Duel Arena 1
Perry vs Danis
A crypto casino built a fight promotion, and its first card is eleven bouts of MMA, boxing and kickboxing fought in a ring rather than a cage — headlined by a welterweight grudge match that took years to make.
The card
- Mike Perry×Dillon Danis MMA · Welterweight · 170 lbs · MAIN
- Paul "Gypsy Crusader" Miller×Ben "King" Azoulay Kickboxing · Heavyweight · CO-MAIN
- Jimi Manuwa×Chase Sherman Boxing · Heavyweight
- Phil Rowe×Javanis Ross Boxing · Light heavyweight · 175 lbs
- Alex Nicholson×Brad Taylor MMA · Heavyweight
- Patrick Clark Jr.×Ryan Pownall Boxing · Cruiserweight · 200 lbs
- Blake Anthony×Nate Morrow MMA · Featherweight · 145 lbs
- Jack Grady×Wade Stokan Influencer boxing · Exhibition · 165 lbs
- AJ Cunningham×Joe Penafiel MMA · Lightweight · 155 lbs
- Daniel Cao×Mason Ajester Boxing · 165 lbs
- Shane King×Thomas Phillips Boxing · 120 lbs
The card has already moved. Chase Sherman came in on short notice to replace Rashad Coulter opposite Jimi Manuwa, and a featherweight MMA bout was added afterwards. The promotion says bout order and the number of fights can change again before the first bell.
Where and when
| Event | Duel Arena 1: Perry vs Danis |
|---|---|
| Date | Sat 29 Aug 2026 |
| Start | 20:00 ET |
| Venue | Kia Center, Orlando, Florida |
| Broadcast | Pay-per-view via duelarena.tv |
| Bouts | 11 |
| Ruleset | Hybrid — MMA, boxing and kickboxing, in a ring |
| Matchmaker | Dean Toole |
The main event
Mike Perry against Dillon Danis is the fight the card was built around. The two have been trading insults online and squaring up at press conferences for years without ever being contracted, which is exactly the kind of thing Duel likes to put its name on.
Perry fights out of Orlando, so this is a home card for him. He holds Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship's King of Violence title and returned to MMA rules in May after a long spell away from them. Danis is a jiu-jitsu black belt and a former training partner of Conor McGregor — a grappler by trade against someone who wants a fight in straight lines.
The ring matters here more than usual. A cage gives a grappler a wall to work against; ropes do not behave the same way in a scramble — that is unpacked in the main event preview. More on Perry and Danis.
Manuwa's return is the real story
Jimi Manuwa has not competed since June 2019, when Aleksandar Rakic stopped him with a head kick. He is 45, he is coming back after nearly seven years away, and he is doing it in a heavyweight boxing match rather than the light heavyweight MMA division where he built his name stopping fighters like Ovince Saint Preux and Corey Anderson.
Then the opponent changed. Rashad Coulter came off the card and Chase Sherman — a former UFC heavyweight who beat Coulter at UFC 211 — stepped in on roughly ten days' notice. A seven-year layoff is hard enough without an upgrade in opposition a week and a half out.
Full background on Manuwa and Sherman.
The rest of the card
Miller vs Azoulay is the kickboxing co-feature at heavyweight.
Phil Rowe vs Javanis Ross at light heavyweight is Rowe's professional boxing debut — a UFC welterweight moving to a different sport and up in weight, which is a bigger ask than it reads. See Rowe.
Alex Nicholson vs Brad Taylor is heavyweight MMA. Nicholson fought in the UFC's heavyweight division; more here.
Patrick Clark Jr. vs Ryan Pownall at cruiserweight pairs former WWE developmental talent — Clark wrestled as Velveteen Dream — against Pownall, who is making his own professional debut. Two debutants, which changes the read entirely: more on Clark.
Blake Anthony vs Nate Morrow at featherweight is the late addition and possibly the best pure matchup on paper: an undefeated prospect against a submission specialist. Broken down here.
Grady vs Stokan closes the announced card as an influencer exhibition. The remaining bouts — Cunningham vs Penafiel, Cao vs Ajester, King vs Phillips — fill out the undercard.
Results
Fight night is 29 August, first bell 20:00 ET. Results land here as the card runs — this page updates live rather than waiting for a morning-after write-up. Weigh-ins are the day before: what to watch for on the scale.
Duel Arena is Duel's own promotion
Crypto cashier, instant payouts, 50% of the house edge back on every bet. Availability depends on your country — check Duel's terms first.
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