Zuffa Boxing revealed today that former featherweight champion Mark Magsayo and undefeated lightweight Andres Cortes, who shared a card in April, will meet in the main card opener for Ryan Garcia vs Conor Benn on September 12th.
“Magnifico” Magsayo (29-2, 19 KO) has stayed largely under the radar since losing his belt, which he took from a one-armed Gary Russell Jr in 2022, in his first defense against Rey Vargas. He’s gone 5-0 in that span, bouncing between 130 and 135 while picking up wins over the likes of Eduardo Ramirez, Jorge Mata, and most recently Feargal McCrory in his Zuffa debut.
Cortes (25-0, 13 KO), himself a super featherweight bumped up by Zuffa’s weird insistence on excluding in-betweener classes, has pursued contention with a sort of Achilles-and-the-Tortoise approach. He’s fought and beaten a number of good-to-pretty-solid guys throughout his run, including Xavier Martinez in 2023, Abraham Nova a year later, and Eridson Garcia in that same April main event.
Nice little “sh*t or get off the pot” matchup that should put the winner within spitting distance of a title shot.
“I’ve waited for a night like this my whole career. I signed with Zuffa to be on the biggest shows,” Magsayo said. “Andres Cortes called me out, and I answered. He won’t have his ‘0’ after I get done with him.”
“This is my opportunity to show the world what I can do. I’m going to destroy Mark Magsayo on September 12,” Cortes said. “Growing up in the gyms in Las Vegas, I dreamed of fighting on a platform like this in front of my people. The time has come.”
21-year-old heavyweight Da’Mazion Vanhouter (12-0, 9 KO) also sees action against Raphael Akpejiori (19-3, 18 KO), whom you may recall from nigh-instantaneous knockout losses to Arslanbek Makhmudov and Stephan Shaw.
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