Roughly a month ago, Xander Zayas headlined a card in New York. A dominant performance saw him defeat Jorge Garcia Perez to claim the vacant light middleweight title. It was a critical moment in the young Puerto Rican fighter’s career. What makes Zayas’ victory and the card even more poignant is that it coincided with a momentous phase in the history of American boxing. The end of an eight-year partnership between Top Rank and ESPN. For the first time, the sport was left without a linear home.

What followed next surprised many followers. Weeks after Bob Arum ‘s promotion and the Walt Disney-owned sports network parted ways, news broke. Once its contract with ESPN expires at the end of the year, Dana White ‘s UFC will embark on a new subscription-based journey with Paramount. The $

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