British boxing promoter Frank Warren and his firm Queensberry Promotions are getting ready or have initiated legal action that might search as much as $1 billion from Dana White’s father or mother outfit, TKO Group Holdings, and the Saudi‑backed occasions group Sela, whose chairman is Turki Alalshikh. The dispute facilities on the formation of Zuffa Boxing, a brand new boxing promotion co‑fronted by White and Alalshikh, allegedly constructed on agreements that Queensberry says have been circumvented or violated.
Core authorized claims
Queensberry’s place, as reported by a number of shops citing authorized paperwork and correspondence, is that it entered an unique operational settlement with Sela in September 2023, underneath which Warren supplied boxing experience because the Saudi‑owned firm sought to enter the game. Across the identical time, Queensberry additionally claims it had a separate settlement with TKO, the fight‑sports activities father or mother of UFC and WWE, granting TKO entry to Queensberry’s information and to the Sela association.
Queensberry alleges that Sela and TKO then used that data to kind Zuffa Boxing, a joint‑enterprise construction that goals to oversee and centralize main boxing initiatives backed by Saudi funding, with out correctly together with Warren’s group or honoring prior contractual understandings. The declare is that this transfer successfully lower Queensberry out of a multi‑12 months ecosystem that might contain a whole bunch of tens of millions of {dollars} in media rights and occasion income, with Warren’s workforce saying the potential misplaced revenue over a number of years may attain the $1 billion mark.
Position of Dana White and Turki Alalshikh
Zuffa Boxing is being led day‑to‑day by Dana White, who stays president of the UFC, whereas Turki Alalshikh, chairman of Saudi Arabia’s Basic Leisure Authority, acts as a key Saudi associate and co‑founding father of the enterprise. Nick Khan, president of WWE and a board member of TKO, can be named as a public determine within the new construction.
Alalshikh has beforehand labored with Warren on a number of excessive‑profile UK‑based mostly boxing occasions, together with episodes inside the Riyadh Season calendar, and has been instrumental in bringing collectively Warren and rival promoter Eddie Hearn for cross‑firm collaborations. Nevertheless, the emergence of Zuffa Boxing has sharply shifted the dynamic, with Warren’s camp arguing that Alalshikh’s Saudi‑linked entities are actually aligning with White and TKO in a means that sidelines Queensberry’s prior position.
Context of Zuffa Boxing’s construction
Zuffa Boxing is described as a Saudi‑American joint initiative utilizing the Zuffa model, which is traditionally related to the UFC’s early‑period possession group. It’s understood to be co‑owned by TKO Group Holdings and Sela, the latter being a state‑funded entity tied to Saudi’s Public Funding Fund‑backed leisure equipment.
Reviews point out Zuffa Boxing has already secured, or is within the means of securing, multi‑12 months media agreements price an estimated $500 million within the US and different markets, with platforms resembling Paramount+ engaged and discussions ongoing with UK broadcasters like Sky Sports activities. This underlying valuation underpins Queensberry’s argument that the exclusion from Zuffa’s ecosystem may translate into a whole bunch of tens of millions to a billion {dollars} in missed income streams from occasions, information rights, and broadcast lower‑ins.
Authorized mechanics and present standing
Queensberry has issued what are described as “letters earlier than motion” to TKO and Sela, that are formal authorized communications that usually precede a proper declare within the UK Excessive Courtroom or an equal jurisdiction. These letters lay out the alleged breaches of contract and description the demand for compensation, with stories noting Queensberry is looking for as much as $1 billion (£740 million) in claimed misplaced revenue.
If the events don’t attain a settlement, Queensberry has indicated it intends to file proceedings, which might seemingly concentrate on the 2023 Sela settlement, the TKO information‑sharing association, and the way Zuffa Boxing was structured and capitalized. The case would additionally probe whether or not Sela and TKO used confidential data or operational data from Queensberry to achieve an unfair aggressive benefit in constructing Zuffa’s portfolio.
Positions of the opposite events
Sela has publicly responded by saying it’s “dissatisfied” by Queensberry’s claims and describing them as “unfounded”, whereas stating it intends to defend itself absolutely. The corporate has framed the state of affairs as a industrial disagreement and emphasised its confidence that the info will assist its place.
TKO and Dana White’s camp have not issued a detailed, unified legal rebuttal, but internal messaging has reportedly focused on the idea that Zuffa Boxing is a new venture formed under valid corporate authority, not a derivative of Queensberry’s contracts. White has long been critical of boxing’s fragmented promotion model and has argued that a more centralized, media‑driven structure can better serve fighters and broadcasters, a stance that underpins the Zuffa boxing narrative even as the lawsuit unfolds.
Potential implications for boxing
If the dispute proceeds to trial, it could force a public airing of internal Saudi and TKO‑Sela negotiations, including how events, media rights, and fighter contracts have been allocated since 2023. That level of transparency could complicate the Saudi‑backed boxing calendar, because promoters and networks may hesitate to sign long‑term deals if underlying contractual disputes are unresolved.
For traditional UK promoters such as Warren and Eddie Hearn, the case represents a test of whether established promotional relationships with Saudi entities still carry enforceable weight against newer, more centralized structures like Zuffa. If Queensberry succeeds in proving breach of exclusivity or misuse of confidential information, it could set a precedent for how Saudi‑backed projects must negotiate with Western promoters, while defeat would likely accelerate the shift of control toward the Zuffa‑Sela‑TKO axis.
