Jai Opetaia vs. Brandon Glanton: Full card, predictions and how to watch Zuffa fight

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The cruiserweight bout between Jai Opetaia vs. Brandon Glanton on Sunday, March 8, was supposed to mark the first world championship fight for Zuffa Boxing, led by UFC CEO Dana White and Saudi dealmaker Turki Alalshikh.

But as Mike Tyson once said, everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.

Zuffa Boxing got popped in the kisser Saturday when the IBF backtracked on its plan to sanction the fight. It also threatened to strip Jai Opetaia of the IBF cruiserweight title if he fights for Zuffa Boxing’s new title belt. Zuffa Boxing claimed the belt would unify the title.

The IBF rejected that idea and has threatened to strip Opetaia of the IBF title if he fights for the new Zuffa Boxing belt. At a minimum, that means Opetaia and Glanton will face off in an unsanctioned bout.

But the IBF won’t be able to strip Opetaia of his world-championship talent. The 30-year-old Australian is 29-0 with 23 KOs and has held the IBF cruiserweight belt since he won it in 2022.

Glanton, 34, is 21-3 with 18 KOs and no title fights.

How to watch Jai Opetaia vs. Brandon Glanton​

• Time: 9 p.m. ET (main card), 6 p.m. ET (prelims)
• Where: Meta Apex in Las Vegas.
• TV: N/A
• Stream: Paramount+ in the United States at $8.99 per month.

Jai Opetaia vs. Brandon Glanton Predictions​

Brent Brookhouse, CBS Sports: Ultimately, Opetaia is simply the better fighter -- the best in the world in the division, no less. And it is likely too tall a task for Glanton to suddenly step up his game to a level he's never shown before…Prediction: Opetaia by TKO, Round 10.

Anatoly Pimentel, BetMGM: Opetaia is currently at his physical peak, and I don’t see anyone besides Noel Mikaelian and Gilberto Ramirez pushing him to his full limit and actually giving him a competitive fight. Prediction: Opetaia by unanimous decision.

Jai Opetaia vs. Brandon Glanton Card​

Main Card​

• Jai Opetaia vs. Brandon Glanton, cruiserweight
• Ricardo Salas vs. Jesus Saracho, welterweight
• Adan Palma vs. Pablo Rubio, featherweight

Prelims​

• Vlad Panin vs. Shinard Bunch, welterweight
• Joshua Juarez vs. Jardae Anderson, heavyweight
• Jaycob Ramos vs. Ethan Perez, featherweight
• Brady Ochoa vs. Adrian Serrano, lightweight
• Emiliano Alvarado vs. Erick Rosado, featherweight

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Zuffa Boxing stream, picks and how to watch Opetaia vs Glanton fight

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