Mark Magsayo faces Andres Cortes in a 10-round lightweight bout on Saturday, September 12, at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The contest is featured on the undercard of Ryan Garcia vs Conor Benn.
- Both unbeaten Cortes (25-0, 13 KOs) of Henderson, Nevada, and Filipino former champion Magsayo (29-2, 19 KOs) last fought at Zuffa Boxing 5 in April.
- Magsayo defeated former title challenger Feargal McCrory by fifth-round TKO.
- Cortes, who headlined the event, scored a unanimous decision over Eridson Garcia.
Garcia vs Benn will stream live on Paramount+ excluding the UK and Ireland, where the card will be available via DAZN PPV.
What they’re saying
“I’ve waited for a night like this my whole career,” Magsayo said. “I signed with Zuffa to be on the biggest shows. Andres Cortes called me out, and I answered. He won’t have his ‘0’ after I get done with him.”
Cortes said, “This is my opportunity to show the world what I can do. I’m going to destroy Mark Magsayo on September 12. Growing up in the gyms in Las Vegas, I dreamed of fighting on a platform like this in front of my people. The time has come.”
Vanhouter vs Akpejiori
In addition to the Magsayo vs Cortes matchup, the promotion announced an eight-round heavyweight contest between Damazion Vanhouter and Raphael Akpejiori for the prelims.
- Vanhouter (12-0, 9 KOs) of Albany, New York, won his previous bout in May by first-round TKO against Raphael Murphy at Zuffa Boxing 6.
- Miami-based Raphael Akpejiori (19-3, 18 KOs) of Nigeria comes off a unanimous decision defeat to Mourad Aliev in May.
In the main event, WBC welterweight champion Ryan Garcia (25-2, 20 KOs) of Victorville, California, makes the first defense of his title against British challenger Conor Benn (25-1, 14 KOs).
The co-feature is a cruiserweight battle between two champions, Australia’s Jai Opetaia (30-0, 23 KOs) and Armenia’s Noel Mikaelian (28-3, 12 KOs).
Other bouts are expected to be announced shortly.