Midnight Mania! Maia says he was forced to fight Masvidal, McGregor in a bowl cut

Welcome to Midnight Mania! Tonight we’ve got Demian Maia revealing he has been strong-armed into taking the Masvidal fight, mass brawls in Russia, McGregor with the classic bowl cut, Yoel Romero with some insane wrestling, Shevchenko dancing, weight cut disputes, sumo, ninja chokes, knockouts, and much more.

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Insomnia

Demian Maia should be getting a title shot. He’s won six in a row, the last four wins over ranked opponents. Each win has been startlingly dominant. He’s not up for the belt next, though, and he’s made his peace with that, even if he’s not sure he will beat Jorge Masvidal.

However, this wasn’t something he decided. He wouldn’t reveal exactly what happened, but he did say he wasn’t given a choice. Maybe Masvidal was right- maybe the UFC brass ARE using him to take out welterweights they aren’t invested in. The Tyron Woodley strategy of sitting out and just waiting won’t work for Maia. (something Woodley now says he never did)

Via FoxSports.com:

“I did not change anything in my head, it changed in the head of the UFC,” Maia told AGFight in Brazil. “[The UFC] said I would have to take this fight to be able to fight for the title. I had an option, which was to accept the fight if I wanted to fight for the belt [after that], and I accepted.

“Who decides who will fight for the title is the UFC.”

“There are things that happen and we have to keep [quiet] and do what has to be done”, Maia said. “I can not talk about everything that happens because it involves other people and it involves everything that helps or hinders my career.”

Maybe Maia’s problem is that nice guys really do finish last.

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Bobs and Weaves

I love mass brawls. One broke out in Russia after the fighters began to strike each other after the bell, via BloodyElbow.com:

In case you missed it, Valentina Shevchenko and Amanda Nunes can’t seem to agree on a fight date. Background: Nunes wants the fight at UFC 212 in Brazil. Valentina said her schedule is full that month, pick another.

Nunes was none too happy with that response

Shevchenko, though, is probably too busy dancing in a tropical paradise to care.

BBC are doing a documentary on the dangers of weight cutting

Not everyone likes this, though. Bellator lightweight champion Michael Chandler says that the problem is a lack of discipline, not the practice itself.

Tyron Woodley on set for “the Favorite”, a movie he is shooting

I had the same bowl cut as a child. Pretty sure my redneck cousins still do. Also, does this remind anyone else of Home Alone?

Gennady Golovkin is a monster

Teruto Ishihara, ladies.

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Quick Hits

• Michael Bisping is saying Mayweather wants McGregor because he was scammed and lost a lot of money. Dana White is saying there is no target date for the fight, which probably means it’s booked and ready to go.
• Anderson Silva is fighting Kelvin Gastelum in Rio. Yeah, it seems weird to me too
• Joanna Jedrzejczyk is already looking forward to fighting Michelle Waterson... she’s got to get past Jessica Andrade first though.

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Slips, Rips and Awesome Clips

Oh, nothing to see here, just Yoel Romero tripping a wrestler while balancing on one leg. Athleticism at this level is awe-inspiring. It won’t get Yoel a title shot, though, or even a fight with Anderson Silva.

Speaking of Anderson Silva, he was pretty insanely good back in his day too:

Now for some current highlights:

And, back to old school: Jean Claude Van Damme doing the martial arts thing with martial artists.

The UFC has been getting a little better with the whole Twitter thing, but this is still terrible. How do you post this and not GIF at least one of his KOs?

SUMO!!!

If you show up in a gi it must be embarrassing to get choked unconscious. And by that I mean, even more than usual

When you can’t get your leg free quickly enough

This can be true for heavyweights whose arms don’t make their hands go fast enough to punch well.

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Podcasts and Video

UFC 210 full fight video breakdown with Flyin Brian J:

The Severe MMA Podcast with Sean and Graeme

Eddie Alvarez talks McGregor and his new opponent, Dustin Poirier, at UFC 211

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Random Land

Stay woke, Maniacs!