Welcome to Midnight Mania!
Let’s start the night off by taking look back over the three biggest stories of Wednesday, April 16.
- Cain Velasquez is still facing potential financial penalties from his 2022 shooting: A seven-figure penalty does indeed sound exorbitant and unnecessary.
- Chael Sonnen claimed Ilia Topuria was stripped of his Featherweight belt: The whole change in weight class was Topuria’s idea, so arguing “stripped” versus “vacated” feels very much like semantics.
- Tyron Woodley wrote “I’ll beat yo ass” about Dana White: Funniest story of the week. Month? Year? I love it.
Insomnia
All these years later, Fedor Emelianenko is one of the great UFC “what if” questions. Had he come over and joined the roster following the collapse of PRIDE, would he have become champion? As for his gangster management, well … it wouldn’t be the first time mobsters and combat sports overlapped to say the least.
Joe Rogan Reveals the Real Reason Why Fedor Emelianenko Never Fought in the UFC:
“Fedor was controlled by some Russian people who were very rough men, gangster-type characters. They had negotiations with the UFC, but they had unreasonable demands. They wanted part of the… pic.twitter.com/1ioaig1jlW
— Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA) April 16, 2025
Fighting Nerds hiring an expert to help scout their opposition is smart work and surely a part of their recent successful run. Compared to how much tape real professional sports coaches watch (like in the NFL), MMA is very much showing its youth.
Fighting Nerds hired a Data Science expert to analyze their opponents:
“They call me nerd behind the nerds and it makes all sense for what I’m doing here.”
@espnmma ▫️ pic.twitter.com/WFdEMtXBz3
— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) April 16, 2025
PFL is drawing terrible numbers this year. I would post Donn Davis’ response, but I’m waiting for him to accept my LinkedIn friend request!
#PFL2025 #PFL2 on ESPN2 averaged 38K viewers and 0.01 in the 18-49 demo. (Fri) (12:01AM ET)
(also aired on ESPN+)PFL 1: 50K (0.01) (Thurs) (10PM ET)
All PFL 2:
S2024 PFL 2: 169K (0.05) (Fri) (ESPN2)
S2023 PFL 2 on ESPN2: 180K (0.06) (Fri)
S2022 PFL 2 on ESPN2: 71K (0.01)…
— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) April 16, 2025
Is it ever a good luck to berate your child on social media.
Gavin Tucker steps up to replace the injured Trevor Peek opposite Jeong Yeon Lee.
The thrill and agony …
It’s pretty cool to see Michael Bisping back in the gym after all his various surgeries and trials over the years.
Slips, rips, and KO clips
Yoel Romero and Benson Henderson are the only two fighters I can ever remember making consistent use of thigh punches.
RIP to Canada’s “Real Deal,” Ryan Jimmo.
Random Land
Thunderstorms in the southeast are no joke!
Midnight Music: Indie rock, 2001
Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.
This story originally appeared on MMA Mania
