Midnight Mania! Khabib: ‘95% Chance’ Ferguson Is Next

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

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Welcome to Midnight Mania!

Good news for fans of elite mixed martial arts (MMA), as it sounds more and more likely that Khabib Nurmagomedov (28-0) will square off next with perhaps the only man qualified to be his rival, Tony Ferguson (25-3) in the near future. Earlier today at a Q&A in Moscow, Nurmagomedov estimated a 95% that he faces “El Cucuy” next for the simple reason that EVERYONE wants to see it.

The fight has been building up for so long that it’s difficult to remain optimistic, but the path seems to be clear. Ferguson is uninjured and champing at the bit to face the Dagestani athlete, while “The Eagle” has cleared out the rest of the division (barring perhaps Justin Gaethje) and has zero interest in the big-money rematch with Conor McGregor.

Really, the only potential obstacle is Georges St. Pierre, a man who Nurmagomedov desperately wants to fight. Luckily, the Canadian is retired, and hopefully he can stay that way for a few more short months.

Insomnia

Darren Till with some post-sleep clarity on last night’s callout.

Greg Hardy took a small shot at Derrick Lewis about his arrest history, which is probably not a good look given their respective circumstances.

Weili Zhang shows off her speed:

Is Chan Sung Jung the newest member of Team Cringe?

This is EXTREMELY true.

Speaking of true, I have always read the logo as “Dazen” and will never verbally pronounce the alternative. It just sounds dumb.

This young lady has some serious grappling skill!

I guess this is one way to deal with a stubborn fruit.

Slips, rips, and KO clips

Very little windup and landing directly on the chin equals a knockout.

As demonstrated here, so does a shin to the chin!

I did not catch this spinning backfist when it happened, but man, it really deserves more attention.

Random Land

This seems like a really awesome way to die.

Midnight Music: FKA Twigs’ long-awaited LP MAGDALENE released today, and I’ve listened to it several times already. It’s plenty experimental and more varied than her past work, but the themes of religious symbolism crossed against female sexuality help tie the whole thing together. There’s still a lot for me to digest, but I’ll repeat what I said previously: Twigs is a visionary.

Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.