Skip to main content
The Feed

The Roundup: biggest MMA & UFC stories, Sep 22

Gaethje-Topuria hits a snag, Joshua Van rockets up the rankings, and we're hearing Garry-Morales might be on for a year-end scrap.

This is an Open Scoring MMA News Alert. Ali Abdelaziz says he doesn't expect Justin Gaethje and Ilia Topuria to run it back next, and the reason is as petty as it is real [3]. According to the manager, a dispute over gloves is what torpedoed the rematch talks [3]. For a fight fans were already salivating over, watching it collapse over glove specifications is the kind of thing that makes you want to bang your head against the cage. Abdelaziz clearly isn't holding back his frustration with how the negotiation went. Joshua Van remains at No. 8 in Sherdog's pound-for-pound rankings after UFC 331 [4]. With the win, Van remains at No. 8 in Sherdog's pound-for-pound rankings, as panelists felt he still has ground to cover before leapfrogging some of the established names ahead of him. Ian Machado Garry and Michael Morales went at it directly on Instagram, and both welterweight contenders came away saying they want to settle it in the Octagon [6]. The back-and-forth started publicly and escalated into both guys expressing mutual interest in a matchup before the year is out [6]. With both of them sitting near the top of a stacked 170-pound division, this is exactly the kind of grudge match that division needs. Magomed Ankalaev is calling for a fight with Paulo Costa, and he's not hiding his impatience about it [13]. The former light heavyweight champion hasn't fought since he knocked out Bogdan Guskov at UFC Abu Dhabi back in July, and he's ready to get back to work [13]. Costa is also looking to get his next fight locked in, so the pieces are lining up for the Russian to make this happen [13]. Ankalaev at 205 against Costa is a legitimate style clash, and it's easy to see why he's pushing for it publicly. Fresh off knocking out Dooho Choi at UFC 331, Patricio Pitbull is already naming his next target [15]. Speaking to reporters after the win, Pitbull said he wants "Barking Dog" Jean Silva next [15]. That's a bold ask for a guy who just squared his ledger, but Pitbull has never been shy about picking the toughest available matchup. All six fighters made weight for a trio of women's matchups headlining Pancrase 366 in Tokyo [1]. The official main event is a champion-versus-champion showdown, with Strawweight Queen of Pancrase titleholder Miki Motono defending against reigning atomweight champ Satomi "Sarami" Takano [1]. Motono says she wants an explosive fight in her first defense against Sarami [9], while Sarami is chasing two-division title status and pushed back on the idea that she doesn't win with her hands [7]. The card also features Shizuka Sugiyama closing out her career against her close friend Emi Fujino, with Sugiyama promising to show her true self in the finale [8]. Israel Adesanya weighed in on the Tom Aspinall situation, adding his voice to a story that's been swirling around the heavyweight champ [17]. Henry Cejudo, meanwhile, sent a pointed warning to Bo Nickal after watching Gable Steveson get knocked out in just twelve seconds, making clear he thinks wrestlers coming into MMA need to slow down and not rush their transitions [18]. Chuck Liddell isn't holding back either, saying he can't stand how some fighters lean on wrestling as their primary style in today's game [14]. Three different legends, three different gripes, but all of it points to the same ongoing tension between old-school finishing instincts and the grind-it-out grappling that's taken over so much of the sport. taking on Theo Haig in the main event. vs. Barcelos, which is scheduled for Saturday, where Raul Rosas Jr. meets Raoni Barcelos up top.

Sources

Open Scoring MMA is a daily AI-produced MMA and UFC news podcast. Listen on Spotify, read the Feed, or get every episode by email.