12/13/2025
Going to rock the boat , big things to come out of this next year
- - Dana Whiteโs long-anticipated move into boxing is finally locked in, and itโs coming with the full force of TKO Group behind it. After helping deliver Septemberโs Canelo vs. Crawford super-fight, Zuffa Boxing has now confirmed the date of its first official event, marking the start of what could be one of the biggest shake-ups the sport has seen in years.
The debut show lands on Friday, January 23, perfectly timed for a massive combat sports weekend as it takes place just one day before UFC 324 kicks off TKOโs new broadcast deal with Paramount.
โWe are planning to launch our first fight on January 23, which is the night before our first UFC fight,โ TKO president and COO Mark Shapiro said. โSo back to back nights, big weekend for TKO to say the least.โ
No fighters have been announced yet, but Zuffa Boxing is planning 12 events across 2026, including up to four mega-cards on the scale of Canelo vs. Crawford. Dana White is aiming to bring some of boxingโs biggest stars under the Zuffa banner, and heโs not stopping at matchmaking.
In an interview with CBS Sports, White revealed heโs even looking to reinvent the ring itself.
"We're going to start from the ground up," White said. "We are already working on a new design for the ring
"That meeting was yesterday, too. We had a huge design meeting for a new boxing ring."
A new promotion. A new era. And maybe even a new ring.
Boxing in 2026 is about to look very different.