Pimblett's Vacate Clause, UFC 332 Preview, and Tuivasa Gets Cut

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 claims he must settle two ‘personal’ UFC feuds before potential Justin Gaethje title shot (Bloody Elbow)
• Paddy Pimblett would only ever refuse one UFC fight if he were champion as he would ‘vacate’ instead (Bloody Elbow)
• UFC 332 ‘Silva vs. Wang’ play-by-play, results & round scoring (Sherdog)
• UFC 332 Results: Silva vs. Wang (MMA Fighting)
• Ex-UFC star Anthony Smith suffers brutal TKO defeat in bare-knuckle MMA comeback fight (Bloody Elbow)
• Highlights! Anthony Smith’s first fight since felony arrest ends in upset knockout loss | Gamebred Bareknuckle (MMA Mania)
• [SPOILER] Anthony Smith vs Jordan Heiderman (Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA) (r/MMA)
• Anthony Smith being Anthony Smith (r/ufc)
• Mostafa Rashed Nada ends 10-year trilogy with guillotine at PFL MENA 11 (Sherdog)
• Mostafa Rashed Nada ends 10-year trilogy with guillotine at PFL MENA 11 (Sherdog Articles)
• Tai Tuivasa released by UFC (r/MMA)
• Tai Tuivasa finally breaks his silence on 8th straight loss at UFC 331 with ‘back to work’ message (Bloody Elbow)
• UFC 332: Natália Silva seeks unprecedented title for Brazil in women's MMA (Ag. Fight (BR))
• Find out how to watch UFC 332, card headlined by Natália Silva vs Wang Cong (Ag. Fight (BR))
• Joker persona helps Cong 'feel the fear' in opponents (Yahoo Sports MMA)
• UFC 332 preview and picks: Why haven't there been more women's fights? (ESPN MMA)
• Dustin Poirier thinks two former UFC stars are backing wrong Deiveson Figueiredo vs Payton Talbott pick (Bloody Elbow)
• Michael Morales reveals he has a fight set for January, and it's not against Carlos Prates or Ian Garry (r/MMA)
• 🚨 Michael Morales next fight is in January, and its not against Ian Garry (r/ufc)
• Morales confirms his next fight won’t be against Ian or Prates, and is it January. JDM next? (r/ufc)
• Joe Rogan conjures unique Conor McGregor theory after UFC star’s failed comeback against Max Holloway (Bloody Elbow)
• Renato Moicano argues he’s the perfect opponent to welcome Ilia Topuria back to the UFC (r/ufc)
• Renato Moicano Pitches Himself as the Perfect Comeback Opponent for Ilia Topuria (Yahoo Sports MMA)
• Renato Moicano explains why he should be Ilia Topuria’s next opponent: ‘He needs an easy fight’ (MMA Fighting)
• Renato Moicano explains why he should be Ilia Topuria’s next opponent: ‘He needs an easy fight’ (Yahoo Sports MMA)
• Ilia Topuria offered comeback fight by popular lightweight contender: ‘He needs an easy fight’ (Bloody Elbow)
• Patricio Pitbull sees himself making UFC title run: "I have a lot in the tank. Jean Silva is the main guy on my radar, but he's in a different place in the division right now. There are other names, like Arnold Allen, Steve Garcia. " (r/MMA)
• Patricio Freire sees himself making UFC title run: 'I have a lot in the tank' (Yahoo Sports MMA)
• UFC 332 star joins Dakota Ditcheva as second woman in the top 10 of ESPN’s ’30 under 30′ fighters (Bloody Elbow)
• ESPN has revealed its annual ranking of the 30 best MMA fighters in the world under the age of 30. Joshua Van, Usman Nurmagomedov, and Ilia Topuria top the list (r/MMA)
• Fans rage as Usman Nurmagomedov ranks above Ilia Topuria in ESPN’s top 30 athletes under 30 (Bloody Elbow)

Welcome to Open Scoring MMA. This is episode 107 for October 3rd, 2026, your daily look at what's happening now and next across the world of MMA and UFC. DUKE: Paddy Pimblett is already looking past whatever's standing between him and a Justin Gaethje title shot, and that's a lot considering he hasn't even got that fight booked yet.
NORA: He says there's two personal issues he wants settled first, totally outside the Gaethje stuff.
DUKE: Classic Paddy, man. Never short on beef.
NORA: The reporting doesn't name who, but he's been clear this isn't about rankings, it's personal.
DUKE: He also said he'd vacate the belt rather than fight one specific opponent.
NORA: Right, he said if he were champion there's one opponent he'd never defend the belt against, he'd rather hand it back than fight them.
DUKE: That's wild. You don't give up gold for just anybody.
NORA: Tells you how much this one matchup bothers him, whoever it is.
DUKE: Say what you want about the guy, he backs it up in the cage. I love that he's thinking about legacy and grudges at the same time.
NORA: The Baddy's never boring, I'll give him that.
DUKE: Results. UFC 332 is live this Saturday, October third, in Salt Lake City.
NORA: Natalia Silva and Wang Cong are fighting for the flyweight title Valentina Shevchenko vacated, and we don't have a result yet.
DUKE: We'll have the full fight-by-fight breakdown of UFC 332 the moment the cage goes quiet tonight.
NORA: And the undercard results the second they're official.
DUKE: But while that card plays out, there's already finished business elsewhere tonight.
NORA: Anthony Smith's bare knuckle comeback did not go how he wanted.
DUKE: Stopped inside two rounds by Jordan Heiderman.
NORA: This was Smith's first fight since he was arrested back in July on domestic violence and false imprisonment charges, among others.
DUKE: Rough stretch for a guy who used to challenge for UFC gold.
NORA: And now he's getting finished by a largely unknown bare knuckle fighter. Not the redemption story he was hoping to write.
DUKE: Over in Saudi Arabia, PFL MENA 11 delivered too.
NORA: Mostafa Rashed Nada closed out a ten year trilogy with a guillotine in the main event in Riyadh.
DUKE: Ten years, that's basically a career's worth of history settled in one finish.
NORA: And it punches him into the finals.
DUKE: And then there's Tai Tuivasa.
NORA: He's officially been released by the UFC.
DUKE: After eight straight losses, that's not really a shock at this point.
NORA: He broke his silence with basically a back-to-work message.
DUKE: Bam Bam used to be top five heavyweight. Brutal fall, but you can't argue with the number, eight in a row will get anybody cut.
NORA: He doesn't sound like he's going anywhere though, so expect him on the regional scene before long.
DUKE: Card news. UFC 332 is headlined by Natalia Silva against Wang Cong for the vacant flyweight title.
NORA: And there's real history on the line for Silva. Brazil has already crowned champions in ten of the twelve weight classes that have existed in the UFC, and women's flyweight isn't one of them yet.
DUKE: So she's chasing something no Brazilian has done in that specific division.
NORA: Wang Cong isn't treating this like a gimme either, she's been open that people doubt she belongs in there for the belt.
DUKE: Right, there's been talk about her using a joker persona to unsettle opponents.
NORA: She's said it helps her make opponents feel the fear, basically her own words.
DUKE: I respect that, embrace the doubters.
NORA: The co main has Deiveson Figueiredo against Payton Talbott, and that one's got its own side drama.
DUKE: Dustin Poirier weighed in and said two former UFC fighters are backing the wrong guy in that fight.
NORA: He didn't agree with their pick.
DUKE: Love that it's not just fans arguing about this one, guys who've actually fought at the top level are split too. Fighter news. Michael Morales has a fight booked for January.
NORA: And it's not Carlos Prates, and it's not Ian Garry, which is what everybody assumed was next.
DUKE: That's surprising, those are the two biggest welterweight money fights sitting right there for him.
NORA: He confirmed it himself, so whoever this January opponent is, it's neither of those two.
DUKE: Morales has serious buzz at welterweight. Skipping both for now means the UFC's got something else lined up first.
NORA: Could just be about keeping him busy before setting up the bigger fight down the line.
DUKE: Makes sense. Tune up now, circle back to Prates or Garry later. Callouts. Joe Rogan's got a theory about Conor McGregor after that comeback against Max Holloway didn't go how anyone hoped.
NORA: It's described as an eye-opening observation, though the specifics of what Rogan's actually saying aren't fully laid out beyond it being a theory on why it happened.
DUKE: Either way, this McGregor saga just won't go away. Every comeback, every setback, gets picked apart for years.
NORA: That's the price of being the biggest star the sport's ever had.
DUKE: Next, Renato Moicano wants a crack at Ilia Topuria.
NORA: He's pitching himself as the comeback opponent, arguing Topuria needs an easy fight to get back on track after what happened against Justin Gaethje at UFC White House.
DUKE: Calling yourself the easy option is a bold way to pitch yourself.
NORA: It's actually smart framing. He's saying Topuria's head isn't right after that beating, so give him someone who won't test him too hard, meaning Moicano.
DUKE: Moicano's got his own fight first though, he's facing Tom Nolan at UFC Vegas 123.
NORA: Right, so this is him angling for what comes after, assuming he gets through Nolan.
DUKE: Bold to call out a former two-division champion before your next fight's even happened, but hey, that's how you get noticed. And Patricio Pitbull says he's still got a title run in him.
NORA: His quote was that he's got a lot in the tank, and he named real names: Jean Silva, Arnold Allen, Steve Garcia.
DUKE: He said Jean Silva's in a different spot in the division right now, so he's not the immediate target.
NORA: But Allen and Garcia, those are live option fights for a guy trying to build back toward the top.
DUKE: Pitbull's been doing this a long time. Credit to him for still swinging for the gold instead of just taking paychecks. Business. ESPN dropped its 'Thirty Under Thirty' list, and a UFC 332 fighter cracked the top ten among the women.
NORA: She joins Dakota Ditcheva as the second woman in that top ten, which says a lot about how fast flyweight's young talent is rising.
DUKE: And at the very top of the overall list?
NORA: Joshua Van, Usman Nurmagomedov, and Ilia Topuria.
DUKE: Wait, Usman's ranked above Topuria?
NORA: Yep, and fans are not happy about it.
DUKE: Come on, Topuria's a former two-division champ.
NORA: I know, but the list has Usman above him, and the backlash's been loud.
DUKE: That's a tough sell to the average fan.
NORA: It's a 'best under thirty' list, not pound-for-pound, so it's measuring trajectory and upside, not just resume.
DUKE: Still. Ranking Usman over a two-division champion is gonna get people typing angry replies all day.
NORA: It already has, that's exactly the reaction it's getting on X.
DUKE: Fair enough. Lists like this are built to get argued about. Looking ahead, keep an eye on UFC Vegas 123, where Renato Moicano meets Tom Nolan.
NORA: And Michael Morales is back in January against an opponent we don't have yet, but we know for sure it's not Garry or Prates.
DUKE: Two fights worth circling once more details land. Quick reminder before the pick, our free Fight Tracker is at tracker dot open scoring m m a dot com, every upcoming UFC and PFL card, live odds, and where to watch, all in one place.
NORA: And if you want breaking news alerts, fight breakdowns, and videos you're not getting here on the feed, follow us on YouTube, just search Open Scoring MMA.
DUKE: Okay, now give me the OSM Pick.
NORA: Jacobe Smith.
DUKE: Smith's already a massive favorite, what's he, minus a thousand?
NORA: Minus a thousand, yeah. Our model's got Smith at about ninety percent.
DUKE: Around eighty-eight. So we're a touch higher than the market, not by a mile, but we like him more. Walk me through why.
NORA: Honestly, the finishing data cuts the other way here. The opponent has got real pop, multiple first-round knockouts on his record.
DUKE: Wait, that's a point for the opponent, not Smith.
NORA: It is, and it's the model's biggest flag against this pick.
DUKE: So why's Smith still sitting at ninety percent then?
NORA: Because the opponent is making his UFC debut on a quick turnaround, and that activity piece tips back toward Smith.
DUKE: Debut nerves, got it.
NORA: And honestly, part of this is just sentiment, the model leans Smith off the overall read even without a clean finishing edge.
DUKE: That's a little less satisfying than usual, not gonna lie.
NORA: Fair. And since we're being honest, let's talk about how the model's actually doing.
DUKE: Nora.
NORA: We're eighty-three and twenty-seven overall, a hit rate of about seventy-five and a half percent.
DUKE: And the market?
NORA: Seventy-six point two. So no, we're not beating the market right now.
DUKE: Ouch.
NORA: But our value picks, the spots where we disagree with the line, those are thirteen and two.
DUKE: That's the part that matters to me. Thirteen and two when we actually step away from the crowd is real.
NORA: It is. So on Smith, we're sticking with him, we like him more than the market does, even if it's not a blowout gap.
DUKE: I'll trust it. Jacobe Smith it is. Alright, that's the show.
NORA: Back tomorrow with everything out of UFC 332.

One more thing before we go.

Who have you got in that one, and why?

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.