Magomed
Ankalaev is willing to fight Paulo Costa
despite considering it a lose-lose scenario.

Costa is currently amidst a falling-out with the
Ultimate Fighting Championship over the last fight on his
current contract. The Brazilian has repeatedly called out the
promotion online while campaigning for a fight. Former champ
Magomed
Ankalaev has now offered a solution.

Ankalaev offers to serve as Costa's final fight under his
current UFC contract

Costa's latest gripe with the UFC involved being offered a
short-notice five-round fight for no additional pay. While Costa is
willing to accept a five-round fight, he wants to be compensated
accordingly and have ample time to prepare for a 25-minute bout.
Furthermore, he's taken shots at UFC exec Hunter Campbell and asked
for his release multiple times.

Ankalaev has offered to be the last fight on Costa's current
contract. The former light heavyweight champ believes Costa has
nothing to lose, as his stock will skyrocket with a win as he
enters free agency. Ankalaev believes he doesn't have much to gain
from the matchup, as he'll likely be the favorite, but is still
open to fighting “Borrachinha.â€

“You beat me, you become a free agent and make millions,†Ankalaev
wrote on X. “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€

Costa is coming off back-to-back finishes, while Ankalaev returned
to winning ways against Bogdan
Guskov after losing the title in his rematch with Alex
Pereira.

You beat me, you become a free agent and
make millions. 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.

— Muhammad big ANK Ankalaev (@AnkalaevM)
September 21, 2026

Patricio
“Pitbull” Freire believes reconnecting with a longtime boxing
coach, Edelson Silva, played a major role in getting his career
back on track.

Freire recently returned to winning ways in the final bout of his

Ultimate Fighting Championship contract, finishing Doo Ho Choi
by first-round technical knockout at UFC
331.

Patricio Freire credits reunion with Edelson Silva for Doo Ho
Choi finish

After his victory over Choi, Freire spoke about his reunion with
Silva, which he credited as the primary factor in reviving his
career. Talking to UFC Brazil's Evelyn Rodrigues as he left the
Octagon, the former Bellator
champ said the reunion allowed him to fight more freely.

“I wasn't letting myself go in the previous fights, but thank God I
was able to find myself again in this one,†Freire said after the
victory. “Edelson worked with me from 2000 to 2015. Unfortunately,
we drifted apart for 11 years, when he worked on 10 of Anderson
Silva's camps. But we were able to work things out and make
peace.â€

UFC CEO Dana
White remained coy about Freire's future in the promotion at
the post-fight presser, but commended the Brazilian's victory.
Neither party has indicated whether he'll be offered a contract
renewal.

Manel
Kape is making his case for the next
Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight title shot.

Joshua
Van (18-2) successfully defended the 125-pound championship in
a rematch against Alexandre
Pantoja at UFC
331 on Sept. 19. Top-ranked flyweight Manel Kape,
seemingly the frontrunner for a shot at UFC gold, can't wait to
fight Van as he favors the matchup stylistically.

Manel Kape sees UFC champion Joshua Van's striking style as an
ideal matchup

Van has faced wrestling-heavy fighters in his two title defenses so
far, finishing Tatsuro
Taira and going the distance with Alexandre
Pantoja in a five-round war. Kape, one of the best strikers in
the division, can't wait to dissect Van's boxing-centric fighting
style and he claims he'll make it look effortless.

“The perfect style for me to paint a masterpiece,†Kape posted on
X. “You're all going to be surprised by how easy I make this fight
look.â€

The California State Athletic Commission released the fight night
weights for all UFC 331 fighters. Van weighed 145.8 pounds on fight
night, gaining 20.8 pounds after weighing in at 125 pounds. Kape
claims he'll be as heavy as 160 pounds on fight night.

“Manel Kape; event weight 160 lb,†he wrote in another post.

Kape (23-7) is currently on a four-fight knockout streak and fresh
off a come-from-behind finish over top contender Kyoji
Horiguchi.

The perfect style for me to paint a
masterpiece. https://t.co/4jtWsnH8nw

— Manel
Kape (@ManelKape)
September 20, 2026

You're all going to be surprised by how easy
I make this fight look. https://t.co/4jtWsnH8nw

— Manel
Kape (@ManelKape)
September 21, 2026

Manel Kape ;
event weight 160 lb https://t.co/tSWnc22aQH

— Manel
Kape (@ManelKape)
September 21, 2026