Midnight Mania! White: McGregor Overlooked Poirier At UFC 257

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Welcome to Midnight Mania!

Ahead of Conor McGregor’s return vs. Dustin Poirier, all talk described an unreal return to form for the former double champ. His camp described him as “best shape he’s ever been in” and his coaches promised a focused Irishman. UFC President Dana White said the following just a couple weeks prior to UFC 257:

“There’s nothing more exciting or more fun than a motivated Conor McGregor when his head is in the right place,” White said. “You can tell when he is, and you can tell when he isn’t. Right now, you can tell he’s in. … If something happens to Dustin Poirier, he is the Conor McGregor right now that does not give a (expletive) who we put in that fight on that night. He’s that guy right now.”

Of course, motivated or not, Poirier proved to be the better man that night, knocking out his rival in the second round. Now that some time has passed, White spoke with BT Sports and reevaluated “The Notorious.”

“I don’t think there has to be trash talk or any of that stuff,” White said. “And I don’t know if this is true — only Conor can answer this question — I think Conor was overlooking Dustin, like ‘let me just get through this and onto other things.’”

Ultimately, McGregor and Poirier are likely to complete their trilogy this Summer. Will McGregor be motivated, in the best shape of his life, and more committed than ever? Or will he suffer a dip in motivation or be too busy chasing boxing matches?

The answer may just depend on the outcome.

Insomnia

Tony Ferguson laughs off Islam Makhachev’s callout and hints that he already has a match up in place …

Speaking of Makhachev, Rafael dos Anjos is too game for his own good.

“Get off the Internet” is almost always good advice to the stressed out.

RIP to UK MMA referee Neil Hall.

Some wild news from GLORY Kickboxing:

Merab Dvalishvili vs. Cody Stamann is a great Bantamweight match up between two of the division’s better wrestlers.

Some super dope Belal Muhammad vs. Leon Edwards art:

It’s really no wonder Dominick Cruz is mad — that’s a real picture!

Slips, rips, and KO clips

Iancu gets some serious torque on his power shots.

Is the overhand right the best way to break the clinch?

I like this back take better than the choke itself. Pretty!

Random Land

Not exactly kite-flying weather:

Midnight Music: Florida rapper Denzel Curry dropped an EP (I think, it’s only like 20 minutes long) with Kenny Beats titled Unlocked 1.5. It fulfills my desire for his brand of aggressive trap, this time with an interesting chopped-and-screwed vibe.

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