I don’t know if we’ve collectively come down from the high of UFC 333, but we’ve got APEX action this weekend with Renato Moicano and Tom Nolan headlining UFC Vegas 123.

Moicano vs. Nolan falls into one of 2026’s matchmaking trends, that of the longtime contender vs. the streaking up and comer. When we last saw Moicano, he was snapping a two-fight losing streak with an impressive win over Chris Duncan in the UFC Vegas 115 main event; now, he defends his top 15 spot again against the rising Tom Nolan, who has won five straight fights after a stoppage loss in his UFC debut.

Can “Money” slow down “Big Train” on Saturday night?

Paulo
Costa has renewed his criticism of fighter pay in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship.

A resurfaced clip shows UFC middleweight champion Sean
Strickland asking former light heavyweight champion Quinton
“Rampage” Jackson about his biggest UFC payday. Jackson said he
earned $7 million, including pay-per-view compensation, for
fighting Chuck
Liddell. Costa contrasted that figure with his estimate of what
a current UFC fighter earns.

Paulo Costa compares Rampage Jackson’s claimed $7 million
payday with estimated Raoni Barcelos earnings

Jackson attributed the payday to a contract he signed with World
Fighting Alliance, where he said his manager also had a promotional
role. According to Jackson, the deal included lucrative
pay-per-view terms that the UFC inherited when its parent company
acquired WFA assets in December 2006.

“$7 million, Chuck Liddell, that was pay-per-view, though,†Jackson
told Strickland. “I left
Pride. My manager, he became like the manager of the show. So,
he knew exactly that it was his biggest deal. They didn't want to
have pay-per-view, so he gave me a crazy pay-per-view deal. Then
Dana White bought WFA and had to honor my pay-per-view deal.â€

Costa compared Jackson's account with Raoni
Barcelos' stoppage loss to Raul Rosas
Jr. last month. Barcelos, 39, lost consciousness during a
fifth-round grappling exchange. Costa speculated that Barcelos
earned between $80,000 and $100,000, contrasting that estimate with
Jackson's claimed earnings from his 2007 victory over Liddell.

“UFC paid Rampage 7 million to fight Chuck what is comprehensive,â€
Costa wrote on X. “Not comparing fighters relevance but comparing
it with Barcelos x Rosas Jr 5 rds and had serious injuries on brain
damage, made 80k~100k ?? Raoni Barcelos is around 40s and probably
retired due to that injury.â€

UFC paid RAMPAGE 7 million to fight CHUCK
what is comprehensive. Not comparing fighters relevance but
comparing it with Barcelos x Raul RosaJr5 rds and had serious
injuries on brain damage 🧠 made 80k~100k ?? Raoni
Barcelos is around 40s and PROBABLY retired due that injury

— Paulo
Costa (@BorrachinhaMMA)
October 15, 2026

The
Ultimate Fighting Championship's recent visit to Edmonton,
Alberta, Canada, featured action inside and outside the
Octagon.

Police intervene in Rogers Place crowd altercation during UFC
Edmonton

Every bout at
UFC Edmonton except the co-main event ended in a finish. But a
crowd altercation at Rogers Place on Oct. 17 also drew
attention.

Video circulating on social media appears to show a police officer
lifting a man and slamming him to the floor as officers intervene
in the altercation. The man appears to lose consciousness after the
impact.

Police officer slam KO'd a fan fighting in
the crowd at UFC Edmonton tonight https://t.co/hN8Mzqf7CM

— Happy Punch (@HappyPunch)
October 18, 2026