Welcome to Midnight Mania!
Like him or not, TJ Dillashaw knows a bit about what it takes to become UFC champion. The two-time Bantamweight king is back in the hunt after his two-year USADA suspension, and in his view, Paddy Pimblett doesn’t have what it takes to capture the belt. As Dillashaw sees it, Pimblett’s habit of blowing up between fights shows a lacking work ethic.
“He’s just loving diabetes,” Dillashaw said on “The Schaub Show.” (via MMAJunkie). “That’s like a recipe for destroying your body. I guess there’s one thing when I look at it: They can promote him the right way and do all this good stuff, and he’s got some stuff to grow and get into the higher echelons of the UFC, but if you keep that same work ethic that he has now, he’ll never be a champion.
“You can’t have that down time like that. You can’t get that fat. You can’t get out of shape. It just proves the dedication to what you need to do. I’m not trying to pound on him or anything, but that’s something I think he’s going to have to figure out with age. He’s young. It’s a full-time job. This isn’t just wanting to be a fighter; you have to be a fighter.”
Pimblett didn’t appreciate the former champion’s advice. He fired back on Twitter, reminding Dillashaw of his own past bloat (see the shirt here), as well as deriding him for abusing performance enhancing drugs (PEDs).
Is this fella messin @TJDillashaw used to sell tee shirts with his fat face on it saying “fat Tyler” on when he came out of camp don’t forget ur own past u sausage Cheating little juice head wud never have won a belt without them steroids u fucking mushroom https://t.co/64YL2yOG82
— Paddy The Baddy (@theufcbaddy) June 1, 2022
“Is this fella messin @TJDillashaw used to sell tee shirts with his fat face on it saying ‘fat Tyler’ on when he came out of camp don’t forget ur own past u sausage Cheating little juice head wud never have won a belt without them steroids u fucking mushroom.”
Currently, Pimblett is booked to face Jordan Leavitt at UFC London on July 23. Dillashaw, meanwhile, is the current favorite to face Bantamweight champ Aljamain Sterling later this year.
This round, however, goes to the young Brit on our scorecards.
Insomnia
A pair of PFL bookings for July:
How do we feel about this bizarre half fence, half rope cage from Brazil? I could dig it … until someone gets wrestled over the top rope!
The MMAmania comment section was once the Wild West of online MMA discussion, but even in the ol’ days, there was always one hard rule: Don’t Welch!
Which post was made by Paulo Costa, and which one was written by his management?
… and one more reaction to the alleged Paulo Costa incident.
Dominick Cruz gets in an underwater workout.
Slips, rips, and KO clips
Is it mind-blowing to anyone else that the first Anthony Joshua vs. Andy Ruiz fight was already three years ago?
3 years ago today, Andy Ruiz shocked Anthony Joshua to claim the WBA, WBO and IBF titles so I will bring this crazy 40 seconds of round 3 back to the timeline.
Incredible stuff!#boxing pic.twitter.com/yHwXWGPs8u
— Steve Boxman (@SteveBoxman) June 1, 2022
Losing via throat punch sounds miserably painful, and then the opponent adds insult to injury by being a d—khead afterwards — rough night for Aslan.
A fun collection of last-second UFC knockouts!
Random Land
The best scooter stunt in Midnight Mania history?
Midnight Music: Instrumental rock, 1969
Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.