Topuria Fires at Pimblett, Walker's Wild KO, Adesanya Set for Riyadh

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:

• Ilia Topuria blasts Paddy Pimblett and projects easy dominance in a possible confrontation (Ag. Fight (BR))
• RIZIN now doesn’t have a single Japanese champion. (r/MMA)
• RIZIN 55 fight card, start time, date and location | Shinryu vs. Laramie (MMA Mania)
• RIZIN 55 Full Results (Cageside Press)
• [Official] RIZIN 55 - Live Discussion Thread (r/MMA)
• UFC Vegas 124 post-fight show: Reaction to Johnny Walker’s knockout in wild main event (MMA Fighting)
• ‘At the APEX is criminal’: Pros react to insane Johnny Walker knockout win in UFC Vegas 124 main event (MMA Fighting)
• UFC Vegas 124 Results: Cortes-Acosta vs. Walker (MMA Fighting)
• UFC Vegas 124 live blog: Waldo Cortes-Acosta vs. Johnny Walker (MMA Fighting)
• Johnny Walker scores wild knockout of Waldo Cortes-Acosta in UFC Vegas 124 main event (Sherdog)
• Suarez back in title picture with decision win; Walker scores KO victory (ESPN MMA)
• UFC Vegas 124 results: Tatiana Suarez grinds her way to decision win over Virna Jandiroba (MMA Fighting)
• UFC Vegas 124: Virna Jandiroba suffers from rival's 'tick' style and moves away from the belt (Ag. Fight (BR))
• Israel Adesanya vs. Shara Magomedov headlines UFC Saudi Arabia, Garry vs. Amosov co-headlines (Yahoo Sports MMA)
• Israel Adesanya vs. Shara Magomedov, Ian Machado Garry vs. Yaroslav Amosov set for UFC Saudi Arabia (MMA Fighting)
• Israel Adesanya vs. Sharabutdin Magomedov set to headline UFC Riyadh (Sherdog)
• Israel Adesanya vs. Shara Magomedov headlines UFC Saudi Arabia, Garry vs. Amosov co-headlines (MMA Mania)
• Israel Adesanya Opens as Favorite in UFC Saudi Arabia Headliner (Yahoo Sports MMA)
• Luana Santos promoted to brown belt in jiu-jitsu after UFC victory (Ag. Fight (BR))
• Conor McGregor names ideal opponent for final UFC fight: ‘Redo it’ (Bloody Elbow)
• Conor McGregor Unleashes Furious Rant on Max Holloway While Demanding Trilogy, “Just Do The Fu**ing Thing Again” (LowKick MMA)
• Conor McGregor Calls for Trilogy Bout with Max Holloway (MMA News)
• Conor McGregor goes off on Max Holloway; Calls for the Trilogy (r/MMA)
• Korean Zombie and Song Yadong both at the RIZIN 55 event tonight (r/MMA)

Welcome to Open Scoring MMA, episode 143 for November 8th, 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: Ilia Topuria just lit a match under the Paddy Pimblett rivalry, and we gotta start there.
NORA: In an interview with ABC Spain, the former featherweight and lightweight champion downplayed Paddy's qualities entirely and basically said a fight between them wouldn't be competitive.
DUKE: Easy dominance, that's the phrase.
NORA: That's the projection, yeah. Topuria made it clear he thinks he outclasses him everywhere, and fans online are already jumping all over the comments.
DUKE: He's never been shy about speaking his mind on Pimblett, but bringing it up so directly definitely turns up the heat.
NORA: With Topuria it's always about setting the terms and letting everyone know where he thinks the hierarchy sits.
DUKE: He's either supremely confident or just trolling for clicks, or maybe a bit of both.
NORA: It's usually both with him, but it gets people talking every single time.
DUKE: And Paddy's been building toward a run at the top of lightweight himself, so this isn't some throwaway shot, this actually matters for where the division goes next.
NORA: Right, if Topuria's staying at one fifty five, Paddy's one of the few domestic draws big enough to be that fight.
DUKE: Big money fight if it ever happens.
NORA: If. Big if.
DUKE: Now on to the results, because last night was absolutely loaded.
NORA: Let's start overseas. RIZIN 55 went down at LaLa Arena in Chiba, Japan.
DUKE: And the big one, Makoto Shinryu lost the flyweight title to Tony Laramie.
NORA: Laramie came in with three straight wins and a strong record in the promotion, and he took the belt off Shinryu.
DUKE: Which means, get this, RIZIN now doesn't have a single Japanese champion across any division.
NORA: The Reddit community is saying that might be a first in the promotion's eleven year history.
DUKE: That's a massive shakeup for a Japanese promotion to have zero home champions.
NORA: It really is, it changes the whole narrative RIZIN's been selling for over a decade.
DUKE: And on that same card, Korean Zombie and Song Yadong were both ringside.
NORA: Just spectating, but worth noting given how stacked and finish-heavy that card reportedly was.
DUKE: Now back stateside, UFC Vegas 124 gave us an absolute banger in the main event.
NORA: Johnny Walker knocked out Waldo Cortes-Acosta, who's a top ten heavyweight, in wild fashion.
DUKE: Walker was down on the cards too, right?
NORA: He was losing the first two rounds by most accounts before turning it around for the finish.
DUKE: That's his fifth UFC main event, and on short notice too, this was a heavyweight fight he took on late.
NORA: It was actually supposed to be a welterweight showcase between Gabriel Bonfim and Sean Brady before Brady pulled out with a serious injury.
DUKE: So the whole card got reshuffled and Walker still delivered.
NORA: Pros around the sport were reacting like it was one of the best finishes of the year.
DUKE: Huge for Walker's stock at heavyweight after that kind of comeback.
NORA: And on the same card, Tatiana Suarez put herself right back in the title picture.
DUKE: She beat Virna Jandiroba by decision.
NORA: She controlled the action and ground Jandiroba down with her wrestling across all three rounds.
DUKE: Not the most exciting fight, but effective.
NORA: Very effective. Both are former title challengers, so this was a real measuring stick, and Suarez clearly passed it.
DUKE: She's gotta be next in line for strawweight gold now.
NORA: She's positioned that way, yeah.
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 card news, because UFC just dropped a big announcement during that Vegas 124 broadcast.
NORA: Israel Adesanya is headlining UFC Saudi Arabia against Shara Magomedov.
DUKE: Five round main event, December 5th, ANB Arena in Riyadh.
NORA: And the co-main is five rounds too, Ian Machado Garry against Yaroslav Amosov.
DUKE: Adesanya's a former two-time middleweight champ looking to climb back into the picture.
NORA: He's already opened as the betting favorite in that main event.
DUKE: Favorite over Magomedov, who's been scary on the feet himself.
NORA: Shara Bullet's finished people in highlight fashion, but the oddsmakers are clearly still backing the name and the experience.
DUKE: Garry versus Amosov is interesting too, Amosov's unbeaten pedigree against Garry's striking.
NORA: That's a real stylistic clash, could steal the show.
DUKE: Now on to the fighter news, smaller story but a cool one.
NORA: Luana Santos got promoted to brown belt in jiu-jitsu.
DUKE: This is right after she beat Yana Santos at UFC Vegas 123 on October 31st.
NORA: That was her fourth straight win since moving up to bantamweight, and she celebrated the promotion on social media.
DUKE: Four in a row at a new weight class, that's a real trajectory, she's quietly building a case for a ranked opponent next.
NORA: She's definitely earned some serious attention with that run, and moving up in weight and continuing to win like that shows real momentum.
DUKE: Now on to the callouts, and Conor McGregor is making noise again.
NORA: At the BKFC 96 press conference, McGregor said there's only one fight on his mind for his UFC return, a trilogy with Max Holloway.
DUKE: He wants to redo their UFC 329 main event.
NORA: He told Bloody Elbow, quote, "What's it now? November? Three months I am over surgery. I done this injury before and returned within nine months. So nine months is pre-summer. I just wanna go again and again," end quote.
DUKE: So he's actually giving a real timeline, pre-summer.
NORA: That's the first concrete window he's thrown out in a while.
DUKE: And this is supposedly his last UFC fight on the current deal, so a Holloway trilogy would be a massive way to close it out.
NORA: It would, especially given how their first meeting went down as a statement fight for McGregor at the time.
DUKE: Says a lot when fighters themselves are paying to watch.
NORA: It really does, and with all those belts changing hands and international fighters taking over the titles, RIZIN is in a completely new era right now.
DUKE: 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.
NORA: Stuff on there you won't find anywhere else on the feed. Worth the subscribe.
DUKE: Now let's look ahead, because the schedule is absolutely loaded the next few weeks.
NORA: This Saturday, November 14th, UFC 334 goes down, Gane versus Hokit.
DUKE: Ciryl Gane takes on Josh Hokit in the main event, big opportunity for Hokit stepping up into a marquee heavyweight spotlight against a former interim champion.
NORA: Gane's movement against Hokit's wrestling base is going to be fascinating to watch at the top of that card.
DUKE: Huge test for both guys at heavyweight.
NORA: Then the following Saturday, November 21st, it's Procházka versus Stirling.
DUKE: Jiří Procházka headlines against Navajo Stirling, and you know Procházka brings absolute chaos every single time he steps in the cage.
NORA: Stirling has a massive chance to make a statement there, but dealing with Procházka's unpredictable striking over five rounds is as tough as it gets.
DUKE: Two big cards back to back, plus we already told you about Adesanya and Magomedov on December 5th.
NORA: Don't forget December 12th either, UFC 335, Charles Oliveira versus Diego Lopes.
DUKE: That matchup between Oliveira and Lopes is guaranteed fireworks wherever the fight goes.
NORA: That's a stacked run into the new year.
DUKE: It really is.

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That's it for today's Open Scoring MMA. Keep your hands up, and we'll see you next time.