Dana White confirmed on social media Tuesday that Jai Opetaia and Brandon Glanton will fight for the The Ring and Zuffa Boxing cruiserweight titles on March 8 in Las Vegas. The 12-round fight between Australian Opetaia (29-0, 23 KOs) and American Glanton (21-3, 18 KOs) from the UFC Meta APEX training center will be available on the Paramount+ platform.
The 30-year-old Opetaia is the most significant addition to Zuffa Boxing's roster since the organization launched last year. The Sydney native is considered the top boxer in the cruiserweight division.
An IBF representative said Tuesday that Opetaia still holds the cruiserweight championship and that neither he nor anyone on his team has expressed any intention of relinquishing the title. Glanton is ranked 15th by the IBF and is therefore eligible to compete for Opetaia's belt, but Zuffa Boxing's statement did not clarify whether the belt would be on the line.
Zuffa Boxing, led by White, president and CEO of UFC, initially stated that it would not recognize the IBF, WBA, WBC, or WBO titles in its fights. However, White recently agreed that Zuffa Boxing would not require its fighters to relinquish their earned championship titles to fight for the young promotional company's crowns.
