WBC Super Welterweight Champion Sebastian Fundora | MMA News
Sebastian “The Towering Inferno” Fundoraretained his title in model Saturday night time with a sixth-round stoppage of former unified champion Keith “One Time” Thurman in the main event of a PBC Pay-Per-View event obtainable on Prime Video from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
“We’ve been working very hard for this fight,” said Fundora. “I told him that I’ve always looked up to him. He’s a Hall of Famer for sure. I take my hat off to him. That’s why I had to train so hard to prove to the world that I’m the best at 154. I’ve fought in these high class fights that have allowed me to mature and grow. I’ve continued to strive for greatness and now I’m here.”
“It was a lot of enjoyable,” said Thurman. “Sebastian positively got here in form. He throws a lot of punches. The uppercut that caught me and cut me was an awkward punch that I’ve never been hit with before. The man brings it. He’s a great champion, and I can elevate my head up high understanding I used to be defeated by a great younger fighter.”
Standing nearly 6’6”, Fundora (24-1-1, 16 KOs) has taken the 154-pound division by storm, and added another top name to his resume in Thurman (31-2, 23 KOs). Overall Fundora owned a 96 to 26 edge in shots landed per CompuBox, and only allowed Thurman to land three jabs.
After Fundora looked to be picking up his power attack in round four, Thurman came out aggressively in round five, and landed a flush right hand on Fundora’s face in the opening moments. The shot was not able to deter the champion however, who continued his onslaught, even as Thurman would occasionally land a power shot of his own. Fundora ended the round landing a piercing left hook that sent Thurman staggering back to his corner.
Early in round six, Fundora sensed his moment coming and went back to work with a series of power shots, including a right uppercut that left Thurman’s left eye badly cut. Thurman was unable to keep Fundora from pushing forward, as referee Thomas Taylor jumped in to stop the bout 1:17 into the round.
After the fight, Thurman expressed his frustration with what he saw as an early stoppage, while Fundora set his sights on continuing to stamp his elite status in the division.
“The battle was getting actually good,” said Thurman. “The fans were loving the action and the referee stopped the fight too early. They don’t have the guts to let the fights go on like the Erik Morales days. He talked to me and said if I was moving my feet he wouldn’t stop the fight. I wasn’t on the ropes taking shots. It was very unfortunate to not give the fans a better show. Win, lose, or draw, I thought it was a little bit premature. I had more in me.”
“There’s all kinds of big names I want to fight,” said Fundora. “154 is the best division right now. Whoever wants it next can get it.”
In a co-main event battle of former interim 154-pound champions, Yoenis Tellez(12-1, 8 KOs) scored a hard-fought unanimous decision victory over Brian Mendoza(23-5, 17 KOs) after 10 grueling rounds.
The fight nearly came to an early end in round three, when Tellez was on the receiving end of an accidental headbutt that sent him down with a broken and bloodied nose. After using nearly the whole five minutes allowed to recover, Tellez rose to his feet and resumed the action.
“My nook lifted me up and they obtained me back into the battle,” said Tellez. “When you’re a warrior you don’t show any weakness, but I had trouble breathing, there’s no doubt. The pain was a 10 out of 10, but I’m a warrior and my corner told me I had the courage and that I could get this win.”
“He kept trying to switch to smother me and that’s how the headbutt happened,” said Mendoza. “It was just because of him switching.”
Despite a bloodied nose, Tellez began to find his range against Mendoza, working off the jab to pile up rounds and turn the tide after the headbutt. Mendoza was able to regain some momentum with a strong flurry to end round six, despite a left eye that began to bleed and that would remain bloodied through the rest of the action.
“The greatest factor was that I had to bear in mind not to get hit in the nostril,” said Tellez. “I definitely had to think about it. I had to think more and focus on my defense.”
Both fighters stepped on the gas to begin round nine, landing eye catching shots in the early moments that sent the crowd into a frenzy, and seemed to buoy the two fighters through the last two frames. Another nip and tuck round closed the bout, with both men looking to pull away on the scorecards.
In a narrow fight that saw the two fighters land nearly the same number of power shots (74-71 Tellez), the judges favored the more accurate fighter in Tellez (34% connect rate to 25%), by scores of 98-92 and 97-93 twice.
Pay-per-view action also saw top-rated middleweight contender Yoenli Hernandez(10-0, 9 KOs) dominate veteran contender and U.S. Olympian Terrell Gausha(24-6-1, 12 KOs) on his way to a fourth-round TKO.
A Cuban phenom nearing his opportunity to fight for a world title, Hernandez showed off the preternatural skills that have made many tab him as a future world champion. Out of his 94 punches landed, 74 of them were power shots, including over 20 power shots in both the second and third rounds.
“I was breaking him down so I just wanted to turn it up a little more each round,” said Hernandez. “The intensity was rising and my shots were getting harder.”
After he appeared to have Gausha harm in spherical three, Hernandez continued to control the motion with his blistering energy assault early in spherical 4. Although Gausha appeared to be sport to continue, referee Allen Huggins had seen enough and waved off the battle 1:17 into the body during a Hernandez offensive surge.
“I’m prepared for any of the big names at middleweight,” said Hernandez. “I want every one of them. Line them up, I’ll be ready.”
Kicking off the pay-per-view was rising undefeated heavyweight Gurgen “Big Gug” Hovhannisyan(10-0, 8 KOs) delivering a fifth-round stoppage of Cesar Navarro(15-4, 13 KOs) to stay unbeaten.
Trained by the famend Joe Goossen, Hovhannisyan continued his ascent up the heavyweight division with his third straight KO in his 2026 debut. The Armenian born fighter went into the battle with a 70-pound weight benefit and spent the first couple of rounds wanting to close the gap against his more cellular opponent.
“I feel good, it was exciting to have my first fight in Las Vegas,” said Hovhannisyan. “I was out for a while with some injuries and now I’m back on the big stage where I want to be. First round I was just being patient. He’s a smart boxer who’s very fast. I started to press him and break him down round by round.”
In round five, Hovhannisyan broke through and landed 42 power punches against a fading Navarro. In the final minute of the round, Hovhannisyan unleashed a flurry of punches against Navarro, who was unable to throw any return fire, which eventually forced referee Robert Hoyle to halt the action 2:45 into the round.
“Every battle with Joe he tells me which spherical to end my opponent,” said Hovhannisyan. “After the fourth round I came to my corner and he said this is the round. I thought it might take longer, but it was exactly what Joe said.”
Prior to the pay-per-view, FIRST ON PRIME motion streamed live and for free on Prime Video headlined by tremendous middleweight contender Kevin Newman(19-3-1, 11 KOs) edging out a majority choice (98-92, 96-94 and 95-95) over Elijah Garcia(17-2, 13 KOs) after 10 rounds.
The streaming presentation also featured unbeaten prospect and Jesus Ramos Jr. stablemate Brayan Gonzalez(5-0, 4 KOs) rating a fifth-round stoppage (1:57) over Brandon Medina(7-5) in their featherweight matchup.
The opening bout on Prime Video noticed 20-year-old prospect Kaipo Gallegos(12-0-1, 9 KOs) bounce back from a third-round knockdown to defeat Julian Gonzalez(16-2-1, 12 KOs) in their 10-round light-weight bout. The Las Vegas native Gallegos earned the unanimous choice by scores of 98-91 and 97-92 twice.
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