Evolution of Combat 8

ARES FC 43 ended without a unified featherweight champion as Josh O’Connor and Fabacary Diatta fought to a majority draw in Paris. Alexis Nicolas stopped Ilyasse Drabo in the opening round, while Jimmy Vienot delivered one of the night’s cleanest finishes with a body-shot knockout.

ONE Championship has added two undefeated prospects to its bantamweight MMA roster, signing Ilmadi Israilov and Kalandar Tabarov. Israilov arrives at 9-0 with six submissions, while Tabarov is 5-0 with four straight finishes split between knockouts and submissions.

ARES FC 43 brings nine fights to Paris on September 25, headlined by undefeated featherweight champion Josh O'Connor against interim champion Fabacary Diatta. Former ONE kickboxing champion Alexis Nicolas returns for his second MMA fight, while Akhmed Amaev faces former Cage Warriors champion Luke Shanks on a competitive ARES Fighting Championship card.