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Tsarukyan's Legacy Talk, Chimaev's Callouts, and UFC 331 Odds

Tsarukyan talks title math, Chimaev calls out four names, UFC 331 odds drop, and DWCS week 4 keeps the Bella Mir story rolling.

Tsarukyan's Legacy Talk, Chimaev's Callouts, and UFC 331 Odds

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Lots to chew on today, from lightweight title logic to a heavyweight betting line that's basically a formality. Here's what's moving in the MMA world right now.

Tsarukyan's Path Past Makhachev

Arman Tsarukyan doesn't have a title shot booked yet, but that hasn't stopped him from mapping out how he plans to outdo Islam Makhachev's run atop the lightweight division. Speaking on what's been reported as the Deep W podcast, the Armenian laid out a target of stacking up title defenses once he gets his hands on the belt. It's premature given he's not even the next challenger on paper, but Tsarukyan has never been shy about saying what he thinks he deserves.

Chimaev Puts Four Names On The Board

Khamzat Chimaev is done waiting around and says he's ready to go, tossing out four potential opponents for his UFC return. Among the callouts is Sean Strickland, with Chimaev directly telling him to let him know when he's ready. Whether the promotion lines up any of those four next, Chimaev's message is clear: he wants to fight soon and he wants a name.

UFC 331 Betting Lines Land In LA

The early odds for UFC 331 are out ahead of what we're hearing is the promotion's September 19 return to Los Angeles, and one number stands out above the rest. Gable Steveson is sitting at a massive minus 1500 favorite. That kind of gap on Steveson tells you exactly how the books view his ceiling this early in his transition.

DWCS Week 4 Fallout Keeps Growing

Dana White's Contender Series Week 4 delivered four finishes and handed out five UFC contracts, but the story everyone's still talking about is Bella Mir's stunning loss to Alex Apodaca. White personally checked in on Mir afterward, and relayed her response about having lost before in jiu jitsu and wrestling and knowing she'd bounce back stronger. Apodaca, for her part, has been defending Mir publicly rather than piling on despite pulling off what's being called the biggest upset in the show's history.

Teixeira Signs Off On A Shogun Rematch

Glover Teixeira and Mauricio Shogun Rua turned their boxing match at Spaten Fight Night 3 in Sao Paulo into an instant classic, and now Teixeira says he's on board for a second round. He confirmed he's accepted Shogun's request for a rematch, saying simply that the guy deserves it. Given how the first fight played out for the crowd in Brazil, a sequel between these two former UFC champions is an easy sell.

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:

Open Scoring MMA is a daily AI-produced MMA and UFC news podcast. Listen to today's episode, read the full Feed, or get every episode by email.

Episode transcript

Read the full episode transcript

Welcome to Open Scoring MMA. This is episode 76 for September 2nd, 2026, your daily look at what's happening now and next across the world of MMA and UFC. DUKE: Big story to open the show, Arman Tsarukyan already talking legacy in the lightweight division, and he hasn't even been booked for a title shot yet.
NORA: On the Deep Waters podcast he laid out how he wants to top what Islam Makhachev built at seventy kilos.
DUKE: That's a bold thing to say with Makhachev's run still so fresh in everyone's mind.
NORA: It is, but he didn't just talk, he's actually the one who's next in line to prove it.
DUKE: So this isn't just chatter, there's an actual fight attached to the claim.
NORA: Exactly, and a win puts him right back into the title conversation at seventy kilos.
DUKE: Lose it though, and all this legacy talk looks pretty premature.
NORA: That's the risk he's taking by saying it out loud before the fight even happens.
DUKE: I respect the confidence, but the division's not gonna hand him anything.
NORA: No, it never does at lightweight, it's the deepest room in the sport right now.
DUKE: Moving to fighter status, we're hearing Anthony Smith is set to fight again, and this comes right after his arrest in Nebraska on a domestic violence charge.
NORA: Gamebred FC actually addressed that arrest directly in their statement instead of quietly booking him and hoping nobody noticed.
DUKE: That's notable, most promotions just don't touch it.
NORA: For Smith this is where his career's landed at this stage, a former UFC title challenger still chasing relevant fights outside the octagon.
DUKE: Does this affect how people view him going forward?
NORA: It'll follow him, no question, but competitively it doesn't change the skill set that's still in there.
DUKE: Switching to boxing, we're hearing Glover Teixeira has accepted a rematch request from Mauricio Shogun Rua.
NORA: Reportedly, their first meeting headlined the Spaten Fight Night three card in Sao Paulo last Saturday, and it turned into an instant classic by every account.
DUKE: Teixeira's response was simple, quote, "The guy deserves it," end quote.
NORA: Two former UFC champions who clearly still know how to put on a war, even outside the cage.
DUKE: I'm here for round two.
NORA: Same.
DUKE: Contender Series week three was wild, four finishes, five new contracts handed out by Dana White.
NORA: Five for five basically validated the whole card.
DUKE: Total statement performance from Adam Darby, who apparently called his own signing eight years ago saying it was, quote, "UFC or nothing else," end quote.
NORA: Manifestation, I guess. Another new signee, Silvestre Sanchez, says the promotion's Performance Institute down in Mexico is loaded with fighters hunting finishes.
DUKE: Now the tougher story, Bella Mir suffered the biggest upset in Contender Series history.
NORA: And Dana White actually went and checked on her personally afterward.
DUKE: NORA: That's a veteran mindset from someone still building her name, and being Frank Mir's daughter meant the spotlight on this one was always going to be bigger.
DUKE: Alex Apodaca, the one who actually pulled off the upset, refused to trash talk her afterward too.
NORA: Khamzat Chimaev is calling out names again for his UFC return, four different guys on the list.
NORA: And the direct shot was aimed at Sean, quote, "Let me know when you are ready Sean," end quote.
DUKE: Bold as ever.
NORA: Always.
DUKE: You buy it though? Naming four guys feels like he's just fishing for whoever says yes first.
NORA: I mean, that's kind of how callouts work at this level, throw the dart, see who bites.
DUKE: Fair.
NORA: The bigger point is Chimaev naming middleweight names again tells you he's not chasing welterweight right now.
DUKE: Right, that ship's sailed for now.
NORA: For now.
DUKE: Different beef, Tommy McMillen going after an unbeaten featherweight rival, said, quote, "He runs his mouth," end quote.
NORA: McMillen thinks he's the top prospect in that whole division.
DUKE: Bold claim in a stacked weight class.
NORA: It is, but prospects need beef to build a name, this is just business.
DUKE: Business with an edge though.
NORA: Always is.
DUKE: Card news now, Brendan Allen and Christian Leroy Duncan are officially set to headline UFC Vegas 122.
NORA: Big spot for both, Allen's been knocking on the door of the middleweight rankings, and a main event like this only helps that push.
DUKE: Duncan's no easy out either, he's been building steadily too.
NORA: Over in PFL, Chicago in October just got its co-main event locked in, Timur Khizriev running it back with Gabriel Braga.
DUKE: Khizriev's unbeaten at eighteen and oh, that's a serious record to be defending.
NORA: That card's headlined by Liz Carmouche rematching Jena Bishop for the promotion's first ever women's flyweight title, so PFL's building a real night around two rematches.
DUKE: Let's look ahead. This Saturday, September fifth, Dan Hooker takes on Salahdine Parnasse.
NORA: That's a lightweight main event with real stakes for both guys' rankings.
DUKE: Parnasse stepping into a main event spot against a name like Hooker is a big ask this early.
NORA: It is, but it's the kind of fight that tells you fast whether the hype is real.
DUKE: Then September eighth we get Contender Series week five.
NORA: After the week we just watched, expect Dana White to keep handing out contracts at this pace.
DUKE: September twelfth is Noche UFC, Jean Silva versus Jose Miguel Delgado.
NORA: The main event slot like that still carries real weight in the flyweight picture.
DUKE: And the big one, UFC 331 on September nineteenth, we're hearing Alexandre Pantoja and Joshua Van are set to face off.
NORA: The early odds have Van as the underdog there, and on the same card Gable Steveson's sitting at minus fifteen hundred.
DUKE: Minus fifteen hundred, that's basically a lock according to the books.
NORA: Very loaded.
DUKE: Time for the OSM Pick.
NORA: We're on Dooho Choi, seventy three percent.
DUKE: Seventy three.
NORA: The betting line, we're hearing, implies around sixty six percent.
DUKE: So we're well above the market again.
NORA: Seven points above, and honestly we've moved even further than that, we shifted twenty one points onto Choi just since yesterday.
DUKE: Twenty one points in a day, that's a big swing.
NORA: It is. Physically he's just built better for this, four inches taller, three inches more reach, and he's four years younger too.
DUKE: Pitbull's still Pitbull though, that finishing ability doesn't just disappear.
NORA: Both guys can finish fights, but Choi's recent knockouts give him the slight edge in power right now.
DUKE: And activity?
NORA: Choi's been busier lately. Pitbull's last loss did come against a legit top contender, so he's not washed, but the trend lines favor Choi here.
DUKE: Model's strong on this one then.
NORA: Confidence strong, yeah, and this is a real value spot, we like it more than the books do.
DUKE: I'll ride with Dooho Choi on this one.
NORA: Good.
DUKE: That's the show for today.
NORA: Big stretch coming, Hooker versus Parnasse Friday, then the road straight through to UFC 331.
DUKE: We'll see y'all next time.
NORA: Take care, everybody.
Before you go, two quick things. Check out our free Fight Tracker at tracker dot open scoring m m a dot com, with every upcoming UFC and PFL card, live odds, and where to watch, all in one place. And follow us on YouTube, just search Open Scoring MMA, for breaking news alerts, fight breakdowns, and videos you won't get here on the feed. That's it for today's Open Scoring MMA. Keep your hands up, and we'll see you next time.