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Former light heavyweight champion, Vitor Belfort claims he was a lamb when he should have been a lion against rival, Jon Jones during their 205 pound title clash back in 2012, lamenting a stunning failed armbar attempt on the current heavyweight champion in the opening round.

Belfort, an alum of the UFC, retired from professional mixed martial arts competition back in 2018, suffering a hellacious opening round front kick KO loss to compatriot and fellow former light heavyweight gold holder, Lyoto Machida in their native Brazil.

As for Jones, the former undisputed light heavyweight champion and current heavyweight gold holder, has been sidelined through a pectoral tendon tear back in November, seeing a scheduled heavyweight title fight defense against Stipe Miocic at UFC 295 fall to the wayside at Madison Square Garden as a result.

Vitor Belfort regrets failed armbar against Jon Jones

And reflecting on his light heavyweight title siege against Jones back in 2012 in the main event of UFC 152, Belfort – who revealed he suffered a fractured rib ahead of the bout, claimed he should have broken the Endicott native’s arm during a tense armbar attempt. 

“In that Jon Jones fight, I only reaped what I sowed,” Vitor Belfort told Jota Jota during a recent interview. “I could have ripped that arm off. So why didn’t I? Because I didn’t. I was a lamb when I should’ve been a lion. I wne into their fight with a fractured rib. That was the only day when Jon Jones was in extreme danger in his career. The only fight that he practically lost and then managed to turn it around.”

“I think he was a great lion, and I was a great lamb,” Vitor Belfort explained. “I realized that when I signed a contract from my spiritual father and my spirtiual brother. When I signed the contract, ti said ‘I’ll show mercy to my opponent or try to be a sportsman.’ A sportsman is someone who obeys the rules and he will try to follow them. I wasn’t a sportsman, I was being Jon Jones’ buddy. I should’ve ripped his arm off, it was the time for me to be the lion.”

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Sean Strickland often finds himself in wild situations, which hasn’t changed since becoming the UFC middleweight champion. Aside from having more fans and more money, he is largely the same controversial fighter he was during his rise to the top.

While attending the UFC 296 pay-per-view event on December 16, Strickland was involved in an altercation in the crowd. The 185er clashed with Dricus Du Plessis and strikes were thrown on both sides, but the scuffle was premeditated according to a UFC veteran.

During an appearance on the JAXXON Podcast, Gilbert Burns recalled the events that transpired between Strickland and Du Plessis. According to the Brazilian, the middleweight champion warned him something would occur on the night.

“When Sean came, he kind of looked at the guy… Then he talked to me, ‘Oh, you brought your wife and your kids?’ I said yes,” Burns said about the UFC 296 mishap. “He said, ‘Yeah, this freaking guy is right there. I might do something with this guy.'”

“That was before the fight when he walked in. He already had the thing on his head. He already had it. And then he said, ‘But your family is here. If I do something, I will give you the heads up.’… Whenever the thing starts going down, this guy kind of looks at me and said, ‘Now.'”

“Then he asked my son and my wife to move. So I just got in front of them, I said just go in the corner, I got in front of them. And bro, he went out like crazy.”

Related: Colby Covington welcomes “easy fight” against “trainwreck” Sean Strickland

Strickland pre-planning an attack on Du Plessis may not have been the craziest thing to happen during their exchange earlier this month. 

According to jiu-jitsu phenom Craig Jones—who sat close to the fight—believes there was an attempt at a Mike Tyson-esque ear bite amid the chaos.

As they’re being separated by security, Sean Strickland allegedly tried to bite the ear of Dricus Du Plessis before Las Vegas police broke up the incident.

Check out Gilbert Burns’ views on the brawl and much more in the video below.

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When Daniel Cormier called it a career, he already had his future mapped out by joining the UFC broadcast booth as a color commentator.

Since the first night he started calling fights, the former UFC two-division champion has advanced to become one of the strongest and most recognized voices in MMA. Cormier now serves as one-third of the primary broadcast team for the biggest UFC cards of the year on pay-per-view, where he’s joined by Joe Rogan and play-by-play man Jon Anik.

While the lineup changes occasionally — usually due to Rogan’s busy schedule, where he doesn’t travel outside of North America to call fights — Cormier acknowledges that when a massive fight is happening, he’s part of the best broadcast team in combat sports.

“We have become a trio — me, Jon, and Joe — when it comes to pay-per-views, where when you want to feel like it’s a big night, you hear those voices and you see us on the screen,” Cormier told MMA Fighting. “It’s me, Jon, and Joe, and Megan [Olivi] on the reports.

“Megan’s good, she does football and she does the NFL and does all these things, so you know when you’ve got that team that it’s a pay-per-view and it’s a big night. That’s the best.”

The consistency in the broadcast team, especially on pay-per-views, has helped fans realize that when it’s Cormier, Rogan, and Anik calling the action, something special is usually happening.

Cormier compares the lineup to the classic broadcast teams on Monday Night Football over the years, when those NFL games were appointment viewing on network television.

“When Jon Madden and Al Michaels and those guys were on Monday Night Football, you knew you were watching Monday Night Football, and now you get that with the UFC,” Cormier said.

“When you see Jon, Joe, Megan, and me, you go, ‘OK, it’s going to be a big night.’ That’s great for the UFC.”

Of course, Cormier calls fights outside of pay-per-view broadcasts, and he’s often joined by a wide variety of retired or active fighters and analysts.

The newest name to join that list is Laura Sanko, who graduated from doing backstage interviews and reports to calling fights on the Contender Series and then eventually joining the commentary team for the UFC. She called her first pay-per-view back in August when Sean Strickland pulled off a massive upset to defeat Israel Adesanya in the main event.

Cormier was very impressed with Sanko’s work. He also praised some of his other colleagues that constantly raise the bar for the broadcast team.

“She’s done a good job,” Cormier said about Sanko. “I think Laura is honestly one of the hardest working people, because at times, all of us, we go to the fight and you might know this guy so well that I’m going to watch one of his fights before he fights because I know what this guy does. Laura will watch three or four [fights].

“You know who does that more than anyone? Her and Megan [Olivi]. Megan Olivi, Laura Sanko, and Jon Anik are the most prepared human beings I’ve ever seen in my entire life. I’ve never seen people prepare at the level of those three. For Laura to do what she’s been doing from UFC quick hits to the Contender Series and now calling fights, it’s been tremendous. We’re lucky to have the group of analysts and commentators and broadcasters we have right now.”

Cormier closed out 2023 with UFC 296 and there’s plenty more coming, especially with the historic UFC 300 card coming in April 2024.

He never takes his job for granted, especially when calling the biggest fights in the sport.

“[Rogan and Anik] always look right to me and go, ‘We have the best job in the entire world.’ I’m like, dude, nothing compares,” Cormier said. “It’s not even close. I get goosebumps at the table because I’m such a fan of fighting.”

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Relive the magic of 2023’s MMA Fighting Watch Parties with our countdown of the top-five best reactions of the year.

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Could it be?
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We may only be a few days away from getting a special announcement for the return of Conor McGregor.

Earlier this week, McGregor reportedly spoke to Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) president, Dana White, about his long-awaited return to action. McGregor has been growing frustrated over his delayed comeback ever since his return to the UFC drug testing pool earlier this year,

Remember, McGregor has not fought since breaking his ankle in his trilogy fight against Dustin Poirier back at UFC 264. That was well over two years ago.

On Saturday morning, McGregor took to social media to tease an upcoming fight announcement planned for New Years Day, 2024, which ironically is the first day UFC will no longer be partners with United State Anti-Doping Agency (USADA). Check out McGregor’s message below:

“I will be announcing my fight date and opponent on New Years Day, 2024,” wrote McGregor.

It’s unknown exactly who the promotion has decided to fight McGregor in his return, but it’s likely going to be Michael Chandler since that fight has been in planning since the filming of The Ultimate Fighter. Other names have popped up along the way — including Nate Diaz, Dustin Poirier, Justin Gaethje, and even Islam Makhachev — so things could change if specific parties involved want them to.

Assuming McGregor’s special announcement is the real deal and nothing changes between now and Monday morning, fight fans should be able to mark down McGregor’s return to fighting as early as next week.

Stay tuned!

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