Dana White has said “the best will fight the best” as part of a new Saudi-backed boxing league launched by the TKO Sports parent company of WWE and the UFC.
WWE president Nick Khan and UFC president White will lead the venture, which is targeting its first promotion in 2026 alongside Turki Alalshikh, the Saudi General Entertainment Authority chair.
“We have just signed a deal to start a new boxing league with Turki, who absolutely loves the sport of boxing,” American businessman White said on Wednesday, suggesting that the league could adopt a ranking and fights system familiar to UFC viewers.
“The model is proven to deliver the fights that the fans want to see. The best will fight the best and the fighters will continue to move up the rankings and become world champions.”
🚨 Breaking news!!!@DanaWhite | @TKOGrp pic.twitter.com/UuIqvln3yg
— UFC (@ufc) March 5, 2025
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Turki Alalshikh: White has ‘flag of boxing’
Saudi Arabia has invested heavily in global sports in recent years, including football, Formula One, golf, wrestling and boxing.
Both of Oleksandr Usyk’s heavyweight title wins over Tyson Fury took place in Saudi Arabia last year, among recent high-profile fights to be held in the country.
Critics suggest the Kingdom’s spending is a means of deflecting attention from its human rights record through ‘sportswashing’.
The Legacy continues🥊🔥 pic.twitter.com/ifoGMnYdon
— TURKI ALALSHIKH (@Turki_alalshikh) March 5, 2025
“I am very happy,” Alalshikh said of the deal with TKO Sports, speaking alongside White. “I give the flag of boxing to the best man who can handle it.
“He has a tough job but I am sure he will be delivering a magnificent league and get boxing great again.”
Today marks a new chapter in boxing history. I’m thrilled about this great partnership with those I consider the best for the sport. Together, we will elevate it to new heights. ❤️🥊 pic.twitter.com/uuXhpDYffy
— TURKI ALALSHIKH (@Turki_alalshikh) March 5, 2025
Saudi boxing to help ‘sweet science’
Mark Shapiro, the president and chief operating officer of TKO, said Alalshikh and Sela, a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, shared “our passion and vision for evolving the current model” of boxing.
“Together, we can bring the sweet science back to its rightful place in the forefront of the global sports ecosystem,” he added.
Shapiro said last week that TKO would receive an initial fee of “$10 million-plus” for the deal, according to Front Office Sports, who reported that facilities will be developed to help new boxers, with athletes given access to the existing UFC Performance Institute in Nevada.
“We’re not putting any money in, we’re not putting any capital in,” the outlet quoted Shapiro as saying. “We’re not on the hook for any [costs].”
The UFC and WWE merged in a $21.4 billion deal in 2023.
