Blast from the past? Two former UFC veterans get back in the win column at inaugural Dirty Boxing event

Mike Perry’s Dirty Boxing Championship (DBC) promotion — which is co-owned by Jon Jones — debuted last night (Sat., March 22, 2025) from inside The Hangar at Regatta Harbour in Miami, Fla., which featured notable mixed martial arts (MMA) veterans leading the way.

Headlining the event was a heavyweight bout between former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Middleweight title challenger, Yoel Romero, facing off against ex-Bellator MMA fighter, Ras Hylton. And at 47 years of age, “Soldier of God” showed he still has it, scoring a third-round knockout win over his towering opponent.

See the carnage here.

In the co-main event, another former UFC veteran, Andrei Arlovski, got back in the win column himself for the first time in three years by forcing a doctor’s stoppage after busting up Terrance Hodges in the second round of their Heavyweight fight. It was the ex-UFC Heavyweight champions first finish in a decade.

Romero is pushing 47 and Arlovski is right behind him at 46, so credit to them for still being activeThey were much-needed wins for both men, but in the grand scheme of things, does a win or loss really matter at this stage of their combat careers? After all, Romero’s foe is 10-8 in MMA, while Arlovski’s victim is 2-7…not exactly legit threats.

But that’s the state of combat sports these days. Everyone is trying to be a promoter, everyone is trying to be a world-class boxer, or trying to re-invent the wheel, and every longtime veteran is trying to hang on as long as possible in order to relive their glory days. And can you really blame them for trying to make a buck off their name after providing fight fans with violent entertainment during their prime years?

Here are the full results for DBC 1:

Yoel Romero def. Ras Hylton via third-round knockout – HIGHLIGHTS!Andrei Arlovski def. Terrance Hodges via second-round TKO (doctor’s stoppage) – HIGHLIGHTS!Ulysses Diaz def. Brian Maxwell via first-round TKOMike Breeden def. Keith Speed via first-round TKORob Perez def. Zac Pauga via split decisionAlexander Schenk def. Tristan Gallichan via unanimous decisionJeff Craig def. Oluwale Bamgbose via second-round TKORakim Cleveland def. Maurice Greene via first-round KO – HIGHLIGHTS!Kat Nelson def. Claudia Zamora via unanimous decisionCJ Brant def. Gabriel Macario via first-round TKOSean Hotusing def. Diego Romo via unanimous decisionCorey Jackson def. Marcellus Wallace via first-round KOGuilherme Bastos def. Gabriel Morales via unanimous decision