Midnight Roundup! Jorge Masvidal confirms unretiring, Conor McGregor blasts Irish politics, Israel Adesanya drops UFC 300 bombshell, and more

Former UFC welterweight Jorge Masvidal is eager to make a return to combat sports. Meanwhile, Israel Adesanya recently dropped some major bombshells about a potential title fight at UFC 300 in April. This week also saw Ilia Topuria being granted Spanish citizenship.

Check out Sportskeeda's Midnight Roundup for the latest news updates in the world of mixed martial arts.

Former UFC star Jorge Masvidal confirms decision to make combat sports return

Former BMF champion Jorge Masvidal recently opened up about his desire to return to action. 'Gamebred' called it a career after his loss against Gilbert Burns at UFC 287 last April. The loss was Masvidal's fourth in a row and prompted him to lay his gloves down and announce his retirement after two decades in the UFC.

While he seemed more focused on working on his combat sports promotions post-retirement, it appears the 39-year-old has had enough of the sidelines. He shared a simple one-word message on X to announce his return and wrote:

"Unretired."

During a recent interview with FanSided MMA, Masvidal reiterated his decision to unretire and spoke about his intention to venture into boxing. He said:

''Everything I do I back it up, 100 percent go for it. I’m definitely unretired. I’m definitely gonna hurt some people. I’m definitely gonna box this year and sh*t, I just want to get in the best shape possible. Get in that cage again and give it all I got. I can’t go out on a f**king l, the more I think about it, it f**king haunts me and hurts me. So, I’m definitely coming back just to f**king rearrange somebody’s face, or faces.''

Catch Jorge Masvidal's comments below (9:01):

Conor McGregor urges Irish people to reject two new constitution-amending bills

It's no secret that Conor McGregor has been taking an interest in Irish politics and has been vocal about his political stances over the past few months.

The former two-division UFC champion recently called on his fellow countrymen to vote in the upcoming Irish constitutional referendums and reject two bills to define a broader concept of family and women's societal role in the constitution.

In a recent X post, McGregor sounded off on the two bills and wrote:

"Vote NO and NO in this election, Ireland. Here is the thing, we all smell a rat. F**k me and f**k you too, if you are that way inclined. I don’t care. This is a NO/NO vote. Default position alone at this time is if they say yes, we say no. Point blank. After that we can figure it out. “Yes” there is just too much off about it. “No” it is what it is."

He continued:

"We will still read and have the great word “woman” in our constitution! A woman made us all! They can do everything they are saying they can do now, but are not doing it. They are dangling a “vote yes and we will look after you” type of a promise. F**k off, look after us now. Like you can. Like you don’t. I smell a rat. Vote NO / NO. March 8th."

Israel Adesanya claims Dricus du Plessis refused UFC 300 showdown offer

Israel Adesanya recently spoke about his highly anticipated return to action and accused Dricus du Plessis of rejecting an offer to fight him at UFC 300 in April. The two have been rivals for a long time and were booked for a fight last year. However, the South African fighter was forced to pull out due to an injury.

Sean Strickland replaced du Plessis and ultimately defeated Adesanya to win the 185-pound strap. The Nigerian-born Kiwi later hinted at taking an extended break from fighting and spending some time on the sidelines. Strickland later lost the title to 'Stillknocks' via unanimous decision at UFC 297 earlier this year.

The new middleweight champion has made no secret of his intention to fight Adesanya for his title defense and called him out during his UFC 297 post-fight octagon interview. However, it appears he rejected a potential fight against 'The Last Stylebender' at the milestone UFC 300 event.

During his appearance on This Past Weekend with Theo Von, Adesanya revealed that he was offered a title fight against du Plessis and said:

"They summoned me for [UFC] 300 and I was like, 'Yep, let's roll,' but their side didn't want it... But, they just fought [Sean] Strickland, so maybe he had a little bit niggly injuries and stuff, but we all got niggles and whatnot... I've fought injured for the last how many fights? That's why I took time off. Just to let my body heal and it has healed."

Ilia Topuria granted Spanish citizenship by Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez after UFC 298 title win

Ilia Topuria is feeling all the love from his Spanish fans and recently linked up with the nation's prime minister, who also promised him his long-awaited citizenship.

'El Matador' recently won the UFC featherweight championship after securing a statement second-round knockout over Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298. In the aftermath, he was invited to Real Madrid's home match at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium and was greeted by football legends like Sergio Ramos.

Just a few days later, the 27-year-old met Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez at his residence and was praised by the national leader for his achievements. Sanchez took to X and wrote:

"This morning I received @Topuriailia, the new @ufc featherweight world champion. Your effort, dedication, and perseverance have led you to fulfill one of your dreams. The second will also become a reality very soon. Your love for Spain will be reflected in your Spanish ID."

Rafael Fiziev reveals UFC had plans to introduce new 165-pound weight class

UFC lightweight contender Rafael Fiziev recently made some massive claims about the promotion and revealed that the promotion planned to add a 165-pound weight class. He seemed to confirm a rumor that had been circulating on social media for quite some time but was never officially addressed by the promotion.

Speaking to Russian media outlet Ushatayka, Fiziev was asked about the new weight class rumors. He replied:

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

Former UFC heavyweight Brendan Schaub avoids tragedy after flipping truck in desert

Brendan Schaub recently had an accident while driving his truck in the desert. The fighter-turned-comedian didn't appear to indulge in any recklessness and wore his seatbelt while driving at a reasonable speed.

'Big Brown' recently shared a video of his ordeal on X and made a light-hearted comment about being uninjured. He wrote:

"The only question after flipping your truck is... But did you have fun tho? #keepontruckin #oops"