Unbeaten super-middleweight Daniel Blancas has considered how David Benavidez, who he spars on a consistent basis, would fare in a cruiserweight battle with Jai Opetaia.

A potential showdown between the pair has been spoken about for quite some time, with both undefeated fighters facing off last weekend.

This followed Opetaia’s ninth-round stoppage of Noel Mikealian and, with Benavidez entering the ring, they seemed genuinely eager to collide on Cinco de Mayo weekend in 2027.

Before then, Benavidez is expected to face WBC champion Michal Cieslak on December 12, which, if it materialises, will signify the final fight on his current contract with Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions.

Additionally, it would present ‘The Mexican Monster’ with an opportunity to unify his division after claiming the WBO and WBA world titles against Gilberto Ramirez in May.

Back then, Benavidez was making his 200lb debut but nonetheless produced arguably a career-best performance, dethroning Ramirez with an emphatic sixth-round finish.

And while Opetaia poses a vastly different challenge, particularly from a stylistic perspective, the Jose Benavidez Sr-trained Blancas has told Sean Zittel that he would predict a similar outcome for May 2027.

“That’s a great fight; that’s an amazing fight. Opetaia – he’s a beast. His power – he can hit. He’s amazing.

“Honestly, though, much respect to him and his team but David – you guys saw what he did to [Ramirez]. Even at cruiserweight, his speed didn’t go nowhere.

“His speed was still there, his explosiveness was still there … he was even stronger. I just think that, if he were to face Opetaia, it’s going to be the exact same thing.”

With Blancas training at the same gym as Benavidez, it is hardly surprising that he favours the 29-year-old to defeat Opetaia, who currently holds The Ring cruiserweight title.

Evans was carted off the field after suffering a rib injury during the second quarter

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Sep 27, 2026

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6:35 pm ET

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Noah Gragson’s strong run at Kansas Speedway ended with an engine failure during the NASCAR Hollywood Casino 400. The Front Row Motorsports driver had been running around the top 20 after making progress in his No. 4 Ford, but a mechanical problem ended his race early, leaving him with a disappointing result.

Gragson started 21st after the starting lineup was set by the qualifying metric. He had an average running position of 28.58 and lost spots during the Stage 1 pit stops, but a good adjustment helped him recover from 26th to 18th in Stage 2. That progress ended on Lap 114 when the No. 4 Ford engine failed. He was running 20th at the time and said on the radio:

“Blew up.”

FRM No. 4 team immediately acknowledged his effort to keep the car under control:

“Good job hanging on to it.”

Noah Gragson replied:

“Thanks. Good car. Sh**ty result. Thanks for the effort today.”

Noah Gragson’s No. 4 Ford went sideways on the inside line before producing a large amount of smoke as he moved into Turns 1 and 2. He managed to avoid spinning and did not collect anyone, for the first incident-led caution in the race.

The restart that followed then produced a major incident involving Carson Hocevar in the middle of a multi-car crash. Gragson’s race, however, was already over, with his No. 4 officially listed as a DNF on Lap 152.

Noah Gragson reacts after the Kansas DNF

Noah Gragson’s Kansas result comes after Front Row Motorsports announced on August 14 that he would return to the No. 4 Ford for the 2027 NASCAR Cup Series season, with options to extend beyond next year. The contract extension came during a difficult season for Gragson, who entered Kansas 31st in the standings with 376 points.

Since the announcement, Gragson had finished 18th at Richmond and 10th at New Hampshire, his second-best result. He then finished 32nd at Daytona, 33rd at Darlington, 16th at Gateway and 16th at Bristol before the Kansas DNF. Asked whether there was any indication of the engine problem, Gragson said:

“We were pretty good. Just proud of everybody at Front Row Motorsports and on the Long John Silver’s car. We kind of struggled here in the spring, and we’ve been showing a lot of progress into the last couple of weeks. We were 16th at Bristol, and we’re having a strong showing today, running 17th around there, 16th. So we’re entering in on it. Just unfortunate, but it’s the way it goes sometimes.”

Noah Gragson‘s post-race comments showed that the No. 4 FRM team had made progress compared with its spring Kansas performance. Despite the engine failure, he felt the car had enough speed to run around the middle of the top 20. He will now look to recover on his home track next week at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.