Midnight Mania! Michael Chiesa calls Colby Covington ‘toughest fight’

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

Michael Chiesa put on a hellish performance in second place in the main event early today, choking Neil Magny for the majority of the five laps. “The Maverick” was really dominant on this mat, as his grappling skills extended his winning streak to four, putting him in a pretty solid position at 170 pounds.

Chiesa took the opportunity to call former interim champion Colby Covington into the cage. At the post-fight press conference, Chiesa explained why he chose “Chaos,” and his response was intriguing.

“It’s the toughest game for me,” said Chiesa (transcribed via MMAJunkie). “Stylistically, this guy should beat me any Sunday. From a physical standpoint, from a mental warfare standpoint, there aren’t a lot of boxes you can check off that favor me in this fight. But how do I say I want to be a champion if I don’t want to fight the best? Sometimes the best guys are the stylistically toughest guys.

“So when I look at the top five I think it’s the hardest fight for me so we’ll see what happens. If I come short, I come short. But I want to be the best, so I have to fight against the best. So that’s the guy, and with me saying I want to have the year that I was supposed to have last year, it seemed appropriate to call the same guy, so we’ll see how it all goes.

It’s definitely a brave approach from Chiesa, who would likely have a hard time dragging Covington to the mat on her terms. However, a win would likely net him a title shot, so the payoff is certainly there alongside the risk.

For now, the UFC intends to match Covington against current former friend / foe Jorge Masvidal. This fight has struggled to come to fruition in the past, so maybe Chiesa will make her wish come true.

Insomnia

Conor McGregor traveling by yacht to Fight Island is the “Notorious” peak.

On the subject of the Irishman, he is open to a possible revenge with Max Holloway! It would also be quite a revenge.

Valentina Shevchenko against the heavy sack looks remarkably similar to most of her title defenses.

Jessica Eye is … not popular, even among her peers.

Did Aljamain Sterling miss anyone in his list of the top five wrestlers on the bantamweight list? Frankie Edgar has an argument.

Well, Neil Magny’s night didn’t go exactly as planned, but he scored a third round takeout, which means he’s joining a pretty cool group.

Knickers, rips and knockout clips

SUMO! Have you all seen a man on that Ferris wheel?

Speaking of tall athletic men, this is one of the fastest kicks I have ever seen!

The entire clip is wild, but that double leg off the top hurdle is especially scary.

Random terrain

The best use of a toothpick since Benson Henderson!

Midnight Music: I spent my writing time today listening to Spotify’s Essential Folk playlist, so here’s a track from that mix.

Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts craze is still going on.