Midnight Mania: ‘I Want To Do Something Good In His Memory’
Photo by Richard Pelham/Getty Images
Bringing you the weird and wild from the world of MMA each and every weeknight!
Welcome to Midnight Mania!
2024 has been a difficult year for former UFC Heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou.
His sophomore boxing performance went considerable worse than his professional debut, as Anthony Joshua wasted little time in handing “The Predator” his first knockout loss in combat sports. A painful defeat was nothing compared to personal tragedy, however, as Ngannou’s 15 month old son suddenly passed just weeks later in April 2024. Ngannou has already opened up about the tremendous sadness and struggle with moving forward after the death of his child, but now there’s an official date for his return: October 19 against PFL Heavyweight champion Renan Ferreira.
It’s a return that almost didn’t happen. In a recent interview with Sky Sports, Ngannou talked about having to make a decision about his professional career and the uncertainty of it all. Ultimately, however, Ngannou decided to fight on to honor his son’s memory and create something positive from the trauma.
“This is not a great moment for me,” Ngannou began (via Curtis Calhoun). “I need some activities. I need to stay active to be in a zone that I belong to. I also need to keep it going, to fight for my boy, for Kobe. The past few months hasn’t been the easiest. I think it has been by far my hardest [moment] in life. I lost my son. For some time, I felt like I didn’t even have to do this or questioning about if I should do it or fight again…
“But I want to do something good in his memory. Not to be the reason for me to quit but to be motivation and also to fight for him.”
When asked further about his potential retirement, Ngannou explained that his doubts and concerns were greater than fighting. His uncertainty was existential and more complicated than just fighting.
“It’s not that I have come close to retiring. It’s just that in this circumstance you think, you have different thoughts,” Ngannou said. “You see how fragile life is. You feel hurt, you feel powerless. You feel useless. You’re questioning about your existence, about the importance of all of this, or life in general.”
Insomnia
Some fun facts ahead of UFC Vegas 95 this weekend:
Oldest Fighter on the card: Marcin Tybura (38)
Youngest Fighter on the card: Stephanie Luciano (24)
Fighters with the most UFC Bouts: Marcin Tybura (19)
Fighter with the most seniority: Damon Jackson. First UFC bout: August 30, 2014 (first UFC stint)
Debuting…
— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) August 8, 2024
I don’t often say this about unranked Middleweights, but Brunno Ferreira is a must-watch action fighter.
Abus Magomedov will fight Brunno Ferreira at #UFC308 on October 26th. (first rep. @laertevianamma) #UFC #MMA #UFCESPN #UFC2024 pic.twitter.com/ZIKgJ6WCUe
— Marcel Dorff (@BigMarcel24) August 7, 2024
Jon Jones being weird on social media? Couldn’t be!
If you want me to fight Tom call and text me, I’ll respond for the next few days pic.twitter.com/bPdG7geaIE
— BONY (@JonnyBones) August 6, 2024
Joaquin Buckley analyzes the rise of Alex Pereira in ... unique ... fashion.
Joaquin Buckley says Alex Pereira is making MMA look “retarded” after becoming a two division champion in just 10 professional fights after crossing over from kickboxing in 2020, and believes it’s a result of poor work ethic within the sport.
“No disrespect to Alex… pic.twitter.com/uaoGJoCe2W
— Parry Punch (@ParryPunchNews) August 7, 2024
Canelo isn’t impressed with or bothered by Conor McGregor yapping.
So @Canelo responds to @TheNotoriousMMA about his tweet earlier today on him no longer being a draw. Here is what Canelo had to say to me. @FightsATW #CaneloBerlanga pic.twitter.com/6bjFSQwP1X
— Abraham Gonzalez (@abeG718) August 6, 2024
A super slick single leg takedown counter!
When they ask what is "fight IQ", just show them this... pic.twitter.com/BAUzscYbH5
— Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA) August 5, 2024
Walking 400 kilometers (about 250 miles) is one way to jumpstart Jiri Prochazka’s new weight cut to 185 pounds.
View this post on Instagram
Slips, rips, and KO clips
As it turns out, yelling in pain is not optimal defense to any leg lock!
Sergei Bilostenniy locks in a heel hook and Jason Herzog calls the fight when Fortune was in pain!
[ LIVE NOW ESPN & ESPN+ |#PFLPlayoffs | #PFLNashville | https://t.co/jPNvomCxHI ] pic.twitter.com/ucvWq3NWa4
— PFL (@PFLMMA) August 3, 2024
A sneaky gi choke:
Rayron Gracie winning his last fight, on the ADCX, by applying a canto choke on his opponent, Marcos Carrozinho. pic.twitter.com/wez4dxbpL9
— Bono Oliveira (@theoriginalbono) August 4, 2024
Caught standing tall by a wide left hand swing:
Smoked pic.twitter.com/z6HzBb1NB6
— Cerebral Vigilante (@Delisketo) August 4, 2024
Random Land
Not everybody is built for the world’s greatest games.
View this post on Instagram
Midnight Music: Art rock, 1980
Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.