Midnight Mania! ‘I Would Break His F—king Eye Orbital’

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Welcome to Midnight Mania!

The BMF belt is an enigma.

Acronym aside, it doesn’t really mean anything. Winning the BMF belt does not equate to being the best fighter in the division. There’s a promise of excitement, certainly, but even a few “Fight of the Year” performances on the resume cannot guarantee a BMF title shot. Largely, that opportunity comes down to when the UFC needs to add some flair to a pay-per-view (PPV) event.

Despite the unclear criteria, nobody is arguing Justin Gaethje as undeserving. He’s an all-timer in terms of excitement, and Gaethje has consistently been a Top Five Lightweight for many years now. Head kicking Dustin Poirier officially earned him the somewhat unofficial strap, but years of ground work got him there. Gaethje will bring his BMF belt to UFC 300 and put it on the line against Max Holloway, a former undisputed champion looking for new challenges, undoubtedly deserving in his own right.

It’s a great fight that adds to the UFC 300 card, BMF belt or not. Gaethje is not, however, the first BMF belt holder. That honor belongs to Jorge Masvidal, who battered Nate Diaz in 2019 to drape that silver title across his waist. Though “Gamebred” officially retired last year, he’s now hunting to unify the BMF belts after UFC changed the concept from a one-off to a defended crown.

“When I won the belt, Dana said it would be one of one, the belt is done, and there would be no defending it,” Masvidal told Lowkick MMA (via MMAJunkie). “So there never was any talk about it, at least for me, but now I think the temperature on that theme has changed. They’re doing things a little different, and Justin is very good.

“The guy that he beat to get that belt is a f*cking stud, he’s a killer, Dustin Poirier. But if you put BMF against BMF, if you put me against Gaethje in there, I would break his f—king eye orbital, and I would f—king chop him up. Hopefully that can happen at some point.”

At the moment, it feels really unlikely. Gaethje still has undisputed title aspirations at Lightweight, and defeating Max Holloway could earn him that shot. Holloway, meanwhile, once again has a path to Featherweight gold now that Alexander Volkanovski is no longer champion, so a big win on the biggest card of the year could also prime him for a title fight.

UFC 300 isn’t scheduled until April 13, however. If Holloway were to suffer an injury between now and then, there are few more high-profile replacement options than “Gamebred.”

Crazier things have happened.

Insomnia

Most performance coaches and sports therapists worth their salt will emphasize the importance of being process-oriented rather than outcome-oriented. Topuria’s mindset below is a great example!

The MMA meme community is ruthless.

It’s quite cool to see all the Mexican talent assembled in one place. I expect an exciting night in Mexico City!

Michael Chandler has to stay active somehow while continuing not to fight Conor McGregor.

Core conditioning!

Merab Dvalishvili cracked his head diving into ice and is still jumping head-first into a four-foot deep Las Vegas pool, sharking his way between grinding couples.

Slips, rips, and KO clips

It’s incredible how many left hooks/left uppercuts Berchelt absorbed before hitting the canvas.

Brandon Moreno still looks quite young for 30, but his “Assassin Baby” nickname was especially appropriate back in the day!

This fight ranks highly as one of the best boxing matches in MMA history. Great momentum shifts and differing strategies!

Random Land

This surf clip took an unexpected turn.

Midnight Music: A current trend on Twitter is to rank your Top 10 Bob Dylan songs. I want to participate but hate tweeting, so this feels like my best option.

1. Visions of Johanna
2. Up To Me
3. Like A Rolling Stone
4. Idiot Wind
5. To Ramona
6. Positively 4th Street
7. Ballad of a Thin Man (Live At The ABC Theater, May 1966)
8. Abandoned Love
9. It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue
10. Most of the Time

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