Even before Chris Billam-Smith’s brutal battle with Ryan Rozicki and a grueling hometown win, Dana White was already ‘excited’ by the early success of Zuffa Boxing’s first show on British soil.
Zuffa Boxing 07 was the promotion’s first event outside the United States, and those tuning in at the packed Bournemouth International Center or watching live on Sky Sports were treated to explosive knockouts, dramatic finishes and two ‘Fight of the Year’ contenders in the co-main event.
Alex MacMillan, Sam Hickey and Leon Hughes all strengthened their qualifications by maintaining their 100% records with knockout wins as professionals, while Stephen McKenna returned from a 539-day absence by knocking out his opponent in just 64 seconds.
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Chev Clarke bounced back from two fourth-round losses to stop Jack Massey in the seventh round of a cruiserweight classic.
Cheavon Clarke pulled off a stunning come-from-behind win over Jack Massey. He recovered after being knocked down twice in the fourth round to stop his compatriot in the seventh, but Billam-Smith beat Rozicki in a fight that White likened to a ‘Rocky movie’.
“I’m not looking to make a statement, I just want to put on a great fight,” White said at the post-show press conference. “When we go to a venue and people buy tickets and come live, when people watch on TV, I want them to turn off the TV or walk out of the stadium happy they came to the game.
“I want to build trust again with our fans when we come into town or when we go on TV on Saturday nights or Sundays or whenever we make an appearance.
“Tonight was a great night. We have boxing in the UK now and we are very happy to be coming to the UK and putting on an event like tonight.”
Billam-Smith and Rozicki were sent to hospital as a precaution following the classic encounter. With both men swinging heavy shots and momentum both ways, the bruising contest only ended when the Canadian’s corner took him down at the end of the seventh round.
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The Sky Sports boxing commentary team looked on in disbelief as Ryan Rozicki landed a massive shot at opponent Chris Billam-Smith in the Zuffa Boxing 07 main event.
“We knew how talented CBS (Billam-Smith) was and we knew how tough and mean Rozicki was, so we had everything in place to put on a great fight,” White explained.
“Especially in that sixth round, Billam-Smith looked like he was hitting Rozicki hard. Were you surprised to see him (Rozicki) come back out? No, but I was happy to see his corner called.
“It was a great fight. It was an amazing fight from start to finish, but the main event was like a Rocky movie.”
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Chris Billam-Smith’s trainer Shane McGuigan was full of praise for Ryan Rozicki, who was knocked out after seven rounds in a hard-fought fight against Billam-Smith.
‘Lots of big announcements coming’ – what’s next for Zuffa Boxing?
White, a long-time UFC figure, and WWE Chairman and TKO board member Nick Khan were ringside for Zuffa Boxing’s UK debut, as was newly signed Conor Benn and a number of other British boxers.
Zuffa Boxing already has three events confirmed for the next few months, with the promotion taking the promotion in Las Vegas (June 28) followed by New York (July 26) and Dublin (August 8), with White confirming that further shows and deals are yet to be announced.
Dana White celebrates at Zuffa’s historic Battle of Britain night in Bournemouth.
“Obviously, we’re honored that so many people came out to see our event,” White said. “My goal is to have everyone over the next few years. Everyone.”
He later added: “I told everyone to judge us on January 1st on what we’ve done this year. We have a lot of big announcements coming next month, so you can expect a lot of big things to come out of us.
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Dana White spoke earlier this year about his ambitions for Zuffa Boxing to put on the best fights against the best fighters.
“That’s what I want to do in the sport, not just do a few shows. Great matchmaking, putting on fight cards like tonight (Bournemouth) – that’s the goal.
“What starts to happen is that on nights like tonight, as you break up the sport and start rebuilding it from the ground up, you start creating different storylines, you start preparing for different fights, and fans and media start talking about what they want to see next.
“We have a Sky deal, which is a huge deal for us so we will be in the UK a lot. We are five months into this and we are already adding more shows to our Paramount deal and we hope the same thing happens with Sky.”
White has played down suggestions of future head-to-head fights with rival promoters, such as the one made between Queensberry and Matchroom fighters, but is open to continuing to grow in boxing and exploring new ways to compete with the sport’s biggest leagues.
“Without sounding too arrogant, people always ask, ‘Oh, you’re competing with this guy.’ At the level we’re at, we’re competing with the NFL, the NBA, Major League Baseball, the NHL,” White asserted.
Dana White followed the action throughout Bournemouth.
“The powerhouse in America is the NFL. When you go outside the United States, competition begins with soccer. When I think about my competition, those are the people I see as competition these days.”
Zuffa Boxing delivered a card that delivered everything they set out to achieve, with more to come.
Zuffa Boxing shows will take place in Las Vegas on June 28 and New York on July 26, before the first Irish show in Dublin on August 8, with all three shows live and exclusively on Sky Sports in the UK and Ireland. Enjoy Sky Sports or stream boxing without a contract.
