“[Ilia] is going through a divorce. Wife supposedly trying to take 50%. God dude, that sucks, and it's all public. Which makes it even f**king worse... When you're going through that type of s**t, you definitely don't want to be in fight camp. That's why he didn't book a fight.I do genuinely feel bad for him, and oh, he's got two kids. When you add kids to the mix, that's what really makes it just so hard to deal with. It's unfortunate for him”

– via his YouTube channel, commenting on Ilia Topuria's personal struggles and decision to take a break from fighting.

“Sorry to hear champ. If it's what I'm hearing it is I know the struggle first hand trying to fight while protecting your kids. Hope all goes well”

– via X, offering support and relating to Ilia Topuria on Stepping Away Temporarily due to personal reasons

“He[Jon Jones] doesn't need to apologize to me for anything. Even through all of the bad stuff that Jon and I have been through, I still say that Jon Jones is the greatest of all time. Everybody starts laughing when I say it”

– via DNA FOR SPORTS, reacting to Jon Jones's desire to apologize to him for the Tom Aspinall fight situation.

“After the fight, everybody told me Ankalaev wasn't training for the last three months. He had a rib injury. When you don't have sparring [sessions] three times a week, it's hard to go to the cage and fight. That's why I think it happened [the TKO loss]. I think they deserve to fight one more time because Ankalaev says, 'I don't want to pull out because I want to save the main event.' He's good [Pereira], but I believe Ankalaev has more skills”

– via a conversation with streamer Adin Ross, making a case for a trilogy fight based on Ankalaev's injury.

“He's on dr*gs, he's finished. Give him rehabilitation, send him to Chechnya.”

– via Instagram Live

“But yeah, that eye poke? It hit different. At first, I was pissed—straight”

– up angry—'cause I didn't want the ref stepping in like that. I was ready to keep going, push through. But then it sank in: disappointment, sadness, all of it. Felt bad for the fans too, you know? They came for a war, not this. And look, I get it—I’ve been there. Back when I fought Derrick Lewis, he nailed me with one, and I’m seeing double for like a whole round. Two Derricks swinging at me? Nightmare. So I totally feel for Tom; that shit hurts, messes with your vision, and in the heat of it, you just react. No one's lying about how brutal it is. Sucks for everybody involved.- detailing his immediate and later emotional reaction to the accidental eye poke that caused the no-contest at UFC 321.

“Backstage we communicated. I was like, ‘Hey man, sorry for the groin shots, hope you’re alright.’ He was like, ‘That was cheap man, that was cheap.’ I’m like, ‘Dude, do you think I’m trying to kick you in the groin? That’s not what I came here to do.”

– Mike Malott on his interaction with Kevin Holland after UFC Vancouver via Ariel Helwani Podcast

“I tried to apologize a couple of times, we’re in there fighting man, stuff happens. What do you want me to do man? I’m not a dirty fighter, I’m not out there trying to do anything greasy. I just wanted to go out there and have a good performance”

– Mike Malott on his interaction with Kevin Holland after UFC Vancouver via Ariel Helwani Podcast

“I had lost a fight, so I felt very upset… but when I saw [Nurmagomedov] in that state, I kind of put my emotions in the back. I went to him and said, ‘I think you just made your dad pretty happy. I’d be proud.”

– shares his reaction to Khabib Nurmagomedov's retirement at UFC 254 via his YT channel

“I didn't see him training much in UFC PI but I saw him before the fight and in a fight and when I saw him like he was [holding] himself back, back, back, back, little step back, little step back. Then I thought, man, he's not right. Something's wrong, like, he's so careful. Not like last time, he's going forward, up and down, changing levels, self”

– confident. He was totally different person, yeah.-reacted to Ankalaev's UFC 320 loss.