Zuffa Boxing, the nascent promotion owned by combat sports giant TKO Group, has secured a new broadcast deal across the UK and Ireland with pay-TV heavyweight Sky Sports.
Through the multi-year agreement, Sky will broadcast all Zuffa Boxing events across the UK and Ireland, which together represent one of boxing’s most important global markets.
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Coverage will be disseminated across Sky Sports' linear channels and the Now TV OTT streaming service.
This will begin on April 5 with the Zuffa Boxing 05: Cortes vs. Garcia event, starring Andres Cortes and Eridson Garcia.
With this agreement, Zuffa Boxing has also committed to hosting a minimum of five cards per year in the UK.
Zuffa will run 12 boxing cards across 2026 and has said it plans to increase that number in the coming years, with the UK clearly a key area for the promotion, alongside the US and Saudi Arabia.
Sports agency IMG, which is also part of TKO Group, supported in brokering the deal.
Speaking on the announcement, Sky Sports' chief for the UK and Ireland, Jonathan Licht, said: “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.
“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.”
Dana White, the president of TKO Group-owned UFC, is the public face of Zuffa Boxing, and also commented: “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.
“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.”
While Zuffa Boxing boasts big ambitions, the commitment to hosting five UK events per year across the terms of the deal may represent a challenge for the young promotion, which will need to significantly bolster its roster of talent in order to compete with native promotions such as Matchroom and Queensberry, which boast not only more brand recognition in the market, but also more established stables of top UK (and international) talent.
Recently, Zuffa Boxing signed prominent British boxer Connor Benn to a lucrative eight-figure single-fight deal, with that fight now likely to come in his home territory as a means of introducing Zuffa Boxing to the market.
Benn, while a major draw in the UK market, owing largely to his pair of grudge bouts against Chris Eubank Jr., is nonetheless not an established world champion fighter in any weight class, and yet he still stands out in terms of quality when compared to much of Zuffa's roster, once again posing a problem in terms of promoting any future bout.
Zuffa Boxing debuted on September 13 with its first major card, centered on the boxing superfight between Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford and Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez.
That fight drew 41 million global viewers on streaming service Netflix.
The streamer has called the September 13 fight the “most-viewed men’s championship boxing match” of the 21st century, adding that, while live, it drew an average minute audience (AMA) of 36.6 million, with additional viewership across the weekend contributing to the 41 million figure.
In the US alone, the AMA sat at 20.3 million, putting it on a par with the recent season-opening NFL games, and peaking at 24 million concurrent livestreams.
This figure is further bolstered by the estimated 500,000 viewers in commercial establishments suggested by Joe Hand Promotions, the business that managed the fight’s commercial establishment rights distribution.
Last September, Paramount secured exclusive rights to the promotion in the US, Canada, and Latin America in a major multi-year deal starting from the 2026 season, with the rights then extended to Australia ahead of its season-opening event, Zuffa Boxing 01: Walsh vs Ocampo, on January 24.
Elsewhere, rival promotion top rank has confirmed the rumors of its new global broadcast agreement with OTT streamer DAZN.
The multi-year agreement spans over 200 international markets, with every Top Rank event available on the service, alongside significant archive content.
Bob Arum, the legendary promoter behind Top Rank, commented: "DAZN’s position as the global home of boxing makes this a natural partnership, and I’m confident it will be tremendously beneficial for fighters, fans, and the future of the sport.”
DAZN chief Shay Segev added: "DAZN already delivers more premium fight nights than any entertainment platform in the world, and the addition of Top Rank’s elite events and historic archive further strengthens our position.
“For fans, fighters, and the sport, this partnership is about scale and setting a new standard for how world-class boxing is experienced.”
Earlier this week Sportcal reported that this agreement would include eight to 10 events per year, with a fee of $1 million to $1.25 million per event.
Top Rank has been without a broadcaster since the end of its partnership with Disney-owned ESPN in mid-2025.
The multi-year nature of this agreement lends Top Rank some stability after a number of months without coverage in the sport’s biggest market.
