PunchDrunkGamer posted: "Photo by Alex Bierens de Haan/Getty ImagesBringing you the weird and wild from the world of MMA each and every weeknight! Welcome to Midnight Mania! Dan Hooker earned a ton of points with fans and pundits around the world earlier today when he accepted "
Bringing you the weird and wild from the world of MMA each and every weeknight!
Welcome to Midnight Mania!
Dan Hooker earned a ton of points with fans and pundits around the world earlier today when he accepted a fight vs. Islam Makhachev at UFC 267 on October 30, 2021. The veteran scrapper just fought last Saturday, a victorious effort vs. Nasrat Haqparast and will have just about a month to prepare for a scrap with the grappling ace. In addition, his training and home life situation are severely complicated by COVID-19 restrictions, as it's unclear when Hooker will next be able to return home to New Zealand.
The odds makers, however, do not seem as impressed. Betonline.ag opened Hooker as a large underdog at +250, but those numbers have only swelled to an insulting +400 in the hours since the booking was announced. Meanwhile, Makhachev began as a -300 favorite, but he's all the way up to -600.
Hooker is the No. 6-ranked Lightweight in the world, a man who has faced the division's absolute best and threw down in 25-minute wars of attrition. However, the hype behind Makhachev is simply too strong to ignore, as Khabib Nurmagomedov's protégé seems primed to follow in "The Eagle's" shoes. The 30-year-old Russian has won eight bouts in a row, seldom coughing up a round in the process and breaking into the Top Five as a result.
Is there profit to be made here, or are these odds right on the money?
Insomnia
Jared Gordon offers Jon Jones some thoughts on alcoholism:
Having been through several difficult bouts with addiction, Jared Gordon has some advice for Jon Jones following his arrest last week.
"I don't care how many bench presses you do or how heavy you lift, none of that is going to keep you from drinking or drugging." pic.twitter.com/iNnQan0E04
The Merab Dvalishvili machine is fueled by demolition work.
Nothing ever comes easy! We all must work hard and focus on our dreams. If you do so you will achieve your goals!!! ადვილად არაფერი მოდის. მაგრამ მთავარია შრომა და მოთმინება შენი მიზნებისთვის. ყველაფერი შესაძლებელია. pic.twitter.com/vL6zkKGT06
Midnight Music: Classic dance track "Poison" popped up during kickboxing today and got an immediate response, but personally, I cannot help but immediately think of the hilarious It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia clip that features the song.
Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.
PunchDrunkGamer posted: "Zhang Weili is pulling out all the stops to ensure she beats UFC women's strawweight champion Rose Namajunas in their rematch at UFC 268 this November in New York City, which includes training alongside former UFC double champ Henry Cejudo. Weili, w"
Zhang Weili is pulling out all the stops to ensure she beats UFC women's strawweight champion Rose Namajunas in their rematch at UFC 268 this November in New York City, which includes training alongside former UFC double champ Henry Cejudo.
Weili, who lost her title to Namajunas at UFC 261 due to a massive head kick for the ages, decided to move her training camp to Fight Ready in Scottsdale in early September. She's been able to sharpen her fighting skills while training alongside the likes of Cejudo and current Bellator MMA lightweight champion Patricio Freire.
This is a massive fight for Weili to say the least. The first Chinese champion in UFC history took her loss to Namajunas pretty bad and is desperate to win back her belt and reign supreme over the 115-pound division for years to come. She'll have to get past "Rose" at UFC 268 for any of that to happen.
Ahead of the rematch, Cejudo decided to take to social media to spice things up a bit. In a recent post (shown above), the former UFC flyweight and bantamweight champion issued a warning in preparation for Weili's return to the Octagon. It's subtle, but Cejudo takes multiple shots at Namajunas.
"Look your doors, hide your thugs and give us all the roses because Weili 2.0 is coming!" wrote Cejudo.
Having trained alongside Cejudo it's almost a certainty that Weili will be a better fighter at UFC 268 this November. However, Namajunas is a revolving door of improvement and always seems to bring something new to the cage. Weili will need to bring her A++ game to the Octagon in order to escape the rematch with "Rose." Hopefully her time with Cejudo on the mats is paying dividends.
PunchDrunkGamer posted: "Bellator MMABellator 267: "Lima vs MVP 2" is set to air tomorrow (Fri., Oct. 1, 2021) from inside Wembley Arena in London, England, which will be headlined by a Welterweight rematch between Douglas Lima and Michael Page. Co-headlining the even"
Bellator 267: "Lima vs MVP 2" is set to air tomorrow (Fri., Oct. 1, 2021) from inside Wembley Arena in London, England, which will be headlined by a Welterweight rematch between Douglas Lima and Michael Page. Co-headlining the event is Leah McCourt taking on Jessica Borga in a a women's Featherweight tilt.
MMAmania.com will deliver coverage of Bellator 267 on Showtime. To check out the latest Bellator MMA-related news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive news archive right here.
170 lbs.: Douglas Lima vs. Michael Page
Since knocking out Michael Page two years ago (see it here), Douglas Lima has had a tough time inside the Bellator cage. Soon after his blistering performance against "MVP," he did go on to the win the Welterweight title, but the fun stopped in a hurry. Lima decided to go up to Middleweight to attempt to become champ-champ and wound up getting dominated by division king Gegard Mousasi. In his comeback fight, he coughed up his Welterweight title to Yaroslav Amosov. Now, "The Phenom" will attempt to get back on track after two straight losses as he tries to replicate his performance against "Venom," who is scorching hot at the moment. After suffering his first and only defeat at the hands of Lima, Page has gone on to record five straight wins, four by way of knockout. In other words, he is firing on all cylinders which will make it that much tougher for Lima to go up 2-0 against him. And I just don't see it happening. "MVP" is on a roll and his momentum will carry into this fight against a man who is likely short on confidence at the moment. Sure, Lima has a win over Page in his back pocket, but he hasn't looked all the great in his last two fights and staring down the barrel of three straight losses will only add that much more pressure. I see Page being a bit more cautious this time around. While we can still expect some of the flashy shenanigan's that have made him a fan favorite, Page will be a bit more calculated having already tasted Lima's power. Once he finds his groove, though, I think he will do enough to get the nod on the judges' scorecards.
Prediction: Page via unanimous decision
145 lbs.: Leah McCourt vs. Jessica Borga
Leah McCourt may only be six fights deep in her MMA career, but she's already made an impression on the promotion, fans and opponents alike. After losing her pro debut in 2017, "The Curse" has gone on to win her next five in a row, three of those under the Bellator banner. In fact, Bellator thinks so highly of her that she was awarded headlining duties in just her second fight with the promotion at Bellator 240. Ranked No. 5 at 145-pounds, McCourt is hoping to climb up a few more steps on the ladder in order to cut the championship line. A win against Borga is definitely a step in the right direction. Borga is just 3-3 in he pro combat career thus far and is just 1-1 with Bellator. "The Black Widow" is coming off a tough loss to Talita Nogueira at Bellator 256. Speaking of which, why not just book against Nogueira instead? Noguiera is ranked No. 9 while Borga isn't even close to the Top 10. For my money, that's the fight that should have been made. Nevertheless, McCourt is in search of consecutive win No. 6 here while Borga is hoping to spoil her foe's plans to get her own momentum going, though I just don't see that happening.
Final Prediction: McCourt via unanimous decision
145 lbs.: Robert Whiteford vs. Andrew Fisher
Robert Whiteford made a splash in his Bellator MMA debut by knocking out Sam Sicilia in 2019...and he hasn't been heard from since. Now, after nearly two years on the sidelines "The Hammer" is back and in search of his fifth straight win when he takes on Andrew Fisher, who is also on a four fight win streak. They have similar fighting experience and almost the same amount of pro fights on their resume, though Whiteford's level of competition is just a tad better since he competed for Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) five times, collecting a record of 2-3. Since leaving UFC, Whiteford has gone undefeated (4-0) and is eying a spot in the Top 10 if he can get some momentum going. Against Fisher, he will definitely get resistance since he's amassed a record 6-1 since 2015, a model of consistency. This is a tossup for me, but I see Whiteford — a judo specialist — doing just enough to get the edge on Fisher who loves a standup battle. Fisher has a puncher's chance but I think Whiteford's power will be the difference maker in this one.
Final Prediction: Whiteford via second round knockout
155 lbs.: Yves Landu vs. Tim Wilde
Yves Landu burst onto the Bellator MMA scene with a spectacular flying knee knockout of Terry Brazier at Bellator 248 in Oct. 2020, putting him back on track after having his four fight win streak snapped under the RIZIN banner. Landu has been hot and cold throughout his career, going on stretches where he goes on a skid before bouncing back with a nice win streak. He hopes to be a mainstay in Bellator's Lightweight division, which is stacked with sharks chomping at the bit for a shot at Patricio Freire's title. Landu will be taking on Tim Wilde, who is 1-1 so far in his Bellator career. Wilde is coming off a loss to Charlie Leary, but that was almost two years ago. "The Experiment" has the experience and the skill to make some noise, but Landu has him covered when it comes to possessing a better, more well-rounded attack. This is my sleeper pick of the night to steal the show and I wouldn't be surprised if we see a spectacular finish.
Final Prediction: Landu via second round TKO
205 lbs.: Luke Trainer vs. Yannick Bahati
Luke Trainer made an emphatic statement with a first round knockout over Alex O'Toole at Bellator Milan in Sept. 2020. After a year on the sidelines, "The Gent" returns to face Yannick Bahati, who is in desperate need of a win. Bahati is coming off a first round TKO loss to Melvin Manhoef two years ago. Going back a bit further, "Black Mamba" has lost four of his last five fights since 2017. A win over Trainer — who is undefeated at 4-0 and is just two years into his pro MMA career — would be a great feather in his cap and huge confidence booster. I just don't see it happening for Bahati since he hasn't exactly shown anything over the last few years to convince me he has what it takes to upset the 25 year-old. The Light Heavyweight division could be crowning a new champion by year's end once the Grand Prix comes to and end, and a win for Trainer here could be what he needs to get into the Top 10 and insert himself as a new contender in town for the rest of the monsters at 205 pounds to worry about.
Final Prediction: Trainer via third round submission
To check out the latest Bellator MMA-related news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive news archive right here.
PunchDrunkGamer posted: "Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY SportsSean O'Malley is expected to draw fellow bantamweight Raulian Paiva in his next trip to the Octagon at UFC 269 on Dec. 11, per a recent report by ESPN's Brett Okamoto. This isn't the most likely matchu"
Sean O'Malley is expected to draw fellow bantamweight Raulian Paiva in his next trip to the Octagon at UFC 269 on Dec. 11, per a recent report by ESPN's Brett Okamoto.
This isn't the most likely matchup for O'Malley as the young contender tries to push his way towards the title, but then again O'Malley is the one who said he doesn't want to fight ranked opponents because he gets paid the same. Fans thought UFC would ante up to see O'Malley continue his rise up the division ranks, but O'Malley will end up facing a 25-year-old prospect in Paiva.
O'Malley, 26, is coming off a beatdown of late replacement Kris Moutinho and a knockout victory over Thomas Almeida. Those performances have helped mask his disappointing TKO loss to Marlon Vera back at UFC 252, which remains the only loss on O'Malley's record. If "Sugar" is able to make easy work out of Paiva then there's simply no way he can continue to fight unranked opponents. Or is there?
Paiva, 25, has won his last three trips to the Octagon, including his recent decision win over touted bantamweight prospect Kyler Phillips. He may not be a top-flight finisher, but Paiva is well-rounded and durable, which is a big reason why is overall MMA record currently stands at 21-3. Paiva will have to make up for a size and reach disadvantage opposite O'Malley so there's a chance he leans more on his grappling than his striking.
For more UFC 269 fight card news click here and here.
