Gane Crowned, Steveson Starched, and Paddy Torches Topuria

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:

• Paddy Pimblett Calls Ilia Topuria A “Sore Loser” Over Justin Gaethje Glove Claim (MiddleEasy)
• Paddy Pimblett is now more confident of beating Arman Tsarukyan despite vicious UFC 331 KO (Bloody Elbow)
• Paddy Pimblett rips Arman Tsarukyan’s wrestling performance at UFC 331 (Sherdog)
• Legacy! Undefeated, Ryan Gandra explains obsession with Israel Adesanya (Ag. Fight (BR))
• UFC 331 star issues statement after suffering the first loss of his MMA career (Bloody Elbow)
• Gane elevated to undisputed champion, Hokit title fight set for UFC 334 (The Mac Life)
• Joshua Van reveals torn AC joint ahead of UFC 331 title defense (Sherdog)
• Paddy Pimblett Explains Why Arman Tsarukyan May Still Miss Out on Title Shot Despite UFC 331 KO (LowKick MMA)
• Gable Steveson’s manager invokes UFC legends after 12-second KO (Sherdog)
• Paddy Pimblett takes aim at ‘sore loser’ Ilia Topuria after wild Justin Gaethje glove accusation (Bloody Elbow)
• ‘He will be great’: Gable Steveson’s manager backs UFC star after shock knockout loss (The Mac Life)
• Daniel Cormier Says Arman Tsarukyan Made Himself “Undeniable” After UFC 331 (MiddleEasy)
• Sean Strickland reveals Sean Sharaf was sleeping on floor before UFC 331 (Sherdog)
• Controversial MMA technique could be banned following UFC 331 (Sherdog)

Welcome to Open Scoring MMA. This is episode 95 for September 21st, 2026, your daily look at what's happening now and next across the world of MMA and UFC. DUKE: Nora, we've got a new heavyweight champion and we didn't even need a fight to crown him.
NORA: Ciryl Gane's been elevated to undisputed champion, succeeding Tom Aspinall, and the UFC's already got his first defense lined up.
DUKE: Against Josh Hokit, at UFC 334.
NORA: Right, that's the fight the promotion's building the next heavyweight chapter around.
DUKE: It's a weird way to become champ, but a title's a title.
NORA: It is, and now Gane's got the chance to actually validate it in the cage instead of on paper.
DUKE: We'll get into how we like that fight in a bit, because our model's already got thoughts.
NORA: Strong thoughts.
DUKE: Let's get to the injury front first, because the card that featured Arman Tsarukyan's big win left some bodies banged up. Joshua Van revealed he went into his flyweight title defense with a torn AC joint in his shoulder.
NORA: That's a brutal thing to be fighting through in a title fight, that joint takes a beating every time you throw or get taken down.
DUKE: And he didn't pull out, he just fought hurt.
NORA: Which tells you everything about his toughness, but it's also a red flag for how his body's holding up carrying that belt through multiple defenses.
DUKE: Now, Iwo Baraniewski, the Polish knockout artist, he came in nine and oh and left that card with the first loss of his career.
NORA: He spoke out about it, told Bloody Elbow, quote, "My first professional loss, but not my first in life," end quote.
DUKE: That's a mature way to handle getting your zero taken.
NORA: It is, and for a guy who built his whole run on finishing people in round one, this is the first time we get to see how he responds to adversity, that's a real test of his ceiling.
DUKE: And then there's Gable Steveson. Nora, this one's rough. Twelve seconds.
NORA: Twelve seconds, his sophomore UFC outing, and it did not go his way at all.
DUKE: His manager's already out there talking him up, invoking UFC legends in the process.
NORA: The line from his corner was basically, quote, "He will be great," end quote, and "It's the life he chose."
DUKE: I respect the loyalty, but that's two fights into his UFC run and both have been ugly.
NORA: It's genuinely concerning. An Olympic gold medalist getting finished that fast, twice, means the transition from wrestling to actual mixed martial arts striking defense is not going smoothly.
DUKE: Alright, now let's get into the stuff everybody's talking about, because Paddy Pimblett has had a very busy few days.
NORA: The Baddy's been everywhere.
DUKE: He's calling Ilia Topuria a sore loser after Topuria claimed Justin Gaethje had his gloves loaded when Topuria lost his lightweight title.
NORA: Both Pimblett and Topuria have actually lost to Gaethje, and Pimblett's not buying the excuse one bit.
DUKE: This is Paddy at his best, calling it straight, no hedging.
NORA: The commission literally watches every fighter get their hands wrapped, that's part of why his pushback lands. It's hard to sell a conspiracy when there's an official standing right there watching it happen.
DUKE: And fans on X are already fired up about this one, the community's split between backing Paddy's read and defending Topuria's frustration.
NORA: Most of the reaction seems to be siding with Pimblett on this, honestly.
DUKE: But Paddy's not done, because he also weighed in on Arman Tsarukyan's performance.
NORA: Tsarukyan knocked out Mauricio Ruffy, a huge statement win, and Pimblett still wasn't impressed with the wrestling.
DUKE: He ripped the wrestling specifically, said even in a big win Tsarukyan showed weaknesses.
NORA: And here's the twist, Pimblett actually said he's now more confident he'd beat Tsarukyan, despite watching that knockout.
DUKE: That's a bold thing to say about a guy who just violently finished someone.
NORA: It is, but Pimblett's also arguing Tsarukyan might still miss out on the next title shot entirely, even after that win.
DUKE: Which is wild, because Daniel Cormier's take is basically the opposite.
NORA: Cormier said Tsarukyan made himself, in his words, undeniable after that knockout.
DUKE: Undeniable versus still on the outside looking in, that's quite the split in opinion.
NORA: There's actually a quote from Tsarukyan himself to MiddleEasy that gets at why he's so dangerous right now, he said, quote, "Fighting a kid who doesn't need this, like Arman Tsarukyan, who's rich and just fighting because he wants to fight, might be even more dangerous because he doesn't need this. He's doing this for the love of fighting. That's crazy, and he's getting better every single time. Congratulations to Arman Tsarukyan," end quote.
DUKE: That's a strange one to hear him say about himself, but the point stands, a guy fighting for love instead of necessity is a scary style matchup for anybody.
NORA: Especially when he's still improving in the cage every time out.
DUKE: Let's shift to roster and rules for a second. Ryan Gandra has six wins by KO/TKO, and he's openly chasing comparisons to Israel Adesanya.
NORA: He's a middleweight out of Minas Gerais, and that path he's charting is bigger than just finishing people, he's building a whole persona around it.
DUKE: Six wins by KO/TKO is a serious start, that's the kind of run that gets the UFC fast tracking guys up the card.
NORA: If he keeps finishing people that quickly, the Adesanya comparisons stop being a talking point and start being a real trajectory.
DUKE: And regulators are paying attention too. The California commission's Andy Foster discussed banning a controversial technique after what happened on that card.
NORA: When a state commission starts talking rule changes right after a big event, that usually means something in that card exposed a real safety gap.
DUKE: We'll keep an eye on which technique actually gets targeted, because that could reshape how certain fighters approach the cage.
NORA: It could genuinely change gameplans depending on what gets outlawed.
DUKE: Now, roster news, Dana White's Contender Series Season Ten, Week Seven is tomorrow.
NORA: Norbert Novenyi Junior versus Theo Haig headlines.
DUKE: Contender Series is always a fun watch because you're seeing potential UFC roster additions in real time.
NORA: Every one of those four fighters is one performance away from a UFC contract.
DUKE: Let's look further ahead too. UFC Fight Night: Rosas Junior versus Barcelos lands this Saturday, September 26, 2026.
NORA: Raoni Barcelos meets Raul Rosas Junior in the main event.
DUKE: Rosas Junior's still one of the most-watched young prospects on the roster, every outing of his is a measuring stick.
NORA: And then the following weekend, October third, UFC 332 brings Natalia Silva against Wang Cong in the main event.
DUKE: That's a legit clash of styles, veteran power against young athleticism.
NORA: And it sets up nicely with the flyweight and bantamweight pictures both shifting right now given Van's injury news and everything else happening at one twenty five and one thirty five.
DUKE: Alright, let's get into our pick for UFC 334.
NORA: Ciryl Gane over Josh Hokit.
DUKE: Talk me into it, because Hokit's plus two ten, that's not nothing.
NORA: We've got Gane at seventy one percent, and the betting line only implies about sixty nine.
DUKE: So we're a touch higher than the market.
NORA: A touch, it's a lean, not a lock.
DUKE: Okay, why though?
NORA: Gane's got a three inch height edge and a seven and a half inch reach advantage.
DUKE: That's massive at heavyweight.
NORA: It is, and both guys are orthodox, so Gane can just sit on the outside and control range the whole fight.
DUKE: He's also eight years older, right, doesn't that hurt him?
NORA: A little, but at heavyweight the reach and height matter more than the age gap.
DUKE: Fair.
NORA: And he's fought and defended titles against guys like Ngannou and Jones, that championship experience isn't nothing either.
DUKE: Hokit's never been in deep water like that.
NORA: Exactly, that's the gap.
DUKE: Alright, I'm with the model on this one.
NORA: Good, because we need a win.
DUKE: Speaking of needing a win, we've got receipts to settle.
NORA: We do.
DUKE: I said I'd ride with Tsarukyan against Ruffy, called it a Final.
NORA: And Tsarukyan won.
DUKE: So I actually got that one right.
NORA: You did, credit where it's due.
DUKE: But then there's Steveson.
NORA: Oh, Steveson.
DUKE: I said I'd ride with him, called it for Steveson.
NORA: And I said we had Steveson to win.
DUKE: And Sean Sharaf won.
NORA: He did.
DUKE: Twelve seconds, Nora.
NORA: I know.
DUKE: Twelve seconds.
NORA: It's not a great look, no.
DUKE: The model's still sitting at eighty one and twenty seven overall, so it's not like we're in freefall.
NORA: True, and our value picks are thirteen and two, that's the number I actually trust right now.
DUKE: But on the marquee calls lately, we're stumbling.
NORA: We are, and I'll own that one completely, it was way too confident given what we know now.

One more thing before we go.

We've got Ciryl Gane taking this one. Think we're wrong? Tell us in the comments.

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.