Welcome to Midnight Mania!
Let’s start the night off by taking look back over the three biggest stories of Thursday, April 3.
- Khabib doesn’t want Ilia Topuria to skip the Lightweight line: If Islam Makhachev’s next fight is at 155-pounds, Ilia Topuria is the only name that makes sense.
- Ex-UFC fighter Suman Mokhtarian is an assassination target: I remember the Mokhtarian brothers for being infamous for record-padding (they fought almost exclusively cans prior to their UFC runs), but the punishment seems a little extreme for that crime.
- Aljamain Sterling gets choked unconscious on Russian TUF: Russian TUF seems like a vastly more entertaining show than its American equivalent.
Insomnia
Discussion of the night … my picks would be Topuira (confidently), Dricus Du Plessis (zero confidence), Khabib (medium), Mighty Mouse (high certainty), and Merab (low).
Jailton Almeida vs. Alexander Volkov is a great Heavyweight match up, but I understand why Volkov wants a bigger fight after the Ciryl Gane (should-have-been-a) victory.
I already said yes to the UFC! And you Volkov? June, 14. Atlanta Georgia!
I just wanna fight! This talk about ranking positions dont make sense, you just didnt fight me and you are coming from a defeat, thats the only fight avaiable@Mickmaynard2 @AlexDragoVolkov— Jailton Almeida “Malhadinho” (@Malhadinho_UFC) April 3, 2025
By the way, talk about beat me dont move him on the rankings dont make sense, Blaydes beat me and fought for the title, everyone knows that im a tough fight, so if Volkov beats me, he will fight for the title, the question is:
He believe he can beat me?
— Jailton Almeida “Malhadinho” (@Malhadinho_UFC) April 3, 2025
Alexander Volkov reacts to rumors of a fight between him and Jailton Almeida being in the works:
“I don’t plan to fight Almeida in July yet. Why? Because I don’t see any point in fighting the 6th ranked fighter…
Let’s wait for a more interesting offer.”
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) April 3, 2025
Ariel Helwani RIPPING into Michael Bisping is not a beef I expected today.
Ariel Helwani is asked to share his thoughts on recent comments from Michael Bisping and “Flat Earth” Froch:
“My takeaway was I felt really sad for Michael Bisping, because I can’t imagine what it would be like to have once been a ‘bad boy,’ to once be a ‘rule breaker,’ a… pic.twitter.com/FEemy0StgQ
— AFeldmanMMA (@afeldMMA) April 2, 2025
I don’t expect GFL to last more than a couple events, but I love seeing fighters get paid huge before it all goes bust!
Josh Emmett says the GFL paydays are “ridiculous” as Team Alpha’s Urijah Faber readies for his comeback.
“I wish I could hop over and do one fight, then come back (to UFC).” pic.twitter.com/JaDzXRjUAh
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) April 2, 2025
Really obvious here who SHOULD win this fight …
Drew Dober has been on the UFC roster since 2013, and I can’t remember a moment of him being anything less than a class act.
“New” …. Derrick Lewis has been trying to hit this takedown randomly for the last decade.
Behind the silliness, Teofimo Lopez has legit jump rope skills.
Slips, rips, and KO clips
A must post anytime it comes across the feed.
Open stance cross-kick claimed another victim.
This style of kneebar pops up once every couple years and can be hit from top or bottom.
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Midnight Music: Folk, 1972
Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.
This story originally appeared on MMA Mania
