Ryan Belanger sweeps Jason Merlo 3-0 in East vs West 24 release

Ryan Belanger did not merely beat Jason Merlo at East vs West 24, he swept him 3-0 in a right-arm middleweight match with the division's No. 1 ranking on the line. In a card built to showcase the sport's biggest names, that kind of result mattered because it separated Belanger from the pack and gave East vs West another clear candidate for stronger matchmaking.

The bout was part of East vs West 24 in Little Rock, Arkansas, on June 6, 2026, a show the promotion billed as one of the most stacked of the year. The same card featured Michael Todd against Oleg Petrenko, Ermes Gasparini against Artyom Morozov, Toddzilla against Bogdan Stoica, and Auden Larratt against Jeremy Parker, but Belanger's win gave the middleweight division its own storyline: he left no room for debate.

The pre-match numbers sharpen the picture. ArmBreakdown reported Belanger at roughly 215 to 216 pounds, or about 97 kilograms, before the event. It also said Merlo was due in Little Rock on June 4, while Belanger arrived on June 3, and that Belanger had adjusted his preparation after his EVW18 match with Allen Ford, which he considered a fluke because his hand got taken away. Belanger trained at Adam Wawrzynski's house with Matt Harris and Hunter Noffz, a setup that suggests a camp focused on more than just raw strength.

Merlo brought a different profile into the match. ArmBreakdown said he typically trained three times per week and table-practiced one to two times a month, and the preview framed him as a puller leaning on hand control and endurance. Merlo also believed there were lanes where technical knowledge could keep Belanger from getting to his preferred positions, while Belanger said he was close to Todd Hutchings-level strength and wanted more matches against inside pullers to prove it.

The sweep answered that debate cleanly. Merlo never won a game, which means Belanger was not just slightly better, he was complete enough to shut down the setup battle and control the table from start to finish. In East vs West's ecosystem, where decisive outcomes travel fast and help shape the next bookings, that is the kind of win that pushes an athlete out of undercard depth and into more consequential territory. If Belanger keeps producing results like this, the middleweight conversation will have to include him for more than one night.