Yana Kunitskaya sure is acting the part of a future champion. The current Invicta FC bantamweight champion is preparing to headline UFC 222 on Saturday night in Las Vegas when she takes on featherweight queen Cris Cyborg, but it was what she said during a pre-fight interview that is making waves ahead of the bout.

Let's have a look at that and some of the biggest UFC and MMA headlines for Thursday, March 1. 

Kunitskaya questions Cyborg's KO power

Kunitskaya (10-3, 1 NC) is somewhat familiar with what it takes to knockout an opponent, scoring seven KOs in her 14-fight career. So when the challenger challenged the idea of Cyborg's knockout ability on Wednesday, it raised more than a few eyebrows.

"I know that she's strong, but I don't think she has that strong of knockout power," Kunitskaya said in an interiew with MMAjunkie. "She has no clean knockouts where girls go down, like Holly [Holm] have. But yes, she's very tough. She finishes all the fights by technical knockout. I think I'm strong, too, strong enough to compare with her."

For what it's worth, Cyborg just had her eight-fight TKO streak ended when she won via unanimous decision over Holm in December. Her last non-technical knockout came in January 2016 when she knocked out Daria Ibragimova to defend the Invicta FC featherweight crown. Still, Kunitskaya is as loose as ever ahead of UFC 222.

"I don't feel any pressure," Kunitskaya said. "Everyone has weaknesses, and her last fight with Holly, it was five rounds, and it showed a lot. I was getting ready for everything and find holes everywhere -- in stand-up and the ground in wrestling. I'm trying to get ready for everything."  

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More UFC news, rumors

  • Frankie Edgar defended his decision to take on Brian Ortega in the co-main event of UFC 222 instead of waiting for his title opportunity against Max Holloway after Holloway was forced to withdraw with an injury. "I like things the hard way, I guess," Edgar said via MMAjunkie. "Nothing comes easy. I'm OK with that. If I think I'm the best guy, I should be able to beat anybody. … I haven't fought since May. It's just too long to wait. 
  • After Jon Jones' hearing on Tuesday, many fighters voiced their opinion on what went down. Some, like former women's bantamweight champ Miesha Tate, are just done with the whole situation. Tate went so far as to say she doesn't want to be let down again. Jones responded in kind.
  • Former UFC welterweight contender and WSOF welterweight champ Jon Fitch has signed a multi-fight deal with Bellator MMA. Fitch (30-7-1) has not fought since June 2017 and is on a four-fight winning streak. Fitch last fought in UFC in 2013 when he lost to Demian Maia at UFC 156.