REAL COMBAT MEDIA WEEKLY BOXING/MMA NEWS REPORT (12/12/25-12/20/25) – REAL COMBAT MEDIA

REAL COMBAT MEDIA WEEKLY BOXING/MMA NEWS REPORT (12/12/25-12/20/25)

*For immediate release for publication

Roselle, Park, NJ (December 19, 2025)– Welcome to the Real fight media boxing and MMA fights of the weekwhere we cover the most important news of the week and the most notable fights in the sports of boxing and MMA, so you can save time by getting your best combat sports news fast.

In boxing newslast weekend, on December 12, 2025, in Abu Dhabi, Murat Gassiev, 32, (33-2, 26 Kos)defeated Kubrat Pulev, 44, (32-4, 14 Kos)via sixth-round knockout in Dubai to win the WBA Regular heavyweight title. Following his victory over Pulev, the WBA has determined that Gassiev’s next opponent should be the emerging British candidate Moses It will hurtwho is promoted by Frank Warren. Gassiev’s team have expressed interest in a possible fight with Itauma, possibly in England. You can read by Robert Brizel summary and watch video highlights of this devastating ko.

In Los Angeles, Noel Mikaeljan, 35 (28-3, 12 KOs) came up from behind in a messy inner struggle Badou Jack, 42, (29-4-3, 17 KOs) on Saturday night they won back the WBC cruiserweight world championship in a rematch after losing it in their first fight earlier this year. There was a point deduction for both fighters during the later stages of the fight, as referee Jerry Canto deducted one from Mikaeljan (28-3, 12 KOs) for hitting behind the head after repeated warnings in the seventh round, and then punished Jack in the eighth for hitting after the break. After the fight, another small brawl took place as the fighters continued to fight. The results were Noel Mikaeljan final. Badou Jack via unanimous decision (115-111, 116-110, 116-110). You can read the summary here.

Rising super middleweight star, Diego Pacheco, 24, (25-0, 18 Kos) came off the canvas in round 8 and defeated Kevin Lele Sadjo, 35, (26-1, 23 Kos) by unanimous vote on Saturday, December 13, 2025 at the Adventist Health Arena in Stockton, California. Pacheco successfully defended his WBO International Super Middleweight title and also claimed the vacant WBC Silver Super Middleweight title.

The undefeated super lightweight, Ernesto Mercado, 24 (18-0, 17 KOs)retired veteran contender Antonio Moran, 32, (31-8-1, 21 Kos) with a crushing overhand right at 2:37 of round 6, impressively capturing the WBO International Super-Lightweight title from Matchroom Boxing’s DAZN card in Stockton, California. You can watch the recap and video highlights here.

Former pound-for-pound star, The Customer, 43, (43-9-9, 28 class) lost a very close WBA title decision on Wednesday Seiya Tsutsumi, 29, (13-0-3, 8 Kos) in Tokyo, Japan, at an event promoted by Targeted promotions. After suffering a knockdown early in the fight, Seiya overcame a strong start from Donaire to secure the victory via split decision with scorecards of 115-113, 117-111 and 112-116. Donaire performed well but faded as the fight progressed in his bid to become the oldest-ever world champion at 118 pounds. Donaire has now lost 3 fights in a row and hasn’t won since 2021. You can view the video highlights and full map results here.

Matchroom Boxing had one Indigo Fight Night event this week in London, UK. You can view the full map results and photos here.

After being stripped of his WBC 168-pound championship for failing to pay sanction fees, Terence Crawford (42-0, 31 Kos) retires from boxing in good health at the age of 38 and remains undefeated. Crawford is retiring with one of the best careers in boxing history. There is a chance Crawford could change his mind and allow Canelo Alvarez to play again in September next year if talks resume. You can view the pension message here.

Dana White’s Zuffa Boxing has announced that boxing is coming to Paramount+ in late January 2026 and has 12 boxing shows planned for the year. You can sign up for Biggest+ here.

Celebrity and former kickboxing world champion, Andrew Tate, 39 (0-0)and actor/former college football players Chase DeMoor (5-2, 5 Kos) are scheduled to fight for the MFB Heavyweight Title on Saturday, December 20, 2025 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Billed as ‘The Fight Before Christmas’, the event is the main event of Misfits Mania and will be streamed live on Rumble Premium. You can view the weigh-in, presser and media training here.

The fight of the year is finally here, true Jake Paul, 28, (12-1, 7 Kos) takes on former British two-time world champion, Anthony Joshua, 36, (28-4, 25 Kos) on Netflix, tonight, December 19, 2025, at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida, with a 245-pound limit. Jake Paul weighed 216.6 pounds (98.2 kg) for his heavyweight fight against Anthony Joshua on December 19, 2025, significantly lighter than his 227 pounds for the Mike Tyson fight, but still a heavyweight, with Joshua weighing in at over 243 pounds.

During the week, Deontay Wilder claimed that this fight could be fixed, and Jake Paul threatened legal action against Wilder. You can watch the full card, weigh-in, face-off show, presser, film study and betting odds here.

You can use the current international boxing rankings here.

In MMA News, UFC Vegas 112 was the final event op ESPN to complete the 7-year deal with the UFC. The event featured several spectacular finishes and a rare draw. UFC Fight Night Vegas 112 took place on Saturday at the Apex in Las Vegas as a highly anticipated flyweight showdown with No. 2 Brandon Royval, 33, (17-9) lose to No. 6 manlin cents, 32 ((34 ____7) after Kape landed a huge right hand followed by ground and pound. After stopping three opponents in a row, Kape now finds himself in a position to challenge for a UFC title against the newly crowned UFC Flyweight 24-year-old champion, Joshua Van. Both agreed on social media this week that they are interested in this fight. You can see the full map results and video highlights here.

In a featherweight bout, striking expert No. 15 Giga Chikadze, 37, (15-6) was eliminated by a young, emerging candidate, Argentina Kevin Vallejos, 24, (17-1) with a brutal TKO in the second round (spinning backfist and elbows with a night bonus performance). Vallejos now moves into the top 15 of the UFC featherweight division. For Chikadze it is his third consecutive defeat and the first time he has ever been eliminated. You can see the full map results and video highlights here.

Yaroslav Amosov, 32, (29-1), the former Bellator MMA welterweight champion, passed his first test in the Octagon with flying colors after submitting a seasoned veteran and perennial top 15 gatekeeper, Neil Magny, 38, (31-15)in the first round with an anaconda choke. Watch the UFC Vegas 112 Post Fight press conference, video highlights, social media reactions and full card results here.

In PFL news said the PFL Lyon in Décines-Charpieu, France Vadim Nemkov, 33, (20-2, 1 NC) stopped Renan Ferreira, 36, (13-5, 3 NC) via the first round arm-triangle choke submission in Lyon, France, to get the PFL Heavyweight Champion.

In the PFL co-main event, Cristiane “Cris Cyborg” Justino, 40, (29-2, 1 NC) submitted Sara Collins, 35, (6-1) of Victoria, Australia to win the vacant women’s featherweight championship. Currently, Cyborg competes in professional boxing and MMA. You can see the full map results and video highlights here.

PFL Africa 4: Final 2025 is the first season finale of the Professional Fighters League in Africa, which will take place on Saturday, December 20, 2025 at the Sofitel Dome in Cotonou, Benin.
The event concludes a series of four tournaments aimed at crowning the first PFL Africa champions. Winners in each of the four designated weight classes will receive a $100,000 grand prize and guaranteed entry into the PFL Global ecosystem. The event starts at 11am ET. You can watch on VICE TV and the PFL app. The event will be broadcast across Africa on Canal+, SuperSport, SportyTV and StarzPlay. The competition is chaired by former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Nganno. You can read the preview here.

Undefeated UFC lightweight champion Ilia Topuria, 28, (17-0) has announced a temporary hiatus from defending his title due to ongoing legal and personal matters, specifically addressing what he claims are “false allegations of domestic violence” and an “attempted extortion” from a failed marriage to a businesswoman Giorgina Uzcategui Badelwho is 31 years old. Ilia plans to defend his title later in 2026 once he has settled his personal affairs. The couple has 2 children together.

UFC324 returns Saturday January 24, 2026at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas with a loaded card, celebrating the UFC’s debut on Paramount+ for numbered events, headlined Justin Gaethje vs. Paddy Pimblett for the Interim Lightweight Title and a huge co-main event with Amanda Nunes challenging Kayla Harrison for the women’s bantamweight championship. The rest of the map will contain other stars, such as Sean O’Malley And Derrick Lewis. There will be no UFC events for the next five weeks in preparation for the new network deal. You can sign up for Biggest+ here.

For PFL tee times, more informationAnd to watch PFL eventsclick here.

To view the current UFC rankingsclick here.

Prepare for the UFC in 2026 and sign up Biggest+ here.

For the most current news from the #2 MMA promotion PFLclick here.

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