowa Balogun (@Sweeegu) December 29, 2020
Thiago Santos and Yana Kunitskaya work their capoeira:
Slips, rips, and KO clips
Every time I thought the combo would end, it got even better!
— Counter Jab (@aniruddhas7) December 30, 2020
This is one of the best sweep counters I’ve ever seen.
A very friendly but very cool sparring clip:
Random Land
This has to be staged. There’s no way this is real. Right? Please?
Hold my beer while I pick up this dog poop. pic.twitter.com/rvRBDc291l
— Hold My Beer (@holdmyale) December 30, 2020
Y’all think we’re getting aliens in six months?’
Midnight Music: The Velvet Underground’s third album may not be my personal favorite, but it’s an absolute classic all the same — their most serene LP by a mile.
Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.