Jai Opetaia is set to defend his Ring and Zuffa cruiserweight championships when he faces Noel Mikaelian on Sept. 12. The fight will take place on the undercard of the event headlined by Conor Benn vs. Ryan Garcia, which will stream live on Paramount+.
Opetaia (30-0, 23 KO) is considered the top cruiserweight in boxing, which is backed up by his Ring championship. He was the early flagship signing for the upstart Zuffa Boxing promotion.
Opetaia won the IBF championship in a war with Mairis Briedis in 2022 and made two successful defenses of the belt before being stripped for choosing to take a fight while waiting for Briedis, who battled back to a spot as the IBF mandatory challenger, to recover from injury. Opetaia once again captured the IBF title when he did eventually rematch Briedis.
Only ONE can be the best cruiserweight in the world! 🏆@JaiOpetaia1 v Noel Mikaelian will meet in the #GarciaBenn co-main event! SEP 12 | 📺 @ParamountPlus + @DAZNBoxing pic.twitter.com/ivCchxOsn7
— Zuffa_Boxing (@Zuffa_Boxing) August 4, 2026
Four successful IBF title defenses came next for Opetaia before he signed with Zuffa. In his first fight under the Zuffa banner, Opetaia won the Zuffa cruiserweight belt with a one-sided drubbing of Brandon Glanton in March. Unfortunately for Opetaia, who has repeatedly stated his desire to become undisputed cruiserweight champion, the IBF stripped him of his title for participating in the Zuffa title bout.
Mikaelian (28-3, 12 KO) is the current WBC champion and is on his second stint with the championship.
He first won the belt with a third-round TKO of Ilunga Makabu in 2023. He would lose the title to Badou Jack by majority decision in 2025. The pair would rematch, with Mikaelian scoring a unanimous decision to recapture the title.
It is unclear if Mikaelian's title will be on the line against Opetaia.
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