Press Release – Zuffa, LLC, doing business as the Ultimate Fighting Championship® (UFC®) wishes to extend its great appreciation to the United States Department of Justice, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) and Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”) for the direct and forceful action they have taken in combating the criminal piracy of UFC® Pay-Per-View events.
In connection with the recent forfeiture raids initiated by the United States Department of Justice, the UFC® wishes to individually thank Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York and John T. Morton, the Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) for aggressively confronting and pursuing these criminal enterprises.
Speaking on behalf of the UFC®, Dana White, Zuffa’s President, issued the following statement:
“The very forceful actions taken by Mr. Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York and Mr. Morton, the Director of ICE, against these parasitic websites is very welcome news. The criminal theft of Pay-Per-View events has resulted in the loss of millions of dollars of revenue to not only the UFC® and its fighters, but has also deprived federal, state and local government of their rightful entitlement to significant tax revenue.
“On behalf of the UFC® and its fighters, I extend my sincerest thanks to Mr. Bharara, Mr. Morton, and the many Assistant United States Attorneys and Agents of Homeland Security Investigations who worked so tirelessly during the course of this intensive investigation.”
Ultimate Fighting Championship® – www.ufc.com Owned and operated by Zuffa, LLC, and headquartered in Las Vegas, Nev., UFC® produces over 12 UFC live Pay-Per-View events annually and 30 live arena events around the world. UFC programming is distributed in the United States on Viacom, Inc.’s Spike TV and on Comcast, Inc.’s VERSUS network. UFC content is distributed commercially through Joe Hand Promotions in the U.S. and Canadastar in Canada. Globally, UFC programming is broadcast in over 145 countries and territories, reaching 354 million homes worldwide, in 19 different languages. Ancillary businesses now include UFC.com with over 5 million unique visitors per month, the best-selling UFC “Undisputed” videogame franchise distributed by THQ, UFC Gym™, UFC Fight Club affinity program, UFC Fan Expo™ festivals, branded apparel, trading cards, articulated action figures and other media including best-selling DVDs and a U.S. bimonthly magazine.
Ultimate Fighting Championship®, Ultimate Fighting®, UFC®, The Ultimate Fighter®, Submission®, As Real As It Gets®, Zuffa®, The Octagon™ and the eight-sided competition mat and cage design are registered trademarks, registered service marks, trademarks, trade dress and/or service marks owned exclusively by Zuffa, LLC and licensed to its affiliated entities and other licensees in the United States and other jurisdictions. All other marks referenced herein may be the property of Zuffa, LLC, its affiliates or other respective owners.