Welcome to Midnight Mania!
Former Olympic gold medalist Henry Cejudo knows the transition from wrestling to MMA isn’t that simple.
It’s easy to forget given Cejudo’s rise to “Triple C” status, but his UFC career didn’t really start that well. He missed weight several times on the regional scene, so when the UFC gave him a chance, he made his bantamweight debut. After being allowed to drop to 125 pounds, Cejudo won three fights, fought Demetrious Johnson and got smoked in the first round by “Mighty Mouse” in his 11th pro fight.
This defeat changed something in Cejudo. He adjusted his standing style, gained more experience returning to the title picture, and eventually won two UFC titles. It may have only been a few fights and a few years, but Cejudo’s difference between his first title and his second was immense.
Perhaps it was this experience that led him to advise middleweight mega prospect Bo Nickal to slow down his turnover. Nickal ran through Jamie Pickett at UFC 285 for a first-round finish, but perhaps he also showed his inexperience. Echoing Daniel Cormier, Cejudo says it’s way too early for the 4-0 pro to talk about men like Israel Adesanya and Khamzat Chimaev.
From his perspective, Nickal needs half a dozen fights before he’s ready for the Top 10 in order to be truly ready and maximize his potential.
“There’s a huge hype train going around with Bo Nickal,” Cejudo said on his Youtube channel (via MMAJunkie). “I saw some – obviously he won, but I also saw a little difference between the two because he struggled to get that takedown. MMA wrestling is different from NCAA wrestling. They must continue to build Bo Nickal. If they don’t build Bo Nickal, when they give him a hard time, Bo Nickal is going to have a hard time because I saw what I needed to see in the first two minutes.
“I was curious to see if he didn’t get the arm triangle, how come he was going to come back in that second round because there’s a lot of compression, there’s a lot of blood, that you tighten up through you trying to submit somebody But other than that again I got it in the first round it happened But moving forward Bo Nickal I hope you’re listening: you’re gonna need about six fights like this before you start loving the top 10.”
It remains to be seen if Nickal heeds the advice of his fellow wrestlers or keeps trying to fight his way to a title. For Cejudo, he should return to action against Aljamain Sterling for the bantamweight belt in May… if Sean O’Malley does not intercept this opportunity!
Insomnia
I totally accept that Kron Gracie only fights once every three years if he keeps coming back to put absolute remains, and we know Charles Jourdain will have to!
Alex Pereira doesn’t need to be so cold!
I have no problem calling myself a Jon Jones hater, but that seems excessive…
Kudos to Geoff Neal for handling a tough loss with grace.
Alexa Grasso receives a championship welcome in Guadalajara, Mexico.
Abubakar Nurmagomedov will NOT fight Carlston Harris this week, he has pulled out of the fight.
❌ как нам сообщают исччники близкие к абуакару, его бой с карлстоном хариЇгаримо± не сосеру pic.twitter.com/TWAqf0Aetf
— Вестник ММА (@VestnikMMA) March 6, 2023
Aljamain Sterling got some rolls with undefeated MMA fighter Zion Clark.
Slips, tears and KO clips
Reminder: The French sports commission ruled that this man was not experienced enough to face DARIAN WEEKS at UFC Paris.
This man wanted to be Conor McGregor SO BAD.
The spin is over, the jump is in.
Random terrain
YEAH!
Midnight music: understood?
Sleep well fools! More martial arts madness is always on the way.
#Midnight #Mania #Nickal #fight
