Speaking via MMAFighting.com, MacDonald said:

“We’re not fighting. Me and Georges are friends, we’re training partners. We’ll have our own arrangements and figure it all out when the time comes. It’s not going to come to us fighting. Friends, teammates, you know? We’re here to help each other. We’ll just figure it out. I’m not there yet. I’m more focused on Jake than anything, I’m taking it one step at a time. I’m sure at one point I’ll be champ in this division, that is my goal. I’m not just here to be No. 3 guy or No. 4 or whatever I’m ranked. Eventually I’ll get there.”

On his UFC on FOX 8 showdown with Jake Ellenberger, MacDonald added:

“I’ll be prepared for everything. He’s obviously a pretty well-rounded guy, heavy handed, he’s probably the most heavy-handed guy I’ve ever fought, so that would be a big thing to watch for I guess. I’m just worried about myself, I just like to think Rory, [you have to] get yourself to the best of your abilities in the jiu-jitsu area, boxing, kickboxing, everything, got to be able to put everything together perfectly. I don’t think this guy’s a black belt in jiu-jitsu, I’m not so much into that, I just like to be like, I gotta get to where I gotta be, and everything else will figure itself out in the cage. That’s the way I look at it.”

“If everyone in the top five fought each other, I’m sure there would be winners on different days, you know what I mean? No one would win 100 percent of the time, it’s a very close division and everyone is super challenging. I have a lot of respect for all of the guys out there. I’m excited to finally be fighting these guys. It’s a long road to get here and I’m finally getting to fight some of the best days in the world.”

MacDonald was last seen in action this past December when he picked up an ultra-impressive three round unanimous decision win over B.J. Penn. The only defeat on his record came at the hands of Condit, a man he called out immediately after beating the Hawaiian. Stay tuned to MMABay for updates on this situation as we get it.

By Michael Pepper. (Follow me on Twitter)

Why not tell us what you think about this story and get your thoughts featured in this week’s edition of MMABay Radio? Email Mailbag@mmabay.co.uk, start the subject with the word ‘RADIO MAILBAG’ and we’ll talk about our favourites on the next show.

The news came in the form of an image posted on the EA Sports official UFC Twitter account and Facebook page that read “First news: May 21.”

EA bought the UFC licence from THQ during E3 last year and signed a multi-year deal with the Las Vegas based promotion to develop video games based on the popular sport. EA earlier revealed that the next UFC game will not see the light of the day before April 2014.

By Michael Pepper. (Follow me on Twitter)

Why not tell us what you think about this story and get your thoughts featured in this week’s edition of MMABay Radio? Email Mailbag@mmabay.co.uk, start the subject with the word ‘RADIO MAILBAG’ and we’ll talk about our favourites on the next show.

Speaking via MMAFighting.com, Kogan said:

“Nate doesn’t feel remorse for what he said. I don’t feel remorse for what he said. I don’t feel remorse for defending what he said or elaborating on what he said. Because it was not a homophobic statement. It was not intended to offend homosexuals. We weren’t even talking about homosexuals. One can debate the multiple uses of this term. We can sit here and debate in the English language, there’s a lot of words that mean a lot of different things, but whatever. As it is, it wasn’t intended to be used the way people tried to twist the way it was being used. So therefore, what does he have to feel bad about? The fact that [Caraway] shouldn’t gloat over other person’s issues and try to kiss ass to make a point? Did anybody ask Bryan Caraway about his stance on marijuana? No. Nobody asked Bryan Caraway anything. They just gave him the damn money because he was chasing after Dana all over Twitter begging for the g——n bonus. Just take your money and go away.”

“If we would have made a homophobic statement, or a statement that was clearly intended to insult homosexuals, that’s one thing. You come out and say, ‘Hey, you know what, I’m really sorry it hurt people. We didn’t mean to do that.’ But to me, and this is just my philosophy, and I’m sure it’s going to be disagreed with by many people. This is how I think, and how Nate thinks. The mere fact that there is a protocol to deal with these crisis situation implies its lack of sincerity. I’m not trying to throw people under the bus. I’m just saying, people are out there making their opinions known and I guess, randomly, some opinions are more bolder than the others. Or maybe there’s some kind of Twitter hate meter, if it goes up too high then you start to punish people. I don’t really know. It really doesn’t matter. It is what it is.”

Diaz is on a two fight losing streak after coming up short against Benson Henderson and Josh Thomson in recent months inside the octagon. Despite that he was never in any real danger of being cut… that was until he used the other f-word this past week on his Twitter feed. Stay tuned to MMABay for more news on this situation as we get it.

By Michael Pepper. (Follow me on Twitter)

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Speaking via MMAFighting.com, Maynard said:

“I thought it could be [an important fight], yeah, because we asked for Anthony Pettis and then he dropped down. And then they offered [Grant] and I thought that he was a top guy too, so we took it and we kind of knew it would be one of those types of fights. Halfway through the camp, you get a little bit down, a little slowed up. But [announcing it was a No. 1 contender fight] was a kick in the ass, so I was pumped.”

“I’m impressed to the point where it gets me up everyday to train hard as hell to beat him. That’s all I need. I don’t fear anything anyone brings to the table. But there’s a couple things that I’m aware of. I don’t want to go into great detail about it. He’s a tough kid, doesn’t have a lot of huge holes, but there’s a couple small technical holes that we’re trying to exploit.”

When asked whether current champion, Benson Henderson, is the number one guy in the division right now, “The Bully” responded:

“He’s not. He’s good though. He is good. Tough to beat. He’s that guy that’s hard to beat, but not the best. I think he has three bouts that could’ve gone either/or, that were very close. And to be honest I scored three of them to the other guy — the two Edgar’s and Gil. But it could’ve gone either way.”

Maynard is coming off of a win over Clay Guida last summer, which followed up a draw and a loss to then-lightweight champion Frankie Edgar. Maynard was slated to face Joe Lauzon at UFC 155 in December, but had to withdraw from the fight due to a knee injury. Stay tuned to MMABay for more build-up to this one as we get it.

By Michael Pepper. (Follow me on Twitter)

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Speaking via MMAFighting.com, Cholish said:

“I can say from how I’ve been treated directly and on my understanding of what the UFC takes in on an annual basis that they could compensate the lower-level fighters…and even the upper-level fighters a little bit better. I just think a lot of fighters feel the same exact way I do but are just in a situation or a position where for lack of a better word they’re just scared to speak out because they’re worried about the repercussions.”

“I think if you’re a fighter on the lower level you should at least be getting enough income win or lose in your fight so that…you can go into that fight fully focused on the fight. I don’t understand how [lower-level fighters] can live off the income at this level. Going into these fights, I knew I was going to lose money. If I’m losing money, is it really something I want to keep doing, especially if I’m putting myself at risk?”

Prior to last weekend Cholish hadn’t fought since May 2012 when he lost to Danny Castillo via unanimous decision. The Cornell University graduate was slated to fight Yves Edwards in December but an injury forced him out of the bout. He was submitted by Tibau in the second round via guillotine choke.

By Michael Pepper. (Follow me on Twitter)

Why not tell us what you think about this story and get your thoughts featured in this week’s edition of MMABay Radio? Email Mailbag@mmabay.co.uk, start the subject with the word ‘RADIO MAILBAG’ and we’ll talk about our favourites on the next show.