While Dana White and Zuffa Boxing gear up for the inaugural debut at the UFC Apex, the curtains on one of the most captivating symbols in the world of combat sports – the championship belt – were lifted. With dreams to revolutionize a “broken sport,” Zuffa is set to open its first chapter under the Paramount deal on January 23. And what better way to showcase its vision than to display the belt its new champions will wear around their waists?

Yet the unveiling didn’t generate the kind of enthusiasm White and his team might have expected. An immediate comparison with the belts given by the established sanctioning bodies and a similarity to sister concern UFC’s belt unfolded in the comments box.

Dana White’s Zuffa boxing introduces its signature belt

“A first look at the Zuffa Boxing belt from the new promo,” Boxing Kingdom’s latest tweet read. From the photograph, a person can be seen carrying a solid black belt, possibly made of pure leather. Shaped like an Octagon, its center features the word “Zuffa” in gold. Five gold studs line four sides each.

Four months ago, while shedding light on Zuffa’s structure and function, Dana White revealed the new boxing promotion will have its own independent belt. It will occupy the space alongside the Ring belt, owned by Turki Alalshikh’s Riyadh Season, which is also a partner in Zuffa boxing. White’s admission also laid bare the path Zuffa planned to take. “I will not recognize any of the other sanctioning bodies.”

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It’s too early to speculate on who designed the Zuffa belt. The UFC does not make its championship belts by itself. Over the years, different designers and manufacturing companies handled the design and production. Reportedly, the current version, called the “Legacy Belt,” is made through a partnership between the UFC, designer Brad Flaherty, and Jae El Manufacturing, a company known for high-quality leather work and custom Octagon-style designs.

Yet, fans were unhappy with what they saw. Here’s what some of them had to say.

White and Zuffa end up drawing the fans’ wrath with new belt design

To one fan, the Zuffa belt had “sale price” written all over it. “Looks horrible and cheap,” they wrote. While the belt’s make reveals usage of high-quality leather, aesthetics at the center could have been better, many felt. To some, it looked like a replica of the UFC belt. “Looks like a UFC belt,” another said. With the word “Zuffa” matching the template on the UFC belt, the only difference remains the golden plating and custom octagon details.

The taunts continued. Like this user said, “You gotta do better, Dana. Where’s the shine? That belt looks like it was handcrafted in someone’s garage.” That may not be true. Dana White and his team want to make their championship belts treasured items. It should remind the bearer of the feats they accomplished. Given those thoughts, the belts should have been custom-made by selected designers.

Some questioned its value. “Awful, not (prestigious), never will have prestige either,” one fan wrote. Isn’t it too early to speculate? Zuffa has yet to establish a footprint in the boxing world. It’s competing against legacy sanctioning bodies and promoters. Shouldn’t it be given time before the belt carries its own prestige?

An apple-to-apple comparison saw one user saying, “Look at the elegance of the IBF and WBC titles, bruh… this ain’t gon do it.” That could be true. The WBC’s green-and-gold belt and the IBF’s iconic golden plate, featuring the world on two spheres and embossed on red leather, remain major attractions.

In hindsight, given its novelty, apprehensions around the new organization and its symbols are bound to emerge.

Nevertheless, it deserves time to settle. More clarity should emerge once it becomes routine and cards begin to follow a familiar pattern. What fans should instead look out for is what Zuffa does better, and differently, than most traditional boxing organizations.