The newly renamed Meta Apex in Las Vegas will swap the UFC's Octagon for the Zuffa Boxing ring as a new era for boxing begins on Friday, January 23rd. Zuffa Boxing kicks off with an eight-bout lineup featuring 16 boxers whose combined career record stands at 227 wins, nine losses. To set the scene ahead of the inaugural event, let's run through the fight card:
Main Event: Callum Walsh vs Carlos Ocampo... Fresh off a unanimous decision victory last September, rising star "King" Callum Walsh is ready to step back into the main event spotlight. The undefeated 24-year-old has built a 15-0 record that includes 11 wins by knockout, and the California-based Irishman will take center stage at Meta APEX when he faces Carlos Ocampo. After competing at middleweight through the first nine fights of his career, Walsh dropped down to 154 pounds. Now, Walsh is returning to 160 pounds, and his first test in the Zuffa Boxing ring comes in the form of a former title challenger, who has more than twice as many victories as Walsh has fights. Mexico's Ocampo arrives with a career record of 38 wins, three defeats, with 26 knockouts to his name. His most recent appearance saw him claim a highlight-reel knockout of Ricardo Banuelo Cernas in Hermosillo, Mexico, but against Walsh, he’ll be facing much more accomplished opposition this weekend. That’s not to say Ocampo is short on elite-level experience, though. The 30-year-old from Ensenada, Baja California, has shared the ring with the likes of Errol Spence Jr, Sebastian Fundora and Tim Tszyu in unsuccessful tilts at world championship gold. Ocampo heads into the fight riding a three-fight win streak, all by finish, and all inside the first three rounds – and plans on playing spoiler by handing Walsh the first defeat of his career.
Misael Rodriguez Olivas vs Austin Deanda... Mexico's Misael Rodriguez Olivas (15-0, 7 KOs) takes on Virginia middleweight Austin Deanda (17-0, 11 KOs) in a battle of undefeated prospects at 160 pounds. Olivas returns to 160 pounds after a successful three-fight run at super middleweight that saw him claim a hat-trick of decision victories. But while he continued his winning form at 168 pounds, his punches have carried more threat at 160, and he'll be looking to return to the form that saw him claim three straight stoppage victories before his move up. He'll take on Deanda, whose last victory came against 41-fight veteran Jessie Wayne Linton last September. Prior to that victory, Deanda hit the local headlines in his native Virginia when he had to receive a haircut between rounds after his braids came loose during the action Both men have proven themselves to be ones to watch, but only one can emerge from the Meta Apex with their undefeated record intact.
Julian Rodriguez vs Cain Sandoval... The main card opener will pit two surging welterweights head to head as 24-1 Julian “Hammer Hands” Rodriguez takes on undefeated 17-0 “Sugar” Cain Sandoval. Sandoval heads into Friday’s fight in knockout form, having stopped each of his last four fights inside the distance, while Rodriguez is on a three-fight win streak after suffering the only defeat of his career back in 2021. Rodriguez brings the deeper resumé into the contest, but with Sandoval possessing the unblemished record, the fight looks set to offer Sacramento native Sandoval a stern test of his credentials against a fighter who handed undefeated prospect Avious Griffin his first career loss last time out.
Preliminary Card Bouts
Omar Trinidad vs Max Ornelas... Heading up the preliminary card lineup is a featherweight matchup between Omar Trinidad (19-0-2, 13 KOs) and Las Vegas native Max Ornelas (17-2-2, 6 KOs). Trinidad is undefeated after 21 pro fights, but comes into Friday’s bout after picking up the second draw of his career. The 30-year-old has 13 knockouts to his name, with 11 of them coming inside four rounds. He’ll be hoping to add to that tally against Ornelas, who is back on form and on a two-fight win streak after suffering the first two defeats of his pro career, back-to-back, in 2022 and 2023. The UNLV graduate, who majored in criminal justice, balanced his studies with his early professional boxing career. Now he’s set to embark on the latest chapter of his career as he returns to compete in his hometown for the ninth time.
Floyd Diaz vs Guillermo Gutierrez... Two bantamweights look to get back in the groove as Floyd “Cashflow” Diaz and Guillermo “GMO” Gutierrez end their lengthy respective layoffs, looking for a big win in the Zuffa Boxing ring. Twenty-two-year-old Diaz is perfect at 13-0, but when he steps into the ring at Meta Apex, it will be 483 days since his last outing. It’s a similar story for Gutierrez (13-2), who will end a layoff of almost a year when he takes on Diaz on Friday night. He’ll also be doing so on short notice after agreeing to step in just three weeks out from the fight after Diaz’s original opponent, Rocco Santomauro, was forced off the card. The opponent change may faze some, but with Diaz previously admitting he doesn’t watch much tape on his opponents, that might not be the case here.
Emiliano Cardenas vs Marcus Cortez Harris... A pair of young bantamweights will do battle as Emiliano Cardenas and Marcus Cortez Harris face off over six rounds. Cardenas, known to his fans as “El Gallo Negro”, has a perfect 9-0 resumé that includes four knockouts, and he’ll look to take the record into double figures when he takes on 7-1 Harris. Cardenas – a protegé of two-time BWAA Trainer of the Year, Robert Garcia, will only be competing in the United States for the second time in his career. He could be set for a stern test – Harris has not tasted defeat in his five fights on American soil.
Robert Meriwether III vs Cesar Correa...Undefeated lightweights go head to head in a 133-pound catchweight contest, as “King” Robert Meriwether III faces off against Cesar “C Money” Correa.
Watch UFC on Paramount+ -- Plans start at $7.99 per month
