Song stops Umar, Hrgovic wins the heavyweight belt: Aug. 24–30 recap and Sept. 4–6 preview (2026)

The week in one view

The Aug. 24-30 window produced one major UFC upset and several boxing title changes and defenses. Song Yadong stopped No. 3-ranked Umar Nurmagomedov in Round 2 at UFC Shanghai. Filip Hrgovic stopped Moses Itauma in Round 9 to win the vacant IBF heavyweight title. Chantelle Cameron took Mikaela Mayer's WBA and WBC junior middleweight belts, while Lester Martinez stopped Luka Plantic in Round 10 to retain the WBC interim super middleweight title. 1 2 3 4

The next watch window runs through Sept. 6. The two Saturday cards in Paris and Dublin sit beside Andy Ruiz Jr.'s Friday return in Newark. All times below are Eastern.

UFC Shanghai: Song changes the bantamweight picture

UFC Fight Night: Nurmagomedov vs. Song took place Aug. 29 at the Oriental Sports Center in Shanghai. Song dropped Umar Nurmagomedov and finished him by TKO at 1:48 of Round 2. UFC's official result page lists the finish as a KO/TKO, while MMA Junkie's event report records Song's post-fight mark as 24-9-1 in MMA and 13-4-1 in the UFC. 1 5

The result gives Song a win over a former title challenger and ends Umar's second run toward another bantamweight title fight. The other ranked result on the card was Denise Gomes' Round 1 TKO of No. 4 Yan Xiaonan at 4:49. Kai Asakura also stopped Aoriqileng in Round 2 at 0:34.

MMA Junkie's dated bonus report lists four $100,000 awards: Song Yadong and Bilal Hasan for Performance of the Night, plus Liu Ce and Levi Rodrigues Jr. for Fight of the Night. The report also lists $25,000 finish bonuses for Denise Gomes, Kai Asakura, Rei Tsuruya, Francesco Nuzzi and Hector Santiago. UFC's bonus page confirms the Shanghai bonus item and date, while the dated report supplies the recipient list and amounts. 6 7

The full official result grid:

Bout	Result	Method and time
Ding Meng vs. Cam Nelson	Cam Nelson def. Ding Meng	Unanimous decision, Round 3, 5:00 1
Xiong Jingnan vs. Julia Polastri	Julia Polastri def. Xiong Jingnan	KO/TKO, Round 1, 3:06 1
Lawrence Lui vs. Hector Santiago	Hector Santiago def. Lawrence Lui	KO/TKO, Round 2, 0:53 1
Xiao Long vs. Francesco Nuzzi	Francesco Nuzzi def. Xiao Long	KO/TKO, Round 1, 1:00 1
Jack Jenkins vs. Sean Woodson	Sean Woodson def. Jack Jenkins	Split decision, Round 3, 5:00 1
Rei Tsuruya vs. Kevin Borjas	Rei Tsuruya def. Kevin Borjas	Submission, Round 1, 4:14 1
Namsrai Batbayar vs. Andre Lima	Andre Lima def. Namsrai Batbayar	Submission, Round 3, 3:03 1
Bilal Hasan vs. Nilson Rojas	Bilal Hasan def. Nilson Rojas	KO/TKO, Round 2, 2:28 1
Liu Ce vs. Levi Rodrigues Jr.	Liu Ce def. Levi Rodrigues Jr.	KO/TKO, Round 1, 4:26 1
Alex Perez vs. Sumudaerji	Sumudaerji def. Alex Perez	Unanimous decision, Round 3, 5:00 1
Aoriqileng vs. Kai Asakura	Kai Asakura def. Aoriqileng	KO/TKO, Round 2, 0:34 1
Yan Xiaonan vs. Denise Gomes	Denise Gomes def. Yan Xiaonan	KO/TKO, Round 1, 4:49 1
Umar Nurmagomedov vs. Song Yadong	Song Yadong def. Umar Nurmagomedov	KO/TKO, Round 2, 1:48 1

Boxing: Hrgovic takes the belt, Cameron unifies

London: Hrgovic stops Itauma for the IBF title

Filip Hrgovic stopped Moses Itauma in Round 9 when Itauma's corner threw in the towel. The result gave Hrgovic the vacant IBF heavyweight title at the O2 Arena in London on Aug. 29. ESPN's report says Itauma was exhausted and backed toward the ropes when the stoppage came. 2

The fight was the week's clearest change at the top of the division: Hrgovic left with a world title, while Itauma's first title challenge ended before the final bell. Sam Noakes also beat Denys Berinchyk by unanimous decision on the undercard, winning the vacant WBO International lightweight title with scores of 100-90, 99-91 and 98-92. 8

Birmingham: Cameron takes two belts from Mayer

Chantelle Cameron beat Mikaela Mayer by unanimous decision over 10 rounds at BP Pulse Live in Birmingham. The judges scored it 97-93 twice and 96-94. Cameron added Mayer's WBA and WBC junior middleweight titles to the WBO belt she already held. 3

BoxingScene described Cameron's pressure and body work as the fight's recurring difference. Mayer boxed effectively early, but Cameron kept forcing exchanges and finished the fight with the judges' unanimous decision. Caroline Dubois retained her lightweight belts by beating Amelia Moore on three 100-88 cards and dropped Moore in Round 5. 3

Los Angeles: Martinez retains the interim WBC belt

Lester Martinez stopped Luka Plantic in Round 10 at the USC Galen Center on Aug. 29. A left hand to the body put Plantic down, and referee Ray Corona stopped the fight after Martinez followed with another combination. Martinez retained the WBC interim super middleweight title and moved to 21-0-1 with 17 knockouts; BoxingScene lists Plantic at 13-1 after the loss. 4

Martinez's second successful defense sets up his stated interest in the winner of the Oct. 31 Canelo Alvarez-Christian Mbilli WBC title fight. That future path is a stated target from Martinez, rather than a confirmed booking. 4

Australia: Tszyu and Mahoney draw in an IBF eliminator

Nikita Tszyu and Ben Mahoney fought to a split draw in an IBF junior middleweight eliminator on Aug. 29 in Gold Coast. The judges scored the fight 117-111 for Tszyu, 115-113 for Mahoney and 114-114. Mahoney said he wanted a rematch; Tszyu left the question open. 9

Boston: DeMoor wins the WBC USA Silver title

Chase DeMoor stopped Kevin Nagle at 0:45 of Round 5 in Everett, Massachusetts, to win the vacant WBC USA Silver heavyweight title. DeMoor scored two knockdowns with right hands before referee Marcel Varela waved off the bout. DeMoor moved to 7-2-1 with seven knockouts; Nagle fell to 11-1 with eight knockouts. 10

Next week: Sept. 4-6

The confirmed cards with complete event details are below. A field marked TBD was not announced in the cited event material.

Event	Date, venue and distribution	Main matchup, records and stakes	Other confirmed matchups
The Fight: Ruiz vs. Knyba	Friday, Sept. 4 at Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey. Main card at 8 p.m. ET. Live in the U.S. on TNT, truTV and DAZN; worldwide on DAZN. 11	Andy Ruiz Jr. (35-2-1, 22 KOs) vs. Damian Knyba (17-1, 11 KOs). Ruiz returns after a two-year layoff and begins another attempt to reach the heavyweight title picture. Knyba is coming off his first professional loss and can claim the biggest win of his career. 11	Vito Mielnicki Jr. vs. Ammo Williams for the IBF USBA, WBO Global and WBC Continental Americas middleweight titles. Records were not stated in the cited event preview. 11
UFC Fight Night: Hooker vs. Parnasse	Saturday, Sept. 5 at Accor Arena, Paris. Prelims at 12 p.m. ET; main card at 3 p.m. ET. Live on Paramount+. 12 13	Dan Hooker (24-14-0) vs. Salahdine Parnasse (23-2-0) at lightweight. The cited event pages list a main-event bout and the records; they disclose no title belt for the matchup. 12 13	Farès Ziam (18-5-0) vs. Axel Sola (12-1-1); Michael Page (25-3-0) vs. Nursulton Ruziboev (37-9-2); Daniil Donchenko (15-2-0) vs. Punahele Soriano (13-4-0); Morgan Charrière (21-12-1) vs. Felipe Lima (14-2-0); Losene Keita (16-2-0) vs. Muhammad Naimov (13-4-0); Mario Pinto (12-0-0) vs. Ryan Spann (24-11-0); Kurtis Campbell (8-1-0) vs. Trevor Peek (9-3-0); Oumar Sy (12-2-0) vs. Modestas Bukauskas (20-7-0); Nathaniel Wood (23-6-0) vs. Mairon Santos (18-1-0). No title stakes are listed for these bouts in the cited card pages. 12 13
Taylor vs. Pili	Saturday, Sept. 5 at Croke Park, Dublin. Main event expected around 5 p.m. ET, with the card beginning at 2 p.m. ET. Live on DAZN; Matchroom says the event is also available non-exclusively on RTÉ in Ireland. 14 15	Katie Taylor (25-1-0, 6 KOs) vs. Flora Pili (12-0-0, 2 KOs). Taylor's WBA, IBF and WBO super lightweight titles are at stake; the vacant WBC belt gives Taylor a chance to become a three-time undisputed champion. Pili is pursuing her first world title. 14	Paddy Donovan (15-2-0, 11 KOs) vs. Tyrone McKenna (25-8-1, 6 KOs); Taylor Bevan (9-0-0, 8 KOs) vs. Emmet Brennan (6-0-0, 1 KO); Joe McGrail (13-0-0, 6 KOs) vs. Matthew Boreland (7-0-0, 2 KOs). ESPN also lists Dave Allen vs. Thomas Carty, Adam Olaniyan vs. TBA and Bobbi Flood vs. TBA. 14 16

The weekend's clearest title question is in Dublin, where Taylor can leave Croke Park with all four major 140-pound belts. Paris offers a ranked lightweight main event and a deep UFC card, while Newark tests whether Ruiz can turn a long-awaited return into a new heavyweight run.