Shots fired.
Zuffa Boxing held its third event this past weekend, delivering a card filled with stoppages — including the heavyweight main event between Efe Ajagba and Charles Martin (watch highlights). But while the in-ring action impressed, UFC CEO Dana White has been more surprised by what hasn’t happened outside of it.
Namely — resistance.
During the Zuffa Boxing 3 post-fight press conference, White was asked whether he’s faced any pushback from established promoters since entering the sport.
He hasn’t.
“There hasn’t been any pushback,” White said. “This is like beating up babies. I feel like I came in and I’m beating up babies. I expected more. I expected some pushback. I expected them to be more game. They’re all way out of their league. Like absolutely, positively out of their league. I’m actually a little shocked.”
White continues to preach patience regarding his new boxing venture, repeatedly telling critics to “judge me at the end of 2026.”
“As I said, I’ll lay out a body of work this year, and then you can judge me by how this thing plays out. Everybody knows that boxing has been broken for a long time,” White said. “I said what I was going to do. I never said anything bad about the WBC or the IBF or any of them. I just said I’m not going to do business with them. I’m going to do my own thing.”
Recently, Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing mocked Zuffa’s newly unveiled championship belt, which will debut when Jai Opetaia faces Brandon Glanton for the Cruiserweight title at Zuffa Boxing 4.
White finally responded.
“I saw Eddie Hearn saying the belt is cringey and all this stuff,” White said. “I don’t think anybody looks at Eddie Hearn and says, ‘oh this guy’s a visionary.’ The guy’s been in boxing forever. I look at him like most politicians. You’ve done nothing in the sport except stay in the lane and play by all the rules — you ended up becoming part of the problem, is what happened.”
“I don’t want to sit here and smash Eddie Hearn or anything, but Eddie Hearn works for his dad,” White continued. “He works for dad and I don’t think he’s come in and ever had any type of vision, whereas we do and we’re going to change the entire sport. I understand the people who are the status quo in boxing don’t like it. But it doesn’t mean they can’t still do their thing. If your thing is as good as you think it is, and you are as good as you think you are, then do your thing. Good luck to you. I’m going to do my thing and they’re going to do theirs.”
And Hearn wasn’t the only target.
White also tore into longtime rival Oscar De La Hoya of Golden Boy Promotions.
“They don’t stop talking, the WBC and Eddie Hearn and all this shit that Oscar De La Hoya talks,” White said. “We all know De La Hoya is f—king mentally ill. The guy’s talking all this shit and his place is in foreclosure; he’s suing his fighter to try to stay with him. Has he done a Clapback Thursday recently? I would f—king love to see an episode of Clapback Thursday this Thursday from Oscar De La Hoya. Everybody feels it. It’s already happening. It’s going to be a fun year.”
Zuffa Boxing 4 goes down Sunday, March 4 — and if history tells us anything, the verbal counterpunches are likely coming well before fight night.
