Welcome to Midnight Mania!
First and foremost, let’s take a look back over the three biggest stories of Tuesday, March 25th (aside from continued Cain Velasquez coverage, which we discussed last night).
- Artem Vakhitov opts to re-sign with GLORY rather than join UFC Roster: This has to be one of the worst examples of UFC cheapness. Light Heavyweight is desperate, kickboxers have become some of UFC’s biggest stars in recent years, and the promotion still can’t pony up more than 10 and 10? Wild.
- Colby Covington talks wild s—t about Paul Felder: I don’t believe any of this “Chaos” story, but it’s very funny that this is Covington’s reaction to Felder mildly claiming that his trash-talking persona is dying away.
- Gable Steveson wants to meet with Dana White: Heavyweight is so miserable that Steveson is probably already a Top 15 contender right now (based on Mick Parkin vs. Marcin Tybura). Sign him up!
Insomnia
Is it wise to treat the future of the Heavyweight division this way? Tom Aspinall should be two undisputed title defenses deep into his legacy by now.
I honestly didn’t know Antonina Shevchenko was still an active UFC fighter.
Abdul Razak Alhassan, Antonina Shevchenko, and Molly McCann all removed from the UFC active roster.
— Borrachinha Depot (@FullContactMTWF) March 25, 2025
Justin Gaethje is putting all those “Fight of the Night” bonuses to good use.
Justin Gaethje donates part of his UFC winnings to pay for low income students scholarships to help with their college education:
“I give scholarships to students who need what the UFC pays me”
My mother is a teacher and she always instilled in me the value of education.… pic.twitter.com/hDu6Lftfjb
— MMA UNCENSORED (@MMAUNCENSORED1) March 25, 2025
It’s easy to see why Ilia Topuria is so confident in his star power when Spain treats him like an absolute God.
Karate Combat does jiu-jitsu matches too sometimes, otherwise I’m not sure Muhammad Mokaev has any business in the pit.
Karate Combat teasing a big name fighter set to compete at #KC54 in Dubai on May 2nd.
✅2x IMMAF World Champion
✅(23-0) amateur MMA
✅(14-0) Pro MMA
✅(7-0) UFCSafe to say the only fighter to fit this description is Muhammad Mokaev especially with Mokaev posting the fight… pic.twitter.com/CFHZVnUHO2
— COMBAT SPORTS TODAY (@CSTodayNews) March 25, 2025
Who’s hype for UFC Mexico City?
Takeru may have fought Rodtang with several serious injuries, which is exactly what I would expect a Japanese kickboxer headlining in Tokyo to do.
Leon Edwards’ performance was exactly as disappointing as Sean Brady’s was excellent.
The most impressive thing about Sean Brady’s performance was not the submission, pinning, nor passing
It was how well he disrupted Leon’s base
Watch how Brady floats over Leon while he uses his hands and feet to pick apart Leon’s base, advance position, and wear Leon out pic.twitter.com/HWNvzDxypU
— William – Open Note Grappling (@OpenNoteGrapple) March 24, 2025
Somebody go check in on “The Iceman.”
Slips, rips, and KO clips
Toes pointed into the liver can be an instant fight-ender.
Like a shotgun blast to the face.
It doesn’t take a genius to see why successful Combat Sambo fighters tend to do really well in MMA.
Random Land
This insane “morning routine” has taken X by storm. Hope everyone has a banana peel handy!
Midnight Music: Experimental rock, 1970
Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.
This story originally appeared on MMA Mania
