Bringing you the weird and wild from the world of MMA each and every weeknight!
Welcome to Midnight Mania!
Let’s start the night off by taking look back over the three biggest stories of Tuesday, April 15.
- Ian Garry claims his knee kicks are responsible for Shavkat’s lost title shot: It’s possible but none of the timing lines up to support Garry’s claim.
- Khabib doesn’t want Ilia Topuria as the next Lightweight contender: Topuria vs. Makhachev seems the obvious fight to book to 99% outside of the Makhachev camp.
- Aaron Pico disses Diego Lopes’ UFC 314 performance: Pico vs. Lopes would be the greatest match up skillful glass cannon vs. ungodly durable powerhouse since perhaps Overeem vs. Ngannou. Would watch …
Insomnia
Is Merab Dvalishvili vs. Sean O’Malley 2 really the best the Bantamweight division can do right now? It doesn’t feel like people are excited. I’d rather see a Alexandre Pantoja title shot or Patchy Mix signing, but I understand that doesn’t move as many pay-per-view (PPV) buys.
Dana White is asked why the UFC booked the rematch between Merab Dvalishvili and Sean O’Malley:
“This is the fight the people wanted to see.”
@ufc #UFC316pic.twitter.com/Ni2Ab6MoWa
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) April 11, 2025
The latest in evidence that English as a second language is the best base for Twitter trash talk. Salsa dip?!?
Be careful what you wish for “Salsa Dip”. You were playing with other kids in a wading pool so far. If you want to play with sharks in deep waters I can show you there are levels to this game. @ufc @UFCEurope @Mickmaynard2 https://t.co/0oKy6akF5V
— Marcin Tybura (@MarcinTybura) April 15, 2025
Dropping off your title at the promotion’s reception desk is a baller move. Yuki Yoza to One Championship?
Yuki Yoza has vacated his K-1 lightweight title and is set to announce his next move in three days.#k1wgp pic.twitter.com/DzcVwIHQkR
— Beyond Kickboxing (@Beyond_Kick) April 15, 2025
Caio Borralho calls out his third choice of opponent, Anthony Hernandez. If I were to play matchmaker:
- Borralho vs. Imavov (no ifs, ands, or buts title eliminator)
- Strickland vs. Whittaker
- Hernandez vs. Cannonier
So Imavov is running. Whitaker is running. So there’s only one guy on my mind:
Anthony Hernandez, what about we fight???
I’m 7 straight wins, you too..so get ready to get finished!
— Caio Borralho (@BorralhoCaio) April 15, 2025
Jean Silva didn’t take Bryce Mitchell seriously at all and styled on him. An all-time great showboating fight IMO …
Jean Silva pointed at Mauricio Ruffy before landing a spinning kick on Bryce Mitchel.pic.twitter.com/Ue374CnEHk
— Home Of Fight Picks (@theHOFPicks) April 15, 2025
I see a lot of weird discussion about Diego Lopes, calling him overrated or terrible. He’s a limited fighter, certainly, but that doesn’t mean he’s an easy fight for any 145-pounder or less than Top Five.
Alexander Volkanovski reveals he has cuts in his mouth and is struggling to eat, and he praises Lopes for the pain caused.
“There are cuts in my mouth, making it hard to eat. I’ll be feeling the pain from Lopes for a couple of weeks. I mean, he’s a good dude—he doesn’t want to… pic.twitter.com/QPsEnAPf9K
— Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA) April 15, 2025
Boxing sure has changed in the last 70 years.
Willie Pep gets cornered by Sandy Saddler, but arm drags his way out pic.twitter.com/J04bHKr9t5
— Jack Slack (@JackSlackMMA) April 15, 2025
I need to see Cory Sandhagen pindrop before I predict his Deiveson Figueiredo fight.
The last thing I expected to see today was Cory Sandhagen trying to hit the jerk pic.twitter.com/YMvO9H09YQ
— Jason Williams (@jasoneg33) April 14, 2025
Slips, rips, and KO clips
This is why the non-punching hand stays up in an ideal world.
What a HEAD KICK!
— Tetsuya (@TetsuyaMT789) April 14, 2025
An unfortunate way to lose a fight.
Eye poke with the toe #LFA206 pic.twitter.com/dZF7GR1ykN
— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) April 12, 2025
The beefiest KO I’ve seen in some time, Vigil is huge! This feels like a KSW clip.
Adam Vigil with the POWER #LFA206 pic.twitter.com/BIbia98IGK
— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) April 12, 2025
Random Land
What do you know about commitment to the bit?
@boofthedevourer Red. Yellow. White. RAW. No water. This is The Onion Trilogy. 900g of onions. Zero breaks. One of my most brutal challenges yet. Full pain on YouTube – link in bio. #OnionTrilogy #BoofTheDevourer #FoodChallenge #NoWater #FYP #TrilogyChallenge #CompetitiveEating
Midnight Music: Hip-hop, 2015
Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.