Conor Benn is staying with Zuffa Boxing. Dana White’s promotion announced Friday that Benn has signed a five-fight deal covering the next two and a half years, with the news breaking as both men sat down with Stephen A. Smith on ESPN’s First Take live from Las Vegas.
The deal ends a week of speculation after Benn’s April 11 unanimous decision over Regis Prograis at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. That fight, the co-feature to Tyson Fury’s Netflix comeback against Arslanbek Makhmudov, was a one-off. Benn (25-1, 14 KOs) emerged from it a free agent with every major promoter circling.
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He picked Zuffa. And his reasoning on First Take pointed straight at the parent company’s track record.
“You look at what they’ve done with UFC. Look what they’ve done with WWE. They plan on taking over and we all share the same vision,” Benn said. “It’s a different audience, a massive platform, and something I’m really excited about. It wasn’t an easy decision, but I’ve made the right decision and it feels right in my heart.”
Team Approach and Long-Term Vision
Benn, who split with long-time promoter Eddie Hearn and Matchroom Boxing earlier this year, framed the signing as a collective decision rather than a solo business move.
“There’s no ‘I’ in team. I don’t do things on my own, I do things with my team. We all share the same vision; that’s a must,” Benn said. “We’ve got a long-term plan and no doubt we’ll execute it. My job is to stay in the gym, give 100% in training, and let the team allow me to fully focus on being the best fighter I can be and deliver entertainment to the public.”
Five fights across 30 months works out to roughly one appearance every six months, a cadence consistent with Zuffa’s repeated emphasis on keeping its boxers active rather than letting them disappear between paydays.
White’s Global Platform Pitch
White made clear the selling point for Zuffa’s roster is distribution as much as money. TKO’s pending Warner Bros. merger is projected to add 200 million homes. The recently announced Sky deal expands European reach, and Zuffa is already airing in more than 90 countries less than six months into its boxing operation.
“When you’re a professional fighter, obviously making as much money as you can during your short window of opportunity is important, but you want as many people around the world to see the things that you’ve done, too,” White said. “That’s just as important as the money.”
Benn now joins a growing Zuffa Boxing roster that already includes Richardson Hitchins and Edgar Berlanga on multi-fight deals. He remains the WBC mandatory challenger at welterweight, with Ryan Garcia the clear target for his next outing.
