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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

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

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

Nobody can be too confident in the future of the Lightweight belt.

Islam Makhachev has a strong grip on the title, that much is certain, but who will be next to try to pry it from him after a pair of challenges from Alexander Volkanovski? As Makhachev has been beating back the Aussie, the Lightweight division has been building deserving contenders. Charles Oliveira, Justin Gaethje, Arman Tsarukyan — three top-ranked and incredibly talented Lightweights coming off vicious knockout wins! “Do Bronx” was supposed to rematch Makhachev in October, but a nasty cut delayed that whole process.

The question remains: who is Makhachev fighting next?

Fight fans online have a theory. Ever vigilant online, fans noticed that both Oliveira and Tsarukyan are simultaneously posting about a return to action. Of particular interest is Arman Tsarukyan’s caption, which reads, “Big news is coming.” It also happens to be on the same day as when Gaethje is tweeting about Oliveira missing his opportunity and how he’s next-in-line …

Fans on Twitter are already predicting the unannounced and unconfirmed match up of Top Five-ranked Lightweights.

Worried for Charles but I think he’d win

Oliveira wins this easily, he beats Arman everywhere

Oliveira fighting all the contenders Makachev should be

I genuinely think Arman beats him and I know I’ll get cooked for having that take

Oliveria will hurt arman on feet by kick followed by punches and when arman hurt, oliveria will catch submission,I predict round 2 finish by Oliveria, Arman should be able to beat oliveria but I think bright lights and less experience will overwhelm arman

It’ll probably be Arman vs. Oliveira next. Dustin or Gaethje are not fighting Arman so it makes sense.

Again, the match up is currently unofficial (despite a handful of random accounts claiming otherwise without any source). With Makhachev expressing interest in facing a new opponent, however, it does make plenty of sense, and UFC 300 still needs some serious star power if it’s going to live up to the hype.

Insomnia

Hot take alert: pineapple, pepperoni, and jalapeños is an elite pizza topping combo.

In before Paulo Costa pulls out of his fighter versus Robert Whittaker for “tax reasons.”

Sean O’Malley was quite a gentleman in this sparring session.

Speaking of “Suga,” here’s Aljamain Sterling elaborating further on last night’s story:

Dan Hooker fires back at Islam Makhachev and company …

This is very juvenile, but then, that’s the door Colby Covington’s dumb trash talk opens, is it not?

An important fact I was unaware of.

This is one of those fight bookings I could have swore already happened.

Slips, rips, and KO clips

If it works once, it’ll probably work twice. If it works twice, it’ll probably work four times, right?

Reminder: Albert Tumenov was cut off a loss to LEON EDWARDS! “Einstein” has always been really good.

Punch-kick is the classic, but kicking into the 1-2 can work wonderfully also.

Random Land

Today, I learned wild yaks are scary.

Midnight Music: I am shocked to report that T-Pain’s new live album is incredible. Who knew the king of autotune could sing with such soul?!?

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

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Is Dana White gearing up to buy his way into the world of boxing?

On December 25, longtime boxing promoter Rick Glaser dropped a bombshell on the world of combat sports, claiming that Endeavor, the parent company of both the UFC and WWE, was in the process of purchasing Top Rank Boxing.

“Promised everyone a Christmas gift, never printed, never talked about, biggest Boxing news in many years,” Glaser wrote on X. “Boxing powerhouse Top Rank is in the final due diligence stage of being sold to entertainment conglomerate Endeavor headed by Ari Emanuel.

“Endeavor is the parent company of UFC & WWE, translated means after 58 years in boxing, 92-year-old Bob Arum is retiring, & Dana White now enters the boxing business with the Top Rank purchase,” Glaser continued. “Look for long-time boxing stalwart & Dana White friend Tom Loeffler to have a major role at Top Rank once the purchase takes effect. Now that’s mega news in the Boxing World!!! Hope you enjoyed your Christmas gift!”

Despite Glaser having some very detailed notes on the reported acquisition, the UFC CEO was quick to dispute the statement on social media.

“Absolutely positively not true,” White wrote. “We are not buying Top Rank.”

White has a history of gainsaying big-money deals, the most egregious example being his outright denial that the UFC was being sold to Endeavor up until the moment it was officially announced.

According to The MMA Hour host Ariel Helwani, his sources claim that there is “no truth to the rumor at this time.”

With Endeavor’s incredibly deep pockets and Dana White’s well-documented desire to invade the boxing business, the transaction is undeniably plausible, but only time will tell if there’s any truth to the tale Glaser is trying to sell.

LowKickMMA.com

The ‘Day of Reckoning’ boxing event in Saudi Arabia brought out the stars as some of the world’s biggest celebrities and influencers came out to enjoy the spectacular occasion.

Even with Anthony Joshua producing an elite performance, Joseph Parker causing a huge upset against Deontay Wilder, and more, one of the biggest talking points of the night wasn’t in the ring.

Combat sports fans were ruthless after seeing Cristiano Ronaldo’s reaction to Conor McGregor’s presence. The two sat beside each other to watch the boxing unfold and it seemed the former Manchester United and Real Madrid star was fed up with the Irishman.

Ronaldo has spoken out on the strange encounter for the first time since the event. In a post on social media, the soccer superstar tasked his fans to write the best caption for his picture, which showed himself and McGregor laughing together.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Cristiano Ronaldo (@cristiano)

Ronaldo clearly didn’t have a problem with being seated next to the animated UFC standout, but the original video showed otherwise.

Their encounter began with the pair exchanging pleasantries but Ronaldo’s demeanor soon changed. His smile faded and he sat upright, looking extremely uncomfortable as McGregor spoke to the man sitting next to the two.

Tensions looked to subdue when the two sporting megastars compared watches. Check out the unusual meeting between Conor McGregor and Cristiano Ronaldo in the video below.

Related: Conor McGregor and Petr Yan stare each other down in intense face-off

Who did Conor McGregor call out during his trip to Saudi Arabia?

‘The Notorious’ could be just months away from his return to combat sports following his sickening leg break last time out. 

The MMA icon has been linked with fights against Dustin Poirier, Nate Diaz, and Michael Chandler, but he has his sights elsewhere. During a short interview at the boxing event, the fan-favorite publicly called out a legendary boxer.

“How about me versus Manny here in Saudi? How does that sound to you?” McGregor said in his interview with Chisora. “Now wouldn’t you think Manny should have to come up to my weight considering it’s his sport? Wouldn’t you think that’s what a man would do, versus what a mouse would do?”

Check out the full story, here!

MMAWeekly.com | UFC and MMA News, Results, Rumors, and Videos

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley (17-1, 1 NC) is feeling good in training camp.  “Sugar” is already in training camp for his UFC 299 rematch with Marlon “Chito” Vera on March 9.  

The two first fought back in August 2020 at UFC 252 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.  Vera handed O’Malley his only career loss, finishing “Sugar” late in the first round via elbows and punches after O’Malley suffered a foot injury.  

O’Malley didn’t initially acknowledge the loss and would call himself undefeated.  It’s a loss that he’s wanted to avenge since he walked out of the Octagon that night.  After winning the championship by stopping Aljamain Sterling at UFC 293, O’Malley called out Vera for his first title defense.  The fight promotion obliged and booked the rematch to headline the UFC 299 fight card in Miami, Florida.  

“I feel way more stoic and disciplined in camp.  It’s just, for whatever reason, it’s just easier,” O’Malley said on his YouTube channel.  Got a date.  Got a mission.  I’m on a mission to kill Chito and I’m going to do everything right to make sure that happens.  God, I wonder if Chito’s going to show up.  Which Chito’s going to show up?  I’m going to show up.  I show up.  I don’t not show up.”   

Vera (21-8-1) is ranked sixth in the 135-pound weight class.  He’ll enter the rematch with O’Malley coming off an unanimous decision win over Pedro Munhoz.  He’s won five of his last six fights and looks to pick up another win over “Sugar” on March 9 and win the bantamweight title.   

MMAWeekly.com | UFC and MMA News, Results, Rumors, and Videos

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