Welcome to Midnight Mania!
Let’s start the night off by taking a look back over the three biggest stories of Wednesday, April 1, 2026.
- UFC 328 gym snitch reveals Sean Strickland vs. Khamzat Chimaev ‘wasn’t competitive’ in practice: I fully believe that Khamzat is a better fighter in the gym than in the Octagon, which is really saying something. That said, you don’t usually spar five full rounds with the same person in the gym …
- Deontay Wilder vs. Derek Chisora full fight card, DAZN PPV start time: Does Wilder have anything left in the tank? We’ll find out Saturday.
- Niko Price on UFC Seattle retirement snub: ‘They didn’t send me off at all’: Price has one of the craziest UFC highlight reels ever — it cannot have been that challenging to throw some together and give him a quick little goodbye as well.
Insomnia
TJ Dillashaw’s original contract only paid him $36k for one of the greatest title performances of all time (this number does not include performance or discretionary bonuses). Those “six-figure” Ultimate Fighter (TUF) contracts were an absolute joke!
April Fools Day is the worst day in MMA history. It’s been eight
years.
It’s best to go into this story completely blind. I will provide no additional context. Just listen.
People really don’t realize how much the two Yoel Romero fights shortened Rob Whittaker’s prime. It’s a testament to how good he was at his best that he was still able to trounce multiple top contenders after those fights!
Darren Till talking smack about Nate Diaz’s career despite having objectively far less success overall is very funny. How many “great wins” does Till have again?
Linton Vassell is one of the only fighters in modern MMA doing cool stuff with his ground-and-pound.
Fun with photoshop:
Slips, rips, and KO clips
I can’t name it precisely, but something about Muhammad’s stance and punches here remind me of Geoff Neal.
There were many great knockouts over the weekend from across the globe, but this might be the best one.
Fading back into the left hook:
Random Land
This is how I learned JFK had stomach problems.
Midnight Music: Alt. rock, 1988
Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.
