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From a jaw dropping Contender Series upset to Makhachev getting reflective about his career clock, there's a lot to unpack heading into the next stretch of fights. Here's what's shaking out across the sport today.

DWCS Week 3 Turns Into Fight Night Fireworks

Week 3 of Dana White's Contender Series produced what called the biggest upset in the show's history when Bella Mir, daughter of former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir, dropped a unanimous decision to Alex Apodaca in the main event. Dana White still handed out five contracts that night, telling Apodaca that he was very proud of himself that in 10 years of doing this, he'd never had any bias. He also praised Nick Galanti, who scored a 35 second knockout, saying, "Nick, you couldn't possibly open a show better than you did." Guilherme Uriel rounded out the group, with word that he was correcting what he called his own past mistake by finally leaning on his jiu jitsu for a 50 second submission win.

Kropschot Wastes No Time

Joseph Kropschot isn't sitting around after his Contender Series win. He's already booked for his UFC debut just weeks after earning his contract, a quick turnaround that shows how eager the promotion is to get its newest signees into the cage.

Makhachev Puts A Number On The Clock

Islam Makhachev used a new interview to talk about how many fights he thinks he has left before he retires. He stayed characteristically level headed when the topic came up, telling Sherdog, "Well, no record is unbreakable," a reminder that even the sport's top pound for pound fighter is already thinking about how his story wraps up.

Oliveira Draws His Line In The Sand

Charles Oliveira is shutting down any talk of title eliminator bouts against fighters like Arman Tsarukyan or Paddy Pimblett, arguing he's already positioned himself for the next shot at gold. According to MMA Mania, he wants the next crack at champion Justin Gaethje, the man he beat at UFC 274 back in early 2022, rather than a tune up fight. Oliveira, who currently holds the BMF belt, made clear he's willing to wait for that rematch instead of taking what he sees as a step backward.

From Shanghai To The Comeback Trail

Kai Asakura is promising fireworks against Aoriqileng in Shanghai, vowing to unveil a new combination on his way to a knockout as he builds on his revived bantamweight run. Elsewhere, Abubakar Nurmagomedov, Khabib's cousin, is set to return to competition after three years away from combat sports, and Ronda Rousey, a UFC Hall of Famer herself, is reportedly helping Jena Bishop prepare for her rematch with Liz Carmouche. Over in PFL, Cris Cyborg ground out a bloody unanimous decision over Ketlen Vieira for her ninth straight win in what could be her final fight with the promotion.

Sources

Every source behind today's roundup (14)

We summarize the day's news in our own words. Full credit to the outlets below for the original reporting, click through to read their work:

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Episode transcript

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Welcome to Open Scoring MMA. This is episode 69 for August 26th, 2026, your daily look at what's happening now and next across the world of MMA and UFC. DUKE: Let's kick this one off with the wildest night we've seen from Contender Series in ages. NORA: Week three, and it delivered the biggest upset in the show's history, no exaggeration. DUKE: Bella Mir was the storyline walking in, daughter of Frank Mir, huge name recognition. NORA: And she walked out on the wrong end of a unanimous decision to Alex Apodaca. DUKE: That's White copping to how loaded that main event was, name recognition on one side, and he still gave the nod where it belonged. NORA: Pros around the sport were stunned, some calling it a total fraud check on the hype train. DUKE: That's a real resume boost for Apodaca too, he walks into the UFC with buzz instead of just being a name nobody knows. NORA: Exactly, that's worth more than the contract itself long term. DUKE: But that wasn't even the whole story from that card. NORA: Nick Galanti opened the show with a thirty five second knockout. DUKE: And White told him, quote, "Nick, you couldn't possibly open a show better than you did," end quote. NORA: Galanti's crediting a Contender Series alum who helped him get ready, that pipeline of guys coaching the next wave is becoming a real thing in this sport. DUKE: Then Guilherme Uriel got a fifty second submission. NORA: He said he made a mistake last year not trusting his jiu jitsu enough, called it his own sin, and fixed it fast this time. DUKE: And there's a kid on that card who's twenty three and unbeaten. NORA: White told him, quote, "Sean, you're only 23 years old, and you're 9-0; it's incredible," end quote. DUKE: Five contracts handed out that night total, that's about as good a Tuesday as Dana White's had all year. NORA: For a show built on finding depth for a stacked roster, that's a genuinely great night of scouting. DUKE: Alright, let's move to the guys actually holding gold or chasing it. Islam Makhachev's talking retirement math now. NORA: He's revealed how many fights he thinks he's got left before he hangs it up. DUKE: And he's still eyeing records while he's at it. NORA: He told Sherdog, quote, "Well, no record is unbreakable," end quote. DUKE: That's a shot at something specific, even if he didn't name it. NORA: Could be a defense count, could be pound for pound history, he left it open on purpose. DUKE: Either way, that timeline matters for the whole lightweight picture, it tells everyone how much runway is left to get to him. NORA: Right, guys are basically watching a clock now. DUKE: Cris Cyborg was next, grinding through five rounds with Ketlen Vieira. NORA: She got bloodied up but pulled out a unanimous decision, her tenth straight win. DUKE: And this might have been her last walk in a PFL cage. NORA: If that really is the finale, going out on a ten fight win streak is about as clean a note as you can hit. DUKE: Ten straight, and she still had to bleed for this one, that tells you her chin and her gas tank are still holding up at this stage. NORA: Cyborg's never made anything easy on herself, that's kind of her whole career in one sentence. DUKE: Abubakar Nurmagomedov is stepping back into competition. NORA: Three years since his last fight, that's a long layoff for anyone, let alone somebody from that camp. DUKE: Big name attached obviously, being Khabib's cousin, but three years off is three years off, the ring rust question is real. NORA: We'll see how he's booked back in, that's the kind of return you ease into, not throw at a ranked killer right away. DUKE: And over on the women's side, Jena Bishop's getting some serious help in the gym. NORA: Ronda Rousey is in there training with her ahead of her rematch with Liz Carmouche. DUKE: A Hall of Famer in the corner for the biggest fight of Bishop's career, that's not nothing. NORA: You don't get a boost like that from just anybody, Rousey's fight IQ in that room changes how Bishop prepares completely. DUKE: Now let's get into some actual drama. Charles Oliveira is not interested in being anybody's stepping stone. NORA: He shot down title eliminator talk against both Arman and Paddy Pimblett. DUKE: Paddy's name in the same sentence as a title picture, I love that for The Baddy, honestly. NORA: Oliveira's logic is simple, he beat Justin Gaethje years back in a main event, and now with Gaethje holding the belt, Oliveira wants that fight run back directly. DUKE: He's basically saying anything else is a step backward for him. NORA: And he's not desperate on the timeline either, he's said flat out he can wait. DUKE: For Paddy though, that's not bad news at all, if Oliveira's demanding Gaethje specifically, that eliminator picture stays wide open for The Baddy to keep building his case. NORA: Exactly, a gatekeeper fight for Pimblett is still very much on the board, this just reshuffles who's ahead of him in line. DUKE: I'm not betting against Paddy getting there either way. NORA: Noted, for the record. DUKE: Meanwhile in bantamweight, Kai Asakura's not shy about what he's bringing to Shanghai. NORA: He's promising a brand new knockout combination against Aoriqileng. DUKE: Bold thing to say out loud before you've even stepped in there. NORA: Asakura's on a mission to revive his run at bantamweight, and calling your shot publicly raises the stakes if it doesn't land. DUKE: I respect the confidence, but the tape better back it up. DUKE: Okay, real quick, gotta hash this out. NORA: Go. DUKE: You really think Pimblett's closer to a title shot than Arman right now? NORA: Closer, not there yet. DUKE: Why? NORA: Momentum matters more than resume at this stage, and Pimblett's got the louder momentum. DUKE: Arman fans are gonna hate that answer. NORA: Probably. DUKE: I don't care, I think Paddy gets there faster than people expect. NORA: We'll see. DUKE: We will. DUKE: Let's talk new blood coming into the roster. Bilal Hasan makes his UFC debut on Michael Jackson's birthday, and he's calling it a prophecy. NORA: Fun bit of timing, though it doesn't change how tough that first walk to the cage is regardless of the date on the calendar. DUKE: Joseph Kropschot isn't waiting around either, he just landed his official UFC debut only weeks after earning his contract off Contender Series. NORA: A turnaround that fast usually means the matchmakers already like what they saw on tape and want him in while the momentum's hot. DUKE: And there's a new name that should scare the welterweight division. NORA: Ronald Humphrey just signed, and everyone at a hundred seventy pounds should be paying attention. DUKE: Welterweight's already the deepest division in the promotion, so throwing another live body in there is not nothing. NORA: Right, it's not just about talent, it's about how long the line for contenders keeps getting. DUKE: Alright, let's look ahead. This Saturday, August twenty ninth, we're hearing about a potential matchup featuring Umar Nurmagomedov and Song Yadong. NORA: That's actually our OSM Pick fight this week. DUKE: Let's hear it. NORA: We've got Umar Nurmagomedov, right around eighty one percent. DUKE: Eighty one. What's the line saying? NORA: Betting market's got him around seventy nine percent implied, so we're a touch higher. DUKE: Not a huge gap then. NORA: Not huge, but it's real. Style favors him, form favors him, that's really the whole case. DUKE: Song's dangerous on the feet though, that's the part that worries me. NORA: Sure, but Umar's ability to control where the fight happens is the bigger factor. DUKE: Fair enough. Umar Nurmagomedov it is. NORA: That's our call. DUKE: Then September first, Contender Series rolls right back with week four. NORA: After what we just saw in week three, I am not missing that one. DUKE: September fifth, we're hearing about a Fight Night event that could feature Dan Hooker and Salahdine Parnasse. NORA: Hooker's never been in a boring fight in his life, that one's must watch by default. DUKE: And looking further out, September eighth brings Contender Series week five. NORA: Then September twelfth, Noche UFC, with word of Yair Rodriguez and Jean Silva in a potential matchup. DUKE: That's a serious stretch of cards coming up, back to back to back. NORA: We'll be here for every single one of them. DUKE: That's gonna do it for us today. NORA: Get some rest, we're back tomorrow with more. DUKE: See you then.

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