First Look! Noche UFC Takes Over Las Vegas Ahead of September’s Super Event

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

Noche UFC was a big hit last year, but the sequel is set to be even bigger.

UFC CEO Dana White is writing a $16 million love letter – with more to come! – for Mexican fighters, fans and fighting spirit. The second annual Noche UFC event, also known as UFC 306, will take place in the Las Vegas Sphere and will be held on Mexican Independence Day and will feature some of the promotion’s top Mexican talent.

Rumor has it that Sean O’Malley vs. Merab Dvalishvili – who pretty much represents Mexico, depending on who you ask – is the main event. The pay-per-view (PPV) event will be a one-off showcase in the realm of expensive and uniquely formatted cards, so the card can be expected to rise above the average PPV caliber.

In the clip above, the UFC logo graces the exterior of the Sphere venue for the first time. The artwork surrounding the UFC logo is quite reminiscent of Yair Rodriguez’s interim title belt, which received a special Mexican makeover. It remains to be seen how UFC uses the Sphere’s unique graphics to complement live fight competitions or the PPV feed, but fans can expect big fight announcements sooner or later.

Of course, those fighters don’t always end up in the cage…

Insomnia

UFC Denver loses ANOTHER fight after both Mike Malott and opponent Gilbert Urbina sustain injuries.

Fortunately, UFC Denver may also have a new matchup. Shara Magomedov calls out Kevin Holland and “Trailblazer” says he’s down!

Final thing on UFC Denver: Two lightweight sluggers both need new opponents…

Payton Talbott is approaching historic levels of hype.

It’s great to see how much support and love Alex Pereira receives from his people.

I expect a resilient performance here and a striking showcase from Slava.

Jiri Prochazka is 1) unintentionally hilarious and 2) woefully misinformed about his own division. I love it!

Slips, cracks and KO clips

I don’t know if I’ll ever see Gonzaga vs. Cro Cop leg in a women’s MMA fight.

Is it crazier to try to knock out your older, legendary mentor or your younger, uber-talented protégé? Real madness in Japan!

This kind of KO in an LFA title shot is probably on par with a UFC signing, or at least Contenders series possibility.

Random country

A rolling boulder.

Midnight music: hip hop, 1989

Sleep tight, maniacs! There’s always more martial arts madness to come.