Gaethje, the lightweight division and the week’s questions: what to expect now in the UFC

It’s Friday, and that means one thing: time to dive into the questions fans sent in over the week. For the third week running, the volume was high — and the answers, split between the analysts, revealed quite different views on the UFC’s immediate future.

The hottest topics this week, at a glance:

Chaos at lightweight: who faces Gaethje now?

The lightweight division was already messy. With Justin Gaethje beating Ilia Topuria in Baku and crowning a new champion, it got messier still. What now, with the Georgian declining an immediate rematch?

One line of thinking points to Arman Tsarukyan vs. Charles Oliveira 2 before any title move. The winner of that duel would face Gaethje in the first quarter of 2027. Another view puts Tsarukyan straight into a title shot — the history of the famous “pickup truck” incident between the two is enough to sell the fight. Some would prefer the UFC waits for the outcome of Conor McGregor vs. Max Holloway before charting any route. Either way, the consensus is that Topuria does not deserve an immediate rematch: he never defended the belt and was dismantled quite clearly. For more on the divisional picture, see why Oliveira wants Gaethje next.

Time machine to UFC 1: who would you send to 1993?

One of the most fun questions of the week was about a hypothetical trip to UFC 1, in November 1993. The original tournament was an experiment with no weight classes, no rounds, no gloves — pure chaos overseen by Rorion Gracie. The names that came up:

• Francis Ngannou — the unanimous favourite to dominate that setting; size and raw power the 1993 event had never seen.
• Carlos Prates — entered the conversation as a pure agent of chaos.
• Jiří Procházka — an honourable mention for sheer unpredictability.
• Tai Tuivasa — pointed out as someone who already seems to have stepped out of a time capsule from that era: old-school, no frills.

Did Pereira complain too much, or was he right?

Alex Pereira’s loss to Ciryl Gane at UFC 307 still sparks debate. The Brazilian claimed he took at least three illegal blows during the bout. Fair to complain?

The answer depends on where you stand. Some say MMA officiating is structurally flawed — illegal strikes rarely result in point deductions, and slow motion proves it. On the other side, the criticism is that Pereira was losing the fight with legal strikes too: Gane’s speed and power were a level above. The volume of the champion’s public complaints felt disproportionate, especially since there is no rematch on the horizon. The biggest problem? There is no official replay system, and until that changes, complaining is valid — but it solves nothing.

Cutelaba, water in the octagon and the dirty moves that are legal

The week also brought more specific issues. Ion Cutelaba quit a fight he seemed to be winning after taking a knee to the abdomen — and sat on the canvas talking to the referee while taking punches. The kindest explanation: he simply ran out of gas and decided to walk away.

As for Manel Kape wetting his feet and spreading water across the octagon before his fight, the logic is simple: the UFC canvas is known to be abrasive. Slightly damp feet improve traction and reduce the risk of scrapes. Nothing illegal — just unusual in the intensity with which Kape did it.

And the dirty-but-legal moves? Every analyst has a favourite. Covering the opponent’s mouth in the clinch, the sideways oblique kick to the knee, the discreet “oil check” no referee penalises. The most brutal on the list, by collective memory: the shoulder crank Jon Jones applied to Glover Teixeira — efficient, cheap and memorable in all the wrong ways.