The excluded divisions include super middleweight (168), junior welterweight (140), junior lightweight (130), junior bantamweight (122), flyweight (112), junior flyweight (108) and bantamweight (105). Several other transition divisions that separate natural body sizes are also absent from Zuffa’s model.
Zuffa compresses weight structure
The decision forces fighters to compete either above or below their natural weight, or completely outside of Zuffa. The promotion’s championship system will only consist of heavyweight, cruiserweight, light heavyweight, middleweight, welterweight, lightweight, featherweight and bantamweight. These are boxing’s most recognizable divisions, but they remove the intermediate classes that have historically allowed fighters to develop without extreme size disadvantages.
Bridge divisions like 140 and 168 have long functioned as stabilizers for fighters whose bodies fall between traditional limits. Their removal creates more difficult career choices. A natural junior welterweight now has to compete against full welterweights at 147 or drop down to lightweight. A super middleweight must either fight bigger light heavyweights or cut down to middleweight.
The move reflects White’s long-standing criticism of boxing’s championship structure, which he has described as overcrowded and diluted.
UFC model applied
“I talked a lot about the things I didn’t like about boxing,” White said before Zuffa’s debut card. “But I also said, if you look at the UFC, and not just the success of it, but the sustainability of it, I took everything that I loved about boxing and everything that I hated about boxing and how we built the UFC.”
Zuffa will rely on Ring Magazine rankings to determine challengers while building his own internal system. The promotion plans to crown its first champion on March 8, when Jai Opetaia and Brandon Glanton meet at cruiserweight in Las Vegas.
Boxing’s championship structure has expanded over decades to accommodate fighters across a wide range of body sizes. Zuffa narrows that structure into fewer divisions and fewer champions. Fighters now have a narrower system than the one built over time. Some will adapt. Others will stay where they are.
