Jai Opetaia vs. Brandon Glanton | Paramount+ - March 8, 2026

[Ruthless-RKO]

If I didn’t have work tomorrow I’d probably watch some of this.

Shame.

[JC]

If I didn’t have work tomorrow I’d probably watch some of this.

Shame.

Same. The main event is not exactly a 50/50 on paper but styles-wise has the potential to be fireworks while it lasts.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Pre-show and prelims

[Ruthless-RKO]

Zuffa Boxing 04

Date: March 8, 2026
Location: Meta APEX - Las Vegas, NV
Stream: Paramount+ (US) | YouTube (UK)

Start Time
Preliminary Card: 6 pm ET | 3 pm PT
Main Card: 9 pm ET | 6 pm PT | 2 am UK

Main Card

Zuffa Boxing & Ring Magazine Cruiserweight Championship
Jai Opetaia vs. Brandon Glanton

10 Round Welterweight Bout
Ricardo Salas vs. Jesus Saracho

8 Round Featherweight Bout
Adan Palma vs. Pablo Rubio

Preliminary Card

10 Round Welterweight Bout
Vlad Panin vs. Shinard Bunch

8 Round Heavyweight Bout
Joshua Juarez vs. Jardae Anderson

6 Round Featherweight Bout
Jaycob Ramos vs. Ethan Perez

6 Round Lightweight Bout
Brady Ochoa vs. Adrian Serrano

6 Round Featherweight Bout
Emiliano Alvarado vs. Erick Rosado

Pre-show an prelim



Full Card

[Ruthless-RKO]

As reported on the @Zuffa_Boxing pre-show, I obtained email from IBF prez Daryl Peoples where he said he withdrew sanctioning of Jai Opetaia-Brandon Glanton because he felt the placement of the belt at Friday’s presser “embarrassed” the IBF. That contradicts the IBF’s statement.

[Ruthless-RKO]

The IBF rule it cited as a reason to strip Opetaia -- well after it had sanctioned the fight, accepted the fee and had supervisor on site -- says it only recognizes WBC, WBA and WBO organizations. But that never stopped the IBF from sanctioning bouts also ivolving the IBO, IBA, WBF titles, for example. But OK, agree to sanction the fight that involves the Zuffa title, which isn't even official yet (at least not until the Ali Act update is signed into law making it literally a trophy belt for now), and then withdraw it after the presser because you're annoyed by how the IBF belt was presented, which happened to be fully on display and integrated into Zuffa's graphics? Horseshit excuse to fornicate Opetaia. What changed from when you sanctioned the fight and took the fee? #boxing #OpetaiaGlanton

[ninetypercent]

I don't like to say it but these preliminary fights are way more evenly matched than you see on other promoters cards. Not so much of the house prospect kicking cans.
Imagine how much further Teramoana would have advanced if he didn't spend all his time belting paid victims.

[Taansend]

What happened to Teramoana?

[Brute]

Who knows? He is still winning fights.

[amwsnw]

Ibf tried to look after Jai but must have its integrity in check. Jai is not bigger than the ibf, zuffa seem to think they are bigger than them all. It’s the right decision.

[amwsnw]

Can anyone pass comment on the fight? I’m hearing Jai has dominated every round (as expected).

[Ruthless-RKO]

Jai is dominant.

Glanton no match.

But will he go down.

[Brute]

Jai by unanymous decision.

[Brute]

Ibf tried to look after Jai but must have its integrity in check. Jai is not bigger than the ibf, zuffa seem to think they are bigger than them all. It’s the right decision.

The IBF president withdrew the sanction because he realised it made the IBF look petty and silly.

[Ruthless-RKO]

http://www.boxingtalk.com/Zuffa-04-undercard-results-from-Las-Vegas

undercard results.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Zuffa Boxing 4 results

Main card

Jai Opetaia def. Brandon Glanton by unanimous decision (119-106, 119-106, 119-106)
Ricardo Salas def. Jesus Saracho by TKO (R8, 2:05)
Pablo Rubio def. Adan Palma by unanimous decision (77-73, 77-73, 76-74)

Prelims

Vlad Panin def. Shinard Bunch by TKO (R9, 2:29)
Joshua Juarez def. Jardae Anderson by unanimous decision (79-73, 78-74, 77-75)
Jaycob Ramos vs. Ethan Perez – majority draw (57-55, 56-56, 56-56)
Brady Ochoa vs. Adrian Serrano – majority draw (58-56, 57-57-57)
Emiliano Alvarado def. Erick Rosado by unanimous decision (59-54, 59-54, 59-54)

[joshj909]

I imagine CBS will pick up the vacant belt for now

[Ruthless-RKO]

Dan Rafael covered it in detail here

IBF, in snit over Zuffa Boxing belt, poised to strip Opetaia of title

Lineal championship still on line in Sunday night defense vs. Glanton

Throughout his nearly four-year reign as lineal cruiserweight champion — and as a two-time IBF titleholder — Jai Opetaia has said time and again that his goal was to win all the major belts and become the undisputed champion.

But that prospect will end, at least for the foreseeable future, because when he enters the ring on Sunday night he will be stripped of the IBF title (for the second time) due to a last-minute change of course by the IBF.

Opetaia will still make his eighth lineal title defense and vie for the inaugural Zuffa Boxing title when he faces Brandon Glanton in the main event of Zuffa Boxing 04 (Paramount+, 5:30 p.m. ET) at the Meta Apex in Las Vegas, but he will do so sans the IBF belt, which is one of the belts presently needed to proclaim undisputed status.

Zuffa Boxing CEO Dana White has said time and again since the formation of the promotional company last year that he would not work with the sanctioning organizations while creating a Zuffa title for the company boxers to fight for.

However, when Zuffa signed Opetaia, the first world champion to join the company, in January, he did so with assurances that not only would he be permitted to defend the IBF belt but that he would be assisted in pursuing his dream to unify with the other titleholders.

Zuffa Boxing even had WBC titleholder Noel Mikaelian as a guest at a recent card and had he and Opetaia face off with each other with the thought of matching them this summer.

Still, it had been unclear for weeks whether the IBF title would be on the line for the fight with Glanton. The IBF repeatedly declined to comment on the status of the title. Zuffa also would not address it.

All along, personnel from Opetaia co-promoter Tasman Fighters told Fight Freaks Unite he would be defending the title and in an interview with FFU on Feb. 23 Opetaia said, “To my knowledge and what I know is the IBF is on the line.”

When Opetaia (29-0, 23 KOs), a 30-year-old southpaw from Australia making his United States debut, and Glanton (21-3, 18 KOs), 33, of Atlanta, appeared at a pre-fight news conference on Friday night, Opetaia was once again asked if the IBF title would be at stake.

Opetaia, who was seated at the dais with the IBF belt, his Ring magazine title and the Zuffa belt on display, answered, “Yes, it will be. Don’t listen to everything you see on the internet because everyone’s spreading rumors. But I’m very grateful that the boys (at Zuffa Boxing) have been on board with my dream to become undisputed and unless everyone works together toward that dream I can’t accomplish that.”

Opetaia and Glanton then posed for photos. Opetaia held the IBF and Ring belts and Tom Loeffler of Zuffa Boxing held the Zuffa belt aloft.

All seemed well with regard to the IBF. According to Zuffa Boxing, it paid the IBF sanction fee on Thursday and had flown in IBF supervisor Levi Martinez first class from his home in New Mexico.

And then, shortly after the news conference, the IBF posted a statement on its website announcing it had withdrawn its sanction of the bout. A Zuffa Boxing representative told Fight Freaks Unite that Martinez then left.

“Opetaia’s team confirmed the fight would not be a unification and that any belt awarded by Zuffa would be ‘characterized as a trophy or token of recognition,’” the statement said. “The IBF has not had any discussion regarding this bout with any direct representative from Zuffa Boxing. However, the organization received assurances from Opetaia’s representatives that this would be the case. The IBF approved the bout under these conditions as the bout would no longer conflict with IBF Rule 5.E.2 which states in part, ‘For the purpose of unification of titles, the preeminent champions of the WBA, WBC and the WBO may be designated as ‘elite contenders’ and may be permitted to fight for the unified title.”

The IBF does not recognize the Zuffa title, although it has on numerous occasions allowed its title to be involved in fights in which belts from fringe organizations such as the IBO, IBA and WBF were also at stake.

Zuffa Boxing is a promoter, not a sanctioning body, and currently under the federal Muhammad Ali Reform Act, it is illegal for promoters to issue their own belts, compile their own rankings and manage fighters. That means that currently, the Zuffa Boxing title is a trophy belt.

That does figure to change in the near future due to the company’s lobbying efforts in Washington that have worked and seen an amended version of the Ali Act that would make it legal for promoters to create their own rankings and belts under a Unified Boxing Organization setup that currently is winding its way through Congress.

The legislation sailed through committee with overwhelming bipartisan support and is expected to soon be passed and signed into law by the president. It would give Zuffa Boxing a similar setup to its sister company, UFC, which White also runs.

“The press conference … made it clear that the Zuffa world cruiserweight title would still be contested on March 8,” the statement said. “The IBF reserves the right to sanction title bouts alongside other sanctioning bodies that comply with the same mandated regulations followed by the organization.

“With sanction withdrawn, the Opetaia vs. Glanton bout is now an Unsanctioned Contest. IBF Rule 5.H. states in part, ‘an Unsanctioned Contest is a fight which the IBF has not formally approved for sanction or where sanction has been formally withdrawn. If a champion participates in an unsanctioned contest within his prescribed weight limit, the title will be declared vacant whether the champion wins or loses the bout.’”

A source told Fight Freaks Unite that after the press conference, Peoples said in an email he was upset and disappointed that the IBF belt was positioned as secondary to the Zuffa belt at the media event — even though the IBF belt was prominently displayed in front of Opetaia the whole time.

“He said it was an embarrassment to the IBF,” the source, who had seen the email, said.

Jeff Mullen, the executive director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, also became involved. The source said he spoke to Martinez about it, asking him why the IBF would do this, and that Peoples had not returned his calls.

Even with the belt poised to be stripped, a Zuffa Boxing spokesperson told Fight Freaks Unite that even though the IBF supervisor had left town that Opetaia and Glanton will take part in a Sunday morning weight check that is an IBF rule. Both made the 200-pound division limit at Saturday’s weigh-in and neither can weigh more than 214 at the weight check.

In the end the IBF still intends to strip Opetaia when he enters the ring. This will be the second time the IBF will strip him. It first happened in 2023 when he fought replacement Ellis Zorro instead of his mandatory opponent and former champion Mairis Briedis in a rematch, despite Briedis pulling out due to illness.

[Coco]

I imagine CBS will pick up the vacant belt for now

If he has promotional muscle bending him

[amwsnw]

Ibf tried to look after Jai but must have its integrity in check. Jai is not bigger than the ibf, zuffa seem to think they are bigger than them all. It’s the right decision.

The IBF president withdrew the sanction because he realised it made the IBF look petty and silly.

That’s a silly looking belt - but good performance by Jai, against one tough opponent.

[JamesPhilips]

I noticed Opetaia was still with the IBF belt holding it post fight. Weird

[Ruthless-RKO]

I noticed Opetaia was still with the IBF belt holding it post fight. Weird

yh. he said he wasn't stripped..

i mean the physical belt will still belong to him. Dana said there will be some lawsuits.

They made the 10 pound next day limit as well. so they continued to abide by IBF rules

[joshj909]

I imagine CBS will pick up the vacant belt for now

If he has promotional muscle bending him

He's the highest ranked contender and I don't see a non-champ beating him in an eliminator so as long as Zuffa don't keep ahold of it with Opetaia, through lawsuits, I don't see any other person becoming IBF champion before him.

[Ruthless-RKO]

I imagine CBS will pick up the vacant belt for now

If he has promotional muscle bending him

He's the highest ranked contender and I don't see a non-champ beating him in an eliminator so as long as Zuffa don't keep ahold of it with Opetaia, through lawsuits, I don't see any other person becoming IBF champion before him.

He had a chance to become #1 at WBO again, through that final eliminator.. but he declined it. was easy bout to get himself back in that position.

[joshj909]

If he has promotional muscle bending him

He's the highest ranked contender and I don't see a non-champ beating him in an eliminator so as long as Zuffa don't keep ahold of it with Opetaia, through lawsuits, I don't see any other person becoming IBF champion before him.

He had a chance to become #1 at WBO again, through that final eliminator.. but he declined it. was easy bout to get himself back in that position.

That's not a vacant belt. As it stands he would only have to beat one or two of Masternak, Nyika and Masson to become IBF champion instead of facing Zurdo for the WBO.