Vince McMahon could have been $4 billion richer had he purchased Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) way back in the day, but the former WWE CEO believed professional cage fighting didn’t fit his business model.
In case you missed it, McMahon is no longer part of WWE. Earlier this year, McMahon stepped away from his role with the professional wrestling organization after getting wrapped up in sexual assault allegations. The reports got pretty ugly and it wasn’t the first time McMahon encountered issues in the public. As a result, the billionaire owner walked away.
Earlier this month, a new documentary focused on McMahon and his rise and fall as WWE CEO hit Netflix. The limited series covers a variety of topics, but one of considerable interest to fight fans was WWE’s potential purchase of UFC all the way back in 2001. Vince’s son, Shane McMahon, tried convincing his father to purchase UFC when it was being sold for a few millions dollars. The younger McMahon believed WWE’s business model at that time would have easily integrated UFC. He called it a “plug and play” acquisition.
“At the time, the UFC had gotten into some financial problems and came to us and said would you like to purchase the UFC,” said Shane during the Netflix documentary (h/t Talksport).
“I was like, ‘This is cool!’ I said, ‘Dad, let’s just go for this one.’
“I felt we could really grow that brand because it is tailor made to what we already do. We had a production team, a live events team, a merchandise team, we have all of it just ready to go. For me, it was plug and play.”
Unfortunately, the elder McMahon wanted no part of purchasing UFC. For McMahon, WWE was vastly different than UFC and allowed the company to do more with their talent long-term. In regards to UFC, McMahon didn’t believe it fit WWE’s business model and thought the fighters offered little longevity to the business.
“When it was presented in terms of buying UFC, I didn’t like that business model,” said McMahon. “Our business model was that we created characters, much like Disney or someone else, and we can then use them forever. As opposed to a boxer/UFC [fighter]. Once you’re beat, once you’re hurt, your career is over. We’re in showbusiness and that is a sport.”
“Ten years later, the UFC was sold for a lot of money,” he added. “And Shane, I think, wants to take credit for the idea of buying UFC. Shane really thought that was the way to go. So, if that’s the way to go, ‘Shane, you take your money and put it in. It wouldn’t work because it would’ve taken a huge investment and Shane only had a little bit, so that’s not a good investment.”
Thoughts?