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

Valter
Walker believes his compromised feet might be a hurdle on his
way to an
Ultimate Fighting Championship title.

While Walker is a feared leg lock submission artist, he isn't an
elite striker. “The Foot Hunter†recently admitted that his
striking isn't up to the mark due to bad footwork caused by his
compromised feet. Walker revealed that his footwork is poor as his
toes are curled, limiting his ability to be light on his feet.

Valter Walker says childhood shoe problems left him with curled
toes and poor footwork

Coming from a poor background, Walker didn't have money to buy new
shoes as his feet grew. Wearing undersized shoes did long-term
damage to his toes, which is now showing its effects. He claims
that this issue is the biggest stumbling block towards him becoming
a champion.

“I really have a big problem with my footwork,†Walker told Full
Mount MMA. “My foot is not really good because when I was young, I
didn't have money to buy new shoes. All the time my foot grew and
the shoes were smaller than my feet. My toes are a little bit
[curled]. And because of this, I have a little bit of a footwork
problem. And I don't really know how I can be a champion.â€

While Walker (16-1) isn't in the UFC heavyweight title picture yet,
he has quickly ascended the ranks. The 28-year-old has scored five
consecutive submission wins since suffering his lone professional
loss in his UFC debut in 2024.

😬 Valter
Walker says he didn't have money to buy new shoes, which is why
he has bad footwork and striking:

“My toes are curled. I have really bad footwork.â€

🎥 @MMAFullMount
pic.twitter.com/lTyyaIf0Jt

— Full Mount MMA (@MMAFullMount)
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.