Welcome to Midnight Mania!
The fight business is a cold game.
It wasn’t all that long ago that Kevin Lee was damn close to the top of the game. At 25 years of age, he challenged Tony Ferguson for the interim title, and he did pretty well against the streaking Lightweight great. To rebound from that losing effort, Lee beat the absolute crap out of Edson Barboza in yet another main event performance.
Unfortunately, it all fell apart soon afterward, as Lee lost four of his next five bouts. As a result of his struggles in the cage and outside of the Octagon, UFC opted to release the seven year, 18-fight veteran without so much as a phone call. Speaking on The MMA Hour, Lee described the disrespect as the worst part of the situation, which left him “pissed.”
“I heard from Hunter [Campbell], he kind of fed me some bullsh*t,” Lee said (via MMAFighting). “But not from nobody else. I reached out to him. I found his number. That’s the main thing that kind of pisses me off about this. When we’re in the UFC, that’s really all you’re fighting for is your respect. People respect you for being a UFC fighter when they hear the name, like they automatically give you some respect. We’re not doing it really for the money. Ain’t a whole lot of fame in this s—t.
“I’ve done all this s—t for y’all. I’ve put myself and my body on the line just to end up with an alcohol problem and a tax problem and at the end of the day, you take my respect away from me, too? It’s like OK, well s—t. I’m going to stop right there.”
The disrespect is a pivotal issue for Lee. Rather than get a couple wins on the regional scene and attempt to negotiate his way back into the Octagon, Lee is now motivated to make his fortune elsewhere.
“A lot of people telling me not to bash them and keep the bridge open,” Lee said. “‘You can come back at some point.’ I don’t really want to. Why would I want to work with somebody who is going to disrespect me like that? That’s crazy. That’s the only thing we fight for in this game.”
Insomnia
Bizarre Jose Aldo fact of the day:
It’s been over two years since Gunnar Nelson last fought, but he’s not looking for a softball in his return match up.
I don’t think I’ve posted any clips of the viral (for all the wrong reasons) self-defense officer, but this edit is too good.
Emil Meek will return to action for the first time since being released from UFC.
I thought this shot of Dustin Poirier’s bloody knuckles was really cool.
Georges St. Pierre with the wrestling drill flow:
A standard enough Conor McGregor tweet, but it raises the question: Of all the active UFC Light/Welterweights, what Mac opponent sells the most pay-per-views? I would guess Nate Diaz.
2 fights left on my contract, I will round out the entire top ten.
Can’t wait to get back sparring for my comeback! https://t.co/u3Tg2ToIvZ— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) December 1, 2021
Slips, rips, and KO clips
A double knockout on the ice!
I’ve watched this triangle several times now, and I’m still not exactly sure how it happened.
Two high kicks thrown, two clean connections:
Random Land
Staff skills!
Midnight Music: I have a definite soft spot for the first Cage The Elephant album.
Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.