Zuffa Boxing and Sky Sports announced a multi-year broadcast deal on Wednesday, making Sky the UK and Irish broadcaster for all Zuffa Boxing events and committing to at least five cards per year on British soil. The agreement gives Dana White’s promotional venture a permanent foothold in Europe’s largest boxing market less than two months after its first Paramount+ card.

The deal was confirmed through a joint announcement from TKO Group Holdings and Sky. The first Zuffa card to air on Sky Sports will be Zuffa Boxing 05: Cortes vs. Garcia on April 5, live from the Meta Apex in Las Vegas, featuring undefeated rising contender Andres Cortes (24-0, 13 KOs) against Eridson Garcia (23-1, 14 KOs) in the main event. Former world champion Mark Magsayo (28-2, 18 KOs) meets Ireland’s Feargal McCrory (17-1, 9 KOs) on the undercard.

The Pace of Expansion

The Sky Sports agreement caps a stretch of activity that has been remarkable even by UFC standards. Since Zuffa Boxing’s first Paramount+ event on January 23 — a Callum Walsh vs. Carlos Ocampo card at the Meta Apex — the promotion has moved at a pace that no new boxing venture has matched in modern memory.

The timeline tells the story. On January 23, Zuffa Boxing 01 launched on Paramount+ with Walsh headlining against Ocampo. On February 1, Zuffa Boxing 02 featured Jose Valenzuela vs. Diego Torres. On February 15, Efe Ajagba headlined Zuffa Boxing 03. On February 20, Conor Benn was announced as Zuffa’s first marquee signing, leaving Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing in a move that sent shockwaves through the industry and was reported to be worth $15 million for a single fight. On February 24, Zuffa published a roster graphic showing 96 signed fighters across multiple divisions. On February 26, TKO president Mark Shapiro confirmed that Zuffa would promote the Tyson Fury vs. Arslanbek Makhmudov heavyweight bout at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on April 11, broadcast globally on Netflix. On March 8, Jai Opetaia shut out Brandon Glanton to win Zuffa’s inaugural cruiserweight championship. And now, on March 18, the Sky Sports deal.

That is four promoted cards, a roster approaching 100 fighters, a world champion crowned, a broadcast deal in the U.S. worth a reported $100 million per year, a UK broadcast deal with one of the most established sports networks in Europe, a Tottenham Hotspur Stadium event with Tyson Fury on Netflix, and the headline signing of one of Britain’s highest-profile fighters — all in less than eight weeks.

What Sky Gets

Sky Sports has been synonymous with British boxing for more than three decades. The network broadcast the Nigel Benn-Chris Eubank rivalry in the 1990s, Naseem Hamed’s rise, Ricky Hatton’s career, Anthony Joshua’s ascent through the heavyweight ranks, and years of Matchroom Boxing cards before Hearn moved Matchroom’s UK output to DAZN in 2021. Sky later partnered with BOXXER but that arrangement ended. The Zuffa deal returns premium boxing to the platform.

Sky Sports’ Chief Officer for UK and Ireland, Jonathan Licht, framed the deal as a renewal of the network’s long-standing relationship with the sport.

“Sky Sports has been a long-standing partner to boxing for more than 30 years,” Licht said. “Zuffa Boxing has exciting plans for the sport, and we share that same ambition when it comes to putting on the best fights for our customers.”

White positioned the deal as essential to Zuffa’s international ambitions.

“The UK has played such a pivotal role throughout the history of boxing,” White said. “The fans there are some of the most loyal and passionate in the world. When you talk about boxing in that region, Sky Sports has always been the home for legendary boxing fights. There’s no bigger or better platform to showcase the best boxing in the UK.”

The UK Roster

The Sky Sports deal gains immediate relevance from Zuffa’s existing UK commitments. Conor Benn is scheduled to fight Regis Prograis at a 150-pound catchweight on the April 11 Fury-Makhmudov undercard at Tottenham. Benn, who left Matchroom after a decade-long partnership, brings one of the biggest names in British boxing to Zuffa’s stable and gives Sky a fighter its audience already knows.

Cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia, who won Zuffa’s first title on March 8, adds championship legitimacy. The promotion has also been linked to ongoing discussions with Edgar Berlanga, Shakur Stevenson, and Richardson Hitchins, according to various industry reports, though none of those signings have been confirmed.

The Competitive Picture

The Sky Sports deal places Zuffa in direct competition with DAZN in the UK market. DAZN carries Matchroom, Queensberry, Golden Boy, and — as of today — Top Rank. Sky now carries Zuffa. For British boxing fans, the sport’s two dominant promotional ecosystems will play out on two different platforms, creating the kind of competitive dynamic that hasn’t existed in the UK since the Sky-BT Sport rivalry of the mid-2010s.

The arrangement also comes amid a legal backdrop. Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions has filed a reported $1 billion lawsuit against TKO and Sela over the formation of Zuffa Boxing, alleging breaches related to exclusivity and data-sharing agreements. Sela has publicly rejected the claims. The Sky Sports deal, signed during active litigation, signals broadcaster confidence in Zuffa’s durability regardless of the lawsuit’s outcome.

White has made clear that the signing spree is not slowing down. “We’re going to continue to sign not only the best fighters in the world, but fighters that we believe have the potential to be world champions someday,” he told Sky Sports following the announcement.

A more detailed Zuffa Boxing fight schedule for the remainder of 2026 will be released in the coming weeks, according to both parties. BoxingInsider.com’s complete streaming and broadcast guide has been updated to reflect the new deal.