Zuffa Boxing Announces Their First Event

Zuffa Boxing is set to host its inaugural event on January 23, 2026, as it makes its entrance into the sport of boxing.

The date is strategically scheduled to kick off a huge combat sports weekend on the Paramount+ platform. The Zuffa Boxing card on January 23rd will serve as the prelude to the UFC’s first broadcast under its new rights deal with Paramount+, which begins with UFC 324 on the following night, January 24th.

While the exact location, main event, and fighters for the Zuffa Boxing debut remain under wraps, it is widely speculated that the event will take place in Las Vegas, possibly at the T-Mobile Arena, given that UFC 324 is confirmed for the same venue the next evening.

The long-term plan is for TKO to eventually secure a 50/50 ownership stake in Zuffa Boxing. Zuffa is focused on building a roster of fighters ahead of the January debut. TKO have confirmed plans for “two to four” annual super-fights, just as they had with Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford. This is part of the wider 12 cards scheduled for this year.

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“We are planning to launch our first fight on Jan. 23, which is the night before our first UFC fight on [Paramount+]. So back to back nights, big weekend for TKO to say the least. We’ve been telling the street that roughly per fight we make about $10 million a fight. I think there’s upside there as well because we’ve proven the model.

“We’re not taking any risk. We’re being paid a management fee. We’re going to build firm value. In the space of a couple of years, after we hit some thresholds that we’re well on our way to hitting, we will roughly be at about 50/50 ownership of that [joint venture].

“Our plan is to build a promotion where we have a stable of 200 or so fighters that we are hard at work signing up,” Shapiro said. “Fans see the fights they want to see, which means the best fight the best. You move up in the rankings, you fight someone else that has moved up in the rankings. That’s really what we’re building here with Zuffa Boxing.

“The way we’re going to build value here is one hand, you’ve got this partnership we have with our friends in Saudi Arabia, who are spectacular partners. Spectacular. They say what they mean and they do what they say.“We’re going to run it like we do the UFC, bring the whole platform in and sell tickets and sell media rights and sell partnerships and marketing and ultimately consumer products and licensing off of our brand and our individual fighters and ultimately monetize the site fees the way we do UFC and WWE. Real opportunity there,” Mark Shapiro (TKO President and CEO)