MMA Fighting reports that Zuffa, LLC is close to selling the UFC. An ESPN report states that the UFC has received two bids in the range of $4.1 billion.
According to ESPN’s Darren Rovell, the two groups with the highest bids are WME-IMG in conjunction with Dalian Wanda Group and China Media Capital. Per Rovell, the groups are finalizing the financing for the buyout. The bids are for the whole company meaning that the Fertitta brothers, Dana White and Abu Dhabi’s Flash Entertainment would cede their ownership interests.
This news comes a month after Rovell reported that Zuffa was actively shopping the company. There was speculation as to whether the sale would be for a portion of the company or not. It appears that the transaction would encompass the entire company.
The Fertitta brothers purchased the UFC for $2 million in January 2001.
Last year, Lorenzo Fertitta told CNN Money that the company made “about $600 million.” MMA Fighting’s sources indicated that the UFC drew $608,629,000 in total revenue and profited $157,806,000.
Payout Perspective:
The much rumored sale appears to be close to fruition. It’s too early to tell whether or not the sale will mean anything in terms of changes of the brand or product. There is speculation that White will be asked to stay with the company while the Fertittas may bow out of the sport. Certainly, White has not been as much as a public figure in recent months. The sale has yet to go through but you have to think that the business is so volatile that a $4.1 billion sale for a company that made $600 million last year is a great coup for Zuffa.
My opinion (and mind you, it’s just an opinion): the UFC is being sold because lots of questionable aspects of its business activities are surfacing (Belfort’s failed PED test and the cover up thereof, the way they’re giving Lesnar preferential treatment so that he will pass every anti-doping test) and because of the current lawsuit Zuffa is facing. They’re trying to sell the UFC before the whole truth comes to light.
I’m glad we’re getting rid of the UFC. Hopefully, the new owners will spare us all the hyped up publicity stunts and just focus on the sport.
As I predicted in 2015, UFC will be sold. Talks have been ongoing since late 2015, looks immanent, but nothing is 100%.
And for those who think 4 billion is too much money for the promotion, think of it this way, a single boxing fight can generate 600 million dollars in revenue. There will be a point in the near future that at MMA main event will be able to generate similar types of numbers.
mmaguru, its probably an mma fight, or card, might produce that sort of revenue sometime but highly improbable due to the makeup of mma. Boxing is not a league, not divided into “employers” wherein a promotion acts as sanctioning body, promotion, and almost a sport unto itself like the UFC is, like Bellator is, like One FC, Rizin, etc etc…which is why UFC purchased Strikeforce, Pride, WEC, etc. Boxing has separate promotions, a dime a dozen in the USA, several in the UK, and then promotions all around the world in Europe, Africa, Japan, Australia, Russia, etc etc. These promotions co promote events, pitting their fighters against each other when the money and fans demand it. Fighters in different promotions and who carry different titles have the time and space and investment to build records, build interest, build the desire in the fans and boxing media to see unifications and “super fights.” You just dont have that in mma……and that is what stops super fights from happening. If you have a dominant champ in Bellator and one in UFC and after a time period of interest both leagues decided to co-promote than maybe. Until that happens, I just dont see that level of interest. And if anything, the ratings and ppv #’s are nothing special anymore as they were between 2003 and i would say 2010 when the UFC was pulling 5-8 million viewers on FOX. That is the whole point of bringing back Lesnar and why the UFC is forking over so much cash to McGregor.
This isnt an anti-mma post, its just how I see it.
Whoever buys the UFC will mess it up, then the Fertittas will buy it back for pennies on the dollar, just like they do with their casinos. The UFC will come back to them with no debt and assets and they will load it up with debt (i.e. pay themselves) and do the same thing again.
The Fertittas are excellent at finding the next sucker and there are always plenty. Look how much money they have raised for the Red Rock Resorts IPO when their history of screwing over investors is well known and not hidden at all.
I am interested in seeing if they actually are able to get an NFL team to Las Vegas.
I’d sell in a second.
Lots of factors.
Not just lawsuit or Ali act which could change the business but its not steady. You lose a Ronda or McGregor and you have difference between 2014 and 2015.
They you have piracy, shitty fans which are the worst, concussions are big thing in sports right now and that could be a major issue going forward.
You have fighters wanting bigger piece of the pie, could unionize.
They got in for 2 mill and turned it into 4 billion, thats amazing.
Hahahaha…ufc is on the decline..been saying it for a long time….all brands peak then goes down…ufc is a product of so much hype,so much money on marketing….its a bubble,how bout dw diciples? left out in the cold? Majority of ufc fans are dw.diciples following him…now dw.and.fertitas selling will confuse the diciples they got duped with the movement”bigger than soccer” etc….etc….hahahaha.they followed him to nowhere
Funny diciples are now saying they approve,as if it had theyre blessings and its all good or going to get better hahaha but deep down they got duped by dw…all the years of highly emotional defense of the ufc,bashing all fighters no longer connected with the company,debating everybody on the net…in pursuit of ” the movement”….now what?
tops E should enjoy his laugh…tops E, Simpson/Sampson (can’t remember exactly), and the rest of the guys were right about everything they said about the UFC and Dana White. It is clear that almost everything the UFC and Dana White has said has been a lie.
The fanboys and more importantly, paid, UFC workers were dead wrong. The UFC has been another Fertitta money-making scheme as opposed to establishing a sport for the long-term. I guess they will disappear into the internet until “the next big thing” comes along and they jump on board foolishly.