Zuffa Boxing just bagged another belt. WBC middleweight champion Carlos Adames has signed a multi-fight contract with Dana White’s boxing promotion. Zuffa announced the deal on X on October 13, and UFC.com and MiddleEasy followed with the details. His first fight under the Zuffa banner hasn’t been announced yet.
The promotion’s post called Adames “One of the most avoided men in boxing” and noted he’s The Ring’s No. 1 ranked middleweight. Adames sent his own message through the Zuffa account, and it read like a guy who’s been waiting by the phone for years: “No more excuses. No more running. I’m on the biggest stage, ready to face the best. Line them up.”
The Resume
Adames, 32, is 25-1-1 with 18 knockouts, per MMA Mania. He’s defended the WBC belt four times, and one of those defenses was a draw with Hamzah Sheeraz last year. MMA Mania described him as a Dominican-French slugger, while UFC.com went with “Decorated Dominican Star” in its subhead.
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The knock on Adames has always been the quality of his opposition. MMA Mania pointed out that his resume looks thin for a guy holding a green belt, and Adames has said that’s because the big names keep avoiding him. Zuffa’s pitch to fans is that it books the fights people actually want to see. If that holds, the excuse disappears for everybody involved.
Zuffa Keeps Shopping
Adames joins a Zuffa roster that already includes Conor Benn, WBA and The Ring cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia (who also holds the Zuffa division title) and Shakur Stevenson, who holds the WBO and The Ring junior welterweight titles. MMA Mania reported that the promotion has several 160-pounders who’d love to welcome Adames to the company, and that Zuffa isn’t done collecting talent.
There’s also a wrinkle on the calendar. MiddleEasy reported on October 15 that the WBC approved Adames for a non-title fight on November 17, with one condition attached: if he loses, his middleweight championship gets vacated. The available reporting doesn’t say who he’s fighting that night or whether that bout is his Zuffa debut.
Quick Take
I love this signing. Adames spent years saying nobody would get in there with him, and now he’s with a promoter whose entire sales pitch is making the fights fans ask for. He called his shot in public, and that’s the kind of thing I’ll always root for. The WBC’s condition is the part that makes this spicy. A non-title fight is supposed to be a low-risk tune-up, and the sanctioning body just turned his into a title fight in everything but name, because a loss on November 17 costs him the belt anyway. “Line them up” plays great on X. First he has to beat whoever’s standing across from him in five weeks.
