Steveson Breaks Silence, Costa vs White Heats Up, Gane Favored

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:

• Miki Motono overwhelms Satomi Takano with 50-plus Punches at Pancrase 366 (Sherdog)
• Valter Walker accuses trio of rivals of refusing to face him in the UFC: “They ran” (Ag. Fight (BR))
• New UFC signee says jet lag cost him KO: ‘I hate that guy’ (Sherdog)
• “Do What Khabib did”: Former UFC Champion gives Arman Tsarukyan the Justin Gaethje blueprint (LowKick MMA)
• Dana White fires back at Paulo Costa over UFC fight dispute (Sherdog)
• Gable Steveson breaks silence following stunning 12-second UFC KO loss (Sherdog)
• ‘He’s turned them down’: Dana White responds to Paulo Costa’s claim that UFC aren’t offering him fights (Bloody Elbow)
• UFC Veteran Kyoji Horiguchi Returns in Qatar With Division Position at Stake (LowKick MMA)
• Dana White Signs Callum Connor After Wild DWCS Fight Leaves Both Men Hospitalised (LowKick MMA)
• Henry Cejudo names who Paddy Pimblett and Usman Nurmagomedov should fight next if UFC star is actually ‘hurt’ (Bloody Elbow)
• Dana White signs 6 at DWCS Week 7, including 2 fighters who lost (Sherdog)
• Gable Steveson emotional as he speaks for first time since UFC 331 knockout loss (MMA Weekly)
• Dana White hands UFC contract to KSW standout following first-round TKO (Sherdog)
• Major PFL shakeup hits just 7 weeks after MVP merger (Sherdog)

Welcome to Open Scoring MMA. This is episode 97 for September 23rd, 2026, your daily look at what's happening now and next across the world of MMA and UFC. DUKE: Nora, we gotta start with Gable Steveson, because that stoppage is still the talk of the sport.
NORA: Twelve seconds.
DUKE: Twelve seconds, and now he's finally spoken up about it.
NORA: He came out emotional, first time addressing it since the knockout at UFC 331.
DUKE: That's rough for a guy with his amateur pedigree, getting starched that fast on the big stage.
NORA: It resets the whole conversation on him though. Heavyweight's brutal, one mistake and you're on the canvas before you even get going.
DUKE: Does this change how the UFC books him next?
NORA: Almost certainly they slow it down, maybe get him a step back in competition before they push him into anyone ranked.
DUKE: Gotta rebuild that chin's reputation first.
NORA: Or at least rebuild the game plan around not getting caught early.
DUKE: Alright, from one heavyweight storyline to another, because Paulo Costa is not happy with Dana White right now.
NORA: This one's been simmering. Costa's been saying the UFC isn't offering him fights.
DUKE: And White just shut that down completely.
NORA: White's response was blunt, quote, he's turned them down, end quote.
DUKE: So it's not a lack of opportunity, it's Costa turning down what's on the table.
NORA: That's the UFC's version of events, yeah. And it matters because Costa's stock has been sliding, he needs a fight to stay relevant in that middleweight picture.
DUKE: If he's actually declining bookings, that's on him, not the matchmakers.
NORA: Right, and it puts him in a weird spot, because the longer he sits out, the further he drifts from title contention conversations.
DUKE: Speaking of guys who feel overlooked, Valter Walker is loud about this too.
NORA: He's been on a tear, and he's making some noise about it.
DUKE: He went on social media and said, quote, they ran, end quote, calling out a trio of rivals for avoiding him.
NORA: Heavyweight's a thin division worldwide, so if he's finishing people that consistently, somebody's ducking a live look.
DUKE: I get the frustration. Five submissions in a row and you're still on the outside looking in for a fight date.
NORA: The UFC's heavyweight depth chart is small enough that a name like his should get matched up fast if the callouts are legit.
DUKE: Alright, now this one, Nora, gets me fired up, because it's Paddy.
NORA: Here we go.
DUKE: Henry Cejudo weighed in on what Pimblett and Usman Nurmagomedov should do next.
NORA: Cejudo laid out matchups for both of them, but the whole premise hinges on whether Paddy is reportedly hurt right now.
DUKE: Word is The Baddy might be dealing with an injury, and that's the last thing any of us want to hear.
NORA: If that's real, it reshuffles the lightweight picture, because Usman still needs opponents and Pimblett's been one of the biggest names being floated for him.
DUKE: Cejudo's basically building a contingency plan depending on Paddy's health.
NORA: Which tells you how much the division's short term plans revolve around him being available.
DUKE: We need him healthy and in there, simple as that.
NORA: One more lightweight beat while we're here, Israel Adesanya had thoughts on Arman Tsarukyan.
DUKE: The Gaethje blueprint.
NORA: Adesanya's line was, quote, do what Khabib did, end quote, pointing Tsarukyan toward that same style if he gets a lightweight title shot.
DUKE: Meaning grind, control, don't get baited into a firefight.
NORA: Exactly, lean on the wrestling and the pressure instead of trading.
DUKE: Tsarukyan's got the tools for it, the question's whether he gets that title opportunity in the first place.
NORA: That's still the hold up, nothing's locked for him yet.
DUKE: Let's swing into the roster moves, because Contender Series week seven was wild.
NORA: Six new contracts handed out, and two of those guys actually lost their fights.
DUKE: That's how good the level's gotten on that show, you can lose and still get signed.
NORA: Alvi Dasuyev was one of the standouts, unanimous decision over Jaden Ortega, kept his record perfect.
DUKE: And he had a quote about it that made me laugh, quote, I hate that guy, end quote, blaming jet lag for costing him the finish.
NORA: Undefeated and now in the UFC, that's a real add to a roster.
DUKE: Then there's Callum Connor.
NORA: He actually lost his fight, decision loss to Piero Guaylupo, but it was such a firefight that both guys ended up hospitalised.
DUKE: And Dana signed him anyway.
NORA: Because a three round war like that tells you more about a fighter's toughness than a lot of wins do.
DUKE: Damian Piwowarczyk got a deal too, first round TKO, coming over as a KSW standout.
NORA: That's a name to watch, he finished clean and fast, exactly the profile that gets fast tracked.
DUKE: Busy week for Dana's signing pen.
NORA: Flyweight's got movement too, Kyoji Horiguchi is back, fighting in Qatar with real division positioning at stake.
DUKE: Former title challenger, so this isn't a throwaway fight, this affects where he sits in that whole flyweight picture.
NORA: If he wins, he's right back knocking on the door of the top of that division.
DUKE: Let's go outside the UFC for a second, PFL just had a shakeup.
NORA: Big one, only seven weeks removed from the MVP merger and they're already restructuring again.
DUKE: That's a fast turnaround for an organization that just went through a major deal.
NORA: It tells you the merger didn't settle everything, there's still instability in how that promotion's being run.
DUKE: And over in Japan, Pancrase 366 gave us a title fight.
NORA: Miki Motono retained the strawweight title, overwhelming Satomi Takano with over fifty punches.
DUKE: That's a dominant performance, not even close.
NORA: And on the same card, Shizuka Sugiyama closed out an eighteen year career with a decision win. That's a heck of a way to walk away.
DUKE: Eighteen years, that's a whole era of the sport right there.
NORA: A truly impressive career.
DUKE: Alright, let's get into the pick of the show, because this one's a big fight coming up, Ciryl Gane against Josh Hokit. Okay, so where's the model at on this one?
NORA: We've got Gane at seventy one percent.
DUKE: And the betting line?
NORA: Line implies about sixty nine.
DUKE: So we're basically right there with the market on this one.
NORA: A hair above it, yeah, but it's a lean, not a heavy conviction call.
DUKE: Talk me through why though.
NORA: Gane's got a three inch height edge and seven and a half inches of reach on Hokit.
DUKE: That's a big gap for a heavyweight matchup.
NORA: It is, and it means he can control the distance the entire fight if he uses it right.
DUKE: What about age, because Gane's not exactly a kid anymore.
NORA: He's eight years older, and that's a slight mark against him, but at this size differential the reach and height still outweigh it.
DUKE: Fair.
NORA: And context matters here too, Gane's fought and defended real gold, he's shared the cage with Ngannou and Jones.
DUKE: That's a different level of big fight experience than Hokit's seen.
NORA: Exactly, that experience tends to show up when things get tight late in a fight.
DUKE: So Gane's the call.
NORA: Ciryl Gane, seventy one percent, and we're slightly ahead of the market taking him.
DUKE: I like it, the reach alone should keep Hokit on the outside all night.
NORA: That's the read.
DUKE: Now real quick, before we get to the schedule, I gotta bring up this Valter Walker thing again, because it's bugging me.
NORA: Here we go.
DUKE: Five submissions in a row, Nora. Five.
NORA: I heard you the first time.
DUKE: And nobody wants to sign the contract.
NORA: Heavyweight's just a small pool, Duke, that's the honest answer.
DUKE: So it's not that they're scared.
NORA: I mean, maybe some are, but it's also just math. There's not that many bodies at two hundred and sixty five pounds walking around.
DUKE: Come on, that feels like an excuse.
NORA: It's not an excuse, it's a scheduling problem that looks like fear from the outside.
DUKE: Well, it looks exactly like fear from where I'm sitting.
NORA: Fine, we can disagree on that one.
DUKE: We can. Alright, let's look ahead, because there's fights coming fast. This Saturday we've got the card up in three days, Rosas Jr. versus Barcelos.
NORA: Raul Rosas Jr. takes on Raoni Barcelos in that one.
DUKE: Rosas Jr. is still one of the youngest guys on the roster, so every outing is another data point on how fast he's actually developing.
NORA: It's a chance for him to continue building his resume against a tough opponent.
DUKE: Then on September 29, 2026, Contender Series season ten week eight rolls around.
NORA: George Staines faces Loai Abushaar.
DUKE: After the week we just had with six signings, everybody's gonna be watching that show even closer now.
NORA: Dana's clearly in a mood to hand out contracts this season.
DUKE: And hey, before we go, the community's still buzzing over the Valter Walker callouts online.
NORA: Yeah, the MMA community on Reddit is going back and forth on whether those rivals are really avoiding him or just tied up elsewhere.
DUKE: That's the debate of the week right there.
NORA: Alright, that's what we've got.
DUKE: Big few days coming up, we'll be back with more before Saturday.

One more thing before we go.

We're on Ciryl Gane here. Who are you taking?

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That's it for today's Open Scoring MMA. Keep your hands up, and we'll see you next time.