Midnight Mania! Jorge Masvidal shuts down BMF title defense against Gilbert Burns: ‘I already got my contract’

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

Do you remember the BMF title? In 2019, the UFC and The Rock teamed up to decide that Jorge Masvidal deserves special credit for becoming the 14th man to split Nate Diaz’s face open in the Octagon. He earned a fancy silver belt for his win, and despite a trio of losses since then, a new BMF champion has yet to be named.

Gilbert Burns wants to change that. After many previous cancellations, he was recently booked to fight Masvidal at UFC 287 on April 8, 2023. Earlier Monday, Burns took to Twitter to call for a five-round bout and defense of the BMF title, and challenged the title to an athlete who has a record of competing against all comers.

“Come on @danawhite April 8 must consist of 5 rounds! Put that belt on the line! Everyone knows there’s just one guy in the @ufc that fights EVERYONE!”

Masvidal didn’t take long to reply. Shortly thereafter, Masvidal responded to “The MMA Hour”. While he didn’t seem particularly opposed to further rounds or defending the title, Masvidal replied that the contract was already signed and without further incentive he would do nothing more than a three-round set piece.

“If they pay me ‘BMF’ money, the UFC will not top it up for more money,” Masvidal said (via MMAJunkie). “Well, I’m sorry, Gilbert. I already have my contract, man. I already signed my shit. I could give less.”

BMF belt or not, there’s a chance this match will produce a title contender. Leon Edwards has been practically begging Gamebred to win a fight for months. So if “Rocky” leaves London with gold, a win for Masvidal could mean a title shot.

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The suggested weight class is odd, but this would be a quality match!

Askar Askarov has signed with ACA after applying for his UFC clearance.

I’m told that at the time, UFC veteran Danny Castillo was hugging a very young Andre Fili against his will to keep him caged at a regional show when a mass brawl broke out. Commissions are not played, you have to wait for the official victory declaration before doing anything crazy!

This double leg has no right to be so clean. That angle cut!

More unexpected wrestling skills, because why not?

Nikita Krylov vs. Ryan Spann WILL be a great fight that ends before the closing bell.

Damir Ismagulov is back for at least one more fight!

Slips, cracks and KO clips

Jose Aldo and Chad Mendes fought again in 2014 and I would argue that it still stands out as one of the highest profile fights in MMA history.

The tipi choke is essentially an alternative finish to the triangle. Smooth!

CLEAN!

random country

I consider myself pretty savvy with modern technology, but I didn’t realize the Notes app could do half of this thread! Attention iphone users.

Midnight Music: Blues, 1997

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