LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - JULY 06: Georges St-Pierre announces his participation in the next UFC Fight Pass Invitational prior to the UFC 290 press conference at T-Mobile Arena on July 06, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images) | Zuffa LLC via Getty Images Welcome to Midnight Mania!Let’s start the night off by taking a look back over the three biggest stories of Earth Day 2026!WARNING! Ronda Rousey cash grab expected to backfire for Netflix, send fed-up fight fans back to UFC: I expect the MVP MMA debut to do serious numbers, but I’ve been wrong before. UFC (finally) dumps Colby Covington from official welterweight rankings, debuts Mike Malott at No. 11: At this point, it feels fairly likely that Colby Covington is retired/only competing for RAF in the immediate future.Brian Ortega breaks silence on toxic Tracy Cortez relationship: ‘I was never at peace’: The inevitable Cortez tell-all is going to be hilarious, I just know it.InsomniaThis feels like a sentiment that only applies if you’re one of the greatest athletes to ever step into the Octagon.
For everybody else, roadwork and hill sprints are a good idea.😳 Georges St-Pierre says cardio trainings are useless in MMA:“I don’t really believe in cardio if you’re a combat athlete, I believe in efficiency.Even if you’re in a better shape than me, but if I’m more efficient than you, you’ll get tired before me.If you’re an athlete… pic.twitter.com/1S0H7I7S6Q— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) April 16, 2026What are the odds Conor McGregor rocks a bottle of Proper 12 at his next UFC presser? Nobody will tell him otherwise.They made Aljo take his bottles off the table 💀 pic.twitter.com/3cMI08Hf8l— Jacob (@JT_Lines) April 22, 2026Given Khamzat’s time at Middleweight is apparently short, training with the current champion doesn’t feel like such a bad idea for Brendan Allen.Khamzat Chimaev sparring with Brendan Allen 👀(via @AdamZubayraev) pic.twitter.com/fJ7IIxkAKV— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) April 22, 2026Not every sudden odds swing is an Isaac Dulgarian situation.Alexander Hernandez wants better protections for fighters after being “falsely accused of fixing a fight” vs.
Michael Johnson #UFCVegas116"No one is protecting the individual … And everyone is covering their own ass and you're hoping to not get f*cked in yours." pic.twitter.com/wCOc1Z6dwM— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) April 22, 2026Paulo Costa is built to eat Southpaws.Paulo Costa new sparring footage. LHW championship pending pic.twitter.com/kCsGnmXXEy— Dovy🔌 (@DovySimuMMA) April 22, 2026Four months into 2026, why hasn’t UFC booked one of their brightest young stars?@ufcpic.twitter.com/b9lNTK8Z9S— Payton Talbott (@PaytonTalbott) April 22, 2026Slips, rips, and KO clipsKicking from the back foot isn’t an easy skill to master (particularly in MMA), but a well-timed kick counter is a thing of beauty.Writing an article about how Jonathan Haggerty has evolved over the years, but he's always had such a cool fade-away high kick pic.twitter.com/uzdmO4OiE5— Jack Slack (@JackSlackMMA) April 22, 2026The seemingly unstoppable James Llontop just got finished in less than two minutes.🇫🇷Magomed Saliev a gagné contre 🇵🇪James Llontop par TKO au Round 1. #JungleStrikepic.twitter.com/LJ5rfdyF5M— French MMA (@FrenchMma_) April 18, 2026After years of dominance, 45-year-old Mamed Khalidov has now lost his last two Middleweight title fights in KSW.Paweł Pawlak finishes the MMA legend Mamed Khalidov in the fourth round!
Title defense #4 #KSW117pic.twitter.com/EWnc7izZTe— COMBAT SPORTS TODAY (@CSTodayNews) April 18, 2026Random LandIn rock climbing, we call falling a long way on low-angle rock a “cheese grater” fall.View this post on InstagramGet involved with Mania community in The Feed!Midnight Music: Indie rock, 2003Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.