Author: Dan Hiergesell

Agit Kabayel put the heavyweight division on notice earlier today (Sat., Feb. 22, 2025) at “Beterbiev vs. Bivol 2” LIVE on DAZN pay-per-view (PPV) from inside Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, becoming the first fighter to stop Zhilei Zhang with a blistering body shot knockout to claim the interim WBC heavyweight title.

Zhang was coming off a memorable knockout win over Deontay Wilder his last time out and was expected to give the undefeated German contender a true run for his money. Unfortunately for “Big Bang” and his massive fanbase, Kabayel was on point from the opening bell. Outside of a knockdown in the middle frames, Kabayel was able to avoid most of Zhang’s power shots. He was active at every turn and really invested in work to the body that significantly slowed Zhang.

In Round 6, Kabayel’s attacks to the body paid even more dividends. A wicked left hook to the body slammed into Zhang and crumbled him in the center of the ring. The referee administered the count and Zhang was unable to continue. It was a incredible performance for Kabayel, who becomes the first fighter to ever stop the Chinese heavyweight.

Check out the finish below:

Kabayel, 32, now pushes his undefeated pro boxing record to 26-0. This is undoubtedly the biggest victory of his career and it should set him up for a huge heavyweight fight with one of the bigger names in the division his next time out.

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For complete ‘Beterbiev vs. Bivol 2’ results, coverage, and highlights click HERE.

Fight fans were treated to a rare finish last night (Fri., Feb. 21, 2025) at the LFA 202 fight card in Niagara Falls, New York, as the co-main event ended in a spectacular modified twister.

There have been some really impressive and unique submissions in mixed martial arts (MMA) over the years, but one of the most sought after finishes remains the twister. It’s only been pulled off a few times inside UFC’s Octagon and is rarely seen on smaller stages as well. So whenever a twister submission pops up fight fans are eager to know who pulled it off, how they pulled it off, and what it looked like.

Luckily for those watching LFA 202 on Friday night, Japan’s Shuya Kamikubo came to deliver a memorable submission to start his 2025 campaign off with a bang. The 31-year-old fighter only has one loss to his name over the past 10 years — which was a decision loss on Road to UFC Season 2 — so he was the favorite to take care of business and get through Brazilian counterpart, Mateus Santos.

It took Kamikubo less than one round to snatch up his modified twister attempt. It occurred with just around 30 seconds left in the first frame as the two bantamweights battled on the ground. Off his back, Kamikubo grabbed a hold of the submission attempt and began to crank Santos into an unnatural position. Santos tried to defend and wiggle his way free just for a second, but Kamikubo would not be denied. He continued to squeeze Santos’ body and crank his neck until he tapped (shown in the above video player).

After his victory, Kamikubo referred to the submission as an “Ota” twister (see below).

Daniel Dubois remains in rough shape after getting yanked from his high-profile heavyweight title defense on the Beterbiev vs. Bivol 2 fight card later today (Sat., Feb. 22, 2025) LIVE on DAZN pay-per-view (PPV) from inside Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Earlier this week, boxing fans were thrown a curveball when news leaked that Dubois was forced out of this weekend’s title fight against Joseph Parker due to illness. The severity of Dubois’ condition was unknown at the time, but it still meant a major shakeup to one of the most stacked boxing cards of the year.

Following his removal, Dubois was replaced by an out-of-shape Martin Bakole on just two days notice. It was a crushing blow for Dubois, who is coming off a spectacular knockout win over Anthony Joshua this past September, and also for Parker, who is coming off back-to-back wins over Deontay Wilder and Zhilei Zhang.

On Friday, Queensberry Promotions frontman, Frank Warren, discussed Dubois’ current state and how he’s reacting to his unfortunate withdrawal. Warren revealed that the IBF heavyweight champion is actually feeling worse than he did a few days ago and could be sidelined for the next few months.

Check it out below:

“Very, very disappointed,” Warren told Ring Magazine. “He’s ill. He actually feels worse today. I think hopefully he’s on a plane out for him tonight or tomorrow. He’s got to shake it off, get himself well, and be out of the game probably for the next three months.

“Very, very disappointed as everyone is. As we are. It’s just such a shame. All the hard work he put in. All the money he’s laid out, which he has to do for himself as a fighter. His camp, paying for sparring partners, hotels, flights, everything else. All gone to waste.”

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To check out the latest and greatest “Beterbiev vs. Bivol 2” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.

One of the biggest boxing cards of the year will unfold this morning (Sat., Feb. 22, 2025) LIVE on DAZN pay-per-view (PPV) from inside Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, as Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol collide in a long-awaited rematch for the undisputed light heavyweight crown.

Luckily, the action won’t stop there. Despite IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois pulling out of his fight with Joseph Parker earlier this week due to illness, the undercard is still pretty stacked. Parker will now face last-second replacement, Martin Bakole, who has proven knockout power and is ready to shock the world with less than two days to prepare.

Also in action will be undefeated WBC lightweight champion, Shakur Stevenson, who will fight late-replacement Josh Padley on the undercard. There will also be a heavyweight clash between Chinese knockout artist Zhilei Zhang and undefeated German tank Agit Kabayel.

Before all of that goes down on DAZN PPV beginning at 11 a.m. ET, a collection of “Prelims” fights will unfold LIVE and FREE in the above video player starting at 9:30 a.m. ET. It will be a nice prelude to Saturday’s early action from Saudi Arabia.

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To check out the latest and greatest “Beterbiev vs. Bivol 2” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.

Patricio Pitbull is one of the more intriguing additions to the UFC roster in recent memory, but the former two-division Bellator MMA champion had a difficult time locking down an opponent for his official Octagon debut.

Earlier this week, UFC CEO, Dana White, made some major announcements for 2025. This included a fight between Pitbull and former UFC featherweight title challenger, Yair Rodriguez, at UFC 314 on April 12 in Miami, Florida. It’s an incredible matchup for fight fans and a huge change for Pitbull to crack the division’s top 10 rankings on arrival, but it’s a pairing that took longer to finalize than expected.

Pitbull, who turns 38 this summer, has been in talks with UFC for his official debut since cutting ties with Bellator MMA (and PFL) this past January. White wasn’t completely sure a deal would get done, but when it did the promotion immediately tried getting Pitbull an opponent. This included former UFC bantamweight champion and current featherweight contender, Aljamain Sterling, who promptly turned the matchup down.

“It was hard because they didn’t sound very excited at first,” Pitbull told MMA Fighting. “There was a meeting with [Jorge Guimarães] ‘Joinha’ and Ed [Soares] and the UFC. One [UFC person] wanted it, another didn’t, and one tried to convince the other. ‘Joinha’ said to me, ‘Brother, trust me, it will work out in the end.’ And out of a sudden they asked if I would fight Aljamain Sterling in March. I said I’m in, but he ran. He said he needed more time to fight, that he would only be able to fight in April.

“Then they offered me Yair Rodriguez, but he didn’t respond. I messaged him in private. ‘What’s up brother, will you fight or not? Where’s your Mexican pride?’ Teased him a little bit. He said it would be very gratifying to welcome me to the organization. But when the UFC contacted him, he turned it down and asked for a ranked opponent.

“Cool, UFC gave him Arnold Allen. I told ‘Joinha’ to stay on it because Arnold Allen would pull out from this fight. He would probably get injured. We know that when someone takes a fight on such short notice, and he doesn’t have a complete camp, most guys avoid that. And in order to avoid saying no to the UFC, they take it and then ‘get hurt.’ ‘Joinha’ texted [the UFC] and said I would be ready.”

Luckily, UFC officials were able to get a deal done for Rodriguez to welcome Pitbull to the Octagon. Pitbull was told White was going to make the announcement for UFC 314 this week and Rodriguez “would have to take it.” We’re not sure of the validity of that statement, but at least we know Pitbull has a dance partner for his UFC debut this April in Miami.

“I kept training with Yair Rodriguez in mind,” Pitbull said. “They said Dana White was going to announce the fight last night and then [Rodriguez] would have to take it. And that’s what happened. Let’s see if he’ll stay on the fight or get injured [laughs].”

It all goes down tomorrow night (Sat., Feb. 22, 2025) at UFC Seattle LIVE on ESPN+ from inside Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Wa., as former UFC double champion Henry Cejudo tries to return to the UFC win column against perennial bantamweight contender Song Yadong.

In addition to the bantamweight headliner, UFC Seattle’s revamped fight card will feature a collection of exciting matchups. This includes a co-main event middleweight clash between surging contender Anthony Hernandez and former foe Brendan Allen. Fan favorites such as Rob Font, Jean Silva, and Andre Fili will also be back in action. Not to mention the Octagon debut of former Bellator MMA standout, Austin Vanderford, who is better known nowadays as Mr. Paige VanZant.

On Friday, all fighters stepped on the scale for official weigh-ins (results HERE). Later on, each fighter made their way onto the stage for ceremonial weigh ins (shown above) and a final staredown with their opponent. Check out some of the key faceoffs below and let us know who has the edge entering Saturday night:

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Henry Cejudo vs. Song Yadong

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Anthony Hernandez vs. Brendan Allen

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Rob Font vs. Jean Matsumoto

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Jean Silva vs. Melsik Baghdasaryan

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MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Seattle fight card RIGHT HERE, starting with the ESPN+ preliminary card matchups, which are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. ET, followed by the remaining main card balance on ESPN+ at 9 p.m. ET.

To check out the latest and greatest UFC Seattle news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive here. For the updated and finalized “Cejudo vs. Song” fight card and ESPN+ lineup click here.