*For Immediate Release to Publish
Roselle, Park, NJ (January 31st, 2026)– Welcome to the Real Combat Media Boxing & MMA Fights of the Week, where we discuss the week’s most significant news and the most notable fights in the sports of boxing and MMA, so you can save time by getting your best combat sports news expeditiously.
In boxing news, this past weekend, the inaugural Zuffa Boxing 1 event took place last Friday at Meta Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. Callum Walsh, 24, (16-0, 11 Kos) secured a unanimous decision victory over veteran Carlos Ocampo, 30, (38-4, 26 Kos) to headline Dana White’s new boxing venture. The scores were (98-90, 98-90, 97-91). You can view the video highlights, post-fight show, and the Dana White post-press conference here.
Raymond Muratalla, 29, (24-0, 17 KOs) successfully retained his IBF lightweight title against former Olympian Gold Medalist, Andy Cruz, 30, (6-1, 3 KOs) with an upset at the Fontainebleau in Las Vegas, winning by majority decision (114-114, 116-112, 118-110). Raymond Muratalla climbed the lightweight rankings and will be in a position to fight the best at 135lbs. You can view the boxing rankings on the link below. You can view the video highlights here.
Former WBA World Champion, Gervonta Davis, 31, (30-0-1, 28 Kos), was finally caught in Miami, Florida, by the US Marshals after a 2-week manhunt from the law for Domestic Assault allegations. You can read Robert Brizel’s report here.
Former WBC champ Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., 39, (55-7-1, 35 KOs), finally won a fight on January 24, 2026, defeating Angel Julian Sacco via a fourth-round knockout at the Arena Coliseo in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. This victory marked his return to the ring following a June 2025 loss to Jake Paul and his arrest by ICE.
Deontay Wilder vs. Derek Chisora is official for April 2nd in London, UK. The promotional situation is still being worked on. You can check out Robert Brizel’s article here.
Tyson Fury will return to face heavyweight Arslanbek Makhmudov on April 11, 2026, in the United Kingdom. You can read Robert Brizel’s report here.
The World Boxing Council (WBC) has officially elevated Christian Mbilli to full world champion status at super middleweight as of January 27, 2026.
Boxing legend Dennis Milton passed away this week. He was a silver medalist at the 1983 Pan American Games, and he holds a win over another boxing legend, Gerald McClellan.You can view Robert Brizel’s story here.
One of the best fights of the year is finally here, and it will feature 2 fighters in their prime! Teofimo Lopez, 28, (22-1, 13 KOs) will defend his WBO and Ring Magazine super lightweight titles against Shakur Stevenson, 28, (24-0, 11 Kos) on Saturday, January 31, 2026, at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
This highly anticipated “The Ring VI” main event features two elite American stars. Lopez, an explosive power-puncher, and Stevenson, is a surgical southpaw defensive specialist, moving up to the 140-pound division to seek a world title in his fourth weight class. Shakur won his first title at 126lbs and is one of the hardest fighters to hit in boxing history. You can view Robert Brizel’s preview, fighter predictions, explosive press conference, the preview show, weigh-in, and betting odds here. You can sign up to watch this event on DAZN here.
The rest of the card is loaded, and there is only so much space in this newsletter to discuss how spectacular this card is. Here are some of the fights on this card.
#TeofimoStevenson Undercard:
Keyshawn Davis 13-0 (9 KOs) vs. Jamaine Ortiz 20-2-1 (10 KOs) Super Lightweight
Carlos Adames 24-1-1 (18 KOs) vs. Austin Williams 19-1 (13 KOs) WBC Middleweight Title
Bruce Carrington 16-0 (9 KOs) vs. Carlos Castro 30-3 (14 KOs) WBC Featherweight Title
Jarrell Miller 26-1-2 (22 KOs) vs. Kingsley Ibeh 16-2-1 (14 KOs) Heavyweight
Ziyad Almaayouf 7-0-1 (1 KO) vs. Kevin Castillo 5-2-1 (0 KOs) Welterweight
Russia’s Bakhram Murtazaliev, 33, (23-0, 17 Kos) takes on former Olympian Josh Kelly, 31, (17-1-1, 9 Kos). The fight will take place on January 31st at the Utilita Arena in Newcastle, UK. Matchroom Promotions will promote this event. You can check out the betting odds, live prelims, press conference, and weigh-in here.
Another outstanding fight this weekend will feature Undefeated WBO junior middleweight champion Xander Zayas, 23, (22-0, 13 KOs), who will face WBA titleholder Abass Baraou, 31, (17-1, 9 KOs) in a 12-round junior middleweight unification showdown on Saturday, January 31, 2026, at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico José Miguel Agrelot in San Juan. The bout serves as a homecoming for the 23-year-old Zayas and will be streamed on the Top Rank Classics/Top Rank Facebook page. You can view the preview, weigh-in, presser, and betting odds here.
Dana White’s Zuffa Boxing 2 returns Sunday, February 1st at the Meta Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. You can view the full card here. You can sign up to watch this card here.
You can view the current international boxing rankings here.
In MMA news, UFC 324 had a successful debut on Paramount+ with an average of around 5 million views and 1 million new signups. If you are a UFC fan and did not sign up yet, you can sign up quickly to see more UFC events here.
Justin Gaethje, 37, (27-5) became the first fighter in UFC history to become a two-time interim champion by upsetting Paddy Pimblett, 31,(27-4). Gaethje will most likely fight the official UFC champion, Ilia Topuria, on the White House card in June of 2026. You can view the video highlights, post presser, and the social media reaction of this historic card here.
Sean O’Malley, 31, (19-3) snapped a two-fight skid with a hard-fought decision over Song Yadong, 28, (22-9-1), calling for a rematch with current champion Petr Yan in his post-fight interview. This fight was very close, and Yadong’s style did cause O’Malley many problems; however, O’Malley showed a lot of grit in round 3 to win this fight by finishing strong.
#1 Natalia Silva, 28, (20-5-1), maintained her winning streak by defeating former strawweight champion Rose Namajunas, 33, (15-8), via a unanimous decision in a close, controversial contest. Many people thought Rose won the first 2 rounds. Rose also complained of eye pokes in the fight, and her UFC future is uncertain. Natalie will be fighting Valentina Shevchenko for the UFC title later this year.
Derrick Lewis, 40, (29-13) lost to the surging Waldo Cortes-Acosta, 34, (17-2) via TKO at 3:14 of the second round on the main card of UFC 324. Cortes-Acosta landed a sharp counter jab that dropped Lewis, then followed up with ground strikes as Lewis turned away, until the referee stopped the fight. Some fans who saw the fight felt Lewis quit.
PFL MMA announced some fights for its Pittsburgh event on March 28th. You can view the card here.
PFL MMA, the world’s #2 MMA promotion, introduced a new rankings system this week. Check out the full rankings here.
PFL CEO John Martin remains non-committal about Francis Ngannou’s future with the promotion, as the heavyweight star was notably missing from the new PFL rankings.
PFL MMA signed a multi-year media rights agreement with FOX to broadcast 24 live events across Mexico and Central America starting in 2026
Former Bellator bantamweight champion Patchy Mix has been released by the UFC after a 0-2 stint. He has already signed with RIZIN for a March 7 debut. There was a lot of hype around Mix to succeed in the UFC after his impressive career in Bellator.
Dana White confirmed the UFC will fully fund a $20–$30 million event at the White House on June 14, 2026. Conor McGregor is officially not on this card at this time. There are still negotiations going on. Conor announced he has started training for his return this week.
The UFC has officially launched its archive library on Paramount+, signaling the start of its new primary streaming partnership in 2026. You can sign up here.
UFC 325 takes place this weekend with Alex Volkanovski, 31, (27-4) who will face hard-hitting #4 Diego Lopes, 31, (27-7) in a rematch, scheduled to take place this weekend on Saturday, January 31, 2026 (local time Sunday morning, February 1) at the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia for the UFC featherweight championship. Diego lost a unanimous decision to Volk back in April of 2025. You can view media day, the countdown show, betting odds, the full card, presser, and weigh-in here.
Upcoming Major MMA Events:
UFC 325: Volkanovski vs. Lopes 2 – January 31, 2026 (Sydney, Australia)
UFC Fight Night: Bautista vs. Oliveira – February 7, 2026 (Las Vegas, NV)
PFL: Road to Dubai – February 7, 2026 (Dubai, UAE)
UFC Fight Night: Strickland vs. Hernandez – February 21, 2026 (Houston, TX)
For PFL start times, more information, and to watch PFL events, click here.
To view the current UFC rankings, click here.
Get prepared for the UFC in 2026 and sign up to Paramount+ here.
For the most current news from the #2 MMA Promotion PFL, click here.
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