Van outpoints Pantoja again, Cruz stops Bravo in six, and the Sept. 25–27 fight schedule
Joshua Van beat Alexandre Pantoja a second time to retain the UFC flyweight title, Isaac Cruz knocked out Nestor Bravo in six rounds and Pat Brown took two cruiserweight belts, while UFC Vegas 121 and three boxing title cards fill the Sept. 25–27 watch list.
Combat sports for the week of September 14–20, 2026 ran through three cards. UFC 331 filled Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Saturday night, PBC returned to Pechanga Arena in San Diego with a title fight on the same evening, and Matchroom staged two domestic cruiserweight belts in Manchester 123. Title cards also ran in Managua, Gothenburg and Zagreb, and the UFC and boxing are both back on September 26 and 27.
UFC: Van beats Pantoja again, Tsarukyan makes his case
UFC 331 took place on Saturday, September 19, 2026, at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles 1. Joshua Van (18-2) retained the UFC men's flyweight title with a unanimous decision over Alexandre Pantoja (30-7), on scorecards of 49-46, 49-47 and 50-45 4. Van outstruck Pantoja, fought off double-digit takedown attempts and dropped Pantoja in the fifth round; Pantoja took Van down repeatedly and banked close to 10 minutes of control time without advancing to a finish 5. It was Van's second defense of the belt he took from Pantoja in December 2025 4.
The co-main event settled the lightweight queue. Arman Tsarukyan (24-3) knocked Mauricio Ruffy (14-3) out with an elbow at 4:56 of the first round, four seconds before the bell, for his sixth straight win 46. Ruffy had tagged him and his left eye was swelling when Tsarukyan pinned Ruffy against the fence and threw the elbow 6. The win puts him in line for a shot at UFC lightweight champion Justin Gaethje 5.
The shock of the night came at heavyweight. Sean Sharaf (5-2) knocked out Gable Steveson (4-1) with the second punch he threw, a left hook 12 seconds into the fight 5. Steveson, an Olympic gold medalist in wrestling, came in a 24-1 betting favorite for his second UFC appearance; the finish is the third-fastest in UFC heavyweight history 56.
The rest of the main card:
- Featherweight: Patricio Pitbull (38-9) dropped Dooho Choi (17-5-1) with a straight right and finished him with ground strikes at 3:28 of Round 1 4. It was the former Bellator champion's first stoppage in the UFC 6.
- Light heavyweight: Alonzo Menifield (19-6-1) took a split decision over the previously unbeaten Iwo Baraniewski (9-1), 29-28 on two cards and 28-29 on the third, while fighting with a broken left thumb 45.
The prelims and early prelims produced two more finishes and five decisions:
- Bantamweight: Marlon Vera (24-12-1) stopped Charles Jourdain (18-9-1) at 2:02 of Round 3, ending a four-fight losing streak and setting the UFC men's bantamweight record for career knockdowns 45.
- Heavyweight: Robelis Despaigne (7-2) beat Tai Tuivasa (15-11) on a split decision, 29-28 twice and 28-29. The loss was Tuivasa's eighth in a row, matching the UFC record skid set by Tony Ferguson 45.
- Middleweight: Ryan Gandra (11-1) knocked out Ozzy Diaz (10-5) at 2:04 of Round 1, his third first-round finish in three UFC fights 46.
- Women's flyweight: Casey O'Neill (12-2) submitted Eduarda Moura (12-3) with an armbar at 3:22 of Round 1, escaping a submission attempt of her own to do it 46.
- Featherweight: Joanderson Brito (20-5-1) knocked out Giga Chikadze (15-7) at 1:56 of Round 1 after Chikadze slipped on a head kick 4.
- Middleweight: Edmen Shahbazyan (17-6) beat Brunno Ferreira (15-5) on a unanimous decision, 29-28 twice and 30-27 4.
- Featherweight: Michael Aswell (12-5) beat Joo Sang Yoo (9-2) on a split decision, 29-28 twice and 28-29 4.
The promotion paid $100,000 bonuses on this card 6. Van and Pantoja shared Fight of the Night. Arman Tsarukyan and Casey O'Neill took Performances of the Night. Sean Sharaf collected a $50,000 "Chaos" promotional bonus that UFC CEO Dana White matched to $100,000, on top of a $25,000 finish bonus. Finish bonuses of $25,000 also went to Patricio Freire, Marlon Vera, Ryan Gandra and Joanderson Brito 6.
Boxing: Cruz stops Bravo in six, Brown takes two belts
Isaac "Pitbull" Cruz (29-3-2, 19 KOs) retained the interim WBC super lightweight title by knocking out Nestor Bravo (24-2, 17 KOs) at 1:30 of the sixth round at Pechanga Arena in San Diego 27. Cruz dropped Bravo with a lead left hook that referee Thomas Taylor immediately waved off 7. The bout was messy before that: Bravo lost a point in the fourth round for throwing Cruz to the canvas and drew warnings for two low blows 2. Cruz landed 68 of 253 punches to Bravo's 40 of 212 2.
Cruz used the interview afterward to call out Ryan Garcia, who answered the next day. Garcia posted that he would fight Cruz in December, that he had "already given the go to my attorney" for the fight, and that this would be his last attempt to make it 8. Garcia (26-2, 21 KOs) stopped Conor Benn in two rounds on September 12 to make the first defense of his WBC welterweight title 8.
Every other fight on the main card ended early. Daniel Blancas (16-0, 8 KOs) stopped Sergio Jimenez (17-2-1, 15 KOs) at 1:38 of Round 7 of a super middleweight bout; Marco Verde (7-0, 4 KOs) knocked out Guillermo Hernandez (7-1, 4 KOs) at 1:46 of Round 5 after being dropped himself in the third; and Eumir Felix Marcial (8-0, 5 KOs) knocked out Omar Ulises Huerta (15-2-1, 13 KOs) at 1:08 of Round 3 7.
The scheduled co-feature, Jesus Ramos Jr. against Meiirim Nursultanov for Ramos's interim WBC middleweight title, was scratched at the weigh-in. Ramos fell ill on the Thursday, was treated at a San Diego hospital and was released the next morning; the bout will be rescheduled 9.
In Manchester, Pat Brown knocked out John Hedges in the sixth round to win the vacant British and Commonwealth cruiserweight titles at Co-op Live 3. Both men came in unbeaten, Brown at 6-0 with six knockouts and Hedges at 12-0, and Brown put Hedges down twice in the sixth, the second on a body shot 3. Shabaz Masoud beat Ckari Cani Mansilla on a unanimous decision by 100-90 on all three cards, Mark Jeffers beat Kieron Conway 97-93, 97-93 and 96-94 in a super middleweight British title eliminator, and Corey O'Regan beat Joe Howarth 98-92, 98-92 and 99-91 3.
Three more cards produced title results over the same weekend. In Managua on the Friday, Roxana Mendoza (11-0, 2 KOs) retained the WBA FEDELATIN super flyweight title on a unanimous decision over Paola Rincón, and former WBC world champion Cristofer Rosales beat Isaac Arias on a unanimous decision 10. In Gothenburg on the Saturday, Oscar Ahlin (28-3) stopped Samuli Karkkainen 43 seconds into the third round to win the vacant NBA Global cruiserweight title 11. In Zagreb on the Sunday, Lovro Pavčec (10-0, 8 KOs) knocked out the previously unbeaten Javier Contreras in the fifth round to win the WBC World Youth bridgerweight title 12.
Upcoming cards: September 25–27 watch list
The UFC stays home in Las Vegas on Saturday, while boxing runs across Birmingham, London and Tokyo over three days 13141516.
| Event & Date | Venue & Start Time (ET) | Distribution | Matchup & Records | Stakes & Division |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UFC Vegas 121: Rosas Jr. vs. Barcelos Sat, Sept. 26, 2026 13 | Meta APEX, Las Vegas, NV Main card 8:00 p.m. ET Prelims 5:00 p.m. ET 13 | Paramount+ 13 | Raul Rosas Jr. (12-1) vs. Raoni Barcelos (22-5) 17 | Bantamweight main event; Rosas Jr. is ranked No. 12, Barcelos No. 13 13 |
| UFC Vegas 121 Sat, Sept. 26, 2026 | Meta APEX, Las Vegas, NV Main card 8:00 p.m. ET | Paramount+ | Rodolfo Vieira (11-5) vs. Robert Bryczek (18-7) 17 | Middleweight co-main event |
| UFC Vegas 121 Sat, Sept. 26, 2026 | Meta APEX, Las Vegas, NV Main card 8:00 p.m. ET | Paramount+ | Mehemmedeli Osmanli (12-1) vs. Ilimbek Akylbek Uulu (10-3) 17 | The Ultimate Fighter 34 bantamweight final |
| UFC Vegas 121 Sat, Sept. 26, 2026 | Meta APEX, Las Vegas, NV Main card 8:00 p.m. ET | Paramount+ | Brady Hiestand (9-2) vs. Rinya Nakamura (10-1) 17 | Bantamweight |
| UFC Vegas 121 Sat, Sept. 26, 2026 | Meta APEX, Las Vegas, NV Main card 8:00 p.m. ET | Paramount+ | Melissa Amaya (8-0) vs. Valesca Machado (15-4) 17 | Strawweight |
| UFC Vegas 121 Sat, Sept. 26, 2026 | Meta APEX, Las Vegas, NV Main card 8:00 p.m. ET | Paramount+ | Josiah Harrell (11-1) vs. Elves Brener (16-6) 17 | Lightweight |
| Davies vs. Collins Sat, Sept. 26, 2026 14 | bp pulse LIVE, Birmingham, England Main card 2:00 p.m. ET 14 | DAZN 14 | Liam Davies (18-1, 9 KOs) vs. Nathaniel Collins (17-1-1, 8 KOs) 14 | Davies' European and WBO Intercontinental featherweight titles 14 |
| Davies vs. Collins Sat, Sept. 26, 2026 | bp pulse LIVE, Birmingham, England Main card 2:00 p.m. ET | DAZN | Luke McCormack (5-0, 3 KOs) vs. Kay Prospere (16-2-1, 7 KOs) 14 | Vacant British super lightweight title |
| Davies vs. Collins Sat, Sept. 26, 2026 | bp pulse LIVE, Birmingham, England Main card 2:00 p.m. ET | DAZN | Bradley Goldsmith (16-1, 10 KOs) vs. Jak Corrie (9-0-1, 6 KOs) 14 | IBF International middleweight title |
| Davies vs. Collins Sat, Sept. 26, 2026 | bp pulse LIVE, Birmingham, England Main card 2:00 p.m. ET | DAZN | Nathan Heaney (19-2-1, 6 KOs) vs. Gerome Warburton (17-2-2, 2 KOs) 14 | Middleweight |
| Zuffa Boxing 11: Fisher vs. Pirotton Sat, Sept. 26, 2026 15 | Copper Box Arena, London, England Main card 2:00 p.m. ET 15 | Paramount+ (U.S.) / Sky Sports (UK) 15 | Johnny Fisher (14-1, 12 KOs) vs. Michael Pirotton (12-2, 6 KOs) 15 | Heavyweight main event, 10 rounds |
| Zuffa Boxing 11 Sat, Sept. 26, 2026 | Copper Box Arena, London, England Main card 2:00 p.m. ET | Paramount+ (U.S.) / Sky Sports (UK) | Craig Richards (20-4-1, 13 KOs) vs. Radivoje Kalajdzic (30-3, 22 KOs) 15 | Light heavyweight co-main event, 10 rounds |
| Inoue vs. Nasukawa 2 Sun, Sept. 27, 2026 16 | Toyota Arena, Tokyo, Japan Card 3:30 a.m. ET 16 | Prime Video (Japan) 16 | Takuma Inoue (22-2, 5 KOs) vs. Tenshin Nasukawa (8-1, 3 KOs) 16 | WBC bantamweight title 16 |
| Inoue vs. Nasukawa 2 Sun, Sept. 27, 2026 | Toyota Arena, Tokyo, Japan Card 3:30 a.m. ET | Prime Video (Japan) | Ryosuke Nishida (11-1) vs. Sam Goodman (22-1) 16 | Vacant interim IBF junior featherweight title |
| Inoue vs. Nasukawa 2 Sun, Sept. 27, 2026 | Toyota Arena, Tokyo, Japan Card 3:30 a.m. ET | Prime Video (Japan) | Tomoya Tsuboi (3-0, 2 KOs) vs. Ricardo Malajika (17-2) 16 | Vacant WBC junior bantamweight title |
Also confirmed for the weekend, with times and records as published:
- Fri, Sept. 25 — Detroit: Vernon Webber vs. Devin Vargas, WBA NABA Silver heavyweight, Sound Board at MotorCity Casino Hotel, 7 p.m. ET 16.
- Sat, Sept. 26 — Fuji, Japan: Thanongsak Simsri (39-1) vs. Mark Vicelles (20-2-1, 11 KOs), IBF light flyweight title, FujisanMesse, 12 a.m. ET 16.
- Sat, Sept. 26 — Miami: Henry Cejudo vs. Nurideen Shabazz (1-0), Misfits Boxing, James L. Knight Center, 6 p.m. ET, DAZN pay-per-view 16.
- Sat, Sept. 26 — San Juan, Puerto Rico: Henry Lebron (21-0, 11 KOs) vs. Derlyn Hernandez (14-5-1), WBO junior lightweight, Pedrín Zorrilla Coliseum, 5:05 p.m. ET 16.
- Sat, Sept. 26 — Commerce, Calif.: Otar Eranosyan (14-0, 7 KOs) vs. Viktor Slavinskyi (15-4-1, 7 KOs), WBA NABA super featherweight, Commerce Casino, 9 p.m. ET 16.
- Sat, Sept. 26 — Baltimore: Tyrell Boyd (20-0) vs. Austin Deanda (17-1), WBA NABA middleweight, Patapsco Arena, 5 p.m. ET 16.
- Sat, Sept. 26 — Queensland, Australia: Sultan Zaurbek vs. Jackson England, IBF junior lightweight No. 1 eliminator, venue and time to be announced 16.
References
- 1UFC 331 Main Card Results
ufc.com
- 2Pitbull vs. Bravo Results & Highlights
premierboxingchampions.com
- 3Hedges vs. Brown Live Blog and Results
badlefthook.com
- 4UFC 331 Results: Van vs. Pantoja 2
mmafighting.com
- 5
- 6UFC 331 Bonuses
mmajunkie.usatoday.com
- 7Live Results: Pitbull Cruz KOs Nestor Bravo
fightmag.com
- 8Ryan Garcia accepts callout by Pitbull Cruz
fightmag.com
- 9
- 10Results From Managua, Nicaragua
fightnews.com
- 11Results from Gothenburg
fightnews.com
- 12
- 13
- 14Davies vs. Collins
schedule.fightmag.com
- 15Zuffa Boxing 11: Fisher vs. Pirotton
schedule.fightmag.com
- 16Fight News Boxing Schedule
schedule.fightnews.com
- 17UFC Vegas 121: Rosas Jr vs Barcelos
schedule.fightmag.com
This story was produced automatically by a channel. One sentence is all it takes for Neodrop to keep producing for you.