Welcome to today's edition of Sportskeeda MMA News Roundup. Daniel Cormier reacts to Justin Gaethje's retirement threat, doubting it will pressure the UFC into handing him a title shot. Arman Tsarukyan raises the stakes in his title hunt, proposing a bold $500,000 bet to champion Ilia Topuria to prove his worth. Meanwhile, Merab Dvalishvili shares a revealing and emotional account of his early struggles in America. Let's break them all down:Daniel Cormier casts doubt on Justin Gaethje's retirement ultimatumDaniel Cormier isn’t sold on Justin Gaethje’s ultimatum to the UFC. After rumors of allegedly falling out of the immediate lightweight title picture, Gaethje made it clear he wouldn't accept a fight with Paddy Pimblett and even threatened retirement.Cormier warned that Gaethje’s hardline approach may not sway the UFC, especially with names like Max Holloway and Arman Tsarukyan also in contention. Speaking on his YouTube channel, Cormier said:"It sounds like he's more than willing now to stand by that and be done. That would suck because MMA is better when Justin Gaethje is fighting. We just had to watch Dustin Poirier retire last weekend, and that absolutely sucked. So, what's going to happen this time? We have to walk away from Justin Gaethje, too?" [H/t: MMA Junkie]He added:"Justin seems very, very stern in the idea that if he has to fight Paddy Pimblett, and that's the only option, he's not going to do it. That sucks because I don't know that it's going to make the UFC say, 'We have to give Justin Gaethje a title fight.' I don't know that they're going to do that, especially when you go through all the things that Arman has a case, Paddy has a case."Check out Daniel Cormier's comments below:Arman Tsarukyan dares Ilia Topuria with $500k bet for title fightArman Tsarukyan is going all-in for a title shot. In a daring move, the top-ranked lightweight challenged Ilia Topuria to a $500,000 bet, confident he’d beat the undefeated champ.The offer came after Topuria hinted he might vacate his title rather than face Tsarukyan. Speaking in a recent appearance on the Overdogs Podcast with Mike Perry, the Armenian said:"I can put like half a million if he beat me. If I beat him, he’s gonna give me a half a million... If he wants to make that, I’m down. We can shake hands, fight.”Check out Arman Tsarukyan's comments below:Merab Dvalishvili opens up about his initial strugglesMerab Dvalishvili’s rise in the UFC wasn’t without struggle. On Geeking Out with Matt Serra, the bantamweight contender recalled his early days in the U.S. after moving from Georgia.Invited by a friend to live in Long Island, Dvalishvili was promised proper MMA training. What he found, however, was a far cry from professional standards. He said:"Boris took us to his boxing gym. But, there are a couple of punching bags, there are no training partners. Training times were 11 am and 6 pm. But, at 11 am no one was training. It was just us. At 6 pm, a bunch of ladies, kids walk in to do cardio training. They think it's boxing but they're just punching bags."He added:"I was training with these - not even amateurs. It's just ladies and moms and kids. I was depressed. I couldn't even tell Boris, 'Boris, this is not real training.'"Check out Merab Dvalishvili's comments below (5:10):