Welcome to Midnight Mania!
Let’s start the night off by taking a look back over the three biggest stories of Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025.
UFC 321 has found its co-main event, as Mackenzie Dern will rematch Virna Jandiroba for the newly vacant belt after Zhang Weili left the division to challenge Valentina Shevchenko. Headlined by Tom Aspinall vs. Ciryl Gane, UFC 321 is scheduled for Oct. 25 in Abu Dhabi.
What do we think of this Strawweight booking? Dern has won two straight and looked good in the process, but it wasn’t that long ago that she lost three of four. Jandiroba, conversely, is undeniable after five-straight quality wins. When the two faced off in December 2020, Dern was victorious via unanimous decision!
With respect to Merab Dvalishvili and his “Machine” status, I would imagine the idea of fighting until 50 grows less appealing after the losses and knee/back/neck injuries begin to pile up.
UFC Perth already has 16 bouts. Can we not afford to let a couple fall away to the injury bug?
Question: is “haha you had sex with a famous actress/singer” an effective bit of trash talk?
Carlos Diego Ferreira has still got it and keeps an insane pace, which feels like a recipe for a classic late fight Hernandez collapse.
I love that Jan Blachowicz can sign a contract with a giant sword yet it feels authentic.
There are many, many liars in the world of combat sports.
Slips, rips, and KO clips
Elbows are an underrated way to finish the triangle choke. Ask “El Cucuy!”
Tap the lead leg and fire the overhand, a classic and uniquely MMA strategy. Merab is great at it lately, but Johnny Hendricks absolutely bombed people with it back in the day.
The single drop of blood at the end …
Midnight Music: Indie, 2016
Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.
