Oleksandr Usyk’s Camp Confirms Active Negotiations With Dana White’s Zuffa Boxing Promotion
Sergey Lapin, team director for unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk, has confirmed that negotiations are underway between Usyk and Dana White’s Zuffa Boxing, while making a pointed comment about the difference between elite boxing and MMA.
Lapin acknowledged ongoing discussions with the UFC president and Zuffa Boxing, the newly launched boxing promotion that debuted its first event on January 23 at the Meta Apex in Las Vegas. Usyk, who holds the WBA, WBC, and IBF heavyweight titles, became a promotional free agent after parting ways with long-time promoter K2 Promotions in June 2025.
Oleksandr Usyk In Talks with Dana White and Zuffa Boxing
“There is contact, there is dialogue, and interest exists,” Lapin confirmed, in a recent interview with talkSPORT Bet Slot Site. “Details aren’t for the public right now. Let’s say a few doors are open and if format, numbers, and timing align, the market could see a move nobody expects.”
The potential signing would represent a significant coup for White’s boxing venture, which is backed by Turki Alalshikh and operates under the TKO Group Holdings umbrella. Zuffa Boxing recently signed IBF cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia as its first major acquisition.
Lapin expressed confidence in White’s promotional abilities, citing his transformation of the UFC into a global combat sports powerhouse. “Everyone has seen what he did. He turned ‘old MMA’ into the global UFC machine,” Lapin stated. “His real power is packaging not just a fight, but an event. If he gets involved, the scale and attention immediately become different.”
Tom Hardy and Mark Zuckerberg
During the interview, Lapin also addressed the distinction between boxing and MMA training, specifically responding to celebrity martial arts practitioners Tom Hardy and Mark Zuckerberg. Both Hardy, a blue belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu who won gold at the 2022 Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Open Championship, and Zuckerberg, a blue belt who trains under legendary coach Dave Camarillo, have become prominent figures in the combat sports community.
“We’d be happy to invite Tom Hardy and Mark Zuckerberg to our training camp even tomorrow, just so they can see the level of detail and approach in elite boxing,” Lapin said. “But MMA is a different sport. It’s not only boxing, it’s wrestling, kickboxing, jiu-jitsu, clinch work, cage work, and it takes years to master at the top level.”
Hardy, who began training Brazilian jiu-jitsu while preparing for his role in the 2011 film “Warrior,” has competed in multiple tournaments and earned his blue belt in 2020. Zuckerberg took up MMA and BJJ during the COVID-19 pandemic and has trained with UFC champions including Israel Adesanya and Alexander Volkanovski.
While Usyk’s immediate future remains uncertain, negotiations for a potential fight with Deontay Wilder continue, with reports suggesting a matchup could occur in Las Vegas or Los Angeles between late April and early May 2026. Lapin confirmed that WBC interim champion Agit Kabayel also remains a potential opponent.
For Zuffa Boxing, signing Usyk would represent a statement of intent for the promotion, which launched with an event headlined by undefeated Irish middleweight Callum Walsh, who defeated Carlos Ocampo via unanimous decision. The promotion aims to stage 12 events in 2026.
White has acknowledged the ongoing talks with Usyk while maintaining a broader recruiting strategy. “We’re talking to everybody we think are the most talented people in the world or have the potential to be the most talented people in the world,” White stated at the Zuffa Boxing launch press conference.
The potential move comes as Zuffa Boxing navigates boxing’s traditional sanctioning bodies. Despite initially suggesting the promotion would avoid working with the WBC, IBF, and WBA, White has softened that stance to accommodate fighters like Opetaia who seek title unification.
