Welcome to Midnight Mania!
If you see ex-UFC star Nate Diaz holding a bottle of water, ducking would be advisable. The Stockton bad boy (and his team) has become infamous for water wars dating back to 2016. At one point, he was even fined $50k for flinging plastic bottles at Conor McGregor! Apparently, no lesson has been learned, because Diaz and company were back at it earlier today at the UFC 311 pre-fight press conference (replay HERE).
Why was Diaz in attendance of a press conference that had nothing to do with him? Well, there is at least a known reason he’s in “Sin City,” as he’ll corner Kron Gracie against Bryce Mitchell tomorrow night at UFC 310. Regardless, Diaz has beefed with the Nurmagomedov camp for at least a decade now, including slapping Khabib back in 2015. Old grudges die hard, which is why UFC 311’s Islam Makhachev and Umar Nurmagomedov were ducking Diaz’s favorite artillery just hours ago.
Someone from Team Makhachev returned fire before the groups were split apart. Oh, and a random Alex Pereira cut between the teams, looking intense as ever.
Earlier this week, UFC CEO, Dana White, revealed the upcoming fight card for UFC 311. The two title fights atop the card feature Makhachev and Umar Nurmagomedov, as Makhachev seeks his third title defense opposite Arman Tsarukyan, just after Nurmagomedov challenges for Merab Dvalishvili’s new UFC strap. It’ll be a busy night for coach Khabib, who is expected to corner both.
Maybe Diaz will be in attendance?
Insomnia
Jamahal Hill gives his side to his 2023 domestic violence arrest:
"My brother punched my kid’s mother in the head trying to hit me and I jab him once! Then tried to extort money out of me!! That case was thrown out 9 months ago and mfs want to keep talking like family betrayal for money is cool or funny!!! Yall that mad you can’t teach my level!" — Jamahal Hill (@JamahalH)
I cannot tell if this is ironic or serious, but Colby Covington’s stream of consciousness snapchatting eclipses all of Henry Cejudo’s “cringe” material in being unpleasant to watch.
Merab and Umar (okay, mostly Merab) got a bit TESTY at the press conference today.
Randy Brown reacts to Bryan Battle’s weight miss… I wouldn’t blame “Rude Boy” for refusing the fight.
If it ever happens, Shavkat vs. Leon Edwards could be the coolest clinch fight of all time.
I always enjoy the looks into Zhang Weili’s S&C program.
A unique way to build a potential match up…
Slips, rips, and KO clips
Alexander Volkov has been a sneaky kickboxer for well over a decade now, but I still have no idea how he plans to adjust for Ciryl Gane’s speed.
Undefeated and scoring finishes like this, could Murtazali Magomedov be the next Kyrgyz fighter picked up by UFC?
Southpaw double threat + body/head kick double threat = a tremendous finish.
Random Land
I wonder about the structural integrity, but this is very neat.
Midnight Music: Mom pick No. 4!
Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.
