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Roselle, Park, NJ (December 12th, 2025)– 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, in a battle of 140-pound stars, the always aggressive Isaac Cruz, 27, (28-3-2, 18 KOs) jumped on the gas first, testing Lamont Roach Jr., 30, (25-1-3, 10 KOs) early and often. In round three, Cruz connected on a brilliant left hook that connected cleanly, forcing Roach’s glove to touch the canvas and earning him an early knockdown. As the fight went on, Cruz slowed down, and Roach Jr. was able to battle back and get a controversial draw. After the fight, both fighters made a verbal agreement for a rematch. At the moment, Gervonta Davis said he is interested in fighting Cruz again once his knee heals. You can view the video highlights, post presser, and recap here.
In the co-main event, WBC Super Featherweight World Champion O’Shaquie Foster, 32, (24-3, 12 KOs) dominated two-division world champion Stephen Fulton Jr., 31, (23-2, 8 KOs) with a superior jab and controlled the range to earn the Interim WBC Lightweight Title. After 12 rounds, the judges scored the fight 119-109, 118-110, and 117-111, all for Foster. After the fight, Foster called out Shakur Stevenson. You can view the video highlights, post presser, and recap here.
The other notable fight on the card saw WBA Middleweight World Champion Erislandy “The American Dream” Lara, 42, (32-3-3, 19 KOs) score knockdowns in the first and last rounds to cruise to a unanimous decision over short-notice replacement Venezuelan challenger Johan Gonzalez, 34, (36-5, 34 KOs). Lara won by the scores of 120-106, 119-107, and 118-108. Lara is one of the oldest Middleweight champions in history. You can view the video highlights here.
Teofimo Lopez, 28, (21-1, 13 Kos) fighting out of Las Vegas has officially signed a fight to face Shakur Stevenson, 28, (24-0, 11 Kos) from Newark, NJ, to fight on January 31st on the Ring 6. You can view the NYC press conference here. .
American heavyweight contender Michael “Bounty” Hunter, 37, (24-1-2, 17 Kos) defeated unbeaten British prospect Eli Frankham, 32, (3-1, 0 Kos) in round 4 at York Hall, Bethnal Green. You can read about this fight here.
Jai Opetaia, 30, (29-0, 23 Kos) stopped Huseyin Cinkara, 40, (23-1, 19 Kos) to retain the IBF/Ring Cruiserweight title fight on December 6th. Many consider Opetaia to be the best Cruiserweight in the world. You can watch the KO highlights here.
Diego Pacheco, 24, (24-0, 18 KOs) vs. Kevin Lele Sadjo, 35, (26-0, 23 KOs) is a major upcoming super middleweight boxing match scheduled for Saturday, December 13, 2025, at the Adventist Health Arena in Stockton, California, headlining a card on DAZN. Both fighters are undefeated, with Pacheco bringing height and reach. At the same time, Sadjo is a powerful and aggressive European contender, creating a high-stakes clash for their perfect records and WBC/WBO titles on the line. You can watch the weigh-in, presser, and betting odds here. You can watch this fight here.
Kubrat Pulev, 44, (32-3, 14 Kos) vs. Murat Gassiev, 32, (32-2, 25 Kos) takes place tonight, Friday, December 12, 2025, for the WBA Regular Heavyweight title in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Pulev has only suffered losses in world title fights against Wladimir Klitschko and Anthony Joshua.
Despite being smaller, Murat has the power advantage. His only 2 losses were against top-tier fighters Oleksandr Usyk and Otto Wallin. The fight is considered a classic “boxer vs. puncher” showdown, with Pulev’s experience and jab against Gassiev’s power. The winner of the Pulev vs. Gassiev bout may be in line to face the WBA “Super” champion Usyk or the WBA’s mandatory challenger, Moses Itauma, in the future. You can view the weigh-in and betting odds here. You can watch this fight on DAZN here.
You can view the current international boxing rankings here.
In MMA News, UFC 323 took place for the final time on ESPN+ PPV on December 6th, when Merab Dvalishvili, 34, (21-5) was upset by Peter Yan, 32, (20-5) to snap his 14 fight win streak in the main event to get his revenge from his 2003 title loss. Peter Yan controlled most of the fight and was able to correct his mistakes from the first fight and stopping 27 out of 29 takedown attempts, and was able to find a home for his strikes that bloodied Merab’s face, and mixed in takedowns of his own to win some rounds. Merab Dvalishvili lost his UFC Bantamweight title to Petr Yan by unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 48-47)
In the co-main event, Alexandre Pantoja, 35, (30-6) lost his flyweight title to the No. 1 contender Joshua Van, 24, (16-2) via first-round TKO due to a gruesome arm injury. The fight ended just 26 seconds into the first round when Pantoja threw a high kick that Van caught. As Van pushed Pantoja to the mat, the defending champion landed awkwardly on his arm, causing a severe elbow dislocation or break. An immediate rematch will likely happen.
(No. 5) Tatsuro Taira, 25, (18-1) defeated (No. 2) Brandon Moreno, 32, (23-9-2) via second-round TKO (ground-and-pound) at 2:24, a significant upset in the flyweight division where Taira controlled the fight with takedowns and relentless striking from the back, marking a big win in his rise up the rankings, while handing Moreno another setback in his quest to regain UFC Gold.
(No. 10) Henry Cejudo, 38, (16-5) most recent loss was to rising prospect Dana White’s Contender Series alumni Payton Talbott, 27, (11-1)by unanimous decision, which marked his retirement from MMA after a four-fight losing streak, concluding a legendary career as a former two-division UFC champion.
(No. 10) Bogdan Guskov, 33, (18-3-1) fought to a majority draw against (No. 5) Jan Błachowicz, 42, (29-11-2) at UFC 323. The match was a back-and-forth battle where Guskov scored a knockdown in the second round, but Błachowicz rallied in the third to avoid a loss, resulting in two judges scoring the fight 28-28 and one judge scoring it 29-28 for Błachowicz.
You can view the UFC 323 Post Presser, Full Card Results, Video Highlights & Social media reaction here.
A strange incident occurred at UFC 323 when a non-physical argument in the lobby happened between former world champions, Jamahal Hill and Joanna Jędrzejczyk. Hill stated that the situation escalated after Joanna “completely flipped her sht” and made threats towards him and his girlfriend, who was not present at the scene, which Hill responded to with a threat to “knock her out”. You can view both video statements here.
During UFC 323, the UFC ‘ITS ON’ Press Conference took place that featured fighters for UFC 324, UFC 325, and UFC 326 for events in 2026. You can view this press conference here.
In other UFC news this week, Dana White says he is never doing business again with Francis Ngannou and calls him a bad person while discussing an alleged physical confrontation he had with Francis at the UFC Performance Institute. Ngannou still claims he is interested in returning to the UFC with one fight remaining on his current PFL MMA deal. You can watch the Dana White interview here.
In PFL news, the PFL MENA Finals took place in Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia, last week. You can view the photos and complete results here.
Headlining PFL Lyon in Décines-Charpieu, France is a vacant heavyweight title fight between Vadim Nemkov, 33, (19-2, 1 NC) and 6-foot-8 Renan Ferreira, 36, (13-4, 3 NC), who was stopped by Francis Ngannou in his last fight.
The PFL co-main event is Cristiane “Cris Cyborg” Justino, 40, (28-2, 1 NC) vs. Sara Collins, 35, (6-0) from Victoria, Australia for the vacant women’s featherweight championship. The card also features a pair of PFL Europe finals in the bantamweight and lightweight divisions. You can watch the weigh-in video and view the betting odds here.
UFC Fight Night Vegas 112 takes place Saturday at the Apex in Las Vegas as a much-anticipated flyweight showdown headlines the final main event for the UFC in 2025 with No. 2 Brandon Royval, 33, (17-8) facing off against No. 6 Manel Kape, 32, (21-7) . Royval, a former UFC title challenger with the division’s second-most strikes per minute, looks to win so he can challenge for a shot at the belt in 2026. Kape has won six of his last seven, featuring back-to-back knockouts in his most recent outings, and plans to continue his climb through the rankings since his UFC debut in 2021, with another show stopping finish in his second consecutive UFC Fight Night main event.
In a featherweight contest, striking expert No. 15 Giga Chikadze, 37, (15-5) takes on young rising Argentine Kevin Vallejos, 24, (16-1). Chikadze, in his seventh year in the UFC, needs a statement victory to prove he remains amongst the division’s best. Vallejos, a two-time Dana White’s Contender Series participant, is looking to enter the top 15 with a win. You can watch the weigh-in video, media day, and view the betting odds here.
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