Edgar Berlanga overcame an early scare to score a statement
victory, while Richardson Hitchins impressed in his welterweight
bout at Zuffa Boxing 9.

Zuffa Boxing graced The Big Apple on July 26, putting on an event
at Infosys Theater in Madison Square Garden.

Zuffa Boxing 9 Results: Edgar Berlanga stops Steven Butler,
Richardson Hitchins wins side

Berlanga rallied following a knockdown to stop Steven Butler via
technical knockout in the seventh round of a super middleweight
bout. Berlanga responded with relentless pressure after being
dropped, gradually breaking Butler down before scoring a knockdown
of his own in Round 6.

In the co-main event, Hitchins turned in a dominant performance,
cruising to a unanimous decision over Ricardo Salas. Using his
superior speed, reach and jab, the New Yorker outboxed Salas from
bell to bell, earning identical 100-90 scores on all three judges’
cards.

Elsewhere on the card, Jalil Hackett earned a unanimous decision
over former world title challenger Sergiy Derevyanchenko in his
middleweight debut, while Vladyslav Sirenko scored a knockout
against Otto Wallin with just one second remaining in their
bout.

Furthermore, Emiliano Moreno outworked Arnold Gonzalez over eight
rounds and Kashaun Davis handed Mihai Nistor the first decision
loss of his career. Troy Nash remained unbeaten in Zuffa Boxing
with a majority decision over Ethan Perez, while Andres Sosa dented
Dominique Francis’ previously perfect record with a unanimous
decision victory in the opening contest.

BERLANGA WINS BY TKO ?
#ZuffaBoxing09 pic.twitter.com/B71JSxVpIM

— Zuffa_Boxing (@Zuffa_Boxing)
July 27, 2026

Valter
Walker has issued a warning to his heavyweight peers in the

Ultimate Fighting Championship for when the fight hits the
mat.

The Brazilian submission specialist continued his remarkable streak
at
UFC Abu Dhabi, forcing a tap from Thomas
Petersen with a rare calf slicer in the first round. This
marked only the fourth successful calf slicer in Octagon history
and extended Walker’s streak of sub victories to five straight.

Valter Walker says he has an answer when opponents defend his
heel hook.

Walker (16-1) secured four consecutive wins via heel hooks going
into UFC Abu Dhabi and added yet another leg-based submission
conquest to his record with his victory over Petersen. “The Foot
Hunter†later explained that the finish came after his American
counterpart successfully defended the heel hook.

“If you're ready for the heel hook, I have a variation to find a
way to win the fight,†Walker said in a post-fight interview. “If
the fight is on the ground, be careful. I will surprise you every
time.â€

Walker has six submission wins overall, in addition to just as many
knockouts. His current streak of first-round submissions paves the
way for a high-profile matchup next, which he's targeting for
UFC
333 in October, also slated for Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.

“I just want to relax a little bit now, take a holiday with my wife
— but I want to fight again in October here,†Walker added. “I'll
talk to my manager and find out who's next.â€

“If the fight is on the ground, be
careful.”

Valter
Walker collects his fifth-straight submission victory at

#UFCAbuDhabi and gives his prediction for today’s main
event.

Prelim Results âž¡ï¸ https://t.co/unjXsOEd6u@VisitAbuDhabi
| @InAbuDhabi |

#InAbuDhabi pic.twitter.com/EvEu52mV4f

— UFC News (@UFCNews)
July 25, 2026

Dana White doesn't think Most Valuable Promotion's merger with PFL will make a dent in the MMA space.

On Thursday, Jake Paul and execs from MVP and PFL announced the two promotions have merged. In a press release, Paul said the goal of disrupting the “broken†model for MMA has been accelerated by a “decade†thanks to the merger with PFL.

The news comes off the heels of the successful MVP MMA 1 event back in May. It was MVP's debut MMA show, and it was headlined by the returns of Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano. Rousey submitted Carano in 17 seconds via armbar. MVP MMA 1 brought in 17 million viewers on Netflix and reportedly drew 15,795 tickets.

Speaking to Oscar Willis of The Mac Life, White dismissed the notion that the merger with MVP and PFL will create any significant waves (via Bloody Elbow).

“I don't know anything about what they're doing,†White said. “It probably makes sense when s— isn't working for anybody, we should all probably get together. Let's take two organizations that don't sell tickets and nobody watches and let's merge them together and make a bigger company that won't sell tickets and nobody will watch.â€

White then further drove home the point that he feels MVP and PFL were never competing with UFC, and that won't change because of a merger.

“Listen, I've said this a hundred times and I'm f—— around,†White continued. “I don't look at any of those guys as our competition. We're on a whole other f—— stratosphere now. I mean, I'm competing with all the majors. Those guys aren't my competition so good luck to them all. I wish them all the best.â€

Paul has long spoken out against UFC's business practices. He has called out the top MMA promotion for low fighter pay and treatment of the athletes. “The Problem Child†insists MVP and PFL will take the fight to UFC, and he believes that the merger can take some market share.

Do you agree with Dana White on the MVP-PFL merger, or does he care more about it than he's letting on? Voice your opinion in the comments below.

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM

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