Ryan Garcia vs Conor Benn: Live blog, round-by-round and results

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Ryan Garcia and Conor Benn meet tonight in the biggest Zuffa Boxing main event to date, and what should be one of boxing’s biggest fights of 2026!

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Bad Left Hook will be here starting at 8 pm ET with live, round-by-round coverage for all four main card fights. Wil Esco will be on the round-by-round, which will update right here in this post, and we’ll also have a live chat hosted by myself down in the comments.

Join us and your fellow fight fans for a big one tonight!

Garcia vs Benn live blog and round-by-round

Da’Mazion Vanhouter KO-1 Raphael Akpejiori

  • Round 1: Fight starts and Akpejiori looks like a big, big man comparted to Vanhouter. Just as I say that VANHOUTER LANDS BIG SHOTS THAT PUTS HIM DOWN! VANHOUTER ATTACKS AS SOON AS HIS OPPONENT GETS UP AND VANHOUTER SOMEHOW GOES DOWN AND LOOKS LIKE HE’S POPPED HIS SHOULDER! RIGHT HANDS COME FROM VANHOUTER AND HE PUMMELS AKPEJIORI! Crazy sequence of events, hence all the caps! Vanhouter KO-1!

Andres Cortes def. Mark Magsayo by unanimous decision

Official Scores: 97-93, 97-93, 97-93 for Cortez.

Post-Fight Thoughts: Pretty awful performance from Mark Magsayo who was really flat and obviously weak on his legs. I still have to question his physical conditioning heading into this fight because he touched the canvas about a dozen times over 10 rounds and he was fortunate not to have a lot more knockdowns officially recorded. Either way, credit to Cortes who came into this fight prepared and sharp from the opening bell, and took full advantage of his opportunity on this stage.

  • Round 10: Nobody really looks to close the fight emphatically, which only would seemingly benefit Cortes who I have up on the cards so it’s on Magsayo to take some chances here. I’ll give Cortes the final round 10-9, and I have the fight in his favor 97-93.
  • Round 9: Pace of the fight slows a bit this round in the opening minute. Magsayo lands a big left hook that momentarily stuns Cortes. Magsayo needs to capitalize quickly as he’s got little time left in this fight. Magsayo 10-9, 84-87.
  • Round 8: Magsayo has managed to open up a cut on Cortes right eye, which serves to encourage Magsayo and spur his aggression. Magsayo 10-9, 74-78.
  • Round 7: Magsayo once again touches the canvas but it’s ruled no knockdown this time. Magsayo has touched the canvas more than just about any fighter I’ve seen and it just leads me to believe his legs are really weak because it’s not even really coming from punches. Meanwhile, Magsayo touches the canvas yet again and still somehow gets a fortunate no knockdown call. Cortes having his way, really. Cortes 10-9, 69-64.
  • Round 6: Cortes leading and countering and it looks like there’s some mounting frustration from Magsayo. Magsayo getting beat on the inside and mid range, and at long range mostly. Cortes looks like the better schooled fighter. Cortes 10-9, 59-55.
  • Round 5: Ok, well another review is overturning last round’s knockdown once again. So, once again I’m revising my scoring to Cortes 10-9 from last round. Magsayo looking to hold at the waist very often on the inside. Meanwhile, Cortes is landing some good overhands at close range. Magsayo looks like he’s breathing heavy already, and he’s shown signs of weak legs in earlier rounds. I question his physical condition, personally. Cortes 10-9, 49-46.
  • Round 4: Review seems to overturn the knockdown call from the last round, so I’ll revise my score to a Cortes 10-9. Cortes continues to land some shots either low or over the top which eventually gets him a warning from the referee but you can’t take back the damage done. Magsayo goes down to a knee while holding at the waist and it’s ruled a knockdown again! Strange body language from Magsayo. Cortes 10-8, 39-36.
  • Round 3: All the sudden Magsayo having success landing upstairs after some consistent body work ast round. Cortes finds some moments of success with a series of right hands. Magsayo touches the canvas while he gets hit with a body shot and it’s ruled a knockdown. Magsayo doesn’t appear to argue. Cortes 10-8, 29-28.
  • Round 2: Magsayo comes out and goes right after Cortes but targets the body with much better results. More hard body shots come from Magsayo and land well. Magsayo has a much, much better second round, making this an entirely different fight. Magsayo 10-9, 19-19.
  • Round 1: Magsayo comes out aggressively but Cortes sharp and prepared to counter immediately. Cortes does well mixing up his lead attack so that Magsayo doesn’t quite know what to anticipate. I think Cortes’ countering and craftiness was better than what Magsayo had to offer here. Cortes 10-9.

How to watch Garcia vs Benn

This is one of those cases where it really will matter where you are in the world.

If you’re in the United States, the fights will stream live on Paramount+ for all subscribers, with no additional pay-per-view fee.

If you are in the United Kingdom or Ireland, the show will stream on DAZN PPV or for Ultimate tier subscribers.

  • Start time: 8:00 pm ET for the main card, prelims will start at 5 pm ET.
  • Main event ring walks: Expected approx. 11 pm ET, which is 4 am on Sunday morning in the United Kingdom, if you’re wondering.
  • Location: T-Mobile Arena – Las Vegas, NV, USA

Garcia vs Benn running order and previews

Main Event

  • Ryan Garcia vs Conor Benn, welterweights, 12 rounds, for Garcia’s WBC title
    • Scott’s Preview: Patrick and myself made our picks over here, so go read that if you’re looking for something more in-depth from the two of us, but I’ll repeat here that I think this is a wild card matchup. Garcia (25-2, 20 KO) has great speed and that should be a big advantage, and he’s also the better boxer. There are real questions about Benn (25-1, 14 KO) making welterweight for the first time in four years, though he was a full lb under on Friday. But Garcia is also the much more inconsistent fighter, and Benn has a lot of grit and fights with heart. It’s a genuinely intriguing matchup.
Undercard – Main Card
  • Jai Opetaia vs Noel Mikaelian, cruiserweights, 12 rounds, for Opetaia’s Zuffa title
    • Scott’s Preview: Mikaelian (28-3, 12 KO) won’t be defending his WBC title, and the fact that this fight is being pushed through is a story in and of itself, with Don King Productions sending TKO a cease-and-desist that is being ignored. Opetaia (30-0, 23 KO) is universally considered the No. 1 cruiserweight in the world — well, maybe not universally anymore, since David Benavidez is in the division, but Opetaia’s definitely earned his claim to the spot. And he’s the big favorite here for a reason.
  • Mark Magsayo vs Andres Cortes, lightweights, 10 rounds
    • Scott’s Preview: Magsayo (29-2, 19 KO) is a former featherweight titleholder who is now 31 and while on a five-fight win streak, he hasn’t really had a serious test since losing wide to Brandon Figueroa in 2023.Now he’s two divisions higher and facing Cortes (25-o, 13 KO), who moved up from 130 to 135 when he signed with Zuffa and beat Eridson Garcia in a really close fight in April. I think this has some potential to be interesting if not a thriller, the 29-year-old Cortes is unbeaten but a bit more untested than Magsayo, but Magsayo has also been so-so at higher levels. It’s well-matched and both guys really need this W.
  • Da’Mazion Vanhouter vs Raphael Akpejiori, heavyweights, 8 rounds
    • Scott’s Preview: Zuffa/TKO are really insistent on featuring heavyweights despite having very little talent in their heavyweight ranks. Vanhouter is 12-0 (9 KO) and could be promising, a 21-year-old American who is 2-0 under the Zuffa banner thus far. Don’t get crazy, he’s not some blue chipper or anything, but he’s in a good spot to make some strides if he works hard. Akpejiori (19-3, 18 KO) is a 35-year-old Nigerian veteran with an empty record, and it has to be noted that Arslanbek Makhmudov stopped him in two rounds and Stephan Shaw in one. He did go eight in his loss to Mourad Aliev in May, which probably says more about Aliev’s level than Akpejiori’s.
Preliminary Undercard (5:00 pm ET)
  • Jose Ramirez vs Alexis Rocha, welterweights, 10 rounds
  • Abel Gonzalez vs Raul Salomon, super middleweights, 8 rounds
  • Vlad Panin vs Dakota Linger, super welterweights, 6 rounds
  • Oswaldo Molina vs Pablo Rubio, lightweights, 6 rounds
  • Sean Garcia vs Abraham Morales, lightweights, 6 rounds

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