Welcome to Midnight Mania!
Dustin Poirier didn’t capture Lightweight gold at UFC 302, but he impressed just about everyone watching in his gutsy attempt to upset Islam Makhachev (watch here). A notably impressed viewer was former United States President Donald Trump, who was attending live in Newark, New Jersey back in June.
On a recent episode of This Past Weekend with comedian and fight fan Theo Von, Trump recalled the Lightweight title clash and heaped praise on Poirier. In particular, Trump was impressed by Poirier’s resilience and refusal to go down easily to the overwhelming wrestler.
“Oh, he’s great,” Trump said of Poirier (via SportsKeeda). “… He’s a warrior! That last fight he had [versus Makhachev]. Whether you like it or not, he is a warrior.”
Trump continued, “No, he didn’t lose that fight. He really… Man, his fighting was tough. He was tough and didn’t expect that same fight. But he oftentimes, well he makes people suffer. There’s no question about it. You know, he’s all, he’s a pro. He’s a professional. As that fight went along he just got stronger and stronger. And he was getting pounded, and he was going to be choked out about four different times and he just wouldn’t let it happen.”
Alas, Poirier did, in fact, lose that fight. “The Diamond” gave Makhachev hell and landed more strikes than anyone else on the bloodied champion, but ultimately a fifth round ankle pick and subsequent d’arce choke kept the title in Dagestan.
Speaking of, Trump recently revealed that Makhachev’s coach and longtime training partner, Khabib Nurmagomedov, was his favorite UFC fighter … much to Conor McGregor’s chagrin. Think we’ll get another response from “The Notorious” for this praise of his other rival?
Insomnia
Sean O’Malley is looking fast, loose, and accurate in this mitts footage.
Pure Robocop energy in these shots.
Get to know one of the latest Ultimate Fighter (TUF) finalists!
Oh yeah, this clip definitely belongs in Midnight Mania.
I hope this man is being paid well to suffer Ilia Topuria’s body punching this often.
Casey Kenney’s domestic abuse allegations combined with a two-fight losing streak would appear to be the end of his UFC career.
❌ Fighter removed: Casey Kenney
— UFC Roster Tracker (@RosterTracker) August 21, 2024
The only thing more surprising than Henry Cejudo being able to make 125-pounds at 37 years of age would be if he actually performed well afterward. Bad idea!
| Henry Cejudo has told @mma_kings that he is considering a move back down to flyweight, however, he doesn’t plan to make a final decision on his next move until he is injury-free.
Would this be a good move from Triple C? pic.twitter.com/GGagNFntrT
— MMA Orbit (@mma_orbit) August 21, 2024
Slips, rips, and KO clips
A few nasty left hooks in this clip with different setups each time.
Threw that same left hand to the body three times in a row then all of a sudden …
Doubling up on same-side punches catches opponents off-guard all the time, stance shift or no shift.
Random Land
Inside an Alaskan glacier.
Midnight Music: Samba, 1963
Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.
