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MMA News Roundup: Veteran fighter talks about post-retirement depression, potential Conor McGregor fight has "deeper meaning" for Alexander Volkanovski, UFC pulls prank on Calvin Kattar

Welcome to today's edition of Sportskeeda's daily MMA News Roundup, where we present the biggest UFC updates and other stories from the world of mixed martial arts.

In today's issue, we talk about a former UFC fighter getting honest about falling into depression after retiring from MMA, Alexander Volkanovski detailing what a potential Conor McGregor fight would mean for him, and more.


#3. Uriah Hall talks about falling into depression and having suicidal thoughts

Uriah Hall opens up about depression
Uriah Hall opens up about depression

Uriah Hall has opened up about his mental health troubles ahead of his pro boxing debut against Le'Veon Bell on the Jake Paul vs. Anderson Silva undercard.

The former UFC middleweight spoke about falling into a "deep depression" following his retirement from MMA with several media outlets after an open workout session for the match.

'Primetime' told MMA Fighting that he struggled to find purpose after leaving the sport, which pushed him into a state of depression. He admitted to having thoughts of ending his life as well, and thanked the people around him for pulling him out of it:

"I was in a weird place. After leaving MMA, I fell into a really deep hole... I fell into a deep depression. I spent the last 20 years of my life committing myself, my soul, to one attribute, and then all of a sudden, itโ€™s gone, itโ€™s taken away. So it was some really dark, deep places, and luckily, I had the right people around me to support me."

Read Uriah Hall's full comments here.

In another interview with 'The Schmo', Hall revealed that the idea of a potential Jake Paul fight in the future is what 'got him out of bed' and pushed him to take the fight against Le'Veon Bell.


#2. Potential Conor McGregor fight "means something" to Alexander Volkanovski

Conor McGregor fight has "deeper" significance for Alex Volkanovski
Conor McGregor fight has "deeper" significance for Alex Volkanovski

For any fighter, the opportunity to face Conor McGregor comes with a long list of perks, money and limelight among them. However, for Alexander Volkanovski, it would mean something more.

During a recent appearance on Submission Radio, the UFC featherweight champion said that a potential Conor McGregor fight "means something" to him, as the Irishman is the only 145lbs titleholder that he has not beaten:

"I've touched on the fact that he's the only featherweight champion I haven't beaten. So obviously that fight means something to me as well... as well as the money that's involved and all that type of stuff. You know the whole circus around him which would be entertaining and fun. So all that type of stuff will be great but there's still a deeper sort of meaning to that fight."

Watch the full interview below:

Volkanovski and McGregor had a brief exchange on Twitter days after Islam Makhachev called out the Australian at UFC 280. McGregor began the conversation poking fun at Volkanovski but eventually changed his tone and it ended more cordially than it started.


#1. UFC pulls hilarious Halloween prank on Calvin Kattar

Calvin Kattar pranked by the promotion
Calvin Kattar pranked by the promotion

Calvin Kattar is set to headline this week's UFC event against Arnold Allen in a fun featherweight matchup. (Read predictions for the card here.)

With the card scheduled to take place two days before Halloween, the UFC decided to play a prank on Kattar.

'The Boston Finisher' was seated at a table with his headphones on, watching and analyzing a UFC fight when the screen unexpectedly flickered and the character Jigsaw from the 'Saw' franchise appeared instead of the fight sequence. A woman who was hiding underneath the table also grabbed Kattar's legs at the same time, giving the ranked featherweight quite a bit of a scare.

However, Kattar took the prank in good spirits and let out a hearty laugh when he realized what was going on.

Watch the video below:

The UFC pranked Calvin Kattar ๐Ÿ’€
(via @TysonChartier) https://t.co/NWwAHCahhA

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