NYT goes longform for UFC

The New York Times had a lengthy piece in Saturday’s edition on the UFC as it prepares to hold events in New York.  The article comes after the law to legalize MMA in the state finally became a reality this past Tuesday.

The article notes the importance of having sMMA in the state as it is “the largest and most important media market in the world.”  The UFC also cites the ban as the reason major companies did not sign sponsor deals with the UFC.

• The article notes that the Fertittas plan to launch its IPO for the Stations Casinos in the coming weeks.
• The article estimates that there are 30 to 40 million people watching their biggest PPV events which exceeds the audience for any game of the 2015 NBA Finals. Of course, the number appears to be an estimate of overall people watching on PPV, in bars, at the arena, etc.
• Although written about before, the Fertittas have a clause in their contract that the dispute resolution mechanism to settle issues would be BJJ match of 3, 5 minute rounds. As a lawyer, I would recommend against this.  Then again, if you are the client and that’s what you want…so be it.
• The antitrust lawsuit was brought up and Rob Maysey was interviewed for the article. He indicated that fighters in title bouts earn base pay of $300K to $00K and bonuses that could be worth $3 million or more.  There is also the potential for PPV upside for “marquee” fighters.
• Maysey is quoted as saying that boxing promoters payout 85% of the revenue to fighters and keep the rest. However, in MMA, those numbers are reversed.  UFC executive Lawrence Epstein defended fighter pay stating its comparable to MLS players.

Payout Perspective:

Overall a good read and great publicity for the UFC as it moves into New York.  While the piece includes information on the antitrust lawsuit and the Culinary Union, it gives the backstory of the UFC and seemingly the last word to the UFC.  The article hits have been huge this week with the imminent legalization of MMA in New York.