What to Know
- In Saturday’s Zuffa Boxing 11 results, fan favorite Johnny Fisher won a majority-decision slugfest against tough Michael Pirroton.
- Radivoje “Hot Rod” Kalajdzic rode his momentum and dug down when it counted to score a hard-earned decision over Craig “Spider” Richards. For his efforts, Kalajdzic won Performance of the Night.
- Zuffa Boxing’s first female signee Kayla Allen enjoyed a TKO3 pro debut over Edina Kiss.
Copper Bosh Cheers on Johnny Fisher Win
In Saturday’s Zuffa Boxing 11 event at the Copper Box Arena in London, Johnny “The Romford Bull” Fisher and Michael Pirotton gave everything they had to give in a fight so grueling, the winner could not get off his stool after the win, getting oxygen and leaving without any post-fight interview.
In a slugfest, Fisher (15-1, 12 KOs) gave his devoted British fans a victory over an unyielding Pirotton of Belgium (12-3, 6 KOs), who never gave in despite a vicious cut over the left eye in the second round, checked several times by the ringside physician until the final bell sounded.
Fisher won by majority decision, with scores of 98-92, 96-95, and one card even at 95-95. Pirotton tested Fisher’s will and determination. Although Pirotton had never fought more than eight rounds, he rallied to win the final two rounds on all three scorecards, and won the last four on one card and last three on a second. He is surely thinking tonight about what might have been.
Future Prospects for Fisher and Pirotton
Fisher ends a 294-day layoff in his favorite venue, escaping with a win and no doubt looking to secure bigger fights. Was the win over Pirotton good enough for Dana White? He signed a single-fight contract with Zuffa Boxing, so his future is in the to-be-determined category for the former Matchroom Boxing heavyweight.
Yes, Fisher won. But Pirotton showed the determination and guts it takes to develop as a pro. The relatively unknown Belgian fighter is the one with more upside if he gets more opportunities to develop his craft.
Fisher’s condition after the fast-paced fight is concerning. He did leave the arena on his own two feet.
Hot Rod Kalajdzic Runs Over Craig Richards
In a battle between two seasoned, determined veterans, Radivoje “Hot Rod” Kalajdzic of Serbia (31-3, 22 KOs) rode his momentum and dug down when it counted to score a hard-earned decision over Craig “Spider” Richards (20-5, 13 KOs). Scorecards were identical at 97-92 each for the Serbian, now based in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Kalajdzic scored a come-from-behind win in his last fight on the Zuffa Boxing 02 card, stopping Oleksandr Gvozdyk in the final round. He nearly repeated a late stoppage with a sensational knockdown of Richards nearly at the final bell. It was the first knockdown of Richards’ career, and nearly his first stoppage. Fortunately for Spider Richards, the referee count and the clock saved him from that fate at least.
“Man, I told myself I don’t want to have fights like that again, and back-to-back again,” laughed Kaladjzic, calling it the fight of the night. “It was fun, man. I’m happy the fans enjoyed it.”
Both men traded hard shots, with Kaladjzic taking the early rounds with his accurate jab and hook combinations. Kaladjzic hit pay dirt with a hard left hook to Richards in the fourth round, and a hard right hook doing the same for Hot Rod in round six, rolling up the damage.
But like clockwork, Richards would rebound and fight his way back. At the end of the sixth round, Richards buzzed Kalajdzic with a hard right hook of his own. Richards is tough and Kalajdzic credited his opponent for hanging in as he did.
“Man, every time I hit him with the right hand, felt like I hurt him, and I was gonna get him out of there. But man, he hurt my hand,” said Kalajdzic. “He’s a tough, tough guy. Everybody that I hit with my right hand, I usually put down. But he wasn’t going nowhere. Maybe if I had 10 more seconds, I could have.
“But I gotta give it to him. He’s got heart and a chin.” It’s not much comfort to Ricahrds, who acknowledged before the fight it was a must-win for both men.
Richards came on strong in the final round, believing he might need the round to win the fight. He would have needed to stop Kalajdzic. He was the stronger, fresher man until Kalajdzic rallied and scored the knockdown.
Kalajdzic is aiming for a title fight, and said he’d love it to take place back in England, even though the partisan fans booed him and supported Richards. “I hope I made fans of them tonight. I would love to be back here,” said Kalajdzic.
Cutler Defangs Greene for Decision Victory
Despite the monikers for these two middleweights, Lee “Chaos” Cutler of Bournemouth (20-4, 12 KOs) and Louis “Medway Mauler” Greene of Dorsey (18-1, 8 KOs) delivered a tactical chess match of a fight through ten rounds. Cutler weathered a tough third round and wisely deployed his boxing skills to put handcuffs on Greene for the rest of the fight to win by decision. Scores were 98-92, 97-93, 97-93 in Cutler’s second Zuffa victory.
Cutler said he would love to face either Callum Walsh or Aaron McKenna. “Callum Walsh is a great fight for me. He probably sees me as an easy touch, but trust me, I know how to break him,” said Cutler.
Villain McMillan Thrills Fans With Quick TKO
🏴 @VillanMacMillan gets the early knockdown!#ZuffaBoxing11 | 📺 https://t.co/tLQJdT5vDd pic.twitter.com/ECJVliDzl4
— Zuffa_Boxing (@Zuffa_Boxing) September 26, 2026
Super welterweight prospect Eric “The Villain” MacMillan of England (5-0, 4 KOs) delivered a crowd-pleasing TKO2 win over Guillaume Azagier of France (2-1).
MacMillan knew he didn’t have a particularly troubling opponent in front of him, and came straight at him from the opening bell. He nearly got it done in the first round, dropping Azagier with a big right hand. But the count came nearly at the bell. It only delayed the inevitable, as another big right rattled Azagier early in the second round, and after MacMillan moved in, Azagier’s corner threw in the towel just 32 seconds into the round.
MacMillan is trained by Shane McGuigan and showed off his swagger and self-confidence in his post-fight pose, doing the worm, and looking forward to bigger fights ahead.
Kayla Allen Starts Her Pro Career With A Bang
“Killer K” Kayla Allen delivered an attention-getting performance in her pro debut with Zuffa Boxing. The 22 -year old super lightweight Allen of London (1-0, 1 KO) came straight at veteran and former title challenger Edina Kiss of Hungary (17-22, 10 KOs) with solid power shots for three hard rounds. Kiss’s corner retired their fighter, giving Allen a TKO victory in her first fight.
Allen was pleased with the win, but had hoped to end the fight with Kiss on the canvas. “She retired in the corner. That says a lot about me,” said Allen, who admitted to a bit of nerves but was happy to get the win in front of her fans in London.
“No one else can set a standard for me. I’ve high ceilings in my expectations for myself, so that was a little bit so hard for me,” said Allen. “But there’s obviously the next fight’s coming up. I’ll keep improving, going to the gym. I’m a young girl. At the end of the day, I’m delivering my dream. That’s what I’m doing. So yeah, many good things to come from me,” promised Allen.
Gayle Falkenthal is an award-winning boxing journalist with more than four dozen awards for both written and video coverage from the Boxing Writers Association of America, Society of Professional Journalists, and San Diego Press Club, where she is the past president. She is the only woman journalist who is a full voting member of the BWAA. She is the Boxing Editor for NY Fights based in San Diego, California.
