{"id":505654,"date":"2026-03-31T18:31:07","date_gmt":"2026-03-31T18:31:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/505654\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T18:31:07","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T18:31:07","slug":"conor-benns-zuffa-switch-money-difference-behind-matchroom-exit-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/505654\/","title":{"rendered":"Conor Benn’s Zuffa switch: Money difference behind Matchroom exit"},"content":{"rendered":"

Benn failed a voluntary drugs test – twice testing positive for the banned substance Clomifene in 2022 – and, following a two-year battle with authorities, his provisional suspension was lifted<\/a> in November 2024.<\/p>\n

He has since fought Chris Eubank Jr in two blockbuster bouts – losing the first fight but winning the second – and he said his recent experiences had played a part in his decision. <\/p>\n

“Any fight could be your last fight,” said Benn. “And, after the three years I’ve had, I promised myself I would never be in a position again where I have to feel the way I felt.<\/p>\n

“It all fell on me. No-one paid my legal bills. He [Hearn] didn’t lend me a cent. I paid the legal bills 100% myself.<\/p>\n

“That three years taught me what I know now. No-one’s there to cover me or my family – I am.”<\/p>\n

Benn has won 24 of his 25 professional bouts, with his only loss coming in the first fight against Eubank Jr.<\/p>\n

He acknowledges he “wouldn’t be around today without Matchroom and what they’ve done and guided me”.<\/p>\n

“Of course I’ve spoken to him [Hearn],” Benn told BBC Sport. “It is what it is, it’s business and that’s all it is. <\/p>\n

“I’ll always have a friendship with Eddie. Whether he reciprocates that or not is entirely up to him.<\/p>\n

“I’m not in this sport to make enemies. I’m here to do the best by my family and give my family the best life possible.<\/p>\n

“Also, I’m excited about this journey in my career. It’s a new chapter.<\/p>\n

“I’m paying in blood. This is violent money. This isn’t easy, so I’ve made the right decision.”<\/p>\n

Zuffa Boxing is backed by UFC chief Dana White and Saudi Arabian capital.<\/p>\n

White’s ultimate aim is to sideline the four traditional sanctioning bodies – the WBO, WBC, IBF and WBA – and make Zuffa’s belt the premier world title alongside the Ring Magazine title, an organisation owned by Saudi boxing powerbroker Turki Alalshikh.<\/p>\n

Benn said his move was “a quick turnaround” and after the one-fight deal he will be a free agent.<\/p>\n

“I can do my own, go to Matchroom or stay with Zuffa. It’s very short-sighted, the approach,” he said, while admitting a one-fight deal is not normal.<\/p>\n

“But the big noise that it made, it was worth it,” added Benn, who described White as a “very good guy” who “wants to make a big move into boxing”.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Benn failed a voluntary drugs test – twice testing positive for the banned substance Clomifene in 2022 –…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":505396,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[2560,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-505654","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-boxing","tag-boxing","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/505654","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=505654"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/505654\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/505396"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=505654"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=505654"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=505654"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}