{"id":414974,"date":"2026-01-17T08:59:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-17T08:59:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/414974\/"},"modified":"2026-01-17T08:59:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-17T08:59:08","slug":"zuffa-boxing-signs-cruiserweight-champion-jai-opetaia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/414974\/","title":{"rendered":"Zuffa Boxing signs cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>A note to Fight Freaks Unite readers: I created Fight Freaks Unite in January 2021 and eight months later it also became available for paid subscriptions for additional content \u2014 and as a way to help keep this newsletter going and for readers to support independent journalism. If you haven\u2019t upgraded to a paid subscription please consider it. If you have already, I truly appreciate it! Also, consider a gift subscription for the Fight Freak in your life.<\/p>\n

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New kid on the block Zuffa Boxing has signed one of the best fighters in the sport, surprising many by announcing a co-promotional deal with lineal\/IBF cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia on Friday.<\/p>\n

Terms were not disclosed but Opetaia is the first significant fighter signed by Zuffa Boxing, which kicks off its multi-year rights deal with Paramount+ on Jan. 23.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s exciting times and I\u2019m pumped for the future,\u201d Opetaia said in a statement. \u201cI can\u2019t wait to get these big fights made, to fight in the USA and put on a show for the fight fans. This is where I want to be, and I\u2019m ready to prove myself on the biggest stage.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a video of Opetaia that Zuffa Boxing, which is being funded by Saudi Arabia\u2019s Sela and Turki Alalshikh \u2014 who likes Opetaia and has had him fight on his Riyadh Season cards \u2014 posted on social media, Opetaia expressed his ongoing desire to unify titles and to become undisputed champion. He was bitterly disappointed when unified titlist Gilberto \u201cZurdo\u201d Ramirez opted for a May 2 fight with light heavyweight titleholder David Benavidez, a much better known fighter in the United States than Opetaia.<\/p>\n

But how Opetaia\u2019s pursuit of unification bouts going forward will work is quite unclear because Zuffa Boxing\u2019s Dana White has said repeatedly he will not work with the sanctioning bodies. Last week in an interview with Stephen A. Smith, White said, \u201cI\u2019m going to get rid of the sanctioning organizations.\u201d<\/p>\n

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