Sportskeeda's Combat Sports Weekend Highlights: Part I (Video)

Many fight fans across the world, understandably, put the majority of their focus and attention into the ‘major leagues’ of combat sports.

When you have companies with the universal presence, financial muscle and marketing power of UFC and Bellator, it is easy to forget that there are hundreds of world class combat sports events that take place every week all over the world.

In this brand new exclusive series, Sportskeeda will dig deep into the fight world for the most incredible and exciting highlights and stories from the previous weekend’s fights.

From regional and amateur promotions all the way up to the International juggernauts of UFC and Bellator, nothing is off limits. We will provide you with the best of the action from the past weekend and keep you up to date with the most exciting highlights from around the world.

Whether it is a devastating knock out, a world-class submission victory or an epic battle that goes the distance, you can trust us to bring you the video highlights right here on Sportskeeda.

In the first volume of Sportseeda’s Combat Sports Weekend Highlights, we bring you mind-blowing action from both MMA and Boxing events in New York, London, Kobe, Stockholm and Las Vegas.

This debut edition of our new series will bring you video packages from some of the biggest names in the fight game, as well some exciting prospects trying to make a name for themselves on the regional scene.

Join us as we take a look back across MMA and Boxing events from around the fight world to bring you the best highlights and stories from this past weekend in Combat Sports.

This week, where better to start, than with one of the biggest and most stunning upsets in the history of Heavyweight Boxing…

#5 Andy Ruiz Jr. Def. Anthony Joshua

On the 1st of June 2019, Andy Ruiz Jr. shocked the boxing world when he stopped the previously undefeated Anthony Joshua in the seventh round to become the first ever Mexican Heavyweight Champion of the World.

This was Anthony Joshua's first foray into the American market, and he had originally planned to face 'Big Baby' Miller at Madison Square Garden.

However, when Miller was pulled from the fight following a failed drugs test, Ruiz was ready, willing and able to step into the spotlight.

Although Ruiz is known for being a fundamentally sound and incredibly tough competitor, very few can honestly say they saw this result coming, with Las Vegas bookmakers pricing Ruiz Jr. as a serious outsider in this match.

Take a look at the highlights below to see how Andy Ruiz Jr overcame all the odds and changed the boxing landscape forever.

#4 Cory McKenna Def. Giulia Chinello – Cage Warriors 105

Cage Warriors held their 105th fight card this past weekend in Colchester, England. As always, they provided yet another enthralling event for their fans around the world watching on UFC Fight Pass.

One performance that particularly caught the eye was that of Strawweight contender, Cory McKenna, who put in a dominant and aggressive display to claim a first round stoppage against a tricky opponent in Giulia Chinello.

Cage Warriors is a promotion that has grown to become one of Europe's top MMA organisations. Later this month, at Cage Warriors 106, they will be putting on a full 'Night of Champions' card, comprised entirely of championship fights.

If McKenna can continue to put on impressive displays like this one, it is safe to say she will be knocking on the door for a championship opportunity of her own in the very near future.

The full fight can be seen below.

#3 Mamoru Oui Def. Kana Hyatt – Rizin 16

The Japanese promotion Rizin Fighting Federation held their event Rizin 16 in Kobe, Japan on Saturday night.

Oui and Hyatt are two highly seasoned and experienced competitors in the Bantamweight division and their match up certainly did not disappoint.

The bout very nearly went the distance, but it was the Japanese Mamoru Oui who eventually claimed the TKO victory over Hyatt through punches and soccer kicks to his American opponent at the very end of the third round, with just 13 seconds remaining on the clock.

This victory took Mamoru Oui to an impressive 22 professional career victories.

You may remember, Rizin Fighting Federation gained significant media attention at the beginning of the year when they hosted an exhibition boxing match between Tenshin Nasakuwa and Floyd Mayweather.

The full Oui vs Hyatt fight is available here.

#2 Aleksander Rakic Def. Jimi Manuwa – UFC Fight Night 153

The UFC made their long awaited return to Sweden for Fight Night 153. So it was fitting that a match up between two European competitors would provide the highlight of the night.

Austrian Light-Heavyweight Aleksander Rakic made a huge statement in this ultra-competitive division, landing a devastating head kick in the first round to knock out the experienced British fighter, Jimi Manuwa.

Rakic will now set his sights on continuing to climb the Light-Heavyweight rankings and will be looking to enter the octagon with more highly ranked fighters, in the hope that he can eventually earn a shot at the Light-Heavyweight belt.

Meanwhile, following this particularly brutal loss, Jimi Manuwa has chosen to retire from the sport of MMA altogether and will now focus on the next chapter of his career.

A clip of Rakic’s victory can be seen below.

#1 Joel Bauman Def. Bobby Downs – LFA 68

Joel Bauman celebrates victory at LFA 68

Finally, our highlight of the weekend comes from Legacy Fighting Alliance’s young Middleweight Joel Bauman.

Bauman came flying out the blocks in his match up with Bobby Downs on Friday night. Bauman managed to keep his 100% professional record when he finished his opponent via knock out in the very first round.

Prior to this bout at LFA 68, Bauman told MMA Weekly that he has his sights firmly on the big leagues in MMA…

“I told myself when I went pro that I had two years to be a UFC champion, I would like to be in the UFC within my next fight. I’m going into this one to prove a point.”

It is both exciting and impressive to see performances of this calibre so early in a fighter's professional career. It will certainly be interesting to if the UFC have been paying close attention to Bauman’s explosive career so far.