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

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

Earlier today, UFC Lightweight and Welterweight veteran Donald Cerrone stirred the pot by cancelling his retirement and announcing a UFC comeback. The former title challenger’s announcement was partially expected, because MMA retirements generally don’t last (ask this former “Cowboy” foe). However, given that the retired Hall of Famer was openly taking steroids and enjoying the benefits, it seemed like there were obstacles between the striker and a return to the Octagon.

Well, there’s at least one more. UFC CEO Dana White has always been a fan of Cerrone’s anyone, anywhere attitude and exciting fighting style, but White was less than enthused about the idea of Cerrone back in the Octagon. In fact, he pretty much shut down the whole idea outright when asked about it after Tuesday’s episode of Contenders Series.

“I hate it,” White responded when asked for his feelings about Cerrone’s potential return. “Love him, hate that. He retired, it’s just for what, what’s left to prove? If you want to make money, let’s figure something else out. When guys retire, they retire for a reason. They retire because they know it’s over. You know it is. So, I think that — not just this sport but any professional sport — it’s hard to walk away from. Not just the money, obviously that’s a very hard part of it but the feeling of walking out of that tunnel, the feeling of getting in the cage, and the place is packed.

“Every time we’re at a show, when you show ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone on the screen, the place goes nuts. He’s beloved. He’s beloved because the guy goes to war, and he’s been in wars for years. It’s time to not go to war anymore man, there’s nothing left to prove for him.”

When asked to fully confirm that Cerrone won’t return to the Octagon, White reiterated again, “I’d rather work something else out.”

As White explained, it’s probably for the best that Cerrone doesn’t return to face some UFC young gun to be put out to pasture. If he’s really that motivated to compete again, he could always seek release from his UFC contract and head over to the UFC retirement home that is Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship.

Insomnia

I don’t think there’s any need for Alex Pereira to go back down to Middleweight.

Not a high-level Welterweight affair, but somebody is probably going to sleep.

One of those quotes you can hear perfectly in your mind.

This interview clip confirms something to me that I already assumed: all the trash talk from Shavkat Rakhmonov’s social media is definitely coming from his management.

One Championship lives on. Maybe they’ll start booking their MMA fighters again?

Ben Whittaker ALLEGEDLY forgot about his ankle injury during a fan interaction …

Hasbulla should transcend simple politics.

Slips, rips, and KO clips

The sound of the left hand was like a watermelon popping.

A knockout that brought 59,000 fans to their feet!

It’s good to have Mark Hunt back in action.

Random Land

What UFC fighter is this?

Midnight Music: RIP to the great underground NYC rapper Ka. One of those guys with an underappreciated catalogue and consistently excellent lyricism that never tried to follow trends or worry too much about popularity.

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

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It’s that time!

Season eight of Contender Series has finally come to an end. Goodbye Tuesday mixed martial arts (MMA) action. Week 10 goes down tonight at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN+ from inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, in front of UFC CEO, Dana White, and his cadre of matchmakers.

As has become standard for the program of late, four out of five fighters earned UFC contracts last week.

In the main event this evening, Nick Klein (5-1) steps up on a week’s notice to fight Brazil’s Heraldo Souza (9-1-1). In the co-main event, Oklahoma State wrestling stud Nick Piccininni (7-0) returns after competing in week three to take on Luis Gurule (9-0), who also is fighting on a week’s notice. The “Featured” bout sees Lightweights clash as Cuba’s Yadier DelValle (7-0) fights Antonio Monteiro (17-4-1). 20-year-old Julieta Martinez (7-0) takes on “Dora the Destroyer” Leslie Hernandez (4-1). Welterweights kick off the card as Mohamed Ado (5-1) fights Jonathan Micallef (6-1).

‘Contender Series’ Quick Results:

Nick Klein vs. Heraldo Souza
Luis Gurule defeats Nick Piccininni via split decision (29×28, 28×29, 29×28)
Yadier DelValle defeats Antonio Monteiro via unanimous decision (30x27x2, 30×26)
Julieta Martinez defeats Leslie Hernandez via split decision (29×28, 28×29, 29×28)
Jonathan Micallef defeats Mohamed Ado via submission Round 1, 3:01

‘Contender Series’ Highlights & Results:

185 lbs.: Nick Klein vs. Heraldo Souza
125 lbs.: Luis Gurule defeats Nick Piccininni via split decision

155 lbs.: Yadier DelValle defeats Antonio Monteiro via unanimous decision

115 lbs.: Julieta Martinez defeats Leslie Hernandez via split decision

170 lbs.: Jonathan Micallef defeats Mohamed Ado via submission

For more Contender Series news and notes, be sure to hit up our comprehensive archive right here.

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“I’m chasing greatness. 50 UFC fights. Not only do I want a win, I want a finish. I want a bonus. Most wins in UFC history. Most finishes. Most bonuses. Most walks to that cage.” — Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone

Donald Cerrone is coming back to UFC.

The lightweight legend plans to pause his retirement and score a couple of more fights inside the Octagon. As it stands, “Cowboy” is within striking distance of multiple UFC records including total fights, most wins, and most finishes.

Cerrone was inducted into the UFC hall of fame in July 2023.

“I want to go back and get two more fights,” Cerrone said in a recent Instagram video. “When I retired, I told you I was getting my hair done and get on steroids. The number 50 has been sitting on my mind for awhile. So, I’ve been working with Transcend for the last two years, taking TRT and a bunch of peptides. Now we got a protocol for all you people that said, ‘Oh, what if you get on it, you can’t ever come off.’ Well, I now have to come off and piss clean, fight in a few months. So, watch this.”

Fortunately, he wasn’t roiding up “behind the corner gas station.”

Cerrone stands at 36-17 with two no contests. It’s worth mentioning that “Cowboy” has gone seven straight fights without a victory and hasn’t seen the win column since outpointing Al Iaquinta at UFC Ottawa back in early 2019.

Just remember, you only get the mic once after calling it a career.

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The Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson boxing spectacle is one month away.

Netflix and Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) today released the official trailer for the Nov. 15 fight card, which airs live from inside AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. In addition to Paul vs. Tyson, super lightweight world champion Katie Taylor will defend her undisputed strap unified featherweight titleholder Amanda Serrano in the 10-round co-main event.

“Mike wanted this, Mike wanted it to be a pro fight,” Paul said during the kickoff press conference. “He wants the war. I respect that. I respect him for taking this fight, for stepping up, to try to put an end to me. Because that’s what all these fighters have been trying to do, is end the YouTuber — and if Mike can do that, then he’s a hero.”

“This is what I was born to do, to move up into this weight class, and I’m going to show Mike who has more power because he’s underestimating me,” Paul continued. “I think everyone else is underestimating me and I believe I hit harder. I’m scared, don’t get me wrong, but it’s not about the fear stopping me. It’s about going into it even though I am scared, and that’s what true bravery is.”

Also on the main card will be the 12-round championship showdown for the WBC welterweight title between reigning champion Mario Barrios and top contender Abel Ramos, as well as a six-round super middleweight fight between India’s number one boxer Neeraj Goyat opposite Brazilian bruiser Whindersson Nunes.

For the current Nov. 15 fight card and Netflix lineup click here.

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

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

Remember a few months ago when former UFC Lightweight interim champion Tony Ferguson left a glove in the cage after being quickly strangled by Michael Chiesa for his record-setting eighth consecutive UFC defeat? It was a sad and long overdue moment. Alas, Ferguson was walking back his retirement before the night was over.

Despite recent roster purges, “El Cucuy” remains a name on the UFC ranks.

Perhaps it’s not surprising, then, that Ferguson has officially confirmed that his retirement is off and he’s looking to fight again. He revealed as much on Demetrious Johnson’s YouTube channel, and the former top Lightweight is targeting an early 2025 return.

“I left half a f—king glove in there, and I got it back, so that just tells me I got both pairs of gloves,” Ferguson explained. “We’re going to probably take the rest of this season, figure some things out, and we’re coming back hard either January or February … F—k no I’m not retiring, I’m too old to retire.

“40 years old, I’m halfway to 80. I’ve been competing since I was five years old in multiple sports. It’s not like I don’t know anything else. I do. I’m still able to compete. When somebody can run a sprint faster than me, maybe I’ll start to consider it.”

Given his litany of knee injuries, I have to assume there’s a handful on the UFC roster who could in fact out-sprint Ferguson. Regardless, Ferguson at least has a plan to changing his fighting fortunes, and it doesn’t involve David Goggins this time. Instead, “El Cucuy” is planning to track down a real coach and training camp, possibly Firas Zahabi at Tristar in Montreal.

“What I really need is to find that coaching and that discipline around other people. Being uncomfortable in practice so that way you’re not miserable in the fight. I approached a couple different coaches. Firas Zahabi is one of the coaches I always admired, because he was GSP’s coach, and GSP was always my target.”

Ferguson spending time at a high-level camp is far from a bad idea, but it’s likely a few years too late. If it isn’t, Ferguson should probably be getting training in with top partners now while he doesn’t have a fight booked, because his recent performances leave a lot to be desired.

Insomnia

A little over a week ago, I cornered my team mate Namiki Kawahara as he won his third professional Strawweight title for the Cage Warriors Academy promotion in the United Kingdom. If you have enjoyed my articles about my own fights in the past, this write up is in a similar vein. Please give it a read HERE!

Kyler Phillips has a lot of cool tricks and different looks in his game. His fight versus Rob Font this weekend should be fun!

Banger alert! Bryan Battle is making a quick return to action after his UFC Paris win opposite Randy Brown.

I’m excited for Kai Asakura’s title shot debut vs. Pantoja, but he’ll be without one of his best weapons against an ace grappler.

Promoter Conor is hopefully subsidizing these new BKFC expenses.

Heavyweight boxing update:

Slips, rips, and KO clips

No worse place to be that flattened out back mount.

Superman punch into head kick KO — Awesome!

Dragging the kick across the body and countering (be it punches or takedown) is gaining popularity in MMA.

Random Land

Skills.

Midnight Music: Indie pop, 2012

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

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Khalil Rountree may not have picked up the win to win his first-ever ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) world title against Alex Pereira at UFC 307 a few weeks ago, but “War Horse’s” stock way up in defeat.

Rountree went toe-to-toe against “Poatan” in Salt Lake City, Utah in one of the most entertaining title fights of 2024. While he did enough to hand around for the first three rounds, Pereira eventually started to find his groove, ultimately putting away the tough-as-nails contender in the fourth frame (see it again here).

Despite coming up short and looking worse for the wear, Rountree says he feels good about his performance, especially knowing that fight fans around the world, and the UFC higher-ups, were please with his performance.

“I’ve spoken personally with Dana (White) and Hunter (Campbell) and I feel like I got the steak dinner already because they were entertained,” Rountree told MMA Junkie Radio (via MMA Junkie). “I think for me as a partner with the UFC it’s one of my biggest goals to make sure the guys at the top are pleased with what they see. After speaking with them and them being excited about the performance, they’re definitely pleased,” he added before saying he isn’t too sure what’s next for him inside the cage.

“That felt like a treat in itself. As far as what’s next on the fight end, I think there would be a little bit more room for me to say what I want. But that vision right now is not so clear, he added before confirming that he want’s a Top 5 opponent.

“I think right now any name in the top five or within title contention to me, makes sense,” There’s not one name specifically. There’s not one person who I’m emotionally attached to or a fight I think I deserve next. But I would like to continue to fight people within the top five so I can get another shot at the title. It seems like the majority of the guys are booked or injured, but while I’m healing up there will be a good number of matchups to happen and I would love anybody that sets me up for another title fight.”

A fight between he and Jamahal Hill — who was also last seen on the wrong end of Pereira’s ungodly punches — was floating around in “War Horse’s” mind as a potential comeback fight. And it’s not a bad idea seeing as how both men would love nothing more than to get one back on “Poatan.”

For now, Rountree is sitting back and letting his face heal from all of the damage he took from the Light Heavyweight champion of the world. If a fight against Hill doesn’t come to pass, perhaps this man would be willing to step in.

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There’s surprising news in the grappling scene, as ADCC will be replacing Mo Jassim, the public face of its company.

Soon after the 2024 ADCC World Championships — and its public feud with the Craig Jones Invitational (CJI) — the prestigious grappling promotion will now be replacing its head organizer. Indeed, Mo Jassim — who has been the promoter and public face of the Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC) these last several years — is no longer with the company.

ADCC to replace head organizer Mo Jassim

Jassim announced the surprising news on his private Instagram page, stating that he and ADCC have parted ways.

“l would like to announce that I have decided to step down as the head organizer of ADCC,” Jassim wrote. “I would to like thank Sheikh Tahnoon for giving me the opportunity to be the only person to organize 3 ADCC worlds. Thank you to Guy Neivens for allowing me to move up from wristband boy to head organizer. Thank you to Seth Daniels and Shawn Fowler, we gave every event we organized everything we had and I am very proud of the work we accomplished. Thank you to FloGrappling for supporting me and ADCC, they were great to deal with.

“Thank you to all of the athletes that I have worked with the past 20 years. Also thank you to all of the media who supported us and helped promote ADCC and the sport.

“The sport has never been in a better place to break through mainstream, which has always been the end goal. My loyalty will always be to ADCC but any organizer or event that will grow the sport has my full support if needed. I look forward to being just a fan again.”

ADCC was always highly regarded in the grappling scene, but Jassim truly deserves a lot of credit for significantly growing its events and helping the sport reach a much wider audience during his tenure.

Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) shows used to only appeal to fellow practitioners of the sport, but the professional grappling scene has since grown exponentially. ADCC’s biennial world championships was at the forefront of that, with Jassim playing a big role not just in keeping elite talent, but also in significantly improving production value to appeal to more casual audiences.

It’s after that growth was achieved, where concerns about lack of improvement in athlete pay were raised. This sparked the ADCC and CJI rivalry, with Jones eventually starting his own promotion to disrupt the sport and highlight these issues. He hosted CJI on the same city and same weekend as ADCC 2024, then poached several BJJ stars by offering show money that matched ADCC’s tournament prize, plus $ 1 million to its winners.

The situation was tense.

Nevertheless, the rivalry ended up helping many athletes get paid significantly better that weekend. CJI gave out record purses in BJJ, and because of the competition, ADCC also increased pay for women and offered show money for the first time to retain key stars.

Perhaps it is also in part due to these events that led to ADCC restructuring?

Fired? Craig Jones and Mo Jassim continue to trade barbs

Jassim recently stated he’d want to do things differently “if” he gets a chance to host another ADCC World Championships, so perhaps the writing was already on the wall.

As expected, though, Jones continued to jab at Jassim online, stating it wasn’t his choice to “step down” from ADCC.

“You can’t fire me, I quit,” Jones wrote on Instagram.

After seeing this, Jassim decided to challenge Jones to a fist fight as he responded in the comments section.

Jones went on to write a comment and film a whole skit in response, taking another jab at ADCC athlete pay and making people compete for exposure and “prestige.”

There’s still no word on Jassim’s replacement, but Jones didn’t stop his trolling there. The CJI promoter says he’s willing to take over Jassim’s role himself.

“I’ve decided to take over ADCC and restore it to its former glory,” Jones wrote in a series of jokes and jabs at Jassim. “I will even allow Mo Jassim (to) be the wristband boy again. I don’t hold a grudge.”

ADCC’s next world championships is targeted for 2026. Trials and qualifications will happen the year before that though, so it might not take very long for their backers in Abu Dhabi to make a decision on their next head organizer. It’ll also be very interesting to see if there will be major changes to how the promotion is run under different leadership.

For the latest Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) and grappling-related news click here.

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Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returns to its APEX facility this weekend in Las Vegas, Nevada, for UFC Vegas 99, topped by the 185-pound showdown between Top 15 middleweight contenders Anthony Hernandez and Michel Pereira. Shortly before that five-round banger on ESPN+, longtime bantamweight veteran Rob Font goes head-to-head with 135-pound “Matrix” Kyler Phillips!

Event: UFC Vegas 99: “Hernandez vs. Pereira”
Date: Sat., Oct. 19, 2024
Location: UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada
Broadcast: ESPN+
Start Time: 4 p.m. ET Prelims Card | 7 p.m. ET Main Card

UFC Vegas 99 Main Event On ESPN+:

185 lbs.: Anthony Hernandez vs. Michel Pereira

UFC Vegas 99 Main Card on ESPN+ (7 p.m. ET):

135 lbs.: Rob Font vs. Kyler Phillips
125 lbs. Charles Johnson vs. Sumudaerji
135 lbs.: Brady Hiestand vs. Jake Hadley
145 lbs.: Darren Elkins vs. Daniel Pineda

UFC Vegas 99 ‘Prelims’ Card on ESPN+ (4 p.m. ET):

125 lbs.: Matheus Nicolau vs. Asu Almabayev
135 lbs.: Brad Katona vs. Jean Matsumoto
135 lbs.: Joselyne Edwards vs. Tamires Vidal
115 lbs.: Jessica Penne vs. Elise Reed
115 lbs.: Melissa Martinez vs. Alice Ardelean
265 lbs.: Austen Lane vs. Robelis Despaigne

*Fight card, bout order and amount of fights remain subject to change.*

To checkout UFC’s upcoming schedule of events click here.

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Nurmagomedov claims Dvalishvili is only making himself available to fight during Ramadan, a time when Umar can’t compete.

Umar Nurmagomedov is still hoping to fight Merab Dvalishvili next for the bantamweight title, but claims the new 135 pound champion is ‘playing games’ in an attempt to avoid the match-up.

In a new interview with Kevin Iole, Nurmagomedov once again declared he was not impressed with either fighter’s performance at UFC 306 when Dvalishvili took the belt off Sean O’Malley in the Sphere.

“They both not very good, like how I expect,” Umar said. O’Malley is a bum. In MMA, like he doesn’t have any grappling, he doesn’t have any wrestling and he didn’t even try to fight [Merab]. He just waiting, he just running, and he fight like bum.”

As for Merab, he said he gave the Georgian challenger advice on how to beat O’Malley, which is part of why he’s not happy about how Dvalishvili is now pushing for a fight with Deiveson Figueiredo instead.

“Now he tried to avoid even mentioning my name, try to tell I don’t deserve,” Nurmagomedov said. “If the UFC ask him to fight me or someone else, I think he will choose someone else like 100 times.”

The latest shady tactic? Umar says Merab is trying to skew his schedule so his next fight happens during Ramadan, a month of fasting in the Muslim community.

“He’s playing games,” he said. “They know I won’t fight during Ramadan, and they say they’re going to fight in March. You know March, all March is Ramadan. That’s why it’s looking very bad, like he’s trying to avoid it like he’s scared.”

“I didn’t understand it, why the champ would try to avoid. But if they want to fight with me, I don’t want to wait. Summer, June, July? I want to fight now. I want to fight two months before Ramadan, I want to be active and we’ll see what happens.”

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Topuria didn’t hold back in his latest personal attack against Muhammad. A wise move leading into UFC 308 in Abu Dhabi?

Ilia Topuria is raising the temperature on his trash talk as his highly anticipated UFC 308 featherweight title defense against Max Holloway approaches.

Sure, Holloway has been getting his fair share of attention. But Topuria doesn’t discriminate. He’s been dismissing champions across multiple weight classes, from Islam Makhachev to Belal Muhammad.

In a recent Instagram Live Q&A, Topuria once again torched Muhammad, suggesting he’d lose in his recently announced main event against Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 310.

“Shavkat [will win], Belal is a fake champion,” Topuria said. “Fake. I think right now in the welterweight division the one who will come back and take the belt again is Kamaru Usman. Easy work for Usman.”

Muhammad didn’t take long to fire back.

“Didn’t this dork just buy a fake BMF belt to pose with?” he wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “He’s starting to become the Georgian version of Colby Covington.”

That led Ilia to go scorched earth.

NO FINISHES. NO KNOCKOUTS. NO KNOCKDOWNS. NO GIRLFRIEND. NO KIDS,” Topuria tweeted. “BELAL HAS NEVER FINISHED ANY MAN OR WOMAN.”

It’s a shame the two are so far apart in weight classes because this is turning into quite the beef. And just when you wonder if Topuria is just being chaotic like Covington, he drops one of the coldest disses possible without any of Colby’s mush mouth mistakes.

He’ll have to be on guard, though … UFC 308 goes down in Abu Dhabi and half the fighters he’s dissed are gonna be in attendance. There’s already been not-so-subtle hints from Team Makhachev that “El Matodor” will have to olé his way through fight week to avoid fisticuffs.

Things are coming to a boil already. What will they look like next week on the ground, and will they distract Topuria from the real task at hand, which is the insanely dangerous Max Holloway?

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