Conor McGregor Breaks Down Khabib Fight, Jon Jones Responds To Steroid Accusations, Anthony Smith

- Anthony Smith has made himself into a contender in the UFC's light heavyweight division on the heels of victories over former champions Mauricio "Shogun" Rua and Rashad Evans this year. Saturday, Smith takes on former title challenger Volkan Oezdemir.

A winner of 30 pro fights, Smith has finished both Rua and Evans inside of the first round and in just over two minutes of total fight time. The bout with Oezdemir on Saturday airs live on FOX Sports 1 from the Avenir Centre in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada.

- Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones believes that those doubting his skills and talents are sadly mistaken. Jones, who is set to return at the end of the year against Alexander Gustafsson, recently discussed his situation in an interview with the Jackson Wink MMA Academy.

"I would say that those would be people looking for an excuse not to give it to me, not to give credit where it's due," Jones said. "Because in the first situation, it was proven ? well, in both situations, whatever was in me chemically was proven scientifically that the amounts were so small that there was no way possible to affect my performance in a positive or a negative way. The two times where I've failed drug tests for performance enhancers, it's been so small that it can't affect your performance."

Jones served a 15-month suspension that began after his bout last year vs. Daniel Cormier. He won that fight and the title, but the result was overturned to a no-contest and the belt awarded back to Cormier.

- Conor McGregor took to social media to offer his thoughts on his recent fight against Khabib Nurmagomedov. McGregor lost in his Octagon return via fourth round submission to the UFC lightweight champion. Check out the post from Instagram to McGregor's detailed explanation of the bout:

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Thoughts on my last fight. Round 1. I believe from a sport standpoint, round 1 was his. Top position against the fence. Zero position advancement or damage inflicted. But top position. From a fight standpoint the first round is mine. Actual shots landed and a willingness to engage. Straight left early. Knee to the head on the low shot. Elbows in any and all tie up scenarios. Opponent just holding the legs against the fence for almost the entire round. Round 2 he is running away around the cage before being blessed with a right hand that changed the course of the round, and the fight. It was a nice shot. After the shot I bounced back up to engage instantly, but again he dipped under to disengage. That is the sport and it was a smart move that led to a dominant round, so no issue. Well played. If I stay switched on and give his stand up even a little more respect, that right hand never gets close and we are talking completely different now. I gave his upright fighting no respect in preparation. No specific stand up spars whatsoever. Attacking grapplers/wrestlers only. That won't happen again. I also gave my attacking grappling no respect. To defense minded. Lessons. Listen to nobody but yourself on your skill set. You are the master of your own universe. I am the master of this. I must take my own advice. Round 3. After the worst round of my fighting career, I come back and win this round. Again walking forward, walking him down, and willing to engage. Round 4. My recovery was not where it could have been here. That is my fault. Although winning the early exchanges in 4, he dips under again and I end up in a bad position with over 3 on the clock. I work to regain position and end up upright, with my back to the fence. A stable position. Here however, I made a critical error of abandoning my over hook at this crucial time, exposing the back, and I end up beaten fair and square. What can I say? It was a great fight and it was my pleasure. I will be back with my confidence high. Fully prepared. If it is not the rematch right away, no problem. I will face the next in line. It's all me always, anyway. See you soon my fighting fans I love you all ?

A post shared by Conor McGregor Official (@thenotoriousmma) on Oct 22, 2018 at 9:11pm PDT