Shakur Stevenson’s time with Zuffa Boxing ended almost as quickly as it began with the undefeated fighter being granted his release before ever competing for the promotion.
But what exactly happened?
UFC CEO Dana White addressed that subject at the UFC 333 post-fight press conference after Zuffa Boxing let Stevenson walk without incident.
“I offered him his release,” White said. “I offered him the release. Listen I think everybody involved, they’re happy with where we’re at. I have nothing bad to say about him or his team. But I offered them the release and they accepted.”
Stevenson’s signing was widely considered the biggest addition to the Zuffa Boxing roster since the organization first launched. Undefeated and considered one of the top pound-for-pound boxers in the sport, Stevenson joined forces with Zuffa and there were immediately rumors about a potential showdown with Devin Haney.
However, that fight didn’t come together and no other matchups happened before Stevenson decided to part ways with Zuffa. For his part, White says there’s no bad blood, and he doesn’t have anything bad to say about Stevenson, but the two parties have gone their separate ways.
“We never even did one fight with the guy,” White said about why he granted the release. “We were in business a couple of months.
“Listen, I’m not going to say anything negatively about him or we tried to do this or we tried to do that. We got to a position where we both agreed we were cool with the release.”