About three years ago, when Jon Jones and Francis Ngannou were going at each other on social media, Jones wrote, “Calling yourself the baddest man on the planet from across the street, who does that?” and Ngannou replied, “Then cross the street.” Jones could not have crossed the street even if he wanted to because Dana White’s UFC does not cross-promote with any other organizations like the PFL. But with Zuffa Boxing, White has seemingly been forced to change his ways.

Zuffa Boxing, led by Dana White, is set to make its debut on January 24th with its first-ever boxing event. Ahead of the event, the Saudi-backed promotion has made a massive move. Zuffa has signed unified Ring Magazine and IBF cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia. Still, White doesn’t own his complete promotional rights.

Is Dana White failing to find boxers for his promotion? 

Opetaia will be co-promoted by his long-time promoter, Tasman Fighters, having last worked with Matchroom Boxing. This new deal has forced the UFC CEO to walk back some drastic claims he made prior to his promotion’s upcoming debut. Dana White had claimed his promotion won’t recognize titles from any sanctioning bodies, but it doesn’t appear to be the case.

Speaking to Boxing King Media recently, Mick Francis, Opetaia’s promoter, revealed he was initially concerned about negotiating a promotional deal with Zuffa Boxing because they didn’t recognize boxing’s traditional sanctioning bodies. “However, probably to sweeten the deal and to get Jai across the line, they will let Jai fight for the titles and unify the division,” Francis told the reporter. 

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Zuffa will have a UBO (Unified Boxing Organization), which will control its own rankings and titles, separating it from traditional, independent sanctioning bodies like the WBC, WBA, IBF, and WBO. It’s currently unclear why White or Zuffa Boxing agreed to such a deal, having previously pushed back against allowing sanctioning bodies in their organization. It could be a sign that Zuffa is failing to sign good fighters. 

Regardless, this means Jai Opetaia can now fight the likes of WBO and WBA champion Gilberto Ramirez and WBC champion Noel Mikaelyan to unify his belts. David Benavidez is scheduled to face Ramirez later this year for the two titles, so if Benavidez emerges victorious, Opetaia may someday end up fighting ‘The Mexican Monster.’

Zuffa’s first boxing event, in the meantime, will be headlined by Callum Walsh vs. Carlos Ocampo at UFC Apex, which will also stream live on Paramount+. Moreover, the partnership has already attracted criticism from experts. 

Former world champion points out concern over the Jai Opetaia deal

Paulie Malignaggi has raised questions following Zuffa Boxing’s partnership with Jai Opetaia. The deal has left fans and analysts wondering what opportunities the promotion can realistically provide for the undefeated Australian.

Speaking on the BoxingScene YouTube channel, Malignaggi questioned the depth of Zuffa’s cruiserweight division and its ability to deliver meaningful matchups. “What do you have? You have a cruiserweight division that [isn’t competitive]. Are you going to be able to make any matchups for him? What do you actually have, though?” he asked.

Despite the concerns, Malignaggi does not believe Opetaia’s signing will affect a potential unification bout with the winner of Gilberto Ramirez vs. David Benavidez. “I think that was a difficult fight to make anyway,” he said, noting the natural size differences and circumstances surrounding the division.

Coming back to his concern about a lack of contenders, it highlights how entering an established scene has handicapped Dana White. When he spearheaded the UFC into global stardom, he did so without any real competition. The three letters in the promotion’s logo became synonymous with the sport of MMA, and established itself as the ultimate destination for fighters. The case could not be further from boxing.

With the many sanctioning bodies and their titles, fighters have more freedom to choose. They do not have to subject themselves to the restrictive contracts that the UFC reportedly uses for its fighters. In such a structure, a Jon Jones could cross the street and face a Francis Ngannou easily.

This is not to say that boxing fight negotiations are never a nightmare. But the sanctioning bodies co-exist, recognize each other, and organize unification bouts, while a UFC champion can never be in a cross-promotional unification bout.

This could be why Dana White and Zuffa Boxing are struggling to get big names to join the promotion, and therefore, are growing desperate. This has forced White to go back on his own stance. What do you think about the situation?