Boxing and MMA Deliver Action-Packed Week of Fights

Combat sports enthusiasts were treated to a thrilling week of action from July 20-26, 2026, as both boxing and mixed martial arts delivered major events and notable upsets.

In boxing, a significant upset occurred in Sydney, Australia, where Tim Tszyu defeated former unified three-belt world champion Errol Spence Jr. by unanimous decision in their highly anticipated 12-round contest on July 26. The scorecards read 117-111, 118-110, and 117-111 in favor of Tszyu. Another major bout saw Anthony Joshua overcome Kristian Prenga with a second-round knockout in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on July 25, despite surviving two knockdowns earlier in the fight. Heavyweight Tyson Fury also secured a victory, defeating Mariusz Wach via TKO in the seventh round in Pattaya, Thailand, on July 24.

Other notable boxing results included Edgar Berlanga stopping Steven Butler in the seventh round in New York on July 26, after surviving a knockdown himself. In Tokyo, Japan, on July 20, Riku Masuda won the WBA World Bantamweight Championship by split decision against Daigo Higa. Shokichi Iwata also defended his WBC World Light Flyweight belt, defeating Erik Badillo by TKO in the 11th round on July 20. USA Boxing also had a successful outing at the 2026 Capri Boxing Cup in Italy on July 25, securing four wins in an eight-bout international duel against Italy.

The world of MMA was equally busy, highlighted by UFC Fight Night: Ankalaev vs. Guskov in Abu Dhabi on July 25. In the main event, Magomed Ankalaev made a convincing return to the win column, thoroughly outworking Bogdan Guskov and securing a TKO victory via strikes at 2:41 of Round 5. The co-main event saw Ramazan Temirov deliver a devastating right hand to knock out Steve Erceg in the first round. Other significant victories on the UFC Abu Dhabi card included Magomed Zaynukov dominating Damian Rzepecki by unanimous decision and Rizvan Kuniev stopping Tyrell Fortune by TKO in the third round.

The Professional Fighters League (PFL) also held an event in Washington D.C. on July 25, where Thad Jean defeated Ernesto Rodriguez via TKO in Round 3 (2:44) to capture the PFL welterweight championship. This main event came after Jean's original opponent, Shamil Musaev, withdrew due to weight cut complications.