*For Immediate Release to Publish
Roselle, Park, NJ (February 8th, 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, Shakur Stevenson, 28, (25-0, 11 Kos) became a four-division world champion by defeating Teofimo Lopez, 28, (22-0, 13 Kos) via a dominant 12-round unanimous decision on January 31, 2026, at Madison Square Garden in New York. All three judges scored the bout 119–109, with Stevenson winning 11 of the 12 rounds on every scorecard. Lopez could not find any way to get around Stevenson’s right jab all night.
After the fight, Lopez said he wants to move up to the Welterweight division. Conor Benn came into the ring after the fight to challenge Shakur Stevenson for a future battle. It seem likes Lopez may need to add an extra trainer in his corner for the future. You can view the video highlights, post-press conference, full card results, and social media reaction here.
Following this victory, the WBC stripped Shakur Stevenson of his lightweight world title on February 4, 2026, declaring it vacant due to his move to a new weight class and a reported dispute over sanctioning fees.
Keyshawn Davis, 25, (14-0, 10 Kos) made a successful debut at 140 pounds, stopping a game Jamaine Ortiz, 29, (20-3-1) with a 12th-round TKO at Madison Square Garden with body shots. He became the first fighter to stop Ortiz in his professional career. After the fight, Davis said he is interested in entering the 147lb division to challenge Devin Haney. You can view the video highlights here.
Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller’s, 37, (26-1-2, 22 Kos) had a viral moment where his hairpiece was dislodged by a flurry of punches in the second round by Kingsley Ibeh, 32, (16-3-1, 14 Kos). As the fight went on, Ibeh slowed down and lost a split decision to Miller with scores of 94-96, 97-93, and 97-93. Miller explained post-fight that he had accidentally washed his hair with “ammonia bleach” instead of shampoo at his mother’s house two days prior, causing his natural hair to fall out. You can view what happened in this fight here.
Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington’s, 28, (16-3-1, 14 KOs) overcame adversity with a 9th-round knockout victory against Carlos Castro, 31, (30-4, 14 Kos). Earlier in the fight, Castro hurt Carrington in round 4 with a temple shot. With this win, Carrington captured the vacant WBC Featherweight World Championship.
Undefeated WBO and now the WBA junior middleweight champion Xander Zayas, 23, (22-0, 13 KOs), defeated Abass Baraou, 31, (17-2, 9 KOs) by split decision in a 12-round junior middleweight unification showdown at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico José Miguel Agrelot in San Juan. You can view the recap and video highlights here.
The Sebastian Fundora vs. Keith Thurman press conference took place this week. The fight was rescheduled because Fundora had suffered a hand injury. You can view the Los Angeles press conference video and new date here.
Deontay Wilder vs. Derek Chisora is official for April 4th in London, UK, at the O2 Arena, with the promoter situation finally worked out. The event will be promoted by Kalle Sauerland’s new entity, MF Pro, in association with DAZN and Queensberry Promotions. You can view the press conference here. You can sign up to watch the event here.
Russia’s Bakhram Murtazaliev, 33, (23-1, 17 Kos) lost an upset to Olympian Josh Kelly, 31, (18-1-1, 9 Kos) via majority decision to capture the IBF super welterweight title in his hometown of Newcastle, England. Team Murtazaliev contacted the IBF for a possible rematch. You can view the full card results and the DAZN video highlights here.
Every Real Combat Media newsletter, it seems like Gervonta Davis makes the news. There is now a warrant from Baltimore, MD, for Gervonta’s arrest for a probation violation after he was released on bail in Miami last week. You can read about it here.
Floyd Mayweather is back in the news this week to announce his new exhibition fight and his 340 million lawsuit against Showtime and his former adviser, Al Haymon, for lost earnings. You can read about this case here.
Zuffa Boxing 2 took place on Sunday at the Meta Apex in Las Vegas. You can view the results, post-press conference, video highlights, and Robert Brizel’s report here.
The boxing event of the week features Nick Ball, 28, (23-0-1, 13 Kos), who is set to defend his WBA featherweight title against the exciting former two-division world champion Brandon Figueroa, 29, (26-2, 19 Kos) this Saturday. You can view Robert Brizel’s preview, weigh-in, press conference, and the betting odds here. You can sign up to watch this event here.
You can view the current international boxing rankings here.
In MMA news, UFC 325 took place on Sunday, February 1, 2026 (local time) at the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia. Featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski, 37, (28-4) successfully defended his title by defeating Diego Lopes #2, 31, (27-8) in a rematch via unanimous decision (49–46, 49–46, 50–45) in the main event. Volk has now passed MMA legend Jose Aldo for the most successful UFC Featherweight defenses, with 8. You can see the video highlights, post-press conference, and full results here.
#8 Benoit Saint Denis, 30, (17-3-1 NC ) defeated #6 Dan Hooker, 35, (24-14) via TKO (punches and elbows) at 4:45 of Round 2 in the co-main event. The lightweight bout saw Saint Denis secure his fourth straight win with a dominant performance with heavy ground-and-pound. This is Dan Hooker’s second loss in a row since we started our newsletter in November of 2025.
After his latest injury update, Shavkat Rakhmonov, 31 (19-0), has been removed from the UFC welterweight rankings due to a knee injury and is expected to miss all of 2026, with Michael “Venom” Page moving back in at No. 15.
UFC Lightweight champion Ilia Topuria and his ex-wife, Giorgina Uzcategui, settled and dismissed their legal battle this week. The agreement, based on terms originally proposed by Topuria, resolved allegations regarding custody and potential financial disputes. The UFC champion is now back in training in Madrid, targeting a return, potentially against Justin Gaethje at the UFC White House event in June, following this legal victory.
MMA legend Nick Diaz, 42, announced plans to return to MMA to chase a world title, calling it “easy money”. No official date has been announced for his return.
Jon Jones confirmed that he is suffering from severe arthritis in his left hip. He revealed that the condition is debilitating enough that he has already qualified for a total left hip replacement. However, Jones stated he still wants to compete on the UFC White House card in June before any surgery.
UFC is involved in an ongoing antitrust lawsuit, with CEO Dana White and Hunter Campbell testifying on Feb. 4-5, 2026, regarding allegations of missing text messages and potential spoliation of evidence. Plaintiffs argue that critical communication regarding fighter contracts was not produced, while White denied deleting messages and claimed reduced involvement in matchmaking. You can read more about this lawsuit here.
PFL Champions Series 5 takes place Feb. 7th in Dubai, and the card features two world title fights. Usman Nurmagomedov defends his lightweight title against Alfie Davis, and Ramazan Kuramagomedov faces Shamil Musaev for the inaugural PFL welterweight championship. You can view the photos, preview, and weigh-in results here.
Aaron Tau, 32, (11-1) was supposed to compete in a Road to UFC Season 4 flyweight finals matchup against Namsrai Batbayar at UFC 325, but the bout was scratched after Tau appeared to maneuver his way around the weigh-in, using the box to help manipulate the reading of his weight, which showed at 122.5 pounds. Tau was asked to re-weigh after the suspicious nature of the moment, and he weighed in at 129 pounds without the box around him. The UFC has decided to cut Tau. You can watch the video here.
UFC Vegas 113 will be the UFC’s first “Paramount+ Fight Night” following the UFC’s new broadcast deal, which is headlined by a 5-round bantamweight bout between #9 Mario Bautista, 32, (16-3) and #11 Vinicius Oliveira, 30, (23-3). Bautista lost to Umar Nurmagomedov in his last fight, his first loss in 5 years by unanimous decision; however, he does have a win over Jose Aldo, Ricky Simon, and Patchy Mix. Oliveria is on fire with 6 wins in a row while being undefeated in the UFC and hopes to enter the top 10 with a win. You can sign up for this event here.
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 last week. Check out the full rankings here.
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.
Upcoming Major MMA Events:
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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