Midnight Mania! CTE Isn’t Real Bro

Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Bringing you the weird and wild from the world of MMA each and every quarantined night!

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

Did tonight’s headline make you check your phone for today’s date? As far as I know, this is the first Midnight Mania in weekend history! The reasoning behind this temporary change should be somewhat self-explanatory: there ain’t no fights happening. Luckily, there are still all sorts of interesting quotes and social media buffoonery to discuss.

Enter Diego Sanchez.

“The Nightmare” knows a thing or two about getting punched in the face. Per Mike Bohn, he had already absorbed 1,168 head strikes back in September of 2018, the second highest total in UFC history (behind only BJ Penn!). Terrifyingly, Sanchez has competed four times since then, so perhaps he has since caught up to his former opponent.

Sanchez isn’t concerned about potential brain damage or Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). In fact, Sanchez believes the entire discussion is a “mental weapon” and negative “placebo.”

This is the week’s second reminder that despite the global pandemic, some things don’t change: Jon Jones is still getting in trouble, and Diego Sanchez is still living in an alternate reality. He didn’t even need his movement guru’s help for this one!

At any rate, Sanchez is still an active UFC fighter, ready to accrue more strikes to the dome. Technically, he’s won three of his last four bouts, though his most recent win came via disqualification in a bout where Michel Pereira really expanded upon that previous punch total.

Insomnia

Israel Adesanya gives his best guess regarding UFC 249’s mystery location:

Valentina Shevchenko bringing side kicks around the globe!

Chase Hooper being son of Ben Askren is funnier than it should be.

Petr Yan’s exercise definitely doesn’t look easy, but imagine fighting a savage like Marlon Moraes with this and similar workouts as a main method of preparation. These upcoming UFC fights are going to be weird (if they happen).

I promised social media buffoonery, and Darren Till is helping me deliver.

Wives helping with workouts are out, dog push-ups are in.

Slips, rips, and KO clips

Obviously Imanari is amazing at the Imanari roll, but it has to suck to be submitted by a move you’re well aware is coming.

Liam Harrison and Saenchai are killer Nak Muay who produce cool Instagram content, so both are frequent features of Midnight Mania. Here’s some highlights of their second fight:

Prepare for liftoff!

Random Land

Skillz.

Midnight Music: Listened to my playlist of ‘70s hits tonight, so here’s a classic slice of Philadelphia soul.

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