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

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

Jake Paul has never seen eye-to-eye with Dana White, but if the UFC CEO is willing to pay his fighters more then Paul is willing to bury the hatchet.

The social media star returns to the boxing ring this weekend against former UFC fighter and current bareknuckle boxer, Mike Perry. It’s another opportunity for Paul to hone his boxing skills against a former MMA fighter and get paid handsomely while doing so. His business model continues to work.

Paul was doing the typical media stuff this week and was asked about mending his relationship with White. The two have publicly clashed — mostly over fighter pay, ticket sales, and Mike Tyson — and seem far off from ever squashing their beef. Still, Paul is willing to have a sit down with White and have a conversation like “grown men,” but “Problem Child” needs one thing to happen first.

Check it out below:

“Now it’s time for him to pay his UFC fighters more,” said Paul. “If he can agree to do that, then I’m more than down to sit down and have a conversation with him and work on our relationship like grown men.”

Insomnia

Is this a realistic road to UFC gold for Paddy Pimblett?

Only Mike Perry can pull this off.

Is Angela Hill in too deep?

This is pretty sick.

Looks like Brian Ortega will be competing at The Sphere this September.

Are you looking forward to Bo Nickal’s Octagon return?

Here’s Colby Covington sparring another influencer.

“Meatball” is done squaring off!

Muhammad Mokaev can’t be serious, right?

Here’s Joe Rogan reacting to the Donald Trump assassination attempt.

Slips, rips, and KO clips

Does Jake Paul score another knockout this weekend against Mike Perry?

Random Land

You dropping $ 300 on these?

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

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Mike Perry is arguably going to be Jake Paul’s toughest boxing match yet.

The gloves are going back on for “Platinum” after becoming a bare-knuckle boxing (BKB) superstar in Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC). Perry, 32, will, in a way, enter to save the day for what was originally supposed to be the spectacle Paul vs. Mike Tyson match in AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Texas.

Paul vs. Tyson will still happen. It’s just been pushed back to November 2024. In the meantime, Paul and Perry had their open workouts during fight week today (Weds., July 17, 2024). In an advertisement for Paul’s recently released fragrance brand, W, a mascot entered the ring during Perry’s appearance and it didn’t result ideally. Afterward, Perry showed off some unique jewelry that displayed Paul’s head getting punched. It can be seen in the embedded player above.

“I’ve earned this shot to be here and I’m ready to beat [Paul] and showcase my talents to the world,” Perry said. “I’m ready for it and I’m excited to get in the ring and punch on Jake and make him feel the pain of the hood, bro.”

Paul will be Perry’s first opponent in a traditional professional boxing match since he took on Kenneth McNeil in March 2015. Unfortunately for Perry, McNeil knocked him out in round four. “Platinum” has only been finished once by strikes in his 26 mixed martial arts (MMA) or BKB fights (14-8 in MMA overall, 6-0 in BKB) that followed.

If Paul defeats Perry, he’ll extend his winning streak to four (9-1).

For the rest of the “Fear No Man” fight card and DAZN PPV lineup click here.

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Jones’ latest legal drama is not expected to interfere with his (eventual) return to the Octagon in November … unless things take a dramatic turn at his upcoming bench trial.

UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones entered a plea of not guilty on Wednesday, appearing virtually for Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court (alongside attorney Christopher Dodd) to answer for a pair of misdemeanor charges filed against him back in March.

“Bones” was released on his own recognizance and will return for a bench trial within the next two months, according to MMA Fighting.

That said, the judge did not let Jones go scot-free, handing down a laundry list of pre-trial conditions including a ban on firearms (or other dangerous weapons) as well as restrictions on drug and alcohol use.

Jones routinely posts videos of his gun collection and has previously admitted to drug and alcohol abuse. There was also that stint in rehab that didn’t stop the former light heavyweight kingpin from getting “black-out drunk” before fights.

Today’s court appearance was the result of Jones’ altercation with drug-testing agents earlier this year, though “Bones” insists the incident was blown way out of proportion and that police reports reflect a situation that “simply did not occur.”

We’ll see if the judge agrees when Jones returns to court.

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Former UFC featherweight champion, Max Holloway, is expected to challenge reigning 145-pound titleholder, Ilia Topuria, for the 145-pound strap at one of the promotion’s upcoming pay-per-view (PPV) cards. While there have been rumors of a potential clash at Noche UFC inside The Sphere, the more likely destination is UFC 307 in Salt Lake City.

Sorry, Jean.

Holloway opened as the +150 betting underdog against Topuria, according to BetOnline.ag, with Topuria coming out of the gate as the -175 favorite. Expect that line to fluctuate (in both directions) as we get closer to fight night. As of this writing, the promotion has yet to make the contest official — though “Blessed” (26-7) faces little competition.

Especially after this mind-bending performance.

This marks the first title defense for the undefeated Topuria (15-0), who captured the crown with a second-round finish over Alex Volkanovski at UFC 298 back in February. “El Matador” has been criticized for dragging his feet in the months following his crowning achievement but can put those complaints to bed with a Holloway booking at UFC 307.

Stay tuned.

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

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

Jake Paul and Mike Perry will meet inside the boxing ring this weekend live on DAZN PPV from Tampa, Fla., but the two faced off in a pre-fight interview this week that quickly turned weird.

Paul was supposed to be fighting Mike Tyson this month, but “Iron Mike” had a health scare so “Platinum” stepped in. Perry may not possess the boxing skills of a Tyson, but the former UFC contender does have some serious power and also has an iron chin. It should be a good fight with all things considered.

Before the gloves start flying, Paul and Perry joined for a special “MVP Face 2 Face” sit-down to discuss their upcoming fight. It was a pretty cringe interview to say the least, chock-full of Hulk Hogan impressions and awkward back-and-forth trash talk. Perry had some of the strangest things to say. Check it out below:

“I’m going to exploit those green tendencies in this fight, and you will break,” said Perry. “You look very flubbery. I’m hard as a f—king rock. My sh-t is f—king shredded.”

“Most people on the internet don’t know sh-t about boxing,” he later added. “These people have never had a fight or they’re special needs. You know the thing about retarded people is they don’t know that they’re retarded.”

“I’m excited for a battle,” Perry said. “I do like getting punched and I like punching too, so we’re going to see. Ten-ounce gloves, no headgear – I’m going to hurt you, Jake. And I’m going to laugh in your face when you try to hurt me.”

“Your little baby green punches can’t even reach my brain stem, bro,” said Perry. “I’m going to dig through your eyeball and find your memories.”

Insomnia

Who should Dustin Poirier fight next?

Would it have made a difference?

Rank this weekend’s upcoming card 1-10.

Does he really deserve a title shot?

Has Bobby Green lost a little bit of his chin?

UFC should start handing these out.

Love it.

Do you want to see Clay Guida at The Sphere?

Slips, rips, and KO clips

Is this doing it for you?

Random Land

Why did he jump?

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

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Colby Covington is still sidelined after his Leon Edwards title fight defeat at UFC 296 in December 2023.

Everything appeared to be lining up for a no-brainer match up between Covington and rising undefeated 15-0 Welterweight contender, Ian Machado Garry. That was until Covington claimed Garry wasn’t a big enough name for him to return and fight. Covington also hasn’t flat-out said it, but he’s hinted that he’s not yet 100 percent after claiming to have broken his foot against Edwards.

Before Covington gets back in the Octagon, the title will once again be defended when Edwards rematches Belal Muhammad at UFC 304 next weekend (Sat., July 27, 2024). Muhammad had long hoped to take on Covington, but at this point, he believes “Chaos” has run his course.

“Honestly, Colby Covington just needs to retire, there’s literally nothing left for him,” Muhammad told The Schmo.

“He’s still trying to attach his glory days to three or four years ago when they thought he was good, but I think everyone figured out now that he sucks and I think that right now he’s just trying to figure out who’s gonna be the next person that he can beat up and then he can get on the mic and talk trash,” he concluded. “He’s kind of like Sean Strickland where he doesn’t have the belt anymore no one cares what he has to say.”

Between Edwards and Muhammad, they are each’s only non-victory in their last 13 and 10 fights. They battled to a no contest after Muhammad suffered an illegal eye poke in March 2021.

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He’s not the problem, he’s the SOLUTION! And a fighting cock, according to his Puerto Rican fans.

Our little Jake Paul is all grown up.

The social media boxer is putting on his big boy pants and moving on from his “Problem Child” nickname, because it’s weird to refer to a 27 year-old man as a child. In addition, he’s proving to be the solution for many of society’s ills — at least in his own mind — and prefers to embrace the cock culture of Puerto Rico.

The stadium chants don’t lie!

“I’m not the ‘Problem Child’ anymore,” Paul told Pat McAfee. “My life coach was like ‘Yo, you’re not the Problem Child you’re actually the Solution Child. You’re also not a child, you’re the solution. You’re tryna fix all these problems in the world, tryna fix boxing, do all of these things, make boxing great again.’ All these things I do outside of the ring in terms of politics, whatever, I’m tryna make the world a better place.”

He certainly made it better for this off-clearance UFC fighter.

“The Puerto Rican people started calling me ‘El Gallo’ and chanting it in the stadiums there — which means the ‘fighting rooster’ for those who don’t have the translation,” Paul continued. “There’s a big fighting cock culture in Puerto Rico so it’s kinda like this thing of honor. So the name kinda just stuck and now it’s ‘El Gallo’ slash ‘Problem Child’ — I’ll still rep ‘Problem Child’ but I also like ‘El Gallo’ as well.”

And just like the “Rooster” lyrics, they ain’t found a way to kill him yet.

Former UFC welterweight Mike Perry, who still answers to “Platinum” as far as I know, will try his damndest when they hook ‘em up in the DAZN boxing pay-per-view (PPV) main event this Sat. night (July 20, 2024) at Amalie Arena in Tampa (stream it here). Beating “El Gallo” will no doubt put an end to Paul’s November return against Mike Tyson on Netflix.

To see who else is fighting on the “Fear No Man” card this weekend in Florida click here.

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The MMA Hour host shared the promotion’s current plans for the next five pay-per-view events, and they’re pretty impressive.

Recent reports that Max Holloway vs. Ilia Topuria and Sean O’Malley vs. Merab Dvalishvili will headline UFC 306 at the Sphere in September are not true, according to veteran MMA journalist Ariel Helwani. Or not completely true, to be more specific.

The internet went crazy after the UFC’s French-Canadian broadcast partner TVA announced the two title fights like they were a done deal for Noche UFC. But on the latest episode of The MMA Hour, Helwani dismissed the claim and laid out what sources were telling him the second half of UFC’s 2024 pay-per-view schedule would look like.

“There was never a plan to have those two fights headline the Sphere card,” Helwani said. “And as of right this second, that is not the plan … I think it was an honest, erroneous mistake. And unfortunately, it went viral and now everyone’s taking it as fact, as gospel.”

“The plan was always the [Alexa] Grasso title defense,” he clarified. “The plan has for some time has been ‘Suga’ Sean O’Malley versus Merab [Dvalishvili]. Now, both fights aren’t official just yet. They haven’t been signed. But that has been the plan.”

“And if they did go with that fight, then the other plan would be Ilia [Topuria] versus Max [Holloway], most likely on the October 5th Utah card which hasn’t been officially announced yet. Also on that card, we suspect Julianna Pena versus Raquel Pennington.”

“And then we obviously have Arman [Tsarukyan] and Islam [Makhachev]. Arman, he’s gonna do the PSA. He’s said this, and he’s been verbally told that he is fighting for the belt at the end of October in Abu Dhabi. Then you’ve got the tentative plan being Jon Jones and Stipe [Miocic] in early November at Madison Square Garden. And as of right now, the hope is Conor [McGregor] vs. [Michael] Chandler on that December — I think 14th — pay-per-view.”

That’s a pretty impressive run of events, provided injuries or other MMA misfortunes don’t ruin things. Let’s take a look at that all laid out:

• UFC 306 – September 14th at The Sphere, Las Vegas – Sean O’Malley vs. Merab Dvalishvili, Alexa Grasso vs. TBA
• UFC 307 – October 5th in Salt Lake City, Utah – Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway, Raquel Pennington vs. Julianna Pena
• UFC 308 – October 26th in Abu Dhabi, UAE – Islam Makhachev vs. Arman Tsarukyan 2
• UFC 309 – November 9th at MSG, New York – Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic
• UFC 310 – December TBD in Las Vegas, Nevada – Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler

“All subject to change,” Helwani repeated. “But that’s the plan as of now.”

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

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

Dana White remains fairly secretive about the upcoming Noche UFC event from inside The Sphere in Las Vegas, Nevada, but at least fights now know how many fights will be taking place.

While speaking on the “The Pat McAfee Show,” White revealed that Noche UFC will have a total of 10 bouts. Obviously that could change with potential injuries or dreaded weight misses, but as of now White is expecting to run a lean and mean card for UFC’s pricey one-and-done inside of The Sphere. One that will feature a Mexican-heavy lineup.

“We’re going to do 10 (fights),” said White. “There will be a main, co-main, and obviously this card will be very Mexican-heavy.”

As for the cost of UFC’s innovative trek into the next stage of live combat sports, White claims to have already spent $ 17 million on the upcoming event. Considering there’s still two months before Noche UFC actually sets sail, White and company are expected to spend even more.

“I’m already $ 17 million into this thing, and we’re not anywhere near September yet,” said White. “… I keep telling you guys: It’s gonna be the most unique, badass show you’ve ever seen in sports.”

Insomnia

Does it ever end with Jon Jones?

Is “my wife will divorce me” a plausible excuse? That’s wild. And this sucks for Nate Diaz.

This never gets old.

Alex Pereira plans to cheer on his old rival, Israel Adesanya, when “Last Stylebender” fights Dricus du Plessis at UFC 305.

Aljamain Sterling in Karate Combat?

Dan Hooker was not going to miss a chance to compete in Perth, Australia.

What a moment for Jean Silva after taking out Drew Dober at UFC Denver.

Matt Brown is still battling some backlash on social media after making political comments over the weekend.

Should Alex Pereira wear this mask to his next weigh-in?

Slips, rips, and KO clips

Some weekend vibes.

This is pretty cool.

Random Land

Trump is back!

Is this one of the worst National Anthem performances ever?

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

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Julianna Pena has concerns about Kayla Harrison’s professional cleanliness.

Ultimate Fighting Championship’s (UFC) Bantamweight division has been relatively stagnant since the reigning all-time great champion, Amanda Nunes, retired in June 2023. Six months later, the division saw a new champion crowned when Raquel Pennington won her vacant title tilt against Mayra Bueno Silva via unanimous decision at UFC 297 in January 2024.

The former champion, Pena, has maintained that she’s still in the title picture despite having been sidelined since her title loss (watch highlights) to Nunes in July 2022. After Pennington’s victory, the aforementioned Harrison burst onto the scene in UFC with a big win at UFC 300 and now could be next for Pennington. However, Pena hopes she’s competing clean.

“Stay off the needle, bro,” Pena said on The MMA Hour. “Maybe not now [is she on steroids] but definitely in the past. Absolutely. There’s no question.”

Pena, 34, explained her reasoning for believing Harrison wasn’t clean came from a recent incident at International Fight Week 2024. According to Pena, the promotion provided athletes with a social media seminar that was followed by an anti-doping seminar that Harrison was absent from.

“I just already have the mindset that people are cheating. Especially from ATT, 100 percent at ATT,” Pena said.

“When Dan Lambert flew me out there after I won The Ultimate Fighter, they literally told me that all the girls are in the bathroom shooting each other in the ass with the steroids,” she concluded.

As a two-time Olympic gold medalist in Judo, Harrison wasted no time reminding “The Venezuelan Vixen” that she’s no stranger to competitive drug testing at the highest level.

“I have been tested by USADA since I was 12 years old,” Harrison quote tweeted. “You will find every excuse in the world not to fight me. and the only shot in the ass people need around u is anti-nausea medication.”

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