Jai Opetaia to fight Brandon Glanton for brand new, controversial world title in next outing

Jai Opetaia will fight for the first-ever Zuffa Boxing world championship on 8 March, when he takes on Brandon Glanton.

Opetaia’s decision to sign with Zuffa Boxing last month was a surprising one, given the Australian’s dream of becoming the undisputed cruiserweight champion.

Opetaia holds the division’s IBF title, having first reigned with the belt from 2022 until 2023, before regaining it in 2024 after a dispute with the organisation.

But while many boxing fans see Opetaia as the greatest active cruiserweight in boxing, the 30-year-old has struggled to confirm that status by collecting further titles, with unification fights long eluding him.

Indeed, Opetaia has been linked to Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez for some time, but the latter is due to face David Benavidez this spring, leaving Opetaia without a desired opponent once again.

It is possible that his frustrations in trying to unify the belts led him to sign with Zuffa Boxing, a new organisation headed up by UFC president Dana White, who is working alongside Saudi boxing matchmaker Turki Alalshikh.

In any case, Opetaia’s Zuffa debut will take place in the UFC’s small, indoor Apex facility on 8 March, as he faces Glanton for the vacant Zuffa cruiserweight title.

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Opetaia will enter the bout with an unbeaten record (29-0, 23 knockouts), while American Glanton carries a record of 21-3 (18 KOs) into the Apex.

Opetaia’s most-recent fight was an eighth-round stoppage of Huseyin Cinkara in December, while Glanton, 33, last boxed in October, stopping Marcus Browne in round six. With that win, Glanton bounced back from a loss to Chris Billam-Smith.

Opetaia’s clash with Glanton may well mark the end of his second run as IBF champion, though he will defend his Ring magazine title against Glanton, with Zuffa’s business partners TKO (the parent company of the UFC and professional-wrestling juggernaut WWE) keen to promote that belt. The Ring magazine is owned by Alalshikh.

Still, Zuffa Boxing aims to simplify the convoluted belt system in modern boxing, in which each division has multiple world titles. Zuffa’s long-term goal is seemingly to offer one primarily-recognised belt for each weight class.