Tom Loeffler has 15 fighters under contract in his 360 Promotions stable, and odds are that the bulk of them will end up participating or starring on the new Zuffa Boxing venture that is bringing a new Paramount+ streaming deal in January.
So for those fighters, Friday’s UFC Fight Pass card is a golden opportunity to leave a final impression as they head to the new circuit. Light heavyweight prospect Umar Dzambekov 12-0 (8 KOs), who headlines the show, junior-welterweight Cain Sandoval 16-0 (14 KOs), women’s featherweight Iyana “Roxy” Verduzco 5-0 (1 KO) and super-flyweight Daniel “Chucky” Barrera 9-1-1 (4 KOs) are all poised to shine, as a result.
Funded to the tune of $10 million annually by Saudi Arabia boxing financier Turki Alalshikh and promoted by UFC CEO/President Dana White, Zuffa Boxing is expected to crown its own champions and build up the profiles of these young fighters.
“We haven’t finalized who’s going to sign with Zuffa Boxing, but I imagine the majority of these fighters will be destined for it,” Loeffler told BoxingScene. “It’s unclear who’s joining from the outside, but I know our fighters have been developed strongly, and they should be well positioned to thrive as part of the Zuffa stable.”
Russia’s Dzambekov is stepping up to his first main event Friday, meeting countryman Artem Brusov 13-1 (12 KOs) in his first 10-round bout. Dzambekov held off veteran Roamer Alexis Angulo in a June bout at Chumash.
Sandoval, 23, is coming off a second-round knockout victory on that June card and now he steps up in competition, said Loeffler, versus Jino Rodrigo of the Philippines in the co-main event.
“Cain is always in exciting fights, and now he’ll need to distinguish himself,” Loeffler said.
Verduzco of Los Angeles meets Perla Lomeli 7-5 of Mexico and Barrera, of Eastvale, California, meets a 34-year-old with 20 pro fights, Mario Hernandez.
“It’s tremendous seeing [the formal announcement of Zuffa Boxing’s Paramount+ deal this week] ... it’s been one year since Dana said he was 100% into boxing and he’ll bring a lot of energy and lots of value to the sport with the new broadcast deal,” Loeffler said.
“Our commitment to Dana is to make all the fights competitive on UFC Fight Pass, and that’s what we’re doing here,” Loeffler said.
While Loeffler said it remains to be finalized how many divisions Zuffa Boxing will stage fights in, White said his team is considering a group of an estimated 450 fighters who’ll join the Zuffa Boxing promotion.
Friday’s fighters obviously have a leg up, along with other 360 talent, including ranked 154lbs contender Callum Walsh and the group that will perform at 360’s November 21 card at Thunder Studios in Long Beach, California, including women’s WBO super-flyweight champion Mikuki Hiruta and unbeaten super-featherweight Abel Mejia 9-0 (6 KOs).
Expect some of those to be in prime position to fight for the first Zuffa Boxing title belts.
“They’ll have to fight for the vacant titles,” Loeffler said.
Lance Pugmire is BoxingScene’s senior U.S. writer and an assistant producer for ProBox TV. Pugmire has covered boxing since the early 2000s, first at the Los Angeles Times and then at The Athletic and USA Today. He won the Boxing Writers’ Association of America’s Nat Fleischer Award in 2022 for career excellence.
