Welcome to Midnight Mania!
Former UFC Light Heavyweight champion Jiri Prochazka is fighting for more than a paycheck at UFC 311 this weekend (Sat., Jan. 18, 2025) when he takes on Jamahal Hill from Inglewood, California.
“BJP” has been in contact with one of his big fans, Ashley McGarity, who is currently battling cervical cancer. Prior to losing her hair due to chemotherapy, McGarity cut her hair into the signature Prochazka antenna. In a show of solidarity, Prochazka has shaved his head in reply, and he’s also set her up with a cageside seat at UFC 311.
“This hair was inspired by Ashley,” Prochazka explained (via MMAFighting). “That girl, she’s fighting with cancer. She will come tomorrow.”
“This is my showing solidarity. Because it’s about sending the good energy. Yesterday, I reached 1 million followers on Instagram so I will give for each other 1 million [Czech Koruna] by my foundation to oncologist patients. Martial arts has something to give back, it’s all about good energy.”
One million Czech Koruna equates to about $40k based on current exchange rates. Fortunately, Prochazka estimated about $50k when converting the numbers for UFC CEO Dana White, who promptly promised to match his donation to cancer patients.
Prochazka’s bout versus Hill carries significant implications for the UFC Light Heavyweight division. The victor is back in the title mix, as both men are looking to rebound from knockout losses to current champion Alex Pereira.
Insomnia
UFC 311 gets the Grand Theft Auto treatment.
It’s too long for me to include in its entirety, so click through for an amusing story about passing out in saunas.
When it comes to weight cutting, oh boy do I have a story for you.
This experience almost put me off helping other fighters cut weight for good. So I was working with an amateur fighter on my team. This guy had about 4-5 pounds to cut and relatively speaking, that’s easy.
— Sodiq Yusuff (@Super_Sodiq) January 16, 2025
“Money” Moicano is going to get whacked if he keeps speaking like this. Give that man a cost of living adjustment!
Arman Tsarukyan shows off his unusual flexibility:
One of the few notable MMA fighters on the One roster would appear to be leaving.
Not sure if I’ve seen any update about this. Garry Tonon is no longer on ONE Championship’s FW rankings (he should be #1 contender imo).
As far as I can tell from the archive, he was on the list up till August 2024, gone from Sept onwards. pic.twitter.com/5blL0EjS2W
— Jonathan of Kowloon & Cotai (@GlobeSvcs) January 16, 2025
A bit of intense sparring over at Xtreme Couture.
We need more Merab and Jiri conversations.
Robert Whittaker and Israel Adesanya should start a podcast together.
Slips, rips, and KO clips
I don’t think Daniel Cormier gets enough credit for his Strikeforce success. This was a HUGE win at the time!
Beautiful change of direction with the sudden spinning elbow.
Another spinning elbow for good measure!
Random Land
RIP to the great David Lynch.
“Inside, we are ageless…and when we talk to ourselves, it’s the same age of the person we were talking to when we were little. It’s the body that is changing around that ageless center” – David Lynch. RIP pic.twitter.com/cCiX8MrAXr
— Carlos Aguilar (@Carlos_Film) January 16, 2025
Really Sad to hear about the passing of David lynch at the relatively young age of 78.
I had the pleasure of working with him on season 2 of Twin Peaks. It was only a tiny part but he spoke to me so kindly, treated me with respect and genuinely made me feel welcome and respected.…— michael (@bisping) January 16, 2025
“I believe life is a continuum, and that no one really dies, they just drop their physical body and we’ll all meet again, like the song says. It’s sad but it’s not devastating if you think like that… We’re all going to be fine at the end of the story.” — David Lynch pic.twitter.com/RwUTJzZ7g0
— Isaac Feldberg (@isaacfeldberg) January 16, 2025
Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.
This story originally appeared on MMA Mania
