The world title bout between Jai Opetaia and David Nyika kicks off the boxing schedule for 2025, headlining the first Fight Week of January. The contest airs mid-week live from the Gold Coast, Australia.
The boxing match between Callum Simpson and Steed Woodall tops Saturday Fights live from Sheffield, England. Plus, an MMA rematch between Mackenzie Dern and Amanda Ribas serves as the main event of UFC Vegas 101.
Jai Opetaia vs David Nyika
Jai Opetaia faces David Nyika on Wednesday, January 8 at GCCEC on the Gold Coast, Australia. Battling it out in front of his home country crowd, Opetaia makes the second defense of his IBF cruiserweight title in his second reign. Nyika, from New Zealand, fights for one of the four major belts as a replacement challenger for Huseyin Cinkara, who got injured and was forced to withdraw.
Among the undercard bouts, Australian heavyweight Justis Huni goes up against Shaun Potgieter of South Africa. Austin Aokuso of Australia and Leti Leti of Samoa clash at light heavyweight. Australia’s Max McIntyre takes on Abdulselam Saman of Turkey at super middleweight. In addition, local Ben Mahoney meets Fan Zhang of China at super welterweight.
Opetaia vs Nyika live stream is available on DAZN. The start time is 3:00 am ET / 12:00 am PT in the U.S. and 8:00 am GMT in the UK. The local start time in Australia is 7:00 pm AEDT.
Callum Simpson vs Steed Woodall
Callum Simpson and Steed Woodall square off in an all-British clash at Canon Medical Arena in Sheffield, England on Saturday, January 11. Simpson puts his British and Commonwealth super middleweight titles on the line and looks to remain unbeaten following two successful outings in 2024. Woodall aims for his second straight victory after he stopped Lerrone Richards in the sixth round last June.
The co-feature is a lightweight bout between British southpaw Caroline Dubois and former title challenger Jessica Camara of Canada. Among other undercard bouts, Billy Deniz faces Mickey Ellison at light heavyweight, Ellis Price takes on Liam Fitzmaurice at lightweight, and Scott Forrest meets Deevorn Miller at cruiserweight. A pair of middleweight matchups feature Sam Hickey against Lewis Howells and Mauro Silva versus Emmanuel Zion.
Simpson vs. Woodall headlines the Boxxer fight card live on Peacock in the U.S., starting at 2:00 pm ET / 11:00 am PT. In the UK, the event airs live on Sky Sports at 7:00 pm GMT.
UFC Vegas 101: Dern vs Ribas 2
A strawweight rematch between Mackenzie Dern and Amanda Ribas headlines the first MMA fight card of 2025 at UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday, January 11, aka UFC Vegas 101. Ribas of Brazil looks to get back in the win column after dropping a unanimous decision to Rose Namajunas last March, as well as secure her second victory over Dern. Dern of Phoenix, Arizona, aims for her second win in a row and to take revenge on Ribas for the defeat by UD in October 2019.
The co-main event is a welterweight matchup between Santiago Ponzinibbio of Argentina and Carlston Harris of Guyana. Also on the card is a middleweight bout between Cesar Almeida of Brazil and Abdul Razak Alhassan of Ghana. Christian Rodriguez of Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Austin Bashi of West Bloomfield Township, Michigan battle it out at featherweight. A welterweight bout pits Punahele Soriano of Oahu, Hawaii against Uros Medic of Serbia.
UFC Vegas 101: Dern vs Ribas 2 live stream is available on ESPN+. The start time is 7:00 pm ET / 4:00 pm PT for the main card, following the prelims, beginning at 4:00 pm ET / 1:00 pm PT.
In addition, stay tuned for a full list of upcoming events featured on the FIGHTMAG Schedule, which also covers pro wrestling and more. This week includes AEW Dynamite, taking place at the F&M Bank Arena in Clarksville, Tennessee on Wednesday, January 8. Plus, AEW Collision is held at Akins Ford Arena in Athens, Georgia on Saturday, January 11.
In case you missed it, check out the 2024 Year in Review. The past year featured dozens of top moments, including the crowning of undisputed heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk, Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson, the return of Jon Jones, and more.