Stevenson On Zuffa Boxing Split: Who Lost More?

Shakur Stevenson's brief and unproductive stint with Zuffa Boxing ended last week with the lightweight securing his release, leaving both parties facing questions about how the partnership collapsed so quickly.

Bad Left Hook assembled a panel to debate who emerged from the split looking worse. The consensus leaned toward Zuffa taking the heavier blow, though opinions split on whether Stevenson escaped unscathed.

Scott Christ noted that the pairing never made sense from the start. When Stevenson signed, Zuffa's best available opponent was Rayo Valenzuela, a fight Stevenson rejected before requesting his release. "There was no other fight they could offer, really," Christ wrote, adding that Dana White "has had him looking completely out of his depth in this sport" over the past month. The promotion's avoidance of 140 pounds, where Stevenson last competed, left no clear path forward.

Wil Esco called it "a much worse look for Zuffa" than for the fighter, citing the promotion's stalled momentum in recent months and reports of reduced Saudi financial backing. Patrick Stumberg pointed to Zuffa's $15 million offer to Conor Benn as setting an unsustainable precedent. "They set a precedent they couldn't maintain in what I presume was an effort to coax more talent into signing with them and now they're reaping the consequences," he wrote.

John Hansen dissented, arguing Stevenson bears more responsibility given his limited options moving forward. Christ concluded that neither side cleared the bar, suggesting Stevenson might now look at a matchup with O'Shaquie Foster as more appealing than it was before the Zuffa detour.