Midnight Mania! Zhang Training With Muay Thai Legend Saenchai

Photo by Zhe Ji/Getty Images

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Welcome to Midnight Mania!

Consider this an excellent example of turning lemons into lemonade. Just about a week after news emerged that Weili Zhang would be relocating her training camp from China due to Coronavirus fears, the Strawweight queen has successfully moved her camp to Bangkok, Thailand.

More than that, Zhang has teamed up with a legend of Muay Thai, the great Saenchai. If you’ve never heard that name before, well, you’re probably new to the whole Midnight Mania column — I post his content all the time!

A Lumpinee champion at four different weight classes, Saenchai is widely regarded an all-time great and pound-for-pound king in Muay Thai. The 39-year-old combatant is now retired from top-flight Thai competition, but he still flies around the world to beat up talented foreign strikers bigger than him. Per Wikipedia, his current record is 299-41-5, though it’s quite likely there’s a few bouts missing.

Watch the two light spar below:

This pair up could not have come at a better time for Zhang, as she’s scheduled to face the most experienced Muay Thai fighter in her division! Zhang will throw down with Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 248 on Sat. March 7, 2020 at UFC 248 inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Insomnia

Is it offensive for a fighter in South East Asia to post a masked picture? Joke aside, masks were pretty common among the Muay Thai fighters running in Bangkok.

Volkan Oezdemir fell victim to the ultimate rear naked choke defense:

Zabit Magomedsharipov vs. Brian Ortega sounds like a recipe for the Dagestani to dominate … until he falls into a trap. Hopefully it’s five rounds!

This is a great way to practice defensive wrestling and work conditioning.

Dan Hardy with the ninja skills.

McGregor and the Mouse.

Slips, rips, and KO clips

The best way to pass guard is via submission.

Complete confidence in the pocket:

Great varied timing in the finishing combination — off-beat punches are more likely to find a hole through the guard.

Random Land

Drone racing a fireball:

Midnight Music: Got my work done to my soul playlist tonight, so here’s one of their four No. 1 hits (each of which is pretty amazing).

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