UFC Betting Sites – The Best MMA Online Bookies

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

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

Ryan Garcia isn’t pretending to be crazy anymore, but that doesn’t mean the monkeying around is through.

“King” shocked social media with a bizarre video (watch above) of the boxing star serenading an orangutang! Garcia can be seen rapping along to his own recent release — a song titled “Blessed, Highly Favored” — while the orangutan hangs out and eats grapes in the driver’s seat of a car (presumably Garcia’s?).

Reactions amongst fans were mixed. Quite a few fans admitted to finding the stunt funny, while many noted that the orangutan appeared unimpressed by his performance. He received several comparisons to other celebrities and their unusual animal pals, like Mike Tyson and his tiger.

Oddly enough, Garcia also ran into a UFC fighter while hanging out with orangutan. Lightweight talent Jared Gordon posted his own clip, showing both he and Garcia holding hands with the primate before shaking hands with each other.

In the ring, Garcia is just a couple weeks removed from handing Devin Haney the first loss of his professional career (watch it) and making an insane amount of money in the process. Unfortunately, Garcia also failed a drug test for multiple substances immediately after the victory. To his credit, however, Garcia has already been cleared on one substance, but he still has to prove his innocence in regards to Ostarine usage.

Insomnia

Oleksandr Usyk shows off his battle wounds after 12 rounds of battle with Tyson Fury.

Jared Gooden explains why he was unable to fight last weekend at UFC Vegas 91.

An important anniversary for the PRIDE fans among us.

How long until Dricus Du Plessis vs. Israel Adesanya is announced?

Aljamain Sterling vs. Movsar Evloev feels like the fight to make at 145 pounds.

Lerone Murphy is down to fight Josh Emmett or Calvin Kattar after defeating Edson Barboza.

Freestyle wrestling at its absolute finest! Saitiev won Olympic gold three times and World Championships an additional six times.

Slips, rips, and KO clips

Douglas swarmed him with power shots and Ghareeb couldn’t back him off.

Andre Fialho has taken quite a few bad knockout losses in the last couple years.

Sat him down twice with aggressive elbows:

Random Land

King Charles III’s royal portrait made headlines for the wrong reasons recently, but I found this analysis of the painting itself quite interesting.

Midnight Music: Jangle pop, 1984

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

Conor McGregor took shots at just about everybody in his latest live stream gambling experience.

“The Notorious” Irishman can typically be relatively hot and cold depending on how he feels about his combat sports peers. Appearing on a Duelbits live stream yesterday (Mon., May 20, 2024), McGregor was asked several questions by fans throughout. When asked about the former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Welterweight champion, Kamaru Usman, McGregor asked who that was before saying, “F—k him.”

It was a mild and tame verbal jab compared to what Khabib Nurmagomedov or UFC Featherweight champion, Ilia Topuria, received from McGregor. Nonetheless, it didn’t sit well with Usman.

“At what point does this become more than money?” Usman asked on Pound-4-Pound. “At what point does this become the integrity of the sport? Listen, at the end of the day, Conor is who Conor is. Conor has done some pretty fantastic things in this sport of mixed martial arts for the UFC. He has. But, Conor, so have I. You were a champion, so was I. So, at the end of the day, where I have a little issue is you come around saying, ‘He’s a bum,’ or he’s this. You can’t say that, Conor.

“I didn’t kick him while he was down,” he continued. “He’s had run-ins with the law. He’s had back-to-back instances, but you never heard me sit there and kick the man while he was down. There needs to be some level of respect here because, at the end of the day, that’s what this sport is all about. The respect and the discipline we all put in to get to the top of the sport. That seems to be something he’s lacking.”

McGregor, 35, is set to return to action when he faces Michael Chandler in UFC 303’s main event next month (Sat., June 29, 2024). The fight will take place in Usman’s longtime division of Welterweight and should things go McGregor’s way, he’s already expressed interest in challenging for the title at some point.

Ultimately, that was an option already on the table before Leon Edwards became champion, says Usman.

“For you to say, ‘Oh, Ilia Topuria, he’s a bum,’ he’s not a bum. He’s the champion of the world right now,” Usman said. “I’m not a bum. Clearly. Because if you wanted an opportunity to fight me, I gave Conor two opportunities to fight me while I was champion. I told him, ‘Hey, if you want a crack at that third belt, who better?’ I was on the run that I was on, who better for you to come up and fight? He talked about it when he wanted to make his return, ‘Maybe I’ll go up and grab the third belt.’ It is what it is, Conor.

“To call me a bum is kind of disrespectful,” he continued. “I didn’t disrespect you when you were having your troubles. So, my man, I think it’s sometimes easier, and it’s better — well, it’s not easier — it’s better if you put that whiskey bottle down and actually come back to your wits and be a good father and a good role model.”

Sean O’Malley doesn’t like the sound of playing second fiddle to Ilia Topuria.

Ideally, the reigning Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Bantamweight champion, O’Malley, has hoped for an eventual clash with his fellow titleholder at Featherweight, Topuria. Until that can happen, they’ll each have to get through some top contenders.

O’Malley, 29, will likely next defend his 135-pound crown opposite the surging Georgian, Merab Dvalishvili. With no dates locked in, O’Malley recently pondered possibly competing on another stacked card like his last time out at UFC 299 in March 2024. However, what if he didn’t headline it? “Sugar’s” return timing could align with Topuria’s for his expected next clash against Max Holloway. Depending on the business dealings of such an event, O’Malley wouldn’t be too fond of the concept.

“I’m hoping they do a crazy card like they did in Miami and put me on the main event, get that pay-per-view [points], boy,” O’Malley said on his TimboSugar Show podcast. “I’m trying to think who I would co-main with. Ilia? Yeah. (Sighs) I would be upset. He’s too short.

“If he was taller than me, I’d say that’s fine, but the fact that he’s 5’4” main eventing over me would piss me off,” he continued. “I’d be fine with it if I got pay-per-view. I don’t know if they’d do Max vs. Ilia, me vs. Merab. ‘Cause I’m wondering if Max is gonna get pay-per-view next fight. Not [just] for the BMF, but also because he’s that big of a star. There’s zero perfect chance UFC pays me, Ilia, and Max pay-per-view. So, I don’t think that’s it.”

No matter who is next for Topuria, it will be his first title defense as a champion. O’Malley, on the other hand, successfully defended his title for the first time at the aforementioned UFC 299 event when he won a unanimous decision in his rematch against Marlon “Chito” Vera (watch highlights).

The common goal among most up-and-coming regional (or international) mixed martial arts (MMA) prospects is to one day compete for Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Other major promotions such as Bellator MMA, Professional Fighter’s Leagues, and ONE Championship are not far behind. Literally, countless prospects across the globe are all working toward the same career goal, making it difficult to stand out in the sea of competition. As often as possible, MMAmania.com will highlight a different combat sports prospect to keep your eyes on.

---

Mansher Khera

Age: 32

Height: 5’10”

Weight class: Lightweight

Record: 7-0

Gym: Culture Fight Club/Tiger Schulmann’s MMA

The definition of prospect is very fluid because of a fighter’s age. While 32 is old for some people, it is typically the age at which fighters reach their prime—and for New York’s Mansher Khera, he is currently at the top of his game.

Khera was born in America but grew up in India. He was always a fan of martial arts, doing taekwondo and wrestling as a child, but he fell in love with MMA and combat sports when The Ultimate Fighter season one aired. When he moved back to America, he dove head-first into Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ), eventually receiving his black belt under Marcelo Garcia and becoming a world champion.

Rich Burmaster/Fury FC 90

Khera made his professional MMA debut on Jan. 21, 2022, at Jorge Masvidal’s iKON FC 1, where he submitted Travis Floyd in the second round. (He fought a month prior at Gamebred Fighting Championship 3, a bare-knuckle MMA promotion, and won via first-round TKO.)

Khera has six finishes in his seven fights—all submission wins, four of them in the first round. There is no doubt that Khera has elite grappling, and that will lead him to many wins. He is improving his striking tremendously, which would make him a real problem to deal with.

In his last outing at Fury FC 90, he became the first person to finish fellow prospect Hector Saenz.

Check out other highlights:

In addition to being a finisher, Khera has another big reason the UFC should consider him: He’s Indian. Only three Indians have fought in the UFC: Arjan Bhullar, Bharat Khandare, and Anshul Jubli. With such a gigantic market, it would honestly be stupid for the promotion to pass him up.

UFC is where Khera wants to be.

“I want to be in the UFC anyway possible,” Khera told MMAMania.com recently. “I’m gonna get to the UFC because I believe in myself, and I believe if I can get into UFC within the next year or two, I’ll crack the top 15. I’m 100% sure of my abilities. This is what I want to dedicate my time to. I’m gonna call my manager, and whatever the next step is, you know, whether it is the Contender Series or a short notice fight, whatever it is, I’m ready to go. I’m ready to challenge myself. And I’m ready to take these guys out in the first round.”

---

For more regional MMA news and notes click here.