MMA
Paulo Costa offers ‘fair’ option in UFC ultimatum; Magomed Ankalaev responds
Published
7 hours agoon
Paulo Costa is at odds with the UFC over the last fight of his current deal with the organization, and former champion Magomed Ankalaev has decided to volunteer for the task.
Costa knocked out previously undefeated Azamat Murzakanov at light heavyweight to put himself in an interesting position with only one bout left in his UFC contract, but it seems that the conversations with the promotion are not advancing in the direction he was hoping for.
On a two-fight winning streak now over Roman Kopylov and Murzakanov in two weight classes, Costa posted a “simple and clean†message to the UFC on social media.
“I have 1 fight left,†Costa wrote. “On my contract the purse is set for 3 rounds, not 5. I'm asking for the 3-round fight that was already agreed on contract. It can be anyone on the UFC LHW roaster.â€
Costa said UFC's chief business officer Hunter Campbell has “three options†to choose from, one being releasing him from his contract “now.â€
Ok, I'm making this public and clear:
I have 1 fight left. On my contract The purse is set for 3 rounds, not 5. I'm asking for the 3-round fight that was already agreed on contract . It can be anyone on the UFC LHW roster.
I think Hunter has 3 options now:
A) Give me that last 3-round fight (I'll take any opponent).
B) Give me a 5-round fight at LHW against anyone in 6 weeks. I'll take it, BUT raise my purse accordingly. That's the minimum that's fair, right?
C) Release me from my contract now.
Simple and clean. I hope everyone understands.
9-18-26
Las Vegas, Nevada
Sincerely,
Paulo Costa.
It remains undecided what the UFC will do at the top of the light heavyweight division. Carlos Ulberg suffered a knee injury during his championship victory over Jiri Prochazka and remains sidelined until 2027, and Costa has campaigned for a fight for the interim belt if offered enough money to re-sign with the promotion.
Ankalaev, who could be standing across the cage against Costa for that belt after finishing Bogdan Guskov this past July, responded to his post.
“You beat me, you become a free agent and make millions,†Ankalaev wrote. “I beat you, everybody expected me to beat you anyway. You have nothing to lose. I'm your get-out-of-jail-free card. Let's fight.â€
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MMA
Video: All 7 UFC 331 finishes from a wild night in Los Angeles
Published
2 hours agoon
September 21, 2026
MMA
UFC 334 odds: Ciryl Gane, Kayla Harrison favored in title fights
Published
3 hours agoon
September 21, 2026
334's lineup has been revealed, as have the opening odds.
In the main event, Ciryl Gane
is set to defend the
Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight title against
Josh
Hokit on Nov. 14 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The
card is co-headlined by a bantamweight title fight between Kayla
Harrison and Amanda
Nunes.
BetOnline has released its current odds for
both championship bouts, with Gane favored over Hokit and Harrison
favored over Nunes.
UFC 334 betting lines move for Gane-Hokit and
Harrison-Nunes
Gane opened at -150 and is now at -235. The Frenchman is favored to
beat the undefeated Hokit, who is currently listed at +195. Both
fighters secured finishes at
UFC Freedom 250 in their last outings. Gane was promoted to
undisputed champ after Tom
Aspinall vacated the belt.
The Harrison-Nunes line was originally released in November 2025
after they were announced for
UFC 324, with Harrison opening at -155 and Nunes at +135. The
fight fell through after Harrison sustained a neck injury and
they're finally set to collide in November.
The current women's 135-pound champ is now at -210, while the Hall
of Famer has dropped to +175.
MMA
Arman Tsarukyan crushes Mauricio Ruffy, strengthens UFC title-shot case
Published
5 hours agoon
September 21, 2026
Tsarukyan cemented his status as the No.1 contender at
lightweight in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship with a first-round knockout
win.
Tsarukyan knocked out Mauricio
Ruffy with back-to-back elbows in the dying seconds of the
opening round in UFC
331's co-main event at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, further
strengthening his case for a title shot.
Tsarukyan finishes Ruffy with back-to-back elbows in the UFC
331 co-main event
Tsarukyan admitted the opening minutes of the bout were challenging
after Ruffy connected with some clean strikes, but he remained
confident that he would eventually find a finish.
“I feel great,†Tsarukyan said in a post-fight interview. “I was
looking for a finish and even the first round was kind of rough,
but I knew, like, I'm going to finish him. First punches, it's
always hard to defend because both of us, we're fresh. But Ruffy is
one of the best strikers, you know, we shouldn't forget about
that.â€
“The Batman†had swelling around his eye courtesy of a punch from
Ruffy, but managed to mix his martial arts and find the finish.
“I'm such a well-rounded fighter,†Tsarukyan added. “I know, like,
with wrestling, only wrestling, you cannot win the fights. You've
got to mix it up. I made the best statement that I could do
today.â€
“I made the best statement I could
today.”Arman
Tsarukyan (@ArmanUFC) let his
performance speak for itself tonight at #CryptoCom
#UFC331Complete Main Card Results âž¡ï¸ https://t.co/6GSVkvH0f4
Official Scorecards: https://t.co/2L2Ig3cENB pic.twitter.com/BygFCtUWWd
— UFC News (@UFCNews)
September 20, 2026
Video: All 7 UFC 331 finishes from a wild night in Los Angeles
UFC 334 odds: Ciryl Gane, Kayla Harrison favored in title fights
Arman Tsarukyan crushes Mauricio Ruffy, strengthens UFC title-shot case
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