MMA & Boxing · Boxing · 2026

Date & time

11 Jul 2026, 18:00

Round

72

Venue

VTB Arena

Location

Moscow, Russia

The heavyweight division takes center stage at the VTB Arena in Moscow as newly crowned WBA Heavyweight World Champion Murat "Iron" Gassiev makes his first highly anticipated title defense against dangerous late-replacement challenger Peter Kadiru. The primary hurdle for the powerhouse champion is adjusting his entire strategic blueprint on just a few days' notice after original opponent Tony Yoka withdrew due to a severe back injury, forcing him to face an entirely different physical profile. The objective for Gassiev is to establish his devastating knockout power early in front of a passionate home crowd, cutting off the ring to trap his opponent against the ropes. Strategically, the goal of this elite championship main event is asserting absolute divisional authority and positioning the victor for massive unification bouts later this winter. Concurrently, the mission for Kadiru, the towering German contender who jumps at this career-defining opportunity following a dominant victory in May, is to leverage his two-inch height advantage and disciplined amateur pedigree to completely disrupt the champion's rhythm, engineering a monumental upset on the global stage.