Outside Source
Benn reportedly received a $15 million contract for one fight, which is significantly more than most — if not all — UFC athletes earn on a per fight basis. Since Dana White is the head of both the UFC and Zuffa Boxing, that sparked plenty of criticism from fighters who go to work inside the Octagon. Former bantamweight champ Sean O’Malley was in disbelief that Benn would be paid that much, while Michael Page expressed disappointment that White would place such value on someone outside of the promotion where he “built his reputation.”
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However, during a quarterly financial call on Wednesday, TKO Group Holdings (the parent company of the UFC and Zuffa Boxing) president and chief operating officer Mark Shapiro attempted to quell some of that controversy by revealing that Benn’s signing was entirely funded by the company’s partners in Saudia Arabia, which includes entertainment conglomerate Sela and Turki Alalshikh. As a result, it’s no guarantee that Benn competes on a weekly Zuffa Boxing card streamed on Paramount+. The plan, instead, is for Benn to compete on a bigger card similar to the Terence Crawford -Canelo Alvarez event this past September.
“First off, I would say this story has taken a life of its own, and that’s largely because Eddie Hearn is stirring the pot in a very fictional way,” Shapiro said. “So, as you know, our partner in Zuffa Boxing is Sela – they’re the financial backer entity. Beyond the year long series of fight cards that will appear exclusively on Paramount+, we’ve described again and again on these calls and conferences that we also plan to stage approximately two to four super fights per year – Canelo-Crawford being an example – some of which TKO will promote and or sell the media rights, for of course incremental fees.
“We at TKO with Sela collectively identified Conor Benn, as someone we wanted to sign for one of those super fights in 2026. That’s it. One fight in 2026. Conor was a free agent. Dana White and Nick Khan, in that order, went out and signed Conor. Now, let me be clear: we signed him for just one fight. That’s all we’re talking about here. Now, of course, we hope that eventually he’ll fight in our Zuffa Boxing series exclusively on Paramount+, but for now, this is just one fight. No different than what we did with Canelo and Crawford. No different than other super fights we’re planning with Sela. I would add to the reported purse, which I believe was around $15 million, that the reported purse – I’m not confirming or denying – that Conor will be paid for this super fight in 2026, is not TKO going out of pocket. Sela, led by our great partner Turki Alalshikh, is covering the purse. Once again, no different than exactly what we did with the Canelo-Crawford fight.”
Mark Shapiro confirms the Conor Benn deal is a one fight deal to be part of one of the super fights events. He says it’s not different than the Canelo/Crawford event. Sela led by Turki Alalshikh is covering the purse, not Zuffa Boxing. pic.twitter.com/4wyow4rcfg
— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) February 25, 2026
The Roster So Far
The date for Benn’s Zuffa Boxing debut has not been announced. The promotion on Tuesday revealed a list of 96 athletes — Benn included — that it has signed thus far.
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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