Welcome to Midnight Mania!
We’re now a few days removed from Noche UFC last Saturday (Sept. 16, 2023), and the controversy surrounding Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko’s split-draw (watch highlights) has only heightened. The back-and-forth fight could have arguably been scored for either woman, but one bizarre scorecard from referee Mike Bell in the fifth round has left the entire community baffled.
His decision to award that round 10-8 in favor of Grasso is so bad that Nevada State Athletic Commission is organizing special training! Everyone from Shevchenko herself to Michael Bisping have offered their input on the controversial card, but now UFC CEO Dana White is back from vacation and ready to offer his thoughts.
Spoiler alert: he wasn’t impressed.
“When I found out that one of the judges scored 10-8, I’m like ‘This guy should be f—king investigated for this. This is craziest s—t I’ve ever seen in my life,” White began. “As I’ve started to talk to people, there’s a seminar tomorrow with the athletic commission on 10-8s, so hopefully they can get this cleared up.
“Especially in title fights, there’s so much at stake in a title fight, more than just money, show and win, and pay-per-view, and championships and legacies. You have to have the best of the best in title fights. They’ve assured me that this guy isn’t a bad guy, he just f—ked up and made a mistake. It’s unfortunate, and there’s no way in hell that was a 10-8 round.”
He later concluded, “It literally makes no sense.”
Afterward, White did confirm that Grasso vs. Shevchenko 3 was the plan moving forward. However, since Shevchenko is heading under the knife following that bout, the timing could be problematic, especially when there are other hungry Flyweight contenders waiting for their moment.
Insomnia
A pair of talented Featherweight prospects will throw down in November.
If you don’t like this technique, you don’t like MMA.
Lobo Gym could definitely do worse than having Diego Lopes teaching their fighters jiu-jitsu. His grappling is proven in the cage!
In that camp I worked for 5 weeks with @Loopygodinez . He told me that he always arrived on the back and couldn’t finish with RNC. I told him, in this fight you are going to take the back, finish with RNC and win bonus. check what we were doing before going out to fight pic.twitter.com/ywvhSvDkXY
— Diego Lopes (@Diegolopesmma) September 17, 2023
Shevchenko vs. Grasso 3? Erin Blanchfield or Manon Fiorot title shot? These are all terrible options compared to THE RETURN OF RIN NAKAI!
While on the topic, a badass old photo of “Bullet.”
A pair of striking legends having a bit of fun.
A throwback featuring old-school legends.
Slips, rips, and KO clips
A right hand lands behind the ear and could lead to a seven-figure payout for UFC vet Andreas Michailidis!
The one positive of Bradley Martin running his mouth all the time is the swell of hilarious F-around-and-find-out videos circling the web.
Karate combat is just guys getting clipped by check hooks every event. I kind of love it?
Random Land
Incredible composure.
Midnight Music: Soul, 2011
Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.
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