Midnight Roundup! UFC champ heaps praise on Conor McGregor, Ilia Topuria talks potential Sean O'Malley title fight, and more

UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis recently shared his thoughts on Conor McGregor and lauded the Irishman for his contribution to mixed martial arts. Elsewhere, featherweight king Ilia Topuria discussed a potential Sean O'Malley title fight and dismissed 'Suga' as a legitimate threat.

Catch up on all the latest updates in the combat sports world with Sportskeeda MMA's Midnight Roundup.

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#1 UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis lauds Conor McGregor's impact on MMA

Dricus du Plessis recently shared his thoughts on Conor McGregor and the impact the Irishman has had on MMA. The South African champion lauded 'The Notorious' for helping bring the sport into the mainstream and stated that every fighter must thank him for what he's done.

During an appearance on The Sias du Plessis Show, 'Stillknocks' credited the former two-division champion for bringing more eyeballs to the sport. He said:

''I mean, that guy, everything he touches, he’s such a legend in this sport, What he’s done for the sport, he’s transformed it into such a mainstream sport... ''I can understand disliking the persona but knowing... I don’t know him personally, but meeting him, a different person. And even if you don’t like him, you can’t ever, ever discredit what he’s done for this sport because every single fighter needs to thank him.''

Catch Dricus du Plessis' statements below (24:20):

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#2 UFC superstar Ilia Topuria dismisses potential Sean O'Malley super fight in the future

UFC featherweight king Ilia Topuria doesn't see Sean O'Malley posing much of a challenge and isn't interested in throwing down with the bantamweight champion. Topuria recently shared his thoughts on 'Suga' and claimed his skills were levels above the Montana native.

During an interview with French news outlet Le Suer, 'El Matador' spoke about potentially facing the mercurial striker. Claiming that a potential fight wouldn't be competitive for him, Topuria said:

"I can do with him [O'Malley] whatever I want. I can just play with him. Like, how [does] he want me to finish him? That's like the same question I ask all the guys that I'm facing. I'm like, 'Just tell me, how [do] you want me to finish you?' And I could do that...He's a world champion, I respect him, but he has nothing to do with me."

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#3 Jorge Masvidal recalls accepting short-notice title fight at UFC 251

Jorge Masvidal is among the most popular MMA fighters in the world and is widely considered a bonafide UFC icon despite never winning a title in his weight class. After three impressive victories over Darren Till, Ben Askren, and Nate Diaz, Masvidal was offered the title shot against Kamaru Usman on six days' notice at UFC 251 in July 2020 in Abu Dhabi.

Masvidal accepted the fight, but got dominated by 'The Nigerian Nightmare' over five rounds. In the rematch, Usman secured a thunderous second-round knockout and settled their rivalry once and for all. During a recent appearance on the TimboSugarShow, Masvidal looked back at his decision to take the short-notice bout and said:

“It’s a regret, but also not a regret. When I got the call to fight [Kamaru] Usman on six days’ notice, me and the UFC had been going back because I wanted more pay-per-view money... If I sell 100-thousand pay-per-views, then don’t give me s***…but I wanted to get f**** paid… I had all of the chips on my side, because who is going to cut all this weight, six days, make weight and at the time I’m number one.

"So they didn’t have any choice…I fought for everything I could, I made more money than I ever had in my career…but I didn’t get the decision I wanted in that fight." [H/T: BJPenn.com]

Catch Jorge Masvidal's comments below (1:15:33):

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#4 Carlos Ulberg shares thoughts on fighting Jamahal Hill at UFC 303

Carlos Ulberg recently shared his thoughts on facing former light heavyweight champion Jamahal Hill at UFC 303 and expressed his gratitude for being given the opportunity to feature on a card headlined by Conor McGregor.

During a recent interview with Engage, Ulberg was asked for his reaction to getting booked against Hill and how he felt competing just before the Irishman. He said:

"We're going up against Hill, I think he's number three at the moment so that's some really good news that puts us in a really good spot and I'm not going to pass that opportunity."

Ulberg continued:

''I spoke to someone today and they didn't know about MMA but they knew who McGregor was which was amazing so he is definitely a big star and to fight under that undercard would be amazing and if we can get the co-main event, then that'd be even more spectacular so yeah man.''

Catch Carlos Ulberg's comments below (3:43):

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#5 Update on Mike Tyson's health after a recent airport scare ahead of Jake Paul clash

Boxing legend Mike Tyson is said to be in good health after recently suffering an in-flight medical emergency. The 57-year-old is set to face Jake Paul in a professional boxing match on July 20.

According to media reports, Tyson suffered a health scare during the boarding process at the airport and doctors had to be called in for an emergency check. The flight took off two hours later, but it's unclear whether Tyson was on it. In the aftermath, his representatives shared an update and stated that he was doing fine.

An official statement (via MMA Fighting) read:

"Thankfully, Mr. Tyson is doing great. He became nauseous and dizzy due to an ulcer flare-up 30 minutes before landing. He is appreciative to the medical staff that was there to help him."