Topuria-Pimblett Heats Up, Chimaev Wants To Wait, Vegas Delivers

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:

• FNC 35 in Podgorica (r/MMA)
• Main Card Results | UFC Fight Night: Cortes Acosta vs Walker (UFC News)
• UFC Vegas 124 ‘Cortes-Acosta vs. Walker’ play-by-play, results & round scoring (Sherdog)
• Prelim Results | UFC Fight Night: Cortes Acosta vs Walker (UFC News)
• Official Scorecards | UFC Fight Night: Cortes Acosta vs Walker (UFC News)
• Ilia Topuria responds to Paddy Pimblett’s offer to coach against each other on The Ultimate Fighter (Bloody Elbow)
• Ilia Topuria labels Justin Gaethje a ‘nobody’ at risk of demotion for ‘El Matador’ comeback against Paddy Pimblett (MMA Mania)
• Ilia Topuria reveals desire to face Paddy Pimblett in return fight next year (BJPenn.com)
• UFC: Understand how a career turnaround could bring Johnny Walker closer to the belt (Ag. Fight (BR))
• ‘Send him to PFL’... Khamzat Chimaev angers fans by suggesting he’ll sit and wait for a title shot (Bloody Elbow)
• Khamzat Chimaev Makes Clear What He Wants Next (Yahoo Sports MMA)
• ‘I’m The Real Champion’ (Yahoo Sports MMA)
• Willing to wait? Khamzat Chimaev demands winner of Strickland vs. Imavov: ‘I’m the real champion’ (MMA Mania)
• Khamzat Chimaev wants to sit out and wait for the winner of Sean Strickland vs Nassourdine Imavov "I should fight the winner [of Strickland vs Imavov] because I'm the #1 contender. I didn't lose that match. I'm the real champion." (r/MMA)
• Sean Strickland bashes UFC sponsors: 'I hate 99% of them' (MMA Weekly)
• Ciryl Gane says Josh Hokit's trash talk won't work unless he targets his mother. Via: @RMCSportCombat (r/MMA)
• Paddy Pimblett struggles for votes as Ilia Topuria launches a poll to decide his next opponent (Bloody Elbow)

Welcome to Open Scoring MMA, episode 142 for November 7th, 2026. Today's show is brought to you by Dealophant, from the team behind Open Scoring MMA. Holiday shopping tip coming up in a minute. DUKE: Big night of action already in the books out in Vegas, but the story everyone's buzzing about is Ilia Topuria basically agreeing to fight Paddy Pimblett.
NORA: Topuria was asked about coaching against Pimblett on The Ultimate Fighter and told Bloody Elbow, quote, "I heard something about that," end quote.
DUKE: That's not a no.
NORA: It's not a no at all. And on top of that, Topuria called Justin Gaethje a nobody at risk of demotion if Gaethje gets the comeback fight against Pimblett instead.
DUKE: That's cold.
NORA: Topuria definitely is not holding back on the microphone, making it clear that he views himself as the main attraction and wants the biggest possible spotlight if that Pimblett matchup comes together.
DUKE: I love this for Paddy. The Baddy getting this kind of attention from the lightweight champ, that's the biggest fight of his career on the table.
NORA: And Topuria's already revealed he wants to face Pimblett in a return fight next year.
DUKE: This is huge, Nora, I mean it.
NORA: It really is. But here's the wrinkle, Topuria also launched a poll to let fans help decide his next opponent, and Pimblett is reportedly struggling for votes in it.
DUKE: Wait, the fans don't want Paddy?
NORA: That's what's being reported, Pimblett's lagging in that poll.
DUKE: I don't buy it. Paddy draws eyeballs better than almost anybody not named Topuria.
NORA: The poll numbers say otherwise right now, but polls aren't bookings.
DUKE: Fair enough. Either way, if this fight gets made, it's a massive one for twenty twenty seven.
NORA: Now on to the results, because there was actually a card tonight people should know about.
DUKE: UFC Vegas 124, Cortes Acosta versus Walker, main event was Johnny Walker against Waldo Cortes Acosta.
NORA: Sherdog had their live coverage starting at five Eastern, and the broader card is also known as UFC Fight Night 293.
DUKE: And speaking of Walker, there's a story about his career turnaround, moving up from light heavyweight to heavyweight after a rough stretch.
NORA: Back in April he lost to Dominick Reyes, and at that point he'd won just once in his last five fights in the UFC. That's why the move to heavyweight is being framed as a potential path back toward title contention.
DUKE: Big swing for a guy who needed one.
NORA: Full main card, preliminary action, and the official scorecard results are all officially in the books from tonight's show in Las Vegas.
Quick break for our sponsor. Holiday shopping is here, and a big sale sticker doesn't always mean a better deal. Dealophant shows the real price per unit on Amazon buys like batteries, wrapping paper and party supplies, so you can see which pack actually costs less. It's free at dealophant dot com, and we may earn a commission if you buy. Now, back to the show. DUKE: Now on to the callouts, and Khamzat Chimaev's got people fired up.
NORA: Chimaev wants a middleweight title shot and says he's willing to sit on the sidelines and wait for it.
DUKE: Sit and wait? He just lost the belt.
NORA: Right, it's been close to six months since Chimaev lost his middleweight title to Sean Strickland by split decision at UFC 328.
DUKE: And now he wants to skip the line.
NORA: He is demanding the winner of Strickland against Nassourdine Imavov, making the case that he never really lost that fight and deserves an immediate shot right back at the belt.
DUKE: That is quite the claim after dropping the decision.
NORA: Fans are not happy about it either.
DUKE: Yeah, the reaction's been brutal, people saying send him to PFL if he's not going to fight his way back up.
NORA: That's the general mood, fans want to see him earn it, not wait for a handout.
DUKE: I get wanting the rematch, but sitting out is a bad look for a guy who's supposed to be must see television.
NORA: Agreed, and it stalls the whole division while everyone waits on him.
DUKE: Sean Strickland's also been running his mouth, this time taking aim at UFC sponsors.
NORA: He went after practically all of them, making it very clear how little respect he has for corporate backing in the sport.
DUKE: Classic Strickland, never afraid to burn a bridge.
NORA: It's not gonna move his next fight, but it's on brand.
DUKE: And Ciryl Gane had a wild line about Josh Hokit's trash talk ahead of their fight at UFC 334.
NORA: Gane said Hokit's trash talk won't work unless he starts targeting his mother.
DUKE: That's a strange flex but okay.
NORA: It tells you Gane's not rattled by anything Hokit's said so far.
DUKE: FNC 35 in Podgorica is shaping up to be a fun one.
NORA: It's from one of Europe's fastest growing organizations, and there's a wrinkle, the Dragojevic versus Abdulkadirov fight is off.
DUKE: What happened?
NORA: Dragojevic missed weight by one and a half kilos, about three point three pounds, and then offered Abdulkadirov only forty percent of the purse, which he didn't accept.
DUKE: Can't blame the guy for turning that down.
NORA: Not at all. Weight misses like that completely derail fight plans, but FNC 35 is still moving forward with the rest of the lineup in Podgorica.
DUKE: Always drama on weigh in day no matter where you go. Before we look ahead, quick reminder, our YouTube channel's got breaking news alerts, fight breakdowns, and videos you're not getting here on the feed, so go check that out if you want more than just the podcast.
NORA: Seriously, there's stuff on there you won't find anywhere else on the feed.
DUKE: Now let's look ahead. Next Saturday, November fourteenth, it's UFC 334, Gane versus Hokit, featuring Josh Hokit taking on former interim heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane in the main event.
NORA: That heavyweight clash is going to be massive with plenty of fireworks and high stakes for the division.
DUKE: After that, November twenty first, UFC Fight Night, Prochazka versus Stirling, Jiri Prochazka meets Navajo Stirling in the headliner.
NORA: Two very dangerous finishers meeting up top on that one, should be a fun contrast.
One more thing before we go. Chimaev says he's still the real champion and won't fight his way back. Does he deserve a title shot without one more win, or is that entitlement? 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.