Tyson Fury vs Arslanbek Makhmudov is scheduled for Saturday, April 11, 2026, at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, United Kingdom, with the main event ringwalk expected just after 10:00pm local time (21:00 GMT). The main card is scheduled to start at 7pm (18:00 GMT) and will be broadcast on Netflix, and the fight is scheduled for 12 rounds. Al Jazeera will run a live page for the build-up and text commentary of the main events from 18:00 GMT on Saturday, April 11.
Fury has been out of the ring for 15 months following back-to-back losses to Oleksandr Usyk. He beat Wladimir Klitschko in 2015 to claim his first heavyweight title, fought a trilogy with Deontay Wilder drawing the first encounter and winning the next two, and survived a scare in a boxing match in October 2023 against Francis Ngannou getting up from a knockdown to win by split decision. His opponent, Makhmudov, poses a significant threat as 90 percent of his wins come by knockout.
The co-main event between Conor Benn and Regis Prograis is set to start about 9:30pm (20:30 GMT). On the undercard, Jeamie TKV will defend his British heavyweight title against Richard Riakporhe on the Netflix-streamed Tyson Fury vs. Arslanbek Makhmudov undercard on April 11 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with Riakporhe attempting to become a two-weight British champion tonight. Riakporhe is fighting TKV, who is 32 years old.
I am confident my looks are what the heavyweight division has been missing.
Richard Riakporhe is 36 years old. He fell short at the highest level as a cruiserweight, losing his world title rematch against Chris Billam-Smith two years ago at Selhurst Park and unsuccessfully challenged Chris Billam-Smith for the WBO cruiserweight title in June 2024. He moved up to heavyweight and has won a pair of bouts since.
Riakporhe first realized he had freakish strength when he almost blinded his brother as a child, with his brother saying he couldn't see after being punched but was fine in the end. The incident led to an agreement with his brother to never fight him again. Outside the ring, Riakporhe doubles as a part-time model.
Jeamie TKV won the British heavyweight championship with a split decision over Frazer Clarke in November in Derby, but he lost to David Adeleye for the British title in the fight before in controversial circumstances. TKV and Johnny Fisher were in talks to clash, but multiple obstacles prevented it from taking place.
Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury have paved the way and British heavyweights are the creme de la creme of boxing.
In MMA, Charles Oliveira stole the show at UFC 326 on Saturday as he dominated Max Holloway to claim the BMF title, adding to his legacy after winning the lightweight world championship in 2021. However, Oliveira drew criticism for his wrestling-heavy approach against Holloway, leading many to brand the fight 'boring' and prompting booing from the crowd.
UFC fans watching from home were left raging when Paramount+ cut to black in the middle of Saturday's title fight, missing around two minutes of fight action.
Joe Rogan has been pals with UFC CEO Dana White for almost 30 years, having first worked for the MMA promotion in 1997. White purchased the UFC in 2001 and transformed it into a multi-billion powerhouse, and recently teamed up with Turki Alalshikh to form a new boxing promotion under the TKO banner.
I think people want to see more athletic heavyweights and that I am an Adonis who looks the part and can fight.
White launched Power Slap in late 2022 after watching slapping videos on social media, but it has not taken off as imagined and has come under fire by experts over potential brain damage.
Glory is the No.1 kickboxing promotion and houses the best kickboxers on the planet. Rico Verhoeven has trained with Tom Aspinall and Tyson Fury, and Alex Pereira fought under the Glory banner before transitioning into MMA where he became a two-weight UFC champion.
The Sun reported that video scrutiny shows Wilder was to blame for giving Fury too much time to recover in a past fight, and claimed referee Russell Mora had to tell Wilder to go back to a neutral corner causing a pause in the count.
Richard Riakporhe's fight is on the undercard of Tyson Fury's comeback bout, and he stopped the unbeaten Tommy Welch in Round 2 on the Conor Benn vs. Chris Eubank Jr. 2 undercard.
Key unknowns include what the specific obstacles were that prevented Jeamie TKV vs. Johnny Fisher from taking place, what the current status and viewership of Power Slap are, and how UFC has responded to criticism.
Reactions and broader impact are shaped by the Fury vs Makhmudov fight with its Netflix broadcast and high stakes, while the UFC controversies may prompt changes in broadcast partnerships and fight strategies.