Midnight Mania! Timid Referees ‘Hurting The Sport’ Must Be Held Accountable

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NEW YORK, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 15: Referee Herb Dean seen in the Octagon during the UFC 322 event at Madison Square Garden on November 15, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

Let’s start the night off by taking a look back over the three biggest stories of Thursday, July 2, 2026.

1. UFC heavyweight claims Shara Bullet practiced Michel Pereira hair-pulling in training — ‘One of the reasons I shaved my head’: Long hair can certainly get tangled up while wrestling or chasing a d’arce, but blatantly grabbing a top knot doesn’t happen by accident.
2. Former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia reveals dramatic physical transformation: ‘Over 125 lbs down’: Big Tim is underrated nowadays courtesy of a couple embarrassing losses and boring wins, but he was very legit at his best. People forget!
3. Jon Jones: ‘Humble, honest’ Ilia Topuria is in a good position to return to top of UFC after first loss: I see nor eason why Topuria cannot have great future success, but it also must be admitted that future opponents will be a little braver.

Insomnia​

Reminder: the second-to-last fight of Henry Cejudo’s career ended via eye poke. “Triple C” has personal reason to be angry!

Henry Cejudo is NOT happy with Herb Deans recent officiating, as fighters are losing ‘vision and pay checks’

“Herb Dean, if you’re about it bro, make a decision. Take a point, people have lost an eye, people are losing pay checks dude, and you’re out there getting a standard… pic.twitter.com/Q9FFAEAkNh

— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) July 2, 2026

How are we feeling about Robert Whittaker as a Light Heavyweight? I’m cautiously optimistic but think it’s a couple years too late.

Robert Whittaker says he’s 220-225lbs lean right now

“I’m not just a middleweight who can eat more now, I’ve been doing the right things, I’ve leaned out”

via @MightyMousepic.twitter.com/3VDIBmBkUM

— Dovy (@DovySimuMMA) July 2, 2026

An interesting look into the corner work of Aleksandre Topuria and live reactions from Dana/Trump:

UFC just dropped raw audio from Ilia Topuria vs Justin Gaethje at the White House

“Tell the doctor he can’t see… Ilia, no more fighting. It’s over. We finished the fight.”

(via @foxnation) pic.twitter.com/RDiQuvw8yM

— Happy Punch (@HappyPunch) July 2, 2026

Torrez Finney is ready to fight Jamahal Hill for the Densest MFer belt.

Felt great to finally be able to hit some pads! 5 months out from surgery pic.twitter.com/f53QEEyNpj

— Torrez Finney (@punishertorrez) July 1, 2026

What adjustments does Merab make for his trilogy match versus Petr Yan?

Merab Dvalishvili recalls getting hurt by Petr Yan’s body kicks and punches in their fight

"He got me with a couple of body kicks, and that was very painful. The first time he hit me with the kick, I believe there were 25 seconds left, so I just ran. But the second time, he… pic.twitter.com/z8qmU2uEhb

— Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA) April 14, 2026

Click through for an entire thread of strange parallels between Conor McGregor and Brock Lesnar’s UFC returns”

I haven’t seen anyone make this comparison so hear me out.. this sport is riddled with strange parallels and similarities.

The only other fighter (let alone high profile UFC fighter) to come back from five years of inactivity? Brock Lesnar, 10 years ago at UFC 200 against

— EK (@EdwardsKim) July 3, 2026

Both McGregor and Lesnar return for UFC’s international fight week.

Lesnar was 37 when he fought at UFC 200.

McGregor will be 37 when he fights at UFC 329.

Lesnar’s birthday: July 12th
McGregor’s birthday: July 14th

— EK (@EdwardsKim) July 3, 2026

I have hiked through stinging nettle on several occasions — it’s rather unpleasant.

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Slips, rips, and KO clips​

The constant battle of right hand vs. left hook …

Vicious KO by Jonathan Montalvo. Left him sleeping on his feet #FuryFC115https://t.co/JsG59CSOGlpic.twitter.com/kq97JhZAWH

— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) February 7, 2026

You’re allowed to admire your own punches when they land this well.

Moses Mokhari with a massive statement tonight!!!#EFC135pic.twitter.com/xNs65oRISi

— EFC Worldwide (@EFCworldwide) July 2, 2026

Lovely slip-and-rip!

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Random Land​

Always cheering for the bull.

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Midnight Music: Folk/Gospel … and I cannot figure out the year on this specific recording. Old!


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

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