Social media has become a significant part of the sporting landscape. But few, if any, professional sports match the level of interaction and personal access provided by MMA.

In an individual competition in which nearly every athlete is chasing the same goal of financial success and championship glory, it’s important for fighters to provide insight into their lives in order to connect with fans and gain followings.

Although the life of a fighter often can be mundane and repetitive, there still are moments of interest that take place outside the cage, ring or training room. Here are some of the most interesting of those occurrences from the past week.

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Michael Bisping’s new knee

Michael Bisping post-surgery

Animals of Instagram

Animals of Instagram: Aleksei Oleinik

Animals of Instagram: Gillian Robertson

Animals of Instagram: Forrest Griffin

Animals of Instagram: Jessica Andrade

Animals of Instagram: Shana Dobson

Animals of Instagram: Mehdi Baghdad

Weekly eats

Weekly eats: Carlos Condit

Weekly eats: Curtis Blaydes

Weekly eats: Thiago Santos

Birthdays, anniversaries and engagements

Birthday: Francis Ngannou

Engagement: Jesse Ronson

Anniversary: Mauricio Rua

Birthday: Sayif Saud

Anniversary: Michael Chandler

Birthday: Kevin Lee

Anniversary: Marlon Vera

Children of MMA

Children of MMA: Donald Cerrone

Children of MMA: Anderson Silva

Children of MMA: Patrick Cote

Children of MMA: Diego Sanchez

Children of MMA: Cub Swanson

Children of MMA: Douglas Lima

Children of MMA: James Krause

The Blue Corner is MMA Junkie’s blog space. We don’t take it overly serious, and neither should you. If you come complaining to us that something you read here is not hard-hitting news, expect to have the previous sentence repeated in ALL CAPS.