{"id":884998,"date":"2026-09-08T23:32:12","date_gmt":"2026-09-08T23:32:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/884998\/"},"modified":"2026-09-08T23:32:12","modified_gmt":"2026-09-08T23:32:12","slug":"boxing-news-2026-jai-opetaia-exclusive-interview-noel-mikaelian-cruiserweight-title-fight-zuffa-donald-trump-ufc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/884998\/","title":{"rendered":"Boxing news 2026: Jai Opetaia exclusive interview, Noel Mikaelian cruiserweight title fight, Zuffa, Donald Trump, UFC"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jai Opetaia<\/a>\u2019s move to join Zuffa Boxing<\/a> earlier this year has unwittingly acted as a double-edged sword for the undefeated Australian superstar.<\/p>\n

On one hand, Opetaia has been exposed to a lot more eyeballs \u2013 especially in the United States \u2013 rubbing shoulders with UFC<\/a> champions, WWE<\/a> legends and even Donald Trump<\/a> as part of the Dana White<\/a>-led and Saudi-backed promotion.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Jai Opetaia poses for a photo with Donald Trump.\u00a0Instagram\/@jaiopetaia<\/p>\n

But on the flip side, the 31-year-old has been caught in the middle of political dramas that saw him stripped of his IBF cruiserweight title<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Those dramas will continue this weekend, when Opetaia meets WBC champ Noel Mikaelian in the co-main event of a blockbuster Las Vegas card.<\/p>\n

Mikaelian will be stripped of the WBC gold as soon as the bell rings for their cruiserweight clash, as the sport\u2019s traditional governing bodies attempt to put roadblocks in the path of fighters under the Zuffa umbrella.<\/p>\n

Opetaia told nine.com.au last month legal battles and political issues have been \u201cnever-ending\u201d since signing with Zuffa<\/a> and admitted his frustration over the ongoing situation, as he searches for undisputed status in his division.<\/p>\n

The tough Central Coast product is eyeing a 2027 showdown with David Benavidez, who holds two of the belts at cruiserweight and is widely regarded as one of the best pound-for-pound boxers on the planet.<\/p>\n

But before he can reach his true desire, Opetaia must contend with Mikaelian on Sunday afternoon (AEST) inside T-Mobile Arena.<\/p>\n

Asked if he felt any added pressure being on such a huge card, headlined by Ryan Garcia<\/a> and Conor Benn<\/a> for the welterweight world title, Opetaia made it clear he was unfazed by his place on boxing\u2019s biggest stages. <\/p>\n

\u201cNot really, this is just another day in the office for us,\u201d he told nine.com.au. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a great fighter, he\u2019s been a great champion for quite a while, and he\u2019s got a lot of experience. He\u2019s just another world champion that wants to prove himself. I\u2019m expecting a war and to go into deep waters, and then we\u2019ll see how he goes.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery fight I\u2019ve had to prove myself and perform well, but I feel like what I\u2019ve gotta prove has changed. I feel like coming up, it was proving I was the best. Now, people think that I am the best, so I have to do that again. <\/p>\n

\u201cNothing has changed for us, we\u2019ve been chasing these dreams for a long time and the only thing that\u2019s changed is all the media and exposure we\u2019re getting now … everyone is paying attention, there\u2019s a couple of big names floating around.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s bring it on, get in the ring and f—ing do it. Prep has been good, the body\u2019s feeling good, and I\u2019ve been ticking every box, so we\u2019re pumped to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

While this weekend\u2019s showdown in Sin City has some difficult circumstances surrounding it for both competitors, it does continue an unlikely rise for Opetaia.<\/p>\n

From growing up in a small NSW town to fighting in front of millions of people, Opetaia\u2019s decision to sign with Zuffa has grown his global status.<\/p>\n

The proof was in the pudding when Opetaia was invited to attend the historic UFC Freedom 250 event at the White House earlier this year.<\/p>\n

Opetaia had the chance to sit cage side with UFC light-heavyweight champ Carlos Ulberg<\/a> and meet the likes of WWE megastar Roman Reigns and Hall of Fame legend Paul \u201cTriple H\u201d Levesque<\/a> \u2013 a moment he admitted \u2018spun him out\u2019. <\/p>\n

While getting some extra exposure and growing his name in the US market since joining Zuffa can only be seen as a positive for Opetaia, it\u2019s not lost on him how quickly that could all be taken away if results don\u2019t go his way.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh yeah, that White House card was an experience, that\u2019s for sure \u2013 it was a \u2018pinch myself\u2019 moment, being there with superstars in the crowd,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

\u201cI was sitting next to Triple H and shit, just pinching myself and thinking \u2018what the hell\u2019. Little things like that were just spinning me out.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Triple H has taken over from Vince McMahon at WWE.\u00a0Getty<\/p>\n

\u201cI got to meet the president. I\u2019m a f—ing dude from Watanobbi and I\u2019m shaking hands with the president and taking photos with him, it\u2019s crazy. <\/p>\n

\u201cThose sorts of things are just fruits of the labour \u2013 we know why we\u2019re here, we\u2019re here to fight and without fighting and winning, it all gets taken away. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis stuff is all just a reward, and it all comes from the hard work we put in.\u201d<\/p>\n

The proud Australia-Samoan star will fly both flags high in Vegas when he walks out in front of a jam-packed crowd, streaming globally on DAZN and on Paramount+ in Australia.<\/p>\n

But the external noise will matter little once the bell rings and Opetaia looks to improve his perfect 30-0 record, which includes 23 knockouts. <\/p>\n

\"Battles<\/p>\n

Jai Opetaia is one of the world\u2019s best boxers.\u00a0Getty<\/p>\n

\u201cThis pressure is not new to us,\u201d a defiant Opetaia said.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery time I step in the ring, I\u2019ve always flown the Australian and Samoan flags, I\u2019ve always had that weight on my shoulders and to be that kid from our neck of the woods representing and showing kids they can achieve greatness. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis is just another stage and another ring we\u2019ve gotta bash each other in. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been fighting on big cards, I fought on the Tyson Fury-Oleksandr Usyk<\/a> undercard, I\u2019ve fought all over Saudi Arabia, I was on the first Zuffa card. <\/p>\n

\u201cEvery single fight I\u2019ve had is important and this is just another chapter.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jai Opetaia\u2019s move to join Zuffa Boxing earlier this year has unwittingly acted as a double-edged sword for…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":884999,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[571],"tags":[64,63,802,85],"class_list":["post-884998","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\/884998","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=884998"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/884998\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/884999"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=884998"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=884998"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=884998"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}