Welcome to Midnight Mania!
Ever since UFC was sold to Endeavor, the promotion’s focus has been on cutting costs and raising revenue above all else. Record profits are seen as more important than previously prioritized factors like growth or quality, which is why UFC Apex cards have remained in vogue long after the arenas and stadiums opened back up for business.
Advertising inside the Octagon has grown more and more prominent as part of this trend. Case in point: there are no longer red and blue corners inside the Octagon, but “PRIME Hydration Recovery Zones.” That’s a mouthful even for a pro card-reader like Jon Anik.
Next up for sale are the tiny bits of blank space beside the massive HOWLER HEAD and CRYPTO.COM logos. Starting with UFC 288, these are now being sold directly to fans.
For a measly thousand bucks, YOUR NAME can be hand painted directly onto the UFC canvas. Then, after the event, your bit of the mat will be professional framed and mailed as a forever keepsake — potentially with the blood of your favorite athlete imbued into the fabric! It’s worth-mentioning that fighters still aren’t allowed to wear their own sponsors into the cage, because that would be too unsightly and unprofessional.
For another option on where to spend one’s hard-earned cash, check out the Insomnia section below.
Insomnia
This GoFundMe is doing tremendously well quickly, and it’s a moment to be proud of the MMA community. All the best to the Ray family.
HELP NEEDED
Former UFC and current PFL fighter Stevie Ray and his family need to raise £100,000 in order for their seven-year-old daughter Myla to undergo life changing brain surgery.
Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Link to GoFundMe https://t.co/DtFpRTDyKf pic.twitter.com/9J6PGrJBhO
— MMA Orbit (@mma_orbit) March 29, 2023
Henry Cejudo is always finding ways to banter on Twitter … but also, Merab Dvalishvili definitely beat Frankie Saenz.
Of course I do remember the goat Frankie.
— Merab “The Machine” Dvalishvili (@MerabDvalishvil) March 29, 2023
An update to some May Welterweight action:
Both Nate Landwehr and Dan Ige are up for a scrap — run it!
There’s a lot more to Alex Pereira’s kickboxing game than simple power, though that attribute certainly helps!
Pereira’s ability to check Izzy’s kicks played a big part in being able to contend at range and maintain pressure down the stretch.
Izzy builds a lot of his best offense off his kicks and kick feints, but he’ll have to mix up his targets and utilize more front kicks. pic.twitter.com/7FyDU5pzca
— Miguel Class (@MigClass) March 28, 2023
I’ve seen a bunch of my friends get knocked unconscious on the local and global scene alike, and it never stops sucking.
Every Conor McGregor sparring clip I’ve ever seen is him teeing off on a guy not throwing punches back.
Slips, rips, and KO clips
Don’t fight Hawaiian dudes unless you’re prepared to eat pavement.
Based on video evidence over the years, my informal analysis says Hawaii seems to consistently produce better street fighters than anywhere else. https://t.co/eRSpc34aD3
— Kenny Florian (@kennyflorian) March 29, 2023
Show the low kick and instead step through with the knee — this is the Slava Borshchev special!
Punching when the arm is still in danger is not a great idea.
Random Land
I understand it’s a different country and different kind of mining, but it’s hard not to see videos like this without thinking of Francis Ngannou and his incredible story of escaping the sand mines.
CONGO – unregulated mines employ thousands of workers, mining cobalt for batteries, so NET ZERO can be ‘achieved’ & we feel good.
These mines often collapse & trapped workers are dug out by hand, if they are lucky.
But hey it saves the planet, right ?
— Bernie’s Tweets (@BernieSpofforth) March 25, 2023
Midnight Music: Folk/country, 1972
Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.