Midnight Mania! Florida Governor: UFC 249 ‘For The People,’ Live Audiences Possible By Summer

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Last month, when UFC announced their plan to hold UFC 249 on Native American territory in California’s Bay Area, I was pretty shocked. As a resident of “The Golden State,” my expectations of the event happening plummeted. Why California? The California state government was among the earliest to institute lock downs and penalties, whereas other states have been far looser.

The show got canned, and UFC smartened up by heading down to Florida, where WWE shows have been held the whole time. Their plans seem unlikely to change in this new location, as Governor Ron DeSantis defended his decision in a press conference and spoke about the benefits for Florida’s economy (transcription via Bloody Elbow).

“There’s not going to be any fans but I think that [UFC 249] is going to be a good event for people,” Gov. DeSantis said during a recent press conference. “I helped recruit,” DeSantis said. ”I wanted the wrestling to be filmed in Orlando. I’d like them to do WrestleMania. They were going to do WrestleMania in April. That was hundreds of millions of dollars. I want to keep that good relationship.”

In fact, DeSantis is so confident that the events will go well that he’s optimistic about live audiences returning to some extent pretty shortly. He explained, “I do think if the trends are good as you get into June-July. I think there is a window to have some fans.”

Each day that goes by without cancellation is a good one for UFC 249. If there is a last-minute cancellation, it likely will come from an issue presented by someone other than the state government.

Insomnia

Check out the latest episode of our Thailand travel and training doc!

Darren Till, Leon Edwards, and Jimi Manuwa are teaming up on some sort of initiative to combat knife crime. Relevant fact: Till moved from the UK to Brazil after getting stabbed at a party.

UFC 249 might be the event where every single fighter gasses out halfway through the second as a result of incomplete fight camps.

Despite my concerns above, somehow I have faith that Francis Ngannou is going to perform as he usually does.

Tyron Woodley vs. Gilbert Burns is very much a fight I’d like to see.

Explaining the mechanics of the twisting footlock:

Slips, rips, and KO clips

The most brutal guillotine choke in MMA history?

This is a cool knockout and all, but plus-size Robbie Lawler is indeed the highlight of the clip.

A good ol’ fashion slugfest!

Random Land

The drive-in theater near me reopened with social distancing guidelines and has been doing quite well. Is this the future for concerts as well?

Midnight Music: At this point, I am quite bored of my own playlists, so I put on an “Early Alternative” mix that was short on surprises but still very solid.

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