Midnight Mania! Twenty Yellow-Bellies Drove Daunting Bella Mir to Contender Series

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - AUGUST 24: Bella Mir poses on the scale during the weigh-in for Dana White's Contender Series Season 10, Week 3 at the Palace Station Hotel & Casino on August 24, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Al Powers/Zuffa LLC)

Welcome to Midnight Mania! I’m filling in for Andrew tonight and tomorrow. He’s off on an adventure and hopefully he’ll tell us all about it when he gets back.

Let’s start the night off by taking a look back over the three biggest stories of Monday, Aug. 24, 2026.

Islam Makhachev had to throw in the towel after he failed to fix his fighter’s busted shoulder: I hope that’s not something they look back to regret. Jiri Prochazka lost his belt and a year of his career after something similar at the gym.

Alexander Behunin rates the rookies who fought at UFC Sacramento : I’m not too high on Anthony Wint after that display — far too much theatrics before and after the fight, for me.

Lerryan Douglas suffered a broken orbital in his shock loss at UFC Sacramento : That was pretty plain to see, based on how he went down. Douglas’ had striking looked sensational up until this point.

Insomnia

Bella Mir says she sat a year out because twenty girls turned down fights with her. That obviously led her to wanting to fight on Contender Series.

Bella Mir isn't backing down from chasing championships in multiple sports ahead of her #DWCS debut: "I don’t even want to be the best MMA fighter or the best combat athlete. I want to be the best athlete of all time." (🎥 @DamonMartin ) pic.twitter.com/iBVosyJgHH

— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) August 24, 2026

Colby offers a back-handed compliment to one of his many past nemeses. Does he know any other way to compliment someone?

‼️🎙️Colby Covington on Tyron Woodley win at RAF “I was happy for Tyron Woodley, you know. Even though there'll always be a feud and he'll always be my little bitch, but, you know, I was happy that he was able to get his hand raised and, you know, the first time in eight years.… pic.twitter.com/C83N72Yk6h

— Dovy🔌 (@DovySimuMMA) August 24, 2026

Islam Makhachev responds to Merab Dvalishvili. There’s a feud brewing between Merab and flag carrying Russian fighters.

Islam Makhachev fired back at Merab Dvalishvili after Merab criticized him for raising the Russian flag following his win over Ian Garry: "From the very beginning he wasn't happy at all about my success in the Octagon. He's already spoken about this many times. But Petr Yan,… pic.twitter.com/hGM09x4aXt

— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) August 24, 2026

Khabib’s not going to like this.

Umar Nurmagomedov vs Zabit wrestling match in a hotel 😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/3dBME3SYca

— Dovy🔌 (@DovySimuMMA) August 24, 2026

UFC Edmonton gets some more CanCon.

Chad Anheliger will fight Steven Koslow at #UFCEdmonton on October 17th. #UFC #MMA #UFCParamount #UFConParamount #UFC2026 pic.twitter.com/T0IV3WkyzY

— Marcel Dorff 🇳🇱🇮🇩 (@BigMarcel24) August 24, 2026

Pitbull’s next fight is the last on his UFC deal.

💥 Patricio “Pitbull” reveals his fight with Choi Doo-ho at UFC 331 is the final bout on his contract—but hopes to re-sign with the UFC after a big win. “This is the last [fight] on my contract right now I believe. I’m going to win my fight and get a new contract, that’s the… pic.twitter.com/csb5aFfSNS

— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) August 23, 2026

Now go out there and deliver, big boys.

Mário Piazzon and Guilherme Uriel just had one of the most intense faceoffs in DWCS history 👀 pic.twitter.com/79AORUDGp4

— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) August 24, 2026

Slips, rips, and KO clips

Face, meet floor.

10/10 faceplant by Diego 13 at SFT Combat pic.twitter.com/FTaAmUvHc5

— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) August 23, 2026

Found the shut-off button.

CRUMPLED 😵 Nauris Bartoska 🇮🇪🇱🇹 KOs Patrick Hill with a brutal body kick! #ONEFridayFights167 | 🔴 LIVE NOW 🇲🇾🇸🇬🇭🇰 Live on beIN SPORTS 🌍 Live TV broadcast in 195+ countries (check local listings) 🌍 Also available on ONE YouTube and ONE Facebook (geo-restrictions may apply) 🌍… pic.twitter.com/uXushl0ihm

— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) August 21, 2026

These things are spreading.

Muslim Zhulagov just pulled off a Scottish/Japanese twister in his professional debut. #ACAYE67 pic.twitter.com/FOMmxmu3Ez

— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) August 20, 2026

Took him off his feet!

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Random Land

How do you discover you’re good at this?

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Midnight Music: I’ve got a platform here to share my weird music tastes. Sorry folks. Here’s an obscure band who released two albums and a few LPs before disappearing. I love them. My wife hates them. It’s The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster.

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

Indexed and credited by AIPROPX. Originating outlet: Yahoo Sports. Open at source →