Both Edgar Berlanga and Richardson Hitchins were signed by Zuffa Boxing at the same time earlier this year, so it was only fitting that the two sluggers would make their debuts on the same night.
Indeed, Berlanga headlined Zuffa Boxing 9 last night (Sun. July 26, 2026) inside Infosys Theater in Madison Square Garden opposite Steven Butler in a 12-round 168-pound fight. From the jump, it was obvious that the two men’s objective was to go head-hunting, as they wasted no time in in swinging the leather. In round two, it was Butler who managed to clip Berlanga and send him to the canvas.
And the hits just kept coming as both men never let up, letting it all hang out looking for the home run shot. As the first half of the fight wore on, it was Berlanga who was finding his rhythm, landing the cleaner punches. In round seven, Berlanga was able to connect on a four-punch combo that had Butler hurt, forcing the referee on duty to step in and put an end to the fight, nearly falling out of the ring holding on to Bulter, in the process.
It’s a great win for Berlanga, who bounces back following his knockout loss to Hamzah Sheeraz a year ago (see it again here).
As for Hitchins, he was tasked with co-headlining the event against Ricardo Salas in a 147-pound bout. Once the dust settled, Hitchins had done enough to secure a unanimous decision win, improving his overall record to 22-0.
Check out the full results and highlights below:
168 lbs.: Edgar Berlanga vs. Steven Butler – Berlanga wins via seventh-round TKO
147 lbs.: Richardson Hitchins vs. Ricardo Salas – Hitchins wins via unanimous decision
160 lbs.: Sergiy Derevyanchenko vs. Jalil Hacket – Hacket wins via unanimous decision
Heavyweight: Otto Wallin vs. Vladyslav Sirenko – Sirenko wins via tenth-round KO
147 lbs.: Emiliano Moreno vs. Arnold Gonzalez – Moreno wins via unanimous decision
Heavyweight: Kashaun Davis vs, Mihai Nistor – Davis wins via unanimous decision
126 lbs.: Troy Nash vs. Ethan Perez – Nash wins via majority decision
130 lbs.: Dominique Francis vs. Andres Sosa – Sosa wins via unanimous decision
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