Welcome to Midnight Mania!

UFC President Dana White was a featured guest of Peyton and Eli Manning on the “ManningCast” production earlier tonight (Mon., Dec. 5, 2022) during the New Orleans Saints vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers showdown at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. In a competitive game, legendary quarter back Tom Brady led the Buccaneers to last-second comeback win, closing the game with a 17-16 score.

White is a longtime Tom Brady fan, which alongside UFC’s partnership with ESPN was apparently enough to earn White a guest role on the “ManningCast.” White talked football with the quarterbacking brothers. Ever the promoter, however, White couldn’t resist showing off his latest toy: Dana White’s Power Slap League!

Both Manning brothers seemed a bit befuddled by the new sport, but who can blame them? Check out their reaction below:

Otherwise, the only thing of note to come from White’s appearance on the “ManningCast” was a whole lot of fan criticism, as well as speculation that White was sweating the money line due to a major bet on Tampa Bay (it wouldn’t be the first time!). All over Twitter, White’s football knowledge was called into question, and more than one person labeled White the “worst Manning Cast guest yet.”

Insomnia

Check out Israel Adesanya catching some waves in Tahiti!

A fun and badass review of the year! Click through for the full thread.

Former foes reach out to Dustin Poirier, who’s been hospitalized with a staph infection.

An interesting look into the mindset of Jon Jones. Ignoring all of his non-fighting problems, “Bones” has always been a fascinatingly effective mix of ruthlessness and strategy inside the Octagon.

Derek Brunson weighs in on the gambling scandal:

It’s actually been a lot of fun watching Bryan Battle continually exceed expectations. Think he earns his fourth UFC win here?

Who’s ready for Marvin Vettori to return to the Octagon Bangkok-ready?

Slips, rips, and KO clips

Elbows, the choke, the armbar — good luck defending all of that at once!

Any truly elite wrestler who can get decent at the 1-1-2 will absolutely drop opponents. For athletes with that background, fundamentals are all that are really necessary until the highest level.

It doesn’t look like Junior ever really recovered from the first blitz that stunned him.

Random Land

A tremendous moment from the 2008 Olympics.

Midnight Music: I quite liked the entire Fontaines D.C. album from earlier this year, but the single below really stands out to me. I am reminded of The Smiths and Stone Roses!