Volk vs Evloev Looms as Hokit Runs His Mouth

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:

• Alexander Volkanovski, Movsar Evloev recount past training session ahead of UFC 333 title fight (MMA Fighting)
• Movsar Evloev reveals secret training sessions with Alexander Volkanovski ahead of UFC 333 showdown (Bloody Elbow)
• Our data on Alexander Volkanovski, Movsar Evloev recount past training s (Open Scoring MMA (our own tracker))
• Movsar Evloev targets first UFC finish in title fight vs. Alexander Volkanovski (Yahoo Sports MMA)
• Our data on Josh Hokit accuses Tom Aspinall of faking an eye injury to g (Open Scoring MMA (our own tracker))
• Raoni Barcelos releases first statement since scary UFC Vegas 121 loss to Raul Rosas Jr. (MMA Fighting)
• Raoni Barcelos releases first video statement from hospital after disturbing knockout (Yahoo Sports MMA)
• Kamaru Usman Explains Why Raoni Barcelos’ Domination Against Raul Rosas Jr. Until Scary Loss Was ‘Kind Of Expected’ (LowKick MMA)
• Our data on Raoni Barcelos releases first statement since scary UFC Vega (Open Scoring MMA (our own tracker))
• Chael Sonnen wonders why ‘not one guy’ has called out Gable Steveson after his KO loss at UFC 331 (Bloody Elbow)
• Our data on Josh Hokit mocks Gable Steveson following knockout loss (Open Scoring MMA (our own tracker))
• Gable Steveson wasn’t ‘practicing properly’ for UFC 331, ‘not even sparring’ ahead of shocking KO loss (MMA Mania)
• Payton Talbott vs. Sean O’Malley? UFC 331’s Talbott explains how plague of broken feet stranded him on sidelines (MMA Mania)
• UFC 332 Odds: Payton Talbott a massive favorite over former champion (Yahoo Sports MMA)
• Our data on Dana White’s nightmare weekend, Josh Hokit, Raul Rosas Jr., (Open Scoring MMA (our own tracker))
• Justin Gaethje may not fight again if the pay isn't right, says MMA coach (MMA Weekly)
• Our data on Raul Rosas Jr. Stops Barcelos | Fury-Joshua Drama | Justin G (Open Scoring MMA (our own tracker))
• Josh Hokit claims he is already ‘better’ than former Ciryl Gane opponent in two important ways (Bloody Elbow)
• Josh Hokit Warns Ilia Topuria And Ciryl Gane, Calls Tom Aspinall’s Eye Injury Fake (LowKick MMA)
• UFC legend Kamaru Usman open to fight with YouTube star KSI amid uncertainty over return (Bloody Elbow)
• Our data on UFC legend Kamaru Usman open to fight with YouTube star KSI (Open Scoring MMA (our own tracker))
• Kamaru Usman says Khabib Nurmagomedov will agree with his take on the ‘top dog’ outside of UFC (Bloody Elbow)
• ‘I Can Shock The World’, George Jarvis Ready To Right His Wrongs Against Regian Eersel At The Inner Circle 33 (ONE News)
• ‘I Will Knock Him Out’, Regian Eersel Aims To Keep Momentum Rolling In Rematch With George Jarvis (ONE News)
• Regian Eersel to defend Muay Thai gold in rematch with George Jarvis at The Inner Circle 33 on October 2 (BJPenn.com)
• Eric Nicksick Believes Francis Ngannou Could Have Become the MMA GOAT If He Did This (Yahoo Sports MMA)
• Francis Ngannou’s coach ‘selfishly’ admits there is only one real regret about former UFC star’s decisions (Bloody Elbow)
• Colby Covington vs. Khamzat Chimaev title match headlines RAF Abu Dhabi (MMA Fighting)
• Colby Covington to defend RAF crossover title vs. Khamzat Chimaev in Abu Dhabi (Yahoo Sports MMA)
• Our data on Colby Covington vs. Khamzat Chimaev title match headlines RA (Open Scoring MMA (our own tracker))
• Updates To UFC 332: Silva vs Wang (UFC News)
• Our data on Updates To UFC 332: Silva vs Wang (Open Scoring MMA (our own tracker))
• Tye Ruotolo to fight for One title in just his third MMA bout (Yahoo Sports MMA)
• Adel Altamimi Opens Up on Five-Year Depression Before Bare-Knuckle Comeback (LowKick MMA)
• Darren Till gets honest about his performance in win over Yoel Romero (BJPenn.com)
• Former world title challenging boxer Hank Lundy signs up for BKB Bare Knuckle debut on November 20 (Bloody Elbow)
• Tyson Fury Enters Drug Testing, Anthony Joshua Heads to London, and the Press Conference Is Back On (LowKick MMA)
• “I Don’t Know”: Dana White Isn’t Sure Fury-Joshua Will Happen as His Involvement Holds Up the Fight (LowKick MMA)
• Upcoming cards (Open Scoring MMA (our own tracker))
• OSM Pick: Josh Hokit vs Ciryl Gane (Open Scoring MMA (our own prediction engine))

Welcome to Open Scoring MMA. This is episode 103 for September 29th, 2026, your daily look at what's happening now and next across the world of MMA and UFC. DUKE: Straight into UFC 333. Alexander Volkanovski defends the featherweight title against Movsar Evloev on October 24 in Abu Dhabi, and these two already have history.
NORA: Right, they trained together years ago at the same gym, back when Evloev was still a bantamweight and Volkanovski was about to fight Jose Aldo.
DUKE: Wild that nobody brought that up until fight week.
NORA: Evloev's unbeaten at twenty and oh, ranked number one at featherweight, and he just beat Lerone Murphy by majority decision back in March.
DUKE: Volkanovski's no slouch either, he bounced back from the Topuria loss with back to back wins over Diego Lopes.
NORA: Our own model actually has this near even, fifty three percent Evloev at minus one oh seven, forty seven percent Volkanovski at minus one oh eight.
DUKE: That's basically a coin flip for a champion who's soon to be thirty eight.
NORA: And get this, our Elo actually rates Evloev higher, fifteen ninety seven built from four bouts, against Volkanovski's fifteen oh five from six.
DUKE: Wow.
NORA: Evloev says he wants his first UFC finish too, he's ten fights into his run without one.
DUKE: Volkanovski's actually promising this will be one of his best performances ever, saying, quote, I truly believe people will be saying that this is the best version of Alex they've ever seen, end quote.
NORA: That's bold for a guy fighting at Etihad Arena on Yas Island against a genuine number one contender.
DUKE: Right.
NORA: Our numbers still have Aspinall ranked number one at heavyweight even sitting out, rated fifteen seventy two on our Elo.
DUKE: Meanwhile Raoni Barcelos is doing better after that scary finish to Raul Rosas Jr at UFC Vegas 121.
NORA: He was stretchered out unconscious in the fifth round, but he posted from his hospital bed saying he's doing well and getting tests done.
DUKE: Brutal.
NORA: He was actually up on all three scorecards, two judges had it thirty nine to thirty seven, before Rosas Jr finished him in the fifth.
DUKE: Kamaru Usman said Barcelos being that tough wasn't surprising, he's been calling his toughness for a while now.
NORA: Our Elo has him dropping to thirteen at bantamweight after the loss, with Rosas Jr moving up to twelve.
DUKE: Gable Steveson’s world got worse too, with Chael Sonnen saying he hasn’t seen a single guy challenge him since Sean Sharaf knocked him out in twelve seconds.
NORA: Josh Hokit piled on, claiming Steveson wasn't even sparring properly before that fight.
DUKE: Exactly why people are questioning his whole camp right now.
NORA: Payton Talbott has his own saga, he says a mystery plague of broken feet kept pulling opponents out of fights with him all year.
DUKE: Yeah.
NORA: At twenty eight, Talbott's calling this his chance to finally crack the bantamweight top ten.
DUKE: He's finally fighting Deiveson Figueiredo this weekend as a massive favorite, minus five seventy five on the line, and our own model gives him eighty four percent.
NORA: And Justin Gaethje's situation is different, his coach says he might not fight again at all if the pay isn't right.
DUKE: That would be a huge loss, he's the current lightweight champion on our board, rated fifteen seventy nine on Elo. Speaking of Hokit, he's not done talking before he even fights Ciryl Gane at UFC 334.
NORA: He says he's already got better eyes and reactions than Alex Pereira, and he's calling Gane's title reign illegitimate over the Aspinall situation.
DUKE: He even took a shot at Ilia Topuria, saying he'd wipe him off the face of the earth.
NORA: Hokit also says he could make two oh five easy, but he's staying heavyweight because he wants to be, in his words, the baddest man on the planet.
DUKE: That's a lot of targets for one heavyweight.
NORA: Tsarukyan just steamrolled Mauricio Ruffy with a first round elbow, he's ranked number two at lightweight now, rated sixteen eighteen on our Elo.
DUKE: Gaethje's still the champion after that fourth round finish of Ilia Topuria, so that would be a huge fight if it happens.
NORA: Different beef, Kamaru Usman says he wouldn't rule out a boxing match with KSI if the money's right.
DUKE: He's ranked ninth at welterweight now after losing to Dricus Du Plessis by unanimous decision back in July.
NORA: Usman's also sparring verbally with Henry Cejudo, pushing back on including Usman Nurmagomedov in UFC title talk and insisting Khabib would side with him that his cousin isn't in that picture since he hasn't even signed with the promotion.
DUKE: Right.
NORA: Over in ONE Championship, George Jarvis gets his rematch with Regian Eersel at The Inner Circle 33 this Friday.
DUKE: Eersel knocked him out in eighty four seconds last time, and he says he'll knock him out again, maybe even earlier.
NORA: Jarvis says he's grown up a lot since then and can shock the world.
DUKE: We'll see.
NORA: And Francis Ngannou’s old coach Eric Nicksick says he wishes they’d had more time in MMA, because he feels they could have broken a lot of records and Ngannou could be left as the greatest ever to do it.
DUKE: Ngannou made close to thirty million dollars fighting Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua, so it's hard to call that decision a mistake financially. Big crossover booking, Colby Covington defends his RAF cruiserweight title against Khamzat Chimaev on November 14 in Abu Dhabi.
NORA: Covington's five and oh in that promotion, he beat Belal Muhammad by first period tech fall just this month.
DUKE: Chimaev's three and oh too, but he's still sitting on that middleweight loss to Sean Strickland in his actual MMA career.
NORA: He debuted in June by dominating Dillon Danis, then followed with wins over Tyron Woodley before beating Gilbert Burns.
DUKE: Chimaev also fights Robbie Lawler at RAF 14 two weeks before that, so it's a quick turnaround into the Covington fight.
NORA: UFC 332 got a late addition, welterweight Bruce Whitehead makes his debut against Jacobe Smith.
DUKE: Whitehead's finished five of his eight wins in the first round, four of them in forty eight seconds or less.
NORA: Over in ONE, Tye Ruotolo gets a lightweight title shot against Christian Lee in just his third MMA fight.
DUKE: Lee's eighteen and four with thirteen knockouts, and Ruotolo's two and oh with both wins by rear naked choke.
NORA: In bare knuckle, Adel Altamimi's opponent changed again, he now fights Tom Mowbray at BKB 60 after Liam Howell was pulled.
DUKE: Altamimi’s three and oh in bare knuckle with every win coming inside the distance, including a fourth round finish of Eduardo Perez de la Paz at BKB 56.
NORA: In BKFC, Darren Till got the job done too, beating Yoel Romero by unanimous decision at BKFC 94 in Manchester.
DUKE: Till said he had to play it like a chess match over five rounds instead of getting reckless and lunging in.
NORA: Hank Lundy's also headed to BKB, his debut is November 20 in Delaware after years in boxing against names like Terence Crawford.
DUKE: And the Fury versus Joshua press conference is somehow back on for Wednesday in London after that VADA testing dispute.
NORA: Fury reportedly enrolled with VADA at the last minute, and Joshua's now traveling to London instead of staying in his Dubai camp.
DUKE: That fight can't get out of its own way. Let's run through what's on the calendar.
NORA: Tonight it's Dana White's Contender Series season ten, week eight, George Staines against Loai Abushaar.
DUKE: October third brings UFC 332, Silva versus Wang, Natalia Silva against Wang Cong for the vacant flyweight title.
NORA: October tenth is UFC Fight Night Allen versus Duncan, Brendan Allen against Christian Leroy Duncan.
DUKE: And October seventeenth it's UFC Fight Night Buckley versus Malott, Mike Malott against Joaquin Buckley. Time for the OSM pick. Josh Hokit against Ciryl Gane for the undisputed heavyweight title at UFC 334.
NORA: Gane's minus two fifty, Hokit's plus two ten, and the betting line implies about sixty nine percent for Gane.
DUKE: What does our own model say?
NORA: Our engine leans Gane too, about seventy one percent, built mostly on his three inch height edge and a massive seven and a half inch reach advantage.
DUKE: Gane's also eight years older, right?
NORA: Yeah, but that matters less at heavyweight than the range advantage, and Gane's already fought and beaten elite competition like Alex Pereira.
DUKE: So the pick is Ciryl Gane.

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