Welcome to Midnight Mania!
Earlier today, news broke that former Featherweight kingpin Max Holloway would return to the cage for his first non-title fight since 2016 opposite Calvin Kattar in a five-round main event on January 16, 2021.
It didn’t take long for gamblers to open their wallets and make their opinions heard. Per betonline.ag, Holloway opened as a minor favorite at -135, but money immediately came in on the Hawaiian. The line swelled as high as two-to-one before settling at -180. Kattar, meanwhile, sits as the +155 underdog at the timing of writing.
Holloway has technically lost three of his last four bouts, but there’s been more to his recent performances than meets the eye. A large percentage of the MMA world believed Holloway deserved the nod over Volkanovski in their most recent contest, including Dana White!
Meanwhile, Kattar has been making a name for himself as one of the division’s best strikers. He’s won four of his last five bouts, most recently picking apart Dan Ige to end his Featherweight rise and absolutely destroying Jeremy Stephens with a counter elbow (WATCH IT!).
Holloway has a chance to return to the win column following a controversial loss, while Kattar can remove all doubt that he’s a title contender. Do the betting odds have this one right?
Insomnia
What is the worst nickname in MMA? I personally hated when Diego Sanchez when from “Nightmare” to “Dream.”
Deiveson Figueiredo is a pretty heavy Flyweight, and it shows in his punches and wrestling alike.
Interesting note from a conversation with Deiveson Figueiredo (@Daico_Deiveson), he told me he re-invested some of the money he’s made in 2020 into his fight prep, including more time with his nutritionist. He woke up today 136 pounds. Usually early fight week, he’s 143.
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) November 17, 2020
Getting creative with strength and conditioning!
Good for Dan Hardy, but yeah, this is pretty mind-blowing.
Mike Perry corner crew update:
I love this artist and his MMA cartoons.
Slips, rips, and KO clips
Louis Cosce is scheduled to make his UFC debut this weekend after a successful win on “Contender Series,” and that man starts fights quickly.
Fans acting like Alexander Volkanovski is a decision machine because of his last few fights need to understand that elite fighters are just hard to finish. “The Great” is a tricky and violent athelte!
In case you missed it: Bare Knuckle Fight Championship had their fastest-ever knockout last Friday.
Random Land
Tony Ferguson resemblance aside, is this guy the Happy Gilmore of chopping wood?
Midnight Music: Every once in a while, Spotify’s algorithm gives me a killer Discover Weekly mix instead of the usual batch of just-kinda-okay. This was a good week!
Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.
