“I’m making my Zuffa debut on March 8 here in the APEX,” Opetaia said during the post-fight show with Molly Qerim and Mike Coppinger.
For Dana White, this bout carries more weight than anything that happened on the launch card. That first show leaned on developing fighters and left the sense that the roster was thin at the top. The broadcast looked major. The boxing did not. Opetaia is meant to correct that imbalance.
He arrives as a complete fighter. He is not learning on the job. He is already a champion who has dealt with elite opponents, difficult negotiations, and long nights. That matters for a new promotion trying to build trust with serious fans.
Opetaia is 29-0 with 23 knockouts. He is currently the only reigning world champion signed to Zuffa Boxing. That fact alone puts pressure on his debut. He is not just defending titles. He is setting an early competitive bar for the league.
His position in the cruiserweight division was earned. In July 2022, Opetaia outpointed Mairis Briedis in Australia to claim the lineal and RING championships. It was a hard fight against a proven champion, not a vacant belt situation. One defense followed before business complications intervened.
In late 2023, Opetaia was stripped of the IBF title following a December bout that fell outside the IBF’s required path.
The issue was administrative, not competitive. The ring eventually settled it. Opetaia and Briedis met again in May 2024 in Riyadh, and Opetaia won another clear twelve-round decision.
Those two fights remain the only times Opetaia has gone the distance in eight championship bouts. Since then, his control has tightened. He has stopped his last four opponents, including an eighth-round knockout of unbeaten mandatory challenger Huseyin Cinkara last December in Broadbeach.
That stretch coincided with a career shift. Opetaia entered 2024 as a free agent, still tied to Tasman Fighters but without a global promotional home. Zuffa moved quickly and signed him to a deal that allows appearances on both Zuffa cards and Riyadh Season events. That flexibility is important. It keeps him active while preserving access to unification fights.
“I think Zuffa is gonna be a new chapter,” Opetaia said. “They’re here whether people like it or not. I want to become Zuffa’s first undisputed champion.”
The goal fits his position. Cruiserweight unification is realistic if the fights are made. The question is not his ambition. It is how Zuffa supports it. A new league does not earn credibility through slogans. It earns it by matching champions correctly and consistently.
Opetaia also understands the environment he has entered. During a recent trip to Las Vegas, he spent time around White and the Zuffa operation and came away impressed.
“Being in this environment has made me respect Dana White even more,” Opetaia said.
March 8 is a simple test. Zuffa Boxing needs a champion who looks like a champion on its stage. Opetaia has already proven he can do that elsewhere. If he delivers again, it helps steady a league that needs competitive substance fast. If he does not, the early doubts grow louder.
It is a position he has held before, and one he appears comfortable carrying into a new setting.
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