Open Scoring MMA, 2026-10-12

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:

• Referee Marc Goddard addresses MMA’s eye poke problem after deducting a point from UFC Vegas 122 headliner (Bloody Elbow)
• Marc Goddard says Christian Leroy Duncan was warned before UFC eye-poke penalty (Sherdog)
• Marc Goddard explains why he deducted a point from Christian Leroy Duncan at UFC Vegas 122 (MMA Fighting)
• Marc Goddard Explains Why He Deducted a Point From Christian Leroy Duncan at UFC Vegas 122 (MiddleEasy)
• [SPOILER] Marc Goddard tweets on point deduction (r/MMA)
• 13-1 rising UFC star who called out Paddy Pimblett hints at his return date (Bloody Elbow)
• Quillan Salkilld eyes UFC Sydney return after six straight wins (Sherdog)
• Quillan Salkilld Teases Return at Upcoming UFC Sydney Card (Yahoo Sports MMA)
• Natália Silva shows warm reception in hometown after UFC title; see (Ag. Fight (BR))
• Brendan Allen had staph infection before UFC win, teammate says (Sherdog)
• Belal Muhammad Says Brendan Allen Fought Through Staph Infection at UFC Vegas 122 (MiddleEasy)
• Belal Muhammad shares nasty image of Brendan Allen’s staph infection prior to UFC Vegas 122 win (MMA Fighting)
• Brendan Allen’s teammate shares pics of nasty fight week staph infection (MMA Mania)
• Winner of Allen vs Duncan had a staph infection and was still on antibiotics during fight week. (r/MMA)
• Brendson Ribeiro celebrates end of bad streak in UFC and opens up about family drama (Ag. Fight (BR))
• Brendson Ribeiro asks for help finding missing brother following UFC win (Sherdog)
• Brendson Ribeiro Pleads For Help Finding His Missing Brother After UFC Vegas 122 Win (MiddleEasy)
• Malcolm Wellmaker moved his family, then suffered third UFC loss (Sherdog)
• Malcolm Wellmaker Issues Statement After UFC Vegas 122 Loss (Yahoo Sports MMA)
• Malcolm Wellmaker's video on his fight with Otari Tanzilovi (r/MMA)
• Malcolm Wellmaker Issues Statement After UFC Vegas 122 Loss (MiddleEasy)
• Sal Everett Says He Will Keep UFC Runner Job After Earning Fighter Contract (MiddleEasy)
• Brendan Allen disappointed despite UFC Vegas 122 finish & bonus (Sherdog)
• Alex Pereira's coach rips Chase DeMoor after beating his coach (Sherdog)
• Alex Pereira’s coach Plinio Cruz names Eddie Hall on three-fight hitlist after Misfits Boxing debut (Bloody Elbow)
• Michael ‘Venom’ Page signs multi-fight deal with Misfits Boxing following UFC exit (The Mac Life)
• Michael ‘Venom’ Page went 5-1 in the UFC; now he's headed to Misfits (Sherdog)
• Michael Venom Page Signs Multi-Year Deal With MF Sports Boxing (MiddleEasy)
• Michael “Venom” Page Signs with Misfits Sports (Cageside Press)
• Malia Weaver Recalls Packing Her Whole Life in Five Days to Chase Her Muay Thai Dream (MiddleEasy)
• ‘Leaving For Thailand’, Malia Weaver Recalls Packing Her Whole Life In Five Days To Chase Her Muay Thai Dream (ONE News)
• Rolando Dy drops five-time BKB champ four times in title defense (Sherdog)

Welcome to Open Scoring MMA. This is episode 116 for October 12th, 2026, your daily look at what's happening now and next across the world of MMA and UFC. DUKE: Marc Goddard is getting a ton of praise this morning, and it's for something referees almost never get praised for: taking a point away.
NORA: He deducted a point from Christian Leroy Duncan in the main event against Brendan Allen for an eye poke.
DUKE: And he actually explained himself afterward, which never happens.
NORA: Goddard said Duncan was warned before the eye poke that got penalized, this wasn't some surprise call out of nowhere.
DUKE: That's the part that matters to me. A warning, then a poke, then the deduction. That's textbook.
NORA: Right, and in a fight that close, that point ends up mattering a lot on the scorecards.
DUKE: Allen ultimately got the finish anyway, a fifth round submission, so it didn't decide the outcome.
NORA: But it could have. And that's why guys like Goddard get this kind of respect, he's not afraid to actually enforce the rule instead of just talking about it.
DUKE: There was also a quote from Duncan afterward, he said he's quote "thankful for the experiences that carry us forward" end quote.
NORA: Mature response for a guy who just got hit with a point deduction and lost the fight.
DUKE: And fans on X are already fired up about this, that whole eye poke epidemic conversation is right back on the table.
NORA: It comes up every few months and then fades. Maybe this time, with Goddard actually walking through his reasoning publicly, it sticks a little longer.
DUKE: Now on to the card news. Quillan Salkilld is thinking way ahead, like February ahead.
NORA: He's a thirteen and one lightweight who's reeled off eleven straight wins, and he's teasing a return at UFC Sydney.
DUKE: That card's February 7, 2027, at Afterpay Arena, nothing's officially booked for it yet, but Salkilld's clearly circling it.
NORA: Salkilld is also the guy who called out Paddy Pimblett, so any step up for him is worth watching.
DUKE: Paddy content, I'm always here for that. Eleven straight wins is no joke either, that's a real climb up the lightweight ladder.
NORA: It is, and a home card in Sydney in front of his own crowd is exactly the kind of stage a rising prospect wants for his next step up.
DUKE: Now on to the fighter news, and we gotta start with the new champ. Natália Silva got an incredible welcome back home.
NORA: She shared video on Instagram of the celebration in Pingo-d'Água, the town where she was born, after becoming flyweight champion.
DUKE: Speaking of Brendan Allen, we've got to talk about what he was actually dealing with fight week.
NORA: He had a staph infection and was on antibiotics heading into that main event against Duncan.
DUKE: Belal Muhammad was the one who put this out there, saying Allen fought through the infection and the antibiotics to get the win.
NORA: There were images shared by a teammate too, it sounded pretty nasty. And Allen still got a fifth round submission in a five round war.
DUKE: That's wild. Allen was fighting five rounds against a hungry, surging contender while his body was fighting an infection at the same time.
NORA: It makes the finish more impressive, honestly. And it probably explains why Allen himself came out afterward sounding disappointed in his own performance despite the win and the bonus.
DUKE: Yeah, Allen was critical of his own outing even with a finish and a bonus check in hand. Now we know why, he wasn't anywhere near a hundred percent.
NORA: That's a pretty understandable gap between how he performed and how he felt he could've performed healthy.
DUKE: There was a heavier story out of that same card too. Brendson Ribeiro got a win, but it came with real personal pain.
NORA: Ribeiro snapped a four fight UFC losing streak, and that alone was a big moment, but after the fight he asked for help finding his missing brother.
DUKE: That's been going on for six months now, and he used his platform right after the win to appeal to Brazilian authorities for answers.
NORA: Tough spot. Career validation and a family crisis landing on the exact same night.
DUKE: Hope that gets resolved for him, for real, win or lose in the cage that's the stuff that actually matters.
NORA: Absolutely. On a lighter but still tough note, Malcolm Wellmaker had a rough weekend too.
DUKE: He lost to Otari Tanzilovi by second round knockout, his second straight loss.
NORA: Wellmaker put out a statement saying he's healthy, no major injuries, and he's heading back to ATT to regroup.
DUKE: That's a tough stretch for a guy who looked so sharp early. Two in a row is the kind of number that puts you on notice with matchmakers.
NORA: Wellmaker's not cut, but he's got to find an answer fast or the roster spot gets shaky.
DUKE: One fun one before we move on, Sal Everett just earned a contract off Dana White's Contender Series, and he says he's keeping his day job.
NORA: Everett's staying on as a UFC runner while he preps for his first official fight. That's a pretty humble way to handle making the roster.
DUKE: Now on to the callouts. Plinio Cruz, Alex Pereira's coach, had a big night in the boxing ring and he's not done talking.
NORA: Cruz made his Misfits Boxing debut on Saturday and beat the coach of Chase DeMoor, and DeMoor didn't take it well publicly.
DUKE: And now Cruz has already named his next targets, he's got a three fight hitlist that includes Eddie Hall.
NORA: Bold swing for a coach turned boxer, but Cruz clearly wants to keep this going rather than treat it as a one off.
DUKE: Pereira's corner producing its own trash talker, that's a fun subplot heading into whatever Cruz does next.
NORA: It'll be worth tracking if Misfits actually books any of those names for him.
DUKE: Now on to the business side, and this is a big one. Michael Venom Page is headed to Misfits Boxing.
NORA: He signed a multi fight, multi year deal after the UFC chose not to re-sign him.
DUKE: That's stunning to me.
NORA: Right, that's a strong record for the promotion to just let walk. Michael Venom Page's UFC run ended at UFC Paris with a decision win over Nursulton Ruziboev in September.
DUKE: Five and one and you're out the door. That tells you how deep and competitive that welterweight division has gotten.
NORA: No date or opponent is set yet for Michael Venom Page's Misfits debut, but this is a real crossover star bringing legitimate UFC pedigree into that boxing product.
DUKE: Huge get for Misfits. Terrible optics for the UFC letting Michael Venom Page, a guy with that kind of record and that kind of highlight reel, just leave.
NORA: Depends on the money ask, we don't have those numbers, but on paper it's a surprising non-tender.
DUKE: Now on to the around the sport segment. There's a cool story out of ONE Championship ahead of Malia Weaver's debut.
NORA: Malia Weaver packed her whole life up in five days to move to Thailand chasing her Muay Thai dream, and that decision is shaping her run into her ONE Championship debut.
DUKE: That's the kind of sacrifice story that actually means something, a teenage phenom giving up everything at home to go train abroad.
NORA: It's a good reminder that not every striking pipeline runs through American gyms. Thailand's still producing fighters the hard way.
DUKE: Last one, bare knuckle world. Rolando Dy had a statement title defense.
NORA: Dy stopped Scott McHugh in the third round at BKB sixty in Newcastle, and he dropped McHugh four times in that fight.
DUKE: Four knockdowns against a guy with that kind of pedigree, that's as dominant as a title defense gets in bare-knuckle boxing.
NORA: It is, and it keeps Dy's case as one of the best in the bare knuckle super welterweight scene.
DUKE: Alright, let's look ahead. Dana White's Contender Series, Season Ten, Week Ten is tomorrow, Tuesday.
NORA: Ilias Bulaid faces Erick Visconde in the main event.
DUKE: Then this Saturday, UFC Fight Night, Buckley versus Malott, five days out.
NORA: Mike Malott takes on Joaquin Buckley in the main event.
DUKE: That's the show for today. Nora, always good breaking it down with you.
NORA: Same time tomorrow, we'll see how Contender Series shakes out.

One more thing before we go.

What are we missing? Drop it in the comments.

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.