Welcome to Midnight Mania!

Earlier today at the UFC 245 press conference in New York City, Colby Covington once again drew attention to himself via his usual loudmouth tactics. As usual, Covington went after all possible options, including a shot at half of UFC 244’s main event in Jorge Masvidal, who’s also his former training partner/room mate.

However, Covington reserved the heaviest ammo for his upcoming opponent, Kamaru Usman, whom Covington accused of using Erythropoietin (EPO). It was also something of a shot at USADA, as Covington said that Usman had already failed the drug test, which is why the two were not fighting until December.

Covington says the reason he’s not fighting this weekend is because Usman “pissed hot” and had to “get the EPO out of his system.” Usman is asked to respond but chooses not to. — Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) November 1, 2019

Earlier in the year, former Bantamweight champ TJ Dillashaw was suspended for two full years after testing positive for EPO use. It’s not the type of performance enhancing drug (PED) that can be accidentally ingest, so it seems incredibly unlikely that USADA would sweep this one under the rug.

Usman’s physique and incredible conditioning have seem similar accusations in the past, but as of yet, “The Nigerian Nightmare” has had no issues passing drug tests.

Insomnia

One.More.Day.

What are the odds Jorge Masvidal opens this next fight with a flying attack of some kind? He’s two-for-two so far in 2019.

Francis Ngannou wants to throw hands, kicks, and maybe even submissions with Tyson Fury.

I’m available Tyson. I will fight you in the octagon and return the favor and fight you in the ring. And you will know REAL POWER. #WakandaForever ‍♂https://t.co/GADThzLBaJ — Francis Ngannou (@francis_ngannou) November 1, 2019

Related Tyson Fury Plans To Train With Conor McGregor For MMA Debut

Kamaru Usman and Mike Chandler are clearly not going full speed, but this is still awesome, technical wrestling.

Good news for fans looking to catch ALL that action on Saturday night.

UFC boss Dana White has been vocal about Canelo-Kovalev not going up directly against Diaz-Masvidal on Saturday. DAZN apparently agrees with him. I'm told that Canelo-Kovalev won't start until after the Diaz-Masvidal is over. Win-win for crossover fans. — Chris Mannix (@SIChrisMannix) November 1, 2019

Urijah Faber reacts to Andre Fili’s tattoo homage. I talked to Fili a few weeks prior about the tattoo, and it seems he did successfully surprise Faber — the man he credits for saving his life — with this ink.

Demetrious Johnson picks up all kinds of wins.

Slips, rips, and KO clips

Question: How come there aren’t more flying submission attempts in MMA?

Answer:

TKO by sweep. It's just how we do at #EternalMMA49 pic.twitter.com/G53vKXa6P2 — UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) November 1, 2019

A definite case of shin-to-the-chin:

This head kick by Alexandr Zakharov. Thankfully corner threw in the towel. - RSBI: Battle of Champions 11 pic.twitter.com/1kDxbxJ6Bm — caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) November 1, 2019

One more head kick KO, this time set up by a perfect lean back counter — I could see Israel Adesanya pulling this off.

Random Land

Anyone else pumped for the forthcoming The Witcher Netflix show? Loved the books and game, and the new trailer looks pretty great!

This story has the makings of our greatest ballad yet.

The Witcher arrives 20 December. pic.twitter.com/u2UcaJvUvC — The Witcher (@witchernetflix) October 31, 2019

We don’t often visualize the Earth from this direction/angle.

Midnight Music: A recent comment requested Sam Cooke, and that’s an easy call to answer! One of the all time greats, and I cannot help but recommend his live album At The Harlem Square Club, 1963 a second time.

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