“I am planning on going out there and not taking any damage and have a quick turnaround... then maybe we can do it with someone like Movsar or Lerone Murphy”

– via The Ariel Helwani Show (January 12, 2026), outlining his ambitious roadmap for the featherweight division as he prepares for his first title defense on home soil.

“Stay tuned, because if he steps on that line, I’m taking this dude 10—0, like I said. For the rest of my life, there’s going to be a desire to compete with Jon Jones, and I’m okay with that”

– via Daniel Cormier TV, predicting a dominant shutout victory over Jon Jones if they ever meet in a pure freestyle wrestling match.

“When I beat him, I will have beaten the greatest pound for pound fighter on the planet right now. When I beat Islam Makhachev and I win the world title, there will be no excuses from anyone anywhere on the planet”

– via a social media post laying out his manifesto for becoming the P4P king in 2026.

“I'm going to win, I'm going to spoil. I know that the fans probably want Paddy and Ilia like they wanted Tony and Khabib, and I'm going to f*** it up”

– via an interview with Carlos Contreras Legaspi vowing to derail the UFC's potential plans for a massive European showdown.

“When Petr beat Merab, i got a whole new level of mental switch. I'm gonna go out there and beat Song Yadong, and it's going to be me [vs.] Petr at the White House.”

– via his YouTube channel, outlining his roadmap back to the title following Petr Yan's massive upset victory over Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 323

“I’ve always wanted that fight. For some reason, he hasn’t accepted it... When you’re in the octagon with me, you’ll realize that I’m not Jack Della Maddalena, I’m not Dan Hooker... I would really love to submit him in front of Khabib, and if Khabib wants to step in afterward, I’ll gladly step on his head too”

– via Eldoberdan MMA, firing a verbal heatseeker at Islam Makhachev and Khabib Nurmagomedov during an interview released on December 22, 2025..

“That wrestling he thinks he has, we'll see how well it works on me... They are so cocky and arrogant. I would really love to submit him in front of Khabib, and if Khabib wants to step in afterward, I'll gladly step on his head too”

– via interview with Eldoberdan MMA, discussing his plan to humiliate Islam Makhachev by using his own grappling against him.

“Neither one [is a threat]. The hardest fight is always with myself. Overcoming the battles, the difficult moments that i face on a daily basis, that's the hardest fight, because i feel superior to everyone. In terms of skills, bravery, and courage, i feel superior to Arman and Islam.”

– via the Eldoberdan MMA interview, downplaying the threat posed by Arman Tsarukyan and Islam Makhachev while referencing his current personal struggles.

“Neither one [is a threat]. The hardest fight is always with myself. Overcoming the battles, the difficult moments that i face on a daily basis, that's the hardest fight, because i feel superior to everyone. In terms of skills, bravery, and courage, i feel superior to Arman and Islam.”

– via the Eldoberdan MMA interview, downplaying the threat posed by Arman Tsarukyan and Islam Makhachev while referencing his current personal struggles.

“Even if it's 10 days before or 5 days, I'll be accepting the fight. I'll have my weight checked and be in shape. I'll train, spar and i'll try not to get injured when I'm sparring. But i will push myself”

– via ACBJJ, confirming his intention to serve as the official backup for the interim lightweight title fight between Paddy Pimblett and Justin Gaethje at UFC 324

“Even if it's 10 days before or 5 days, I'll be accepting the fight. I'll have my weight checked and be in shape. I'll train, spar and i'll try not to get injured when I'm sparring. But i will push myself”

– via ACBJJ, confirming his intention to serve as the official backup for the interim lightweight title fight between Paddy Pimblett and Justin Gaethje at UFC 324

“I can go out there and make it look easy. He's gonna think he's leveled up; i'm gonna show him that's not the case... i don't want to take damage like last time.”

– via Main Event TV, breaking down his title rematch against Diego Lopes for UFC 325, stating his intention to make the fight look easy and show Lopes he hasn't truly "leveled up," while also aiming to avoid the damage he took in their previous bout.

“Everyone’s gonna be shocked because i think i’m gonna knock him out. People won’t expect that. People just think i’m going to grapple and take him down, but i’m not. I’m going to come out and put it on him. I don’t see him getting past the third, just like chandler.”

– via Red Corner MMA, claiming that he will shock everyone by knocking out Justin Gaethje and stating that he has no intention of relying on grappling

“I will win this interim belt and then i will beat ilia [topuria] up and take the proper belt. Defend that and i will go up and win the welterweight belt.”

– via Red Corner MMA, outlining his ambitious plan to win the interim lightweight belt, defeat Ilia Topuria for the undisputed title, defend it, and then move up to welterweight to win that championship as well.

“That will be funny [a fight against Strickland]. Funny interviews, like a lot of things going to happen about that as well. But he lost a lot of fights, he has to win one fight...He lost against the guy [Dricus du Plessis], who I beat, like I destroyed five rounds. That’s why he has to win one fight. But if they give him [the title shot], who cares?”

– via ESPN MMA expressing his opinion about Sean Strickland's Title Shot

“I wanna play spoiler just like I did in Khabib and Tony. I'm going to f**k this up for everybody, and there is going to be no Paddy and Ilia. I'm going to do the same thing I did for that fight, and then i'm going to fight Ilia on the White House card if he's ready to fight again”

– via the UFC 2026 seasonal press conference, stating his intention to "play spoiler" by beating Paddy Pimblett, thereby canceling the highly anticipated Pimblett vs. Topuria fight, and then challenging Ilia Topuria for the undisputed title.

“I wanna play spoiler just like I did in Khabib and Tony. I'm going to f**k this up for everybody, and there is going to be no Paddy and Ilia. I'm going to do the same thing I did for that fight, and then i'm going to fight Ilia on the White House card if he's ready to fight again”

– via the UFC 2026 seasonal press conference, stating his intention to ""play spoiler"" by beating Paddy Pimblett, thereby canceling the highly anticipated Pimblett vs. Topuria fight, and then challenging Ilia Topuria for the undisputed title.

“I don't have any game plan, to be honest... You can make game plans and things like that, but when the fight comes, it can be a whole different game. Whatever he brings, I'll be ready. [I'm going to] knock him out in 3 rounds.”

– via The Ariel Helwani Show, stating he has no specific game plan for Alexandre Pantoja but predicting he will knock him out within three rounds.

“I want to win early by knockout. When you finish the champ early, it leaves absolutely no talk, no speculations. I want to get the belt back and take my revenge. I have everything it takes to beat him.”

– via the UFC 323 Countdown, predicting a knockout victory in his title rematch against Merab Dvalishvili.

“2026 is going to be the biggest year of my life. I'm coming for that interim title, then I'll be making it undisputed title when I come and beat Ilia Topuria up. Then little posh boy [Arman]... I'll punch his head in as well”

– via the UFC, outlining his plans for 2026 to win both the interim and undisputed lightweight titles, and then fight Arman Tsarukyan.