Head of Zuffa Boxing Dana White has vowed to sign the ‘best fighters in the world’ while delivering the biggest fights in boxing after announcing a new ground-breaking UK broadcast deal with Sky Sports.
The multi-year agreement will mean at least five shows per year on UK soil and raises the curtain on a new era for the sport on Sky.
Zuffa Boxing was launched in 2025 and is headed up by UFC president and CEO Dana White and WWE President and TKO board member Nick Khan.
“It’s not rocket science, we want to put on the best possible fights with the best fighters in the world,” White told Sky Sports of the promotion’s philosophies.
“Everybody’s undefeated in boxing, that’s going to change over the next couple of years. You know, if you look at how the UFC was built, I took everything that I loved about boxing and everything that I hated about boxing when building that business.
“So if it works so well for the UFC, it should work even better for boxing.”
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Andy Scott takes a closer look at Zuffa and the ambitious plans they have for boxing on Sky Sports.
The promoters issued an early statement of intent with the marquee signings of Conor Benn and Jai Opetaia, with more new arrivals set to follow.
“Guys are running through the office every week in Vegas and we had a lot of meetings out here yesterday too, so the answer is yes,” White explained.
“We’re going to continue to sign not only the best fighters in the world, but fighters that we believe have the potential to be world champions someday.”
Zuffa’s first event on Sky Sports will be ZUFFA BOXING 05: CORTES vs GARCIA on Sunday April 5 in Las Vegas, live from the Meta APEX.
It sees unbeaten rising contender Andres Cortes (24-0, 13 KOs) take on Eridson Garcia (23-1, 14 KOs) in the main event.
White is the long-serving figurehead of the UFC, but credits his rise to the sport of boxing.
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“I wouldn’t be where I am today without boxing,” he explained. “Boxing is where it all began for me and, I was training guys and in the boxing business and I started taking jiu-jitsu.
“Then through that, I started to manage some fighters in the UFC. I found out the UFC was in trouble and that it was for sale and me and my partners bought it back in 2001.
“Fast forward to today and here I am getting back into the sport of boxing, which I always believed I would. There was a few years there I wasn’t very sure, but I love the sport and I think that me and the team that I have built can do some good things for the world.”
White has praised the ‘pivotal role’ played by the UK throughout the history of boxing, paying tribute to the loyalty and passion of its fans.
He has zero doubt over Zuffa’s ability to replicate the success of the UFC, setting his sights on delivering big-time boxing to its existing fanbases while also introducing new eyes to the sport.
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Sky Sports Boxing has been your ringside ticket for many years and that drama and excitement is about to start all over again.
“I know we can (match the success of UFC) and I think the other thing, our big goal over the next several years is to introduce the younger people to boxing,” he said.
“I started to notice since, we’re on our fourth fight here, a lot of young people have never been to a boxing match or even watched boxing before. So that’s a big goal of mine over the next several years.”
White hailed British fight fans for ‘keeping boxing alive’ in recent years, and is now seeking to elevate the sport on a global stage.
“Realistically when you think about boxing, over the last I would say 10 years it’s been very European and obviously the UK, there’s been a decline in the United States,” he said.
“So our goal is to build the no-brainers, the United States, the UK, Australia, Mexico. I mean that’s what we’re focusing on right now.”
Who are Zuffa?
The promotional company brings together three of the most powerful figures in combat sports entertainment:
- Dana White – the long-serving figurehead of the UFC, the hugely successful mixed martial arts enterprise
- Nick Khan – the president of the WWE
- Turki Alalshikh – the chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, who has been guiding an industry-changing venture into boxing.
White has been planning a move to shake-up boxing and after years of speculation his vision is finally fast taking shape.
Zuffa Boxing promoted the Canelo Alvarez vs Terence Crawford super-fight last September, which was a truly global event.
Their first show on Sky will be headlined by Andres Cortes versus Eridson Garcia, two fighters who between them have a combined record of 47 wins against just one loss on April 5.
In just two months, the Las Vegas-based company have promoted four shows at the Meta Apex, with competitive 50-50 clashes at the core of their philosophy.
