Open Scoring MMA, 2026-10-11

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:

• ‘We are underpaid’... Brendan Allen apologizes to UFC for backing Sean Strickland’s pay campaign (Bloody Elbow)
• Brendan Allen Backs Sean Strickland’s Push For Better UFC Pay (MiddleEasy)
• UFC Vegas 122 post-fight show: Reaction to Brendan Allen’s late finish in main event, callout of Dricus du Plessis (MMA Fighting)
• Brendan Allen stops Christian Leroy Duncan with dramatic fifth-round choke in UFC Vegas 122 main event (MMA Fighting)
• UFC Vegas 122 live blog: Brendan Allen vs. Christian Leroy Duncan (MMA Fighting)
• Brendan Allen submits Christian Leroy Duncan in UFC Vegas 122 main event (MMA Weekly)
• Brendan Allen Targets Dricus du Plessis After UFC Vegas 122 Win (MiddleEasy)
• Abdoulaye Kane Stops Badr Medkouri At PFL Africa 3 (MiddleEasy)
• Abdoulaye Kane's elbow barrage headlines wild PFL Africa 3 Playoff Semifinals (Sherdog)
• PFL Africa results, video highlights for ‘Morocco’, Kane clobbers Medkouri, three division finals set (MMA Mania)
• Video: Andre Fili brutally knocks out Kai Kamaka III at UFC Vegas 122 (MMA Fighting)
• ‘Sick head kick... classy move’: Pros react to Andre Fili’s brutal knockout win at UFC Vegas 122 (MMA Fighting)
• ‘Sick head kick... classy move’: Pros react to Andre Fili’s brutal knockout win at UFC Vegas 122 (Yahoo Sports MMA)
• UFC Vegas 122: Andre Fili Touches, Sleeps Kai Kamaka III with Head Kick (Cageside Press)
• Christian Leroy Duncan Responds After UFC Vegas 122 Loss: “Nothing Changes” (MiddleEasy)
• ‘Nothing changes’... Christian Leroy Duncan breaks his silence on Brendan Allen loss at UFC Vegas 122 (Bloody Elbow)
• Gerald Meerschaert hangs up gloves after knockout loss at UFC Vegas 122 (MMA Fighting)
• Gerald Meerschaert Announces Retirement After UFC Vegas 122 (Yahoo Sports MMA)
• UFC Vegas 122: Julius Walker Retires 60-Fight Vet Gerald Meerschaert (Cageside Press)
• Gerald Meerschaert Announces Retirement After UFC Vegas 122 Loss (MiddleEasy)
• UFC Veteran Retires After 60 Fights Following Punishing TKO Loss (Yahoo Sports MMA)
• The climate weighed in! Jon Jones and Colby Covington trade accusations on social media (Ag. Fight (BR))
• UFC Vegas 122 Bonuses Revealed Following Fun Card (Yahoo Sports MMA)
• UFC Vegas 122 bonuses: Brendan Allen, 3 more earn $100,000 (Sherdog)
• UFC Fight Night 290 bonuses: Fantastic foursome of finishes take home $100K (Yahoo Sports MMA)
• Michael Page joins Misfits after UFC deal ends (ESPN MMA)

Welcome to Open Scoring MMA. This is episode 115 for October 11th, 2026, your daily look at what's happening now and next across the world of MMA and UFC. DUKE: We gotta start with Brendan Allen, because a top middleweight contender got dragged into this before the man even fought last night.
NORA: Right, this is actually two stories tangled together. Sean Strickland's been pushing publicly for better UFC pay, and Allen backed him.
DUKE: But then kind of walked it back?
NORA: He told Bloody Elbow that he is grateful for what he is making, but he is not pretending twenty twenty six UFC pay is where it should be.
DUKE: That's a very careful way of agreeing with your boss's employee while also agreeing with the guy annoying your boss.
NORA: It's a balancing act.
DUKE: And this matters because Allen's not just some gatekeeper anymore.
NORA: No, and that's the real headline. He backed up the pay talk with his fists last night.
DUKE: Now on to the results. Allen defeated Christian Leroy Duncan on October 10, 2026, at UFC Fight Night: Allen vs Duncan at the Meta APEX.
NORA: Duncan's fundamentals kept him competitive most of the fight.
DUKE: But Allen got the finish late with a choke, and that's three straight wins now.
NORA: Three in a row, and he's ranked number four at middleweight going in, sitting in what's basically a no man's land near the top of the contender pile.
DUKE: And it's a real ask. Allen called out Dricus du Plessis, and Allen's streak puts him squarely in that title conversation now.
NORA: And it's a real ask.
DUKE: I like the callout. The guy's won three straight finishes against legit middleweight competition, he's earned the ask.
NORA: The question is whether the UFC agrees with the timing, or wants him to beat someone ranked above him first.
DUKE: Fair, but you don't get many title shot pitches delivered with a fifth round choke. That's a statement.
NORA: It is.
DUKE: Over in PFL, Abdoulaye Kane put on a show of his own in Casablanca.
NORA: He stopped Badr Medkouri with elbows in the opening frame at PFL Africa 3: 2026 Playoffs.
DUKE: PFL Africa themselves called it a dominant performance, and that's not nothing, this set the tournament finalists.
NORA: Three division finals are now set out of that card, so Kane's heavyweight run keeps building at home in Senegal.
DUKE: And back at Vegas 122, Andre Fili had the highlight of the whole night.
NORA: He knocked out Kai Kamaka III in the second round with a head kick, and pros around the league were reacting to it immediately.
DUKE: Snapped a two fight skid for Fili too, which matters, because he was teetering on the roster bubble.
NORA: That finish probably buys him real time in the featherweight division now.
DUKE: Now on to the fighter news. Christian Leroy Duncan broke his silence after that loss to Allen.
NORA: He said that nothing changes for him going forward. Thirty-one years old, plenty of career left, but how he rebuilds from this says a lot about where he lands in the middleweight pecking order.
DUKE: And on a tougher note, Gerald Meerschaert retired after that card.
NORA: Fifty nine professional fights, twenty seven of them in the UFC, and he went out on a second round TKO loss to Julius Walker. It's a hard way to go out, but fifty nine fights is an enormous career. Respect to him regardless of the final result.
DUKE: Completely. GM3 gave this sport a lot over the years, and that run deserves recognition, not just a line about the losing streak.
NORA: Agreed.
DUKE: Now on to the callouts. Jon Jones and Colby Covington are at it again on social media.
NORA: This one got triggered by the fallout from Colby Covington's recent UFC loss, and it turned into Jones and Covington trading accusations.
DUKE: These two go way back, they were actually roommates during their wrestling days at Iowa Central Community College.
NORA: Which makes the beef almost funnier, honestly. It's not just manufactured rivalry, there's real history there.
DUKE: It's pure noise for now, no fight on the table, but with those two it never stays quiet for long.
NORA: The MMA community on Reddit is already having a field day picking sides on this one.
DUKE: Now on to the business side. UFC handed out the Vegas 122 bonuses.
NORA: Brendan Allen got Performance of the Night for the main event finish, and three others joined him at a hundred thousand dollars apiece.
DUKE: No official Fight of the Night, but with four finishes on that card, there was plenty to reward.
NORA: It tells you the card delivered on output even without one signature war.
DUKE: And away from the cage, Michael Page is officially a Misfits Boxing signee now.
NORA: Page's UFC deal expired back in September, and Misfits announced that they had signed him.
DUKE: Big get for Misfits honestly, Page is one of the more marketable strikers to hit free agency in a while.
NORA: It's a real signal too, that crossover boxing money is pulling legitimate MMA names away from the UFC pipeline.
DUKE: Speaking of that card, let's look ahead. Dana White's Contender Series, Season 10, Week 10 is this Tuesday, two days out.
NORA: Ilias Bulaid faces Erick Visconde in the main bout.
DUKE: And then UFC Fight Night, Buckley versus Malott, is this Saturday, six days from now.
NORA: Mike Malott takes on Joaquin Buckley up top.
DUKE: Big week coming, and we'll be right back here with you through all of it.
NORA: We will.
One more thing before we go. Brendan Allen wants Dricus du Plessis next off a fifth round finish. Does he deserve that title shot right now, or does he need to beat someone ranked above him first? 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.