“It really doesn't matter what Dana White thinks of me. I'm a world champion. I'm Donald Trump's favorite fighter. I'm America's champion. I'm the king of Miami... Take me out of those rankings, but whatever, I'm still the biggest draw at welterweight”

– via RAF 5 post—fight press conference (January 10, 2026), responding to Dana White questioning his place in the UFC welterweight top 15.

“I'll go with Georges St—Pierre if you're bringing in former as well. I think that was the match. There was talk that they were going to pay $5M for a grappling match between those two guys. I think that was embellished, but I would have bought that PPV. I'd have loved to have seen Georges vs. Khabib.”

– via his YouTube channel (January 13, 2026), reflecting on the legendary "what if" superfight between Georges St—Pierre and Khabib Nurmagomedov in light of the recent Real American Freestyle (RAF) boom

“"I'll go with Georges St—Pierre if you're bringing in former as well. I think that was the match. There was talk that they were going to pay $5M for a grappling match between those two guys. I think that was embellished, but I would have bought that PPV. I'd have loved to have seen Georges vs. Khabib.”

– via his YouTube channel (January 13, 2026), reflecting on the legendary ""what if""superfight between Georges St—Pierre and Khabib Nurmagomedov in light of the recent Real American Freestyle (RAF) boom.

“If Paddy loses against Justin, I think we might see this fight [against Dan Hooker] pretty quickly. If Dan Hooker wins or loses [against Benoit Saint Denis], it doesn’t matter — that’s going to be the next fight”

– via his YouTube channel (January 10, 2026), predicting that the UFC will capitalize on the toxic new rivalry between Paddy Pimblett and Dan Hooker regardless of their upcoming results

“We’ve been watching him before Rogan... Interesting. You don’t know until we find out. There is only one way to find out. You can speculate all you want, you don't know until you get them in there.”

– via an interview with Robbie Fox of Barstool Sports (January 2026), responding to Joe Rogan’s recent claims that Gable Steveson is already a top—five heavyweight in the world.

“Pereira wants to fight me but I don't think Dana White's gonna allow that to happen. It'll be interesting to see what Dana wants”

– via Red Corner MMA (January 2026), casting doubt on whether his dream superfight against Alex Pereira will ever receive the green light from the UFC boss.

“Jones and I argued about fighting each other in a boxing match, which I agreed to do. And the one that caught fire the most was the wrestling thing... Regardless of the respect for the fighting ability, there’s a desire to compete against each other in something... Do something to make us be on the opposite side of the line, to where Jon and I compete our fight.”

– via Daniel Cormier TV and Red Corner MMA, revealing that his private discussions with Jon Jones while filming ALF Reality in Thailand have evolved from verbal sparring into legitimate talks about a cross—sport competition.

“Being around Jon Jones is different because we had such a bad history. But, the reality is, I'm done fighting now. That part of it's gone, so it's not nearly as nasty... Obviously, we argue a lot, but that's just the status of our relationship. But I think that we've gotten to a point in our lives where we can be in the same area without trying to fight each other”

– via Red Corner MMA reflecting on the surprising thawing of his decade—long feud with Jon Jones

“I don't care who, but my stand is still the same. Now I believe I am in position to fight for the belt”

– via X (formerly Twitter), making a definitive claim for a title shot after a dominant 2025 campaign.

“If I don't finish the fight in the first minute, people think I'm looking sh*t. No, we're just evenly matched and we're having a fight. I've not punched him properly yet”

– via his YouTube channel, addressing the backlash to his performance against Ciryl Gane prior to the eye poke

“The one thing you can't do with an eye is rush back. That is the one big lesson that I learned, because I did that. I rushed back too soon. I rushed back to sparring. I rushed back to the competition, and I never saw out of that eye again. Tom has got to take his time”

– via his YouTube channel, offering a sobering warning to Tom Aspinall based on his own career—ending injury

“I have one loss, and I’ve always had a change in my head to close it out and get a rematch, and I know that’s no longer possible. But Umar has a good chance”

– via Ushatayka says that Umar (who lost to Merab at UFC 311 in January 2025) has the luxury of a "redemption arc" that Islam was never granted.

“The UFC needs fighters they can sell, who can make money. And Rinat would just go out there and win. The UFC doesn't need guys who just beat everyone and stay quiet. Learn English, learn how to sell yourself, learn how to be interesting to the public”

– via Ushatayka , reacting to the news of Rinat Fakhretdinov being released from the UFC.

“He has some kind of hatred towards us. But I think we'll sort it out. Either before the fight somehow, or maybe in the future... He's unhappy about something. We need to figure out what it is”

– Ushatayka, addressing the personal animosity coming from Ilia Topuria and his camp

“Cain Velasquez's parole date was moved to February of next year. Let's pray that the champ gets to come home and start his life anew after everything he's been through.”

– via his YouTube channel, sharing a major update on his longtime friend and teammate.

“I heard that story for years that Francis made contact, not with Dana, but i knew that he did with Hunter. I didn’t believe the story. I never talked about it because i never believed it... I didn't believe it because i thought they would have fired him right on the spot”

– via an interview with Ariel Helwani, discussing the long—standing rumors that Francis Ngannou physically confronted UFC executive Hunter Campbell, admitting he initially dismissed the stories as unlikely because of the severity of the consequences.

“It was frustrating. I saw that tom got a lot of criticism... i think he took the right decision. When you're fighting somebody that's an elite striker like ciryl gane, you better be seeing what is in front of you. anybody can win [in the rematch]... i will give a slight advantage on the ciryl gane side.”

– via The Ariel Helwani Show, sharing his thoughts on the controversial stoppage in the Tom Aspinall vs. Ciryl Gane fight, defending Aspinall's decision to stop the fight due to the eye injury, and giving a slight advantage to Ciryl Gane in a potential rematch.

“It is what it is. It’s not like i have confronted Arman… Arman’s a man. He knows how it played out. He knows how it went down behind the scenes. He knows. We all f****ing know. I don’t ever talk about this sh*t publicly because you guys are like a bunch of f***ing old ladies… a lot of man sh*t happens in this f***ing business and we keep it between us men and it is how it is.”

– via via The Mac Life, providing a candid response to the situation regarding Arman Tsarukyan not receiving the next lightweight title shot (which went to Justin Gaethje vs. Paddy Pimblett for the interim title)

“I think Kamaru could cut the line from what i'm hearing”

– via MMA Fighting commenting on the welterweight division, stating that he believes Kamaru Usman is likely to "cut the line" and receive the next title shot against Islam Makhachev based on what he has heard.

“It will be a big mistake to follow this kind of hype. Chanko hasn't got enough experience to handle all this publicity and recognition. It's a mistake to chase it all, and it can play a dirty trick on your future career. Chanko needs to work hard in the gym, and as for media recognition, it will come on its own.”

– via Red Corner MMA, sharing advice for Magomedov Zaynukov ("Chanko"), warning him that chasing media hype without enough experience is a mistake that could hurt his career, and advising him to focus on hard work in the gym.