{"id":651517,"date":"2026-05-05T17:13:13","date_gmt":"2026-05-05T17:13:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/651517\/"},"modified":"2026-05-05T17:13:13","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T17:13:13","slug":"dana-white-maps-zuffa-boxings-next-phase-as-rivals-consolidate-at-dazn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/651517\/","title":{"rendered":"Dana White Maps Zuffa Boxing\u2019s Next Phase as Rivals Consolidate at DAZN"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dana White used a new Maxim profile by Tim Struby<\/a>, published May 5, to outline the next phase of Zuffa Boxing\u2019s rollout while addressing the coalition of established promoters that has formed in opposition to it.<\/p>\n

White, who launched Zuffa Boxing in January 2026 in partnership with TKO Group Holdings and Saudi Arabia\u2019s Sela, told Maxim the promotion\u2019s roster will continue to grow through the year. \u201cWe\u2019re gonna be announcing a shit ton of signings this year,\u201d White said. \u201cBy the end of the year we\u2019ll have a very strong roster. We\u2019re gonna need more TV dates and more venues. Not just in the U.S. but around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

White restated his core argument that the existing structure has failed both fighters and fans. He cited the four sanctioning bodies, the proliferation of weight classes from eight to seventeen, and what he described as the absence of a working middle class for professional boxers. \u201cFor a very long time boxing\u2019s been the haves and have-nots,\u201d White told Maxim. \u201cAnd the haves are a very small group.\u201d<\/p>\n

The promotion has already staged five events at the Meta APEX in Las Vegas, signed close to 100 fighters, confirmed an eight-division championship structure, and crowned its first titlist when Jai Opetaia stopped Brandon Glanton in March. Operations are overseen by White, WWE President Nick Khan, and Turki Alalshikh, Chairman of Saudi Arabia\u2019s General Entertainment Authority. The full corporate apparatus behind the venture is detailed in an earlier BoxingInsider breakdown<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The DAZN Coalition<\/p>\n

The most significant industry development Maxim documents is the consolidation of Zuffa\u2019s rivals at DAZN. Top Rank, Matchroom Boxing, Golden Boy Promotions and Queensberry Promotions have all signed new multi-year agreements with the British-based streaming platform, owned by Russian-born billionaire Len Blavatnik.<\/p>\n

That alignment produced a U.S. linear-television deal in April. According to The Ring<\/a>, DAZN and Warner Bros. Discovery\u2019s TNT Sports will launch a monthly series titled \u201cThe Fight\u201d on July 4, headlined by WBO lightweight champion Abdullah Mason\u2019s first defense against Joe Cordina at Rocket Arena in Cleveland. Cards from Top Rank, Matchroom, Golden Boy and Queensberry will follow on a monthly cadence, with shoulder programming on truTV and additional content distributed through Bleacher Report and House of Highlights.<\/p>\n

Kevin Rooney, Matchroom\u2019s Head of Fighter Development, told Maxim that Zuffa\u2019s arrival has accelerated cooperation among promoters who had previously refused to work together. \u201cWhat Dana is doing has motivated people to come together,\u201d Rooney said. \u201cThey\u2019re saying, \u2018We\u2019re all in this together and we need to do things that make more sense for the sport.’\u201d<\/p>\n

Industry Reaction<\/p>\n

Lou DiBella, the former HBO executive and longtime promoter, told Maxim he expects the consolidated opposition to be ineffective. \u201cPromoters couldn\u2019t get their act together for a century. Now? It\u2019s stupid to think they\u2019re going to get their shit together,\u201d DiBella said. \u201cZuffa is following the blueprint of the UFC and to fuck that up would require abject stupidity. They\u2019re not going to do that. I respect Dana as a promoter, respect their abilities and they will be the dominant promotional entity.\u201d<\/p>\n

DiBella also pointed to the conditions that opened the door for an outside operator. \u201cI don\u2019t think anyone gives a fuck about the sport unless they believe Jake Paul is boxing,\u201d he told Maxim. \u201cThe collapse of the sport over the past 20 years opened the door for Dana.\u201d<\/p>\n

White himself acknowledged that the resistance from sanctioning bodies, established promoters, and segments of the boxing media is now part of the daily operation. He pointed to a recent public exchange with Eddie Hearn<\/a> that escalated into personal territory in April. Asked by Maxim about the broader fight, White framed it in business terms. \u201cI\u2019m having a blast,\u201d he said. \u201cI love building things, especially when people are doubters. The only hard part? There\u2019s only so much time in the day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Zuffa Boxing\u2019s next event is scheduled for the Meta APEX in Las Vegas. The promotion has previously confirmed plans for 12 to 16 cards in 2026, all carried in the U.S. on Paramount+ with select simulcasts on CBS.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dana White used a new Maxim profile by Tim Struby, published May 5, to outline the next phase…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":613523,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[571],"tags":[64,63,802,85],"class_list":["post-651517","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-boxing","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-boxing","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/651517","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=651517"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/651517\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/613523"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=651517"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=651517"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=651517"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}