Midnight Mania! Conor McGregor reveals Floyd Mayweather’s trash talk during heated staredown - ‘MMA next!’

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

Floyd Mayweather said some silly stuff during today’s kickoff press conference (watch it) that Conor McGregor was quick to refute. Namely, that he would be willing to enter the Octagon sometime after their 154-pound, 12-round boxing match concludes next month (Sat., Aug. 26, 2017). McGregor was quick to point out that this was nonsense. Floyd also said he would fight McGregor with eight or even four-ounce gloves. Conor noted that, in fact, Mayweather had been careful to specify 10-ounce gloves in the negotiation; and, in fact, had even required that the gloves not be Mexican or horsehair.

Mayweather can say all he wants — he is not about to enter the Octagon with McGregor after they box. That’s because it would mean a level playing field between them, which is something that Mayweather has been careful to avoid. He made that clear when he entered after McGregor, when negotiating the size of the gloves, and when Showtime cut the mic on McGregor during the presser. He made that clear the moment it was clear this would be boxing only, no other rule-set even considered. This is his territory, his world ... it’s not meant to be fair.

These pinstripes have a hidden message that seems to be part of McGregor’s whole mindset to everyone pointing out the odds against him.

McGregor also got into his plans for a UFC return ... turns out, that December date was only because he wanted to top the Forbes 100 list. Now that the Irishman knows the list is measured July to July, he’s not so willing to commit to a December date. He also refused to name a UFC potential 155-pound opponent for his return, saying priority will be given to those who are actually fighting, not just talking (looking at you, Justin Gaethje).

Meanwhile, UFC ‘s Lightweight contenders in question were not silent on the presser. Tony Ferguson was even in attendance And Had Something To Say In All Caps As Usual.

Diaz knows this first press conference didn’t live up to the quality of the hype he and McGregor generated ... even if it is for a bigger audience.

Everyone wants in on this action, but boxers are always going to want boxing-size gloves. Much, much less risk.

Cody, 31-1 in amateur boxing, ain’t interested though ...

Also, Cody doesn’t apparently understand sarcasm:

I have questions about this: Did he wake up in the morning and realize he had never had updated hats made? Maybe he forgot to pack it? “Oh well, 48 is almost 49”

Yeah, this made me chuckle.

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Insomnia

Angela Hill defending the surprise takedown attempt in an even more surprising setting!

Having Snoop Dogg as commentator for the new Fight Pass show, Dana White’s Tuesday night “Contender Series,” was a brilliant move (full results here).

Reebok will now have at least one good design:

Ooh la la!

White men (still) cant jump:

Good question: How exactly does this work?

If only the press conference had been this entertaining:

This was the breakout moment for McGregor on pay-per-view (PPV):

Please, lets not. The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) is a waste of time and Eddie Alvarez is a much more exciting opponent for Justin Gaethje than Kevin Lee.

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Slips, Rips and KO Clips

Highlights from the Tuesday Night “Contender Series!”

Snoop singing a lullaby is the reason he was hired for this job:

Down and out. I’ve never understood fighters whose footwork doesn’t serve a purpose. The guy in the green shorts doesn’t need to back up, but he does anyway. Black shorts is intentional with his pressuring footwork

This is great because you can see Snoop smoking. He’s not even trying to hide it.

Casual walk-off knee knockout by old school fan favorite, Joachim Hansen, back in 2005:

Arturo Gatti was one of the all-time greats ...

Sumo has returned!

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Quick Hits

• Ever wonder what UFC fighters tell themselves after a hard fought loss? Michael Johnson had an especially bitter loss against Gaethje, and gives his statement here
• Why does Overeem make 800K per fight but the UFC wouldn’t up Gegard Mousasi’s pay enough to keep him from going to Bellator? The world is a mysterious place that favors heavyweights- although I’m still not sure why Werdum only made 275K.

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Podcasts and Video

Mayweather-McGregor first press conference reaction

DWTNCS Episode One reaction:

Subscribe to MMA Mania’s Youtube Channel here for more content like that.

Or like this: Andrew Richardson breaks down Gunnar Nelson’s brilliant guard passing:

The Co-Main Event podcast

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Random Land

I used to want a Super Soaker so badly as a kid, but this is basically a water laser. I still want one.

Stay woke, Maniacs! Follow me on Twitter @Vorpality