The final full weekend of September gave combat sports fans just about everything.
Takuma Inoue survived the most dangerous moment of his rematch with Tenshin Nasukawa and once again left Tokyo with the WBC bantamweight championship. Ricardo Malajika went into Japan and walked out a world champion. Sam Goodman finally turned years of frustration into championship gold, while Raul Rosas Jr. survived a five-round battle that may have officially moved him from young prospect to legitimate UFC contender.
Not everybody left the weekend with the same momentum they carried into it. Several highly regarded fighters suffered painful setbacks, and one Ultimate Fighter final ended in the worst possible fashion — with a disqualification.
Here are Fight Week’s Weekend Winners & Losers from September 26–27.
WEEKEND WINNERS
WINNER: Takuma Inoue
Takuma Inoue already knew he could beat Tenshin Nasukawa. Sunday was about proving he could do it again after Nasukawa had another year to develop as a professional boxer.
That turned out to be considerably more difficult than the first meeting.
Inoue controlled much of the first half with his movement, timing and combinations, but everything changed in the seventh round when Nasukawa landed a sharp left hand that dropped the champion. Nasukawa followed aggressively and appeared close to completely changing the fight, but Inoue survived the danger, regained control and boxed effectively over the closing rounds. The judges ultimately scored the fight 116-111, 116-111 and 114-113, all for Inoue.
That knockdown is what makes this victory more impressive than simply saying Inoue beat Nasukawa for the second time. Champions eventually face a moment when the fight is no longer going according to plan. Inoue got hurt, lost control temporarily and still found a way to recover without allowing the challenger to turn one big moment into a championship-changing finish.
Fight Week Verdict: The first victory established that Inoue could solve Nasukawa. The rematch showed he could survive him. Inoue remains WBC bantamweight champion, and this time he had to demonstrate championship composure as much as championship skill.
WINNER: Ricardo Malajika
If Takuma Inoue won the biggest fight of the weekend, Ricardo Malajika may have scored its biggest boxing breakthrough.
Malajika traveled to Tokyo to face highly regarded Japanese amateur standout Tomoya Tsuboi for the vacant WBC super flyweight championship. Tsuboi had only three professional victories entering the contest, but his amateur pedigree and rapid progression had already created enormous expectations.
For much of the fight, those expectations looked justified. Tsuboi was ahead on two of the open scorecards after eight rounds, but Malajika refused to allow the fight to slip away. The South African became the aggressor down the stretch, finished strongly and earned a split decision by scores of 116-112 and 115-113, with the third judge scoring it 115-113 for Tsuboi.
Those final four rounds changed Malajika’s career. Instead of returning home with a respectable performance against another rising Japanese star, he returned as a WBC world champion.
Fight Week Verdict: This is exactly what championship opportunities are supposed to look like. Malajika went into hostile territory, fell behind, changed the direction of the fight and took the belt home with him. His name now belongs in every serious conversation about the loaded 115-pound division.
WINNER: Raul Rosas Jr.
Raul Rosas Jr. has spent most of his UFC career being discussed in terms of his age.
Saturday night felt different.
Rosas Jr. and veteran Raoni Barcelos fought through four competitive rounds before Rosas scored the official stoppage at 1:38 of Round 5 following a takedown. The victory extended Rosas’ winning streak to six, while the UFC awarded Rosas and Barcelos Fight of the Night honors.
The finish was concerning because of the way Barcelos landed, and the veteran immediately received medical attention afterward. UFC reporting cited after the event indicated he was alert while being evaluated. That shouldn’t distract from how competitive the fight had been before the ending. Barcelos forced Rosas to work deep into his first five-round main event, providing exactly the kind of veteran test Fight Week expected when we highlighted this matchup throughout last week.
At some point, Rosas has to stop being viewed mainly as the extremely young UFC fighter and start being evaluated simply as a ranked bantamweight contender.
We may have reached that point.
Fight Week Verdict: Rosas didn’t blow through Barcelos. In some ways, that’s better for his development. He had to solve problems, maintain his pace into the fifth round and find a way to win against one of the most experienced opponents he has faced.
WINNER: Sam Goodman
Sam Goodman has spent years close enough to the championship picture to see it clearly without ever quite getting the moment he wanted.
Sunday in Tokyo finally changed that.
Goodman defeated former IBF bantamweight champion Ryosuke Nishida by unanimous decision to claim the interim IBF junior featherweight championship. The scorecards were 116-109, 115-110 and 114-111 after a physical fight in which Goodman established himself early and maintained the pressure through 12 rounds.
The victory means more because of everything that came before it. Goodman has endured canceled opportunities and setbacks while remaining around the world-title picture. Instead of allowing those frustrations to stall his career, he went to Japan and produced what The Ring described as a career-best performance.
There are easier places to rebuild momentum than Tokyo against a former world champion.
Goodman did it anyway.
Fight Week Verdict: The belt matters, but so does the way Goodman earned it. He didn’t wait for the perfect circumstances or a carefully selected opponent. He went overseas, fought an accomplished former champion and finally gave his résumé the championship victory it had been missing.
WINNER: Liam Davies
Fight Week picked Liam Davies to beat Nathaniel Collins last Friday.
We expected a competitive decision.
Davies apparently had other plans.
Davies dropped Collins in the opening round and gradually took control of their European featherweight championship fight in Birmingham. Collins continued battling, but his corner stopped the contest after Round 7, giving Davies another successful defense of his European title.
This was the type of performance Davies needed. Moving into the world-title conversation requires more than accumulating victories, especially in a division filled with established champions and contenders. Dominating another respected domestic rival creates a stronger argument than simply squeezing out another decision.
Fight Week Verdict: Davies entered the weekend needing to separate himself from the crowded pack of British and European featherweights. Dropping Collins early and forcing the stoppage seven rounds later accomplished exactly that.
WINNER: Ailin Perez
Ailin Perez continues winning, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to treat her as anything other than a serious factor in the UFC women’s bantamweight championship picture.
Perez defeated No. 4-ranked Norma Dumont by unanimous decision, taking all three scorecards 29-28. The victory extended Perez’s winning streak to seven and gave her one of the most significant names on her résumé.
The matchup was important because both fighters entered near the top of a division looking for its next clear championship challenger. Perez now has the result that should move her closer to that conversation.
Fight Week Verdict: Seven consecutive victories are no longer just momentum. Perez has built a legitimate UFC résumé, and beating a top-five opponent should lead to an even larger opportunity.
WEEKEND LOSERS
LOSER: Mahammadali Osmanli
There are difficult ways to lose a fight.
Then there is losing The Ultimate Fighter final by disqualification.
Mahammadali Osmanli appeared to have an opportunity to become the TUF 34 bantamweight winner when his fight with Ilimbek Akylbek suddenly ended in the first round. Akylbek had slipped and was clearly down when Osmanli charged forward and landed a full-force knee to the head. The fight was stopped, and Osmanli was disqualified when Akylbek could not continue.
Akylbek became the first fighter from Kyrgyzstan to win The Ultimate Fighter, but nobody wanted the tournament to end under those circumstances. For Osmanli, the mistake was especially costly because it occurred in a fight designed to provide a pathway into the UFC.
Fight Week Verdict: This wasn’t losing a close decision or getting caught by a better fighter. It was an avoidable mistake at the worst possible moment, and Osmanli will have to live with that until he gets another opportunity.
LOSER: Tomoya Tsuboi
Tomoya Tsuboi’s professional career has moved at extraordinary speed.
Sunday showed the danger that comes with that approach.
The decorated amateur entered only his fourth official professional victory opportunity fighting for the vacant WBC super flyweight championship. For eight rounds, the gamble appeared likely to pay off. Tsuboi led on two of the open scorecards before Malajika increased the pressure and took the championship rounds.
Tsuboi suffered his first professional defeat by split decision, but the loss should be viewed in context. He wasn’t exposed by an overmatched opponent or knocked out in a showcase fight. He lost a competitive world championship bout against a far more experienced professional.
Still, losing after holding the advantage entering the final third of a championship fight will hurt.
Fight Week Verdict: The talent remains obvious. The lesson is that championship fights are often won in Rounds 9 through 12, and Malajika understood those moments better on Sunday.
LOSER: Ryosuke Nishida
Ryosuke Nishida entered Tokyo with an opportunity to establish himself immediately at junior featherweight after previously holding a bantamweight world championship.
Sam Goodman made sure that didn’t happen.
Goodman started aggressively and forced Nishida into the kind of physical fight that increasingly favored the Australian. Nishida remained competitive, but point deductions for repeated low blows further complicated his night, and all three judges ultimately gave Goodman the decision.
The result doesn’t erase what Nishida accomplished at bantamweight, but it slows his attempt to immediately establish himself at 122 pounds. In a division containing some of boxing’s biggest names, every lost opportunity becomes especially expensive.
Fight Week Verdict: Nishida remains a quality fighter, but this was Goodman’s night. The former champion now has to rebuild instead of moving directly toward another major title fight.
LOSER: Nathaniel Collins
Nathaniel Collins entered Saturday attempting to recover from the first loss of his professional career.
Instead, he now has consecutive defeats.
Davies dropped Collins in Round 1 and never really surrendered control afterward. Collins showed toughness and continued trying to create opportunities, but his corner had seen enough following the seventh round.
The second straight defeat is more damaging than the first because this was supposed to be Collins’ opportunity to reestablish himself against another highly rated British featherweight. Instead, Davies created an even wider separation between their current positions.
Fight Week Verdict: Collins has reached the first real crossroads of his professional career. The next fight shouldn’t be about another title immediately; it should be about rebuilding confidence and momentum.
LOSS ON PAPER, STOCK UP: Tenshin Nasukawa
Tenshin Nasukawa is now 0-2 against Takuma Inoue.
That doesn’t mean Sunday was a failure.
Nasukawa was clearly better in the rematch than he had been in their first meeting. His seventh-round left hand put Inoue on the canvas, and for a brief stretch it looked as though the former kickboxing superstar might complete one of the biggest moments of his young boxing career.
He couldn’t finish the job, and Inoue’s experience became important once the champion recovered. Nasukawa still has areas to improve, particularly when an opponent adjusts and forces him to create sustained offense instead of relying on individual bursts.
But remember where we are.
Nasukawa has only 10 professional boxing fights. His two losses have both come against the reigning WBC bantamweight champion, and this time he dropped that champion and pushed one judge to a 114-113 scorecard.
Fight Week Verdict: Nasukawa lost the rematch, but he showed tangible progress. His world championship moment may not have arrived Sunday, but nothing about the performance suggested he has reached his ceiling as a boxer.
WINNER ON PAPER, QUESTIONS REMAIN: Johnny Fisher
Johnny Fisher got the victory he needed in his Zuffa Boxing debut.
It just wasn’t the type of victory many expected.
Fisher defeated Michael Pirotton by majority decision at London’s Copper Box Arena, with judges scoring it 98-92 and 96-95 for Fisher while the third had it 95-95. Pirotton forced Fisher through 10 difficult rounds and remained competitive enough that the scorecards varied dramatically.
Fisher should get credit for winning a tough fight. Heavyweight development rarely moves in a straight line, and learning to grind through uncomfortable nights has value.
At the same time, Fisher remains a fighter being positioned for increasingly important heavyweight opportunities. Those opportunities bring opponents who will punish defensive mistakes and stretches of inactivity much more severely.
Fight Week Verdict: The official record says win, and that’s important. But Fisher left London with some homework as well as a victory.
Fight Week’s Biggest Winner of the Weekend
RICARDO MALAJIKA
Takuma Inoue won the weekend’s biggest boxing match.
Raul Rosas Jr. passed another major UFC test.
Sam Goodman finally captured championship gold.
But Ricardo Malajika is Fight Week’s biggest winner of the weekend.
Malajika entered Tokyo as the visiting fighter against one of Japan’s most accomplished recent amateur stars. He was behind after eight rounds and needed to change the direction of the fight.
He did.
Malajika became the aggressor during the championship rounds, won a split decision and left Japan as the WBC super flyweight world champion.
There are victories that improve a résumé, and there are victories that permanently change how a fighter is introduced.
From now on, Ricardo Malajika gets introduced as a world champion.
That makes Ricardo Malajika Fight Week’s biggest winner of the weekend.
Another weekend is finished, and the final days of September gave us champions surviving, challengers breaking through and young fighters learning exactly how unforgiving combat sports can be.
Takuma Inoue remains champion. Raul Rosas Jr. keeps climbing. Sam Goodman finally has gold. And Ricardo Malajika heads home with the biggest prize of his career.
Check back every Sunday for Fight Week Weekend Winners & Losers.
