Midnight Mania: White Uncertain McGregor Fights Again, Expects ‘Poor Chandler’ To Wait Indefinitely

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Welcome to Midnight Mania!

It’s been a hectic few days for UFC CEO Dana White.

While fans were speculating left and right about Conor McGregor’s injury and potential (now confirmed) withdrawal from his planned UFC 303 main event versus Michael Chandler, White was also dealing with a last-second illness to UFC Saudi Arabia’s Khamzat Chimaev! All the news unraveled last Friday, as two separate fight cards were entirely reworked back into usable condition after two of the sport’s biggest names crumbled.

During an appearance on The Jim Rome Show, White addressed the chaotic events of the last few days and offered his thoughts on the immediate future of UFC 302’s would-be main event athletes. In the case of Michael Chandler, White revealed that he expects Chandler to wait for the McGregor fight to be rebooked, though he’s open to offering him a different match up.

“I think poor Chandler wants to wait for Conor McGregor man,” White explained. “But whatever he wants to do. If he wants to get a fight this summer, we’ll do whatever he wants. He’s one of the greatest athletes I’ve ever worked with. He’s a good human being, and I like him a lot.”

That sounds dangerously close to sympathy.

Unfortunately for “Iron” Mike, he may be waiting for an awful long time. Initial reports expected Chandler vs. McGregor to be rebooked sometime around August or September, but White is noncommittal. Given McGregor’s age and vast wealth, he wouldn’t be surprised if McGregor walks away for good.

“Conor is going to be 36 in July, and he’s got plenty of money. I don’t ever think that guys like that — [like] Jon Jones — who knows. Maybe he’ll fight again. Maybe he won’t. Conor McGregor. Maybe he’ll fight again. Maybe he won’t. You never know with some of the guys that get to that level. You never know if you’re ever going to see them again.”

Hopefully, we’ll find out a timeline in the coming weeks.

Insomnia

This kind of advertisement reminds me of Thailand, where local promotions have their athletes hit mitts on top of small trucks.

A last-second change to Saturday’s UFC Saudi Arabia event:

This cage-side slow-mo of Tatsuro Taira’s leg-shattering takedown of Alex Perez is gnarly!

It took eight years, but Rafael dos Anjos finally got a bit of revenge on Conor McGregor. Everyone gets injured on a long enough timeline …

Bo Nickal may have missed an important phone call, but I really like this rumored match up.

Garrett Armfield deployed biological warfare in his “Fight of the Night” versus Brady Hiestand.

An ice-cold photo of Gervonta Davis landing his left hand:

Slips, rips, and KO clips

Santillana threw four strikes in this clip, and every one of them landed hard. That’s timing!

I don’t know what I’m watching really, but maybe this is where Ali Abdelaziz got his idea about Kayla Harrison fighting men.

Right hand to the body along the fence is such an underrated shot.

Random Land

Always rooting for the bull.

Midnight Music: Hip-hop, 1993

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