Dana White’s entry into boxing has already produced its first notable shift in messaging. When Zuffa Boxing was unveiled last September, White was emphatic about distancing the new venture from boxing’s established sanctioning bodies, instead promising an in-house ranking system, Zuffa-owned titles, and a structure modeled after the UFC.
At the time, White made clear that organizations such as the WBC, WBA and IBF would continue working with traditional promoters, while Zuffa would chart its own course. The plan was presented as a clean break from boxing’s fragmented title landscape, backed by major financial support, a broadcast deal with Paramount+, and the involvement of TKO, Sela and Turki Alalshikh.
However, that hard-line stance now appears to be easing. Zuffa recently secured a major signing in IBF cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia, whose publicly stated goal is to unify the cruiserweight division - an ambition rooted firmly within the existing sanctioning-body system Zuffa had previously suggested it would avoid.
Further complicating the picture are reports that unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk is in discussions with Zuffa, a move that would have significant implications across the sport and inevitably involve the very sanctioning bodies White once dismissed. Asked about the situation at Zuffa Boxing’s launch press conference, White struck a noticeably more flexible tone.
Calling the project “a work in progress,” White acknowledged that fighters arrive with long-held goals shaped by the current boxing structure. He suggested Zuffa would work with Opetaia and likely others to help them pursue those ambitions, adding that details would become clearer over time.
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