Rousey retires, McGregor confirmed, and Usyk heads to the Pyramids: combat sports May 10–17 recap + week ahead
A Monday combat sports digest: Rousey retires via armbar at MVP MMA on Netflix, McGregor vs. Holloway 2 announced for UFC 329, Hrgovic TKOs Allen, and Usyk heads to the Pyramids of Giza this Friday — everything that happened and what's coming up next week.
May 16 delivered one of the most chaotic Saturday nights combat sports has produced in years. Two cards ran concurrently — one inside a UFC octagon in Las Vegas, one inside a Netflix-streamed arena in Inglewood — while a third major announcement hijacked both broadcasts. Throw in a full boxing week across three continents, and there is a lot to catch up on before an equally loaded weekend ahead.
MMA: what happened this week
MVP MMA 1 — Rousey retires, Ngannou dominates, Dana White crashes the show
The first MMA event in Netflix history 1 drew the night's biggest headlines, and the main event itself was almost the least interesting thing on the card.
Ronda Rousey (39) submitted Gina Carano via armbar 1 at 0:17 of Round 1 — her first MMA fight since December 2016, her first win since August 2015 — and immediately announced her retirement. "There's no way I could have ended it better than this," she said. "I want to have some more babies and I've got to get cooking." 2 She called Carano, who returned after 17 years away from competition, "my fucking hero" — the only person who could have pulled her back to MMA. 2 Rousey's husband Travis Browne joined her in the cage. MVP CFO Nakisa Bidarian later confirmed she had fought on a sprained ankle she suffered two and a half weeks before the event.
The co-main delivered considerably more action. Mike Perry stopped Nate Diaz via TKO at the end of Round 2 1 — Diaz's corner threw in the towel between rounds as blood poured into his right eye from multiple cuts. Diaz, in his first MMA fight in five years, had clearly shaken off nothing from a long layoff. He rejected any retirement talk afterward: "I just fought the most violent motherfucker right there. Maybe I just need to run a little harder next time and get the fucking job done." 3 He wants the rematch in Sacramento.
Francis Ngannou (heavyweight, former UFC champion) needed 4:31 of Round 1 to KO Philipe Lins with a left hook 1 — Lins came in roughly 40 pounds lighter. Jon Jones, watching cageside, expressed interest in a Ngannou fight but acknowledged the contract situation: "I've got to focus on trying to get out of my UFC contract. That's going to be the difficult part if this fight is going to happen. I don't think Dana [White] is interested in doing business with Francis." 4 Jones added that he is "probably" retired. On the undercard, Robelis Despaigne knocked out former UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos in Round 1 1 — hard to watch for anyone who followed dos Santos's run a decade ago. Adriano Moraes's submission of Phumi Nkuta was officially ruled a finish but replay showed the choke applied as the buzzer sounded — a finish that will be debated for a while. 5
The most unexpected moment of the night had nothing to do with any of those fights. During Francis Ngannou's ring walk, UFC CEO Dana White appeared on the MVP broadcast to announce Conor McGregor vs. Max Holloway 2 as the main event of UFC 329 on July 11, 2026. 6 Co-main: Benoit Saint Denis vs. Paddy Pimblett. It is McGregor's first scheduled fight in five years. The two originally fought in 2013 — McGregor won by unanimous decision. Holloway opened as a significant favorite.
All five main card bouts ended in finishes. 1 MVP MMA has no established championship structure, so no titles changed hands.
UFC Fight Night 276 (UFC Vegas 117) — Allen outpoints Costa, Ardelean makes history
Running parallel to the Netflix spectacle at the Meta APEX in Las Vegas, UFC Fight Night 276 was the more conventional card — and it still produced a moment that belongs in submission encyclopaedias.
Arnold Allen (21-4, featherweight) defeated Melquizael Costa (26-8) via unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 49-46) in the five-round main event. 7 Allen went 7-for-7 on takedown attempts and controlled the stand-up behind his straight left hand. 7 Costa had entered on a six-fight winning streak including KOs of Dan Ige and Morgan Charriere — that streak is over. Allen's recent losses are exclusively to Holloway, Evloev, and Silva, which means his ranking losses are all to top-five competition.
The co-main produced Fight of the Night. Dooho Choi (17-4-1) dropped Daniel Santos with a body shot and swarmed him at 4:29 of Round 2 8 — both collected $100,000 bonuses. Worth noting Choi had been out for over a year and entered ranked 12th in the division.
The performance that will get replayed is Alice Ardelean's. Trapped in Polyana Viana's body triangle in Round 2, Ardelean used the position against Viana — pinning her foot and applying a knee compression she called the Capsule Lock. Viana tapped verbally at 4:36. 8 The UFC confirmed it as the first Capsule Lock submission in promotion history. Ardelean earned a $100,000 Performance of the Night bonus and extended her UFC win streak to three. 8
Full bonus summary — UFC Vegas 117: 8
| Award | Fighter(s) | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Fight of the Night | Choi & Santos | $100,000 each |
| Performance of the Night | Juan Diaz & Ardelean | $100,000 each |
| Finish bonuses | Sopaj, Williams, Gantt, Brundage, Caliari | $25,000 each |
Eight fighters cashed bonus checks from a single card.
Boxing: what happened this week
Keyshawn Davis dominates Albright rematch, likely done at 140
Keyshawn Davis (15-0, 10 KOs) put away Nahir Albright (17-3-1) in a one-sided unanimous decision — scores 117-109, 118-108, 118-108 — at Scope Arena in Norfolk, Virginia on May 16. 9 The original meeting in October 2023 ended as a Davis majority decision, later overturned to no-contest following a failed drug test. Davis was deducted two points in Round 7 for body-slamming Albright during a clinch — he attributed it to frustration: "He liked to punch and hold. He does that. So, he was on my neck, and I got angry and flipped him over." 10 Even with the deduction, Davis swept the cards comfortably. The show was Top Rank's inaugural DAZN event. All three Davis brothers — Keyshawn, Kelvin, and Keon — won on the card.
Afterward, Davis said weight at super lightweight (140 lbs) is increasingly unsustainable: "All this making weight stuff, it ain't for me." 11 He named Oscar Duarte, Devin Haney, and Lamont Roach as targets at welterweight.
Hrgovic batters Allen in three, eyes Itauma in August
Filip Hrgovic (20-1, 15 KOs, 2016 Olympic bronze medalist) stopped Dave Allen (25-9-2) at 2:37 of Round 3 at Eco-Power Stadium in Doncaster, England 12 — trainer Jamie Moore threw in the towel. Hrgovic won the vacant IBF Intercontinental and WBA Continental Gold heavyweight titles. Allen, fighting in his hometown at his lightest weight in seven years, was never competitive. "Too good for me," he said afterward. 12
Hrgovic is now the frontrunner to face Moses Itauma (14-0, 12 KOs) on August 8 at London's O2 Arena. Itauma's promoter Frank Warren confirmed the opponent will be "a top 10 ranked fighter" but acknowledged contracts were not yet signed. 13
Paddy Donovan lands IBF welterweight mandatory spot
Paddy Donovan (15-2, 11 KOs) defeated Karen Chukhadzhian (26-4) via majority decision (114-112, 115-111, 113-113) in a 12-round IBF welterweight title eliminator in Mannheim, Germany on May 15. 14 Donovan put Chukhadzhian down in Round 6 and again in Round 8 — the second one disputed, with RTÉ commentators suggesting it may have been a shove. 15 With the win, Donovan is now the mandatory challenger for IBF welterweight champion Lewis Crocker (IBF welterweight rules mandate a mandatory defense once a champion satisfies the required defenses). Crocker defends against Liam Paro on June 24 in Brisbane. If Crocker wins, a third fight between him and Donovan — Crocker won the first two — follows.
On the undercard, Viktor Jurk (14-0, 12 KOs) knocked out Edwin Castillo with a single left hook in under a second 16 — DAZN Boxing posted the clip asking "Is this the fastest KO in the world?" The glove-touch before the punch sparked a separate debate online.
Further results
- Zuffa Boxing 06 (May 10, Meta APEX, Paramount+): Shane Mosley Jr. (son of Shane Mosley Sr.) stopped Serhii Bohachuk via TKO at 2:38 of Round 6 in the middleweight main event and called out Irish contender Callum Walsh. 17
- Garnica wins WBC Continental Americas title (May 15, Long Beach, FOX Deportes): Anthony Garnica (14-0, 8 KOs) beat Eros Correa via unanimous decision (79-73 across all three cards) to win the vacant WBC Continental Americas bantamweight title — a regional WBC belt in North and South America that typically leads to world ranking consideration. 18
- BKB 54 (May 16, AO Arena, Manchester): Rolando Dy retained the BKB (Bare Knuckle Boxing) Super Welterweight World Championship, stopping 45-year-old former two-division professional boxing world champion Paulie Malignaggi via TKO in Round 2. 19 Malignaggi's bare-knuckle record falls to 1-2.
Next week in MMA — May 17–24
There is no UFC card this weekend. The promotion's next event is UFC Fight Night 277 (Song vs. Figueiredo) on May 30 in Macao — a 13-day gap from last week's Allen vs. Costa card. 20 PFL holds down both days of the weekend.
PFL Brussels: Habirora vs. Henderson — Saturday, May 23, ING Arena, Brussels 21
The main event pairs Patrick Habirora (8-0, 7 KOs by stoppage), an undefeated Belgian welterweight prospect, against Benson Henderson (30-12) — the former UFC and WEC lightweight champion, returning from a three-year MMA hiatus. Habirora is fighting in his home country. Seven of his eight wins have ended inside the distance. 22
A separate PFL-RIZIN co-promotion bout adds cross-promotional weight: Marcirley Alves (15-4, 2025 PFL Bantamweight Tournament winner and $500,000 prize recipient) vs. Naoki Inoue (20-5, former RIZIN Bantamweight Champion and the only man to defend the RIZIN 135-lb title). Inoue is competing outside Japan for the first time since 2019. 23 US broadcast: ESPN App and ESPN2.
PFL MENA 9: Pride of Arabia — Sunday, May 24, Coca-Cola Arena, Dubai 24
The first PFL MENA card of Season 3, relocated from Saudi Arabia to Dubai following regional disruptions. Mohammad Yahya (12-6) — the first Emirati fighter to sign with the UFC and the first Emirati to win a major MMA title — headlines against Mehdi Saadi (6-2, Tunisia) in a featherweight quarter-final. "I'm looking for a TKO, I'm looking to finish him," Yahya said. "I want to put on a show for the people — it's my home, the UAE, and I want to make everyone proud." 25
The card also features Zamzam Al Hammadi (17, UAE), who becomes the first female Emirati professional MMA fighter in her strawweight debut. 25 Eleven bouts, 11 nations represented.
Also this week: ONE Friday Fights 155 on Friday, May 22 at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok — main event Viet Anh Do (5-0, Vietnam) vs. Kyung Jung Kim (7-1, South Korea) at bantamweight. Free on YouTube. 26
Next week in boxing — May 17–24
The week is quiet until Saturday, then it isn't.
Usyk vs. Verhoeven — "Glory in Giza" — Saturday, May 23, Pyramids of Giza, DAZN PPV 27
Oleksandr Usyk (24-0, 14 KOs) — former undisputed cruiserweight champion, former unified heavyweight champion — defends his WBC heavyweight title against Rico Verhoeven (1-0), who held the Glory heavyweight kickboxing championship for 12 consecutive years before transitioning to professional boxing. The venue is the actual Pyramids of Giza in Egypt, the first boxing event held there.
Usyk is priced around 1/20 (-2000) across major sportsbooks, implying roughly 95% implied probability. 27 Verhoeven has no illusions about the mismatch in boxing experience: "I spent twelve years as the undisputed heavyweight kickboxing champion and accomplished everything I set out to accomplish. But staying at the top for that long didn't take away the hunger, it strengthened it." 28
The undercard is stacked: 29
- Hamzah Sheeraz (22-0-1) vs. Alem Begic (29-0-1) — vacant WBO super middleweight world title (one of four belts vacated when Terence Crawford retired)
- Frank Sanchez (25-1) vs. Richard Torrez Jr. (14-0) — IBF heavyweight eliminator, rescheduled from March 28 after Sanchez suffered a knee injury
- Jack Catterall (32-2) vs. Shakhram Giyasov (17-0) — welterweight, 12 rounds
- Mizuki Hiruta (10-0) vs. Mai Soliman (10-1) — Hiruta's WBO women's super flyweight title
Golden Boy at SAP Center — Friday, May 22, San Jose, DAZN 30
Amari "The Reaper" Jones (16-0, 14 KOs, age 23, Oakland, CA) meets Vincenzo "Il Capo" Gualtieri (25-1-1, 8 KOs, age 33, Wuppertal, Germany) in a 12-round middleweight main event — Golden Boy's first Bay Area show in nearly 20 years. 30 Jones is ranked No. 4 IBF at middleweight and is trained by Virgil Hunter. Gualtieri, a former IBF middleweight world champion who won the vacant title against Esquiva Falcao in July 2023 before losing it to Janibek Alimkhanuly, comes in on a four-fight win streak and ranked No. 5 IBF at the division. "My goal is to become world champion again. I'm looking forward to this fight because it gives me that opportunity," Gualtieri said. 30 Co-main: Robin Safar (19-0, 13 KOs, ranked No. 4 WBO at cruiserweight) vs. Yamil Peralta.
Cover image: "Glory in Giza" official poster from DMBoxing May 2026 Fight Calendar
References
- 1MMA Fighting: Rousey vs. Carano Results
mmafighting.com
- 2MMA Fighting: Ronda Rousey retires
mmafighting.com
- 3MMA Fighting: Nate Diaz scoffs at calls for retirement
mmafighting.com
- 4
- 5MMA Junkie: Rousey vs. Carano main card results
mmajunkie.usatoday.com
- 6
- 7MMA Fighting: UFC Vegas 117 Results
mmafighting.com
- 8
- 9
- 10Top Rank: Keyshawn Davis Returns Home
toprank.com
- 11Bad Left Hook: Keyshawn Davis 'probably' will move to 147
badlefthook.com
- 12
- 13BoxingInsider: Filip Hrgovic Stops Dave Allen in Three
boxinginsider.com
- 14Bad Left Hook: Paddy Donovan wins IBF eliminator
badlefthook.com
- 15
- 16BoxingInsider: Viktor Jurk Stops Edwin Castillo in Seconds
boxinginsider.com
- 17BoxingInsider: Zuffa Boxing 06 Results
boxinginsider.com
- 18FightNews: Anthony Garnica Defeats Eros Correa
fightnews.com
- 19BoxingInsider: Rolando Dy Stops Paulie Malignaggi
boxinginsider.com
- 20
- 21
- 22
- 23
- 24Sherdog: PFL MENA 9 — Pride of Arabia
sherdog.com
- 25
- 26Sherdog: ONE Friday Fights 155
sherdog.com
- 27
- 28Bad Left Hook: Oleksandr Usyk to face Rico Verhoeven
badlefthook.com
- 29Bad Left Hook: Usyk vs Verhoeven undercard
badlefthook.com
- 30
This story was produced automatically by a channel. One sentence is all it takes for Neodrop to keep producing for you.