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Welcome to Midnight Mania!

Dustin Poirier has been consistently honest that his legendary mixed martial arts (MMA) career is coming to a close sooner than later.

“The Diamond” has set no expiration date, but he’s made it clear each fight could be his last. He’s a significant underdog heading into his UFC 302 main event title fight versus Islam Makhachev, setting the stage for a fairytale ending … or at least a respectable high point to walk away from if defeated by the sport’s current pound-for-pound king.

UFC color commentator and retired champion Daniel Cormier doesn’t love Poirier’s openness on the subject. “DC” doesn’t want to see Poirier walk away, but he also think it’s a bad idea for fighters to recognize they’re almost done while still fighting. According to “DC,” that’s a mistake he made himself before walking away.

“I can’t stand hearing that it’s almost over for a guy that we all universally love and enjoy when he’s inside the octagon,” Cormier said on his YouTube channel (via Yahoo Sports). “I also hate it for another reason: I hate it for the idea that it could be almost over, and he recognizes that. I don’t like when athletes because I did it myself, I’m almost judging myself; I don’t love when athletes put a timeline or a finishing point on a career that’s still actively going on. That is a hard thing to do.”

Cormier continued, “I started looking to a time where I didn’t have to worry about cutting the weight and doing all this other stuff. That’s miserable. Life afterwards is vacations, beaches, eating what you want and doing what you want.

“I don’t love that there’s so many references to, ‘My last chance or my last dance. I’m not committing to retirement.’ It’s like, if you have any desire to fight, you have to be so in the fight that there is no thought of what comes next.”

It should be noted that Poirier talked similarly ahead of his fight versus Benoit Saint Denis, then showed absolutely no quit opposite the French talent and knocked him out cold. Regardless of pre-fight talks, I would expect the Louisiana-native to be at his best on Saturday night.

Whether that’s enough to dethrone Makhachev remains to be seen.

Insomnia

Now that I’ve read this tweet, I fully understand Ronda Rousey’s desire to never associate with anything MMA-related ever again.

Why would doc squeeze the hematoma, seems rude!

Between calling out Israel Adesanya for a street fight and comparing himself to Khabib will never wrestling, Manel Keep is rising through the ranks of pound-for-pound most delusional fighter. An impressive and hilarious accomplishment!

Be like water!

… I would unironically watch Kamaru Usman vs. Jan Blachowicz in 2024. Does it make sense? No. But I would watch it!

The best staredown in recent memory:

Henry Cejudo may not want to fight Kyler Phillips, but he’s interested in Song Yadong and Petr Yan.

Imagine if Kevin Lee somehow becomes good again. Even if you weren’t a fan during his height, it sucks to see a stellar athlete destroyed by injury.

Slips, rips, and KO clips

Russian undefeated amateur champion who does cool throws and foot sweeps — that’s a prospect to remember.

Legalize upkicks to a grounded opponent!

Number one rule of being stuck in single leg back control: don’t reach backwards!

Random Land

Butterfly hooks!!!

Midnight Music: G-Funk, 1992

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

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Cory Sandhagen foresees a long night for both Sean O’Malley and Merab Dvalishvili.

The two top bantamweights are expected to collide sometime in 2024 with O’Malley’s UFC title on the line. O’Malley is unbeaten over his past seven bouts and recently punctuated a title-winning knockout of Aljamain Sterling with his first belt defense against Marlon Vera. Dvalishvili, on the other hand, has won a division-best 10 straight UFC bouts and is already installed as the betting favorite in the potential matchup despite being the challenger.

Sandhagen is also a top contender in UFC’s bantamweight division and will be keeping a close eye on the title to see who emerges with it wrapped around their waist.

He broke down the matchup on a recent episode of The MMA Hour.

“It’s going to be a hell of a fight for the both of them, to be honest,” Sandhagen said. “I definitely know that Merab’s biggest issue in fighting is clearing that gap. He isn’t the fastest guy in the world. He doesn’t have a build that clears the gap really well. He kind of gets people tired and then that gap becomes a lot easier to close. But O’Malley is one of the best at hitting people in that void and in that space in between me and you.

“It’s going to be a really challenging fight for the both of them, because usually you say in a fight it’s either going to go one guy’s way or the other guy’s way. But I think in this one, it’s going to be a battle, back and forth, and both of these guys [will be] getting what they want. I think that Sean will definitely be able to crack him when he clears that void.

“If Merab can eat it or recover or whatever, I think that he can run his game plan,” Sandhagen continued, “And then that might happen again, and then Merab will run his game plan, and then that might happen again. I think that they both have very specific ways to win this fight, and I think it’s going to be a hell of a fight for the both of them. But Merab also has shown to be a little bit chinny in those spots, and Sean definitely hits hard as shit.”

Sandhagen, 32, has his own business to attend to as well.

Currently ranked No. 4 in MMA Fighting’s global bantamweight rankings, Sandhagen is likely one win away from challenging for UFC gold. He looks to take that next step on Aug. 3 when he faces Umar Nurmagomedov in the main event of UFC Abu Dhabi. Sandhagen told MMA Fighting that UFC officials already informed him that he’s likely to earn a title shot with a win.

Because of that, Sandhagen has a vested interest in O’Malley vs. Dvalishvili — and there’s one outcome he clearly prefers over the other.

“We’re rooting for Sean O’Malley. We want O’Malley to win,” Sandhagen said. “As long as he’s not going to go off and do some stupid boxing fight with that guy, or as long as he’s not going to try to go up to 145. Don’t do that, Sean. Just stay in the division, try to clear us all out if you can. But don’t start doing all that stuff, man. To me, again, I’ll be real candid, I think that there’s a tactic with some people that they take where they go high-risk, high-reward fights. No one wants to take high-risk, low-reward fights. And you can make the argument that if you go up a weight class and fight Ilia [Topuria], that’s a very tough fight, of course. It’s equally as tough if not tougher than anyone in this division as well, to be honest.

“But what do you lose? You don’t really lose anything except for getting your ass whooped, which, we’re all fighters and we’re very used to getting our asses whooped all of the time. So you make a big paycheck, you get to come back to your weight class, and then you get to be like, ‘Thumbs up, I’m still the champ at this at least.’ Then same thing in boxing. If you go to boxing and you lose a fight in a sport that you don’t even participate in, there’s no loss in any of that other than getting your ass whooped, which again, none of us are afraid of. So I disagree with it because it would favor me more if he stuck around and I got to fight him.”

O’Malley’s wandering eye for other pursuits outside of the bantamweight division may not be the only hurdle that could stand in Sandhagen’s way.

UFC Hall of Famer and former champ Jose Aldo suddenly thrust himself into the 135-pound mix with a vintage win at UFC 301 following a two-year retirement. Aldo is currently a free agent and undecided on his UFC future, however he expressed interest in short-cutting to the front of the line to challenge for the UFC bantamweight title.

“No way, man,” Sandhagen said regarding the idea. “I love Aldo. Aldo’s the absolute man. But you don’t get to come back from retirement and then beat a guy way down in the rankings and then just fight for the belt. Like, I love Aldo, but definitely not. There’s too many good guys in the division for that to be the case.”

MMA Fighting – All Posts

Demetrious Johnson once said that he believes Anthony Joshua could beat Francis Ngannou in an MMA fight and is standing by his statement.

Just a few months ago, Joshua and Ngannou went toe to toe in a boxing match at an event called “Knockout Chaos”. Things went pretty badly for the former UFC heavyweight champion, as Joshua would make easy work of him and put him away in the second round with a vicious overhand right.

Ngannou’s performance inspired some controversial takes, and Demetrious Johnson made waves when he claimed that he could see ‘AJ’ defeating the former UFC star inside the octagon. Now, in a recent appearance on The MMA Hour, Johnson is sticking by his opinion and breaking it down for the media and fans alike.

Demetrious Johnson defends his Anthony Joshua vs. Francis Ngannou take

“It’s not like Francis is some world-class kickboxer,” Johnson told Ariel Helwani. “You look at all Francis fights; he does have some submission wins, he does have somewhere he takes somebody down.”

“But if I can take a guy like Anthony Joshua, who is an athletic specimen, who understands range and distance, and I train him for six months — six months — to defend a takedown, check the leg kick, and just box. You’re not going to have 16-ounce gloves. The distance doesn’t change at all. … So if I can take somebody who is athletic, which Anthony Joshua is athletic, it’s an easy fight.”

According to Demetrious Johnson, Joshua’s advantage is due to the stylistic matchup between the two men. Johnson feels that Ngannou doesn’t have the style to pose an impossible challenge to ‘AJ’, and other heavyweights definitely do have a style that would present major issues to the boxing phenom.

“Now, here’s the flip side: How would it go against Anthony Joshua vs. Jon Jones? Different animal,” Johnson said. “Jon Jones would go out there and force the clinch. He would go out there and force the wrestling exchange. Maybe Francis Ngannou would do that, but I don’t think Francis would do that. From the years I’ve seen him fight, that’s how I view that fight. I’m not saying Francis is going to get destroyed, but I do believe [Joshua] has a chance of beating him because he just knocked him the f*ck out in a boxing match!”

“Francis has been very successful in the boxing world in MMA,” Demetrious Johnson continued. “He boxes people. When he beat Stipe Miocic, yes, he threw some leg kicks. That’s very easy to manage. It’s not like an Edson Barboza legkick. But he and Stipe were going back and forth. Stipe actually rocked him.”

“I would go on to say Anthony Joshua is a better boxer than Stipe Miocic. Not a better MMA guy, but in mixed martial arts, I say it all the time: MMA is the easiest sport to become a world champion in. It truly is. you have people who are very good at one thing and have so many holes and deficiencies in their game.”

Francis Ngannou’s coach weighs in on the Demetrious Johnson take

Francis Ngannou’s own coach, Eric Nicksick, wasn’t even very optimistic about the thought of an MMA bout between his star pupil and Anthony Joshua. Nicksick actually agreed with much of Johnson’s sentiments about the situation and even lent his own analysis.

“There were things I think we needed to do better,” Nicksick said. “So if this was an MMA fight, what did we see anecdotally that would have changed that same outcome if it was in MMA? We would have gotten slept, whether it was four-ounce gloves or not.”

“So it tells me we have to show the element of level change, we have to kick the lead leg out, we have to do other things to keep the distance, cut the cage off, and then blast-double that motherf*cker and put him on his back. Then it’s in our realm. So what [Johnson is] saying is absolutely true.”

What do you think of Demetrious Johnson’s opinion about how an MMA fight would play out between Ngannou and Joshua?

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Bobby Green has a big fight coming up at UFC 304, but there’s another name he’s added to his hit list.

Green meets Paddy Pimblett on the July 27 pay-per-view event in Manchester, England. Speaking on The MMA Hour, “King” previewed the Pimblett matchup, but said another fighter has also been relentlessly talking smack to him in his social media DMs.

That fighter? Dillon Danis.

“I don’t even want to give this guy the f*cking clout or the shine …” Green said. “It’s the guy who sucks clout like no other. That guy is looking to suck up clout anywhere he can find it.

“The Logan Paul fight [with Danis], that was f*cking horrible. It was such a terrible representation of what he should put as his work of art. That’s a terrible representation of that, and so he’s been hopping in my DMs and trying to talk sh*t to me, to promote to fight this guy. I’m like Dillon, Dilly, I don’t know where you think we’re even on the same level. I’m a full-fledged killer, you’re just a talker. You [haven’t] even fought nobody real.”

Green said it all began after Danis’ back-and-forth with former UFC fighter Paige VanZant, which saw VanZant light up Danis as a “piece of sh*t” and not a real fighter. Danis’ approach to trash talk and promotion is behavior Green would like to use as an example for young fighters — specifically, how not to act.

“I was talking to the young guys saying, ‘Don’t be like those guys.’ Because why? You’re going to hate it when [someone like VanZant] tells you [that] you ain’t sh*t,” Green said.

“He jumped his ass in there, and now he’s begging for a fight with me. Man, before, these guys wouldn’t pay attention to me. I would post sh*t, I would talk sh*t to them, and they wouldn’t even pay attention to me. And now Dillon, he can’t stop messaging me.

“And I’ve been kicking his ass every f*cking time. Kicking his ass.”

In his most recent outing, Green earned a lopsided decision win over Jim Miller at UFC 300 in April. Green said he’s been hoping to get the chance to fight Pimblett for quite some time, and now he has it.

It’s no coincidence that Green sees Danis and Pimblett as similar when it comes to trash talk and accolades.

“In real life, [Danis is] getting beat up by a Logan [Paul], he’s getting beat up by a podcaster,” Green said. “He’s getting beat up by a fake wrestler. In real life, you’re not one of us. It’s the cool kids versus the brats. And Paddy’s another one of the brats. Look how he talks.

“Look at him acting spoiled and sh*t like he did some sh*t. You ain’t done nothing in this motherf*cker yet to be talking about, and thinking you’ve earned something. You ain’t earned sh*t yet.”

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Demetrious Johnson stands by his Francis Ngannou take.

In March, Ngannou was brutally knocked out by Anthony Joshua in their heavyweight boxing match billed as “Knockout Chaos.” The fight was so uncompetitive that just a few days later, Johnson claimed Joshua would beat Ngannou in an MMA fight.

As you can imagine, “Mighty Mouse” caught a lot or crap for that take, but one month later, he stands by it.

“It’s not like Francis is some world-class kickboxer,” Johnson said recently on The MMA Hour. “You look at all Francis fights, he does have some submission wins, he does have some where he takes somebody down.

“But if I can take a guy like Anthony Joshua, who is an athletic specimen, who understands range and distance, and I train him for six months — six months — to defend a takedown, check the leg kick, and just box. You’re not going to have 16-ounce gloves. The distance doesn’t change at all. … So if I can take somebody who is athletic, which, Anthony Joshua is athletic, it’s an easy fight.”

Johnson — the former UFC flyweight champion and one of the greatest fighters of all-time — argues the issue for Ngannou is one of styles. If Joshua was to fight a different heavyweight in MMA, things would not go as smoothly.

“Now, here’s the flip side: How would it go against Anthony Joshua vs. Jon Jones? Different animal,” Johnson said. “Jon Jones would go out there and force the clinch. He would go out there and force the wrestling exchange. Maybe Francis Ngannou would do that, but I don’t think Francis would do that. From the years I’ve seen him fight, that’s how I view that fight. I’m not saying Francis is going to get destroyed, but I do believe [Joshua] has a chance of beating him, because he just knocked him the f*ck out in a boxing match!”

“Francis has been very successful in the boxing world in MMA,” Johnson continued. “He boxes people. When he beat Stipe Miocic, yes he threw some leg kicks. That’s very easy to manage. It’s not like an Edson Barboza leg kick. But him and Stipe were going back and forth. Stipe actually rocked him.

“I would go on to say Anthony Joshua is a better boxer than Stipe Miocic. Not a better MMA guy, but in mixed martial arts, I say it all the time: MMA is the easiest sport to become a world champion in. It truly is. you have people who are very good at one thing and have so many holes and deficiencies in their game.”

Fans will probably never know for certain, as it’s unlikely that Joshua will ever compete in MMA. But there’s one man who sort of agrees with him: Ngannou’s head coach Eric Nicksick.

Nicksick agreed with many of Johnson’s points, noting that based off of the Joshua boxing match, they would have to be particular about approaching an MMA fight.

“There were things I think we needed to do better,” Nicksick said. “So if this was an MMA fight, what did we see anecdotally that would have changed that same outcome if it was in MMA? We would have gotten slept, whether it was four-ounce gloves or not.

“So it tells me we have to show the element of level change, we have to kick the lead leg out, we have to do other things to keep the distance, cut the cage off, and then blast-double that motherf*cker and put him on his back. Then it’s in our realm. So what [Johnson is] saying is absolutely true.”

MMA Fighting – All Posts

Champ
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