Dana White’s Zuffa Boxing have ruffled some feathers in recent days and they are now set to announce the signing of a former world heavyweight champion.
White is best known as the CEO and president of the global MMA organisation Ultimate Fighting Championship. He first strayed into boxing when he co-promoted Floyd Mayweather’s fight with Conor McGregor, as McGregor was contracted to the UFC at the time.
In March last year, he announced a partnership with Turki Alalshikh and in January this year held his first event. The organisation has since created its own Zuffa Boxing title, and the first to fight for it will be cruiserweights Jai Opetaia and Brandon Glanton in March.
Over the weekend, news broke that Zuffa had signed Conor Benn in a shock move that saw the Brit leave his long-time promoter, Matchroom Boxing, despite CEPO Eddie Hearn sticking by Benn during two difficult years in which he sought to clear his name after testing positive for banned substances.
In a new post on X, respected boxing writer Dan Rafael has now confirmed a former unified world heavyweight champion is signing up to Zuffa.
“Andy Ruiz is headed to Zuffa but that’s not that big IMO. A good signing though.”
Ruiz claimed three heavyweight world titles when he shocked the world with an upset win over Anthony Joshua in June 2019, though he lost them all in the rematch six months later.
Since then, he has fought just three times, beating Chris Arreola and Luis Ortiz, and drawing with Jarell Miller in August 2024.
