6/10/25: A Look At The Week Ahead
A preview of this week's top events
Welcome to a Tuesday edition of the Knockdown Daily! It’s time for our weekly preview. This usually goes out on Mondays, but some other priorities got in the way of getting it ready in time.
But, good news, here it is! To make up for the delay, today’s preview is quite comprehensive. We have a breakdown of the five top shows we’re going to be covering in the newsletter this week, plus 10 other smaller events to keep an eye on!
Let’s dive in.
A Look At The Week Ahead
Thursday
PFL 2025 World Tournament 5: Semi-Finals Night 1
After a month away, PFL will return this weekend with the semi-final round of its “World Tournament.”
Welterweight and featherweight fighters who prevailed in quarter-final action two months ago will head to the Nashville Municipal Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee, USA for a card this weekend, hoping to get one step closer to a $500,000 grand prize.
While the opening round of PFL’s tournaments was absolutely slaughtered by fight cancellations, causing many brackets to look completely different from their original lineups, Thursday’s bracket action has actually remained fully intact since all the fighters competed two months ago.
The main event of the night will see former Bellator champ Jason Jackson try to take down undefeated prospect Thad Jean.
Jean captured a fair amount of attention earlier this year for his first-round finish win against Mukhamed Berkhamov in the quarter-finals. PFL has kept Jean as a developing prospect since 2023, and he has earned a few impressive finish wins along the way, like he did in April.
Jackson is a significantly bigger challenge for him than past assignments, carrying nearly 25 pro fights of experience. He has previously gotten past names like Yaroslav Amosov, Douglas Lima, and Benson Henderson in recent years. After losing his Bellator title in 2024 to Ramazan Kuramagomedov, Jackson bounced back in quarter-final action by tapping out veteran Andrey Koreshkov earlier this year.
The promotion has put a fair amount of focus into hyping up this fight, and I would assume that’s partially because Jean does have some buzz from his last fight. They’ve dubbed the main event “Clash of the Caribbean,” due to Jackson’s representation of Jamaica and Jean’s representation of Haiti.
The winner in the main event will go on to face the prevailing fighter in a welterweight semi-final between Logan Storley and Masayuki Kikuiri.
Storley, a former interim Bellator champ, enters as a massive favorite. He’s coming back after a solid decision win over Joseph Luciano in the quarter-finals. Former King of Pancrase Kikuiri overcame former “The Ultimate Fighter” competitor Giannis Bachar via corner stoppage after two rounds in April.
The featherweight bracket will see 2023 PFL champ Jesus Pinedo meet up against Gabriel Brada. Pinedo made his return after more than a year out of the cage in April, beating long-time Bellator prospect Adam Borics in just a round with strikes. Braga, who submitted Frederik Dupras in the opening round via submission, will be trying to avenge a finish loss he suffered in the 2023 PFL finals against Pinedo when he competes later this week.
The other tournament bout at 145 sees Korean prospect Kim Tae-kyun look to overcome his underdog odds and beat undefeated Russian Movlid Khaybulaev, who is notably trying to put together his first major run since winning the 2021 PFL Featherweight Championship.
A mix of PFL vets and up-and-coming prospects is expected to compete before the tournament portion of the night. Here’s a look at the card, which will go late into the evening on Thursday:
Main Card (11:00PM EDT / 10:00PM CDT) (ESPN / ESPN+)
Bout 11: Jason Jackson (19-5) vs. Thad Jean (9-0) (Welterweight Semi-Final)
Bout 10: Jesus Pinedo (24-6-1) vs. Gabriel Braga (16-2) (Featherweight Semi-Final)
Bout 9: Logan Storley (17-3) vs. Masayuki Kikuiri (11-2-1) (Welterweight Semi-Final)
Bout 8: Movlid Khaydulaev (22-0-1) vs. Kim Tae-kyun (11-1) (Featherweight Semi-Final)
Preliminary Card (8:30PM EDT / 7:30PM CDT) (ESPN+)
Bout 7: Jeremy Kennedy (19-6) vs. Adam Borics (19-3) (Featherweight Reserve)
Bout 6: Joseph Luciano (10-3) vs. Sarek Shields (6-2) (Welterweight Reserve)
Bout 5: Mukhamed Berkahmov (17-3) vs. Kendly St. Louis (10-4) (Welterweight Reserve)
Bout 4: Alexei Pergande (5-0) vs. Mike Bardsley (5-1) (Featherweight)
Bout 3: Jason Danner (2-0) vs. Nathan Gilmore (4-5) (Bantamweight)
Bout 2: Asael Adjoudj (9-1) vs. Yves Landu (21-9) (Featherweight)
Bout 1: Magomed Umalatov (17-1) vs. Anthony Ivy (15-7) (Welterweight Reserve)
Saturday
RIZIN LANDMARK 11
A busy Saturday full of MMA from around the world will kick off at the Makomanai Sekisui Heim Ice Arena in Sapporo, Japan, where RIZIN LANDMARK 11 will take place.
For the uninitiated, LANDMARK is the lower tier of RIZIN events just below their numbered tour. While the show this weekend isn’t as big as their latest Tokyo Dome trip or their upcoming July card at Saitama Super Arena, it’s still a notable event for those who follow the Japanese MMA scene.
This weekend, the main event in Sapporo could have title implications.
A busy 19-fight card will be closed out with a featherweight clash between former champion Vugar Karamov and undefeated up-and-comer Shuya Kimura.
The winner of the fight will likely have the opportunity to take a quick turnaround and compete on “Super RIZIN 4” on July 27th. Current RIZIN Featherweight Champion Razhabali Shaydullaev is expected to defend his belt on the massive card in Saitama, and in recent remarks to the Japanese press, he expressed interest in facing the winner of Karamov vs. Kimura.
Do we know for certain that the winner of Saturday’s show will fight for the title? Nothing is guaranteed in a dangerous sport like MMA. But, there could be high stakes this Sunday.
Azerbaijani fighter Karamov was the leading man in RIZIN’s featherweight division during the latter half of 2023, capturing the title after beating Mikuru Asakura at “Super RIZIN 2.” His run with the title was stopped just a few months later when Chihiro Suzuki scored a 78-second finish win against him.
After failing to grab gold up at lightweight on New Year’s Eve, stepping into somewhat of an underdog role against grappling ace Roberto Satoshi Souza, he’s now back to his home division and potentially a win away from a title fight.
Kimura, his opponent, has been all action since his 2023 pro debut. He started his career by obtaining four finish wins on the Japanese regional scene, with the longest performance lasting just 76 seconds. He made a splash in his RIZIN debut three months ago, putting away Takeji Yokoyama in 54 seconds with strikes.
The 24-year-old prospect, who trains out of the prominent Brave Gym, is explosive in the cage. The question this weekend will be if he can maintain that same style in a massive step-up opportunity against a former champ.
There are tons, and I mean tons, of other interesting appearances on this long card: Ex-UFC fighter Yoshinori Horie against former PFL talent and regional vet Yamato Nishikawa, long-time Shooto champ Sasuke making his RIZIN debut, Azerbaijan-based prospect Magerram Gasanzade meeting “Road To UFC” alum Tatsuya Ando, and more.
The card will also notably feature a quarter-final bout in the RIZIN Heavyweight Grand Prix between Alexander Soldatkin and Prince Aounallah. Germany’s Soldatkin was originally scheduled to have his tournament fight inside the Tokyo Dome last month, but had his plans changed after his original opponent, Islambek Baktybek Uulu, withdrew. The “Contender Series” alum is now facing off against Hexagone MMA champ Aounallah, who has fought on the European regionals for over a decade.
Here’s RIZIN’s lineup for this weekend:
Main Card (12:00AM EDT / 1:00PM JST) (RIZIN.tv)
Bout 19: Vugar Karamov (20-6) vs. Shuya Kimura (5-0) (Featherweight)
Bout 18: Yoshinori Horie (13-5) vs. Yamato Nishikawa (22-5-6) (Lightweight)
Bout 17: Viktor Kolesnik (25-4-1) vs. Sasuke (14-3-1) (Featherweight)
Bout 16: Alexander Soldatkin (14-5) vs. Prince Aounallah (20-12) (RIZIN Heavyweight Grand Prix Quarter-Final)
Bout 15: Taichi Nakajima (18-13-1) vs. Coro (20-21-5) (Bantamweight)
Bout 14: Joji Goto (17-8-1) vs. Jinnosuke Kashimura (8-4) (Bantamweight)
Bout 13: SALT (5-5) vs. Machi (7-2) (Strawweight)
Bout 12: Magerram Gasanzade (11-1) vs. Tatsuya Ando (14-4-1) (Bantamweight)
Bout 11: Ilkhom Nazimov (11-3) vs. Suguru Nii (19-13) (Featherweight)
Bout 10: Sina Karimian (0-0) vs. Hidetaka Arato (11-1) (Heavyweight)
Bout 9: Sora Yamamoto (16-10-2) vs. Hiroaki Suzuki (4-6) (Featherweight)
Bout 8: Reiki Endo (16-15-5) vs. Zhaxibading (1-0) (Featherweight)
Bout 7: Kanata Ueno vs. Kensei Yamakawa (Bantamweight Kickboxing)
Bout 6: Kuto Ueno vs Farphayap Grabs (141 lbs Kickboxing)
Bout 5: Toshizo vs. Yuya Uzawa (121 lbs Kickboxing)
Bout 4: Yuki Narita (11-5-2) vs. Takashi Noto (7-9) (Welterweight)
Bout 3: Arashi Suzuki (2-3) vs. Suguru Hayasaka (21-18-5) (Flyweight)
Bout 2: Daiki Kobayashi (1-1) vs. Yukito Morinaga (10-4) (Bantamweight)
Bout 1: Kyohei Nishijima vs. Shuto Hayashi (Strawweight Kickboxing)
OKTAGON 72: Vemola vs. Vegh 3
If you’re craving some afternoon action before UFC takes place, there’s a pair of solid events going down in Europe. First, let’s look at OKTAGON 72, which will go down at the Fortuna Arena in Prague, Czech Republic.
A trio of big matchups will close out a 10-bout lineup this weekend, including the trilogy in a lengthy OKTAGON rivalry.
Former UFC talent Karlos Vemola and fellow vet Attila Vegh will meet for a third time in the main event, colliding in a tiebreaker.
In the headlining spot of a massive card in OKTAGON’s early years, Vegh snapped the lengthy win streak of Vemola with a stoppage win in a little over two minutes. After more than five years, the rivalry between these two was reignited last year, when Vegh made his return to the cage for a second chapter in their story. Vemola, who had risen to light heavyweight champ status by this point, avenged the defeat with a second-round rear naked choke.
Looking to rebound after a one-sided loss against Will Fleury late last year—which ended his light heavyweight title reign—Vemola has the chance to close out his rivalry with Vegh for once and all by winning in the trilogy.
OKTAGON is billing this as “the final fight in the careers of two titans.” If it’s true that they’re both stepping away (Vegh has retired before, only to come back last year), who will get the last laugh before riding off into the sunset?
Former UFC talent Makhmud Muradov will aim to earn OKTAGON gold in the co-main event when he takes on former champ Patrik Kincl.
Muradov made the surprising move to OKTAGON last summer after a relatively successful seven-fight UFC run. He has earned a pair of big wins upon return to the promotion, defeating Scott Askham and finishing Yasubey Enomoto in recent months.
He’s now looking to get past Kincl, who was a long-time champ in the division before a late-2024 loss to Kerim Engizek ended his era of dominance at middleweight.
The winner is likely to fight in a title unification bout after the Tipsport Gamechanger Tournament—which includes current champ Engizek—wraps up late this year.
Speaking of that middleweight tournament, its quarter-final round will kick off Saturday with a fight between Matej Penaz and Piotr Wawrzyniak. Both fighters are returning after impressive opening round performances: “Contender Series” alum Penaz beat ex-UFC talent David Zawada via first-round finish, and former OKTAGON champ Wawrzyniak earned a quick knockout over Marek Mazuch.
Before the big three fights, former OKTAGON champs Ivan Buchinger and Ronald Paradeiser will also be in action on the undercard.
Here’s everything set for the show thus far:
Main Card (12:00PM EDT / 6:00PM CEST) (OKTAGON PPV)
Bout 10: Karlos Vemola (37-9) vs. Attila Vegh (33-10-1) (Light Heavyweight)
Bout 9: Makhmud Muradov (28-8) vs. Patrik Kincl (28-11) (Vacant Interim OKTAGON Middleweight Championship)
Bout 8: Matej Penaz (10-1) vs. Piotr Wawrzyniak (14-6) (Tipsport Gamechanger Middleweight Quarter-FInal)
Bout 7: Bojan Velickovic (25-12-2) vs. Ronald Paradeiser (21-9) (Welterweight)
Bout 6: Ivan Buchinger (44-10) vs. Vladimir Lengal (8-4) (Lightweight)
Bout 5: Frederic Vosgrone (4-0) vs. Lucas Alsina (13-5) (Light Heavyweight)
Bout 4: Jaime Cordero (8-2) vs. David Hosek (12-6-1) (Middleweight)
Bout 3: Karol Rysavy (14-8) vs. Jakub Batfalsky (7-1) (Featherweight)
Bout 2: Alina Dalaslan (1-0) vs. Roza Gumienna (5-4) (Bantamweight)
Bout 1: Jan Stanovsky (5-2) vs. Danijel Solaja (3-1) (Catchweight 158 lbs)
KSW 107: De Fries vs. Wrzosek
The impressively long KSW heavyweight title reign of Phil De Fries will receive one of its biggest challenges this Saturday.
Attempting to defend his belt for the 12th time, a level of longevity rarely seen in any championship reign, De Fries will take on Polish kickboxer Arkadiusz Wrzosek this weekend at the Ergo Arena in Gdansk, Poland.
Wrzosek, a former GLORY Kickboxing talent, has proven to be a force since transitioning to MMA in 2022. His past four fights have all ended within a round, including a 14-second victory over boxer Artur Szpilka and a 25-second win against former PFL fighter Matheus Scheffel.
He’s an intriguing challenge for De Fries, who has ruled the KSW heavyweight division since 2018. The U.K.-based fighter has taken down so many solid contenders before, including wins last year over experienced names Augusto Sakai and Darko Stosic.
Saturday could be a quick and sudden changing of the guard at heavyweight. Or, it could be another commanding performance for De Fries, who, while not as popular as heavyweight star Mariusz Pudzianowski, is undoubtedly the most successful heavyweight to have ever fought in KSW.
Before the heavyweight showdown, KSW Bantamweight Champion Sebastian Przybysz will try to defend his title against Ukraine’s Oleksii Polischuck. Przybysz earned the vacant title earlier this year with a five-round performance over Bruno Azevedo, and now looks to have a lengthy reign like his initial time with the belt from early 2021 to late 2022.
Here’s the full lineup:
Main Card (1:00PM EDT / 7:00PM CEST) (KSW PPV)
Bout 9: Phil De Fries (26-6) vs. Arkadiusz Wrzosek (6-0) (KSW Heavyweight Championship)
Bout 8: Sebastian Przybysz (13-4-1) vs. Oleksii Polischuck (13-5) (KSW Bantamweight Championship)
Bout 7: Roman Szymanski (17-9) vs. Kacper Formela (18-5) (Lightweight)
Bout 6: Damian Piwowarczyk (9-4) vs. Cedric Lushima (6-0) (Light Heavyweight)
Bout 5: Wiktor Zaleski (7-1) vs. Mateusz Pawlik (5-2) (Welterweight)
Bout 4: Damian Stasiak (14-10) vs. Michal Domin (7-3) (Featherweight)
Bout 3: Islam Djabrailov (11-5) vs. Marcelo Morrelli (6-3) (Bantamweight)
Bout 2: Kamil Szkaradek (5-1) vs. Kenji Bortoluzzi (11-6-1) (Bantamweight)
Bout 1: El Hadji Ndiaye (6-3) vs. Wojciech Kawa (8-3) (Lightweight)
UFC on ESPN 69: Usman vs. Buckley
UFC is presenting a high-stakes welterweight clash as part of their return to Atlanta, Georgia, USA on Saturday night.
Heading to the StateFarm Arena for the first time since 2019, UFC will present a 13-fight lineup headlined by a clash between former undisputed welterweight champ Kamaru Usman and flashy finisher Joaquin Buckley.
Buckley is undoubtedly the fighter heading into Saturday with the momentum, having quickly shot up the 170-pound rankings over the past two years. A stretch of six wins since May 2023, most of which have come via finish, has moved him up to seventh in the division, and arguably made him one of the most exciting names who hasn’t made it into the title conversation at welterweight thus far.
While Buckley has been in the UFC for a total of 15 fights now—first entering the promotion back in 2020—last year he truly hit his stride in a way never seen in his career before. The Missouri-based fighter earned an impressive four wins within 12 months: Stopping veterans Vicente Luque and Stephen Thompson, overcoming fellow rising talent Nursulton Ruziboev, then scoring a doctor stoppage win against multi-time title challenger Colby Covington, marking his first-ever UFC main event victory.
Recent success has made him a favorite in the upcoming fight against fifth-ranked Usman, who is best known for his long run on top of the welterweight division.
This weekend’s main event feels like a litmus test for Usman, who has lost frequently in recent years, but notably has only come up short against the best names at 170. After losing his title via dramatic fifth-round knockout to Leon Edwards in 2022, dropping a close rematch to him a year later, then losing to the next middleweight title challenger, Khamzat Chimaev, Usman finds himself on a longer streak of unsuccessful appearances than ever before.
At 38 years old, it’s unlikely that Usman has a ton of time left near the top of the welterweight division. But is his time up now, or does he have enough left in the tank to make another run in the weight class? How he does on Saturday could help provide answers.
There are many recognizable UFC stars set to compete as part of the main card.
Former UFC Strawweight Champion Rose Namajunas will appear in the co-main event against fellow ranked 125-pound talent Miranda Maverick. Maverick will be looking to break into the top 10 of the division and secure her fifth straight victory, coming back after an active three-appearance 2024. Namajunas will be trying to rebound after losing a title fight to Erin Blanchfield late last year.
The card will also feature Cody Garbrandt, returning for the first time in over a year against veteran bantamweight Raoni Barcelos. Garbrandt’s last fight was at UFC 300, when he suffered a submission defeat to Deiveson Figueiredo, ending his best run of performances since 2016.
Some interesting prospects on the card include Georgia’s own Malcolm Wellmaker, middleweight finisher Mansur Abdul-Malik (who has yet to go the distance as a pro), and French light heavyweight Oumar Sy.
Here’s the full bout order:
Main Card (10:00PM EDT) (ESPN / ESPN+)
Bout 13: Kamaru Usman (20-4) vs. Joaquin Buckley (21-6) (Welterweight)
Bout 12: Rose Namajunas (13-7) vs. Miranda Maverick (15-5) (Flyweight)
Bout 11: Edmen Shahbazyan (14-5) vs. Andre Petroski (13-3) (Middleweight)
Bout 10: Cody Garbrandt (14-6) vs. Raoni Barcelos (19-5) (Bantamweight)
Bout 9: Cody Brundage (11-6) vs. Mansur Abdul-Malik (8-0) (Middleweight)
Bout 8: Alonzo Menifield (16-5-1) vs. Oumar Sy (11-0) (Light Heavyweight)
Preliminary Card (7:00PM EDT) (ESPN+)
Bout 7: Paul Craig (17-9-1) vs. Rodolfo Bellato (12-2-1) (Light Heavyweight)
Bout 6: Michael Chiesa (18-7) vs. Court McGee (22-13) (Welterweight)
Bout 5: Malcolm Wellmaker (9-0) vs. Kris Moutinho (14-6) (Bantamweight)
Bout 4: Cody Durden (17-7-1) vs. Jose Ochoa (7-1) (Flyweight)
Bout 3: Ricky Simon (21-6) vs. Charles Jourdain (16-8-1) (Bantamweight)
Bout 2: Phil Rowe (10-5) vs. Ange Loosa (10-4) (Welterweight)
Bout 1: Vanessa Demopoulos (11-7) vs. Jamey-Lyn Horth (7-2) (Flyweight)
There are a lot of smaller things happening around the sport this week. Here are 10 other events that might be newsworthy this week:
Undefeated flyweights Imanol Rodriguez (5-0) and Arshiyan Memon (7-0) will meet on Tuesday night’s episode of “The Ultimate Fighter.” A lot has been made of the fact that Memon, a fighter who has hung around the pro scene since 2016, is the first-ever “TUF” competitor from India. He’ll try to cut short the run of Mexico’s Rodriguez, who has won all five of his pro appearances via finish. (Watch: ESPN)
42-fight UFC vet Andrei Arlovski will make his bare-knuckle boxing debut on Thursday night at BKFC 76, meeting former PFL talent Josh Copeland in a heavyweight bout. 46-year-old Arlovski made his first post-UFC appearance in March, winning a bout at upstart promotion Dirty Boxing. Things could get ugly this week when he takes off the gloves for the first time in Fort Worth, Texas. (Watch: DAZN)
LFA has a great lineup of prospects set to appear Friday night in Louisville, Kentucky. In the main event of the night, former LFA title challenger Javier Reyes (20-5) will look to return to the win column when he faces rising prospect Lance Lawrnece (9-4). Interesting inclusions earlier on the card feature undefeated flyweight Christian Natividad (6-0), middleweight Jackson McVey (5-0), who has won all five pro bouts via first-round finish, and up-and-coming strawweight talent Sidney Trillo (5-1). (Watch: UFC Fight Pass)
24-year-old flyweight Muhammad Mokev (13-0) will try for his second post-UFC MMA win on Saturday when he takes on Alisher Gabdullin (15-4) at 971 FC 2 at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai. After controversially getting cut by the UFC last year due to a vague number of “different reasons,” Mokaev returned to the regionals with a two-minute submission over Joevincent So at Brave CF. He now looks to take down Gabdullin, who has proven to be a dominant force in Kazakhstani promotion Octagon, having won 11 of his past 12 bouts under their banner.
Ares FC will head to Marseille, France on Saturday for a double title fight showdown. Highly active lightweight champ Axel Sola (9-0-1) will look to defend his belt for the third time in just 12 months when he takes on Ghiles Oudelha (16-7) in the main event. 26-year-old Welsh prospect Josh O’Connor (9-0) will return for the first time since becoming the Ares FC Featherweight Champion in the co-main event, facing his most experienced opponent yet when he takes on Ylies Djiroun (24-7), who has gone undefeated in his past six.
Long-time California-based amateur promotion 559 Fights will present its first-ever card featuring pro fights this Saturday in Porterville. Headlining the card will be former UFC talent Nick Maximov (11-2), fighting for the first time since his PFL deal fell through. A win against Brazilian vet Handesson Ferreira (20-6-1) would be Maximov’s fourth consecutive win on the regionals since getting cut by the UFC in late 2022.
Dirty Boxing Championship, an upstart combat sport league which attempts to combine aspects of boxing and MMA, will return for its second-ever show on Saturday in Miami, Florida. Much like its first event, the Mike Perry-fronted show has numerous notable MMA fighters on the card. Former UFC heavyweight Jairzinho Rozenstruik, is in the main event, and other notable figures from the promotion’s past in the lineup include Alex Caceres, Jessica-Rose Clark, and Francisco Trinaldo. (Watch: Youtube)
Dutch featherweight Jarno Errens (15-6-1) will try to earn his first title since exiting the UFC roster when he takes on Donovan Desmae (19-10) at Levels Fight League 18 on Sunday. Sunday’s show in Utrecht, Netherlands, is also expected to include a title fight featuring undefeated strawweight prospect Benita van Rooij (6-0), plus the opening round in an eight-man heavyweight bracket will go down. The event will take place at Sportworkx Arena, an open-air venue that has been used for beach volleyball and padel competitions in the past. (Watch: Youtube in the U.S., Viaplay in Europe)
GLORY Kickboxing will present its 100th numbered event on Saturday night, heading to the Rotterdam Ahoy in Rotterdam, Netherlands for the massive show. The event, featuring four different title fights and matchups in their ongoing heavyweight grand prix, will see a main event featuring the Netherlands’ own Rico Verhoeven and Russian kickboxing star Artem Vakhitov. Verhoeven has held the GLORY Heavyweight Championship since 2015, putting together a highly impressive undefeated run since then. Vakhitov, who notably turned down a UFC deal late last year to continue his kickboxing career, is hoping to break the veteran’s long streak and carry on the success he previously had as a light heavyweight in GLORY. (Watch: DAZN)
And now a check into the world of boxing! The top fight this week comes Saturday inside the legendary Madison Square Garden Theater, where IBF World Super Lightweight Champion Richardson Hitchins (19-0) will put his belt on the line against former world champ George Kambosos Jr. (22-3). Australia’s Kambosos Jr., who is best known for his 2021 upset win over Teofimo Lopez, has a chance to get back into the world title picture for the first time since he lost his lightweight titles to Vasyl Lomachenko in 2024. He’s a massive underdog against Hitchins, who is returning for the first time since his 12-round split decision over Liam Paro in late 2024. (Watch: DAZN)