{"id":488583,"date":"2026-02-20T22:28:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T22:28:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/488583\/"},"modified":"2026-02-20T22:28:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T22:28:08","slug":"conor-benn-leaves-eddie-hearns-matchroom-sport-and-signs-with-dana-whites-zuffa-boxing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/488583\/","title":{"rendered":"Conor Benn leaves Eddie Hearns\u2019 Matchroom Sport and signs with Dana White\u2019s Zuffa Boxing"},"content":{"rendered":"

British boxer Conor Benn has become the latest fighter to sign with Zuffa Boxing.<\/p>\n

The 29-year-old has been promoted by Eddie Hearn\u2019s Matchroom Sport since he turned professional in 2016, but today (February 20) announced that he will be moving to the Dana White-led promotional company after they presented him with an opportunity he \u201csimply couldn\u2019t refuse.\u201d<\/p>\n

Benn\u2019s most recent fight was a rematch with Chris Eubank Jr at middleweight (November 15). This was a fight he won convincingly before he stated his intention to move back down in weight to attempt to win a world title at 147lbs.<\/p>\n

Benn spoke on his decision via a post on social media where he thanked Matchroom for their support throughout his career and said that he wanted Hearn to continue to be part of his team despite the 46-year-old\u2019s ongoing feud with White.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, DAZN and Matchroom announced that they had signed a new five-year deal, extending their long-standing partnership. Benn was used in the picture for the announcement on social media<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Last December, the WBC ranked him as their No 1 welterweight, despite Benn\u2019s most recent fight at that weight coming in April 2022, making him the mandatory challenger for the title.<\/p>\n

That belt is on the line in Las Vegas this weekend when the champion Mario Barrios takes on Ryan Garcia (February 21), and Benn previously stated he would be watching that fight closely.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want the winner early next year,\u201d he said in December. \u201cQ1, God willing, that WBC world title is mine. I\u2019ll be coming for that belt, and Britain will have a new world champion. Let\u2019s have it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Welcome to @Zuffa_Boxing<\/a>, @ConorNigel<\/a>! pic.twitter.com\/Y1N2E6h6qU<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 danawhite (@danawhite) February 20, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Announcing the new signing, UFC president and CEO White said: \u201cConor Benn is an absolute beast and a superstar. He shows up every time and destroys people, and now some of the best fighters in the world are calling him out.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s ready for a world title next, and I can\u2019t wait to see him compete in Zuffa Boxing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Analysis<\/p>\n

Benn\u2019s move comes as a huge surprise. Not only because he has left a promotional company that he has been with for a decade, and one that stood firmly by him after he tested positive for the banned substance clomifene in two separate Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA) tests, but because he has left it to join Zuffa.<\/p>\n

White\u2019s boxing venture is in its infancy, having held its third standalone event last weekend, headlined by a heavyweight clash between Efe Ajagba and Charles Martin.<\/p>\n

Cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia was the most high-profile name on their books, but the signing of Benn probably knocks him down a peg. Despite the Brit never having won a world title, his name and reputation have made him one of the sport\u2019s most recognisable fighters.<\/p>\n

Matchroom have helped with that too, of course, and their CEO Hearn will surely be less than happy at Benn\u2019s move to work with a man he has been swapping jibes with over the last few months.<\/p>\n

Last weekend, White claimed that his entry into boxing had met far less resistance than he expected. The 56-year-old said it was like \u201cbeating up babies. I expected more. I expected some pushback. I expected them to be more game. They\u2019re all way out of their league.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hearn\u2019s response signalled an intensification of the burgeoning rivalry between the pair. Speaking at an event to announce Matchroom\u2019s extension of their exclusive broadcast deal with streaming platform DAZN, Hearn questioned Zuffa\u2019s \u201cvision\u201d, calling their shows \u201ccomplete dog****\u201d and claimed Zuffa cannot compete in \u201cthis cutthroat world of boxing.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also brought awareness to the fact that Zuffa is part-owned by Sela, a Saudi Arabian entertainment, hospitality, and sports management company owned by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), Saudi Arabia\u2019s sovereign wealth fund. Hearn\u2019s point was that White now answers to Turki Al-Sheikh, the chairman of Saudi Arabia\u2019s General Entertainment Authority (GEA).<\/p>\n

While that was his way of answering back to White\u2019s jibe at Hearn working for his father, it also points to the power and financial might behind Zuffa \u2013 persuasive factors when they are talking to potential new signings.<\/p>\n

For Zuffa, Benn represents a way into the UK market \u2013 something that could be important given their reported talks with Sky Sports about a potential broadcast deal.<\/p>\n

The biggest question mark is over what this move means for Benn, particularly his position with the WBC, given White\u2019s words last weekend he said: \u201cI\u2019ve never said anything bad about the WBC or the IBF or any of them. I just said I\u2019m not going to do business with them \u2013 I\u2019m going to do my own thing.\u201d<\/p>\n