Midnight Mania! Replacement Found

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

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

The four events since the return of UFC have seen numerous last second changes, whether due to weight cutting problems, injuries, and in one case, COVID-19 itself. For the most part, however, UFC has proven more adapt than usual at quickly finding replacements or shuffling fighters around to put on as many fights as possible.

They’ve done it again!

Earlier today, Kevin Holland revealed that he would not be able to fight for the second time in two weeks due to a shoulder injury. His opponent, Daniel Rodriguez (11-1), was left without a dance partner, but UFC has already found a replacement in newcomer Gabriel Green per a report from MMAJunkie.

Green is a Bellator veteran with a 9-2 professional record. He’s won his last six straight bouts, finishing each opponent, and has not tasted defeat since a 2017 loss to current UFC Lightweight Jalin Turner.

The “Gifted” 27-year-old definitely seems like a quality pickup for UFC, but he’s definitely in for a difficult debut. Though he does have experience at 170 lbs., most of his recent fights took place at Lightweight. That size factor combined with the short-notice nature of the fight certainly stack the odds against him.

Still, it’s a great opportunity for him to get his foot in the door, and there’s always the chance of an upset. For the full UFC on ESPN 9 event planned for this Saturday (May 30, 2020) from inside UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada, click HERE!

Insomnia

Conor McGregor’s self-released pound-for-pound/GOAT rankings were definitely the goofiest news of the weekend.

Another Bantamweight slugfest is approaching, as Brian Kelleher looks to make a quick turnaround opposite Cody Stamann.

Apparently, Eryk Anders’ ear suffered some damage in his loss to Krzysztof Jotko.

These quiet cards definitely need Mike Perry. We need to be able to hear his new girlfriend’s corner advice!

I was surprised to see Joe Rogan interview Tony Ferguson after his brutal loss at UFC 249.

Speaking of Rogan, Justin Gaethje and his head coach Trevor Wittman will be on his podcast tomorrow!

I don’t know where “El Cucuy” found this clip, but it’s pretty cool!

Slips, rips, and KO clips

On this day … Chuck Liddell circled into a massive power shot from Quinton Jackson.

… and also on this day, Dan Hardy scored a sweet knockout by hooking off the jab feint!

Having your back to the fence is only a positive for Tyron Woodley.

Random Land

A pretty striking photo of a bison:

Midnight Music: A classic track from Sleater-Kinney’s 2005 LP The Woods is probably my favorite song to pop up on my Discover Weekly this time around.

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