LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 17: (L-R) Gable Steveson and Sean Sharaf face off during the UFC 331 press conference at Crypto.com Arena on September 17, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (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, Sept. 17, 2026. Tom Aspinall ends podcast, abruptly quits social media in wake of UFC title drama: Since the eye injury, Aspinall has endured a ridiculous amount of toxicity from fans and peers alike — good move. Ilia Topuria stays on the attack with Justin Gaethje and manager: ‘F—k you still stands’: Saying ‘f—k you’ to Ali Abdelaziz is a surefire way to make me more of an Ilia fan. Muhammad Mokaev upset with UFC offer: ‘They wasted two years of my life’: It’s rare when the UFC using its dominance and leverage over a fighter universally pleases fight fans. Per the quotes, Mokaev still has a bad attitude … Insomnia By talking trash and bringing up Gable Steveson’s past allegations to his face, Sean Sharaf has already exceeded my personal expectations for this fight. Sean Sharaf finally gets his chance to go after Gable Steveson publicly pic.twitter.com/XojsmdapUT — MMA Mania (@mmamania) September 18, 2026 This response goes hard. I’d pick Max Holloway over Justin Gaethje again in a heartbeat … https://t.co/6uKsRN6URV pic.twitter.com/JTTxOliW6G — Max Holloway (@BlessedMMA) September 17, 2026 The GSP sex podcast has the potential to produce THE MMAmania headline of 2026. Talking with Dr. Laurie Betito about one of life’s greatest pleasures: sex. 😉 Episode coming soon! pic.twitter.com/fxid5fqYyI — Georges St-Pierre (@GeorgesStPierre) September 17, 2026 Dustin Poirier actually showed Michael Chandler some respect in this clip, but he cannot help but hate on his former foe despite his best efforts. 😭 This show COOKING Michael Chandler for his losing streak and height. 🗣️ Chris: "This wasn't the best Chandler." 🗣️ Dustin: "Tell me a time when we saw best Chandler." 🗣️ Din: "How tall is Chandler?" 🗣️ DP: "Not tall enough to ride a rollercoaster." pic.twitter.com/yReZx5wr1u — Full Mount MMA (@MMAFullMount) September 16, 2026 Standard MMA behavior: チトにキスされて少し嫌そうにするロペス とりあえずチトめっちゃがんばれ pic.twitter.com/NE8twpelT6 — どこでもホランド (@80000AURA) September 17, 2026 King Green is 40 years old and still competing with the best in the world. That doesn’t happen without true skill! Yeah man what could Bobby show anyone to help them improve their defence and footwork https://t.co/lkgMOgJCTN pic.twitter.com/N9mKvR5dFt — Dylan♿️🧀🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 (@GoldenSZN__) September 16, 2026 😬🥊 King Green says Tommy McMillen takes TOO MUCH damage, and sends a message to Sean O'Malley: "Sean, bring him by. Let me work with Tommy. Let me sharpen him up a little bit. He's taking too many shots." 🎥 @BobbyKGreen pic.twitter.com/4CSEUn1VF4 — Full Mount MMA (@MMAFullMount) September 15, 2026 Sounds like Losene Keita has a big opportunity on his hands. Born for this. pic.twitter.com/9bc1Kbu2FA — keitaplusser (@keita_losene) September 17, 2026 Slips, rips, and KO clips I genuinely can’t believe this worked. 膝裏への蹴りからのフックでKO。 守屋優日くんが試合で使ったこれ凄い。 昔の空手の映像とかで見たことあるけど、MMAで決めた人は初では？ 武術幻想。#FightingNEXUS pic.twitter.com/Gj5rmOtcTh — 野田遼介Ryosuke Noda (@takemiyaryuu) September 15, 2026 Always funny when a fighter gets visibly rattled by a strike and still shakes their head “no” afterward. Rafael "Mini Man" Pereira takes LFA bantamweight gold flattening Vinicius Pires in the 2nd round. #LFA241 pic.twitter.com/IPGkeI0K1u — caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) September 12, 2026 Am I wrong in feeling that we see more knockouts in the Flyweight division nowadays? It feels more common. KO for interim flyweight title! 💥 Jerry Lleshi wins by round 3 KNOCKOUT! [ #CFFC161 | Live on UFC Fight Pass ] pic.twitter.com/NFdeVCLG8I — UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) September 12, 2026 Random Land New cat just dropped, and it’s only three pounds! New cat alert! A call from a wildlife sanctuary about a "weird cat" has led to the first new cat species discovered in over 100 years in Bolivia’s Yungas forest ecoregion. Learn more about this feline surprise: https://t.co/crffXvPqH4 pic.twitter.com/USo7rI3Y5q — National Geographic (@NatGeo) September 17, 2026 Get involved with Mania community in The Feed! Midnight Music: Rock, 2018 Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.