“Islam dominated Jack to win the championship, but it was not nearly as impressive as what Carlos Prates did the other day. It looked like Della Maddalena didn’t belong in there with him. If that’s who Carlos is today patient, picking people apart, and huge for the weight class he’s a real issue”

– via his YouTube channel, comparing the dominant title win of Islam Makhachev to the clinical TKO finish by Carlos Prates against the same opponent.

“Islam dominated Jack to win the championship, but it was not nearly as impressive as what Carlos Prates did the other day. It looked like Della Maddalena didn’t belong in there with him. If that’s who Carlos is today patient, picking people apart, and huge for the weight class he’s a real issue”

– via his YouTube channel, comparing the dominant title win of Islam Makhachev to the clinical TKO finish by Carlos Prates against the same opponent.

“Let’s compare us. Jon Jones. Stipe Miocic. That’s it. Koji Oishi, Hermes Franca, Clay Guida, Joe Stevenson, Gray Maynard, Rory MacDonald, Benson Henderson, Josh Thomson, [Rafael] dos Anjos, Conor McGregor, [Jorge] Masvidal, Leon Edwards. That’s 13 times. That’s 13 times to 13 people. This is mine. This is who I lost to — two people... You’re up here acting like you’re mad because somebody is talking about how you’re average. The reality is you’re average”

– via his YouTube channel, delivering a surgical "math based" rebuttal to Nate Diaz following the Stockton star's recent attacks on Theo Von’s podcast.

“I cried because losing to me was like death. That's why I cried. You don't cry. You go to the after party... Maybe if you cried, Nathan, you wouldn't be so okay with losing”

– via his YouTube channel, doubling down on his critique of Nate Diaz’s career mentality in their escalating war of words

“13 times to 13 people. You got beat by all these people. It's impossible—you can't lose that many fights. Reality is you're average. You've always been. You won 21 fights and you lost 13”

– via Daniel Cormier TV, delivering a cold, mathematical deconstruction of Nate Diaz’s career legacy during their heated April 2026 exchange.

“I think Islam vs Topuria might be the biggest and best fight the UFC can put on in any weight class, just because they're both so elite. I don't know if we have two better fighters in the UFC that deserve it”

– via Prince St. Pizza, discussing the potential superfight between Islam Makhachev and Ilia Topuria

“I think Islam vs Topuria might be the biggest and best fight the UFC can put on in any weight class, just because they're both so elite. I don't know if we have two better fighters in the UFC that deserve it”

– via Prince St. Pizza, discussing the potential superfight between Islam Makhachev and Ilia Topuria

“What’s bigger, Jon Jones vs. Francis Ngannou or Alex Pereira vs. Jon Jones? I think Francis vs. Jon Jones is the bigger fight because there was a long history there. They were supposed to fight”

– via his YouTube channel, weighing in on the hypothetical scramble if Francis Ngannou were to return to the UFC as a free agent

“What’s bigger, Jon Jones vs. Francis Ngannou or Alex Pereira vs. Jon Jones? I think Francis vs. Jon Jones is the bigger fight because there was a long history there. They were supposed to fight”

– via his YouTube channel, weighing in on the hypothetical scramble if Francis Ngannou were to return to the UFC as a free agent

“I believe [Gable Steveson] has a real chance to be a world champion... I do think there are some factors that could slow him down. His coach is Jon Jones. As long as he lets the other coaches coach him, yes. But if Jon is actually coaching him, I don’t know… I don’t even think Gable is ever going to fall into that trap of making those mistakes”

– via The Ariel Helwani Show (January 14, 2026), weighing in on the future of Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson and his high profile partnership with Jon Jones.

“I believe [Gable Steveson] has a real chance to be a world champion... I do think there are some factors that could slow him down. His coach is Jon Jones. As long as he lets the other coaches coach him, yes. But if Jon is actually coaching him, I don’t know… I don’t even think Gable is ever going to fall into that trap of making those mistakes”

– via The Ariel Helwani Show (January 14, 2026), weighing in on the future of Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson and his high profile partnership with Jon Jones.

“Paddy Pimblett is awesome, Justin Gaethje is awesome, Arman and Ilia seem to have something in terms of not only skills, but between the two that we could build a great fight around”

– via Red Corner MMA acknowledging the star power of the interim title fight while insisting that Ilia Topuria vs. Arman Tsarukyan is the most significant competitive matchup in the division

“Paddy Pimblett is awesome, Justin Gaethje is awesome, Arman and Ilia seem to have something in terms of not only skills, but between the two that we could build a great fight around”

– via Red Corner MMA acknowledging the star power of the interim title fight while insisting that Ilia Topuria vs. Arman Tsarukyan is the most significant competitive matchup in the division

“I don't think that Yoel's going to beat him because Bo just wrestled and he's young. But boy, Yoel Romero is going to make it hard for him, especially after what I saw the other day. Yoel Romero's wrestling like he still wrestles international. He's good, man. He was always a freak. Now he's like unbelievable”

– via The Daniel Cormier Show, reacting to Yoel Romero's recent "steamrolling" performance and his upcoming title fight against Bo Nickal.

“I don't think that Yoel's going to beat him because Bo just wrestled and he's young. But boy, Yoel Romero is going to make it hard for him, especially after what I saw the other day. Yoel Romero's wrestling like he still wrestles international. He's good, man. He was always a freak. Now he's like unbelievable”

– via The Daniel Cormier Show, reacting to Yoel Romero's recent "steamrolling" performance and his upcoming title fight against Bo Nickal.

“Listen man, this guy just might be the best lightweight in the world, since Islam is gone. He is really good man. He is big, he is strong, he is physical. The champion Ilia Topuria is tremendous... I think they need a fight at some point. Paddy Pimblett is awesome, Justin Gaethje is awesome, [but] Arman and Ilia seem to have something, and not only something in terms of skill, but between the two, we can build a great fight around.”

– via Red Corner MMA, making the case for a fight between Arman Tsarukyan and Ilia Topuria.

“Listen man, this guy just might be the best lightweight in the world, since Islam is gone. He is really good man. He is big, he is strong, he is physical. The champion Ilia Topuria is tremendous... I think they need a fight at some point. Paddy Pimblett is awesome, Justin Gaethje is awesome, [but] Arman and Ilia seem to have something, and not only something in terms of skill, but between the two, we can build a great fight around.”

– via Red Corner MMA, making the case for a fight between Arman Tsarukyan and Ilia Topuria.

“Shavkat Rakhmonov is the guy that I think about and I go, 'man, that is a crazy fight to think about'... That would easily be the hardest fight of (Islam Makhachev's) career”

– via Good Guy/Bad Guy, expressing his belief that Shavkat Rakhmonov poses the toughest challenge for Islam Makhachev.

“Islam, you better set the tone of this fight. You cannot sit back and wait for Jack to determine where and how the fight takes place. You gotta push him against the octagon side and get him on his back foot. If you get him on his back foot, it will open takedowns, and it will also open your striking and chip away at the confidence that Jack is carrying into this fight after the Belal fight”

– Daniel Cormier advice for Islam Makhachev ahead of UFC 322

“I don't care what Anthony Joshua did to Francis Ngannou. If Jake Paul gets in there with Francis, Francis will knock his head off this planet. You don't want those Francis problems... Even if Jake got power, I don't think he's got the power to deal with Francis... If Jake actually fights Francis, I'll do nothing but give him credit...You play stupid games, you get stupid prizes. The stupid prize will be fighting Francis Ngannou. I don't care what money Jake Paul would make; he shouldn't be fighting Francis Ngannou... Stay away from Francis Ngannou”

– warned Jake Paul about a potential fight with Francis Ngannou.