Midnight Mania! UFC 254 Trending To Break PPV Record
Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
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Welcome to Midnight Mania!
Big business is set to go down on Fight Island. In an interview with TMZ, UFC President Dana White explained that he expects UFC 254 to surpass the buys of UFC 229, which currently holds the UFC record at 2.4 million buys.
“This thing’s trending of the charts for us right now,” White explained (transcription via MMAJunkie). “Monday, this thing was trending to be the biggest fight we’ve ever had. Not Thursday, not Friday — Monday! It’s trending bigger than (Khabib vs. McGregor).”
Perhaps the biggest takeaway from these potential numbers is the rise in stardom of Khabib Nurmagomedov. A couple years ago, it was indeed McGregor that pulled in a majority of the viewers to their grudge match. Defeating the Irishman certainly raised his profile, however, as last year 1.3 million people paid to see Nurmagomedov strangle Dustin Poirier (WATCH IT!) in yet another dominant victory.
It definitely doesn’t hurt that Justin Gaethje is arguably the most exciting fighter on the roster, but Khabib appears to be a bonafide superstar! If this event is as huge as White promises, either Nurmagomedov or Gaethje may see a huge boost in popularity coming Sunday morning.
Insomnia
Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje trade shots over the mentality and the value of an interim title:
Don’t be mad at me because you made the mistake of thinking you made it. Remember when I was outside taking pics right after the fight and you were hopping around in a hospital?
— Justin Gaethje (@Justin_Gaethje) October 20, 2020
Saenchai won yet another fight over the weekend! Here are the highlights:
Francis Ngannou has a point about the glacial pace of the Heavyweight belt. I wonder if his contract forces UFC to offer him a certain amount of fights per year?
Apparently Stipe is out until March. If I have to wait until then it’ll be almost another year between fights.
— Francis Ngannou (@francis_ngannou) October 20, 2020
2 title fights in the @ufc heavyweight division for the past two years and yet we don’t know if there will be another one anytime soon. Contenders have to fight for something #ThisIsSucks
— Francis Ngannou (@francis_ngannou) October 20, 2020
I fought once for 20 seconds in the last 16 months #ThisIsSucks
— Francis Ngannou (@francis_ngannou) October 20, 2020
Breaking: Jessica Andrade is pretty strong.
Andrade and Big Nog. Love this photo haha. pic.twitter.com/HmU8aNdl5G
— MS (@UFC_Obsessed) October 19, 2020
Khabib is really done talking about McGregor.
I don’t think Khabib likes Conor, you guys pic.twitter.com/XF7DawsJOa
— Luke (@StereotypeLuke) October 20, 2020
Just Donald Cerrone murdering some poor sap who clearly is pretty new to this whole fighting thing …
Cowboy didn’t need to do him like that pic.twitter.com/Lmr8VuTf0d
— The MMA Scene (@mma_scene) October 19, 2020
Old man with a sacrifice throw!
Slips, rips, and KO clips
I’ve posted a Justin Gaethje slam KO before, but I think that was a different fight? Either way, this clip is awesome.
Bringing back this Justin Gaethje clip from 2008 in honor of fight week #UFC254
— Connoisseur of Combat (@ConOfCombat) October 20, 2020
Amirov didn’t have a very deep grip, yet still managed to finish the anaconda choke. Impressive!
Zelimkhan Amirov submits Ammar Anvar via first round anaconda choke #ACAYoungEagles pic.twitter.com/aX8dhOyTzX
— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) October 17, 2020
Some great instincts on display here to turn a bad position into an offensive one!
The improvisation of this kick by Roman Avdalyan, holy shit #ACAYoungEagles pic.twitter.com/jOfBv5jUVP
— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) October 17, 2020
Random Land
A spectacular view of Zhangjiajie National Forest Park:
Midnight Music: I’ve been reading more into Lee Hazlewood’s career, which led me to the first hit single he produced in 1958. It rules!
Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.
https://www.mmamania.com/2020/10/21/21525581/midnight-mania-dana-white-ufc-254-trending-pay-per-view-records-ufc-espn-fight-island
