Former unified heavyweight world champion Andy Ruiz Jr. has signed with Zuffa Boxing, Dana White’s new boxing outfit, including one of many division’s most recognizable names to a quickly increasing roster. The transfer follows Zuffa’s latest seize of middleweight Conor Benn and indicators that White is utilizing huge‑title fighters as an alternative of a backside‑up “improvement” mannequin to place the promotion in boxing.
Andy Ruiz Joins Zuffa Boxing as Dana White Builds Roster Round Massive Names
Ruiz’s match with Zuffa was flagged by journalist Abraham Gonzalez in January 2026, who wrote that he was listening to Andy Ruiz may be part of Zuffa Boxing and urged followers to look at for affirmation. By late February, a number of retailers reported that the deal had been finalized after Ruiz himself commented on White’s Instagram publish saying Benn’s signing, writing, “Let’s go we about to make this huge @danawhite,” a line broadly interpreted as endorsement of his personal attachment to the promotion. Social posts from retailers similar to Instagram‑based mostly boxing pages then acknowledged explicitly that Ruiz had signed with Zuffa, framing it as an already‑official transfer.
The signing is notable as a result of Ruiz has been largely inactive since his August 2024 draw with Jarrell Miller below Matchroom Boxing, with stories pointing to a fractured hand and different points limiting his schedule. His document since dropping the rematch to Anthony Joshua in 2019 stands at 2–1–1, with wins over Chris Arreola and Luiz Ortiz and a loss to Joseph Parker, however the lengthy gaps have saved him out of the higher tier of the present heavyweight image. Zuffa can now leverage his title worth whereas serving to him rebuild momentum in fights that could be staged below the UFC‑type presentation acquainted to US‑centric audiences.
Behind the scenes, Zuffa Boxing is backed by Saudi Arabia’s Turki Al‑Sheikh, who has helped finance the Conor Benn contract and is anticipated to underwrite different excessive‑profile offers, together with Ruiz’s. This monetary muscle has triggered a public conflict with Matchroom’s Eddie Hearn, who has accused White of working for “a brand new daddy” in Turki and has pushed again in opposition to what he sees as a destabilizing intrusion into conventional boxing promotion. For Ruiz, the transfer could symbolize a recent promotional atmosphere the place visibility and paydays are tied extra on to star energy than to years‑lengthy matchmaking inside a longtime steady.
Within the quick time period, Zuffa’s quick choices for Ruiz embrace a return to a recognizable heavyweight or a mid‑card combat on a Benn‑led card, with commentators already speculating that opponents may come from different elements of the overcrowded high‑10 panorama. Whether or not he can rediscover his 2019 kind in opposition to present contenders will rely upon how rapidly Zuffa can get him again into constant exercise, however the signing itself cements his standing as one of many first established champions introduced into White’s boxing enterprise.
