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Conor Benn might be making the most money he’s ever earned during his boxing career, but his bill isn’t being paid by the UFC owners at TKO Group Holdings.
On Wednesday, during a quarterly financial call, TKO Group Holdings president and chief operating officer Mark Shapiro responded to criticisms that many UFC fighters have voiced after Benn reportedly signed a one-fight deal with Zuffa Boxing for $15 million. The signing was widely publicized after Benn left his former promoter, Eddie Hearn and Matchroom Boxing, to sign with Zuffa Boxing, which is led by UFC CEO Dana White and WWE president Nick Khan.
While he wouldn’t confirm the $15 million price tag that Benn is reportedly earning, Shapiro was quick to point out that TKO is incurring none of the cost to sign him, but instead that falls on Zuffa Boxing’s financial backer SELA — the Saudi Arabia-led entertainment company headed up by Turki Alalshikh.
“Now let me be clear: We signed him for just one fight,” Shapiro said. “That’s all we’re talking about here. Of course, we hope eventually he’ll fight in our Zuffa Boxing series, exclusively on Paramount+, but for now, this is just one fight. No different than what we did with Canelo and Crawford. No different than other superfights we are currently planning with SELA.
“I would add that the reported purse, which I believe was around $15 million, but the reported purse — I’m not confirming or denying — that Conor will be paid for the superfight in 2026, is not TKO going out of pocket. SELA, led by our great partner Turki Alalshikh, is covering the purse. Once again, no different than exactly what he did with the Canelo-Crawford fight.”
While Zuffa Boxing didn’t officially launch until January, the new entity served as the promoter for the Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford fight that aired on Netflix this past September.
In the days leading up to the event, White was a mainstay, hosting the press conference and weigh-ins, but much like the Zuffa Boxing events currently taking place at the Meta APEX, none of the costs for the card fell on the UFC’s owners at TKO Group Holdings.
Instead, the Saudi Arabia-led entertainment company incurs all of the costs and pays Zuffa Boxing a fee to effectively organize and promote the event. It was previously revealed that the fee is typically $10 million per event.
As far as Benn’s addition to the roster, Shapiro said that effort was spearheaded by White and Khan, but the plan for the British boxer isn’t to compete on a regular Zuffa Boxing event.
Under the terms of his one-fight deal, Benn is expected to compete in a bigger, marquee event similar to Canelo vs. Crawford, which aired on Netflix with more than 40 million viewers watching the fight.
“This story has taken on a life of its own,” Shapiro said. “That’s largely because Eddie Hearn is stirring the pot in a very fictional way. As you know, our partner in Zuffa Boxing is SELA. They’re the financial backer of the entity. Beyond the year-long series of fight cards that will appear exclusively on Paramount+, we’ve described again and again on these calls and at conferences that we plan to stage approximately two to four superfights per year. Canelo [Alvarez]-[Terence] Crawford being an example, some of which TKO will promote and or sell the media rights for of course, incremental fees.
“We at TKO with SELA collectively identified Conor Benn as someone we wanted to sign for one of those superfights in 2026. That’s it. One fight in 2026. Conor was a free agent, Dana White and Nick Khan, in that order, went out and signed Conor.”
There’s no word yet when Benn plans to compete next, but he won’t just pop up at a random Zuffa Boxing event. He’ll likely headline one of the major “superfights” planned for 2026, although an actual date, location, and opponent haven’t been revealed yet.