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Topuria's Future, Ankalaev's Value, and Parnasse's Big Swing at Holloway

Topuria rematch buzz, Parnasse's bold callout of Holloway, Chimaev trimming his list, and a wave of fighters airing grievances against the UFC all make today's roundup.

Topuria's Future, Ankalaev's Value, and Parnasse's Big Swing at Holloway

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Plenty to chew on today, from lightweight title speculation to a newcomer calling out one of the sport's biggest names, plus a handful of fighters pushing back on how the UFC does business.

Topuria's Next Move

Ilia Topuria's shocking stoppage loss to Justin Gaethje at the White House in June cost him the lightweight belt and handed him the first defeat of his career. Broadcaster Jon Anik floated a rematch, telling Yahoo Sports MMA, "I think there's strong consideration there." Anik also said he expects Topuria to fight again soon if manager Ali Abdelaziz is taken at his word, though nothing is confirmed. Amid the chatter, Paddy Pimblett shot down rumors he'd be Topuria's next opponent in December, saying flatly that he hasn't been offered that fight.

Parnasse Calls His Shot

Salahdine Parnasse turned his UFC debut into a genuine moment, headlining in front of his home French crowd. Fresh off that performance, he wasted no time calling out Max Holloway, naming a fight with the former featherweight champion his dream matchup. It's a huge ask for someone just one fight into his UFC run, but Parnasse clearly isn't interested in working his way up slowly.

Chimaev Trims The Field

Khamzat Chimaev says his list of potential next opponents just got shorter, ruling two fighters out of the running for his next UFC bout. Chimaev remains one of the hardest names to get on the books in either the welterweight or middleweight picture, so any narrowing of his options is worth watching closely.

Rakhmonov's Murky Path Back

Shavkat Rakhmonov, still unbeaten, admits his return to the UFC is far from guaranteed. He hasn't said his time with the promotion is over, but the welterweight's own words leave real uncertainty hanging over what comes next for him.

Fighters Air Their Grievances

Cris Cyborg, now a free agent after her PFL contract expired on August 22, 2026, after her fight against Ketlen Vieira at PFL Tampa, has grown louder on social media, this time questioning UFC criteria and demanding punishment for champion Kayla Harrison. Paulo Costa piled on with his own complaint, slamming what he calls the promotion's double standards and questioning Alex Pereira's ranking. Brian Ortega chimed in too, claiming the UFC steers clear of outside fighters who could beat their own roster. Three fighters, three separate shots at how the UFC runs things this week.

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 81 for September 7th, 2026, your daily look at what's happening now and next across the world of MMA and UFC. DUKE: Alright Nora, the biggest storyline in the sport right now might be what Ilia Topuria does next, and it's getting messy fast.
NORA: Messy how?
DUKE: UFC commentator Anik floated the idea of running Topuria right back into a title setting, pointing at how huge UFC Freedom two fifty was as a promotional vehicle.
NORA: He said, quote, "I think there's strong consideration there," end quote, about Topuria stepping straight back into a championship fight.
DUKE: This is after Topuria got stopped by Justin Gaethje back in June, the first loss of his career.
NORA: Anik also said, quote, "I don't know. I think he probably is going to fight, if you take manager Ali Abdelaziz at his word," end quote.
DUKE: So nothing's locked in, this is speculation on top of speculation.
NORA: But it tells you how the promotion's thinking. Topuria's box office is too big to just slot into a normal rebuilding fight.
DUKE: Which brings us straight to Paddy.
NORA: Of course it does.
DUKE: Because for days everyone's been buzzing about a rumored December fight between Topuria and our guy, Paddy Pimblett.
NORA: And Pimblett shut it down himself, saying he hasn't actually been offered anything.
DUKE: The Baddy just addressing it head on, no fight agreed, no offer on the table.
NORA: Which matters, because if the UFC really is steering Topuria toward a Gaethje rematch or another marquee name, word is Paddy Pimblett isn't the next man up right this second for a fight with Ilia Topuria.
NORA: Eventually. Just not December, apparently.
DUKE: Let's get into fighter status, because there's a big one at welterweight.
NORA: Shavkat Rakhmonov.
DUKE: He's admitting a UFC return is far from guaranteed.
NORA: That's notable for a guy who was unbeaten and being talked about as the next big threat in that division.
DUKE: Not retired, not ruling anything out, just being honest that it's not a given.
NORA: And that leaves a real vacuum at the top of welterweight while everybody just waits on him.
DUKE: Nathaniel Wood's dealing with a different kind of fallout.
NORA: He apologized after that upset loss at UFC Paris, said flat out he didn't perform to his potential.
DUKE: A stunning result, and now he's got to figure out where that leaves him in the bantamweight picture.
NORA: An upset like that usually knocks you back a few spots in the rankings conversation, even if it doesn't change who you are as a fighter.
DUKE: Khamzat Chimaev's narrowing his own list too.
NORA: He said two fighters are officially out of the running for who he fights next.
DUKE: Chimaev doesn't hide what he wants, he's been eyeing the top of middleweight.
NORA: With two names crossed off, that shortens the line fast. Whoever's left just got a lot more relevant.
DUKE: Quick one in the wait, what category.
NORA: Marlon Moraes.
DUKE: Former title challenger, and now he's making headlines for a traffic stop down in South Florida that took a wild turn.
NORA: Not fight related, but it's a reminder of what life looks like once guys are out of the title picture.
DUKE: Hopefully he's alright and it's nothing serious.
DUKE: Now the beefs, and we start with Cris Cyborg, who is not holding back these days.
NORA: Since her PFL deal ended and she became a free agent, she's been very loud on social media.
DUKE: She's questioning UFC criteria and demanding punishment for champion Kayla Harrison.
NORA: This comes days after she floated saving UFC three thirty two with a hypothetical rematch against Amanda Nunes.
DUKE: Cyborg's basically trying to force her way back into the featherweight conversation by making noise.
NORA: Whether the UFC engages with any of it is another question, she's a free agent with no deal on the table.
DUKE: Now this one I love. Salahdine Parnasse had a debut for the ages in Paris.
NORA: Main event, home crowd, and he comes out of it calling out Max Holloway.
DUKE: Called it, quote, "dream fight," end quote.
NORA: Bold ask one fight into his UFC run. Holloway's a former champion and one of the best strikers in the sport's history.
DUKE: But that's how you make noise off a big debut, you swing at the biggest name available.
NORA: And the UFC loves a story like this. Don't be shocked if they actually explore it.
DUKE: Paulo Costa's got a complaint aimed straight at the promotion.
NORA: He's slamming what he calls double standards, and specifically questioning Alex Pereira's ranking.
DUKE: Costa's basically saying the rulebook bends depending on who you are.
NORA: It reads like a fighter using his voice to push for a bigger fight next, not a gatekeeper matchup.
DUKE: And Brian Ortega's out here saying the UFC avoids fighters who could, in his words, quote, "whoop us," end quote.
NORA: He's talking about names outside the UFC, guys he considers elite that the promotion just doesn't go near.
DUKE: That's a shot at the whole roster building philosophy.
NORA: And it's exactly the kind of comment that gets people arguing.
DUKE: Okay, gotta be honest, that Ortega line lives in my head now.
NORA: It's spicy.
DUKE: It is.
NORA: It's also not exactly new, fighters say this all the time.
DUKE: Sure, but Ortega's not nobody, he's fought at the top of featherweight.
NORA: True.
DUKE: So when he says it, people actually listen.
NORA: They do.
DUKE: I just wonder who he even means.
NORA: We don't have names from him on this one.
DUKE: Right, so it's a vibe, not a list.
NORA: A vibe with zero receipts.
DUKE: Still fun to argue about.
NORA: Always is.
DUKE: Let's shift to other promotions for a second, starting with PFL.
NORA: The PFL heavyweight division is seeing some action.
DUKE: Sergei Bilostenniy is set to fight on November fourteenth at the Coca-Cola Arena, that's PFL Dubai.
NORA: This is a big fight for the division, and it will be interesting to see how it plays out.
DUKE: And in Muay Thai, there's a nice story too.
NORA: Rambolek, the bantamweight king, defends his title September eleventh.
DUKE: He talked about stepping away into monastic life and coming back calmer for it, saying, quote, "I feel much calmer," end quote.
NORA: That's his first defense since winning the belt, so there's real pressure attached even if the vibe around him sounds peaceful.
DUKE: Alright, time for the pick, and this one's massive, Magomed Ankalaev.
NORA: Our model's got Ankalaev at seventy two percent.
DUKE: Seventy two.
NORA: And the betting line only implies about sixty five.
DUKE: So we're higher than the market again.
NORA: By a good seven points, yeah, that's real value.
DUKE: Talk me into it, because his opponents are chaos, they can end anyone's night.
NORA: Sure, but some of his potential opponents are coming back from severe injuries, and that's a real concern for ring rust.
DUKE: That's not nothing after that much time away.
NORA: Ankalaev's also been the more active fighter of the two.
DUKE: Okay.
NORA: And on form, Ankalaev's riding a long unbeaten streak, even if the last one was a controversial draw.
DUKE: While some of his potential opponents are coming off injuries and losses.
NORA: Exactly. And style-wise, Ankalaev's measured striking and his wrestling defense should be able to shut down that wild, unorthodox approach some of his opponents bring.
DUKE: His wildness cuts both ways though, he can just walk through it and land the one shot.
NORA: He can, that's why it's seventy two, not ninety.
DUKE: Fair. How's the model running lately anyway?
NORA: Honestly, sixty five and twenty one on the season, hit rate's about seventy five point six percent.
DUKE: And the market?
NORA: The market's hitting seventy seven point one, so we're not beating the house straight up right now.
DUKE: So we're behind.
NORA: Overall, yeah. But on value picks specifically we're twelve and two.
DUKE: Twelve and two, that's the number that matters to me.
NORA: That's exactly why I like Ankalaev here, this is the kind of spot where we've actually found our edge.
DUKE: And for the record, I'm one and one, you're oh and one.
NORA: Don't remind me.
DUKE: Let's look at what's actually next on the calendar, starting with tomorrow.
NORA: Dana White's Contender Series, season ten week five, September eighth.
DUKE: Contender Series is always about who's fighting for a contract, watch how those finishes look.
NORA: Then Saturday the twelfth, Noche UFC, Silva versus Delgado.
DUKE: This card is shaping up to be a good one, with some exciting matchups.
NORA: Then the big one, UFC three thirty one, September nineteenth.
DUKE: Alexandre Pantoja runs it back with Joshua Van in the main event.
NORA: Pantoja defending again, Van getting a second crack, that's a stacked few weeks coming.
DUKE: And a little further out, UFC Fight Night with Raoni Barcelos and Raul Rosas Junior lands September twenty sixth, then UFC three thirty two, Natalia Silva versus Wang Cong, hits October third.
NORA: Busy stretch, back to back to back.
DUKE: No shortage of fights to break down.
NORA: That's gonna do it for us today.
DUKE: We'll be back with everything coming out of Contender Series.

We're on Magomed Ankalaev here. Who are you taking? 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.