Midnight Mania! ‘Time Gets Us All’

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

Something has gone terribly wrong for Tony Ferguson, and it’s not entirely clear what. One does not go undefeated for years and years without having some method to his madness, yet Ferguson’s last three performances have been woefully underwhelming. There are plenty of theories as to why “El Cucuy” has fallen off, ranging from his press conference knee injury, the Justin Gaethje beatdown, to simple age.

UFC President Dana White was asked about Ferguson’s performance and situation following UFC 262, and he remained noncommittal regarding the next step for the former interim champion.

“He had a tough three rounds,” White said (via MMAFighting). “He couldn’t stop the takedown, he couldn’t get up from underneath Dariush, and yeah, he had a tough night. I don’t know, we’ll see what happens.”

When asked if he specifically pointed to the Gaethje bout as the cause of Ferguson’s decline, White noted it as a likely attributor.

“It could be that, it could be just time gets us all,” White said. “So it’s one of those things, I don’t know which one, or both. But yeah, unfortunately it’s definitely hit Tony.”

All in all, Ferguson’s loss to Beneil Dariush was so clear-cut that there were very few positive takeaways. Really, Ferguson only was given a chance to show off his toughness, an attribute that White did praise.

“He’s tough as hell though. He was in that heel hook and his ankle definitely popped. His ankle the rest of the fight looked like a golf ball, maybe even a baseball, and he kept fighting. There’s no quit in that dude. He’s tough.”

Insomnia

Dariush is getting his Tesla.

Arman Tsarukyan is a problem for anyone at Lightweight … if his weight isn’t a problem moving forward.

Francis Ngannou works the heavy bag.

Alexander Volkov back tattoo appreciation post (also, look at the size of the lad):

UFC 262 really featured fans throwing fists like it’s 2019 again. Nature is indeed healing!

Two tough losses, two distinctly different reactions from Tony Ferguson and Michael Chandler.

Slips, rips, and KO clips

Chris Barnett will make a short-notice UFC debut opposite Ben Rothwell this weekend.

The line between “illegal strike that ends in DQ” and “one of the year’s most sensational knockouts” is so thin.

Good luck guessing who wins this fight …

Random Land

Is this supposed to be happening?

Midnight Music: I’ve been lazy on keeping up with new releases, but I did check out a few of last Friday’s new albums. J Cole’s The Off-Season is one such LP, a well-produced, skillfully rapped, and pleasantly concise hip hop record.

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