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Mixed martial arts as a sport is in a state of flux.

The UFC is in the midst of instituting a new performance-enhancing drug policy. The promotion’s groundbreaking uniform deal with Reebok begins in July. Fighters have been complaining more and more about compensation and fairness. And, perhaps above all, several former UFC fighters have filed a class-action lawsuit against the UFC, accusing the organization of being a monopoly.

Given the current climate and everything that is bubbling just beneath surface, MMA legend Randy Couture believes that it is the right time for the fighters to band together and start a union.

“If there is a time, it is probably now for the fighters to unite and get together and form a union or a guild or something along those lines to insure minimum pay, 401Ks, health insurance, some of those things that unions and guilds tend to do,” Couture told MMAFighting.com recently at the World MMA Awards in Las Vegas.

The UFC does offer health insurance, but a few fighters have expressed concern with the Reebok contract. Brendan Schaub said on his podcast in December that he lost six sponsors when they found out they would be ousted from in-cage gear when the Reebok deal started. James Krause told MMAFighting.com recently that he has already lost $20,000 in sponsorship money since the new uniform endorsement was announced.

It’s clear that they are not the only fighters affected. But many others have not been as vocal for obvious reasons — criticizing your employer in public can have negative ramifications. Having a union would alleviate these issues.

An endorsement contract for a league would have to be collectively bargained with the fighters through a union and it would only be signed when everyone could agree on the terms. The same goes for the UFC’s ambitious new PED policy, which looks great on paper, but could also infringe on the independent contractor rights of fighters.

Couture, 51, said he has been asked about a union for years and believes it’s a necessary thing in order for the sport to continue to evolve in the right ways. The UFC Hall of Famer has been a member of the Screen Actor’s Guild for 13 years because of his career in Hollywood and thinks something like that would be beneficial for fighters.

“I think those are all things in the positive direction this sport needs to go,” Couture said. “Those things need to happen.”

Couture said the antitrust lawsuit against the UFC could also affect “changes in procedures” depending on its level of success. A handful of fighters, including Cung Le, Jon Fitch and Nate Quarry, are accusing the UFC of illegally driving competitors out of business and operating as a monopoly. The suit says that fighters are not able to get fair pay, because the UFC is the only game in town and other organizations like Bellator are “minor league.”

Couture has had a relationship with Bellator and Spike TV in the past, doing a pair of reality shows for the network, including Bellator’s Fight Master. He likes how things have gone with the Viacom-owned promotion since new president Scott Coker took over.

“Instead of a fight every week on Spike TV, it’s going to be a fight every month and it’s going to be bigger and more special and the fights that people talk about over the watercooler,” Couture said. “That’s kind of where I came from, how it used to be.”

Right now, Couture doesn’t have much involvement in MMA outside of his Xtreme Couture gym in Las Vegas. He does have a flourishing acting career and appeared on a recent episode of “Hawaii 5-0.” Couture is also working even more closely on an upcoming silver-screen comedy called “Cameron and Eddie Lose the Belt,” which he is helping fund and cast.

Fellow legend Ken Shamrock recently announced his comeback for Bellator, but Couture likely will not be following suit.

“I’m very happy with the decision I made to get out when I got out,” Couture said. “I’m really, really enjoying the direction I’m headed in with the acting and everything else I have going on. You never say never. I retired once and came back. But I just don’t see that happening.”

Couture doesn’t have anything bad to say about MMA or the UFC. He still believes in the sport that he helped grow to the heights it has risen to now. “The Natural” just thinks some changes need to be made for it to evolve even more.

“It’s still going to be, now and in the future — in my opinion — the combative sport of this generation and the next generation,” Couture said. “I don’t think that’s gonna change. If anything, we’re going through some growing pains. I think there’s some changes that need to be made with the promotions, the contracts they’re handing out to fighters, the control issues. A lot of those things have made news over the last few months. It’ll be interesting to see how a lot of that shakes out. “

Mark Munoz owns a gym, does motivational speeches and leads an anti-bullying campaign. He also runs his own wrestling camp and is trying to raise four kids with his wife Kristi.

In other words, Munoz has been much more than just a UFC fighter for a long time now.

Last week, Munoz announced that his fight against Luke Barnatt at UFC Fight Night: Edgar vs. Faber on May 16 in Manila would be his final one. But that was not a decision “The Filipino Wrecking Machine” made at that moment or even after his loss to Roan Carneiro at UFC 184 last month. No, this is something Munoz and his family have spoken about for some time.

“I’ve been talking to my wife about it,” Munoz told MMAFighting.com. “We had agreed that when my youngest daughter gets into first grade, I’ll be done. Well, she’s been in first grade for [a few months] now.”

The timing really couldn’t be any more perfect. Munoz gets to cap his career in the country where his parents were born: the Philippines. It’s been one of his greatest dreams to compete in there, where he is adored by a knowledgeable fanbase, and he would love nothing more than to go out a winner in Manila.

“I’m so excited,” said Munoz, who returned from a Manila press tour last week. “I’ve been pushing for this opportunity for so long. I’ve been doing frequent trips back there to promote the UFC and it’s finally coming to fruition. I didn’t think this day would come. Thank goodness it has when I’m still fighting. I am so motivated for this fight.”

Munoz, 37, is charged up for this opportunity. He said he is already at 200 pounds — within striking distance already of 185 — and the fight is still nearly two months away. Unlike past training camps, Munoz will go into this one in great shape.

If Munoz (13-6) didn’t seem like himself in the first-round submission loss to Carneiro in Los Angeles, that’s because he likely was not. Munoz injured his knee when he picked up Gegard Mousasi for a slam in a loss to Mousasi last May. He didn’t have surgery, but got platelet rich plasma (PRP) treatment on it instead. Munoz wasn’t able to work out much before training camp and he ballooned to around 250 pounds.

So, the Orange County, Calif., resident cut 65 pounds in nine weeks to make weight for UFC 184. He did miss the first time, but got to 186 on his second attempt.

“It was a hard weight cut,” Munoz said. “I was really cutting it close.”

Munoz had a similar experience after a loss to Chris Weidman in July 2012 before coming back to beat Tim Boetsch at UFC 162 in July 2013. He has not won since then, falling to Carneiro, Mousasi and Lyoto Machida. But Munoz will step away from the cage with notable victories over C.B. Dollaway, Chris Leben and Demian Maia. He was a perennial top-15 fighter in the UFC’s middleweight division.

Munoz is not retiring, because he doesn’t think he can do it anymore. Other things are just taking precedence. Munoz’s teenage son is getting full into wrestling and he wants his dad to train him. Munoz’s teenage daughter is hoping to get a college soccer scholarship and she wants her dad to run her strength and conditioning program.

“I have other priorities,” Munoz said.

Indeed, but fighting in the Philippines was something he had to do. Munoz couldn’t hang up the gloves before entering the Octagon in the country from which he can trace his heritage. He’s thankful he gets the chance to do just that for his going-away party.

“I’m planning to have my last fight where it all started with my parents,” Munoz said. “It’s a dream come true.”

The Invicta 12 card has been rounded out.

Ediane Gomes will meet Raquel Pa’aluhi at Invicta FC 12 on April 24 in Kansas City, the promotion announced Thursday. Five other fights were also announced to finalize the slate.

Gomes (10-3), known for her man vs. woman bareknuckle fights in Brazil, is coming off a loss to Tonya Evinger at Invicta 8 last September. Before that, though, the American Top Team product had won four in a row. Gomes, 34, remains one of the most feared members of Invicta’s bantamweight division.

Pa’aluhi (4-4) has won two straight, including a dominant unanimous decision over Kaitlin Young at Invicta 9 last November. The Hawaiian’s three most recent losses have come against current ranked UFC fighters Amanda Nunes, Raquel Pennington and Sara McMann. Pa’aluhi, who trains out of Drysdale Jiu-Jitsu in Las Vegas, can carve out a spot for herself in the mix for the vacant 135-pound title with a win.

Also added to Invicta FC 12 undercard were: Lacey Shuckman vs. Jenny Liou, Cassie Rodish vs. Stephanie Skinner, Delaney Owen vs. Sharon Jacobson, Shannon Sinn vs. Maureen Riordon and Roma Pawelek vs. Sijara Ewbanks.

Invicta 12 is headlined by a strawweight title fight between champion Katja Kankaanpaa and Livia Renata Souza. The event will take place at Municipal Auditorium, Invicta’s traditional home, and air live on UFC Fight Pass.

Here is the full card:

INVICTA FC 12 (April 24, UFC Fight Pass)

Katja Kankaanpaa vs. Livia Renata Souza

Roxanne Modafferi vs. Vanessa Porto

Amanda Bell vs. Faith Van Duin

Ediane Gomes vs. Raquel Pa’aluhi

Peggy Morgan vs. Latoya Walker

Lacey Shuckman vs. Jenny Liou

Cassie Rodish vs. Stephanie Skinner

Delaney Owen vs. Sharon Jacobson

Shannon Sinn vs. Maurren Riordon

Roma Pawele vs. Sijara Ewbanks

Anthony Pettis still has some things to sort out before heading back into the Octagon, mainly a broken right orbital bone. But when he does return, he sure wouldn’t mind seeing Nate Diaz across from him.

“I haven’t thought about who I want to fight next,” Pettis told Ariel Helwani on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour. “I can’t even say when I can fight next. But I would love to fight Nate Diaz. That’s a fight I’ve been waiting for, for a long time. If that’s next, I’m for sure down with that. I just gotta figure out when I’m able to fight again or when I can start even looking at dates to fight again.”

You motherfuckers serious Every fight ? Smh this sports rough but #umadefromglass https://t.co/KT6PiuzTwO pic.twitter.com/s9ItLsndq3

— Nathan Diaz (@NateDiaz209) March 19, 2015

Pettis and Diaz have a deep history. Their respective camps had an altercation at a nightclub in Las Vegas in 2013. And Diaz has sniped at Pettis often on social media, most recently last week when he poked fun at Pettis allegedly being injury prone.

Pettis (18-3) said multiple times during his title reign that he would like to fight Diaz, but it didn’t necessarily make sense because Diaz was not in title contention. Now that Pettis doesn’t have the belt anymore, well, it is likely very much on the table.

At UFC 185 on March 15 in Dallas, Pettis fell lost the lightweight title to Rafael dos Anjos by unanimous decision. Dos Anjos dominated all five rounds and Pettis admitted it was the first time he truly got beat up. He walked out of American Airlines Center with seven stitches and a broken orbital.

There is no timetable currently for his return, but Pettis does want to get back in there as soon as he can. Before the fight, he said he planned on being busy in 2015 and he doesn’t want that to change.

“There’s a lot of guys I gotta fight,” Pettis said. “Now that I suffered this loss, I’m sure everybody thinks they want their shot at me, they want to take advantage of this. But it’s my job to get back out there and get back to the top. I think a couple more wins and I’ll be right back to where I was at.”

Pettis had won five in a row before falling to dos Anjos. He won the title from Benson Henderson in August 2013 and defended it back in December against Gilbert Melendez, Diaz’s teammate. Diaz (17-10) is also coming off a loss to dos Anjos at UFC on FOX 13 in December. Before that, he knocked out Gray Maynard in November 2013 and took some time off from the sport.

Pettis knows he’ll have to work his way back up the ladder to get another shot at the title. The winner of a fight between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Donald Cerrone at UFC 187 on May 23 in Las Vegas will get dos Anjos for the belt next.

But whoever “Showtime” has to go through, whether it be Diaz or anyone else, he wants a rematch with dos Anjos before another crack at gold.

“I want to clear that before I get a title shot,” Pettis said. “That’s just more of a personal thing. He’s the only guy that ever beat me up in my whole career, my whole life.”

Conor McGregor was warned not to touch Jose Aldo during the UFC 189 World Tour. To very little surprise, McGregor didn’t listen.

UFC president Dana White said in an interview with The Fight Network on Friday that McGregor slapped Aldo in the back before a morning show in Toronto. White said a producer was trying to arrange the seats and, well, didn’t do it very wisely.

“He’s trying to put Conor McGregor in a seat behind [Aldo] and Conor McGregor reached over and slapped Aldo’s back,” White said. “And now Aldo is crazy and doesn’t want to do most the stuff we have to do today. It’s been fun.”

Aldo did end up going through with the interview, which was with Canada AM and featured Aldo, McGregor, White, Robbie Lawler and Rory MacDonald in a rather strange setup. McGregor did behave himself during the segment. White sat between the two men on a couch.

“Jose Aldo does not like Conor McGregor, and Conor McGregor is good at pushing his buttons,” White said.

No one in the UFC obviously wants an incident to occur on this tour, which has already hit Rio de Janeiro, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Boston and New York. This weekend, Aldo and McGregor will head to London and McGregor’s hometown of Dublin.

The two are slated to meet in the main event of UFC 189 on July 11 in Las Vegas with Aldo’s featherweight title on the line. Aldo’s coach Andre Pederneiras told White before it started to make sure McGregor did not touch Aldo.

“We’ve spent a lot of money already promoting this fight,” White said. “It would obviously bum us out if it didn’t happen at that time.

“I would love to do this fight on July 11. Let’s hope this stays together.”

World Series of Fighting 21 is getting another title fight.

Lance Palmer has verbally agreed to defend his featherweight belt against Chris Horodecki at WSOF 21 on June 5 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, MMAFighting.com confirmed with promotion executive vice president Ali Abdel Aziz. Palmer originally announced the bout on Team Alpha Male Radio.

Palmer (9-1) won the title from Rick Glenn with a third-round submission victory at WSOF 16 in December. He has won two straight in the organization with his lone loss coming to former champion Georgi Karakhanyan. Palmer, 27, trains out of Team Alpha Male in Sacramento.

Horodecki (21-5), a Bellator and WEC veteran, has won three of his last four fights, including a unanimous decision over Luis Huete at WSOF 14 last October. The Ontario native has been a pro MMA fighter for 10 years, but he’s still only 27 years old. Horodecki has notable wins over Danny Castillo and Bart Palaszewski.

WSOF 21 will be headlined by a welterweight contender fight between UFC veteran Yushin Okami and Ryan Ford. In the co-main event, Smealinho Rama defends his heavyweight title against Blagoi Ivanov. Palmer-Horodecki will be the second fight on the main card, per Abdel-Aziz.