Welcome to Midnight Mania!
Keeping track of the current UFC roster can be a daunting task, but MMAFighting recently confirmed the release of five athletes: Emil Meek, Lara Procopio, Roque Martinez, Joe Ellenberger, and Alexander Yakovlev. Only one of those names comes as something of a surprise, but let’s break it down!
Meek debuted with quite a bit of hype behind him, following a brutal knockout of Rousimar Palhares back when that meant something. A debut win over Jordan Mein got the ball rolling, but since then, Meek has been ground out by three consecutive opponents, including Kamaru Usman.
His most recent loss came in February 2020.
Of the names mentioned, Procopio is definitely the surprise — and perhaps the most likely to make a quick return? The 25-year-old Flyweight’s record inside the Octagon isn’t the best at 1-2, but she did pretty soundly defeat Molly McMann in that sole victory. Procopio’s most recent loss came to Casey O’Neil in a genuinely good clash of prospects just a couple weeks ago at UFC Vegas 29.
Roque Martinez also competed at UFC Vegas 29, losing a highly contentious split-decision to Josh Parisian. Often, a controversial result like that buys an athlete another opportunity, but the defeat made it three in a row for the Heavyweight.
Finally, Alexander Yakovlev and Joe Ellenberger … I kind of assumed both had already been released? Yakovlev last competed in October 2020 vs. Joel Alvarez, losing his fourth bout in five fights, which isn’t likely to cut it at 155 lbs. Ellenberger, meanwhile, is just 1-1 inside the Octagon, but he hasn’t actually fought since 2014!
Insomnia
You may know Terrence McKinney as the guy who died twice then won his UFC debut in seconds, but he’s proving to be a very interesting person in many ways.
2/7 My mom has been involved in the Spokane community for over 15 years and I learned service to others through her.
Last year George Floyds murder set it off in our country and communities across the country and ours wasn’t exempt. pic.twitter.com/bFOV5XsO0P
— Terrance McKinney (@twrecks155) July 2, 2021
4/7 We gave young people an outlet to talk, to vent their frustrations to city officials and the police and they didn’t hold back. They came to listen. The mayor, the police chief, and some other peeps and it was all love. pic.twitter.com/6ivpyUerW7
— Terrance McKinney (@twrecks155) July 2, 2021
6/7 I’ve been able to talk to others going through similar situations, or even their own specific situation, and help them. The recovery journey ain’t easy and everyone needs help through trauma and watching George murdered and fighting police was just that for those kids. pic.twitter.com/RO3iHNxj8C
— Terrance McKinney (@twrecks155) July 2, 2021
7/7 I love that I’m now in the UFC because it elevates me and my platform to do what I want to do and that’s to be a part of my community and to help where I can. I got some collabs coming with for young people and ready to fight!!! pic.twitter.com/HjXwxvrXY4
— Terrance McKinney (@twrecks155) July 2, 2021
Michael Bisping passes on some boxing knowledge to his son, a San Francisco state wrestler.
Don’t mind me, I’ll just be sitting here trying to manifest Michael Chandler vs. Justin Gaethje for the next few months.
FIX THE GLOVES!
An eye poke that ended Saturday’s match between Andre Fili and Daniel Pineda is the third UFC no contest of its kind in 2021. That already matches the Octagon record for most eye-poke stoppages in a calendar year. : @jaypettry : @JohnBranniganUK pic.twitter.com/JzL4zdDZpm
— Sherdog by Mandatory (@sherdogdotcom) July 1, 2021
Top-tier Lightweight scrambles are en route:
A lightweight matchup between Diego Ferreira and Grant Dawson is headed to UFC Fight Night on Oct. 2, sources tell @MikeBohnMMA and I. Story coming to @MMAjunkie
— Farah Hannoun (@Farah_Hannoun) July 1, 2021
How do y’all feel about ESPN’s mid-year MMA awards? I’d probably argue Santiago Ponzinibbio vs. Miguel Baeza as the best fight so far, but solid choices overall!
This is why wrestling classes often include cartwheels in the warm ups!
Slips, rips, and KO clips
An excellent knockout from a tremendous prospect with a gnarly backstory — what more could one ask for?!?
Little fact: Broke my left hand earlier in that round. When we took the gloves off backstage, bone was poking out. https://t.co/UHHj0GnwJy
— Adrian Yanez (@yanezmma) July 1, 2021
This backfist setup is so sweet! The risk of walking into an uppercut or knee by ducking like that is there, but he managed to herd his opponent into the strike perfectly.
Wow. Uzbekistan’s own Jakhongir Jumaev delivers in the WTKF main event with a nasty spinning back fist KO over Artem Buloychik.
Jumaev improves to 6-0 #WTKF pic.twitter.com/KV0XrpCyvZ
— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) July 2, 2021
I agree with this tweet: more Rafael Fiziev is necessary!
Random Land
Some rather foreboding clouds:
Midnight Music: It’s always fun when you dig a track on some playlist and subsequently discover an artist for the first time, only to find out from Wikipedia that they’re a couple decades and a dozen albums into their career.
Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.