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<\/a><\/p>\nWASHINGTON, DC – JUNE 15: Justin Gaethje holds up his belts following a press conference with other fight winners and Dana White following UFC Freedom 250 at the JW Marriott in Washington, DC on June 15, 2026. (Photo by Nathan Posner\/Anadolu via Getty Images) Anadolu via Getty Images<\/p>\n
Question: Who should get the first (and potentially only) shot at Gaethje\u2019s belt, Volkanovski or Tsaryukan? (Jack Reacharound)<\/p>\n
Jesse Holland: Alexander Volkanovski had his shot at the lightweight title (twice) and he failed. Had he beaten Ilia Topuria at UFC 298 then I would be first in line for a third try; but he didn\u2019t, so there\u2019s no great argument to have Volkanovski cutting Topuria or Tsarukyan in the lightweight line.<\/p>\n
Alex Behunin: The only answer is Arman Tsarukyan. I love Volk, and I love the idea of a super fight, but Arman has served his time in UFC jail and has earned it.<\/p>\n
Thomas Myers: Tsaryukan, and it\u2019s not even close. Volkanovski has proven, twice, that he is not Lightweight championship material. Having said that, Gaethje seemingly only has one fight left in him, so maybe he gets some sort of decision-making on his retirement fight. I think if UFC really wanted to sell tix, make Gaethje happy and deliver a must-watch fight, Max Holloway gets the nod.<\/p>\n
Arman vs. Gaethje \u2013 the winner gets the winner of Ilia vs. Paddy.<\/p>\n
Tim Edwards: It should be Arman Tsarukyan. But, to me, it feels like it\u2019s going to be Volkanovski. This feels a lot like when Jon Jones was trying to manufacture the best swan song possible and the UFC were willing to play ball with that. I think there\u2019s a chance the UFC works with Gaethje and Volkanovski to make this happen, since I think Gaethje would probably prefer this match-up over Tsarukyan.<\/p>\n
ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – OCTOBER 24: Alexander Volkanovski of Australia reacts after a victory against Movsar Evloev of Russia in the UFC featherweight championship fight during the UFC 333 event at Etihad Arena on October 24, 2026 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Jeff Bottari\/Zuffa LLC)<\/p>\n Question: Is Volkanovski the GOAT @ 145 lbs? And is he a top 5 of all-time, regardless of division? (Jack Reacharound)<\/p>\n Jesse Holland: I consider Alexander Volkanovski the greatest featherweight in history. Aside from his record-setting nine title fight wins, his strength of schedule puts him in a league of his own. Trying to use the Ilia Topuria loss to argue against that is like ranking Chris Weidman over Anderson Silva as the middleweight GOAT.<\/p>\n Thomas Myers: Yes, he\u2019s the Featherweight G.O.A.T. \u2026 and no, not on MMA\u2019s Mt. Rushmore.<\/p>\n Alex Behunin: It was Jose Aldo for me due to title defenses, but this latest win has pushed Volkanovski atop Aldo for me \u2013 which feels weird because I\u2019m such an MMA oldhead, but Volk is him.<\/p>\n Tim Edwards: He\u2019s my GOAT. And it takes a lot for me to say that, since Jose Aldo has been one of my favorite fighters since the WEC days. As far as top five, all-time\u2026 He doesn\u2019t crack mine: Georges St-Pierre, Anderson Silva, Fedor Emelianenko, Jon Jones and Demetrious Johnson have it locked down for now. And yes I do need to hold my nose when I put Jones in that list.<\/p>\n Photo by Jeff Bottari\/Zuffa LLC<\/p>\n Q: Unless Movsar Evloev makes drastic changes to both his activity level and fighting style, is this the only time we\u2019ll ever see him in a title fight in the UFC? (Igl00Man)<\/p>\n Jesse Holland: UFC didn\u2019t want him to fight for the title to begin with, so now that he\u2019s been defeated, it would take an act of God or a 10-fight win streak with 10 knockouts for Movsar Evloev to see a second title shot. The Russian turns 33 in February and I think it\u2019s too late to teach this old dog new tricks.<\/p>\n Thomas Myers: Yes, UFC was reluctant to award him a title shot and that listless performance proved that their hesitance was correct.I know that I don\u2019t want to see him in a title fight again, and I can\u2019t imagine that I am alone on that front. There are more exciting, marketable options.<\/p>\n Alex Behunin: I still think Movsar beats most of the division, but I think the UFC brass is going to rebook him vs. Pico next \u2013 and that is an awful matchup for him \u2026 meaning he\u2019s going to be on a two-fight losing streak and nowhere near title land.<\/p>\n Tim Edwards: This isn\u2019t the last we\u2019ve seen of Evloev. I think this is like Topuria\u2019s loss to Gaethje, where a really great fighter came up against someone who is also excellent and was able to seize the moment when it came. I think he\u2019s probably going to factor in the post-Volkanovski landscape at Featherweight.<\/p>\n ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – OCTOBER 24: (L-R) Petr Yan of Russia talks with Merab Dvalishvili of Georgia after their UFC bantamweight championship fight during the UFC 333 event at Etihad Arena on October 24, 2026 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Jeff Bottari\/Zuffa LLC)<\/p>\n Q: where do you rank the Merab-Yan trilogy all time? (cavemanoncomputer)<\/p>\n Jesse Holland: It\u2019s definitely up there. My personal favorites are Chuck Liddell vs. Randy Couture, Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier, and Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard.<\/p>\n Alex Behunin: Considering the storyline with Merab blanking him in the first fight, Yan blanking him in the second fight, and then the third fight being so competitive \u2013 it\u2019ll be ranked very highly all-time. Tim Edwards: As far as the quality of individual fights, I don\u2019t think you can beat it, personally. Each contest was fascinating and an amazing rebuke of the UFC\u2019s present day shift of trying to make every fight a 90 second KO.<\/p>\n ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – OCTOBER 24: Alexander Volkov of Russia reacts after a victory against Rizvan Kuniev of Russia in a heavyweight fight during the UFC 333 event at Etihad Arena on October 24, 2026 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Jeff Bottari\/Zuffa LLC)<\/p>\n Q: What do you do with Alexander Volkov? (cavemanoncomputer)<\/p>\n Jesse Holland: That depends on the Ciryl Gane vs. Josh Hokit fight at UFC 334. A victory for Gane should set up the rematch against Alexander Volkov, who got screwed in his first fight against \u201cBon Gamin.\u201d If Hokit wins, I think Volkov gets Gane anyway if Alex Pereira beats Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 335. If Pereira loses, it\u2019s Hokit vs. Volkov, which sounds funny when I say it out loud.<\/p>\n Thomas Myers: I think this all hinges on Aspinall \u2013 if he returns soon, Volkov is likely on the outside looking in. If Pereira defeats Pavlovich, my guess is he\u2019d have to take one more super tough fight before earning a much-deserved title shot if Aspinall returns to fight the winner of Gane vs. Hokit.<\/p>\n Alex Behunin: He\u2019s pretty fucked if Aspinall comes back or Alex Pereira wins \u2013 but if neither of those happen, he\u2019ll get next.<\/p>\n Tim Edwards: He\u2019s gotta get into as many Nina Drama videos as possible.<\/p>\n LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – APRIL 04: Renato Moicano of Brazil reacts after a submission victory against Chris Duncan of Scotland in a lightweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at Meta APEX on April 04, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari\/Zuffa LLC)<\/p>\n Q: Renato Moicano: contender or gate keeper? (Jack Reacharound)<\/p>\n Jesse Holland: Renato Moicano is a true gatekeeper. He crushes cans and goes from contender to pretender against the Top 5. He calls himself \u201cMoney\u201d but in 20 UFC fights he\u2019s only scored two post-fight performance bonuses.<\/p>\n Alex Behunin: He\u2019s definitely more of a gatekeeper than a contender at this point. But he\u2019s still a Top 15 fighter in the most cut-throat division. I guess I can share this story now \u2013 Over the past three-ish months, I\u2019ve talked to about 40 fighters from American Top Team, and I asked them all who is the toughest person to spar with \u2013 all but 4 of them (because they were bigger) said Moicano.<\/p>\n Thomas Myers: I think he\u2019s certainly knocking on the door \u2013 I don\u2019t think he beats the seven contenders seeded in front of him. And the seven fighters ranked behind him \u2013 Mateusz Gamrot, Mauricio Ruffy, Grant Dawson, Tom Nolan, Tofiq Musayev, Rafael Fiziev and Esteban Ribovics \u2013 would almost all be a handful for \u201cMoney.\u201d There are times, though, like against Chris Duncan, where Moicano still looks like a stud. I think he\u2019s just a very tough, well-rounded finisher who might have one final (failed) push to the Top 5 if he can topple the latest up-and-comer.<\/p>\n Tim Edwards: His performances against Islam Makhachev and then Beneil Dariush made him look like a pretender. And the win over Benoit Saint-Denis has lost some lustre with BSD\u2019s loss to Paddy Pimblett. I think he\u2019s closer to gate keeper than contender right now. But I don\u2019t think he\u2019s a very good gate keeper, since he\u2019s not letting many folks through. And I think he shuts the gate on Nolan this weekend, too.<\/p>\n LONDON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 26: Dana White speaks at a press conference after the Zuffa Boxing 11 event at Copperbox Arena on September 26, 2026 in London, England. (Photo by Mark Robinson\/Zuffa Boxing via Getty Images) Zuffa Boxing via Getty Images<\/p>\n Q: My 1st question! I\u2019m such a babe in the MMA woods lol. Given the landscape of these prelim-level main events, do we think this is mainly due to the lack of stars and the current model for filling cards with contender series fighters? Could it also be that Dana White is divesting in this sport as he dives all the way into boxing? Both-And? Apologies if we\u2019ve discussed this already. (Piccolo Monstero)<\/p>\n Jesse Holland: UFC structured its Paramount+ deal the same way it did ESPN+, promising (on average) UFC cards every weekend in addition to relevant shoulder programming. There is not enough quality talent to make every card (or even most cards) exciting but that is not how UFC is packaged and sold. UFC is the star you are tuning in to watch, not the fighters who command top billing.<\/p>\n Thomas Myers: Dana White and Co. need to meet a contractual quota for Paramount+ \u2026 and it\u2019s significant. Even with Contender Series, it\u2019s hard to fill 12-fight card events with notable talent from top to bottom each week. It doesn\u2019t help that White has his own side quests like Power Slap and whatever else and can\u2019t even promote numbered events well (see Cong, Wang for evidence of that). The bad news? UFC still makes money hand over fist for TKO Global Inc., so don\u2019t expect much to change moving forward.<\/p>\n Alex Behunin: UFC is already bought and paid for the next 7 years, meaning the promotion can do whatever they want to and book as many shitty fights as they want to fill the 43 events per year. The US\u2019 Aaron Pico and Belgium\u2019s Losene Keita compete in their men\u2019s featherweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi on October 24, 2026. (Photo by Giuseppe CACACE \/ AFP via Getty Images) AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n Q: Losene Keita fraud checked? He\u2019s got 1 win the UFC, over Naimov (who\u2019s umm not top 10 shall we say), lost to a very technical non-finisher Nathaniel Wood and got destroyed by Aaron Pico. He was never in the fight against Pico. I mean for all his hype, that\u2019s not much of a resume. (LoneCowboy)<\/p>\n Jesse Holland: Losene Keita was a betting underdog against Aaron Pico, so I don\u2019t think that qualifies as a fraud check. I also don\u2019t think \u201cBlack Panther\u201d was overly hyped, he was more in that \u201cone to watch\u201d category. And we did watch. We watched him get destroyed.<\/p>\n Alex Behunin: No, I don\u2019t think he was fraud-checked because I don\u2019t think Wood or Pico are bad fighters. He just ran into Pico \u2013 who at his best is UFC champion caliber \u2013 also, it was on shorter notice.<\/p>\n I am Keita mark though, and believe he\u2019ll be a mainstay in the Featherweight division for years to come.<\/p>\n Thomas Myers: He\u2019s not for me. I am not a Pico fan (don\u2019t trust his chin or IQ), but Keita proved that he has an even worse chin (and IQ). My guess is UFC probably puts him up against a wrestler (or someone who is more comfortable on the ground) when he returns next to really see what they have \u2026 and I don\u2019t think it\u2019s much long-term.<\/p>\n LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – DECEMBER 07: (L-R) Ray Longo and Merab Dvalishvili coach Aljamain Sterling in a featherweight bout during the UFC 310 event at T-Mobile Arena on December 07, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger\/Zuffa LLC)<\/p>\n Q: Do you think Merab missed Ray Longo in his corner (He didn\u2019t travel, they specifically pointed it out). He was doing great in the 1st and 2nd but as Petr adjusted, he failed to adjust back. (LoneCowboy)<\/p>\n Thomas Myers: I asked myself this same question when I learned, during his walkout, that Longo was not cornering him. And it alarmed me. I think Merab is Merab, but after that second round, he needed some real focusing, direction. He was so sloppy, all over the place, and could not extend a takedown to save his life. That\u2019s more on how good Petr Yan really is, and how prepared he was for the \u201cThe Machine.\u201d I just think having Longo in his corner might have given him the extra push, and raw, motivating truth, that he needed to do something different, or push even harder, down the stretch. In short, Merab needed everything in his toolkit to beat Yan \u2026 and he didn\u2019t have it. We will never really know.<\/p>\n Jesse Holland: I don\u2019t think Merab has anything to adjust. What you see is what you get when it comes to \u201cThe Machine\u201d and I doubt Ray Longo could have screamed anything loud enough to change that.<\/p>\n Alex Behunin: I think Ray Longo, Trevor Whittman, and Firas Zahabi could have been in Merab\u2019s corner and he still would have lost. Petr Yan just has his number now.<\/p>\n SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH – OCTOBER 03: Jacobe Smith reacts after a TKO victory against Bruce Whitehead in a welterweight fight during the UFC 332 event at Delta Center on October 03, 2026 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Jeff Bottari\/Zuffa LLC)<\/p>\n Q: Tom Nolan and Jacobe Smith are both up & coming prospects being highlighted on the upcoming card. Are either of them the real deal or just the next hype jobs? (Jack Reacharound)<\/p>\n Jesse Holland: Jacobe Smith turns 31 in January and is currently competing in his competitive prime, so I think he\u2019s either got it or he doesn\u2019t. Sadly, we may not get that answer against Randy Brown. No disrespect to Brown but \u201cRude Boy\u201d is not ranked and has lost two straight and three of his last four. As for Tom Nolan, he\u2019s still just 26 and may need more time under the lamps. I\u2019m not sure he survives a crafty veteran like Renato Moicano.<\/p>\n Alex Behunin: Jacobe Smith is the real deal, and I peg him as a future champion. He\u2019s knocking people out and hasn\u2019t even really shown his elite wrestling. Plus he\u2019s left Fortis MMA (thank god) and is training under DC now.<\/p>\n As for Tom Nolan, I\u2019m not sold yet. Moicano will be a good name on his resume if he wins, and he is only 26, so time will tell.<\/p>\n Thomas Myers: I absolutely love the potential I see in Jacobe Smith \u2013 I think he\u2019s the real deal. A violent and dynamic finisher, too. I feel like Nolan is tough, has solid all-around skills but is just that, solid? If he finishes Moicano, I might start to lean a different way, but for now, I\u2019d be buying Jacobe Smith stock in heaps and selling Nolan\u2019s quietly.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n
I\u2019d say top 10 for me right now. \u2013 Maybe I\u2019ll do a best trilogies of all time list.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n
There definitely is a huge lack of star power, so hopefully there will be a few fighters that will break through.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n