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Jones vs Makhachev Heats Up, Chimaev Set to Smash Burns

Jon Jones and Islam Makhachev are trading shots online while the heavyweight picture gets messier by the day, and UFC 331 week brings finish predictions and four new DWCS signings.

Jones vs Makhachev Heats Up, Chimaev Set to Smash Burns

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Here's what's actually moving today.

Jones And Makhachev Trade Shots

Islam Makhachev and Jon Jones have started going back and forth online in what's shaping up as a genuinely personal legacy feud rather than the usual pre-fight theater. Both men have built cases for being the greatest fighter of their era, and neither is shy about saying so directly to the other. There's no fight being discussed here, just two all time greats sniping over where they rank.

Heavyweight Chaos After Aspinall's Exit

Jon Jones hasn't let up on Tom Aspinall since the Brit vacated the UFC heavyweight title, piling on with more digs in the aftermath. Gable Steveson, Jones's training partner in Albuquerque, says the open belt might be exactly what pulls Jones back into the sport. Steveson put it plainly: "I think Jon would like to come back also, maybe seeing this belt open up put another fire into him. Jon's my training partner everyday in Albuquerque so I've seen what he can still do and I know he can do it at the highest level, and maybe his time will come again and I think it will." Steveson also gave Ciryl Gane his due, saying, "I think Ciryl Gane deserves (the undisputed title) he's a fantastic fighter and he's a guy that goes out there and he's beating everybody besides the infinity stones of fighting, (Francis) Ngannou and Jon." Meanwhile, Dana White skipped the DWCS press conference entirely, and fans are speculating he's dodging questions about Aspinall and the shape of UFC 332.

Pantoja And Van Both Calling Their Shot

We're hearing that Alexandre Pantoja and Joshua Van are set to headline UFC 331, and both fighters are publicly predicting they'll finish the rematch rather than grind out a decision. It's a rematch with real stakes given how the first meeting went.

Four More Names Punch Their UFC Ticket

Dana White's Contender Series Week 6 produced four new contract signings. Mayton Perea stopped his opponent in just forty five seconds, and told Sherdog, "I have been waiting my entire life; I have been manifesting this and working so hard," adding, "It is incredible. It seems like a dream." Akbar Abdullaev needed only nineteen seconds to land his knockout, a finish White reportedly called the greatest talent he's seen in DWCS history. Miami police officer Luis Hernandez kept his record spotless too, catching Frenchman Hugo Guyon with a rear naked choke in the second round to earn his own deal.

Page Speaks Out, Yanez Gets A New Test

Michael Page is airing his frustration with how the UFC handled his release, calling the move disrespectful after he went five and one inside the organization. On a lighter note for the roster, Adrian Yanez is reportedly being lined up against a surging, never finished opponent for UFC 334 at Madison Square Garden, a fight that could shake up the bantamweight rankings depending on how it goes.

From the community

Over on r/MMA, fans are talking about this: Islam Makhachev responded to Jones.

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

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Welcome to Open Scoring MMA. This is episode 90 for September 16th, 2026, your daily look at what's happening now and next across the world of MMA and UFC. DUKE: Okay, we gotta start here because it's gotten personal. Islam Makhachev and Jon Jones are going back and forth online, and this isn't the usual pound for pound chest puffing.
NORA: No, this one's got teeth. Two guys who both have legitimate cases for the top of the pound for pound list, sniping directly at each other in public.
DUKE: And it's not dying down either.
NORA: The Reddit crowd over on r slash MMA is having a field day with it too. There's a thread specifically about Makhachev responding to Jones, and it's blowing up.
DUKE: Yeah, because when two guys with this kind of resume start actually naming each other, fans smell a legacy argument that might never even get settled in the cage.
NORA: Right, and that's the frustrating part. This might just stay a war of words.
DUKE: Which, honestly, only makes it juicier for us to cover. Speaking of Jones, he's not just sparring with Makhachev. He's been piling on Tom Aspinall too, taking shots at him after Aspinall vacated the heavyweight title.
NORA: That vacancy is the whole reason this heavyweight picture is scrambled right now. Aspinall walking away from the belt opened the division up, and Jones clearly sees an opening.
DUKE: Gable Steveson, who trains with Jones every day in Albuquerque, thinks this is exactly what lights the fire. He said, quote, maybe seeing this belt open up put another fire into him, end quote.
NORA: Steveson also made the case for Ciryl Gane getting the undisputed title, saying Gane's beaten everybody except what he called the infinity stones of the division, Francis Ngannou and Jones himself.
DUKE: That's a wild way to put it, but it tracks. Gane's resume speaks for itself at this point.
NORA: And if Jones really is feeling that itch again, a vacant title is about the only thing that gets a guy like him off the couch.
DUKE: Now here's another guy weighing in on the heavyweight mess. We're hearing that some former champions are backing Josh Hokit over Alex Poatan in this title dispute that's opened up since the belt went vacant.
NORA: That's notable because former champions are usually pretty measured. Them publicly siding with Hokit over a guy like Poatan tells you this argument has real weight behind it.
DUKE: It shows just how unsettled the linear heavyweight picture is right now. Nobody agrees who should even be next in line.
NORA: And until the UFC clears that up, expect more of this, commentators and fighters all staking their claim on who deserves the shot.
DUKE: Which brings us to Dana White, who skipped the Contender Series press conference entirely, and fans are speculating he's avoiding questions about Aspinall and UFC 332.
NORA: That timing is suspicious. UFC 332 is reportedly right around the corner on October third, and the heavyweight title picture is still a mess after Aspinall's exit.
DUKE: If White's dodging the mic on this, that tells you the promotion doesn't have clean answers yet either.
NORA: Or they do, and they're just not ready to say it publicly.
DUKE: Either way, that's a story we're gonna keep tracking. Alright, let's get into beefs.
NORA: That's a strong word for a guy who was actually winning. One and zero is a solid stretch, and it makes you wonder what exactly happened behind the scenes with matchmaking or contract talks.
DUKE: Yeah, when a guy's finishing fights and still gets let go, that's the kind of thing that fuels bad blood for years.
NORA: And it puts him firmly in the free agent conversation now. Somebody's gonna want that style and that finishing rate.
DUKE: Now onto roster moves. Contender Series week six delivered again, and Mayton Perea earned himself a UFC contract with a forty five second stoppage.
NORA: Forty five seconds is nothing.
DUKE: That's the kind of moment that makes the Contender Series worth watching every single week.
NORA: Right there with him, Akbar Abdullaev landed his deal with a nineteen second knockout, and Dana White actually called it the greatest talent in Contender Series history.
DUKE: Nineteen seconds and Dana's throwing around a label like that? That's high praise.
NORA: And Luis Hernandez, a Dade County police officer, stayed perfect and got his deal too, catching Hugo Guyon with a rear naked choke in the second round.
DUKE: Hernandez, whose opponent was from Lyon, says a lot about how deep this contender series pipeline has gotten globally.
NORA: Four new names added to the roster in one night. That's a strong crop even by Contender Series standards.
DUKE: Let's talk card changes. Adrian Yanez is reportedly drawing a surging, never finished opponent for UFC 334 at Madison Square Garden.
NORA: A never finished opponent is a real gatekeeper test for Yanez. If he can be the first to finish that guy, it's a massive statement in the bantamweight rankings.
DUKE: Big spot for him at the Garden too. That's not a stage you waste. Now the fight everybody's actually waiting for this week, Joshua Van and Alexandre Pantoja running it back at UFC 331, and both of them are predicting finishes.
NORA: When both guys in a rematch are publicly calling their shot, that usually means one side is bluffing, or somebody genuinely sees a hole they think they can exploit.
DUKE: Either way, that's exactly the kind of buildup you want heading into fight week. Alright, let's preview what's actually coming. UFC 331 is reportedly this Saturday, September nineteenth, with Alexandre Pantoja against Joshua Van in the main event.
NORA: That main event is a real litmus test for both fighters. A win there keeps them squarely in the title picture.
DUKE: Then just three days later, September twenty second, Contender Series season ten week seven runs.
NORA: After the week we just saw, expect more UFC deals handed out live.
DUKE: After that, UFC Fight Night on September twenty sixth brings Raoni Barcelos against Raul Rosas Junior. We're hearing there might be a co-main event, but nothing official yet.
NORA: Rosas Junior's still one of the more scrutinized prospects on the roster, so this is a real measuring stick fight for him against a veteran like Barcelos.
DUKE: Then UFC 332 reportedly lands October third, with Natalia Silva against Wang Cong headlining. Word is there might be a co-main, but we'll wait and see.
NORA: That's a big card for the fall.
DUKE: And October tenth we reportedly get a Fight Night with Brendan Allen against Christian Leroy Duncan headlining.
NORA: Allen's been building a real case in the middleweight rankings, and Duncan's power makes this a genuine threat to that momentum.
DUKE: Okay, before the pick, one more thing we gotta hash out. Where's Paddy Pimblett in all this chaos?
NORA: Nothing new on him today, but with the division shaking up like this, you know he's watching every bit of it.
DUKE: The Baddy's always got an angle. We'll flag it the second there's real news. Alright, let's get to the pick.
NORA: We're looking at a ninety two percent chance for Chimaev.
DUKE: Ninety two.
NORA: And the betting line's actually got him even higher, around ninety three.
DUKE: So we're actually a touch below the market here.
NORA: We are, slightly. But strong confidence either way.
DUKE: Why though? Burns is a legit black belt, good hands too.
NORA: He is, but Chimaev's got a four inch height and four inch reach edge on him. That's a real physical gap to close.
DUKE: Okay, that's significant.
NORA: And style wise, Chimaev's a dominant grappler with strong striking on top of it. Burns is high level on the mat too, but Chimaev brings both games at a higher volume.
DUKE: And he finishes.
NORA: Multiple knockouts, multiple submissions in his UFC run. That finishing ability is a real factor in the model.
DUKE: So Chimaev's the pick.
NORA: Chimaev's the pick, and we've been this confident on him for a while now, this one hasn't moved.
DUKE: Can't argue with the tape on this one. Quick reminder before we go, our model's sitting at seventy seven and twenty two on the season, a hit rate of point seven seven eight.
NORA: Which is right there with the market's point seven nine two, so we're not beating the books outright, but our value picks are thirteen and two.
DUKE: Thirteen and two on value plays is nothing to sneeze at.
NORA: It's not. That's where we actually add something beyond just following the odds.
DUKE: Alright, that's our show for today. Catch us back here tomorrow for more.
One more thing before we go. Khamzat Chimaev is our pick. Who have you got, and why? And while you're here, two quick ones. Our free Fight Tracker is 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.