Midnight Mania! Dana White says Tony Ferguson and Kevin Lee to fight for interim lightweight title, possibly at UFC 216

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

Dana White confirmed tonight that Kevin Lee and Tony Ferguson will fight for the interim lightweight title, probably at UFC 216. The current reigning Lightweight champion, Conor McGregor, is off on a crusade to the Holy Grail of combat sports, boxing Floyd Mayweather for a hundred million dollar payday.

Previously, the UFC had booked “El Cucuy”, Tony Ferguson, against Khabib Nurmagomedov for UFC 209. That fight fell through at the eleventh hour when Nurmagomedov’s failure to cut weight successfully left him hospitalized. When asked what happened to Khabib this time around, Dana White said Khabib was not ready, having recently undergone surgery. Instead, the brash young star Kevin Lee, riding a five-fight win streak, the latest a first-round submission win over Michael Chiesa, gets the nod.

The announcement comes as UFC 216, scheduled for October 7th, is in dire need of a main event. Dana, however, didn’t sound completely certain that is when the fight will occur. He did confirm, however, that it was definitely happening.

The winner faces a murderer’s row of options. McGregor is the most likely opponent upon his return, if he doesn’t decide to box Paul Malignaggi first. Khabib “The Eagle” Nurmagomedov lurks somewhere in the Caucasus mountains, ready to swoop into a championship fight of his own. Justin Gaethje is currently booked in a dream matchup with Eddie Alvarez; a win could net “the Highlight” a title shot as well.

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Insomnia

While on the topic of Tony Ferguson, and after Artem Lobov got himself in the headlines for saying something really stupid, I found this incredibly funny

In case you forgot fighting in a cage has real health implications, an MMA fighter died after a bout this past weekend.

Money is coming in on Conor McGregor- a reminder that the odds for this fight do not reflect the likelihood of Mayweather winning, giving a bet on Floyd a lot more value than it would normally have.

It’s always entertaining to watch someone with an incredibly high level of skill practice their craft. But the real question of skill is: can he swing his arms like they are made of rubber? I doubt it.

David Haye takes rubber arms to the next level

Even local Houston boxer Mike Jackson (of CM Punk fame, and the guy who gave me my first platform writing about MMA) got in the action

While we are on professional boxers sparring high-level MMA fighters, here is Jose Aldo looking plenty technical in some work with Olympian Lindolfo Delgado.

Mayweather-McGregor discussion online:

Nice hype video

Aljo Sterling talks a matchup with Jimmie Rivera:

I refuse to believe this machine could possibly capture the unearthly power of John Lineker

The combat sports happening this week in the absence of the UFC near-weekly events

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Slips, Rips, Slick Clips

I missed this

For some reason I enjoy long pants kickboxing

A look at some of the hardest punchers in boxing history, and a case for giving Julian Jackson that title

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Quick Hits

• The Tuesday Night Contender Series results
• Georges St. Pierre has always been an unusually honest fighter. He said he’s not scared of Tyron Woodley, specifically- he is scared of all his opponents
• Pettis vs. Poirier is a cracking fight
• Daniel Cormier is thinking of returning to Heavyweight

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Stay woke, Maniacs! Follow me on Twitter @Vorpality