Zuffa Boxing boss Dana White has vowed to deliver the biggest fights in boxing while signing the “best fighters in the world” after announcing a landmark new UK broadcast deal with Sky Sports.
The multi-year deal will see at least five shows a year on the UK mainland, ushering in a new era of sport on Sky.
Zuffa Boxing was launched in 2025 and is led by UFC President and CEO Dana White and WWE President and TKO Director Nick Khan.
“This is not rocket science. We want to have the best possible fights with the best fighters in the world,” White told Sky Sports of the promotion’s philosophy.
“Everyone is undefeated in boxing, but that’s going to change in the next few years. As you can see how the UFC was built, I took everything I love about boxing and everything I hate about it in building that business.”
“So if it’s going to be this good in the UFC, it should be even better in boxing.”
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Andy Scott takes a closer look at Zuffa and their ambitious plans for boxing on Sky Sports.
The promoter announced early signings for Conor Benn and Jay Opetaia, with more new signings expected to follow.
“The answer is yes because in Las Vegas we have employees running around the office every week and we had a lot of meetings here yesterday,” White explained.
“We will continue to sign not only the best fighters in the world, but also fighters that we believe have the potential to become world champions one day.”
Zuffa’s first event on Sky Sports will be ZUFFA BOXING 05: CORTES vs GARCIA in Las Vegas on Sunday April 5th, broadcast live from Meta APEX.
In the main event, undefeated rising star prospect Andres Cortez (24-0, 13 KOs) will take on Elidson Garcia (23-1, 14 KOs).
White has been a figurehead for the UFC for years, but he credits his rise to the sport of boxing.
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“If it wasn’t for boxing, I wouldn’t be where I am today,” he explained. “Boxing is where it all started for me, I was training fighters in the boxing industry and started learning Jiu-Jitsu.
“Then I started managing some fighters in the UFC. When we found out the UFC was in trouble and up for sale, me and my partner bought it in 2001.”
“Going back to today, here I am returning to the sport of boxing, which I always believed I would do. I didn’t have a lot of confidence there for a few years, but I love this sport and I think that me and the team I built can do good for the world.”
Mr White paid tribute to the loyalty and passion of fans and praised the “vital role” Britain has played throughout boxing’s history.
He has no doubts about Zuffa’s ability to replicate the UFC’s success and has his sights set on bringing boxing at scale to its existing fan base while introducing a new perspective to the sport.
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“I know we can match (the UFC’s success). And I think another big goal for us over the next few years is to introduce young people to boxing,” he said.
“Since then, we’ve started to realize that we’re having 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 for the next few years.”
Mr White has praised British fight fans for “keeping boxing alive” in recent years and is now trying to elevate the sport on the global stage.
“If you think about boxing realistically, I would say that over the last 10 years, boxing has been very European and obviously very British, but it’s been declining in the United States,” he said.
“So our goal is to build the natural countries of the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Mexico. So that’s what we’re focused on right now.”
Who is Zuffa?
This promotional company brings together three of the most powerful names in martial arts entertainment.
Dana White – Long-time figurehead of the hugely successful mixed martial arts operation, UFC Nick Khan – President of WWET Turk Alalcik – Chairman of the Saudi Arabian General Entertainment Authority, who has led a transformational venture in the boxing industry.
White plans to change the world of boxing, and after years of speculation, his vision is finally rapidly taking shape.
Zuffa Boxing promoted the Canelo Alvarez vs. Terrence Crawford superfight last September, which became a truly global event.
The first show on Sky will be headlined by Andres Cortez vs. Elidson García on April 5th, with both fighters having a combined record of 47 wins and just one loss.
The Las Vegas-based company has promoted four shows at Meta Apex in just two months and has 50-50 competitive clashes at the core of its philosophy.
