Welcome to Midnight Mania!

Let’s start the night off by taking a look back over the three biggest stories of Monday, Jan. 26, 2026.

1. Justin Gaethje vs. Ilia Topuria odds: ‘The Highlight’ massive underdog against undefeated UFC champ: Ilia Topuria vs. Arman Tsarukyan is the truly great Lightweight fight to book right now, and anything else feels a little sad.
2. UFC 324 results: Matches to make for ‘Gaethje vs. Pimblett’ main card winners: I’d love to see Pimblett vs. Dan Hooker next.
3. Dana White wasn’t a fan of Josh Hokit’s controversial UFC 324 post-fight interview: Hokit may want to tone it down a bit if he intends to keep Uncle Dana on his side.

Insomnia

I saw several people wondering if Jean Silva did something illegal by leaping off Arnold Allen’s back. Per John McCarthy, the answer is: not really? Had he kicked the spine rather than jump off it, that would definitely be illegal.

I enjoyed Pimblett vs. Gaethje, but it was hard to take seriously as UFC title fight (interim or not).

This is a trip down memory road! Here’s my (potentially flawed) recollection of the hilarious Dong Hyun Kim vs. Erick Silva fight: Silva is the way better striker and is athletic enough to mostly defend the takedowns. He swings absolutely wildly and bludgeons “Stun Gun” quite a bit. Unfortunately, beating up the South Korean is tiring, and he’s gassed six minutes in. Kim tries the jumping front kick eight times (or was it the spinning backfist?) and then bombs Silva with a one punch KO.

If anyone has seen the fight more recently than 13 years ago, please tell me how I did in the comments!

Craig Jones and Mauricio Ruffy training together ahead of Ruffy’s bout versus Rafael Fiziev:

Tyson Fury will do any kind of combat sports training except eat a salad.

Sean O’Malley vs. Cory Sandhagen is long overdue. Or “Suga” vs. Umar Nurmagomedov. No waiting around for a title shot!

Slips, rips, and KO clips

Ex-UFC, Bellator, and PFL Featherweight Kai Kamaka may have just punched his ticket back to the Octagon.

For ladies who aren’t natural power punchers like Amanda Nunes and Jessica Andrade — AKA most women — knees and elbows in the clinch are one of the more reliable ways to score knockouts.

Body-head combinations set up a massive knee:

Random Land

An epic clash.

Midnight Music: Noise rock, 2018

Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.