Song's guillotine saves the night, Han-Holm controversy splits boxing

May 25–June 1 recap · June 1–8 preview

Seven first-round finishes on a 13-fight UFC card in Macau. A boxing Saturday that produced a record-tying stoppage, a dominant title defense, and a majority decision that almost nobody agreed with. Here's everything that happened last week and what's next.

UFC Fight Night 277 — Song vs. Figueiredo (May 30, Macau)

Song Yadong (23-9-1) submitted former flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo (25-7-1) with a guillotine choke at 4:42 of Round 2, making him the lone Chinese winner on a 13-fight card where six other Chinese athletes went 0-6. 1 The finish was fitting in an almost poetic way: Figueiredo shot for a double-leg late in Round 2 and stepped directly into Song's front headlock. Song dropped to his seat and squeezed; Figueiredo tapped within seconds. 2 It was Song's first home-soil win in eight years and puts him back in the bantamweight title conversation after his controversial loss to Sean O'Malley in January.

The co-main delivered the night's most entertaining fight. Alonzo Menifield (18-6-1), a 3-to-1 underdog, stopped Chinese prospect Zhang Mingyang (19-8) by TKO at 4:15 of the first round. Zhang hurt Menifield with an elbow and had him rocked; Menifield recovered and landed a hook-uppercut combination that put Zhang down. When Zhang beat the count and backed to the fence, Menifield closed with a right-left that ended it. 2 The Galaxy Arena, which had been sitting in stunned silence through most of the Chinese losses, did not react warmly.

The rest of the card moved fast. Sergei Pavlovich (21-3) needed just 39 seconds to knock out Tallison Teixeira — a right hand behind the ear dropped him, a flurry of lefts finished it. 3 Pavlovich called for a title shot or a No. 1 contender fight afterward, now on a three-fight winning streak. Former RIZIN champion Kai Asakura (22-6), stepping up to bantamweight after two submission losses at flyweight, needed 1:50 to KO Cameron Smotherman — a left hook put Smotherman face-down on the canvas, where he stayed for some time. 2 Asakura said afterward he plans to stay at bantamweight.

One fight ended in a no contest: Alex Perez vs. Su Mudaerji was stopped at 1:45 of Round 2 after Su landed an accidental groin kick that sent Perez to the canvas vomiting twice. After the standard five-minute recovery period, Perez couldn't continue. Referee Mark Craig had already deducted a point from Su for the foul; whether the result should have been a disqualification rather than a no contest drew immediate debate. 2

Performance bonuses ($100,000 each): Song Yadong (Performance of the Night), Kai Asakura (Performance of the Night), Menifield and Zhang Mingyang (Fight of the Night, both). Six additional $25,000 finish bonuses went to Pavlovich, Luis Felipe, Cody Harden, Tsuruya Rei, Rodrigo Villalba, and Jacqueline Amorim. 4 5

Full main card results: Song def. Figueiredo SUB2 (guillotine, 4:42) · Menifield def. Zhang Mingyang TKO1 (4:15) · Pavlovich def. Teixeira KO1 (0:39) · Asakura def. Smotherman KO1 (1:50) · Jake Matthews def. Carlston Harris UD (30-25, 30-27, 30-27) · Perez vs. Su Mudaerji NC (R2, 1:45). 1 6

Boxing weekend (May 30)

Holly Holm landing a right hand on Stephanie Han during their WBA lightweight championship rematch — Holm outlanded Han 107–70 but left without the title. 7

Stephanie Han vs. Holly Holm 2 (El Paso, WBA lightweight title) — Stephanie Han (13-0, 3 KOs) retained via majority decision: 96-94, 96-94, 95-95. Total punch stats: Holm outlanded Han 107-70. 8 The 107-70 total punch disparity is what made the cards so contested. Holm (34-4-3), 44 years old and 1-2 since returning to boxing after a 12-year absence, was direct about it: "I feel like I won that fight." ESPN analyst and fellow champion Mikaela Mayer agreed: "I do think that Holly Holm had a much stronger fight... If I were her, I would be disappointed, too." 7 Han's next target is Katie Taylor — she called out Taylor post-fight, framing it as revenge for Taylor's win over Han's sister Jennifer.

Amanda Serrano (49-4-1, 32 KOs) stopped Cheyenne Hanson (17-3) by TKO in Round 2, retaining her WBA and WBO featherweight titles. The 32nd career stoppage ties Christy Martin's all-time women's boxing record (Martin: 49-7-3, 32 KOs). 9 Serrano, 37, has said 2026 is her final year.

Dmitry Bivol (25-1, 12 KOs) returned after 15 months away — he had back surgery during the layoff — and shut out IBF mandatory challenger Michael Eifert (13-2) over 12 rounds, scoring a first-round knockdown along the way. 10 11 He retained both the IBF and WBA light-heavyweight titles. (Scorecards: Bad Left Hook reported 120-107 across all three judges; BBC Sport reported 118-107 — the discrepancy has not been officially resolved.) With Beterbiev now 41 and David Benavidez moving up to cruiserweight, Bivol's next dance partner is unclear.

Adam Azim (15-0, 12 KOs) stopped Steve Claggett (42-9-2) by TKO in Round 3 at OVO Arena Wembley, on BBC Two. Azim dropped Claggett at the close of Round 2, then finished with heavy punches in the third. 12 Trainer Shane McGuigan said: "I don't just think he is going to win a world title, I think he will be unified and a multi-weight world champion." The IBF has ordered Lindolfo Delgado vs. Arthur Biyarslanov for the vacant IBF light-welterweight title; Azim should get the winner.

O'Shaquie Foster retained the WBC super-featherweight title over Raymond Ford by majority decision — 114-114, 116-112, 118-110. 13 The 114-114 card was the night's head-scratcher; both Bad Left Hook unofficial cards had Foster winning clearly. After the final bell, Foster got into a heated exchange with Shakur Stevenson, who was ringside at the Fertitta Center in Houston. Also in Houston: Javon Woodard Jr. (17-2) knocked out Miguel Flores (29-6-1) in Round 8 in what was widely described as a terrific fight worth seeking out.

Other title results on the El Paso card: Desley Robinson (IBF and WBO middleweight champion) stopped Mary Spencer by unanimous decision, 99-91, 100-90, 100-90. Lourdes Juarez (WBC light-flyweight champion) edged Yokasta Valle by split decision, 95-94 and 98-91 for Juarez, 95-94 for Valle. 7

Usyk-Verhoeven fallout: Rico Verhoeven's team filed a formal WBC appeal the morning after the May 23 fight, challenging the controversial stoppage of Round 11. 14 Referee Mark Lyson reportedly told Verhoeven's trainer Peter Fury on the return flight that he did not hear the bell ending Round 11. The WBC had not issued a formal ruling as of June 1. Promoter Frank Warren said he "won't stand for" a Verhoeven rematch jumping WBC mandatory Agit Kabayel, and Turki Alalshikh has outlined a path: Kabayel first, then Verhoeven. 15 Verhoeven, for his part, said: "I feel like I'm the uncrowned king."

Preview: June 1–8

UFC Fight Night 278 — Muhammad vs. Bonfim (June 6, Meta APEX, Las Vegas · Paramount+)

Preliminary card: 5:00 PM ET. Main card: 8:00 PM ET. No PPV required. 16

Main event — Belal Muhammad (#5 welterweight, 24-5) vs. Gabriel Bonfim (#11 welterweight, 19-1). Muhammad is the former welterweight champion — he beat Leon Edwards at UFC 304 in July 2024, then dropped the belt to Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 315 in 2025, and lost again to Ian Machado Garry in November. A third straight defeat puts him out of the title picture almost entirely. Bonfim, 28, has won four in a row including a TKO of former title challenger Stephen Thompson, and is listed as the -200 favorite (Muhammad +150) by Betway. 17 The market reads this as Muhammad's clock running out, not just one more fight.

Co-main — Brendan Allen (#4 middleweight, two-fight win streak including a TKO of Reinier de Ridder) vs. Edmen Shahbazyan (three-fight win streak, Xtreme Couture). Both are Dana White's Contender Series products — Allen from 2019, Shahbazyan from 2018. The winner pushes toward the middleweight top three.

Also on the main card:

Fares Ziam (#14 lightweight, six-fight win streak) vs. Tom Nolan (10-1, four-fight win streak, DWCS Season 7 graduate) — Ziam wants a ranked scalp to validate his run; Nolan is a rising Australian prospect.
Bryce Mitchell (18-3) vs. Santiago Luna (8-0). Victor Henry withdrew this week; Luna, a 21-year-old Mexican prospect who is 2-0 in UFC competition with 7 of 8 career wins by finish, stepped in on five days' notice. 18
Iwo Baraniewski (8-0, Poland) vs. Junior Tafa — two stoppage artists with a combined 8-second UFC debut between them.

Three late card changes total: in addition to Mitchell/Luna, Matt Schnell's opponent switched from Imanol Rodriguez to Alessandro Costa, and Marcus McGhee's from Jakub Wiklacz to John Yannis. 19

Boxing — week of June 2–6

Zuffa Boxing 07: Chris Billam-Smith vs. Ryan Rozicki event poster — Zuffa Boxing returns to the UK on June 6. 20

Zuffa Boxing 07 — Billam-Smith vs. Rozicki (June 6, Bournemouth International Centre · Paramount+ / Sky Sports, 12 PM ET): Chris Billam-Smith, a former world cruiserweight champion, makes his Zuffa Boxing debut at home in Bournemouth. Rozicki (Top 10–15 level, first fight outside Canada) has been blunt about his intentions: "We don't see enough violence." 21 Co-main: Jack Massey vs. Cheavon Clarke (cruiserweight). Also Ivan Dychko vs. Harvey Dykes (heavyweight).

Albert Ramirez vs. Lerrone Richards (June 4, Montreal · DAZN, 6:30 PM ET): WBA interim light-heavyweight title on the line. Ramirez is undefeated with a high KO rate; Richards (19-4, 4 KOs) is a former IBO champion from the UK. The fight was originally scheduled for February but was pushed after Ramirez had an appendectomy. 21

IBF double-title night, Aichi (June 6, Aichi Sky Expo, Japan): Masamichi Yabuki (c) defends the IBF flyweight title vs. Rene Calixto, and Willibaldo Garcia (c) defends the IBF super-flyweight title vs. Andrew Moloney. Yabuki is going for a third IBF title defense at home. Broadcast details have not been confirmed. 21

Also this week: Josh Padley vs. Aqib Fiaz, European super-featherweight title (June 6, Sheffield · DAZN, 2 PM ET) — expect this one to go the distance. Edward Vazquez vs. Daniel Lugo (June 5, Arlington TX · ProBoxTV, 5:30 PM ET).

On the horizon: UFC 329 (July 11)

UFC 329: Conor McGregor vs. Max Holloway 2 promotional art — UFC 329 confirmed for July 11 at T-Mobile Arena. 22

The full 13-fight card for UFC 329 — McGregor vs. Holloway 2 at T-Mobile Arena on July 11 — was confirmed this week. Conor McGregor (22-6) returns after a five-year absence to face Max Holloway (27-9) at 170 pounds; the two first met at featherweight in 2013, with McGregor winning by unanimous decision. Notable additions on the card: Robert Whittaker moves up to light-heavyweight to face Nikita Krylov — his first career fight at 205 lbs. One caveat: as of May 6, Holloway said the contract was not yet signed. 23 22

Cover image: UFC Fight Night 278 promotional art, UFC / Zuffa LLC