Welcome to Midnight Mania!
It’s only been a few hours since UFC 289, scheduled to take place on June 10, 2023 inside Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, has been rocked significantly. The main match was scheduled to be Amanda Nunes vs. Juliana Pena 3, but an injury to the “Venezuelan Vixen” resulted in a huge opportunity for Irene Aldana, who would fight for the belt instead to headline the Fight Night event against Raquel Pennington.
The bad news just keeps pouring in, eg BJPenn.com Word spread that Stefan Thompson vs. Michelle Pereira had been canceled from the UFC 289 card. According to the report, contracts were never sent out to the athletes, and the bout is expected to be delayed until July. No reason was provided for the delay.
The Thompson vs. Pereira match was, quite simply, one of the best fights ever booked on the card. “Wonderboy” recently returned to the winning column with a very entertaining win against Kevin Holland, while Pereira won five straight fights to break into the world rankings.
Here’s the latest card for UFC 289, which has 13 fights now booked:
135 lbs.: (C) Amanda Nunes vs. Irene Aldana
155 lbs: Charles Oliveira against. Neil Dariush
170 lbs: Mike Malott against. Adam Fugit
145 lbs: Dan Egg against. Nate Landwer
205 lbs: Khalil Rountree son vs. Chris Ducos
145 lbs: Kyle Nelson against. Blake Pictures
185 lbs: Nasuruddin Imafov against. Chris Curtis
185 lbs.: Marc-Andre Barreault vs. Eric Anders
125 lbs: Matt Swift against. David Dvorak
145 lbs: Hakim Daoudou against. Lucas Almeida
125 lbs: Miranda Maverick against. Jasmine Jasudavices
135 lbs: Ayman Golden against. orekeling
115 lbs: Diana Belpita against. Maria Oliveira
Does this sound like an $80 event?
insomnia
It seems odd to me that Giga Chikadze gets another big shot after being trampled by Calvin Kattar, but I wouldn’t pretend for a moment that this would be anything but a very exciting fight.
The whole Francis Ngannou situation has gotten so ugly and terrible that I’m forced to agree with Jake Paul. I don’t like it here.
Funny how the promoters are always trying to devalue the fighters for their own good/narrative. Francis is the best heavyweight MMA fighter in the world and he deserves to be treated as such. https://t.co/VBA5dnzQ9h
– Jake Paul (@jakepaul) May 2, 2023
“This f-king is illegal!”
This is exactly like the kind of fighting Neil Magney looks great in; Few are better at turning away arrivals.
Corey Sandhagen’s reaction here is me every time I’m forced to put up with the geekyness of Aljamaine Sterling vs. Henry Cejudo.
Unconfirmed: Raul Rosas Jr. caught Ding Dong ditching the camera.
Confirmed: This is the funniest thing I’ve ever seen.
Roasted bum.
Slips, rips, and KO clips
The knee switch jump demands another victim.
The classic Pacman KO!
I’m still waiting for the first flying elbow KO in the UFC.
random land
I’m posting weather channel clips, which is obviously a cry for help with my Random Land transmissions. DM me!
Midnight Music: Rock Music, 1967
Sleep well lunatics! More martial arts craze is always on the way.