(March 13th) Former WBC featherweight champion Mark "Magnifico" Magsayo has signed with Zuffa Boxing and will make his promotional debut on April 5 in Las Vegas, cementing a significant new chapter for the Filipino contender after a frustrating stretch of inactivity.

Magsayo, 30, holds a professional record of 28-2 with 18 knockouts. A native of Bohol in the Philippines, he now lives in the Las Vegas area. The signing was confirmed by multiple boxing outlets, with Magsayo making the announcement earlier in the week. 

Magsayo continues to train at the Wild Card Boxing Club under Marvin Somodio, who also trains Zuffa fighters Callum Walsh and Umar Dzambekov and remains advised by Sean Gibbons. He parted ways with MP Promotions ahead of the move. Under Zuffa, the promotion has promised Magsayo at least three fights per year, a welcome contrast to a 2025 in which a planned WBC super featherweight title eliminator against Michael Magnesi fell apart due to promotional and budgetary issues.

Magsayo became a world champion in January 2022 when a majority decision win over Gary Russell Jr. earned him the WBC World Featherweight title, before dropping the belt in his very next fight against Rey Vargas. He then suffered a unanimous decision defeat to Brandon Figueroa in their interim WBC featherweight title bout in March 2023. He has since rebuilt emphatically. He knocked out Isaac Avelar in December 2023, ground out a unanimous decision over Eduardo Ramirez in June 2024, stopped Bryan Mercado in December 2024, and most recently outlasted Jorge Mata in Las Vegas in July 2025, that last fight taking place on the undercard of the Manny Pacquiao–Mario Barrios world title bout and earning him the vacant WBC Continental Americas super featherweight title.

The Zuffa signing comes with a weight class change. Magsayo had been building toward a WBC super featherweight title shot at 130 pounds, but Zuffa's divisional structure does not include the super featherweight division, accelerating his move to lightweight at a moment when his momentum was building. The WBA has responded by ranking him No. 5 in its lightweight rankings, though the WBC has not yet rated him in the class.

In the co-main event of Zuffa Boxing 05, Magsayo will square off against Feargal McCrory (17-1, 9 KOs) of Ireland in a 10-round lightweight contest, with the winner well-positioned for a major opportunity in Zuffa Boxing's lightweight division.

McCrory, an Irish southpaw who now fights out of New York City — suffered his only professional defeat in a bid for the WBA 130-pound title. Both boxers will be making their full-fledged lightweight debut. McCrory's loss came against former WBA 130-pound champion Lamont Roach Jr., who stopped him in the eighth round in June 2024. He bounced back with a win over Keenan Carbajal at Madison Square Garden in March 2025.

The main event of Zuffa Boxing 05 is a scheduled 10-round lightweight contest between unbeaten Las Vegas contender Andres Cortes (24-0, 13 KOs) and the Dominican Republic's Eridson Garcia (23-1, 14 KOs). Cortes is ranked No. 10 by The Ring at junior lightweight, fourth by the WBO, and fifth by the WBC. The card streams live on Paramount+ and takes place on Easter Sunday, April 5, consistent with Zuffa's pattern of holding all events at the Meta APEX.

The move is not without risk. Dana White is at odds with boxing's four major sanctioning bodies — the WBC, WBA, WBO, and IBF — and Zuffa has introduced its own championship belt. Whether fighters under the Zuffa banner will remain free to compete for traditionally recognized world titles remains an open question. For Magsayo, a former WBC titlist now chasing relevance at a new weight class, the bet is that Zuffa's financial firepower, consistent schedule, and Paramount+ platform offer the stage his talent has long deserved.

Zuffa Boxing is a new professional boxing promotion created in 2025 by TKO Group Holdings—the parent company of UFC and WWE—in partnership with Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority and the events company Sela, led by UFC CEO Dana White and Turki Alalshikh. The company is headquartered in Las Vegas and aspires to revolutionize the boxing landscape by applying a centralized, promoter-driven model similar to the UFC’s approach, including single belts and unified matchmaking for major titles. White first floated the Zuffa Boxing idea following the 2017 Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather crossover event, citing the need to modernize and streamline boxing promotions, but it wasn’t until June 2025 that the brand was officially launched through high-profile partnerships and funding from Saudi Arabia.

The inaugural Zuffa Boxing event is the blockbuster Canelo Álvarez vs. Terence Crawford superfight, set for September 13, 2025, at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, and streaming globally on Netflix—marking a first for a major boxing match of this scale. The promotion is expected to stage 12 events annually for five years, totaling 60 shows, with four of these billed as “megafights” similar to the Canelo-Crawford clash. Media rights negotiations are ongoing, with Paramount Plus as the leading contender for a broadcast deal in the U.S., while select events may continue behind pay-per-view, but the majority could stream widely and even air on CBS. Zuffa Boxing has already organized a prospect-filled card before its first main event, showcasing its commitment to developing new talent alongside marquee matchups.

Through its social media presence and engagement, Zuffa Boxing has signaled a fully modern approach to promotion, with global streaming, high-profile partnerships, and a strong connection to UFC infrastructure and talent. This new venture represents one of the most ambitious attempts yet to reshape professional boxing, bringing together some of combat sports’ biggest players and promising regular major events, innovative matchmaking, and a unified promotional vision.