Jai Opetaia defended his titles with a nasty ninth round standing knockout over Noel Mikaelian but the bigger moment may have come just a few minutes later when he stared down David Benavidez in hopes of setting up a showdown between them next year.
As the top cruiserweight in the sport, it was no surprise tha Opetaia got the job done on Saturday as he chipped away at Mikaelian until he finally got the finish. But then Opetaia invited Benavidez into the ring and the two fighters showed nothing but respect and agreed it’s time for them to meet in the ring for real.
“He’s done a lot for the sport,” Opetaia said about Benavidez. “What better fight
