It was a night of knockouts on Sunday’s Zuffa Boxing 3 fight card.
Six of the eight fights at the Meta Apex in Las Vegas ended inside the distance, including all three of the main card bouts — with two of them concluding via impressive one-punch finishes.
The action was capped off by Efe Ajagba’s fourth-round TKO win over former IBF heavyweight champion Charles Martin.
Martin (30-5-1, 27 KOs) boxed well through the first two rounds on the back foot and behind his southpaw jab, but it only takes one in the heavyweight division — and Ajagba proved it in Round 3, flooring Martin with a right hand. Martin had landed his best punch of the fight, a left hand that buckled Ajagba, just seconds earlier.
Martin rose to his feet but was bullied around the ring by Ajagba (21-1-1, 15 KOs) for the remainder of Round 3. A pair of crushing rights put Martin back on the canvas early in Round 4. Martin was warned by referee Thomas Taylor that he had to show him something, however he was unable to do so. Ajagba continued to drive Martin back with right hands and was opening up on him when Taylor compassionately stopped the fight seconds later.
“I [didn’t] feel his power,” Ajagba said after the fight, “but he has a lot of experience. I did expect that. He was very sharp.
“I’m ready for everyone in the top 10, but nobody’s mentioning my name. Nobody’s calling my name. I’m already top 10, I’m ready to go.”
Umar Dzambekov (14-0, 10 KOs) scored the first legitimate Knockout of the Year contender of 2026 by savagely finishing Ahmed Elbiali (24-2, 19 KOs) in Round 2 of their light heavyweight encounter.
Dzambekov, an Austrian citizen, had a terrific opening round, focusing much of his work on Elbiali’s midsection. This paved the way for Dzambekov to disguise a devastating right uppercut, which had Elbiali unconscious before his head even smashed onto the canvas. It was a worrying scene for a brief while afterward, with Elbiali requiring emergency medical care.
A light heavyweight bout between Dzambekov and Radivoje Kalajdzic, the latter of whom scored a stunning come-from-behind stoppage victory over Oleksandr Gvozdyk earlier this month for Zuffa Boxing, was mentioned as a possibility to take place later this year.
In the night’s opener, Jaybrio Pe Benito (7-0, 5 KOs) upset Abel Mejia (10-1, 7 KOs) in their battle of unbeatens.
The first round between the pair was back and forth, but Pe Benito’s pressure and power advantage was telling early. Pe Benito buckled the knees of Mejia early in Round 2. Mejia recovered quickly and took control of the round with volume and activity, but was floored late in the frame with a pinpoint left hook during an exchange.
In Round 3, Pe Benito needed just 30 seconds to conclude proceedings. He found a home for a monster right hand, which floored Mejia. Mejia beat the count, but the referee correctly decided he was in no state to continue.
