Action film star Steven Seagal accompanied UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva to the Octagon at UFC 126 on Saturday night before Silva knocked Vitor Belfort out with a highlight-reel front kick. Seagal was not just there for star power. According to Silva, he learned the kick from Seagal.

"Steven Seagal helped me perfect that kick. That was a kick we were working on before I stepped in," Silva said through a translator at the post-fight press conference. "This was a kick that I trained a lot."

Seagal is known for the movies "Above the Law" and "Out for Justice," but he's also an accomplished martial artist, holding a black belt in aikido, a Japanese martial art, that he earned in Japan. His prowess has helped Silva become Yahoo! Sports' second-ranked pound-for-pound fighter in MMA.

He trains at the elite Black House gym with Silva, UFC featherweight champ Jose Aldo and several other high-level fighters, and is seen in this Brazilian video teaching Silva and other Blackhouse fighters.

This wasn't his first time at a fight with Silva, as he accompanied him to the cage before Silva's comeback victory at UFC 117. Now, Seagal can add two-time winning corner man to his resume.

Ronda Rousey, the former UFC women's bantamweight champion who fought three times in just under nine months in 2015, won't be quite as active in the Octagon this year.

UFC president Dana White told Yahoo Sports on Tuesday that Rousey has asked for more time off and that she won't fight, as planned, at UFC 200 in July. Rousey is set to star in the remake of "Roadhouse," and the start of filming has been pushed back, White said.

As a result, she asked him for more time off before returning to the Octagon for the first time since she lost her title and perfect record to Holly Holm on Nov. 14.

"The filming of the movie got pushed back," White said. "She could do both, but the question is, should she do both? She could do both, but why should she? The filming is in a time frame where she'd finish before 200, but it would be cutting it too close."

White said that was the reason that he agreed to allow Holm to make a title defense, scheduled for March 5 at UFC 197 against Miesha Tate, instead of making her wait until Rousey was ready. Holm and manager Lenny Fresquez had been pushing for an interim fight from the time it became apparent White was targeting the rematch for UFC 200.

She didn't want to wait that long in order to fight. When Rousey said she was in need of more time to fulfill her other obligations, White said he never hesitated.

The only risk is if Tate beats Holm, because then the Rousey-Holm rematch will be worth far less. But White said it was a risk he was willing to take.

No fighter, White said, has done more for the UFC than Rousey and so he has no problem with her taking all the time she needs. He said he's not sure when she will fight again.

"The way I look at this one is, Ronda has worked her ass off for us for the last three years," White said. "She's been fighting, promoting and building the sport. If anyone deserves the time off, it's her. The night [of UFC 193] Holly said she'd do the rematch and that Ronda deserved it and everything else. So we were holding it for her if she wanted to do it.

"What that woman has done is above and beyond what anyone has done. I mean, it's just unbelievable what she's done in the last three years. Anything we needed, she didn't say no to anything; said no to nothing. She even took over responsibilities somebody else was supposed to have. So when she tells me she wants more time, you know what? She's got it."

The worst-kept secret in combat sports was confirmed Tuesday when the UFC announced that featherweight champion Conor McGregor will challenge Rafael dos Anjos in the main event of UFC 197 for the lightweight title March 5 at the MGM Grand.

Holly Holm will make the first defense of the women's bantamweight title she won from Ronda Rousey at UFC 193 in November when she faces former Strikeforce champion Miesha Tate.

Bleacher Report first reported the news last week, though UFC officials would not confirm it, insisting it was not completed. But the deal was finalized Tuesday and the none-too-shocking announcement was made. A news conference will be held in Las Vegas next week.

The big news is McGregor's bid to become the first man in UFC history to hold titles in two divisions simultaneously. Randy Couture held the heavyweight title on two occasions and the light heavyweight belt on three, but never at the same time.

B.J. Penn held the welterweight and lightweight titles, but also at separate points.

McGregor stopped Chad Mendes in the second round of UFC 189 on July 11 in Las Vegas to win the interim featherweight belt, then knocked out long-reigning champion Jose Aldo in the main event of UFC 194 on Dec. 12 to win the full title.

He said at the news conference following that bout that he wanted to try for the lightweight title and then defend both of them. UFC president Dana White agreed to that plan last week.

White told Yahoo Sports on Tuesday that he never considered allowing other fighters to do it because none of them fought as often as McGregor does.

"This isn't like after Conor beat Jose, he came out and said he wanted to do this; he's been saying it for a long time, for as long as I've known him," White said. "This kid does everything he says he's going to do. He told me a long time ago, 'I was a two-division champion [in Cage Warriors] and I'm going to be a two-division champion in the UFC.' Well, he's got one of them and he's going after the second.

"And it was never an issue for me to agree to that because of how often he fights. A guy who fights only once or twice a year, you let him do this, and it winds up clogging up a division."

White praised McGregor for trying to capitalize on his notoriety. The card with dos Anjos-McGregor as the top attraction and Holm-Tate as the co-main has a chance to be one of the best-selling pay-per-views in UFC history, White conceded. It is a point McGregor manager Audie Attar agreed with.

But White said that McGregor understands the need to remain active when he's hot.

"The mistake so many of these guys make is, they fight so often on their way up, but once they win a big fight and get some money, they slam on the brakes," White said. "That's the time you should be stepping on the gas. You're hot, people are talking about you and they want to see you. Look how many of our other guys are calling out Conor? He's been active and he's winning and so everyone's talking about him and wanting to see him.

"The kid's a genius. He understands the business and he loves money. And he has a chance to make a ton of it."

McGregor said after UFC 194 that he wanted to take time off, so an early March return seemed fast. But Attar said McGregor isn't one for a lengthy vacation.

He said McGregor is excited by the history-making opportunity.

"I think this show is going to be very big, because it's the first time someone has tried to do something like this," Attar said. "That kind of historic moment is something I think is going to interest a lot of fans. And then you have Holly defending the title and people got to know her after her fight with Ronda, so that's a big one to have on this card. I'm optimistic."

White said he's not sure of what will happen to Frankie Edgar, who was promised the next shot at the featherweight title after knocking out Chad Mendes in December. It's possible that win or lose against dos Anjos, McGregor could defend the featherweight belt at UFC 200 against Edgar.

But White said he also has to consider Aldo, who wants a rematch.

"I don't know what I'm going to do with Frankie, man," White said. "It's a problem. It's a real problem. The only thing I know for 100 percent sure is I'm going to shut my mouth and not say anything about someone getting the next title shot until we have it signed. This is a good problem to have, in that I have a lot of guys who are very deserving to fight for the belt, but we have to figure it out.

"If I give it to Edgar, everyone in Brazil is going to want to kill me. And if I give it to Aldo, then Frankie and all of the fans here [in the U.S.] are going to be pissed. We'll figure it out."

Asked if there is a possibility of an Aldo-Edgar match in the interim, White said, "Probably not."

Earlier this week, boxing legend Floyd Mayweather singled out the UFC’s Conor McGregor, saying his braggadocio behavior and subsequent successes are a product of racism.

Mayweather claimed that during his time as an elite athlete, he was often criticized in the media for his loud, abrasive persona, despite being the best fighter in all of boxing. Yet McGregor, who carries an equally boisterous persona, is lauded for his achievements and praised in the media for his antics outside of the ring.

The reason, essentially, according to Mayweather, is because he's white: “They say he talks a lot of trash and people praise him for it, but when I did it, they say I'm cocky and arrogant. So biased! Like I said before, all I'm saying is this: I ain't racist at all, but I'm telling you racism still exists.”

Many were awaiting McGregor’s response. Well, here it is:

“Floyd Mayweather, don't ever bring race into my success again,” McGregor said in a recent social media post. “I am an Irishman. My people have been oppressed our entire existence. And still very much are. I understand the feeling of prejudice. It is a feeling that is deep in my blood.

“In my family's long history of warfare there was a time where just having the name 'McGregor' was punishable by death. Do not ever put me in a bracket like this again. If you want we can [organize] a fight no problem.”

McGregor continued, proclaiming he would give Mayweather an “80-20 split purse” – favoring McGregor of course – saying, “seen as your last fight bombed at every area of revenue.”

Mayweather reigned over the boxing world for more than a decade, en route to a stellar undefeated record (49-0). He also holds the largest pay-per-view event in the history of television, when he fought Manny Pacquiao in May 2015. “Money” spent his entire career employing a wizard-like approach to his fights, dominating his competition with virtuosic speed, timing and ring savvy.

McGregor is just beginning his career in mixed martial arts, and with three years to go before he reaches 30, there is no brighter star in the entire sport. Oh, and that 13-second knockout of the greatest sub-170-pound fighter, Jose Aldo, at last month’s UFC 194 didn’t hurt his prospects very much, either. Now, with the featherweight title firmly in his grasp, it is expected McGregor will move up in weight and challenge lightweight champ, Rafael dos Anjos, in March at UFC 197 in Las Vegas. If he is successful, he will be the first fighter in MMA history to hold two titles, in two divisions, at the same time.

McGregor and Mayweather will, in all likelihood, never come close to exchanging leather in a ring. But if they do, McGregor wants Mayweather to remember his place in retirement.

“At 27 years of age I now hold the key to this game,” he said. “The game answers to me now.”

With each passing year, the sport of mixed martial arts – and its top promotion, the UFC – leaps further into the collective consciousness of mainstream America.

From the UFC’s partnership with FOX to its regularly successful pay-per-view events taking place all over the globe (featuring a slew of international stars), the future of the company – and sport – has never looked brighter.

Last year marked the most lucrative on record for the Las Vegas-based fight promotion. With the unprecedented success of stars like Ronda Rousey and Conor McGregor, the UFC managed to rake in more than $600 million dollars.

Business magazine Forbes released their annual ’30 Under 30’ list recently, celebrating the most influential athletes under the age of 30. And to the surprise of many, the 2016 list had a UFC fighter – but it wasn’t a woman, or an Irishman.

In fact, this Forbes honoree is coming off a loss: Jose “Scarface” Aldo.

"Even with his UFC 194 loss, Aldo would still make any comprehensive list of great UFC fighters," Forbes wrote. "He was the defending featherweight UFC champion and was ranked No. 1 in official UFC pound-for-pound rankings. He also went a decade without losing a match since 2005 and reigned as a world champion for 6 years."

Upon hearing the news, Aldo, 29, shared a heartfelt message on social media detailing his shock, and subsequent gratitude at receiving the unexpected honor.

"I have dreamed about a lot of things in my life," Aldo said. "Being a champion in the fighting world, winning the belt and being #1 pound for pound in the UFC, and as any Brazilian, to play football in the Maracana stadium. Thank God, I've been able to make these dreams come true.

“But I've never even thought of being in a Forbes list. This is why I'm so grateful and humbled for being selected as one of the most important people in the world under the age of 30.”

Aldo finds himself alongside other 2016 athletic standouts like Madison Bumgarner, Jacob de Grom and Cam Newton.

Aldo joins MMA royalty Ronda Rousey (2014) and Jon Jones (2015) as the only other MMA fighters to receive the honor.

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Ryan McKinnell is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports Cagewriter blog. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!

Last year, Holly Holm leapfrogged Miesha Tate, who had been promised the opportunity, to get a shot at the women's bantamweight title, then held by Ronda Rousey. On Wednesday, it appears that Tate jumped ahead of Rousey, who had been promised a rematch, to get the next shot at Holm, who scored the biggest upset in UFC history at UFC 193 with a second-round knockout.

UFC president Dana White announced on Fox Sports 1's "UFC Tonight" that Holm would make a title defense prior to a rematch with Rousey. White offered no details about Holm's next fight on the broadcast and offered no information afterward when questioned by Yahoo Sports.

Asked by Yahoo Sports if Tate would get the fight, White replied by text message, "We don't have a fight for Holly yet. We have a lot of work to do." He also replied "No" when asked if he had a time frame for when Holm's next match would be held. And when asked when Rousey would fight, White wrote, "All gonna depend on timing. We have no answers right now on any of this."

So all that is known officially is that Holm will risk the mega-dollar rematch for a fight against an opponent to be announced who will carry significantly less interest than an immediate rematch with Rousey would. There is no one Holm could face, in or out of the UFC, who would generate anywhere remotely close to the interest and money that a rematch with Rousey would have.

White had earlier said that he planned to book a rematch with Rousey at UFC 200, a show that he was optimistic could sell 2 million buys on pay-per-view. Tate defeated Jessica Eye in Chicago in July in a fight in which White had promised the winner a shot at the title.

Tate won the fight, and White reiterated at the post-fight news conference that night that she'd face the winner of the bout between Rousey and Bethe Correia, which was scheduled for the following week in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in the main event of UFC 190.

Rousey stopped Correia in 34 seconds, but White then changed his mind on putting together Rousey-Tate III. They fought in 2012 on Strikeforce, and then in 2013 at UFC 168, with Rousey winning by submission in both matches.

He said then he felt there wasn't any pizazz in a third fight between Rousey and Tate, and instead gave the match to Holm, a former boxing champion who'd signed with the UFC amid much hoopla.

Though it was grossly unfair to Tate, White's instincts were correct. Rousey-Holm at UFC 193 turned into a runaway success financially. It drew a record crowd of 56,214 to Etihad Stadium and did the second-highest pay-per-view number in company history. It also was the second largest-grossing fight card in MMA history.

Holm, who recently signed a long-term contract extension, had previously said she was agreeable to a rematch with Rousey, but didn't want to wait until July, when UFC 200 will be held, to fight her. She preferred to remain active.

From a competitive standpoint, it's understandable.

But from a financial standpoint, it's highly risky and could go down with ex-boxing heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman's decision to decline long-term contracts from HBO and Showtime after upsetting Lennox Lewis to win the belt in 2001 as a major financial blunder. In turning down the long-term deals that would have paid him in excess of $40 million, Rahman said, "I believe in me," but was knocked out by Lewis in the rematch and never came close to making the kind of money he had been offered.

If Holm successfully defends the title, then she could move into a rematch with Rousey that will be massive. If she loses, however, it would take significantly away from the rematch. Rousey-Holm II will be big under any circumstance, but it would have the potential to be record-setting if Holm goes in as the undefeated champion.

There is still much to be figured out, but Holm has shown without a doubt that she's a gambler.

Win the interim fight and she gets an extra payday and still has the lucrative Rousey bout ahead of her. Lose it, and it could be financially disastrous.

The UFC brass attempted to talk her out of it, but she stared them down and won. Now, she'll have to win again to make sure the decision pays off.

In a move that cements her A-list celebrity status, UFC superstar Ronda Rousey will host NBC's "Saturday Night Live" in New York on Jan. 23, the network announced Tuesday.

Rousey will become just the third fighter, following ex-boxing middleweight champion Marvelous Marvin Hagler and former undisputed heavyweight champion George Foreman, to host the show. Rousey, 28, will be the first mixed martial artist to host the iconic series.

According to NBC Sports' website, more than two dozen athletes have hosted the show previously. They include some of the biggest names from the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Among those who have hosted are legendary names such as Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky, LeBron James, Peyton Manning, Tom Brady and Joe Montana.

The former UFC women's bantamweight champion, who on Monday was chosen as Yahoo Sports' MMA Personality of the Year, has appeared in the movies "The Expendables 3," "Furious 7" and "Entourage." She is set to star in the remake of the cult classic "Roadhouse" with filming expected to begin sometime in the first half of the year. A movie based on her best-selling autobiography is being developed and she is scheduled to play herself.

Rousey, who is the UFC's biggest draw, lost her title to Holly Holm on Nov. 14 in Melbourne, Australia, in a monumental upset. No future fight has been scheduled for her.

The UFC’s Conor McGregor is one of the most enigmatic stars in all of combat sports.

Coming off a stunning 13-second dethroning of former featherweight champ Jose Aldo in early December at UFC 194, the 27-year-old Irishman skyrocketed in popularity.

With his last two fights nearing 1 million pay-per-view buys each, and a reputation for being the best trash talker in the sport, McGregor is the most polarizing fighter to come along in years.

Most would attribute McGregor’s success to his undefeated UFC record (7-0 with six KO/TKOs), flashy in-ring exploits and snappy quips on the microphone.

Don’t try using that reasoning with recently retired boxing legend Floyd Mayweather, though. According to Mayweather, McGregor is just a product of racism.

“I don't really know the McGregor guy, never seen him fight,” Mayweather told FightHype.com recently. “I heard his name actually from one of the runners that works for our company – a little kid named Ken Hopkins. He's a runner and takes care of a lot of the daily business. Whatever we need, he takes care of. He's a cool little kid, I like him, and he does MMA. He told me about the guy McGregor.

“They say he talks a lot of trash and people praise him for it, but when I did it, they say I'm cocky and arrogant. So biased! Like I said before, all I'm saying is this: I ain't racist at all, but I'm telling you racism still exists.”

Mayweather also used former boxing champ Laila Ali as an example in comparing her to another massive UFC star, Ronda Rousey.

"After Ronda Rousey fought I think nine, 10, 11 fights, it didn't even take that long, she got all types of endorsements, movies, and everything," Mayweather continued. "Laila Ali did the same thing in better fashion. Ronda Rousey, she's a good-looking woman when she put it on. Laila Ali is a drop-dead gorgeous woman; I mean a naturally beautiful woman and can kick ass, but you never heard [the media] saying when she had I think somewhere around 10, 11, 12 fights that she was the baddest woman to ever fight on the planet."

There’s no denying double standards still exist in sports.

It’s evident when you see Cam Newton getting called a ‘thug’ when celebrating a TD with his signature “Dab” dance, but when Johnny Manziel spends every weekend partying like it’s 1980s Miami, he’s just a kid being a kid.

That being said, what Mayweather’s spouting here sure sounds like sour grapes. He has to know full well why he was vilified in his boxing career – his history of domestic violence, and to a lesser extent, his less-than-thrilling style in the ring certainly didn't help his popularity. As for Ali-Rousey comparisons, well, both were dominant in their own right. But women's boxing hasn't ever really resonated with the average mainstream sports fan. The UFC created a woman's division because of Rousey and she's taken the company to new heights with her ability to reach those fans with her accessibility and promotional efforts.

Perhaps all the attention McGregor and Rousey have been garnering as of late was finally enough to put Mayweather on the offensive.

Sorry, 'Money' fans…it was too easy.

For the duration of his mixed martial arts career, Michael Bisping has been quite vocal about wanting to face former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva. Unfortunately, the stars never aligned for “The Count” to get his shot at the legendary Brazilian fighter.

He will finally get his wish Feb. 27, when he faces Silva in London at the O2 arena. However, the opportunity is a bittersweet one for the 36-year-old. Even though he’ll finally fulfill his dream, he’s getting an Anderson Silva who is no longer ruling the sport. After back-to-back losses to Chris Weidman in 2013, Silva appeared to make a successful return when he beat Nick Diaz last February, but Silva tested positive for a trio of banned substances and his victory was ruled a no contest.

It appeared Bisping had lost interest in facing Silva because of the failed drug test, but he soon realized that he wouldn’t just be fighting for himself; he would be representing all of the clean fighters who want to eradicate the cheaters from the sport.

“I had said to myself that I’m sick of chasing all these people who have an unfair advantage, and I figured I wouldn’t fight anybody who had a history of performance enhancing drugs because there were plenty of other people to fight,” Bisping said on a conference call with the media. “But then I started hearing the rumors about the Anderson Silva fight and thought to myself whether I would take it or not. I’ve got to say that regardless of what happened, he’s still Anderson Silva and it’s a bucket-list fight.”

With that, Bisping accepted the fight with Silva at UFC Fight Night 83, replacing Silva’s original opponent, Gegard Mousasi.

“We’re all chasing a dream – a dream of being a champion,” Bisping said while also making mention that Vitor Belfort had turned down a fight against Silva, which opened the opportunity for this matchup. “You’ve got to do it through hard work and determination. But Anderson Silva tested positive for not one, not two, but for three banned substances. And while I respect him as a fighter, I lost a lot of respect for him for that. This fight represents me beating everyone who wanted to cheat the system.”

Bisping went on to call Silva a “coward” and suggested that the former champion should be “ashamed of himself” for failing the drug test.

For his part, Silva maintains his innocence on the conference call and that the failed drug test, which came up positive for drostanolone metabolites, indicating the use of an anabolic steroid, as well as androsterone, a form of endogenous testosterone, were from sexual enhancement drugs that were tainted.

“If you look at my body, it never changed [in my career],” Silva said through a translator. “Nothing’s ever changed in my body. I never needed to take illegal substances. I took another product that was contaminated. That’s why it came up. I never was tested before [because] I never had a problem taking illegal or banned substances [in my career]. I took a contaminated substance and paid the price. Now I want to turn this page in my life.”

Former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva will return from a year-long suspension for using performance enhancing drugs when he meets Michael Bisping in London on Feb. 27 in a bout that will be live streamed on UFC Fight Pass.

Silva admitted taking two banned substances, Oxazepam and Temazepam, following his Jan. 31, 2015, victory over Nick Diaz in Las Vegas. He was also caught with the anabolic steroid drostanolone. He denied taking an anabolic steroid, but told the Nevada Athletic Commission he took a substance he believed to be Cialis that was given to him to by an unidentified friend in Thailand to help with sexual performance.

He was suspended for a year and fined $380,000.

UFC president Dana White told Yahoo Sports via text message that the company plans to put several big fights on its streaming service in 2016.

Silva, who will be two months shy of his 41st birthday when he meets Bisping, had the win over Diaz turned to a no contest after his positive test. Diaz also tested positive for marijuana.

Prior to the fight with Diaz at UFC 183, Silva had suffered back-to-back losses to Chris Weidman in middleweight title fights. In the second of those, he suffered a gruesome broken leg that appeared at the time would end his career.

Bisping will be fighting the day before he turns 37. The bout is a big one for him as he needs an emphatic victory to put him into title consideration. Bisping has been with the UFC for nearly 10 years, but has yet to fight for a championship.

He's won three of his last four, besting Cung Le, C.B. Dollaway and Thales Leites, with the only defeat coming against Luke Rockhold, now the middleweight champion, on Nov. 7, 2014, in Australia.

"I love it," Bisping told Yahoo Sports. "I always wanted to fight him, and I'm confident I will beat him. When I do that, I will have won four of my last five with my only loss coming to Rockhold, so I'll be pushing for the rematch."