Midnight Mania! Handicap Hate Crime

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

Perhaps the largest and least expected winner at UFC 280 was Henry Cejudo.

Prior to the event, Cejudo was not widely considered as an immediate contender at 135 pounds. Though he retired with that title and has since returned to the USADA testing pool, Cejudo seemed really insistent on chasing Alexander Volkanovski for a third UFC title. “The Great” never appeared interested, and his move to Lightweight seemingly hurt Cejudo’s chances of returning to a title shot.

Then, UFC 280! Aljamain Sterling defeated a wounded TJ Dillashaw in dominant but weird fashion. Sean O’Malley won, but his victory over Petr Yan was controversial enough to make a title shot right now feel strange. Marlon Vera is in talks to fight Cory Sandhagen, and Sterling won’t fight team mate Merab Dvalishvili, who retired Jose Aldo just last month!

There’s suddenly an opening for a title shot, and Cejudo is in pursuit. He’s been doing his best to generate interest in the match up with his trademark cringe trash talk, and this time around, he’s mocking Sterling for beating up an injured opponent.

“Hey Alljizzlame,” Cejudo tweeted. “Your last 3 Fights.
1. Beat Yan via Academy Award
2. Gifted Dec via Guilt
3. Hate Crime over Handicapped Fighter

Sign the Contract”

“Alljizzlame” may just be a worse nickname than any of the garbage Colby Covington has concocted over the years. Still, in his post-fight interview, Sterling expressed a willingness to face whoever UFC put in front of him. Is “Triple C” now the fight to make?

Insomnia

Everyone cross their fingers and hope for the return of healthy knees Francis Ngannou.

The RIZIN x Bellator New Years Eve event is shaping up!

Sean O’Malley rewatched his fight versus Petr Yan and came to a shocking conclusion.

Just rewatched the fight, def won. ❤️

— Sean O’Malley (@SugaSeanMMA) October 26, 2022

Belal Muhammad offers his thoughts as well:

Rewatched the O’Malley yan fight 3 times and I think that at the end of the day Conor sucks snd wont win another fight

— Belal Muhammad (@bullyb170) October 26, 2022

Muhammad Mokaev calls out Matt Schnell, which sounds like a reasonable and fun step up in competition after his 3-0 start.

Mokaev vs Matt Schnell
March in UK card
Hope he will accept this fight…

— Muhammad Mokaev (@muhammadmokaev) October 25, 2022

Though unbooked, Max Holloway is still putting in work.

18-year-old wunderkind Raul Rosas Jr. will make his official UFC debut in December.

18-year-old Raul Rosas Jr. (6-0) has his UFC debut set. He’ll face Jay Perrin (10-6) at #UFC282 on Dec. 10 in Las Vegas, per @TeamIridiumISA which manages both athletes. Story headed to @MMAJunkie.

— Nolan King (@mma_kings) October 26, 2022

Charles Oliveira is still the coolest.

Slips, rips, and KO clips

A great scrap most readers probably haven’t seen.

Demian Maia pulling off some slick jiu-jitsu to shut down Ben Askren was an awesome moment for grappling fans. Great scrambles and some weird uppercuts in that one!

If you’re going to storm a dojo, maybe going to a BJJ school. They’ll probably just slap ya a few times and then make you tap …