The fourth event of Zuffa Boxing is not only in the book, it has a main event, as UFC boss Dana White confirmed on Instagram that the company’s cruiserweight signing, Jai Opetaia, will fight Brandon Glanton on Mar. 8 at the Meta APEX in Las Vegas.
Zuffa Boxing, rumored for a near-decade but founded in 2025, began its numbered events on Jan. 23 with a headline bout between Callum Walsh and Carlos Ocampo, before returning one week later with Jose Valenzuela against Diego Torres.
The culture of the embryonic organization appears to be an amalgamation of Tom Loeffler’s 360 Promotions, incorporating key athletes like Walsh, Omar Trinidad, and Serhii Bohachuk, with the matchmaking flair of ProBox due to the recruitment of Rian Scalia.
Zuffa Boxing 03 now airs on Feb. 15, with Efe Ajagba and Charles Martin headlining, before attention turns to Opetaia’s fight with Glanton.
“Jai Opetaia, Ring Magazine’s champion and the No.1-ranked fighter in the world, makes his Zuffa Boxing debut,” White confirmed. “He’s undefeated. When he was 17 years old, he became the youngest heavyweight ever to compete at the Olympics in London.
“He will be taking on Brandon Glanton, who is 21-3, 18 wins by knockout. Fresh off a sixth-round stoppage of Marcus Browne. This guy has fight-ending power in both hands.”
White noted Opetaia’s knockout percentage, together with Glanton’s. and commented on the significance of the showdown from Zuffa’s perspective.
“[This is a] great fight … for the first-ever Zuffa world cruiserweight championship. Whoever wins this fight will be our first world champion.”
Per a statement sent to Boxing Social, Zuffa Boxing said the Opetaia vs Glanton fight will headline a three-bout main card on Paramount+ “with the winner crowned the inaugural Zuffa Boxing champion.”
Opetaia, 30 years old, held the IBF championship from 2022 to 2023, won the vacant belt again in 2024, and continues to hold it alongside the Ring Magazine championship.
His best wins to date include two decision wins over Mairis Briedis, and two Knockout of the Year contenders over David Nyika and Huseyin Cinkara.
It was, initially, unclear how Zuffa Boxing-aligned fighters would be able to defend other championships, or even unify other titles in boxing’s fractured sanctioning body landscape. However, earlier in the year, White told reporters: “These guys came from somewhere, with plans and dreams since when they were kids in gloves … and we’ll do everything in our power to make sure that these guys can do what they want to do.
“We’ll work with Jai and other guys on stuff like this … it’s a work in progress.”