Opetaia vs Mikaelian

Who won Opetaia vs Mikaelian?

Jai Opetaia beat Noel ‘Gevor’ Mikaelian by technical knockout in the 9th round on Saturday, September 12th, 2026, at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 12 rounds in the Cruiserweight division, which meant the weight limit was 200 pounds (14.3 stone or 90.7 kg).

This contest was for the unified cruiserweight championship of the world, with the The Ring, and WBA belts on the line.

Opetaia was making his 9th defense of the The Ring Cruiserweight Championship. He won this belt against Mairis Briedis in July 2022. He had held this belt for 4 years, 3 months and 1 day.

Opetaia's captured the WBA World Cruiserweight Championship, winning the belt against in this fight. He had held this belt for 21 days.

This fight appeared on the undercard of Ryan Garcia beating Conor Benn for the WBC World Welterweight championship. Also on the undercard Andres Cortes beat Mark Magsayo, and Alexis Rocha defeated Jose Carlos Ramirez.

Opetaia vs Mikaelian stats

Jai Opetaia stepped into the ring with an undefeated record of 30 wins, zero losses, and 0 draws, 23 of those wins coming by way of knockout.

Noel ‘Gevor’ Mikaelian made his way to the ring with a record of 28 wins, 3 losses and 0 draws, with 12 of those wins by knockout.

The stats suggested Opetaia had a massive power advantage over Mikaelian, boasting a 77% knockout percentage compared to Mikaelian's 43%.

Jai Opetaia was the younger man by 5 years, at 31 years old.

Opetaia had a height advantage of 1 inch over Mikaelian. That also extended to a 1-inch reach advantage.

Jai Opetaia fought out of the southpaw stance, while Noel ‘Gevor’ Mikaelian was an orthodox fighter.

Opetaia was the less experienced professional fighter, having had 1 fewer fights, and made his debut in 2015, 4 years and 2 months later than Mikaelian, whose first professional fight was in 2011. He had fought 72 fewer professional rounds, totaling 158 compared to Mikaelian's 230.

Jai Opetaia went into the fight ranked number 1 by the WBA, 1 by the WBC, and 3 by the IBF at cruiserweight.

Opetaia vs Mikaelian form

Opetaia remained undefeated as a professional, stopping 4 of his last 5 opponents.

In his last fight before this contest, he had defeated Brandon Glanton on March 8, 2026, by unanimous decision in their The Ring Cruiserweight championship fight at Meta Apex, Las Vegas, United States.

Prior to that, he had defeated Huseyin Cinkara on December 6, 2025, by knockout in the 8th round in their IBF World Cruiserweight and The Ring Cruiserweight championship fight at Gold Coast Convention Centre, Broadbeach, Australia.

Going into that contest, he had beaten Claudio Squeo on June 8, 2025, by technical knockout in the 5th round in their IBF World Cruiserweight and The Ring Cruiserweight championship fight at Gold Coast Convention Centre, Broadbeach.

Before that, he had won against David Nyika on January 8, 2025, by knockout in the 4th round in their IBF World Cruiserweight and The Ring Cruiserweight championship fight at Gold Coast Convention Centre, Broadbeach.

He had beaten Jack Massey on October 12, 2024, by technical knockout in the 6th round in their IBF World Cruiserweight championship fight at Kingdom Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Mikaelian had beaten 3 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 1 of them, going the distance twice.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had defeated Badou Jack on December 13, 2025, by unanimous decision in their WBC World Cruiserweight championship fight at Los Angeles, California, United States.

Prior to that, he had been beaten by Badou Jack on May 3, 2025, by majority decision in their WBC World Cruiserweight championship fight at The Venue, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Going into that contest, he had defeated Ilunga Makabu on November 4, 2023, by technical knockout in the 3rd round in their WBC World Cruiserweight championship fight at Casino Miami Jai Alai, Miami, United States.

Before that, he had won against Youri Kayembre Kalenga on February 12, 2022, by unanimous decision in their 12 round contest at Studio 69, Riga, Latvia.

He had lost to Mairis Briedis on November 10, 2018, by unanimous decision in their 12 round contest at UIC Pavilion, Illinois, United States.

Activity check

In terms of activity leading into the fight, Jai Opetaia had been fighting more than Noel ‘Gevor’ Mikaelian.

Going into this contest, Jai Opetaia had last fought 6 months and 4 days ago, while Noel ‘Gevor’ Mikaelian's last outing had been 8 months and 30 days ago.

Opetaia's last 5 fights had come over a period of 1 year and 11 months, which means he had been fighting approximately every 4 months and 20 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 35 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 7 rounds on average.

Mikaelian's last 5 fights had come over a period of 7 years, 10 months and 2 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 1 year, 6 months and 26 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 51 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 10.2 rounds on average.

What time did Opetaia vs Mikaelian start?

The fighters were expected to ringwalk at around 9:30 PM EST / 6:30 PM PST at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, United States, which was around 2:30 AM BST in the UK.

Who broadcast Opetaia vs Mikaelian?

Opetaia vs Mikaelian was broadcast on Paramount+ in the US, while the fight was broadcast in the United Kingdom by DAZN PPV UK.

What were the odds on Opetaia vs Mikaelian?

Jai Opetaia was a 1/16 (-1700) favorite going into the contest, while Noel ‘Gevor’ Mikaelian made his way into the ring at 8/1 (+800) with oddsmakers.