Midnight Mania! Cruz Vs. Aldo Next?

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Welcome to Midnight Mania!

December proved an excellent month for World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) legends. Dominick Cruz survived a nasty knockdown to ultimately beat up Pedro Munhoz in his second victory of 2021, while Jose Aldo picked up a main event victory over Rob Font to assert himself back into the Bantamweight title picture.

Given their shared dominance in WEC and the simple fact that their victories came just a week apart, many would-be matchmakers are eyeing a bout between the two ex-champions. For his part, Cruz is open to the idea. In fact, Cruz was quite complementary towards the Brazilian, which isn’t always common with “The Dominator.”

“What I’m hearing most from people — I haven’t really made a decision, I haven’t talked to [UFC matchmaker Sean] Shelby or anything, but I’m hearing most that the old legacy fight that never happened between me and [Jose] Aldo is, like, right there,” Cruz said on The MMA Hour (via MMAFighting). “And I think that that does it. I can completely understand that. I get how that’s an interesting fight for the world. To fight Aldo, it’s an honor.”

“Think of the things this dude’s done,” Cruz said of Aldo. “And he’s also been through the ups and downs of his career, and now made his way back in an extremely respectful form. So that fight, I understand how that can make sense. But I’m going to sit down and, you know, we’ve got to do the talks and see what happens. But you know me — I show up and I do my job, and I’m not a pick-and-chooser.”

On the other side of the equation, Aldo was hesitant towards a Cruz fight back in September, but perhaps his return to the Top 10 will ignite some interest? He’s been vocal about a fight vs. TJ Dillashaw, but perhaps one former Bantamweight kingpin is not so different from another in terms of the current rankings.

We’ll just have to wait and see how it all shakes out in 2022.

Insomnia

A serious note: RIP to MMA fighter David Koenig.

Can Ilir Latifi find his second UFC Heavyweight win opposite fellow grappling specialist Alexander Romanov? I hope someone gets suplexed!

Jorge Masvidal was more than pleased for a chance to mock Jake Paul’s awful PPV sales.

This photo makes me nostalgic and sad. Feels like the “El Cucuy” era was here just a few months ago …

A closer look at how the Detroit self-defense guy’s gun strategies work:

The love story of Dana White and Oscar De La Hoya continues.

Trading hooks!

Slips, rips, and KO clips

It’s a bold move to go for the triangle from mount rather than just wail away, but it paid off here!

A classic knockout, as well as an anecdote that teaches a key lesson for fighters out there: choose your management (and opponents) carefully.

A fun recap of the best UFC comebacks of 2021, even if it’s missing “The Dude” Clay Guida.

Random Land

JUMP ROPE SKILLS!

Midnight Music: This Glass Animals track has gotten pretty popular recently, and I gotta admit, it’s pretty catchy!

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