Midnight Mania: The Last Ride Of The Diamond?

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Bringing you the weird and wild from the world of MMA each and every weeknight! Welcome to Midnight Mania!
Dustin Poirier has been consistently honest that his legendary mixed martial…


UFC 299: O’Malley v Vera 2
Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images

Bringing you the weird and wild from the world of MMA each and every weeknight!

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

Dustin Poirier has been consistently honest that his legendary mixed martial arts (MMA) career is coming to a close sooner than later.

“The Diamond” has set no expiration date, but he’s made it clear each fight could be his last. He’s a significant underdog heading into his UFC 302 main event title fight versus Islam Makhachev, setting the stage for a fairytale ending … or at least a respectable high point to walk away from if defeated by the sport’s current pound-for-pound king.

UFC color commentator and retired champion Daniel Cormier doesn’t love Poirier’s openness on the subject. “DC” doesn’t want to see Poirier walk away, but he also think it’s a bad idea for fighters to recognize they’re almost done while still fighting. According to “DC,” that’s a mistake he made himself before walking away.

“I can’t stand hearing that it’s almost over for a guy that we all universally love and enjoy when he’s inside the octagon,” Cormier said on his YouTube channel (via Yahoo Sports). “I also hate it for another reason: I hate it for the idea that it could be almost over, and he recognizes that. I don’t like when athletes because I did it myself, I’m almost judging myself; I don’t love when athletes put a timeline or a finishing point on a career that’s still actively going on. That is a hard thing to do.”

Cormier continued, “I started looking to a time where I didn’t have to worry about cutting the weight and doing all this other stuff. That’s miserable. Life afterwards is vacations, beaches, eating what you want and doing what you want.

“I don’t love that there’s so many references to, ‘My last chance or my last dance. I’m not committing to retirement.’ It’s like, if you have any desire to fight, you have to be so in the fight that there is no thought of what comes next.”

It should be noted that Poirier talked similarly ahead of his fight versus Benoit Saint Denis, then showed absolutely no quit opposite the French talent and knocked him out cold. Regardless of pre-fight talks, I would expect the Louisiana-native to be at his best on Saturday night.

Whether that’s enough to dethrone Makhachev remains to be seen.

Insomnia

Now that I’ve read this tweet, I fully understand Ronda Rousey’s desire to never associate with anything MMA-related ever again.

Why would doc squeeze the hematoma, seems rude!

Between calling out Israel Adesanya for a street fight and comparing himself to Khabib will never wrestling, Manel Keep is rising through the ranks of pound-for-pound most delusional fighter. An impressive and hilarious accomplishment!

Be like water!

… I would unironically watch Kamaru Usman vs. Jan Blachowicz in 2024. Does it make sense? No. But I would watch it!

The best staredown in recent memory:

Henry Cejudo may not want to fight Kyler Phillips, but he’s interested in Song Yadong and Petr Yan.

Imagine if Kevin Lee somehow becomes good again. Even if you weren’t a fan during his height, it sucks to see a stellar athlete destroyed by injury.

Slips, rips, and KO clips

Russian undefeated amateur champion who does cool throws and foot sweeps — that’s a prospect to remember.

Legalize upkicks to a grounded opponent!

Number one rule of being stuck in single leg back control: don’t reach backwards!

Random Land

Butterfly hooks!!!

Midnight Music: G-Funk, 1992

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

Money Vs. Preparation? ‘I Was Just F—king Hanging Out’

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Jorge Masvidal will forever go down in history as the first Baddest Motherf—ker (BMF) champion.
The BMF title win led Masvidal to his first career Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) titl…


UFC 251: Usman v Masvidal
Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

Jorge Masvidal will forever go down in history as the first Baddest Motherf—ker (BMF) champion.

The BMF title win led Masvidal to his first career Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) title fight in July 2020. Unfortunately for “Gamebred,” the circumstances weren’t ideal for his clash with the then-champion, Kamaru Usman, at UFC 251 in Abu Dhabi.

Usman was originally set to defend his belt against Gilbert Burns until the challenger contracted COVID-19 and was forced out of the contest. Masvidal recalled negotiating for the title shot for a while before the promotion turned to Burns, and he knew what he wanted. It never came to fruition until there was no other choice on one week’s notice.

“When I got the call to fight Usman on six days’ notice, me and the UFC had been going back [and forth] because I wanted more pay-per-view money,” Masvidal said on the TimboSugar Show. “I wanted a bigger distribution on the pay-per-views that I was bringing in, and they weren’t really budging. They wanted to give me more on this side, but here, we’re gonna have to this and chop, chop.

“I’m like, ‘Nah, I don’t want that deal. If I bring in money, I want to get paid money,’” he continued. “If I sell 100,000 pay-per-views the don’t f—king give me s—t. If I sell a million pay-per-views, I wanted to get f—king paid.

“It came to a halt on negotiations and I was like ah f—k. I guess it’s not meant to be,” Masvidal concluded.

A big point of contingency for Masvidal was comparing the opportunity to his first and only Strikeforce title shot at Lightweight against Gilbert Melendez in December 2011. Masvidal claims he made $16,000 for the bout, which he lost via a unanimous decision.

Masvidal, 39, had all the leverage after Burns fell out and wanted to right his wrongs from his past experience. Ultimately, the fight result was the same and the Welterweight veteran still contemplates whether it was the right move or not because of that.

“I want the same deal I was asking you for but just better now,” Masvidal said. “I got six days to do it and 20 pounds to go. So I f—king went to war with them, fought for everything I could. I made more money than I ever did in my whole career because I made sure everything was right and going forward it stayed exactly the same, belt or no belt. My pay-per-view threshold was very good.

“I didn’t get the decision I wanted in the fight and that always stayed with me,” he continued. “Like, man, how about if I had trained these seven weeks like I was fighting for a title? It would have been completely different because I really wasn’t doing much. I was just f—king hanging out.”

Despite the lopsided loss to Usman, Masvidal received an immediate rematch and battled Usman again at UFC 261 in April 2021. The outcome wound up worse than before as he lost via second round knockout. Masvidal returns to action for a boxing rematch against Nate Diaz on July 6, 2024.

‘Every Single Fighter Needs To Thank’ McGregor

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There’s only one Conor McGregor.
Ireland’s finest is often imitated, but never replicated — for better or worse. McGregor, 35, is the biggest star in mixed martial arts (MMA) history, tra…


“Road House” UK Special Screening – Arrivals
Photo by Samir Hussein/WireImage

There’s only one Conor McGregor.

Ireland’s finest is often imitated, but never replicated — for better or worse. McGregor, 35, is the biggest star in mixed martial arts (MMA) history, transcending sport unlike any other fighter has before. If any skepticism remained about that notion, his recent appearance as an actor in Road House will put that to rest.

No matter how divisive of a figure he’s become, McGregor has still demanded and gained the respect of his peers as he gets set to return to action against Michael Chandler at UFC 303 next month (Sat., June 29, 2024). Amongst those excited for “The Notorious” return is UFC Middleweight champion, Dricus du Plessis, who believes everyone should be thankful in some way for McGregor.

“I mean, that guy, everything he touches, he’s such a legend in this sport,” du Plessis said on The Sias du Plessis Show (h/t MMA Junkie). “What he’s done for the sport, he’s transformed it into such a mainstream sport.

“I can understand disliking the persona but knowing — I don’t know him personally but meeting him, different person,” he continued. “And even if you don’t like him, you can’t ever, ever discredit what he’s done for this sport because every single fighter needs to thank him, in my opinion, for the raise in pay, the raise in awareness of this sport because I think Conor McGregor might be one of the most famous people on earth.”

du Plessis, 30, has been flawless in his UFC career thus far (7-0, 21-2 overall). His last time out saw him capture the 185-pound title with a hard-fought split decision nod over Sean Strickland at UFC 297 this past January 2024 (watch highlights). The South African expects his first title defense against the former two-time champion, Israel Adesanya.

Jorge Masvidal reveals the biggest regret of his UFC career: ‘I fought for everything I could’

Jorge Masvidal reveals the biggest regret of his UFC career: 'I fought for everything I could'While reflecting on his UFC career, Jorge Masvidal has one major regret. After a mostly middling career in combat…

Jorge Masvidal reveals the biggest regret of his UFC career: 'I fought for everything I could'

While reflecting on his UFC career, Jorge Masvidal has one major regret.

After a mostly middling career in combat sports, ‘Gamebred’ seemingly turned a corner in 2019, starting with a knockout of Darren Till at UFC on ESPN+ 5. He followed that up with perhaps the most-watched highlight in MMA history.

Returning to the Octagon four months later, Masvidal dispatched former Bellator and ONE world champion Ben Askren in five seconds with the flying knee heard around the world.

Jorge Masvidal

Adding a win over Nate Diaz to claim the inaugural BMF belt that same year, Jorge Masvidal went from midcarder to superstar overnight.

Unfortunately, Masvidal’s star fizzled out almost as fast as it grew, kickstarting with a short-notice welterweight title fight at UFC 251 against then-champion Kamaru Usman.

“It’s a regret, but also not a regret,” Masvidal said during an appearance on The TimboSugarShow with Sean O’Malley and Tim Welch. “When I got the call to fight [Kamaru] Usman on six days’ notice, me and the UFC had been going back because I wanted more pay-per-view money. I wanted a bigger distribution on the pay-per-views than I was bringing in. They weren’t budging on that. If I bring in money, I want to get paid money. If I sell 100 thousand pay-per-views, then don’t give me sh*t, but I wanted to get f*cking paid.

“That was going on for a while and then we came to a halt and I was like, ‘F*ck, whatever bro. I guess it’s not meant to be.’ In Strikeforce, I fought for the lightweight world title, and the UFC had already purchased the company, but I got a sh*t deal. The fight kept getting pushed back and I made $16,000 to challenge for the world title, against the guy who was top-rated in the world. Then I had all of the chips on my side, because who was going to cut all this weight in six days, make weight, and at the time I was number one.

“So they didn’t have any choice. I fought for everything I could, I made more money than I ever had in my career, but I didn’t get the decision I wanted in that fight. It would’ve been completely different [if it was seven weeks’ notice]” (h/t BJPenn.com)

Jorge Masvidal turns to boxing to snap four-fight losing skid

After five rounds, Jorge Masvidal lost on all three judges’ scorecards, handing Usman a unanimous decision victory. The two would run it back the following year with the ‘Nigerian Nightmare’ scoring a vicious second-round KO against ‘Gamebred’ at UFC 261, bringing their rivalry to an end emphatically.

Jorge Masvidal

Masvidal would go on to lose his next two fights against Colby Covington and Gilbert Burns before walking away from the promotion on a four-fight losing skid.

Despite not seeing his hand raised in nearly five years, Masvidal continues to be a notable name, parlaying his ‘Gamebred’ brand into a successful fight promotion that features both bare-knuckle MMA and professional boxing bouts. On July 6, Masvidal will lace up the eight-ounce gloves for a rematch with Nate Diaz inside the squared circle.

Emanating from the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, the fight will be a co-promotion between Masvidal’s Gamebred Boxing and Diaz’s Real Fight Inc. You can purchase the event for $79.99 through the Fanmio app.

Jorge Masvidal vs. Nate Diaz

Demetrious Johnson echoes claims Anthony Joshua could beat Francis Ngannou in MMA: ‘It’s an easy fight’

Demetrious Johnson Anthony Joshua Francis NgannouDemetrious Johnson once said that he believes Anthony Joshua could beat Francis Ngannou in an MMA fight and is…

Demetrious Johnson Anthony Joshua Francis Ngannou

Demetrious Johnson once said that he believes Anthony Joshua could beat Francis Ngannou in an MMA fight and is standing by his statement.

Just a few months ago, Joshua and Ngannou went toe to toe in a boxing match at an event called “Knockout Chaos”. Things went pretty badly for the former UFC heavyweight champion, as Joshua would make easy work of him and put him away in the second round with a vicious overhand right.

Ngannou’s performance inspired some controversial takes, and Demetrious Johnson made waves when he claimed that he could see ‘AJ’ defeating the former UFC star inside the octagon. Now, in a recent appearance on The MMA Hour, Johnson is sticking by his opinion and breaking it down for the media and fans alike.

Demetrious Johnson defends his Anthony Joshua vs. Francis Ngannou take

“It’s not like Francis is some world-class kickboxer,” Johnson told Ariel Helwani. “You look at all Francis fights; he does have some submission wins, he does have somewhere he takes somebody down.”

“But if I can take a guy like Anthony Joshua, who is an athletic specimen, who understands range and distance, and I train him for six months — six months — to defend a takedown, check the leg kick, and just box. You’re not going to have 16-ounce gloves. The distance doesn’t change at all. … So if I can take somebody who is athletic, which Anthony Joshua is athletic, it’s an easy fight.”

According to Demetrious Johnson, Joshua’s advantage is due to the stylistic matchup between the two men. Johnson feels that Ngannou doesn’t have the style to pose an impossible challenge to ‘AJ’, and other heavyweights definitely do have a style that would present major issues to the boxing phenom.

Demetrious Johnson still unsure on retirement from MMA I have to be passionate UFC
Mandatory Credit: ONE Championship

“Now, here’s the flip side: How would it go against Anthony Joshua vs. Jon Jones? Different animal,” Johnson said. “Jon Jones would go out there and force the clinch. He would go out there and force the wrestling exchange. Maybe Francis Ngannou would do that, but I don’t think Francis would do that. From the years I’ve seen him fight, that’s how I view that fight. I’m not saying Francis is going to get destroyed, but I do believe [Joshua] has a chance of beating him because he just knocked him the f*ck out in a boxing match!”

“Francis has been very successful in the boxing world in MMA,” Demetrious Johnson continued. “He boxes people. When he beat Stipe Miocic, yes, he threw some leg kicks. That’s very easy to manage. It’s not like an Edson Barboza legkick. But he and Stipe were going back and forth. Stipe actually rocked him.”

“I would go on to say Anthony Joshua is a better boxer than Stipe Miocic. Not a better MMA guy, but in mixed martial arts, I say it all the time: MMA is the easiest sport to become a world champion in. It truly is. you have people who are very good at one thing and have so many holes and deficiencies in their game.”

Francis Ngannou’s coach weighs in on the Demetrious Johnson take

Francis Ngannou’s own coach, Eric Nicksick, wasn’t even very optimistic about the thought of an MMA bout between his star pupil and Anthony Joshua. Nicksick actually agreed with much of Johnson’s sentiments about the situation and even lent his own analysis.

“There were things I think we needed to do better,” Nicksick said. “So if this was an MMA fight, what did we see anecdotally that would have changed that same outcome if it was in MMA? We would have gotten slept, whether it was four-ounce gloves or not.”

demetrious johnson 3

“So it tells me we have to show the element of level change, we have to kick the lead leg out, we have to do other things to keep the distance, cut the cage off, and then blast-double that motherf*cker and put him on his back. Then it’s in our realm. So what [Johnson is] saying is absolutely true.”

What do you think of Demetrious Johnson’s opinion about how an MMA fight would play out between Ngannou and Joshua?

‘Everything Was Signed’ For BSD Title Shot If He Beat Poirier

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Benoit Saint Denis came up short in the biggest fight of his career.
UFC 299 was a night to remember in Miami, Florida this past March 2024. In the co-main event, France’s …


UFC 299: Poirier v Saint Denis
Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Benoit Saint Denis came up short in the biggest fight of his career.

UFC 299 was a night to remember in Miami, Florida this past March 2024. In the co-main event, France’s Saint Denis attempted to leapfrog the entire Lightweight division by taking out the perennial top contender, Dustin Poirier. Unfortunately for Saint Denis, the bout resulted in his second career defeat (13-2, 1 no contest) when he lost via a second round knockout (watch highlights).

Saint Denis, 28, has yet to book his rebound bout. Poirier, on the other hand, is going on to challenge for the Lightweight title against the champion, Islam Makhachev, at UFC 302 in Newark, New Jersey this weekend (Sat., June 1, 2024). Had Saint Denis gotten the job done at UFC 299, his coach, Giom Peltier, claims the title opportunity would have been theirs instead.

“It’s been two months since we’ve heard from me since Benoit’s fight, but it was already signed. Everything was signed,” Peltier told RMC Sports (h/t Sport.fr). “[He beat Poirier, he faced Makhachev in June], absolutely. What if it was too early? Yes, why not? We all stayed in our place, we took a defeat. If we took a defeat, it’s because we have to work on things. We’ll be back, no problem.”

A Poirier win for Saint Denis would have extended his winning streak to six straight and been his first Top 5 triumph. Despite the possibility of him jumping the line, Saint Denis’ inclusion in the title scene would have disregarded the UFC 300 outcomes if true.

Poirier’s title shot came on the heels of fellow top contender, Arman Tsarukyan, declining a title shot after his Charles Oliveira split decision nod at the historic event last month (April 13, 2024).

Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 302 fight card right here, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 6:15 p.m. ET (simulcast on ESPN2 at 8 p.m. ET), before the pay-per-view (PPV) main card start time at 10 p.m. ET (also on ESPN+).

To check out the latest and greatest UFC 302: “Makhachev vs. Poirier” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.