After nearly a decade, Dana White’s long-discussed boxing venture is finally real.
According to the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC), the inaugural Zuffa Boxing event will take place on Fri., Jan. 23, 2026 — one day before UFC 324 — inside the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event will stream live on Paramount+.
While no bouts have been officially announced and a main event has yet to be revealed, several names have already signed with the promotion, according to veteran boxing reporter Dan Rafael . Those fighters include former WBA super Lightweight champion Jose Valenzuela (14-3) , former WBA (Regular) Welterweight champion Radzhab Butaev (15-1) , undefeated super Featherweight Justin Viloria (11-0) , WBO NABO super Featherweight titleholder Eridson Garcia (23-1) , WBO Global Middleweight champion Vito Mielnicki Jr. (22-1) , and 2016 Olympic bronze medalist Misael Rodriguez (14-0) .
Zuffa Boxing plans to hold 12 events throughout 2026, with every card airing exclusively on Paramount+, further strengthening the platform’s growing relationship with the UFC and its combat sports portfolio.
White has long teased his desire to “fix” boxing by applying the UFC’s promotional model to the sweet science, and this launch represents his first real attempt to do so since the original Zuffa Boxing concept was shelved nearly a decade ago.
“I’m excited to bring great boxing events to a global audience,” White said. “There are millions of boxing fans that will now be able to watch competitive fights with up-and-coming boxers as well as the biggest stars in the sport. Paramount will be the home for UFC and boxing fans to watch the greatest fights in combat sports.”
Hope they have a good time boxing in front of 13 people.
Fist ever event is at The Apex? Keeping everyone’s interested low to non-existent I see. What a joke.
This is going to flop hard. Barely any promotion for it and dumbasses are hosting it at the fucking Apex on top of it with no crowd. These dumb fucks never listen to any feedback whatsoever and this is gonna blow up in their faces.
They also do a shit job of promoting their BJJ as well and generate zero interest and hype in that.
Seriously, what are they thinking? I don’t understand why they insist on The Apex, especially with all this Saudi money they are getting.
They need this event to be hype and make a big splash. They need to blow people away and leave a great first impression. So far they have not checked a single box!
Dana White knew he was going to ruffle some feathers with the launch of Zuffa Boxing but even the people he got along with the most in the sport have suddenly taken aim at him.
With the new promotion set to officially launch on Jan. 23 with Callum Walsh taking on Carlos Ocampo in the main event set to air on Paramount+, White is doing his best to reinvent a sport he says feels like a “fire sale” every time there’s a major card. Zuffa Boxing is attempting to shake things up by bringing UFC-style promotion to boxing through a new law winding its way through Congress after already inking a long-term broadcast deal with Paramount.
Of course, White has never held his tongue when it comes to his opinions on certain promoters — Top Rank’s Bob Arum and Golden Boy Promotions’ Oscar De La Hoya come to mind — but he always maintained a positive relationship with Matchroom Boxing’s Eddie Hearn. That has suddenly changed in the wake of Zuffa Boxing preparing to launch in 2026.
“There are some good guys in the sport of boxing,” White told Stephen A. Smith on his podcast. “I was actually surprised Eddie Hearn, I’ve been cool with him for a long time, at his take on me getting into boxing and his reaction to it. Very negative. Very confrontational, which I found weird, because it’s not his style.”
In recent months, Hearn has bashed plans to upend the sport with the Muhammad Ali American Boxing Revival Act, which would allow Zuffa Boxing to run a promotion similar to the UFC with in-house championship titles, rankings and fighters being signed to long-term, exclusive deals. He also mocked the compensation he claimed Zuffa is paying fighters after reportedly seeing some contract offers made to fighters.
In response, White believes that Hearn is just reacting to the potential threat that Zuffa Boxing poses to his business model without even holding a single show yet.
“Yes, 100 percent [it’s because we’re coming to boxing],” White said. “He’s talking like a politician now. He’s like ‘I look forward to [it], we’re going to beat them, we’re going to do this and we’re going to do that.’
“You’ve been here for 25 years. What are you talking about? It’s like the politician who’s running for re-election. He’s going to tell you all the things he’s going to change and do. Well, why didn’t you do that in your last term? That’s Eddie Hearn.”