“I don't see anyone beating Ilia Topuria. Not Paddy, not Justin. Arman Tsarukyan is the dark horse... but by the end of 2026, Topuria will still be the champ”

– via his YouTube channel (January 9, 2026), predicting that the "El Matador" era will endure despite a chaotic lightweight landscape and the emergence of an interim champion

“We've got Ilia apparently running from Arman Tsarukyan, we've got Islam Makhachev running from Ilia Topuria, we've got Khamzat Chimaev running from Nassourdine Imavov, we've got [Alex] Pereira running from Khamzat Chimaev, and we've got Jon Jones, the greatest of all time, running from big Tom Aspinall. That is the situation if you listen to all the noise.”

– via his YouTube channel, listing various fighters who are being accused of avoiding challenging matchups and arguing that champions should defend their title in their weight class three times or vacate the belt before seeking to move up a division.