UFC’s parent company may soon get into yet another combat sport.
TKO Group Holdings is reportedly close to launching a boxing “league” alongside Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), according to a recent report from Tariq Panja and Kevin Draper of the New York Times.
The league, while not confirmed by either group when approached for comment by the Times, reportedly could be announced as soon as weeks from now.
Details in the report state that the league would feature “up-and-coming” talents who would exclusively be signed to fight under their banner.
If launched, the venture would give TKO a third major combat sports entity alongside the UFC and professional wrestling juggernaut WWE. It would also finally materialize a UFC-adjacent boxing organization, something that Dana White has frequently expressed interest in pursuing ever since the 2017 crossover bout between Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather.
White has spent years pondering the launch of “Zuffa Boxing,” a brand he would control alongside the UFC. While talk about a boxing entity had faded away over the years, White mentioned in late 2024 that he had announcements for the new year and intended to go “guns blazing” into the sport soon. It remains unclear whether he will have any involvement in the upcoming project.
Other figures in TKO, including COO Mark Shapiro, have also kept the option to pursue boxing open. In late 2024, Shapiro brainstormed an entry into boxing which sounded quite similar to the details being reported by The Times this week.
“Boxing is something we would do organically,” he said in December, per MMA Fighting. “Nothing to buy, just something we’d start up and likely take a partner from the Middle East that would serve as an investment partner for us.”
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