Anthony Olascuaga found a dramatic way to avoid a second straight defeat. A terrific but grueling in-ring battle with Giemel Magramo ended in an instant as Olascauga scored a come-from-behind, seventh-round stoppage victory. A right hand in the midst of a flurry froze Magramo, as a subsequent right and and left hook was enough for referee Katsuhiko Nakamura to stop ...
Bellator middleweight champion Johnny Eblen might not be the biggest household name in MMA, but that doesn’t concern him. “The Human Cheat Code” is just looking to stack wins, collect belts, and let his resume speak for itself, as he told Fighters Only ahead of his bout with Fabian Edwards at Bellator 299. When you became world champion, what changed ...
Junto Nakatani knew the fight was over the moment he landed that punch. A left hand from the Japanese southpaw flattened Australia’s Andrew Moloney in the closing seconds of their vacant WBO junior bantamweight title fight. The punch was so devastating that referee Mark Nelson stopped the fight on the spot, despite just 18 seconds left in their ESPN-aired bout ...
The current leader at junior flyweight is moving into some special conversations. Since its inception in the 1970s, the ranks of junior flyweight champions have included several impressive Hall of Fame talents. Hilario Zapata, Jung Koo Chang, Myung-Wuh Yuh, Michael Carbajal, and Chiquita Gonzalez all earned their place among the greats. Roman Gonzalez had a sojourn in the class and ...
Hekkie Budler understands the uphill climb he faces in his latest title challenge. The welcomed risk comes with the potential reward of being one more win away from history. Kenshiro Teraji (21-1, 13KOs) is an overwhelming favorite to defend his lineal, WBC and WBA junior flyweight titles versus Budler (35-4, 11KOs). An upset will leave the visiting South African as ...
The absence of a smile from Junto Nakatani’s face was noticeable as he made weight for the first defense of his WBO junior bantamweight title reign. If nothing else, it was an instant reminder of what he previously had to endure during his time spent as the WBO flyweight titlist. “I struggled to make 112 pounds and spent a lot ...
Undefeated knockout artist William “El Camarón” Zepeda (29-0, 25 KOs) added another stoppage to his record and retained his WBA Continental Americas Lightweight Title in a blowout of Mercito “No Mercy” Gesta (34-4-3, 17 KOs). From the opening bell, Zepeda launched overwhelming bombs and put incredible pressure against Gesta. Zepeda’s aggressive war tank had him unloading uncountable power combinations until ...
Like most insiders and fans of the sport, Brian Mendoza is very interested in the upcoming Canelo Alvarez-Jermell Charlo showdown. (photo by Ryan Hafey) The Showtime distributed pay-per-view battle pitting two undisputed champions takes place on September 30th at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Charlo will be moving up two weight classes to the super middleweight division. However, ...
At the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas, Puerto Rican junior middleweight phenom Xander Zayas (17-0, 10 KOs) scored a fifth-round TKO victory against hard-hitting Mexican Roberto Valenzuela Jr. (21-5, 20 KOs) in tonight’s co-feature. Zayas dropped Valenzuela with a hard jab in the opening round. Valenzuela got back up, only to suffer another knockdown before the round ended. ...
Tyson Fury can’t help but feel a bit dismayed by a particularly glaring irony heading into his high-profile showdown with Francis Ngannou. (photo by @threethirtythree) The WBC heavyweight titlist from Manchester, England, is set to go 10 rounds on Oct. 28 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with Ngannou, the former UFC heavyweight champion, in what will be mark Ngannou’s boxing debut. ...