Midnight Mania! 252-Pound Jones Shows Off Heavyweight Power

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Welcome to Midnight Mania!

Though he was incredibly dominant and set several records in the last time years, it is tough to argue that interest was beginning to wane in Jon Jones’ Light Heavyweight title reign. Of course, we cannot blame Jones for beating all the best contenders and moving on to Middleweights, but the general lack of compelling match ups seemed to affect his performances as well.

Fortunately, a Heavyweight move appears the perfect answer to both reinvigorating Jones and the fanbase. Since his transition in weight was announced, Jones has been carefully preparing, throwing more weight around than ever in an attempt to build muscle and remain strong against the biggest men on the roster.

However, almost all of his training clips have been in the weight room. It’s been some time since Jones has released footage of himself doing anything other than pressing iron or instructing others, but as he creeps towards a potential Summer return opposite either Stipe Miocic or Francis Ngannou, Jones has begun picking up his martial arts training.

Here’s the first look at Jones flowing through some power kicks with longtime trainer Mike Winkeljohn. Then, the video switches over to Jones hitting mitts with striking coach Brandon Gibson.

There’s still a lot of time before Jones steps into the Octagon, but his long-awaited Heavyweight debut will prove a huge moment for “Bones.”

Insomnia

Dustin Poirier on JRE coming soon!

Bantamweight beef and saltiness truly never ends.

PFL is finalizing their roster, and 2021 seems set as their most exciting season yet.

57 rounds of sparring over 10 days seems … a bit excessive.

Tony Ferguson is working with Freddie Roach, which seems like a smart move, but is it too late?

Weili Zhang is dangerous from close quarters:

UFC Vegas 20’s co-main event is going to be absolute fire.

Slips, rips, and KO clips

I have never seen a left hook break a man’s spine before.

Not quite as spectacular, but this is still a great left hook knockout!

A whole chain of front choke submissions eventually forces the tap.

Random Land

Satisfying.

Midnight Music: Nick Cave and longtime collaborator Warren Ellis released a new album today, titled Carnage. Though it’s not entirely separate from their electronic, synth-y trilogy that took up most of the 2010s, it is different enough to be noticeable.

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