REPORT: Charles Oliveira set to defend BMF title in UFC 331 headliner
Credit: Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
Former two-division UFC champion Henry Cejudo will make his professional boxing debut at an upcoming Misfits Boxing event.
Henry Cejudo dropped the Mixed Martial Arts gloves following a loss to Payton Talbott at UFC 323 last year. The former two-division UFC champion Cejudo went winless after reversing his four-year retirement in 2024.
While Cejudo's late-career chapter left a lot on the table, his place in UFC history remains unchanged. The likely future UFC Hall of Famer became one of the first two-division champions in the promotion's history when he won the then-vacant bantamweight title over Marlon Moraes.
Since his MMA retirement, Cejudo appeared in multiple wrestling matches, including against former UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili at RAF Georgia. But Cejudo has also been linked to a potential boxing debut in recent months after his manager, Ali Abdelaziz, revealed that negotiations were underway with an undisclosed promoter.
On Wednesday, fight fans got their answer for when, where, and who Cejudo will appear in the ring.
Henry Cejudo vs. Deen The Great booked for Miami Misfits event
As announced by Misfits Boxing, Cejudo will face influencer Deen The Great at an event in Miami on September 26th. Deen The Great, whose real name is Nurideen Shabazz, returns to the Misfits Boxing ring after suffering his first career loss in December.
Shabazz recently called out former BMF titleholder Max Holloway for a fight, to which Holloway shut down as a ‘crazy' request. He also got knocked out by former UFC fighter, Tiki Ghosn, in a viral incident at one of Rampage Jackson's recent house parties.
Cejudo, an Olympic gold medalist in freestyle wrestling, will look to break a recent string of struggles for wrestling standouts who have made the full-time move to the boxing ring. While it's unclear whether the Shabazz fight is a one-off, Cejudo will look to make a statement in his return to combat sports.
What is your prediction for Henry Cejudo's boxing debut? Comment below!
The
Professional Fighters League will return to Chicago in
October.
Liz
Carmouche and Jena Bishop
will meet in a rematch for the inaugural PFL women's flyweight
title in the main event at
PFL Chicago on Oct. 16 at Wintrust Arena. This is the first new
title to be introduced since the PFL's merger with
Most Valuable Promotions.
PFL CEO previews promotion's upcoming trip to Chicago
Carmouche (26-8) stopped Bishop (11-3) in the third round of their
first bout last August. Bishop has rebounded from that loss with
first-round stoppage wins over Borena
Tsertsvadze and Ariane
Lipski da Silva. Meanwhile, Carmouche has since scored a
submission win over Viviane
Araujo this past June, to extend her winning streak to
four.
Cris Cyborg's
final MMA bout headlines PFL Tampa: Tune in on Saturday, Aug. 22 at
10 p.m. ET on ESPN.
“Chicago has become an important market for PFL, and we’re excited
to return with another championship event for our fans,†PFL CEO
John Martin said in a press release. “The inaugural PFL Women’s
Flyweight World Championship is another milestone for our
organization and a testament to the incredible talent competing
across our roster. Liz Carmouche and Jena Bishop have already
proven they’re among the very best in the world, and there’s no
better stage than Chicago to crown the first champion in this
division.â€
The
Ultimate Fighting Championship's fourth edition of Noche UFC
reportedly has a new main event.
Jean
Silva was originally scheduled to face Yair
Rodriguez in the main event at
Noche UFC 4 on Sept. 12 at the Desert Diamond Arena in
Glendale, Arizona. However, per a new report by Guilherme Cruz, Rodriguez has pulled out for unknown
reasons and will now be replaced by Jose
Delgado.
Jose Delgado replaces Yair Rodriguez in Jean Silva's Noche UFC
4 main event
Delgado (12-2) is 4-1 in the UFC since making his Octagon debut in
2024. Coming off decision wins over Andre Fili
and Austin
Bashi, he will face his biggest step up in competition by far
against Silva (17-3).
Meanwhile, Silva is coming off a decision win over Arnold
Allen, rebounding from his lone UFC loss to Diego
Lopes. “Lord†had finished all five of his previous UFC
opponents before losing to Lopes. The Brazilian reacted to the
change of opponent on X.
“Hunter took care of everything, we have a new target,†Silva
posted on X. “New opponent, same date, same goal.â€
Rodriguez (20-5) is now facing backlash for yet another withdrawal.
“El Pantera†hasn't fought since a win over Patricio
Freire last April, which saw him rebound from consecutive
stoppage losses to Alexander
Volkanovski and Brian
Ortega.
🚨 BREAKING: Jose
Delgado is stepping in to fight Jean Silva
in the main event of #NocheUFC
on September 12
Joshua
Van hasn’t forgotten the night Charles
Johnson handed him the first loss of his
Ultimate Fighting Championship career.
Over two years after being stopped by Johnson, Van has gone from
prospect to UFC flyweight champion. The 24-year-old will return to
the Octagon on Sept. 19, when he rematches former champion Alexandre
Pantoja in the UFC
331 main event at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
Joshua Van details how KO loss to Charles Johnson ‘humbled'
him
Van was stopped by Johnson via a third-round knockout in July 2024,
a setback that remains the second and most recent loss of his
professional career. He has since won seven straight fights and
captured the flyweight championship from Pantoja before defending
it against Tatsuro
Taira.
Speaking to Paramount+, Van explained how the defeat changed his
approach to training and discipline.
“Oh, for sure. I want to stay active,†Van said. “Like I say, that
loss kind of humbled me in a way. So, I never want to taste defeat
again. So, my work ethic that I put in the gym is just different
from that day on.â€
Van said that he doesn’t believe he needed to completely overhaul
his fighting style after the loss. Instead, he said the focus was
on remaining himself and avoiding the mistakes that preceded the
Johnson bout.
“Going into that camp, there’s a lot of things that I did that I
shouldn’t have done,†Van added. “Stuff like that, but there’s no
excuse… He beat me fair and square. And it humbled me to become a
better fighter.â€