Zuffa Boxing have signed a long-term broadcast deal with Paramount+

[Ruthless-RKO]

[Perseus]

For those old enough to remember:

Does the sequence of events(fighter signings, gaining legal approval, financial backing) seem very, very similar to the early days of Dana and the UFC together?

No. Nothing alike. At the time when Dana took over the UFC, he was the manager of two of the biggest draws for the promotion (Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell). The UFC barely even had multi-fight contracts back then and fighters frequently bounced around promotions even when at the UFC level. The unifed rules were already created and they were already pushing for legalization in NJ and NV under the new unified rules. Jeff Blatnick deserves the lions share of the credit but since he died in 2012 he's been quickly forgotten by the new fans (all of whom are basically into UFC as nothing beyond male fashion).

That's not what he's really asking.

Fighter signings:
Trying to pay comparably big money to bring the biggest names or the most successful guys over from rival organisations and trying to keep them there while being unable to pick up the biggest names over in Pride. Dana signed Carlos Newton, Randy Couture, Ricco Rodriguez, Vitor Belfort, Tim Sylvia and Genki Sudo among others in his first couple of years. Some were bigger names than others but they were also successful over in smaller orgs. Obvious comparisons.

Legal approval:
Lorenzo Fertitta was a NSAC commissioner and voted to make MMA illegal in Vegas before Zuffa bought the UFC which tanked UFC value and nearly wiped it from the face of the earth. Then when the Fertitta's backed Dana to buy the UFC, the vote changed and UFC flourished. Perseus is comparing it to Dana trying to change Ali Act.

Financial backing:
Fertitta's got $2m from their millionaire mafia father to give to their schoolfriend to buy the UFC. He's comparing that to Turki financing Dana's boxing promotion.

[Ruthless-RKO]

ZUFFA BOXING SIGNS SKY SPORTS DEAL, FIVE U.K. EVENTS PER YEAR

Zuffa Boxing announced Wednesday a multi-year broadcast deal with Sky Sports.

The deal will see all Zuffa Boxing events broadcast on Sky Sports in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Zuffa will also look to stage at least five shows per year on U.K. soil.

Zuffa Boxing chief Dana White said: "The UK has played such a pivotal role throughout the history of boxing. The fans there are some of the most loyal and passionate in the world.

"When you talk about boxing in that region, Sky Sports has always been the home for legendary boxing fights. There’s no bigger or better platform to showcase the best boxing in the U.K. This is a massive milestone for Zuffa Boxing.”

The first event to be broadcast on Sky Sports will be Zuffa Boxing 05: Cortes vs. Garcia on Sunday, April 5, live from the Meta APEX in Las Vegas.

Sky have been out of the sport since the final event of their deal with Boxxer, which was headlined by Callum Simpson and Ivan Zucco last June.

After Sky's fruitful, decade-long partnership with Matchroom Boxing ended in 2021, their future as broadcasters of the sport was an uncertain one, particularly after they decided not to renew their four-year contract with Boxxer last summer.

But now they're back with a bang. Having signed with Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions in February, Sky now have a second deal on their books with Zuffa.

Zuffa earlier this year unveiled the signing of Brit star Conor Benn, who stunned the boxing world by leaving Matchroom and Eddie Hearn to join the upstart promotional company, which is headed up by The Ring's owner Turki Alalshikh, TKO Group Holdings' Nick Khan and UFC president White.

Benn will next fight on April 11 against Regis Prograis. The bout will take place on the undercard of Tyson Fury-Arslanbek Makhmudov at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, live on Netflix.

Sky Sports and Zuffa will reveal a more detailed fight schedule for the remainder of 2026 over the coming weeks.

Zuffa's events are shown on Paramount+ in the United States, with their last event, headlined by Jai Opetaia's win over Brandon Glanton, taking place on March 8.

[aumonier]

In France the Zuffa events will be broadcast on RMC Sport channel. They have already started with the Zuffa 4 (Opetaia vs Glanton + 2 supporting fights), even though communication has been low on that.
https://www.satellifacts.com/news/actua ... ffa-boxing (in french)

[Cent0089]

Should be boxing card every week, like UFC. Once per month is not enough

[Sendo Takeshi]

Quantity over quality. UFC event quality is at an all time low. Even before the current deal, it was at a crazy decline because they have to pump out so many events.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Should be boxing card every week, like UFC. Once per month is not enough

Well they put on 4 shows since the start of Feb.

[Cent0089]

Should be boxing card every week, like UFC. Once per month is not enough

Well they put on 4 shows since the start of Feb.

Yeah, but now, we are waiting 3-4 weeks . Btw, do you like this Zuffa boxing ?

[Ruthless-RKO]

Should be boxing card every week, like UFC. Once per month is not enough

Well they put on 4 shows since the start of Feb.

Yeah, but now, we are waiting 3-4 weeks . Btw, do you like this Zuffa boxing ?

Not seen any yet cus they’ve been daft o clock and some on a Sunday night.

Matchmaking seems to be ok.

We know Dana is a veteran but he and Zuffa are still new to boxing. So giving them benefit of doubt for now.

[gilgamesh]

More promoters putting on more fights ultimately shouldn't be anything to complain about. You don't like Zuffa's cards? Don't watch 'em then.

There's Boxing shows out the ass all over the world at the moment. Granted not a sh*t load of especially good ones, but certainly a lot of fights. March has been a kinda slow month, but business is gonna pick up some in April and then big time in May.

[joshj909]

More promoters putting on more fights ultimately shouldn't be anything to complain about. You don't like Zuffa's cards? Don't watch 'em then.

There's Boxing shows out the ass all over the world at the moment. Granted not a sh*t load of especially good ones, but certainly a lot of fights. March has been a kinda slow month, but business is gonna pick up some in April and then big time in May.

I think the downside is the fights that being completely closed to cross-promotional fights stops us from having the best fights if we want them. It's been difficult enough as it is but occasionally we get the fights when the money is there or the belts mandate it. If Zuffa have their own belts then they won't mandate a defence like that.

[gilgamesh]

More promoters putting on more fights ultimately shouldn't be anything to complain about. You don't like Zuffa's cards? Don't watch 'em then.

There's Boxing shows out the ass all over the world at the moment. Granted not a sh*t load of especially good ones, but certainly a lot of fights. March has been a kinda slow month, but business is gonna pick up some in April and then big time in May.

I think the downside is the fights that being completely closed to cross-promotional fights stops us from having the best fights if we want them. It's been difficult enough as it is but occasionally we get the fights when the money is there or the belts mandate it. If Zuffa have their own belts then they won't mandate a defence like that.

Right now they don't have anyone Boxing fans can't do without.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Bill to wreck Ali Act passes House, moves to Senate

The Muhammad Ali American Boxing Revival Act is 60 votes and a signature away from becoming law

H.R. 4264, better known as the Muhammad Ali American Boxing Revival Act, is one step closer to becoming law after passing the House on a voice vote.

Matthew Wells of MMA Junkie has more on the bipartisan vote, which included 40 minutes of debate. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) notably spoke in support of the bill, acknowledging its lingering issues but asserting that she and her compatriots “fought hard to make sure it wasn’t just a gift to industry.” Joe Courtney (D-CT), one of the few to vote against the bill in committee, spoke against it, highlighting the potential for exploitation and the testimony of industry figures.

The bill now heads to the Senate, where it will likely sit in limbo for some time. The chamber currently finds itself gridlocked over the ongoing Department of Homeland Security shutdown and the President’s aggressive but almost certainly doomed push for the SAVE Act. Please take the opportunity to reach out to your Senators and express your opposition to the bill, which would allow TKO and other promotions to utilize the same anti-competitive practices we see today in UFC.

https://www.boxinginsider.com/headlines ... pens-next/

https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/story/sp ... 306483007/

[zorndeslammes]

That's not what he's really asking.

Fighter signings:
Trying to pay comparably big money to bring the biggest names or the most successful guys over from rival organisations and trying to keep them there while being unable to pick up the biggest names over in Pride. Dana signed Carlos Newton, Randy Couture, Ricco Rodriguez, Vitor Belfort, Tim Sylvia and Genki Sudo among others in his first couple of years. Some were bigger names than others but they were also successful over in smaller orgs. Obvious comparisons.

Yeah, this is nonsense. Belfort you can make a case for being this because he was something approximating a star in MMA and had notoriety in Brazil thanks to reality TV. The others? The reason why UFC could afford Randy is that Randy was cheap. Ricco was a nobody; Tim Sylvia less than a nobody and as soon as PRIDE went away and the UFC could sign their HWs, they dropped him like he was on fire. Genki Sudo was a far bigger star post-UFC than he ever was fighting for Shooto. He was fighting in front of a couple thousand max in Tokyo and usually just a few hundred people; that's in fact true of most everyone here. Tim Sylvia wasn't some big signing where they lured him away from a lucrative contract with HooknShoot. Tim was probably making 5 to show when he arrived.

Lorenzo Fertitta was a NSAC commissioner and voted to make MMA illegal in Vegas before Zuffa bought the UFC which tanked UFC value and nearly wiped it from the face of the earth. Then when the Fertitta's backed Dana to buy the UFC, the vote changed and UFC flourished. Perseus is comparing it to Dana trying to change Ali Act.

That's a whole different ball of wax related to the adoption of the uniform rules. It's pretty obvious that this is being framed in this way to insinuate that Lorenzo rejected MMA only because he planned to buy it, bring in new rules, and then have it be a regulated sport. None of that happened in that way.

https://x.com/ChaelSonnen/status/1720646323836473538

MMA existed in a gray zone and there is no such thing as "Lorenzo Fertitta voted to make MMA illegal in Vegas". That never happened. MMA didn't have any actual rules agreed upon yet as other sports did, so there was nothing really for the NSAC in it's mind to sanction. States or tribal land that did permit it usually did with specific rules in place or did so under the pro wrestling licensing (see also: UFC 9).

In case you aren't able to structurally understand what I am typing, let me try to simplify for you. When two people wind up in a fist fight almost anywhere in the United States, that is not legal in almost any jurisdiction. To make a fist fight a legal thing, it has to be in the guise of a sporting event, and that sporting event must be regulated. No license? Then the competitors are committing assault and battery and the promoter is breaking a bunch of laws related to licensing and possibly performance. This happens enough that you can google this. You've heard of a smoker, right? Sometimes they get busted, you know.

Financial backing:
Fertitta's got $2m from their millionaire mafia father to give to their schoolfriend to buy the UFC. He's comparing that to Turki financing Dana's boxing promotion.

That's where he got the easiest financing from. If he had to go get a note from a bank to buy the UFC the whole strategy would be very different and the expectation of returns different too.

[Ruthless-RKO]

[gilgamesh]

Opetaia's next opponent i assume?

[Ruthless-RKO]

Opetaia's next opponent i assume?

Yh probably.

[Cent0089]

Good signing. Him vs CBS or Jai would be good

[gilgamesh]

Good signing. Him vs CBS or Jai would be good

That may be the move. Match him with CBS and winner gets Jai.

[Cent0089]

Good signing. Him vs CBS or Jai would be good

That may be the move. Match him with CBS and winner gets Jai.

Zeah. Wondering if they can get out of Apex. Or at least put more fans there

[Ruthless-RKO]

Good signing. Him vs CBS or Jai would be good

That may be the move. Match him with CBS and winner gets Jai.

Zeah. Wondering if they can get out of Apex. Or at least put more fans there

Their first big night they will.

[Ruthless-RKO]

‘Beware, make sure you read the fine print’: Oscar De La Hoya warns boxers about signing with Zuffa

Oscar De La Hoya believes the Saudi money will dry up in boxing before you know it.



Golden Boy promoter Oscar De La Hoya takes aim at Zuffa Boxing and its Saudi financiers once again, noting their plans to withdraw funding into LIV golf as an early warning sign of what’s to come in the boxing business. In that respect, De La Hoya says it’s just a matter of time before the golden faucet gets turned off and fighters don’t want to be stuck in a Zuffa contract when it eventually does.

“Speaking of bleeding cash, I estimate the Saudis have spent at least a billion dollars since entering the boxing space, two years ago,” De La Hoya said. “I mean, how? They paid $100M for Canelo alone and just paid Conor f—kin’ Benn $15M. They also paid a lot of f—king money to buy The Ring Magazine which is a dead asset! Plus, all the other events they put on, and they’re fully funding the failed science experiment known as Zuffa Boxing. Actually, it could be way more than a billion bucks.

“And where are they recouping that investing? On ticket sales and PPVs? They don’t even sell tickets at the events in Saudi, and the PPVs are a tiny fraction of income. Again, the Saudis are fully funding Zuffa. So fighters beware and make sure you read the fine print because you may need to get out of your Zuffa contract in a few months. There might not be any money left.”

[joshj909]

That may be the move. Match him with CBS and winner gets Jai.

Zeah. Wondering if they can get out of Apex. Or at least put more fans there

Their first big night they will.

The problem is, Dana will want most of his events in the US, specifically Vegas. I don't see Opetaia Vs CBS doing amazing numbers in Vegas in comparison to what it might do in the UK or Australia. I can't imagine many Americans even know who they are.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Zeah. Wondering if they can get out of Apex. Or at least put more fans there

Their first big night they will.

The problem is, Dana will want most of his events in the US, specifically Vegas. I don't see Opetaia Vs CBS doing amazing numbers in Vegas in comparison to what it might do in the UK or Australia. I can't imagine many Americans even know who they are.

They can do 5k in a Vegas arena.

Fury only sold between 4k to 5k for Schwarz and Wallin.

I mean tickets were pricey as well.

[Ruthless-RKO]