Oleksandr Usyk’s Camp Confirms Active Negotiations With Dana White’s Zuffa Boxing Promotion

Sergey Lapin, team director of unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk, has confirmed 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 the ongoing conversations with the UFC president and Zuffa Boxing, the newly launched boxing promotion that debuted its first event on Jan. 23 at the Meta Apex in Las Vegas. Usyk, who is the WBA, WBC and IBF heavyweight titlesbecame a promotional free agent after parting ways with longtime promoter K2 Promotions in June 2025.

Oleksandr Usyk in conversation with Dana White and Zuffa Boxing

“There is contact, there is dialogue and there is interest,” Lapin confirmed in a recent interview with talkSPORT betting site. “Details are not available to the public at this time. Let’s say there are a few doors open and if format, numbers and timing align, the market could see a move that no one expects.”

The potential signing would mark a major coup for White’s boxing venture, which is backed by Turki Alalshikh and operates under the umbrella of TKO Group Holdings. Zuffa Boxing recently signed IBF cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia in 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 saw what he did. He turned ‘old MMA’ into the global UFC machine,” Lapin said. “His real power is not just a fight, but an event. When he gets involved, the scale and attention immediately changes.”

Tom Hardy and Mark Zuckerberg

During the interview, Lapin also addressed the distinction between boxing and MMA training, specifically responding to famous 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 martial arts community.

“We would like to invite Tom Hardy and Mark Zuckerberg to our training camp tomorrow so they can see the level of detail and approach of elite boxing,” Lapin said. “But MMA is a different sport. It’s not just boxing, it’s wrestling, kickboxing, jiu-jitsu, cling work, cage work, and it takes years to master it at the highest level.”

Hardy, who started 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 take place 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 kicked off with an event headlined by undefeated Irish middleweight Callum Walsh, who defeated Carlos Ocampo by unanimous decision. The goal of the promotion is to organize twelve events by 2026.

White has acknowledged ongoing conversations with Usyk while maintaining a broader recruiting strategy. “We talk to everyone who we think are the most talented people in the world or have the potential to be the most talented people in the world,” White said at the Zuffa Boxing launch press conference.

The potential move comes as Zuffa Boxing navigates boxing’s traditional sanctioning bodies. Despite initially suggesting that the promotion would avoid partnerships with the WBC, IBF and WBA, White has softened that stance to accommodate fighters like Opetaia who are looking for title unification.