Welcome to Midnight Mania!
Let’s start things off by looking back at the three biggest stories from earlier today:
- Photos of Kayla Harrison’s grueling weight cut were released and they’re downright terrifying. Maybe UFC should think about booking Harrison vs. Amanda Nunes at 145 pounds first to give the new champion a much-needed break.
- Lightweight veteran Justin Gaethje is willing to retire if UFC doesn’t grant him a title shot. It’s likely that Gaethje is next in line to fight the winner of Ilia Topuria vs. Charles Oliveira, but Paddy Pimblett is red-hot and more than capable of stealing his shot.
- Manel Kape has been forced to withdraw from his matchup with Brandon Royval at UFC 317 and will be replaced by Joshua Van. If Van is able to pull off a quick-turnaround victory over Royval after a TKO win this past weekend at UFC 316 then he could put himself in line to challenge for the title by year’s end.
Insomnia
Merab Dvalishvili vs. Alexandre Pantoja, anyone?
Merab is down for a champ-vs-champ matchup against Alexandre Pantoja
“I respect Pantoja, Pantoja will be a tough opponent for me.
If Pantoja wants this and if UFC wants this, I have no problem with that.”
@arielhelwani #UFC #MMA pic.twitter.com/t8s6ymAgF4
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) June 9, 2025
Is it finally time for Sean O’Malley vs. Henry Cejudo?
Hey Sean – You should’ve stroked the cord before the fight and let your wife’s bf record it ️
Anyways, I’m still looking for a tune up. Siblings fight all the time – Let’s give Merab a Father’s Day present he will never forget
What do you say precious? @SugaSeanMMA pic.twitter.com/oYNdTfvFqW
— Henry Cejudo (@HenryCejudo) June 8, 2025
Here’s another view of the broken railing at UFC 316:
These photos of Kayla Harrison are insane.
I don’t think Joaquin Buckley knows who he’s talking about.
Joaquin Buckley says he’ll get a title shot over Islam Makhachev:
“This guy from 155 [lbs] coming up, thinking he’ll take my spot — this ain’t gonna happen. Islam’s got to sit back and wait until I got my title.”
@Newmansa94 ▫️ pic.twitter.com/lp18ECbLit
— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) June 9, 2025
Do you agree that Patchy Mix had one of the worst UFC debuts ever?
Patchy Mix’s debut might take the cake for the worst debut by a fighter coming over from another organization.
That is not the Patchy Mix we’ve seen over the past few years. I don’t know who that guy was.
Going into the fight it was all this talk about, ‘He’s a journeyman, I’m… pic.twitter.com/TSiOaxweNk
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) June 9, 2025
These odds don’t seem right, do they?
It appears Kevin Holland — who also scored a finish at UFC 316 — has his next fight booked as well.
Here’s the great Jon Jones giving a lesson on safe sparring:
Jon Jones says he DOESN’T like to sparring hard:
“I think sparrings should be respectful. When you drive home with a headache, it’s a terrible thing…
I think it’s one of the main things fighters don’t realise. The more they spar hard — it’s your reaction time that goes away.… pic.twitter.com/L8EM0djxEV
— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) June 9, 2025
Is this the best reaction time from a UFC fighter that you’ve seen?
Even some of the best fighters in the world are impressed by Merab Dvalishvili’s current dominance.
Kayla Harrison had the best morning possible.
Sounds like Yair Rodriguez is turning down an invitation to fight Diego Lopes, suggesting they scrap in the streets instead.
Yair Rodriguez Says Fighting Diego Lopes Does Nothing For Him Inside The Company And He’d Rather Fight Him On The F**king Street
Yair also mentions he’s still injured from his last fight and may need surgery but is trying to avoid it
: Yair IG pic.twitter.com/cdMfUJWwhy
— Kevin (@realkevink) June 9, 2025
Merab and Daniel Cormier making plans for a 20-person feast.
Kamaru Usman looks ready for his main event clash against Joaquin Buckley this weekend at UFC Atlanta.
Slips, rips, and KO clips
Let’s review some of the action from this past weekend below:
Random Land
This is horrifying…
Sleep well, Maniacs! More MMA madness will be on the way.
This story originally appeared on MMA Mania
