The reportedly massive one-fight deal between Zuffa Boxing and Conor Benn has raised eyebrows this past week or so.
UFC stars including Sean O’Malley have taken note of the money Benn is reportedly being paid, after being scooped up from under the nose of Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing. The deal is reportedly set to pay the English welterweight $15 million U.S. for a single bout, the sort of money that is unheard of for any UFC fighter not named Conor McGregor.
On a TKO Group (parent company of UFC and Zuffa Boxing) earnings call this week, Mark Shapiro, President and COO of TKO, revealed that it’s not Zuffa paying Benn that kind of money. Rather, it’s one of Zuffa’s partners, backed by Turki Alalshikh, Chairman of the General Authority of Sport in Saudi Arabia.
“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,” said Shapiro (h/t MMA Junkie), giving Canelo-Crawford as an example. “Some of which TKO will promote and or sell the media rights, or of course incremental fees.”
“Us with TKO and Sela collectively identified Conor Benn, as someone we wanted to have 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 [Alvarez] and [Terence] Crawford. No different than other super fights we’re planning with Sela.”
“I would add to the reported purse, which 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.”
The UFC has long been under fire over it’s pay scheme, with entry level fighters still making just $10,000 to show, and another $10,000 should they win — the same minimum wage fighters earned a decade ago. And while top tier fighters do make more, $15 million guaranteed is essentially unheard of. Regardless of who is footing the bill, the stars of the sport will probably continue to have a bone of contention when they see Benn’s purse.
