Five Big Fights to Watch as Boxing and UFC Stack September and October

Fight fans are heading into one of the busiest stretches of the fall, with major boxing matchups and UFC events scheduled across September and October 2026.

The first marquee boxing event arrives Saturday, September 5, when Katie Taylor faces Flora Pili in Dublin. The World Boxing Council lists the bout as a super-lightweight contest promoted by Matchroom. Taylor, one of the defining names in women’s boxing, will headline a major home-country event at Croke Park.

One week later, Ryan Garcia meets Conor Benn in Las Vegas. The September 12 bout is listed by the WBC as a welterweight mandatory contest and is being promoted by Golden Boy and Zuffa Boxing. It is one of the most commercially significant boxing matchups on the near-term schedule, pairing two high-profile fighters whose careers have been shaped as much by attention outside the ring as by their performances inside it.

The September 19 boxing calendar includes another notable title-related fight: Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz is scheduled to defend the interim WBC super-lightweight championship against Néstor Bravo in San Diego. The WBC says the matchup will put Cruz’s interim crown on the line. Cruz is known for an aggressive, pressure-heavy style, making the fight one of the more action-oriented contests on the month’s schedule.

Japan will take the spotlight on September 27, when Takuma Inoue faces Tenshin Nasukawa in Tokyo. The WBC lists the bout as a voluntary bantamweight title contest. Nasukawa, a major Japanese combat-sports star, will be facing one of the sport’s established world-level champions in a matchup that carries significance well beyond a standard domestic main event.

The UFC’s schedule is also packed. On September 5, Dan Hooker welcomes Salahdine Parnasse to the promotion in Paris. The UFC has scheduled the lightweight bout as the event’s main attraction at Accor Arena. Parnasse is making his UFC debut after building his reputation elsewhere, while Hooker brings extensive experience against elite opposition.

The next weekend features a UFC Fight Night headlined by Jean Silva and José Miguel Delgado in Glendale, Arizona, on September 12. The promotion’s September 19 event in Los Angeles is scheduled to feature a rematch between Joshua Van and Alexandre Pantoja. That contest is especially important because it returns Pantoja to a familiar title-fight setting against Van, with the UFC billing the matchup as the card’s featured bout.

The fall schedule continues into October with a high-level featherweight matchup: Alexander Volkanovski is scheduled to face Movsar Evloev on October 24 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. The UFC lists the fight as a main event, giving Evloev an opportunity to challenge one of the division’s most accomplished names and giving Volkanovski another test near the top of the weight class.

Not every event on the calendar has a finalized main event. The UFC’s October 3 card in Salt Lake City is listed with both headliners still to be determined. That uncertainty is a reminder that the schedule can change as injuries, negotiations and promotional plans develop.

For now, the clearest dates for fans to circle are September 5, September 12, September 19, September 27 and October 24. Together, the events offer a mix of championship implications, crossover star power, established contenders and high-profile debuts—the ingredients for a crowded and consequential fight calendar.