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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

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

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

As with any year in combat sports, 2023 had its fair share of strange moments and bad decision-making. One of the most standout poor performances came from Colby Covington, who talked his way into a title shot versus Leon Edwards at UFC 296 and then … barely tried to win?

It was bizarre (watch highlights). Covington has never been an overly complex fighter, but “Chaos” has historically understood how he wins fights: a combination of pressure, volume, and elite wrestling. Opposite “Rocky,” Covington hung out on the back foot, didn’t throw many strikes, and barely tried to wrestle until late in the fight.

Why?

Two months later, we may have an explanation. While talking with Submission Radio, Covington revealed that he broke his foot early in the first round, which affected his ability to throw punches and wrestle effectively. He also brought x-rays to prove his injury to any would-be doubters.

“The result wasn’t what I wanted, it wasn’t my night. I broke my foot right away, and I couldn’t plant or explode off it to use the wrestling and pressure I planned to use. I didn’t want to disclose this information until I had the x-rays.”

Covington continued, “I knew straight away it was bad. It was the first kick I threw, it landed right on his elbow. He was in Orthodox, so I kind of got a little overzealous, and I wanted to rip a high kick towards his Orthodox side, cause I didn’t know if he would be defensively sound like he is from Southpaw … Haters will still find a way to hate on me for fighting 25 minutes on one leg while landing over a hundred strikes more than Leon!”

That number at the end is completely made up, for the record.

Broken foot or not, Covington’s loss at UFC 296 seriously hurt his position at 170 lbs. Until he’s able to return to the win column against a top contender (like this one), “Chaos” has effectively been removed from the Welterweight title picture.

Insomnia

Dustin Poirier offered up his prediction for the upcoming BMF title fight, and he’s backing Max Holloway. Seeing as “The Diamond” fought both twice, he has better insight than most!

Brian Ortega has fought for just four minutes in the last two years or so. Looking forward to his return!

Denzel Curry vs. Wiz Khalifa when?!? Zel is looking sharp on the mitts!

I have to imagine Drew Dober’s size and strength played a role in fatiguing Renato Moicano even as the Brazilian dominated top position.

Diego Lopes and Movsar Evloev talking some trash on Twitter — think the rematch ever materializes?

Schnell vs. Erceg sounds like a fairly guaranteed banger at 125 lbs.

Slips, rips, and KO clips

Saenchai is still putting shins to chins at 43 years of age.

A tight left hook while fading back ended this contest.

Faced with an opponent who is slipping punches well? Throwing up a high kick is a great idea!

Random Land

Appreciate the little things.

Midnight Music: A request from longtime MMAmaniac, arm.bar.bandit.

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

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Even when he’s hitting the slopes, Sean Strickland still finds a way to squeeze in some training.

Days removed from his disappointing split decision loss to Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 297, ‘Tarzan’ was spotted doing some snowboarding. However, a recent video shared by Strickland social media shows the often outspoken superstar mixing his sports with an unidentified fan.

In the clip, which you can see below, a fan shoots in for a single leg on Strickland and — to his credit — manages to get the former champ down on one knee. Unfortunately, it’s all downhill from there as Strickland appears to ramp up the aggression, taking the man’s back and locking in a rear-naked choke.

It’s far from the first time that Strickland has had an interesting run-in with a fight fan. During his trip to Australia for UFC 293 in September, ‘Tarzan’ claimed to have punched an Israel Adesanya supporter in the stomach, though it was later revealed that the interaction was playful in nature.

During a UFC 297 pre-fight press event, an individual in the crowd rushed the stage to shake Strickland’s hand. Strickland obliged just as the man was dragged away by security and dubbed a “savage” by the middleweight fan favorite.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

UFC lightweight star Dustin Poirier feels “great” about where he stands with the promotion one week after his UFC 299 booking with Benoit Saint Denis was cast into doubt.

Poirier was tight-lipped on the specifics of what went on behind the scenes to jeopardize the fight, which co-headlines the March 9 pay-per-view in Miami. More important to him was that everything worked out.

“I don’t want to dive too deep into it,” he said Monday on The MMA Hour. “There was some miscommunication — not everybody was on the same page, and I couldn’t get a hold of somebody, and things got a little bit confusing for me, and I was waiting to hear something. But it is what it is, fight’s on.”

Poirier initially stated that the fight was off this past Thursday, later adding there was “no contractual agreement before the fight was announced and we couldn’t come to terms.” His teammate, Johnny Eblen, accused the promotion of “choosing” not to make the fight happen because it was being “stingy, in a way.” Later, Poirier confirmed the fight was back on after a “misunderstanding” with the promotion — and a conversation with his manager.

While the particulars of his agreement remain unknown, Poirier did reveal one demand he always had for the fight: That it take place over five rounds.

“I feel like the better fighter, unless something crazy happens early, the better fighter wins over five rounds,” he said. “Even if he doesn’t fatigue, or even if it’s not deep waters to him, he’s the god of war. That’s what he wants. I feel like the rhythm, timing, my experience, I pick up on that stuff the longer the fight goes, and I’ll find openings.”

Until Saint Denis beat Poirier’s teammate, Thiago Moises, the French fighter wasn’t on Poirier’s radar for a potential fight. Even when Saint Denis knocked out Matt Frevola at UFC 295 and called out Poirier, the ex-interim champ’s immediate reaction was “this guy’s got some work to do.”

When it came time to talk with the UFC about future matchups, however, Poirier said the big names he sought were not offered. Names like Conor McGregor — his three-time opponent — and Nate Diaz, a-long coveted foil, were not part of the conversation. Instead, the option was Saint Denis for UFC 300.

“I was talking with [UFC Executive] Hunter [Campbell], and we were like, maybe the opening of the [UFC 300] pay-per-view, maybe the second fight of the pay-per-view,” Poirier said. “And then [UFC 299] we started talking about, and to be the co-main event, [and] I’m like, that’s a much bigger slot. It’s close to my training camp, it’s close to home. … So just I wanted to be part of 300, but this just made more sense, I think.”

Poirier is a betting underdog for the fight, which is no great surprise since he’s coming off a knockout loss to Justin Gaethje in his previous outing. He takes no offense to the distinction and said it’s more of the same.

“I’m 35, he’s 28. He finished five guys in a row,” Poirier said of Saint Denis. “He’s finishing all of his wins in his career. Maybe that’s why, I don’t know. My whole life, I’ve been an underdog. This is where I performed the best.”

If Saint Denis is the future and Poirier is the past, Poirier said everyone will know on March 9.

“Somebody gave me my shot to crack in [to the top 15],” he said. “So I respect the game, and that’s what I’m doing. Let’s see if I still [got it]. You know the meme with the dog looking in the mirror and he’s like, checking to see if I still got that dog in me?

“Five rounds on March 9th.”

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Ilia Topuria has big goals for 2024.

Later this month, Topuria challenges Alexander Volkanovski for the featherweight title in the main event of UFC 298. The bout is one of the most heavily anticipated fights of the year, with oddsmakers having it as a near pick’em, but “El Matador” is supremely confident that things won’t be nearly that close come fight night.

“It’s going to be a first-round knockout. You will see,” Topuria said Monday on The MMA Hour. “He’s saying a lot of bulls***, ‘There’s levels, I have this and I have that, dah, dah, dah.’ You’re right, there are levels. There are levels, then there is me. I’m going to show you where the levels are. I’m going to dominate him everywhere. I’m going to make him look like a punching bag. You will see. I will be dancing Feb. 17.”

Widely regarded as one of the greatest fighters of all-time, Volkanovski had an up-and-down year in 2023. He made two excursions up to lightweight to chase down double-champ status and lost both times to Islam Makhachev, the second time by head-kick knockout back in October. Between those two fights, Volkanovski did have a sensational title defense over Yair Rodriguez in July, but Topuria believes the Makhachev fights revealed an unfortunate truth for the 35-year-old champion.

“You are talking to the best fighter in the world,” Topuria said. “I’m the best. He is one of the best. You have to give him his credit. He was a great champion, he was pound-for-pound No. 1. He was one of the greatest, without any doubt. One of the greats in the featherweight division, and he will always be remembered like that, like one of the greatest in this division. And I’m happy to be the man who is going to give him the bad news on Feb. 17: He’s old. It’s time to move on. It’s time for the new generation. He’s old. He already lost. He has all the signals that he has to retire. He had his moments in this sport and now it’s time to move on. It’s time for the new blood, and I represent the new generation. I represent the evolution of mixed martial arts.”

With a career record of 14-0 with 12 finishes, Topuria has reason to be confident. And once he dispatches Volkanovski to claim his first UFC title, “El Matador” has big ideas for his next fight: A matchup with another man who doesn’t lack confidence.

“The way I’m going to beat him, they aren’t even going to ask me about a rematch,” Topuria said.

“Conor McGregor, that’s the fight I’m looking for. He has a great fight with Mike Chandler. If he doesn’t get his ass whooped, he will be a pleasure to share the octagon with me. Maybe in UFC Spain. We’re both from Europe, and he will be able to go back home and tell his wife, ‘Baby, take out the red panties. Topuria kept us rich.’”

McGregor will ostensibly face Michael Chandler sometime in 2024, however that fight has been discussed for more than a year and still remains theoretical at this point. Plus, it’s unclear whether the UFC would even be interested given the deep bench of title challengers at 145 pounds should Topuria dethrone Volkanovski, including Max Holloway, Rodriguez, and Brian Ortega, among others. But Topuria doesn’t have any interest in Holloway or the others.

“How? I’m going to beat the guy who whooped his ass three times?” Topuria said when asked about Holloway. “How? It doesn’t make any sense. Max, Yair, Brian Ortega, all of them, they can go and retire. I’m never going to give them the chance to fight for the title.

“I don’t know, to be honest,” Topuria continued when asked who he would defend against. “The UFC knows that even better than me and I don’t think they’re going to even offer Max or the names I told you. We’ll see. I’m just completely focused on my upcoming fight and we’ll see what the future holds for me.”

If it’s not McGregor next and does end up being one of the other featherweight contenders, or even a rematch with Volkanovski, “El Matador” is still dreaming big. While Topuria would prefer to fight McGregor in Spain, he’s adamant that the promotion will head to his home country this year regardless, and he believes a show in Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, the home of Real Madrid, is even possible.

“Of course. It’s going to happen in 2024,” Topuria said. “I don’t know when. At the end of the year, maybe. I hope it’s going to happen in Madrid at the [Real Madrid stadium]. The stadium is ready to make events. You can close the roof, you can [cover the grass]. They made it especially for events, so it would be one of the biggest ticket sales in UFC history.

“This is what [UFC] told me, but we’re considering all options. We’ll see. But in Spain, of course it’s going to happen. UFC Spain, that’s for sure.”

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Islam Makhachev solidified himself as the world’s rightful #1 pound-for-pound fighter last time out. Despite arguably delivering the performance of his career, the reigning lightweight king hasn’t returned to action since, but has now given fans a timeline for his next outing.

When Charles Oliveira was forced to pull out of his rematch with the Dagestani late last year, Alexander Volkanovksi accepted the bout on 11 days’ notice. The courageous act was short-lived as the champion scored a devastating knockout of the challenger just 3 minutes into the matchup.

Now, Islam Makhachev hasn’t competed since October and fans are eagerly awaiting fight news from the sambo specialist. Although there is no official fight booked, Makhachev recently announced the date that he expects to return.

“June/July I [will] have [my] next fight,” Makhachev revealed during a recent interview. “I did just one training [session] every day, and nothing like hard, but I’m still training every day because I am a champion.”

“I have to defend my belt. I have to be ready, you know, always. Now everybody wants to take my belt.” [h/t MMA Squad]

A June/July return for Makhachev would mean he hasn’t competed in eight or nine months. 

Check out Islam Makhachev’s brief interview below.

Related: Conor McGregor calls out Nurmagomedov family

Who is next in line for a shot at Islam Makhachev’s lightweight gold?

In his absence from the cage, the lightweight division has amassed several top contenders who would serve as viable options for Islam Makhachev’s next title defense.

Justin Gaethje showcased a knockout-of-the-year contender finish of Dustin Poirier last time out. ‘The Highlight’ confirmed that he is making one final run at becoming a UFC champion before hanging up the gloves.

The UFC has pitted two of the very best 155ers in the world together with the winner likely leapfrogging the BMF champion Gaethje to be next in line for a shot at Makhachev.

Charles Oliveira will collide with Arman Tsarukyan at the coveted UFC 300 in April, with both men eager to gain some revenge on their losses to Islam Makhachev

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