Jones Takes the Blame, Tsarukyan Calls Out Gaethje

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:

• Jon Jones issues statement over Gable Steveson’s knockout loss, leaving the octagon immediately afterwards (MMA Fighting)
• Commentator blasts Jon Jones' protégé after UFC 331 loss: "Doesn't know how to lose" (Ag. Fight (BR))
• Tsarukyan provokes champion Justin Gaethje after shining at UFC 331: “He’s scared” (Ag. Fight (BR))
• Chuck Liddell calls out the UFC fighting style he can't stand (Sherdog)
• Arman Tsarukyan Confirms the UFC Is Eyeing a Title Fight for His Next Appearance (LowKick MMA)
• Colby Covington tells Gable Steveson to cut Jon Jones following UFC 331 loss (Sherdog)
• “We Crack Up Laughing” Dana White’s Eddie Hearn Jab Sparks Backlash from Fighters (LowKick MMA)
• Valter Walker admits foot problem has him doubting UFC title hopes (Sherdog)
• Jon Jones takes blame for Gable Steveson’s controversial move at UFC 331 (Yahoo Sports MMA)
• Jon Jones Defends Gable Steveson’s Decision to Leave Cage Early After UFC 331 Loss (Yahoo Sports MMA)
• Overrated? Arman win at UFC 331 ‘showed holes in his game’, ‘His wrestling is not as good as he thinks it is’ (MMA Mania)
• Demetrious Johnson spots his lesson in Arman Tsarukyan's UFC 331 KO (Sherdog)
• Top 3 Contenders for Joshua Van's UFC Title After His Latest Victory (Yahoo Sports MMA)
• Undefeated Patrick Habirora draws former PFL MENA champ in Dubai (Sherdog)

Welcome to Open Scoring MMA. This is episode 96 for September 22nd, 2026, your daily look at what's happening now and next across the world of MMA and UFC. DUKE: Big one right out of the gate today. Jon Jones is speaking out after Gable Steveson's shocking knockout loss at UFC 331 this past weekend.
NORA: Steveson was one of the biggest betting favorites on the card, and he got knocked out by Sean Sharaf in just twelve seconds.
DUKE: Twelve seconds. And then he just walked out of the octagon.
NORA: Didn't stick around to even acknowledge Sharaf. Jones is now taking responsibility for that, saying it's on him.
DUKE: That's a big thing for a coach to say publicly.
NORA: It is, and Jones separately defended Steveson's decision to leave the cage early, basically standing behind his guy instead of distancing himself.
DUKE: I get loyalty, but leaving before your opponent gets his moment? That's a rough look no matter who's coaching you.
NORA: Harsh, but after a first loss like that, at this level of hype, some backlash was coming.
DUKE: Then Colby Covington jumps in and tells Steveson he needs to cut Jon Jones loose.
NORA: Covington's never been shy about stirring things up, but there's a real question underneath it. Is Jones the right voice for Steveson right now?
DUKE: The Reddit crowd, sorry, the X crowd, is all over Jones's statement too. Fans reacting to him leaving the cage and then coming out with this.
NORA: Mixed reactions from what's out there. Some people respect him owning it, some think it's deflecting from Steveson himself.
DUKE: Either way, Steveson's first loss changes his whole trajectory. He was being built as a can't miss heavyweight prospect.
NORA: Now it's about how he responds, and who's actually in his corner going forward.
DUKE: Let's shift to another guy dealing with his own stuff, heavyweight, sort of, Valter Walker.
NORA: Walker's admitting his feet are a real problem, and it's got him doubting his own title hopes.
DUKE: That's a scary thing to hear from a guy people think can actually get there.
NORA: If it's chronic and it's already showing up in his own comments, that's not a small injury update, that's a career variable.
DUKE: Okay, now the fun stuff. Arman Tsarukyan is not being quiet after his win at UFC 331.
NORA: He had an overwhelming victory against an opponent at UFC 331, and now he's calling out champion Justin Gaethje directly.
DUKE: He straight up said Gaethje's scared of him.
NORA: And on top of the callout, Tsarukyan's confirming the UFC has actually started working on making his next fight a lightweight title shot.
DUKE: So this isn't just trash talk, there's real business behind it.
NORA: If that booking firms up, Tsarukyan gets the title shot a lot of people think he's earned for a while now.
DUKE: And you know who's not fully buying the hype? Paddy Pimblett.
NORA: The Baddy giving his take.
DUKE: Gotta love Paddy, he'll give credit where it's due, he called Tsarukyan's finishing elbow a naughty elbow.
NORA: But outside of that he wasn't impressed. He thinks the win showed real holes, said Tsarukyan's wrestling isn't as good as he thinks it is.
DUKE: Classic Paddy, respectful and brutal in the same breath. That's exactly why we love him on this show.
NORA: And Demetrious Johnson had his own read on it, saying Tsarukyan actually used a lesson from training with him to get that finish.
DUKE: High praise from one of the smartest guys to ever do this.
NORA: If Tsarukyan's incorporating DJ's fight IQ into his finishing instincts, that's a scary development for Gaethje.
DUKE: Speaking of old school versus new school, Chuck Liddell went off on a certain style in the sport.
NORA: He said the way some fighters lean on wrestling in modern MMA just doesn't sit right with him.
DUKE: Chuck's a striker's striker, so that's not exactly shocking, but it does echo what Paddy was just saying about Tsarukyan.
NORA: The wrestling heavy, grind it out approach versus the finish it standing mentality, that debate's not going away.
DUKE: Now here's one that's got fighters actually annoyed at Dana White.
NORA: White laughed off UFC guys working with boxing promoter Eddie Hearn.
DUKE: Hearn himself threw a jab back, wondering out loud about the potential for cross-sport matchups.
NORA: And former flyweight Muhammad Mokaev fired back too, telling Hearn, quote, deal with the fighters directly then, end quote.
DUKE: That's a fighter basically saying, stop talking about us through the media and come make an actual offer.
NORA: It's a small skirmish, but it shows the tension between UFC roster guys and outside boxing money is very real right now.
DUKE: Let's get to the flyweights, because Joshua Van's got a line forming.
NORA: Van defeated Alexandre Pantoja, and now there are three names being floated as his next challenger.
DUKE: Who we talking?
NORA: Manel Kape, Brandon Royval, and Asu Almabayev, all three legitimate top of the division threats.
DUKE: Van's still young in his title reign, and beating Pantoja is a massive resume builder no matter who's next.
NORA: Royval's got the finishing instincts, Kape's got pure violence, Almabayev's the wildcard. Any of those is a real fight.
DUKE: And over in PFL land, they just locked in a co-main for their Dubai card on November fourteenth.
NORA: Undefeated prospect Patrick Habirora draws a former PFL MENA champion.
DUKE: Not a UFC story, but worth tracking, PFL's building real depth in that region.
NORA: Habirora staying undefeated against a proven champion would be a real signal for his climb up their rankings.
DUKE: Alright, before we get to the picks, we've got a receipt to settle.
NORA: We do.
DUKE: Yeah, I was wrong on that one.
NORA: That drops you to one and five on the season.
DUKE: Rough. My gut's just not talking to me lately.
NORA: My model's not bulletproof either, one and three, so let's not get comfortable.
DUKE: Fair enough. Let's see if we can turn it around with this next one, UFC 332.
NORA: The model's on Payton Talbott.
DUKE: Talbott's minus six twenty five, so the market already loves him. What's our number?
NORA: We've got him at eighty four percent, which is right in line with what the betting line already implies.
DUKE: So we're not fading the public here, we're agreeing with it.
NORA: Strongly. And here's why. Talbott's got a five inch height edge and a two and a half inch reach edge, plus he's eleven years younger.
DUKE: That's not a small gap, that's a completely different body type walking into that cage.
NORA: Right, and stylistically, Talbott's switch stance and that reach make it hard for his opponent to do what he does best, which is close distance and get inside.
DUKE: His opponent's got the power to end it if he gets there, though.
NORA: Sure, but he's been inconsistent the last few years, while Talbott's still undefeated and has been finishing people impressively.
DUKE: Undefeated, younger, bigger, and the style's built to keep his opponent at the end of his punches. Okay, I'm with it. Talbott's the pick. Let's run through what's actually on the schedule. Tonight it's Dana White's Contender Series, season ten, week seven.
NORA: We're hearing Norbert Novenyi Junior takes on Theo Haig in the main event.
DUKE: Contender Series is always fun, somebody's fighting for a UFC contract live tonight.
NORA: Then in four days, Saturday, September 26, 2026, it's UFC Fight Night, Rosas Junior versus Barcelos.
DUKE: Raoni Barcelos and Raul Rosas Junior are headlining that one.
NORA: Rosas Junior's still one of the most watched young prospects on the roster, so that's a real measuring stick fight for him.
DUKE: And then the big one, October third, UFC 332, Silva versus Wang.
NORA: Natalia Silva and Wang Cong headline.
DUKE: After that we've got Brendan Allen versus Christian Leroy Duncan on October tenth, and we're hearing Mike Malott versus Joaquin Buckley headlining October seventeenth.
NORA: Busy stretch coming, plenty to track between now and then.

One more thing before we go.

Our call is Payton Talbott. If you're fading that, what do you see that we don't?

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