Welcome to Midnight Mania!
UFC 288 is set to drop this weekend (Saturday, May 6, 2023) from inside the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Located only about 10 miles from New York City, “The Brick City” made it a popular destination for UFC events in the several years before the New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC) legalized MMA in 2016.
The main event is bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling versus returning double champion Henry Cejudo. Sterling is a local New York student and longtime MMA fan in New York City, the Serra-Longo Fight Team. However, he’s never fought in New York State in all the years since it was legalized, and as it turns out, there’s a reason for that.
“When I made my UFC debut, February 22, 2014, — I’m a vet! — at UFC 170, a Ronda Rousey vs. Sarah McMahon tag, I think,” Sterling began to explain. MMA watch. “I had to do a CAT scan, first time ever doing a CAT scan. They found two spots in my brain, they were like a millimeter or something. But, it looked like there was trauma, and they weren’t sure what it was. I forgot the exact term, Aneurysm or hemangioma or something.”
Sterling continued, “In order to be vindicated, I had to go and get it out of my head. So, I wasn’t sure if I needed to dig in my head to pull this stuff off. So they kept an eye on it, and they let me fight in Nevada… after two years of Realizing, there was nothing going on. They were like, “Okay, you’re safe. You don’t bleed, you’re not going to die in the cage. Knock on wood!”
So things were fine, and I was allowed to compete in Nevada and all other states except New York.”
This isn’t the first example of NYSAC playing by its rulebook. They have canceled fights for conditions ranging from chapped lips to fake boobs, making the promotion somewhat infamous for its inconsistency from a medical perspective. Speaking from my own experience of having brain surgery before fighting professionally again, I was able to fight in California and Florida without a problem, but I was told outright that fighting in “The Empire State” would never happen.
insomnia
Joanderson Brito is seriously explosive, his fights looking like foolproof fireworks already.
Another great fight has been booked, but would anyone else like to see Joel Alvarez in Wilprojek?
Bella Mir is going to be one hell of a UFC fighter someday.
This is a fun ad featuring Kevin Holland and Stephen Thompson. I’m sickeningly looking forward to watching him on UFC broadcasts even completely though.
I have nothing to add here, this is a great photo.
It looks like Fabricio Werdum is on the Alistair Overeem Training Program.
It was great to see Song Yadong ripping through the body with his sudden punches and kicks, as well as his heavy calf kicks.
Slips, rips, and KO clips
For anyone else confused, this is actually the same 46-year-old Marlon Sandro of Bellator and Sengoku fame!
Another OG takes a fierce knockout win:
Eternal wonder Fener Galif slashes Levan Makashvili with a right hand, which could break his orbit and force a stop. Second straight win for the 47-year-old. #ACA156 pic.twitter.com/U7DKadOphp
– Nightmare (Recorder_Hitman) April 28, 2023
Sure enough, this man had been scalded intensely after his face had been continuously dragged in a circle, and he had been choked unconscious. rough!
random land
Proven: sprawling frontal head lock that works on animals.
Midnight Music: No One Told Me My Beloved Author William S. Burroughs Shame lunch The Fame has an experimental album of spoken word ballads that rise above funky No Wave instrumentals. Why didn’t anyone tell me?
Sleep well lunatics! More martial arts craze is always on the way.