Regional mixed martial arts (MMA) fuels the sport’s heartbeat — almost every fighter climbing toward Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) or other top-tier promotions starts in small(er) promotions.
With that in mind, while everyone was focused on UFC Vancouver this past weekend (Sat., Oct. 18, 2025), several regional shows took place, and MMAmania.com will provide you with the awesome highlights you may have missed below.
Ares FC 35
Something was in the water in Eckbolsheim, Bas-Rhin, France, because holy smokes…there
were some absolutely brutal knockouts.
In the main event, massive underdog Jordan Zebo (9-1) took out one of the best fighters outside the UFC in Baysangur Chamsoudinov (9-1) for the Welterweight title.
In the co-main event, Ares Bantamweight champion Aboubakar Younousov (8-0) may have punched his ticket to the UFC next year as he slept former UFC veteran Gustavo Lopez (16-9-1).
To kick off ARES FC 35, Bilal Bakhouche-Chareuf (1-0) only needed 22 seconds to knock out Tomy Blanco (0-2) brutally.
PFL Rwanda
PFL held another event in Africa (specifically, Kigali, Rwanda) this weekend, and the fighters had some violent finishes.
Canada’s Karam Henniene (6-0) went into enemy territory and knocked out his opponent, Boule Godogo (4-1), with an insane flying knee.
The following knockout is probably one of the most vicious of the year.
On the prelims, Abdoullah Kane (4-1) absolutely melted Emmanuel Mukam (2-1) with a filthy head kick.
OKTAGON 78
Is it the year of the spinning elow? Because there was another one at OKTAGON 78, which took place in Cologne, Germany.
Must-watch fighter Marek Bartl (16-14) was the one who landed it on Kennedy Rayomba (6-6).
The legalization of 12-6 elbows has been a great thing.
Heavyweight Patrick Vespaziani (6-2) stopped O. Ayodeji Kalejaiye (9-9) with them.
The first amateur bout of OKTAGON’s history went down yesterday, and the fight only lasted 19 seconds.
TFL 35
Thunderstrike Fight League (TFL) held an event in Siedlce, Poland, and one knockout stole the show.
Amir Susaev (1-0) landed a nasty spinning back kick knockout on Jamshed Navruzov (3-5).
Fury FC 110
Finally, Fury FC held an event on Friday in San Antonio, Texas.
Top welterweight prospect Isaac Moreno (8-0) knocked out former UFC fighter Darian Weeks (9-5).
Boxing legend Floyd Mayweather was in attendance for his fighter Jasmine Montoya (2-1), whom he manages, and she turned heads by knocking out Alexandra Carlson (0-1).
For more regional MMA news and notes click here.
