Welcome to Midnight Mania!
There’s yet another possible obstacle to the long-awaited and often discussed match up between Nate Diaz and Dustin Poirier: retirement!
While answering questions on Twitter, Poirier explained that he wasn’t sure what his next match up would be or even what division he was going to compete in. However, it’s clear to “The Diamond” that Nate Diaz is no longer an option, because Poirier has heard Diaz is hanging up the gloves.
“I wanted to fight Nate this summer but just found out he’s hanging them up,” Poirier tweeted. “We’ll see what’s exciting in the future.” More bluntly, Poirier also called Diaz retired when responding to one fan.
Nate Diaz walks to the beat of his own drum, and he’s been willing to take time off in order to get the money/fights that he desires in the past. Still, it’s hard to believe that the Stockton-native is done for good, seeing as he’s still actively talking trash with Conor McGregor and publicly demanding UFC give him a fight.
Once Diaz fights out his UFC contract, he’s more free to pursue boxing as well, though perhaps he could use a mixed martial arts retirement as another angle to enter the ring depending on his contract.
At the moment, both Poirier and Diaz remain unbooked. Poirier was last seen in the cage opposite Lightweight champ Charles Oliveira in December, but he came up short vs. the Brazilian submission ace. Meanwhile, Diaz last made the walk in June 2021, coughing up a decision loss to Leon Edwards.
We’ve been discussing this fight since 2018 — think it happens?
Insomnia
Reminder that ONE X will begin just one hour after this post, and it’s a very interesting night of combat … also a reminder that One Championship is kind of shady.
Eight fighters in total fail hydration at the #ONEX weigh-ins. Most/all will magically pass hydration later today, even though weight cutting and heavy rehydrating is “banned,” but such is life with ONE’s closed-door weigh-ins later on.
— Robert Sargent (@MMARising) March 25, 2022
Muhammad Mokaev with a pretty bold callout for his second UFC fight a weight class up …
Pickleball might be the greatest sport on Earth.
Confession: I forgot that Jessica Eye is still on the roster.
I am fully sold on Paulo Costa vs. Sean Strickland needing to happen.
Well, well, well, how the turn tables …
How much longer will Georges St. Pierre’s takedown record hold?
Slips, rips, and KO clips
Relive the controversy of Petr Yan vs. Aljamain Sterling! UFC just released the fight for free as part of the promotion for UFC 273.
Demetrious Johnson is rightly favored in his special rules match vs. Rodtang, but victory is no guarantee.
In the most notorious mixed rules bout, Japanese MMA royalty Shinya Aoki took on K-1’s Cosplay King Yuichiro Nagashima at Dynamite!! 2010. Aoki did his best to waste away time in the Kickboxing round, but got finished just seconds into the MMA round.
— Beyond Kickboxing (@Beyond_Kick) March 24, 2022
You almost never see the americana submission in MMA, so this is cool!
Random Land
Dope.
Midnight Music: One of the greatest disco tracks of all time!
Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.