Zuffa Boxing is going back to a fight that ended the first time violently. Edwin De Los Santos and Jose “Rayo” Valenzuela are set for a lightweight rematch in the main event of Zuffa Boxing 08 on August 15 at The Chelsea inside The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, with the card streaming on Paramount+.
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The first fight between De Los Santos and Valenzuela lasted only three rounds in 2022, but it changed the direction of both careers. De Los Santos dropped Valenzuela twice before finishing him in the third round in one of the bigger upset knockouts of that year. Valenzuela later rebuilt his position with wins that pushed him back into the lightweight picture, while De Los Santos stayed tied to dangerous-fight conversations because of his power and pressure style.
The rematch lands at an interesting point for both fighters. Valenzuela has spent the last few years trying to prove the first loss was more about inexperience and defensive mistakes than a ceiling issue. De Los Santos, meanwhile, is returning to the exact opponent he already stopped, which creates pressure of a different kind. If he wins again, especially by knockout, the first result looks permanent rather than accidental.
Zuffa appears to be building the card around action fights rather than titles. The co-feature will see Omar Trinidad face former world champion Jerwin Ancajas in a 12-round featherweight bout. Brandun Lee will also return against Cain Sandoval in a 10-round welterweight fight.
The event will take place in Las Vegas rather than at a larger arena, which fits the direction Zuffa Boxing has taken so far with its presentation. The company has focused heavily on compact cards built around recognizable names and aggressive matchmaking instead of stacking championship belts across the lineup.
De Los Santos, 26, has fought only three times since his 2022 knockout win over Valenzuela, but his power still stands out as a real problem at lightweight. In his last outing on December 13, 2025, he blasted out Eliot Chavez in the first round with the kind of shots that can change a fight instantly. Chavez is nowhere near the level of Valenzuela, but the punching power De Los Santos showed in that fight is the same thing that makes this rematch dangerous for Rayo heading into August 15.
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Last Updated on 2026/05/08 at 11:31 AM
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