Jai Opetaia, IBF cruiserweight champion, announces promotional deal with Dana White's Zuffa Boxing

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Dana White's Zuffa Boxing is making a statement before its first scheduled event.

Zuffa Boxing on Paramount launches Jan. 23 and already has more shows lined up — Feb. 1 and Feb. 14 — for the following weeks, but it made its first major signing Friday.

Zuffa announced a promotional deal with IBF and Ring Magazine cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia.

"Signed with Zuffa Boxing now," Opetaia said. "[I'm] so pumped for the future. Exciting times, man. Let's get these big fights over the line — unifications, undisputed soon, let's go!"

Australia's Opetaia (29-0, 23 KOs) is a two-time IBF cruiserweight champion, having previously held the title from July 2022-23. He defeated Mairis Breidis in an upset to capture the championship in July 2022 and then beat Breidis again in a May 2024 rematch to become a two-time titleholder.

Opetaia has made four defenses of his title in his second reign as IBF champion, but has struggled to land the meaningful fights he desires.

Opetaia signed with Eddie Hearn's Matchroom Boxing before his September 2023 title defense against Jordan Thompson, but has now left the promoter, who will be White's biggest adversary in boxing.

Opetaia's signing to Zuffa poses an interesting problem. Opetaia has long said his goal is to capture all of the cruiserweight titles, but White said when he launched Zuffa in 2025 he would not recognize the sanctioning bodies nor would he work with other promoters. 

Zuffa's announcement did not mention Opetaia's IBF title, and a path to undisputed champion would require White to work with Gilberto "Zurdo" Ramirez's promoter, Oscar De La Hoya's Golden Boy, or David Benavidez's promoter, Sampson Lewkowicz and Premier Boxing Champions.