Fighters of the Week

  1. Miguel Berchelt: Absolutely bulldozed through Takashi Miura to retain his WBC Junior Lightweight title in the main event of a loaded HBO After Dark card.

  2. Jezreel Corrales: Robin Castellanos made it damn close. Unfortunately they couldn’t see it through due to an accidental headbutt, but Corrales emerged the victor and the WBA 130lb champion.

  3. Chris Eubank Jr.: Defeated Arthur Abraham at Wembley and will enter the World Boxing Super Series next.

  4. Omar Figueroa Jr.: In the PBC on FOX main event, Figueroa battered an exceptionally game, yet exceptionally done Robert Guerrero, putting on his wallet five goddamned times.

  5. Gianni Grippo: Won the Five Grappling Super League lightweight tournament, getting through Wallace Santos, Leandro Cascao, and Shane Jamil-Hill Taylor in the same night.

6. Lee Selby: Defended his IBF World Featherweight title in Wembley over veteran journeyman Jonathan Victor Barros.

7. Santiago Ponzinibbio: Well, I certainly didn’t expect THAT (although Michelle Waterson did), Ponzi pummeled his way through Gunnar Nelson in just over a minute in the main event in Glasgow.

8. Kevin VanNostrand: Was probably who I would have picked the least out of the four featherweight contenders in the tournament at Glory 43, but VanNostrand came out on top in the finals over my pick, Giga Chikadze.

9. Mara Romero Borella: Strange scorecards, but Borella emerged the victor in the main event of Invicta FC 24 on UFC Fight Pass.

10. Pavel Zhuravlev: Claimed the interim Glory Light Heavyweight title with a UD win over Saulo Cavalari. Glory doesn’t do many interim championships, thankfully, so when they have to, it’s for the right reasons.

11. Paul Felder: Put an absolute smashing on hometown boy Stevie Ray. Lightweight is incredibly loaded right now, but this should put Felder near the top-ten.

12. Joao Carlos Kuraoka/Kazuya Kawashima/Waki Chae/Roberto Satoshi/Isaque Bahiense/Marcos Sousa/Dongwa Choi/Mayssa Bastos/Maiko Kurogi/Larissa Paes/Priscila Cerqueira/Nathiely de Jesus: Your Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Tokyo gold medalists.

13. Marcus Browne: Increased his value in the Light Heavyweight division with a two-round flattening of Sean Monaghan, handing him his first loss and staying undefeated, himself.

14. Jomthong Chuwattana: Won the Kunlun Fight 70kg qualifier to fight the best of the best.

15. Sullivan Barrera: Finally stopped the runaway mine cart that was Joe Smith Jr., outclassing him over ten rounds. Oh, and it was only ten rounds DUE TO THE PROMOTER CHANGING IT AS IT WAS HAPPENING. This is a weird business we’re in.

Honorable Mention:

Jinh Yu Frey: Thought the scorecards were way too wide, but Frey pulled a rabbit out of her hat over and over avoiding Ashley Cummins’s armbars, and escaped with a win to win the Invicta 24 co-main event and maybe another crack at the atomweight strap.

Ryuchiro Sumimura: Defeated the former DEEP Heavyweight champion Ken Hasegawa in the main event of Deep’s Deep Impact that they always run at the historic Korakuen Hall for the DEEP welterweight title.

Jimmy Flick: Earned a huge feather in his cap, submitting UFC veteran Johnny Bedford in the main event of LFA 16.

Kurt Holobaugh: In the main event of the first edition of Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series, Holobaugh KO’d Matt Bessette.