Zuffa Boxing Confirms Full Z02 Card as League Remains Unapproved

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Zuffa Boxing Confirms Full Z02 Card as League Remains Unapproved

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Zuffa Boxing has set the full card for Zuffa Boxing 02, but the promotion’s longer-term league plans remain unapproved as Dana White’s proposed model continues to wait for a green light.

Z02 is scheduled for Sunday, February 1, 2026, at the Meta Apex in Las Vegas, operating under the Nevada Athletic Commission and streaming exclusively on Paramount+.

The card includes recognizable names and competitive matchups, yet it also underlines a reality Zuffa can’t avoid: this remains a promotion staging events while the league format it has discussed publicly is not yet approved to move forward.

The league itself has yet to launch in the form White has repeatedly outlined.

Main Card Built on Experience, Not Hype

The headline bout sees former world-level contender Jose Valenzuela face Diego Torres Nuñez in a ten-round lightweight contest. It is a solid, functional main event rather than a statement fight, fitting the current phase of Zuffa Boxing’s rollout.

Elsewhere on the main card, Serhii Bohachuk meets Radzhab Butaev at middleweight, while former WBC light heavyweight champion Oleksandr Gvozdyk faces Radivoje Kalajdzic in a matchup that brings genuine experience and credibility to the show.

None of the bouts are designed to crown champions or establish divisional pecking orders. For now, they serve to fill cards while the broader structure remains unresolved.

Hackett’s Placement Tells Its Own Story

One of the more intriguing names on the undercard is Jalil Hackett, whose career path has already taken several sharp turns.

Hackett previously left Floyd Mayweather’s stable to sign with Eddie Hearn, suffered a defeat, and has now moved on again as he appears under the Zuffa banner. He is listed to face Roberto Cruz, with the bout billed at middleweight.

While BoxRec still classifies Hackett as a super welterweight, recent weigh-ins above the 154-pound limit make the middleweight designation a practical one. With no titles at stake and no sanctioning body mandates in place, flexibility is the safer option for a fighter focused on stability while the promotion itself remains in a transitional phase.

Whether this represents a step up on Zuffa Boxing 01 is open to debate.

Graphic for Zuffa Boxing 02 on February 1

A League Still Waiting to Become a League

For all the talk surrounding Zuffa Boxing’s ambitions, the promotion remains constrained by factors beyond matchmaking.

White has made it clear that the long-term vision includes promotion-controlled titles, rankings, and a UFC-style structure. However, those plans hinge on potential changes to the Muhammad Ali Act, which currently prevent promoters from exerting that level of control.

Until that landscape shifts, Zuffa Boxing operates more like a standard promoter than the disruptive league it has been marketed as.

Zuffa Boxing 02, then, is less a milestone and more a placeholder: a functioning card designed to keep the wheels turning while the bigger plan waits for permission to move forward.

The fights go on, even as the league model itself remains unapproved.

About the Author

Phil Jay is the Editor-in-Chief of World Boxing News (WBN), a veteran boxing reporter with 15+ years of experience. He has interviewed world champions, broken international exclusives, and reported ringside since 2010. Read full bio.

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