MMA News: Fighters break rehydration threshold, Jon Jones responds to Sean Strickland, UFC lightweight claims new division is coming: MMA News Roundup

Seven fighters at UFC 298 breaks the CSAC rehydration threshhold, Jon Jones responds to Sean Strickland, and Rafael Fiziev says the UFC are planning to add a new division.

Find out more details in today's (Feb. 28) Sportskeeda daily news roundup.

#3. Seven fighters break CSAC rehydration threshold at UFC 298

UFC 298 marked the first time the promotion returned to Anaheim, California, in over two years.

While the event was a success, not everything appeared to have gone off without a hitch. According to a report by ESPN's Marc Raimondi, seven of the fighters on the card broke the California State Athletic Commission's (CSAC) rehydration threshold.

The ruling states that a fighter is not allowed to gain back more than 15% of their total weight between the weigh-ins and stepping into the octagon on fight night.

Raimondi wrote:

"Seven fighters on the UFC 298 card earlier this month gained 15% or more of their weight back from weigh-in day to fight day, meeting the threshold for being flagged as an issue by the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC), according to a document ESPN obtained Tuesday by the CSAC."

The MMA reporer further added that due to the high number of athletes that have broken the threshhold, CSAC are now going to discuss changes to its rehydration policy in a meeting next Monday.

#2. Jon Jones responds to Navy SEAL challenging Sean Strickland's claims of training with him

UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones has weighed in on the drama involving Sean Strickland and a Navy SEAL

'Tarzan' recently issued an open challenge to Navy SEALs, claiming that not a single SEAL would be able to survive training with him and undergoing his typical training regime for a week.

Former Navy SEAL Jimmy Watson then took to Instagram to respond to Strickland's challenge, hitting back and stating that he and his colleagues have already undergone the biggest tests a person can face. He said:

"Sean, we get it. You’re a bad*ss bro. Your training partners get millions of dollars and they actually live. My swim buddies, they die every single year. We’ve already proven that any kind of beatdown will not break us. But our training will simply just end your career."

Jones then responded to Watson's video and claimed that Strickland's comments make him feel "embarrassed" to be an MMA fighter. He wrote:

"I’m actually embarrassed to be an MMA fighter right now, what a dumb thing for Sean to say. 🤦🏿‍♂️"

#1. Rafael Fiziev claims UFC are working on a new 165-pound division

UFC lightweight contender Rafael Fiziev hasn't competed since he tore his ACL in his bout with Mateusz Gamrot last September.

Whilst recovering from injury, 'Ataman' appears to have confirmed that the UFC is working on building a 165-pound division, a rumor that has been circulating for some time.

In a recent interview with Russian media outlet Ushatayka, Fiziev said:

"This is not a rumor, this is already for sure as far as I know. I heard that this is already true and even they have already fought, they even identified something there, I heard. Yes."

The 30-year-old was then asked about potentially competing in the division, to which he added:

"I feel good at [155]. I ate pasta during the week of the fight. I ate in fight week, even before the weigh-in. I've never had any issue with this. I just, out of discipline, sat down well before as I got a hold of it after the fight...That's why it's become much easier to lose weight in my last four fights. I generally lose weight like this, that's why [165], no."

Catch the interview here (7:00):