Andreas HaleJan 17, 2026, 02:12 AM
CloseAndreas Hale is a combat sports reporter at ESPN. Andreas covers MMA, boxing and pro wrestling. In Andreas’ free time, he plays video games, obsesses over music and is a White Sox and 49ers fan. He is also a host for Sirius XM’s Fight Nation. Before joining ESPN, Andreas was a senior writer at DAZN and Sporting News. He started his career as a music journalist for outlets including HipHopDX, The Grammys and Jay-Z’s Life+Times. He is also an NAACP Image Award-nominated filmmaker as a producer for the animated short film “Bridges” in 2024.
Zuffa Boxing made its first major addition to the roster, signing IBF cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia to a promotional deal Friday.
The announcement came via Zuffa Boxing’s X account, with a video of Opetaia confirming the signing.
“I’m with Zuffa Boxing now,” Opetaia said. “I’m pumped for the future. Exciting times, man. Let’s get these big fights over the line: unification and undisputed too. Let’s go.”
It is not known if Opetaia would be competing exclusively on Zuffa Boxing cards or if he will be allowed to continue fighting for world titles for other sanctioning bodies. ESPN reached out to representatives from Zuffa Boxing to get clarity on the matter but have not heard back.
Fighting out of Gold Coast, Australia, Opetaia (29-0, 23 KOs) is widely regarded as the best cruiserweight in the sport. He is coming off a brutal eighth-round knockout of Huseyin Cinkara in December, his fourth consecutive knockout win.
Opetaia, 30, has voiced frustration with being unable to land a unification fight with the division’s other champions. Noel Mikaelian holds the WBC title while Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez is the WBO and WBA champion. Ramirez will defend his unified titles against David Benavidez in May.