DANA WHITE has insisted that he does not need the controversial Muhammad Ali Revival Act in order to establish his Zuffa Boxing promotion, while, in that same breath, claiming that the original bill – designed to protect boxers – has ‘held the business back.’
It was announced just yesterday that White’s Zuffa Boxing, financed largely by Turki Alalshikh, has landed a new broadcast deal with Paramount+.
Looking to stage 12 events per year on the streaming platform, the UFC chief, alongside WWE President Nick Khan, has lofty ambitions to become the sport’s flagship promoter.
Much like he did with the sport of MMA, White plans to introduce drastic changes which, in the eyes of many, could reduce boxing to a far worse state of affairs.
First on the agenda is the Muhammad Ali American Boxing Revival Act, a piece of legislation that is set to be voted on in the US Congress before the end of 2025.
The new bill was introduced to congress in July, primarily with the intent to establish Unified Boxing Organisations (UBOs), of which Zuffa Boxing is poised to represent one.
With it displaying little regard for the ethical principles of the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act, though, many have expressed their concerns with the emergence of an all-powerful UFC-style promotion.
In alignment with the original Ali Act, boxing promoters are required to disclose contracts, payments, and fees to fighters and commissions, in order to ensure an element of financial transparency.
The Revival Act, however, would lend itself to the possibility of a severe reduction in fighter pay, much like what we have seen in the UFC over the past however many years.
But White, interestingly enough, has suggested that he does not need the Revival Act to pass through Congress in order for his promotion to take shape in 2026.
Rather, Zuffa Boxing would merely benefit from the legislation in a way that would make White’s transition into boxing a whole lot smoother.
“There will be zero changes to the Muhammad Ali Act – not one word will be changed,” White told CBS Sports.
“We’re going to add onto it, so the guys that want to fight under the Muhammad Ali Act, exactly the way it is, will have the opportunity to do that.
“Or you can bet on me, and fight with me, under our version of the Muhammad Ali Act. That thing’s been blown a lot out of proportion. And I get it; I knew people were going to freak out because that’s what people do.
“The Muhammad Ali Act was put in place with all good intentions, but I think that it’s held the business back.”
White has also expressed his desire to introduce a Zuffa Boxing title, to sit alongside Alalshikh’s Ring Magazine belt, in an effort to marginalise the sport’s four major sanctioning bodies.
For that strategy to be as effective as he hopes, though, he would need the Reform Act to pass through Congress.
