The battle lines are now drawn between Zuffa Boxing and Matchroom Sport, with both promotions locking in broadcast partners just weeks apart.
Sky Sports has becomes the home of Dana White’s Zuffa Boxing in the UK and Ireland, as the new promotion continues to disrupt the space.
The broadcaster announced on 18 March it has signed a multi year agreement with Zuffa Boxing. As part of the deal, Sky Sports will air the promotions events, including a minimum of five fights on UK soil.
“Sky Sports has been a long-standing partner to boxing for more than 30 years. Zuffa Boxing has exciting plans for the sport, and we share that same ambition when it comes to putting on the best fights for our customers,” said Jonathan Licht, Chief Officer UK and Ireland.
“We look forward to a new era where we’ll use our platform to both build stars and showcase elite boxing talent here in the UK and internationally.”
Launched in 2025, Zuffa Boxing is led by UFC President White as lead promoter, with Saudi Arabia’s Turki Alalshikh acting as Chairman. The promotion is majority owned by Sela with a 60% stake, while TKO holds the remaining 40%.
The first event to be broadcast on Sky Sports will feature Andres Cortes against Eridson Garcia as part of Zuffa Boxing 05. The fight is scheduled for 5 April in Las Vegas, with further details on the 2026 schedule expected to be announced soon.
A new chapter for Sky Sports boxing
Sky Sports has been synonymous with boxing in the UK for decades, and its latest deal feels rooted in its history while also pointing to the future. Past partnerships with promoters such as Matchroom and Boxxer offer insight into how this new relationship with Zuffa Boxing may unfold.
Boxxer provides the closest comparison with Zuffa. The promotion signed a four year agreement with Sky Sports in 2021, entering a competitive market as a relatively new player. Like Zuffa Boxing, it was tasked with establishing itself quickly while competing with more established names.
Led by Ben Shalom, Boxxer initially enjoyed success on Sky, but the partnership ultimately came to a rather sour end. The deal fell short of long term commercial expectations and was bruised by inconsistent show quality.
Issues escalated further in September 2025 when Boxxer launched legal action at the Royal Courts of Justice against its former executive John Wischhusen. The case was around the promotion’s expired £36m Sky Sports contract and included allegations of deleted emails, secret negotiations and attempts to position a rival venture, Blue Wolf Sports, to take advantage of the situation.
Before Boxxer, Sky’s primary relationship in boxing was with Matchroom, led by Eddie Hearn. This partnership ended when Matchroom moved to DAZN. Last month, Matchroom renewed its agreement with DAZN, securing a schedule of more than 30 fights and doubling down on its strategy away from traditional broadcasters.
This wave of news agreements has been accompanied by a war of words between Hearn and White. The two promoters have gone back and forth on social media, with White claiming Hearn has never had “any type of vision”, while Hearn dismissed White’s plans as “staging mediocre fights in his garage in front of about 112 people”.
That rivalry nearly reached boiling point when Conor Benn signed with Zuffa Boxing in a surprise move, ending his association with Matchroom where he had been since his professional debut in 2016.
Sky’s agreement with Zuffa Boxing indicates a new phase in the broadcaster’s boxing strategy and proves competition within the sport is entering a new era.
“The UK has played such a pivotal role throughout the history of boxing. The fans there are some of the most loyal and passionate in the world,” said White.
“When you talk about boxing in that region, Sky Sports has always been the home for legendary boxing fights. There’s no bigger or better platform to showcase the best boxing in the UK. This is a massive milestone for Zuffa Boxing.”
