On January 23, Dana White and Nick Khan introduced Zuffa Boxing to the public on Paramount+ after months of interviews, serving as an event rollout. With their third fight in 30 days, has Zuffa Boxing already lived up to its promises as an industry disruptor, or is it too soon to tell?
A Polished Production Product
Whether you’re a fan of Zuffa Boxing or not, one thing that was clear on their debut was that the event didn’t feel like a typical club show with low-level production. It seemed like a major event on a platform that is motivated to promote the product as much as possible. The background video packages were informative, just long enough, and didn’t feel like they took up too much time between fights.
There was a Mark Kriegel sighting as he delivered a Kriegel-like interview with fighters that fans are accustomed to from watching Top Rank on ESPN. The lighting was good, and the sound was clear.
From a production standpoint, there wasn’t much to complain about, aside from an occasional error message on the stream that required someone watching on Paramount+ to back out of the event and rejoin. That happened twice during the first show and once during their February 1 show. Aside from that, the February show didn’t have any notable issues, so it was a thumbs-up from everyone who tuned in.
The Fights Have Been Both Entertaining & Boring
When it comes to entertainment, regardless of who promotes the fights, some are filled with action while others are dull. So, when Zuffa 01 & 02 held their events, some delivered excitement, like Jose Valenzuela vs. Diego Torres and Julian Rodriguez vs. Cain Sandoval, while others did not, such as Callum Walsh vs. Carlos Ocampo and Omar Trinidad vs. Max Ornelas. But that’s boxing. The reason this gets brought up is because of the level of anticipation created by White.
For months, White talked about doing things so different from everyone else and that his product would be miles ahead of the competition. So when the fights don’t live up to that, it’s easy to point the finger back at White because of how brash he was about it. If he hadn’t been, the criticism on a micro level wouldn’t be as intense.
There is plenty of time to fulfill the promise of 50/50 fights every time a card is hosted, but that depends on the matchmaker to deliver those matchups, which is much harder than it seems. Until then, Zuffa will keep aiming for the elusive goal of creating entertaining matchups until they can make the target stationary and deliver consistently.
The Small Crowd Hurts The Buzz
Now, despite all the good things Zuffa is doing, the part they’re struggling with is the crowd at the Apex in Las Vegas, NV. The venue can only hold a few hundred people, so fights that would normally get a huge crowd reaction, adding to the excitement, just aren’t happening. Sometimes, the energy of the fight feels like a COVID-era event, which doesn’t excite viewers on Paramount+. White promises that the venue will be expanded to seat over a thousand by late spring, so we’ll see. During that time, it looks like Zuffa Boxing might be hitting the road and hosting an event in a city near you, as he told Cassandra Cousineau at the Zuffa Boxing 02 post-fight presser.
A true crowd of hardcore fans, like those at traditional club shows, is what’s missing from the Zuffa events. The ticket prices for the shows at the Apex are similar to those of a main card at an arena, so the fight cards attract people who can afford it and those who will likely spend more time on their phones than actually watching the fights, like influencers.
Marketing Zuffa Boxing Events- Could It Be Better?
Although White and Khan have worked hard to raise awareness of their product among combat sports fans, it requires ongoing effort to keep it visible. Currently, there are no press releases sent to the media with fight week information, as Zuffa Boxing seems to expect everyone to visit the UFC website for updates. This strategy may work once the product is well-established, but at this stage, all boxing platforms should be informed about your events, with plenty of media workout coverage, press conference quotes, and so on. These updates should be consistently distributed.
Given the tech age we live in and the prominence of social media, if platforms have to go out of their way to find information about your events, you’ve already lost a significant portion of your potential audience. I know White emphasized that he plans to do things differently, but you should start with what traditionally works before gradually shifting toward your future goals.Â
Grading Zuffa Boxing In The First 30 Days
If we were to grade Zuffa Boxing within the first 30 days, I would give it a solid B. One factor supporting this solid grade is that they are about to have their third show within the first 30 days since debuting. That is good for fighters who need to stay active while other promoters figure out their next streaming platform (Top Rank & Golden Boy) or struggle to do more than five or so shows a year (Premier Boxing Champions).
There is plenty of room to grow, and it seems that is what Zuffa Boxing will focus on for the rest of 2026. If I had my preference, I would much rather have White tell us exactly what he’s doing as he rolls it out, rather than constantly saying he has all these great things coming in the future without revealing what they are and just expecting the public to take his word for it. What will the grade for the year be when 2026 ends? It’s hard to say, but it’ll be interesting to see how this year turns out for those in the Zuffa Boxing business.
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