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

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

It’s a big weekend for boxing as Anthony Joshua meets Daniel Dubois for the IBF heavyweight title Saturday night (Sept. 21, 2024) in London, England, but a ton of talent was also on display Friday night.

Things got off to a hot start as undefeated Irish prospect Callum Walsh made good on his debut in Dublin to score a nasty second round KO. Later Friday night, Top Rank Boxing hosted Munguia vs. Bazinyan from Glendale, Arizona, which produced more impressive action inside of the ring.

An undercard matchup featured rising 21-year-old prospect, Alan Garcia, putting his undefeated 14-0 record on the line against 15-13 veteran, Ricardo Fernandez, who was just 4-6 in his last 10 entering tonight. As you may have guessed, Fernandez put his subpar record and low finish rate aside to deliver one of the best upsets in boxing this year.

In Round 5, Fernandez stalked Garcia along the ropes and unleashed a massive overhand right. At the same time, Garcia went to throw a right hand and let his guard down. Fernandez’s punch landed flush and put the Top Rank prospect down for the count. Garcia’s trainer, Gloria Avarado, watched on in worry while doing a mid-fight interview ringside.

Check it out above and below:

Insomnia

UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad now has his own day in Chicago.

Who you gonna call?

Here’s UFC’s Tabatha Ricci playing role of Queen for Callum Walsh’s boxing match on Friday.

Gervonta Davis’ next fight is already in the works.

Any issues with this UFC 308 poster?

We’re just one night away from this heavyweight banger in London.

Anyone want Bryce Mitchell against Movsar Evloev?

How much money do you need to fight Anthony Joshua?

Hopefully this squabble is true and they end up releasing this clip.

Slips, rips, and KO clips

Wild knockdown exchange to start this one.

Ireland’s Shauna O’Keeffe looking like a real problem.

Here’s more action from the Walsh vs. Runowski fight card.

There were some pretty brutal finishes at PFL MENA on Friday.

Left hook knockout by undefeated sensation Callum Walsh.

Ugly ending here.

Random Land

Check out the Diddy arrest video from Monday.

Sleep well Maniacs! We’ll be back for more tomorrow night.

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Israel Adesanya is backing Anthony Joshua in his heavyweight clash with Daniel Dubois this weekend (Sat., Sept. 21, 2024) LIVE on DAZN pay-per-view (PPV) from inside Wembley Arena in London, England, and “Last Stylebender” is putting his money where his mouth is.

Despite losing previous bouts to boxing’s heavyweight king, Oleksandr Usyk, Joshua remains one of the biggest stars in the sport. His popularity not only stretches across Europe, but the heavyweight knockout artist has become a household name over the past few years, especially with his recent knockout win over former UFC champion Francis Ngannou (watch HERE).

This weekend, Joshua will meet Dubois, who currently holds the IBF heavyweight title, in an anticipated clash of U.K. stars. Wembley Stadium has reportedly sold out and will host over 96,000 fans for the massive heavyweight title fight. Dubois is a respected fighter with even greater potential than what he’s given, but those 96,000 fans are coming to see Joshua compete.

With no other major combat events this weekend, all eyes will be on Joshua vs. Dubois. This includes former UFC middleweight king, Adesanya, who is putting $ 10,000 down on a late-round finish by Joshua. If Joshua is able to stop Dubois in the 10th, 11th, or 12th rounds, then “Last Stylebender” will walk away with $ 50,000. Not too shabby.

Check out the official bet slip below:

“This fight got beef…grab the @Stake sauce.”

To order Joshua vs. Dubois on DAZN PPV click HERE. For more boxing news and notes click here.

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The semifinal round of Professional Fighters League’s (PFL) playoffs for PFL MENA 3 kicks off later TODAY (Fri., Sept. 20, 2024) inside PFL MENA Studios at Boulevard City in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Headlining the event will be a Featherweight bout between Abdullah Al-Qahtani (9-1) facing off against Abdelrahman Alhyasat (4-0). Al-Qahtani defeated Yazeed Hasanain earlier this year at PFL MENA 1 via second-round TKO, while Alhyasat earned a unanimous decision win over Harsh Pandya-Basahel on the same card. In the co-main event, Jordan’s Jarrah Al-Selawe (20-6) faces off against Omar El Dafrawy (11-6) in a Welterweight Semifinal fight.

Scheduled to start at 11:00 a.m. ET, MMAmania.com will deliver live results and highlights to see who gets closer to the $ 100,000 grand prize.

PFL MENA 3 QUICK RESULTS:

145: Abdullah Al-Qahtani vs. Abdalrahman Alhyasat
170: Jarrah Al-Silawi vs. Omar El Dafrawy – Dafrawy via first-round KO
170: Mohammad Alaqraa vs. Amir Fazli – Alagraa via unanimous decision
155: Souhil Tahiri vs. Mohsen Mohammadseifi -Mohammadseifi via unanimous decision
135: Ali Taleb vs. Jalal Al Daja – Taleb via first-round KO
145: Islam Reda vs. Maraoune Bellagouit – Reda via unanimous decision
135: Elias Boudegzdame vs. Rachid El Hazoume – El Hazoume via unanimous decision
155: Georges Eid vs. Omar Reguigui – Eid via first-round TKO
125: Malik Basahel vs. Saher Qasmieh – Basahel via unanimous decision
145: Adam Meskini vs. Yazeed Hasanain – Meskini via split-decision

For all the latest PFL news and notes click here.

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We’re back to dueling Insta skits as Dvalishvili and O’Malley continue to antagonize each other over the results of their UFC 306 championship fight.

Sean O’Malley is sticking to the story that he won enough rounds to beat Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 306.

O’Malley has a history of ignoring his losses, and once again has called upon the Suga State Athletic Commission to overturn his 49-46, 48-47, 48-47 unanimous decision defeat. He posted a quick series of tweets disputing the scoring earlier this week, and now he’s going deep in on the schtick with a new video skit.

“Just rewatched the fight, I won rounds one, three, and five,” O’Malley declared with the championship belt over his shoulder. “F— you, Merab. You’re still a b—h, I’m the champ and still undefeated. Defending my belt in June or July against Umar Nurmagomedov in Las Vegas. I’m the champ, and still, rounds one, three, and five. You don’t believe me, go rewatch it for yourself.”

“I had Merab running like a b—h in round five,” he added. “Title defense number three, Umar, I’m coming for you!”

O’Malley isn’t the only one who can make skits, though. Merab Dvalishvili quickly countered “Suga’s” video with his own captioned “It’s hard to be a dad.”

“What’s wrong with you, bro? Why do you keep smoking, my friend?” Dvalishvili said, talking to an O’Malley doll. “I thought you were just sleeping now, it’s sleep time for you, bro.”

“Listen, son. Don’t worry about this Umar Nurmagomedov. I will take care of Umar. You’re not a champion any more, and I’m going to take belt from you again, so you drive safe, son. Let’s go, Sean. No more smoke, no more smoke.”

He finished the video by giving the O’Malley doll several kisses on the head.

If anything, Las Vegas judges were more generous towards “Suga” than he deserved. Dvalishvili dominated O’Malley for the large majority of the fight. Sean’s body shots in the fifth were the only time he had Merab in any serious trouble. But O’Malley is as much a social media brand and persona as he is a fighter, and now that persona is taking over to keep things light and fun until the 29-year-old returns from a hip injury in mid-2025.

Funny enough, he could very well step into a title fight against Umar Nurmagomedov should Umar defeat Merab in his first title defense. Nurmagomedov’s manager Ali Abdelaziz is already welcoming an immediate O’Malley shot, even off a loss.

“This is a business about making money, and I think Sean O’Malley deserves a title shot coming off a loss,” Abdelaziz said. “Do you know why? Because Sean O’Malley makes everyone in the division money.”

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

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

Max Holloway is one of the best fighters on the planet, but “Blessed” is also a success outside of the cage. You never hear a bad thing about him and he keeps out of trouble. Pair that with his incredible fighting style and warrior mentality and it’s easy to see why the Hawaiian is a fan favorite.

This week, Holloway made his way onto a local news station, KHON2 News, to speak about gun violence. The BMF champion has a pretty big platform, especially in Hawaii, so it was good to see Holloway utilize his TV time and deliver a good message. In all, the UFC featherweight wants guns off the streets and controllers in hands.

Check it out below:

“Put the guns down boys,” said Holloway. “If you guys got a problem, do it the old school way. Go to the boxing gym, put on some gloves and punch each other…

“Play video games or something. Why shoot somebody, go play Apex or Call of Duty. Keep the violence off the streets.”

Holloway, who is coming off an epic last-second knockout finish over Justin Gaethje back at UFC 300 this past April, is currently scheduled to meet undefeated UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria at UFC 308 this October in Abu Dhabi. If Holloway is able to hand Topuria his first loss ever he could very well become the biggest star on the UFC roster (barring a return from you know who).

Insomnia

So it begins…

You don’t see this every week. That’s for sure.

Conor McGregor knew about Diddy back in 2014.

Impressed by Anthony Joshua’s workout?

Zuffa Boxing coming in 2025?

Here’s Callum Walsh with his final staredown before Friday’s boxing match in Dublin.

Is “Thug Nasty” the best rapper in combat sports?

One of the final faceoffs of the week between Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois.

Henry Cejudo got done dirty.

Is Michael Chandler being too nice?

Is Alan Jouban right in his assessment of Conor McGregor and Sean O’Malley?

Will Torrez Finney win his third appearance on Contender Series and a subsequent UFC contract?

Seems like $ 50,000 might be too much for the Jared Vanderaa’s and Parker Porter’s of the world. Thoughts?

Slips, rips, and KO clips

Brutal head kick KO!

Is Andrew Tate good at all?

Where is Knox when you need him?

Here’s a nice flying armbar by Raul Rosas Jr. as he gets back in training after UFC 306.

Random Land

What the hell is going on in Australia?

Sleep well Maniacs! We’ll be back for more tomorrow night.

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Matt Serra was not impressed with Tim Welch’s coaching performance.

Was that reference too soon? No? Not at all? Okay, good. I didn’t think so.

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Welterweight champion and Hall of Famer, Serra, knows a thing or two about coaching. The Serra-Longo fight team has been one of the more underrated over the years, producing several unheralded champions. The latest to join the mix is Georgia’s “Machine,” Merab Dvalishvili, who dethroned the now-former Bantamweight kingpin, Sean O’Malley, via a unanimous decision at UFC 306 this past weekend (Sept. 14, 2024).

When assessing his opposing coach’s performance, Serra thought Welch did a poor job, to put it mildly.

“This fight exposed him as a coach because when your guy is winning and knocking people out, sure, you look like a f*cking superhero,” Serra said on UFC Unfiltered (h/t MMA Fighting). “When your fighter is obviously losing the fight — and starts losing rounds — Tim Welch was, like, not wanting to hurt [O’Malley’s] feelings. ‘Okay, good round.’ No, you’re losing f*cking three rounds. You got to get in his ass. … He was afraid that he did not know how to handle his guy [with] that many rounds, and I thought his f*cking corner work was sh*t.

“So he exposed himself,” he concluded. “[Dvalishvili] took care of business and Tim Welch had no answers for his fighter.”

The rivalry between camps has been ongoing since O’Malley won the title from Aljamain Sterling via a second round technical knockout in August 2023 (watch highlights). O’Malley defended his title once, dominating Marlon “Chito” Vera throughout five rounds at UFC 299 in May 2024 (watch highlights). Of “Sugar’s” last six wins, the Vera redemption was his second of two decisions (18-2, 1 no contest overall).

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Sean O’Malley has overturned Merab Dvalishvili’s victory at UFC 306.

That doesn’t mean a whole lot to UFC or its matchmakers; but in fantasy land, the belt has been returned to “Suga” and will be defended against No. 2-ranked title contender Umar Nurmagomedov at some point next summer.

O’Malley insists he won three of the five rounds inside Sphere in Las Vegas.

“Rewatching the fight,” O’Malley wrote on Twitter. “Round 1, I won that round 100%!! Based on damage that’s my round. Round 2 definitely lost. Took very little damage though. Round 3 was closer than Round 1 in my opinion. My round. Up 2-1 going into Round 4. Round 4 [was] Merab’s round for sure. 2-2 going into the 5th. Round 5 I won. I am the champ. God is good. 1, 3, 5 rounds I won. Defending belt against Umar in Vegas June-July. Please ESPN, UFC, repost the fight. AND STILL!”

Unfortunately for Merab, the Suga State Athletic Commission has already voted.

Losing to Dvalishvili will not keep O’Malley from scoring the next bantamweight title shot, according to this outspoken manager. That scenario, however, requires a victory from Nurmagomedov when he battles “The Machine” at some point in early 2025.

Unless this unexpected matchup comes to fruition.

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Sean O’Malley was campaigning to fight Ilia Topuria — not Merab Dvalishvili — after defending his bantamweight title against Marlon Vera at UFC 299. Unfortunately for “Suga,” the promotion had other plans and awarded “The Machine” the next 135-pound title shot.

Dvalishvili went on to defeat O’Malley at UFC 306 last weekend in Las Vegas.

That loss ended any talk of facing off against “El Matador,” who is booked to defend his featherweight crown opposite former division titleholder, Max Holloway, atop the UFC 308 pay-per-view (PPV) card next month on “Fight Island” in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

“Some other better fight will come along,” Topuria told Marca. “It’s like the same with Paddy [Pimblett]. It seemed like a super attractive fight, but if you’re not at the [same] level, what can I do? You get defeated even before you get into the Octagon with me. I don’t even need to get in there for people to know that I’m better than you. So why fight?”

Fortunately for O’Malley, he can still compete for a title coming off his UFC 306 loss.

“I would like Sean O’Malley to do this: Take as much time as he wants off, and I believe Umar [Nurmagomedov] will beat Merab, and after that, Umar will give him a title shot coming off a loss,” Nurmagomedov’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz, told ESPN. “I think Sean O’Malley is one of the biggest stars in the sport. This is a business about making money, and I think Sean O’Malley deserves a title shot coming off a loss.”

Nurmagomedov and Dvalishvili are expected to collide at some point in early 2025.

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

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

Canelo Alvarez went toe-to-toe with UFC 306 last weekend in Las Vegas, Nevada, but the boxing superstar still pulled off huge numbers.

Despite the massive event that was Noche UFC from inside the Sphere in “Sin City,” Alvarez still booked a title defense against Edgar Berlanga for the same night in the same town. It was a ballsy move for all parties involved as UFC spent over $ 20 million to stage UFC 306. No doubt, it was going to be a huge test for Canelo’s drawing power to see if he could steal the attention in Vegas.

Surprisingly, the middleweight champion still pulled off huge numbers. According to a recent report by Sports Business Journal, 650,000 people purchased the Alvarez vs. Berlanga pay-per-view (PPV) and watched Canelo dismantle the New York native over 12 rounds (highlights HERE). In addition to the PPV buys, the gate for Canelo vs. Berlanga came in at a whopping $ 17 million. That’s short of UFC 306’s massive $ 22 million gate — which is a new company record — but still a huge cash grab for Canelo.

It’s unknown at this time what the PPV numbers look like for UFC 306, but it could be close to Canelo’s.

Insomnia

Surprising? Sucks either way.

The benefits of being champion.

Isn’t Islam supposed to be injured?

Is Deiveson Figueiredo ducking Cory Sandhagen?

Does this spell disaster for Robert Whittaker?

Looks like Tom Aspinall officially got his backup spot.

Tommy Fury is ready for Jake Paul inside of a cage!

Will we ever see Brian Ortega at featherweight again?

GSP doing GSP things.

T.J. Dillashaw doing whatever he can to stay relevant.

Sean O’Malley is still feeling it after losing his title at UFC 306.

Luckily, he may not have to wait long to get another shot at gold.

Who takes this?

Slips, rips, and KO clips

Not much out there on a Wednesday night so here’s some new Conor McGregor training footage.

Random Land

What’s your weapon of choice against Michael Myers?

Sleep well Maniacs! We’ll be back for more tomorrow night.

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UFC 306, also known as “Noche UFC,” lived up to the hype — production wise — last Saturday night (Sept. 16, 2024) inside The Sphere in Las Vegas, Nevada. Dana White’s “love letter to Mexican people” was a feast for the eyes, providing fight fans with a six-chapter story told by amazing visuals spread all over the venue’s massive, over-sized screens.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) CEO is adamant the promotion spent over $ 20 million to make this one-time spectacle happen in “Sin City,” but there is an even bigger event looming around the corner. That’s according to Professional Fighters (PFL) League c-founder, Donn Davis, who says that not only is the upcoming “Battle of the Giants” pay-per-view (PPV) event more intriguing as far as fights are concerned, it will cost him and his crew more money to put on that “Noche UFC.”

“I think you have the most interesting men’s fight, and the most interesting women’s fight [of the year],” Davis told the New York Post (via MMA Fighting). “So, first of all, I believe this is the biggest event possible in MMA because of the co-mains, this year in 2024, and that makes it, certainly, the biggest thing for PFL,” he added.

“The UFC is the bigger company, but we’re putting on the bigger event. So this is a big deal for us. Our No. 1 metric is putting on the highest quality MMA fight for fans in the world. We want to show fans that we can put on just as good, or better of a product than anyone else in the world. That’s metric No. 1.

“Metric No. 2, we want to do OK financially, just OK financially. The cost of this fight is astronomical. Dana White talks about his $ 20 million Sphere event, this is more. Fighters make more, the card here has more big fights coming. This cost to us is more than his cost to the Sphere.”

When asked about Davis’ comments during last night’s Contender Series event, White’s answer was short and sweet.

“I didn’t even know who he was until you said it,” White responded. “Sounds like a good idea. Good for him. Good luck, hope it all works out.”

Much was said about the lack of action in both the main and co-main events at UFC 306, though a lot of the intrigue for the event had to do with what the promotion had up its sleeve, production wise. Despite living up to the hype and seemingly turning a profit, White and Co. have no plans to return to the state-of-the-art venue for another event anytime soon.

As for PFL’s “Battle of the Giants” event — which is set to go down in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia — it will be spearheaded by a massive Heavyweight bout between former UFC 265-pound champion, Francis Ngannou, making his highly-awaited debut for the promotion since signing with them over a year ago. He will be facing off against division champion, Renan Ferreira, who could make up to $ 2 million for the fight, while “The Predator” is expected to make substantially more.

In the co-main event, Bellator’s women’s Featherweight champion, Cris Cyborg, will battle Larissa Pacheco, while Middleweight king, Johnny Eblen, will defend his belt for the second time against Fabian Edwards. Kicking off the main card will be a Lightweight bout between A.J. McKee and Paul Hughes.

While there is no word on just how much all of the main card fighters command in salary, Davis is adamant that is one of the key aspects that will put the event over the $ 20 million threshold. Interestingly enough, both events are in partnership with Turki Alalshikh.

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