Roselle, Park, NJ (November 22, 2025)– Welcome to the Real Combat Media Boxing & MMA Fights of the Week, where we discuss the week’s most significant news and the most notable fights in the sports of boxing and MMA, so you can save time by getting your best combat sports news expeditiously.
In boxing news, this past weekend, Conor Benn defeated Chris Eubank Jr. by unanimous decision in their rematch on November 15, 2025, at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London. Benn dominated the fight, a significant victory that evened the score in the generational rivalry between the Benn and Eubank families. Benn won by unanimous decision, with judges scoring the fight 119-107, 118-108, and 116-110.
The other major boxing event, which was promoted by Top Rank, saw Rafael Espinoza defeat Arnold Khegai by TKO in the 11th round to retain his WBO Featherweight world title on November 15, 2025, in San Luis Potosí, Mexico. Khegai’s corner officially stopped the fight after the 10th round.
Shockingly, after Lightweight Gervonta Davis was removed from his exhibition fight with Jake Paul for domestic violence allegations, former British World Heavyweight Champion, Anthony Joshua, age 36 (28-4, 25 KOs), has agreed to fight the rising star Jake Paul, age 28 (12-1, 7KOs) in Miami for an official bout on Netflix on December 17th.
This is a very dangerous fight for Paul, and he has not been in any fight close to Joshua’s caliber in his previous 13 fights. Paul lost a close decision to Tommy Fury back in 2023 and has won 6 in a row since that loss. Anthony Joshua is coming off a KO loss in 2024 to Daniel Dubois, after winning 4 fights in a row. Jake Paul claims the undefeated Tommy Fury turned down 15 million to make the rematch, while Fury claims he can’t fight in the US over legal reasons.
Other major boxing news this week is that the 140lbs WBC Champion Subriel Matias vs. the undefeated Dalton Smith fight is in jeopardy after Matias’ A-sample tested positive in a VADA test for a SARM called Ostarine.
Former World heavyweight champion, Joseph Parker, also failed a drug test for his fight with Fabio Wardley for cocaine in his A-Sample. Parker claims he is innocent.
David Benavidez (30-0, 24 KOs) will defend his WBC light heavyweight title against Anthony Yarde (27-3, 24 KOs) on Saturday, November 22, 2025, at the ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Benavidez, 28, a two-weight world champion, became the WBC champion in April 2025 after Dmitry Bivol vacated the title. The fight will be Yarde’s third world title challenge at age 34.
The Ring IV card is a super stacked card that includes several other high-profile world title fights. Key matchups on the undercard are: Devin Haney, 27, (32–0–0, 15KOs,1 NC) vs KO Artist, Brian Norman Jr., 24, (28–0, 22 KOs). This welterweight bout is for Norman Jr.’s WBO title. Haney, a former undisputed lightweight champion, is challenging Norman Jr. to pick up a title at 147lbs. A lot of personal issues have been between these 2 fighters and their teams the past few months.
Having seen his ‘defeat’ to Ryan Garcia subsequently ruled a no-contest due to Ryan Garcia testing positive for PEDs, Devin Haney remains unbeaten and he attempts to become a three-weight world champion when he takes on Brian Norman Jr. Norman Jr. who is known for his powerful left hook, is defending his WBO Welterweight belt after an impressive fifth-round victory over Jin Sasaki in Japan, while Haney defeated former 140lb world champion Jose Ramirez by unanimous decision in May of 2025 in his last fight at 147lbs.
Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez (22-0, 15 KOs) vs. Fernando Martinez (18-0, 9 KOs) is a title unification bout in the super flyweight division, with the WBA, WBC, and IBF titles on the line. The Argentinian is unbeaten in 18 contests; however, this is by far his toughest test to date against the pound-for-pound superstar from Texas.
Rising American prospect Abdullah Mason (19-0, 17 KOs) gets his Lightweight first world title shot at just 21 years old, when he squares off against Britain’s Sam Noakes (17-0, 15 KOs).
DAZN Undercard:
Vito Milniecki Jr (21-1, 12KOs) vs Samual Nmomah (21-0, 5KOs) —Super Welterweight
Mohammed Alakel (6-0, 1KOs) vs Jiaming Li (7-5, 4KOs) —Super Featherweight
Julio Porras Ruiz (13-0, 9KOs) vs Pius Mpenda (11-4-1, 5KOs) —Super Middleweight
Soltan Almohammed (1-0, 0KOs) vs Umesh Chavan (3-1-1, 0KOs) —Lightweight
The PPV costs $59.99 in the U.S. and Canada, £24.99 in the UK.
In MMA News, UFC 322, which was a stacked card, took place at MSG in NYC, where Islam Makhachev became a two-division champion and Valentina Shevchenko defended her women’s flyweight title at UFC 322 on November 15, 2025, to solidify her place as the best Women’s Flyweight in MMA history.
Makhachev defeated Jack Della Maddalena via unanimous decision (50–45, 50–45, 50–45), while Shevchenko also won by unanimous decision (50–45, 50–45, 50–45) against Zhang Weili.
The next UFC Fight Night is scheduled for Saturday, November 22, 2025, with a stellar card in Doha, Qatar. It will feature a pivotal lightweight main event between #1 Arman Tsarukyan (22-3) and #10 Dan Hooker (24-12). The number 1-ranked lightweight contender, Arman Tsarukyan, could be in a position for a title shot against Ilia Topuria, if he can get past Hooker.
Tsarukyan, hailing from Armenia, is known for his world-class wrestling and relentless pressure. Hooker, who represents New Zealand, is a veteran with exceptional striking skills and durability. He aims to prove he belongs among the division’s elite by taking down the top-ranked contender.
The main card will also feature a welterweight bout between former Welterweight Champion, #2 Belal Muhammad (24-4), and #6 Ian Machado Garry (16-1). Muhammad, who is currently ranked number 2 in the welterweight division, will aim to maintain his position against a hungry striking expert. Garry, with a win over Carlos Prates earlier this year, is widely regarded as a future contender and is set to face his most experienced opponent yet.
At Light heavyweight, former UFC Title Challenger 36-year-old #9 Volkan Oezdemir (20-8) will face 38-year-old #14 Alonzo Menifield (17-5-1). Oezdemir is a power-puncher hoping to get back on track after a recent setback after having lost to Carlos Ulberg in 2024. Menifield is on a 2-fight winning streak, is also known for his explosive power, and is looking to improve positioning in the rankings and enter the top 10.
On 2 days’ notice,#6 Waldo Cortes-Acosta (15-2), will be fighting for the fifth time in 2025. He is coming off a controversial first-round knockout victory over Ante Delija on November 1, 2025. #11 Shamil Gaziev (14-1), who fights out of Bahrain, last fought in February 2025, where he secured a first-round knockout over Thomas Petersen.
Other notable main card fights:
Welterweight: Jack Hermansson- ( UFC Welterweight debut) (24-9 MMA, 11-7 UFC) vs. Myktybek Orolbai (14-2-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC)
Flyweight: #13 Asu Almabayev (22-3 MMA, 5-1 UFC) vs. Alex Perez (25-9 MMA, 7-5 UFC)
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