Fighters of the Week

  1. Cynthia Calvillo: Did us all a favor and kept us from another Jessica Eye main event in the foreseeable future, coasting to a unanimous decision in the main event of UFC from the APEX on Saturday.

  2. Shakur Stevenson: Boxing is back and it kicked off Tuesday with Top Rank’s card on ESPN, headlined by Stevenson, the WBO featherweight champion, mauling Felix Caraballo in a junior lightweight bout to knock the rust off.

  3. Adam Lopez: In an absolute barnburner of a fight on Tuesday’s PBC card, Lopez and Louis Coria threw over 1,400 punches in a ten-round FOTY contender for the vacant NABF featherweight strap.

  4. Marvin Vettori: A month ago, Karl Roberson had to withdraw from his fight with Vettori, and Vettori tried to fight him in a hotel lobby. This time around? Missed weight by a svelte four and a half pounds. I thought Vettori was going to chase him through the hotel with an axe this time. Fortunately for us and the Las Vegas authorities, he decided to take it out on Roberson in the cage, submitting him after a dominant performance.

  5. Victor Hugo: Is the new Fight To Win Black Belt Super Heavyweight Champion after a main event win over Fellipe Andrew, earning a submission of the night bonus for his triangle.

6. Pedro Marinho: Won the one-night 16-man JitzKing middleweight tournament, besting Oliver Taza in the finals.

7. Jack Culcay: In a non-PPV boxing card Saturday from Berlin, Culcay retained his WBO International Junior Middleweight title over Howard Cospoilite in the main event.

8. Nathiely Karoline: Nathiely and Ana Carolina Vieira have dueled on mats all over the world for various accolades and championships, and they clashed again Friday night for Fight To Win, going to the judges, as they are ridiculously evenly-matched, once again. This time, it was Karoline getting the split-decision win, retaining her Fight To Win welterweight championship.

9. Jared Anderson: In the co-main of Tuesday’s Top Rank card, the undefeated heavyweight rolled on, toppling Johnnie Langston in the third round.

10. Robeisy Ramirez: The two-time Olympic gold medalist stumbled out of the blocks of his professional career, but seems to have found his footing in the pro ranks, winning his third in a row since falling in his debut, and earning his quickest finish to date, in under a minute this time against Yeuri Andujar on Tuesday’s Top Rank card.

11. Mariusz Wach: Broadcasted weekend boxing returns! And it returned in Poland, headlined by what should have been a plodding contest between Wach and Kevin Johnson, but was strangely…ok? Nevertheless, Wach jabbed his way to a UD on goddamned weekend boxing!

12. Tyson Nam: Opponent misses weight by two and a half pounds? No worries, Nam will knock him out in 32 seconds and take a chunk of his purse.

13. Christian Aguilera: Pulled off the biggest upset of the weekend, as a +150 underdog he stopped Anthony Ivy in less than a minute in the kickoff bout of UFC on ESPN.

14. Julia Avila: Finishes in women’s MMA are not the norm, but 22-second TKO finishes?? Rare, extremely rare, to say the least, but Avila did just that on Saturday against Gina Mazany.

15. Oleksandr Gvozdyk: At 33, the former world light heavyweight champion is calling it a career to focus on other opportunities. I give full credit for any athlete that goes out before they’re forced out or hang on too long. Takes courage to walk away from what you love, but Gvozdyk retires with a WBC world championship, an Olympic bronze medal, and a gold medal in the 2013 Summer Universiade games. Happy trails to The Nail.