Zuffa Boxing 3 Delivers Knockouts
Zuffa Boxing 3 featured multiple finishes including Efe Ajagba's 4th-round TKO over ex-champ Charles Martin, Umar Dzambekov's 2nd-round KO of Ahmed Elbiali, and Jaybrio Pe Benito's 3rd-round win over Abel Mejia. Dana White defended the UFC's boxing expansion despite criticism from boxing's establishment.
- Dana White's venture into boxing has been teased since 2017, following the massive crossover fight between Floyd Mayweather and UFC star Conor McGregor. The official launch of Zuffa Boxing, a partnership between UFC's parent company TKO Group and Saudi Arabia's Sela, was announced in June 2025. - The main event winner, Efe Ajagba, is a Nigerian heavyweight who holds the record for the fastest victory in boxing history after his opponent, Curtis Harper, walked out of the ring one second after the opening bell in a 2018 bout. - Charles Martin's 85-day reign as the IBF heavyweight champion in 2016 is the second-shortest in the division's history. He won the vacant title after his opponent suffered a knee injury and lost it in his first defense to Anthony Joshua. - Umar Dzambekov is an undefeated Austrian light heavyweight of Chechen descent who fled the Chechen War with his family at age six. He trains at the renowned Wild Card Boxing Club and is promoted by Tom Loeffler's 360 Promotions. - Dana White has been openly critical of the current boxing structure, stating his goal is to create a more centralized, league-style model similar to the UFC, with a single belt for each weight class. He has referred to competing with established boxing promoters as being "like beating up babies." - Criticism from the boxing establishment has come from figures like WBC president Mauricio Sulaimán, who accused White of being a "bully," and promoter Oscar De La Hoya, a frequent antagonist of White's. - Fighters who have signed with Zuffa Boxing have praised the organization for providing access to the UFC Performance Institute and a guaranteed fight schedule, with some likening the experience to being signed by a major professional sports team like the New England Patriots. - In addition to building up-and-coming talent, Zuffa Boxing has also signed established fighters, including former WBC Featherweight Champion Mark Magsayo and current IBF Cruiserweight Champion Jai Opetaia.
