Top Upcoming Fights to Watch in Late 2025 and Early 2026

Fight fans love suffering. We complain about promoters, judges, and stoppages, but when the right two names land on the same poster, everyone finds a way to clear their weekend. Group chats light up, uncles start predicting knockouts from round one to twelve, and even people who “don’t really watch boxing” suddenly ask who’s fighting. Between the final weeks of 2025 and the first big cards of 2026, the combat sports calendar still has plenty of nights like that left.

Naoya Inoue vs Alan David Picasso – the Monster tests another challenger

On 27 December 2025 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Naoya Inoue defends his undisputed super bantamweight crown against unbeaten Mexican challenger Alan David “El Rey” Picasso, headlining the “Ring V: Night of the Samurai” card at Mohammed Abdo Arena.

Inoue has made a habit of turning dangerous opponents into highlight reels; people tune in partly to see excellence, partly to see if someone can finally slow him down. Picasso is young, tall for the weight and brave – exactly the kind of fighter who believes he is the exception to the rule. For purists, this is one of the technical treats of the festive period: fast hands, sharp counters and body shots that make you grateful you’re only watching. For casuals, it’s simple: if you hear people calling a man “The Monster” with respect in their voice, you sit down and see why. The only ones not excited are the guys on the undercard who have to hit the pads while the arena is still half-empty.

Amanda Serrano vs Erika Cruz II – volume vs stubborn heart

The new year opens with a bang in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where Amanda Serrano meets Erika Cruz in a rematch for the unified WBA and WBO featherweight titles on 3 January 2026 at Coliseo Roberto Clemente. Serrano is already a legend of modern women’s boxing; every fight feels like another chapter in a story that started on small cards and now headlines arenas at home.

Cruz is the kind of fighter who treats cuts and bruises like decorations. She showed in their first, bloody war that she doesn’t come to survive; she comes to push. Stylistically, that’s perfect drama: Serrano’s clean, relentless combinations against Cruz’s pressure and refusal to back off. It’s the fight you put on for friends who still think women’s boxing is soft – five rounds in, they usually go quiet, lean forward and forget they said anything. By the final bell, everyone in the room looks more tired than the fighters.

Fight nights, casino lights

Big fights don’t live only in the ring. They spill into streets, lounges and tiny shisha spots with one TV and thirty opinions. On those nights, casino culture sneaks in through the side door. Some fans head to physical casinos where the undercard plays in the background while people chase lucky spins. Others stay home but open casino apps alongside the live stream, turning the whole evening into an all-in entertainment package.

That’s where opening melbet bingo can really fit the vibe. Instead of just waiting for ring walks, people jump into online bingo rooms and casino mini-games themed around stars, belts and lucky numbers. You’ll see someone sweating on a main-event knockout while at the same time yelling at their screen because their bingo card needed just one more number. It’s the same adrenaline, just with a different soundtrack – and when the main event is over, the digital casino keeps the night alive a little longer.

UFC 326: Max Holloway vs Charles Oliveira II – unfinished business

On the MMA side, one of the most significant announcements for early 2026 is UFC 326 in Las Vegas, where Max Holloway will defend his “BMF” title against Charles Oliveira in a lightweight rematch on 7 March 2026 at T-Mobile Arena. Their first meeting in 2015 ended early due to an injury to Oliveira, leaving a question mark rather than a full story.

Now both are older, smarter and carrying whole highlight reels behind them. Holloway is known for drowning opponents in volume; Oliveira brings submissions sharp enough to turn one mistake into a tap. It’s the kind of stylistic clash that makes even casual viewers lean forward. You can already hear the debates: “If it stays standing, Max wins; if it hits the mat, trouble.” In other words, the classic MMA fan plan: confidently predict everything, then post “told you” after the one scenario you mentioned actually happens.

How fans turn hype into slips

Of course, where there are big fights, there are big opinions – and where there are big opinions, sports betting is never far behind. In many places, it’s normal now to watch the weigh-in, argue about reach and age, then quietly open a betting app to turn that argument into a small stake.

Some people go straight for the obvious favourites. Others specialise in the weird markets: total rounds, knockdowns, method of victory. A disciplined crowd keeps spreadsheets and bets only when the odds and their analysis match. For that kind of fan, sites including mela bets and other sports-betting platforms become tools, not just toys – places where they compare pre-fight odds, build cautious accumulators, cash out when momentum turns and, ideally, stop when the fun is over. The key phrase is “sports betting”, not “sports miracle.”If you think every ticket is your ticket out of stress, the game has already beaten you before the first bell rings.

Why these fights matter beyond the belts

What ties all these bouts together isn’t just gold around someone’s waist. It’s that they represent different sides of what fight culture has become:

• Old vs new – a traditional champion against an influencer, or a polished technician against a hungry unbeaten challenger.
• Street talk vs strategy – people shouting hot takes, while coaches quietly drill game plans in small gyms.
• Pure sport vs entertainment – the same card can satisfy the hardcore analyst and the casual viewer who only wants a spectacle and a flutter on the side.

On paper, they’re just entries on a schedule. In real life, they’re reason for friends to meet, for neighbourhoods to go quiet at midnight, for aunties to complain about the noise and then end up watching anyway. Some will remember the exact combinations that ended a fight; others will just remember who cooked the best braai or who mis-clicked their bet right before the knockout.

When the final bell of the year rings, a few champions will have new belts, some hype trains will be derailed, and the next wave of call-outs will already be rolling across social media. That’s the thing about fighting: as soon as one big night ends, fans start asking, “Okay, so who’s next?”

And somewhere, in a small gym with bad lighting and loud music, someone is hitting pads and promising themselves that one day, their name will be on that “most anticipated” list too.