Boxxer hits Zuffa with lawsuit.
Tomorrow night, Zuffa Boxing will be staging the cruiserweight clash between former WBO titleholder Chris Billam-Smith and hard-punching contender Ryan Rozicki.
The show will be taking place in Bournemouth, England, serving as Zuffa’s first bill in the British market. But just a day out, Dana White’s company has been met with a lawsuit by one of the U.K.’s top promoters.
Boxxer’s Ben Shalom has launched legal proceedings against the UFC boss in a case regarding the unlawful acquisition of two of its fighters, Sam Hickey and Billam-Smith.
Billam-Smith, of course, will feature in the headline act, while Hickey will be fighting on the undercard.
Boxxer is asking for injunctive relief in the British courts against Zuffa and Sky Sports, the latter of whom will be broadcasting the fight on Saturday and previously had a four-year broadcast deal with Boxxer that expired last year.
When that deal expired, Sky formed new ones with Zuffa and Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions, and Billam-Smith himself claims that his contract with Boxxer expired last year.
However, Boxxer states that the former world champion was in an exclusive negotiating period at the time and that they had a matching right on him after that.
Hickey, meanwhile, was still in the middle of a long-term contract with Boxxer when his signing with Zuffa was announced last month.
In addition, Boxxer claims that Jack Massey (who features in the co-main event tomorrow night against Cheavon Clarke) has at least one more fight contracted with them.
Needless to say, it’s not the warmest welcome to the Land of Hope and Glory for White and his company.
🚨 Dana White’s Zuffa Boxing hit with lawsuit from BOXXER over alleged unlawful contractual interferencehttps://t.co/zL9kXmuULY
— EverythingBoxing | Darshan Desai (@EverythingBoxi2) June 5, 2026
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