Midnight Mania! Islam reacts to P4P snub

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

The stakes for the main event of UFC 284 were supposed to be clear. The two best pound-for-pound fighters on the list meet in a weight class, collide, and the best man takes the winner and the pound-for-pound king away. Simple and easy, right?

Of course not! Alexander Volkanovski has outdone mainstream perception, doing better than anyone in handling Islam Makhachev’s fight (see highlights). Despite a noticeable size disadvantage, “The Great” finished the fight in first place after knocking down Makhachev in the final round. Unfortunately for the Aussie, the judges sided against him, naming Makhachev the winner by unanimous decision.

To his credit, Makhachev landed plenty of hard punches and a few kills that changed the fight. It was by no means a steal, but the UFC ranking panel deemed Volkanovski’s performance impressive enough to retain his No. 1 spot. This news was published earlier today and Russian media outlet Za Khabiba reported Makhachev’s first reaction to the news.

“As for the ranking, I didn’t expect justice and I still don’t expect it, because we saw on the example of our other fighters, Ankalaev, Petr Yan, always saw the attitude towards us,” Makhachev said. “The main thing, I drove 13,000 kilometers there, defeated their champion. They raised their hands, and with a raised hand, confidently with a belt, I went home.

What’s next for the two men is unclear. Volkanovski could return to featherweight to face Yair Rodriguez, the interim champion. However, he has also expressed interest in staying for another showdown against the Russian talent, but Makhachev has other suitors like Beneil Dariush waiting in the ranks.

Insomnia

Happy Valentine day! Paulo Costa is there to help anyone particularly desperate for a date.

A PERFECT summary of Makhachev’s quest for the pound-for-pound top spot:

Bellator is continuing its strategy of recruiting top-notch wrestling prospects early in their MMA careers.

Israel Adesanya vs. Robert Whittaker 3 will now include an unlikely bromance angle in its promotion.

An update from next weekend’s UFC Vegas 70 event:

Perhaps that’s why Jorge Masvidal recently dropped out of first-round management…

Fishing WITH THE BOYZZZ!

Slips, tears and KO clips

Click for a full highlights recap of the UFC’s most successful fighter! Jim Miller is one of two reasons to tune in this weekend.

Expect plenty of highlights from Jens Pulver this week.

I’m not even entirely sure of the set of rules we see here, but you won’t find a better example of why removing your head from the midline when throwing a right hand.

Random terrain

I find that disturbing.

Midnight Music: Hard Rock, 2000

Sleep well fools! More martial arts madness is always on the way.