Midnight Roundup! Justin Gaethje shares update on UFC return timeline, Ryan Garcia calls for Gervonta Davis rematch, and more

Justin Gaethje recently shared an update on his health and revealed a potential timeline for his UFC return. Gaethje is notably coming off a brutal last-second KO loss against Max Holloway at UFC 300 earlier this month. Elsewhere, Ryan Garcia compared his fight against Devin Haney with Gervonta Davis and called for a high-profile 'Tank' rematch.

Catch up on all the latest news in mixed martial arts with Sportskeeda's Midnight Roundup.

Justin Gaethje is looking at an extended layoff following UFC 300 KO loss

Fans won't be seeing Justin Gaethje in the octagon anytime soon. 'The Highlight' recently shared an update on his possible return and made it clear that he's looking to take some time off and heal before he returns to action.

During his interview on the LeBatardShow, Gaethje outlined his plans to stay fit during his hiatus and revealed he'll be out of training for at least the next six months. He said:

''I could do cardio, I can stay in shape, that’s what I want to try and do — especially [with] the older I get, the harder it is to get back to the best shape of my life, so I want to stay active. Obviously the physical contact is going to be limited for quite some time, just because I want to preserve myself. ... I think six months, at least, before I get back to taking shots. But that doesn’t say that I won't be training the whole time.”

Catch Justin Gaethje's comments below (18:22):

Ryan Garcia claims Devin Haney was a tougher fight than Gervonta Davis, calls for 'Tank' rematch

Ryan Garcia recently weighed in on his victory over Devin Haney last weekend. 'KingRy' claimed that his fight against Haney was more challenging than his battle against Gervonta Davis and called for a rematch against 'Tank' at a higher weight limit.

In an interview with Patrick Bet-David on the PBD Podcast, Garcia discussed losing to Davis via seventh-round knockout and blamed it on the "weakness" after cutting weight. Saying that Haney was a much more formidable opponent, he added:

"Haney actually caught me. Gervonta, I didn't really - it wasn't a hard fight, I was just weak. That's not a hard fight for me. I will beat Gervonta Davis worse than I beat Devin Haney. Devin Haney's a harder fight than Gervonta. 100%. Haney beats 'Tank'. I don't think Tank could - Tank won't get to Haney. Definitely, Haney would beat 'Tank'."

He continued:

"'Tank' has fought at 140 [pounds] before. We can meet at 144. Simple. If he wants to make a lot of money, we could do it. If not, I don't need him. I'm making a lot of money, regardless. I could retire tomorrow."

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Jiri Prochazka blames Alex Pereira loss at UFC 295 on "early stoppage" after rewatching the fight

Jiri Prochazka recently addressed his loss against Alex Pereira at UFC 295 last November. The former UFC light heavyweight champion stated that while he initially backed the referee's decision to call a stop to the contest, he's changed his mind after rewatching the stoppage.

During an interview with Michael Bisping, Prochazka shared his thoughts on referee Marc Goddard's stoppage and said:

"I said what I said, and that was right in that time. But when you see that many times and when the people asked me for that many times, and especially when I saw that fight, I had to say it was an early stoppage."

Catch Jiri Prochazka's comments below (11:09):

Israel Adesanya recalls fitness influencer Bradley Martyn trying to fight him at Jake Paul's party in 2020

It's no secret that famous fitness influencer Bradley Martyn pushes a unique schtick online. He regularly interviews combat sports athletes, and during their conversations, he casually asks them if they think they could beat him in a street fight.

While many find this disrespectful and cringeworthy, some believe Martyn does it for the attention. Whatever the reason may be, it appears Martyn once tried to throw down with former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya at a house party.

During a recent conversation with Demetrious Johnson, Adesanya recalled the incident and said:

"When Jake fought Nate Robinson, I meet Jake Paul at the hotel and then he invites me to his house. I get there, crazy. This was during COVID times. There's a ring in the backyard and I got word through someone that, 'oh, this guy is trying to get Izzy in the ring' and I said, 'Nah, I'm just here to have fun, I ain't doing none of that'. And it was him. Some people aren't even man enough to wash the jock [straps] we fight in. They're not even man enough or worthy enough to step in the ring or in the cage with us and when they, 'oh, how would I fare? How would I do?' I'm like, 'stop'."

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Islam Makhachev claims Arman Tsarukyan turned down fight offers "maybe 3 or 4 times"

Islam Makhachev recently claimed that Arman Tsarukyan turned down an opportunity to fight him multiple times. For context, Tsarukyan defeated Charles Oliveira via split decision at UFC 300 and was immediately offered a shot 155-pound title fight against Makhachev in June.

Tsarukyan rejected the offer, explaining that he couldn't fight on such a short turnaround. During a recent interview with New York Post Sports, Makhachev reacted to Tsarukyan declining the title fight offer and said:

"I'm not surprised [he turned it down] because this guy talks about rematch all his life, but... This is maybe the 3rd or 4th time UFC gave him a chance to fight me and he said no... The UFC told me 'We give you opponent after UFC 300' I knew if Arman beat Oliveira he [would] never take this fight."

Catch Islam Makhachev's comments below (9:00):