Opetaia rocks Mikaelian by 9th-round TKO, faces off in ring with Benavidez

          • Brett OkamotoSep 12, 2026, 11:38 PM ET
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              Brett Okamoto has reported on mixed martial arts and boxing at ESPN since 2010. He has covered all of the biggest events in combat sports during that time, including in-depth interviews and features with names such as Dana White, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Conor McGregor, Nate Diaz, Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao and Georges St-Pierre. He was also a producer on the 30 for 30 film: "Chuck and Tito," which looked back at the careers and rivalry of Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz. He lives in Las Vegas, and is an avid, below-average golfer in his spare time.
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          LAS VEGAS -- Jai Opetaia solidified himself as one of the best cruiserweights in boxing Saturday and just might have set up a future contest with WBA champion David Benavidez in the process.

          Opetaia (31-0, 24 KOs) defeated WBC champion Noel Mikaelian (28-4, 12 KOs) by TKO at 1:30 of the ninth round, when referee Harvey Dock ruled Mikaelian unable to continue after a series of punches on the ropes. After the result, Benavidez (32-0, 26 KOs), who was in attendance, entered the ring inside T-Mobile Arena and suggested a title unification bout in May.

          "I respect him, he's done a lot for the sport," Opetaia said. "What better fight to make, respectfully."

          Opetaia, a native of Sydney, Australia, defended his Ring and Zuffa cruiserweight titles with the win, which co-headlined Saturday's WBC welterweight title fight between Ryan Garcia and Conor Benn. He did not capture Mikaelian's title because of the WBC's refusal to sanction the bout following a dispute filed by Don King Productions on Mikaelian's promotional contract. DKP filed a cease and desist letter to Zuffa Boxing this week, but the bout proceeded as scheduled.

          Opetaia went into the contest as a heavy favorite and looked the part. The finish came after Opetaia hurt Mikaelian badly with a short right hand, and another left as Mikaelian looked to clinch. A follow-up right uppercut sent Mikaelian crashing back onto the ropes, essentially out on his feet. It's the first time Mikaelian has been knocked out in his 15-year professional career.

          According to CompuBox, Opetaia outlanded Mikaelian 111-77 in total punches. He survived a brief scare in the seventh round, when Mikaelian landed a good right hand to his temple. Opetaia clinched to clear himself of danger. Mikaelian tried to pursue him the rest of the round, but Opetaia eventually recovered and even went on to land several good shots at the end of the round.

          Benavidez is coming off a sixth-round knockout of Gilberto Ramirez in May.

          "He's the boogeyman of this division," Benavidez said, "but I'm the person they call when it's time to kill a boogeyman."