Midnight Mania! McGregor tells Paul to move along

Well, I didn’t get canned after my first Midnight Mania, so you’re stuck with me for the next three days at least.

Let’s get to it.

So Jake Paul is having a little trouble. He’s booked to fight at Madison Square Garden on August 6. But we ‘re not sure if he’s going to have an opponent set-up by then. Tommy Fury was supposed to be the man to fight Paul, but he’s been barred from entering the US.

The reason Fury is not able to enter the country is probably due to his older brother Tyson Fury’s association with Daniel Kinahan. Kinahan is accused of operating the Kinahan Cartel, a billion dollar cocaine smuggling outfit. Kinahan and Fury’s relationship is well documented (by me over at Bloody Elbow).

With Fury out it seemed like Hasim Rahman Jr., whose dad famously upset Lennox Lewis, was going to step-in on short notice. But now it seems that might fall through, too. Paul said on The MMA Hour today that Rahman Jr. and his camp are trying to renegotiate the terms of their deal, probably because they know Paul is desperate to keep his MSG debut intact.

So now it seems there might be a chance someone else will step in to face ‘The Problem Child’. One person who won’t be taking the last minute date is former UFC champ Conor McGregor. However, Paul told Helwani that a fight with ‘Notorious’ is bound to happen at some point.

“At some point it’s gotta happen,” Paul said (ht MMA Junkie). “He’s a businessman, I’m a businessman, and that’s $75 to $100 million dollars for both of us.”

Paul’s confidence that this fight had a shot at happening is not shared by McGregor. The Irishman took to Twitter to squash the idea that he’d appear opposite Paul. He also took exception at the idea that the social media influencer’s drawing power was anything close to his.

“You’ve two fights and done 70K buys,” wrote McGregor. “You a flop, kid. A nobody.”

Paul’s fight record to date includes wins over AnEsonGib (a YouTuber), Nate Robinson (former NBA player), Ben Askren and Tyron Woodley (twice). Fury would have come into their bout with an 8-0 record. Rahman Jr. is 12-1.

McGregor stands alone as the biggest box office hit the UFC has ever seen. Though, his drawing power—like his ability to win big fights—has been waning ever since he switched codes and boxed Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2017.

Last year McGregor lost two fights to Dustin Poirier, both by TKO. The second fight ended with McGregor suffering a brutal leg break. According to the gym footage McGregor likes to post online, it seems his snapped wicket is all healed. It is expected that he will return to action sometime later this year (though, it won’t be against Paul).

Insomnia

I sense a big announcement is afoot.

Time flies. So does blood.

Jiri Prochazka wants to run it back with Glover Teixeira in his first official UFC light heavyweight title defence.

Here’s one for the feelgood folder: Michael Bisping and Georges St-Pierre embrace five years after their epic showdown at UFC 217.

Slips, rips, and KO clips

LFA brought the ruckus on Friday night. Here’s one of the finishes you have to see, MMA Lab product An Ho with an ungodly headkick KO.

Here’s another finish you won’t want to miss. Allan Begosso climbing to 7-1 with the win over Paris Stanford.

We all saw the Rafael Fiziev’s finish over Rafael dos Anjos on Saturday, but this clip is for those who think that fight suffered from an early stoppage. You can clearly see from this angle that RDA was out and that the referee did the right thing, at the right time.

You like soccer kicks, don’t you?

This guy’s nickname is ‘Boom Boom’.

There was a lot going on this past weekend. Here’s the pick of the finishes from Lion Fight 74, a spinning back-fist KO by Shaun Shubert.

Random Land

Is this on Fight Pass?

Don’t go giving Fight Circus any ideas.

Midnight Movies

Keep an eye out for Emergency Declaration, which after doing the rounds at the Cannes International Film Festival, is set to be released in South Korea on August 3. The US release is slated for August 13. I hate flying so this entire thing is terrifying to me — doesn’t mean I won’t watch it, though. The film is directed and written by Han Jae-rim (The King) and stars Korean acting legend Song Kang-ho (Parasite, Snowpiercer). Squid Game’s Lee Byung-hun also makes an appearance.

Check out the trailer below:

What do you think?

Ok, time for bed. Rest up Maniacs.