Midnight Mania! McGregor: I Was Beating Khabib, Landed ‘Lovely’ Illegal Knee
Photo by Hans Gutknecht/Digital First Media/Los Angeles Daily News via Getty Images
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Welcome to Midnight Mania!
With Khabib Nurmagomedov’s latest title defense opposite Justin Gaethje just a few days away now and Conor McGregor seemingly booked vs. Dustin Poirier, perhaps it shouldn’t be a surprise that there’s growing talk about a potential rematch. Perhaps already working on selling himself into that fight, McGregor took to Twitter to re-imagine his first bout with Nurmagomedov in a more favorable fashion.
I won round 1. Out struck him 3 to 1 here. Elbows,knees,clatters. He held on entire round. Round 2 he won. This round had the kimura attempt you speak of. I kneed him full force into his eye socket here and broke the grip fully. A lovely shot!
I won 3 also and 4 up until the trip— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) October 19, 2020
There’s a lot of weird falsehood to analyze here. First and foremost, McGregor might have landed more overall strikes than Khabib in the opening frame, but it’s almost universally agreed that Nurmagomedov won the opening frame. In addition to four minutes of control time, Nurmagomedov also out-landed McGregor in terms of significant strikes.
Far stranger that an argument over scoring is McGregor’s brag about his “lovely shot,” a knee to the face from his back while Nurmagomedov worked a kimura. It may have effectively saved his shoulder, but it was a blatantly illegal strike. That’s an argument against a rematch, one that makes him look worse!
Fighters don’t typically cheat when everything is going smoothly.
Insomnia
The SOUND of Justin Gaethje beating Tony Ferguson senseless was one hell on an introduction to crowd-less events.
!
C’est ce qu’on entend quand @Justin_Gaethje dépose ses frappes dans l’octogone pic.twitter.com/ltQaf7TIru
— UFC France (@UFCFRA) October 19, 2020
This clip just made feel sad. All enthusiasm, no technique ...
Armbar master. Seung-Ho Jeung.#ARC003 pic.twitter.com/50lEVfHVZk
— Dusty Andrews (@Fight_Expert) October 17, 2020
The build up to Israel Adesanya vs. Paulo Costa was a lot of fun, but somehow, I don’t think “Borrachinha” is enjoying the fallout quite as much.
How it started How it's going pic.twitter.com/tVHIee7H3P
— MMA By Milikin (@mmabymilikin) October 16, 2020
Weird Weili Zhang workout of the week!
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A post shared by Weili Zhang 张伟丽 (@zhangweilimma) on Oct 16, 2020 at 10:08pm PDT
Beneath all the talk of “smash,” I am almost certain that Khamzat Chimaev is a fairly quiet, humble dude (with Ali Abdelaziz running his Twitter). Maybe I’m wrong, but this is cool either way:
Khamzat Chimaev shares some knowledge with John Phillips — Chimaev's first UFC opponent — before Phillips makes the walk at #UFCFightIsland6 (via @ufc) pic.twitter.com/FWMdeVKIn3
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) October 17, 2020
This is why I love this game @ufc #alwayslearning pic.twitter.com/rVKOJvlY0o
— John Phillips (@JohnPhillipsmma) October 18, 2020
It’s a good thing combat sports are so awesome and enduring, otherwise judges would have killed them all by now via sheer incompetence.
UK Boxing Judge Terry O'Connor on his CELL PHONE in the middle of a round tonight on DAZN. He scored the bout 117-111 Ritson over Vasquez, a score that has been widely criticized following the result. #BOXING pic.twitter.com/MS2yW4UC7t
— Fight Ghost (@Fight_Ghost) October 17, 2020
Slips, rips, and KO clips
Among the best possible ways to end a round:
At the horn!#LFA93 pic.twitter.com/Au8mLX2vjA
— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) October 17, 2020
The follow up to the knockdown is one of these weirder ground striking exchanges I’ve seen.
Josh Fremd puts a quick halt to this one!#LFA93 pic.twitter.com/AF9Z7KP6Mu
— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) October 17, 2020
I do love strikes that begin with a full on sprint!
Oh man. Vicious running switch knee to the face by Rakhim Midaev. KO's Zarlyk Zalkarbek in R1 #ACAYoungEagles pic.twitter.com/Ztg0X8rDMM
— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) October 17, 2020
Random Land
A strange fish.
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A post shared by SEA (@sea) on Oct 18, 2020 at 11:24am PDT
Midnight Music: Pixies — a band I love — recently released a cover of T. Rex’s “Mambo Sun” — a band and song I love! The result is ... decent?
Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.
