The biggest names in combat sports often enjoy special privileges, a reality far more glaring in boxing than in MMA. While mixed martial arts has its flaws, it still manages to keep stars somewhat accountable. Boxing, on the other hand, has long struggled with favoritism. Take Canelo Alvarez, for instance. The Mexican superstar has been allowed to handpick his opponents for years. One of the biggest casualties of this has been David Benavidez, who was forced to move up in weight just to keep his career progressing.

MMA isn’t entirely immune to such issues either. In the UFC, for example, former heavyweight champion Jon Jones repeatedly avoided a showdown with former interim titleholder Tom Aspinall. Rather than risk a loss, Jones ultimately chose retirement. As analyst Luke Thomas noted, this highlights the contrasting standards between the two sports, and the missteps of boxing’s sanctioning bodies that often make MMA look more credible by comparison.

Canelo Alvarez is given a dose of reality, as Jon Jones’ only good win gets discredited

Speaking to Demetrious Johnson on MightyCast, Luke Thomas didn’t hold back as he unleashed a series of hard-hitting truths. “We live in a world where Jon Jones didn’t fight anybody good, except for Ciryl Gane. And granted, Gane s—t the bed, and that’s not Jones’ fault,” he told the former UFC flyweight champion. “He fought the corpse of Stipe Miocic. I mean, what the f—k was that? I’m just trying to be realistic. Like, did he duck Tom Aspinall? There’s simply no argument that he didn’t. He absolutely did.”

Turning his attention to boxing, Thomas drew a parallel with Canelo Alvarez. “Look at what Canelo Alvarez did in boxing,” the analyst continued. “He also ducked the s—t out of David Benavidez. Like, it’s not even arguable. He absolutely did that.” Thomas used this comparison to highlight the “symmetry” between the two sports, explaining, “They both kind of struggle with this for different reasons, especially at the elite level, it could become a little harder to come by.”

According to Thomas, the real culprit in boxing is “the sanctioning bodies.” He argued that the UFC, as a promotion, is doing its job, making fights that fans are willing to pay for, even if that doesn’t always mean matching the toughest contenders. Fighters, too, are simply playing the game. “It’s called prize fighting for a reason,” he highlighted.

“The job of the sanctioning body… Your job is actually to preserve the integrity of the game. If a fighter, a champion, doesn’t want to fight a number one contender, he has a mandatory,” Thomas added. Using David Benavidez’s case as an example, he pointed to the WBC, noting that “they simply didn’t.” But that wasn’t Thomas’ only issue with boxing’s governing bodies. He also criticized the proliferation of titles and “sub-categories of champion,” which he believes have stripped the sport of clarity and legitimacy. 

“They have commodified the one role in boxing that is supposed to be the opposite of that,” Thomas said. “And then the downstream consequence is you have all these titles, all these rankings. You don’t know who’s coming. You don’t know who’s going… They’re not forcing some of the more important fights that should have been made,” he concluded during the podcast. While Thomas’ criticisms ring painfully true, and fans have echoed these frustrations for years, the real question remains: is there a fix? 

With Zuffa Boxing set to launch next year, along with its Unified Boxing Organizations (UBOs), many expect it to tackle the long-standing issues with sanctioning bodies and their countless champions. But that raises an important question: will it truly fix the system, or simply shift the balance of power away from the boxers?

Dana White talks about changes to the Muhammad Ali Act

Dana White has clarified his stance on the proposed changes to the Muhammad Ali Act, insisting he isn’t seeking to replace it but to strengthen it. Speaking on The 3 Knockdown Rule with Mario Lopez and Steve Kim, the UFC CEO explained, “I’m definitely not trying to get rid of [the Muhammad Ali Act]. We’re going to add on to it. I think the Ali Act was done with the right intentions… It actually complicated a lot of things.” 

White argued that boxing’s current structure is unsustainable, as it relies heavily on external funding to stage major fights. “If you look at where boxing was and where it’s gotten to now, it took Saudi Arabia money to make any fights that you might want to see,” he said. He added, “Not one word is going to be changed—not one thing. There is just going to be an add-on to the Muhammad Ali Act.”

Having said that, it appears every issue Luke Thomas had with boxing’s sanctioning bodies will be fixed in Zuffa Boxing’s UFC-like approach to the sport. But since the UFC couldn’t force Jon Jones to fight Tom Aspinall, you have to question how effective they really are. What’s your take on Thomas’s comments?