Welcome back to another edition of Midnight Mania, where we bring you the weirdest and wildest stories from the world of MMA every weeknight. Tonight, we're kicking things off with a look back at the biggest stories from Tuesday, May 5, 2026—and trust us, you won't want to miss what's happening in the octagon and beyond.
First up, Joe Rogan is sounding the alarm for overconfident Khamzat Chimaev fans ahead of UFC 328. Despite Chimaev's insane dominance so far, Rogan warns that Sean Strickland has a legit chance to pull off the upset—especially since Chimaev is still unproven at Middleweight. It's a matchup that has fight fans divided, and we can't wait to see how it plays out.
In other news, Conor McGregor is back in the headlines, this time sparring Netflix star Dong Hyun Kim ahead of his highly anticipated UFC return. It's pretty cool to see "Stun Gun" back in the limelight nearly a decade after his UFC career, and the footage is already generating buzz across social media. Speaking of comebacks, Ben Askren is proving that absolutely nothing can keep him down. Less than a year ago, "Funky" died four times, underwent a double lung transplant, and looked barely alive afterward. Now? He's running hills like it's nothing. This is an incredible recovery that reminds us all why we love this sport—resilience runs deep.
But not every story this week is about triumph. Tim Elliott had a rough weekend at UFC Perth, and sports betting brought out the worst in people—a sobering reminder that the game doesn't always love you back. On a lighter note, we stumbled across the funniest doping excuse we've ever heard. Talia Santos claims she accidentally took her husband's anabolic steroids, saying, "My husband is a bodybuilder, so he uses anabolic steroids. We were rushing to go train, and I ended up taking one of his by mistake—they're in the same place." We'll let you decide if that's believable, but it's certainly entertaining.
Meanwhile, Sean Strickland might really pull out his gun at the press conference—yes, you read that right. And Ilia Topuria is firing back at fans who think fighting Justin Gaethje would be a walk in the park. "When I decided to move up a weight class, people said I was too small, that everyone would beat me," Topuria said. Now he's ready to prove the doubters wrong once again. Whether you're here for the fights, the drama, or the sheer unpredictability of MMA, one thing's for sure: the action never stops.