Welcome to Midnight Mania!
Let’s start the night off by taking look back over the three biggest stories of Tuesday, April 15.
Ian Garry claims his knee kicks are responsible for Shavkat’s lost title shot: It’s possible but none of the timing lines up to support Garry’s claim.
Khabib doesn’t want Ilia Topuria as the next Lightweight contender: Topuria vs. Makhachev seems the obvious fight to book to 99% outside of the Makhachev camp.
Aaron Pico disses Diego Lopes’ UFC 314 performance: Pico vs. Lopes would be the greatest match up skillful glass cannon vs. ungodly durable powerhouse since perhaps Overeem vs. Ngannou. Would watch …
Insomnia
Is Merab Dvalishvili vs. Sean O’Malley 2 really the best the Bantamweight division can do right now? It doesn’t feel like people are excited. I’d rather see a Alexandre Pantoja title shot or Patchy Mix signing, but I understand that doesn’t move as many pay-per-view (PPV) buys.
The latest in evidence that English as a second language is the best base for Twitter trash talk. Salsa dip?!?
Dropping off your title at the promotion’s reception desk is a baller move. Yuki Yoza to One Championship?
Caio Borralho calls out his third choice of opponent, Anthony Hernandez. If I were to play matchmaker:
Borralho vs. Imavov (no ifs, ands, or buts title eliminator)
Strickland vs. Whittaker
Hernandez vs. Cannonier
So Imavov is running. Whitaker is running. So there’s only one guy on my mind:
Anthony Hernandez, what about we fight???
I’m 7 straight wins, you too..so get ready to get finished!
— Caio Borralho (@BorralhoCaio) April 15, 2025
Jean Silva didn’t take Bryce Mitchell seriously at all and styled on him. An all-time great showboating fight IMO …
I see a lot of weird discussion about Diego Lopes, calling him overrated or terrible. He’s a limited fighter, certainly, but that doesn’t mean he’s an easy fight for any 145-pounder or less than Top Five.
Alexander Volkanovski reveals he has cuts in his mouth and is struggling to eat, and he praises Lopes for the pain caused.
“There are cuts in my mouth, making it hard to eat. I’ll be feeling the pain from Lopes for a couple of weeks. I mean, he’s a good dude—he doesn’t want to… pic.twitter.com/QPsEnAPf9K
— Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA) April 15, 2025
Boxing sure has changed in the last 70 years.
I need to see Cory Sandhagen pindrop before I predict his Deiveson Figueiredo fight.
Slips, rips, and KO clips
This is why the non-punching hand stays up in an ideal world.
An unfortunate way to lose a fight.
The beefiest KO I’ve seen in some time, Vigil is huge! This feels like a KSW clip.
Random Land
What do you know about commitment to the bit?
Midnight Music: Hip-hop, 2015
Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.
