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Zuffa Boxing 08 Results: Jose Valenzuela Avenges Loss With Massive KO

Jose Valenzuela is now 2-0 in Zuffa Boxing after blowing past old foe Edwin de los Santos
Jaren Kawada|
Jose Valenzuela
Jose Valenzuela | IMAGO/ZUMA Press Wire

Jose Valenzuela has just undone the biggest dark mark of his otherwise stellar professional career.

Valenzuela, once known as an up-and-coming undefeated lightweight prospect, had his career derailed in 2022 with a stunning third-round knockout loss to Edwin de los Santos. After his first appearance with Zuffa Boxing, he got a chance to avenge that defeat and did so in the most emphatic way possible.

Valenzuela is now 2-0 in the promotion, along with Omar Trinidad, who battered former IBF 115-pound champion Jerwin Ancajas in the co-main event.

Cain Sandoval also fought on the main card in his second Zuffa Boxing appearance, though he came off an upset loss to Julian Rodriguez. Sandoval had the pleasure of introducing 27-year-old Brandun Lee to the promotion and got back on the winning track by handing the former Prospect of the Year his first loss.

All three main card winners put forth the best performance of their careers, but nobody had a better highlight than Tony Hirsch Jr., who recorded a Knockout of the Year contender against Jaybrio Pe Benito on the prelims. Hirsch dominated the closely lined fight from end to end before rolling the credits with a face-plant third-round knockout.

Jose Valenzuela stops Edwin de los Santos in Round 2

Jose Valenzuela
Jose Valenzuela | IMAGO/ZUMA Press Wire

Among the boxers to avenge an early loss on their record, few have ever been better than Jose Valenzuela's second-round victory over Edwin de los Santos. Nearly four years after their first encounter, 'Rayo' avenged the only stoppage loss of his career with an even better knockout of his own.

Valenzuela had a difficult time getting going against the calm and confident de los Santos, who nailed him with a left hand off the gun to set the tone early. A few more punches clearly affected the Mexican before he clocked de los Santos with two solid left hands at the end of the first round.

De los Santos was somewhat saved by the bell, but the momentum shift continued in the second round. Valenzuela ended almost every exchange with a right hook, including the final punch of the fight, which forced the Dominican onto a knee, and eventually flat on the canvas.

Valenzuela landed a semi-controversial shot on de los Santos after his knee touched down, but nobody protested the stoppage. De los Santos remained still on the canvas for nearly a full minute before slowly rising back to his feet.

Omar Trinidad keeps the train rolling against Jerwin Ancajas

Five months after his 10th-round knockout win over Max Ornelas at Zuffa Boxing 01, Omar Trinidad returned for his sophomore appearance by welcoming former IBF junior bantamweight champion Jerwin Ancajas to the featherweight division. He passed the latest test of his career by winning a high-level dogfight to remain undefeated.

What began as a closely contested battle soon became a Trinidad showcase in the middle rounds, when the taller, longer fighter found his range with his straight shots to the head and body. Trinidad forced Ancajas to get desperate late, leading to a damaging right hand in the final minute of the fight that nearly gave him another 10th-round stoppage.

Ancajas refused to go down, despite eating multiple damaging blows in the final minute of the fight. Trinidad's escalating performance from bell to bell was enough to win seven of the 10 rounds on all three scorecards.

Cain Sandoval rebounds by silencing Brandun Lee

Cain Sandoval had all the momentum of his early career torn apart at the seams by Julian Rodriguez in Zuffa Boxing's inaugural event in January. He responded by returning the favor to Brandun Lee.

Lee got off to a strong start with his jab and fast hands as Sandoval danced around the ring, showing off his new fleet-footed approach. But by round four, the soft offerings of 'Sugar' turned into fight-changing blows as the 23-year-old sat down on his punches.

Lee, who was taunting and staring Sandoval down through the first three rounds, had a completely different demeanor on his face by the fourth frame. The California native became a snowball rolling downhill by the fight's midway point and did not relent until the final bell.

One judge scored the fight a 95-95 draw, but the other two scored it for Sandoval, giving the younger fighter the majority decision victory.

Tony Hirsch Jr. steals the show with KO of the Year contender

When Tony Hirsch Jr. joined Zuffa Boxing at the beginning of the year, he was a complete afterthought in a talent-filled lightweight division. He is now 2-0 in the promotion and the owner of one of the best one-punch knockouts of the year.

Hirsch put everyone on notice early with a massive upset win over the previously undefeated Robert Merriwether III in April. He followed up that eye-opening debut with a dominant performance against another undefeated foe, Jaybrio Pe Benito, that ended with a highlight-reel knockout in the third round.

Hirsch picked at Pe Benito from the outside until he landed three consecutive 1-2 combinations, with the final right hand sending the Hawaiian face-first to the canvas.

Pe Benito entered the fight coming off of his own thudding knockout win over Abel Mejia in his Zuffa Boxing debut.

Hirsch, the 24-year-old son of former light heavyweight Tony Hirsch Sr., has already stacked a pair of elite wins in Zuffa Boxing in a three-month span.

Zuffa Boxing 08 Results

  • Jose Valenzuela def. Edwin de los Santos by KO in Round 2 (2:05), lightweight
  • Omar Trinidad def. Jerwin Ancajas by unanimous decision (97-93, 97-93, 97-93), featherweight
  • Cain Sandoval def. Brandun Lee by majority decision (97-93, 96-94, 95-95), welterweight
  • Andres Teran def. Floyd Diaz by TKO in Round 6 (1:29), bantamweight
  • Tony Hirsch Jr. def. Jaybrio Pe Benito by KO in Round 3 (2:12), lightweight
  • Damoni Cato-Cain def. Vernon Brown by unanimous decision (79-73, 78-74, 78-74), welterweight
  • Adrian Serrano def. Brady Ochoa by unanimous decision (59-55, 59-55, 58-56), lightweight
  • Jakhongir Zokirov def. Zachary Spiller by TKO in Round 2 (2:02), heavyweight
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Jaren Kawada
JAREN KAWADA

Jaren Kawada is a combat sports writer who specializes in betting, with over five years of experience in boxing and MMA. When he is not covering the sport, Kawada is an avid MMA, Brazilian jiu-jitsu and boxing practitioner. Kawada has previous bylines with ClutchPoints, Sportskeeda MMA, BetSided and FanSided MMA. Born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii, Kawada has a B.A. in Sports Media from Butler University and now resides in Denver, Colorado.

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