UFC’s Dana White, Ari Emanuel Featured In 2022 Variety500 Business List

UFC President Dana White and Endeavor CEO/UFC owner Ari Emanuel landed on Variety500’s list of influential business leaders. The 2022 Variety500 is a compilation of 500 influential business leaders in the global media field. White and Emanuel are…

UFC President Dana White and Endeavor CEO/UFC owner Ari Emanuel landed on Variety500’s list of influential business leaders. The 2022 Variety500 is a compilation of 500 influential business leaders in the global media field. White and Emanuel are 2 of seven American business people featured on the list. White recently signed a new 10-year contract…

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Kanye West takes aim at UFC owner: “Ari Emanuel, I lost 2 billion dollars in one day”

Ari Emanuel kanye westHolly mega agent and UFC owner Ari Emanuel recently penned an opinion piece stating that brands must condemn rapper Kanye West. Ye had recently made comments regarding ‘Jewish Owned Media.’ Emanuel wrote an op-ed in The Financial Times stating, “Business silence on Kanye West’s anti-Semitism is not an option.” Numerous brands have dropped the US-born […]

Ari Emanuel kanye west

Holly mega agent and UFC owner Ari Emanuel recently penned an opinion piece stating that brands must condemn rapper Kanye West. Ye had recently made comments regarding ‘Jewish Owned Media.’ Emanuel wrote an op-ed in The Financial Times stating, “Business silence on Kanye West’s anti-Semitism is not an option.”

Numerous brands have dropped the US-born rapper including Def Jam, Adidas, Balenciaga, Gap, Foot Locker, MRC, Apple Music, Peloton, and TJ Maxx. The shoe brand Sketchers had the rapper escorted out of the office building when he visited. Notably, the record label he founded, GOOD Music, has also dropped the rapper.

Kanye West responded to Ari Emanuel on Instagram, in which he stated:

“Ari Emmanuel I lost 2 billion dollars in one day and I’m still alive. This is love speech I still love you God still loves you. The money is not who I am the people is who I am.”

Kanye West was once well-respected as a hip-hop artist. His debut album The College Dropout, in 2004, went 4x platinum. He followed this up in 2005 and 2007 with the 5x platinum albums Late Registration and Graduation. Ye has always been a controversial figure previously condemning people such as George W. Bush and Taylor Swift. Now his aim has turned toward Jewish people. As spoken by Kanye West in 2007, he said:

I feel the pressure, under more scrutiny.
And what I do? Act more stupidly
.”

Ari Emanuel and the UFC

Ari Emanuel is the CEO of the UFC parent company Endeavor. In 2016, Endeavor purchased the UFC from Zuffa LLC for 4 billion dollars. In addition to the UFC, Endeavor also owns William Morris and IMG talent agencies, The Miss Universe Organization, Professional Bull Riders, among other holdings. This organization is also publicly traded.

On his workings with the UFC, Ari Emanuel seems most proud of his agreements with ESPN. Ari Emanuel proudly says that this deal smoothed out the income for the UFC and Endeavor. According to Forbes, Ari Emanuel explained:

“I used to have this lumpy business. And last I checked, everybody in that room does not like lumpy because they like to be protected. So I took my Fight Nights and I made my deal. And right behind it, I sat down with Bog Iger and Kevin Mayer and I said, ‘Guys, do you want the ultra premium? I’ll take it off DirecTV and I’ll sell you for [ESPN] Plus my PPVs.’ And we negotiated a deal. I don’t have PPVs now, I’m not lumpy. I have a set number, I know my number. I think I negotiated a very good deal as to where it should be and they benefited from it and you can see the [subscription] growth for them. So I don’t have any variability. I’ve taken the variability out.”

Kanye West Responds To UFC Owner Ari Emanuel’s Boycott Plea

Multiple-time Grammy award-winning recording artist Kanye West has hit back at UFC owner Ari Emanuel’s calls to boycott his various businesses. West has been one of the most talked-about topics in pop culture for all of the wrong reasons in recen…

Multiple-time Grammy award-winning recording artist Kanye West has hit back at UFC owner Ari Emanuel’s calls to boycott his various businesses. West has been one of the most talked-about topics in pop culture for all of the wrong reasons in recent weeks. He’s in hot water regarding controversial remarks he made about Jewish people and…

Continue Reading Kanye West Responds To UFC Owner Ari Emanuel’s Boycott Plea at MMA News.

Endeavor Quarterly Earnings Report Reveals Best 9-Month Stretch Ever

Endeavor Group Holdings has announced a profitable year after the company’s third annual earnings report surfaced.

The publicly-traded company owns the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). After enduring a pandemic-stricken 2020 fiscal year, the …

Ari Emanuel

Endeavor Group Holdings has announced a profitable year after the company’s third annual earnings report surfaced.

The publicly-traded company owns the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). After enduring a pandemic-stricken 2020 fiscal year, the company exceeded expectations with a huge swing of $1.4 billion in revenue for the quarter. For reference, the company reported a net loss of $21.8 million at this same time last year.

Driven by live events and the pay-per-view market, the UFC helped Endeavor enjoy another lucrative quarter. Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel shared in a statement how well the company has performed and believes momentum will continue in the entertainment sector.

“We continue to capitalize on the elevated demand for premium content and live events coming out of the pandemic,” Ari Emanuel said in a statement. “Given our unique positioning within the sports and entertainment industry and our ability to leverage powerful secular content trends, we see no signs of this momentum waning through the end of the year.”

The UFC accrued $288 million in revenue for the third quarter of this year. While the figure is actually lower than in 2020, that’s only the case because of a $25 million contract termination fee the UFC took part in. Additionally, the UFC saw a moderate increase in revenue due to its schedule being pushed back to the third quarter from the pandemic.

Endeavor and the UFC are in a healthy financial position. As it stands, Endeavor reported $1.029 billion cash on hand. The figures have eclipsed the previous numbers announced in the last quarterly earnings report. When 2021 comes to a close, Endeavor expects its revenue to reach anywhere in the ballpark of “between $4.89 and $4.95 billion.”.

Do you believe the UFC and Endeavor will continue to see financials outperform expectations?

Continue Reading Endeavor Quarterly Earnings Report Reveals Best 9-Month Stretch Ever at MMA News.

Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel Defends Current UFC Fighter Pay Structure

In light of the financial success Endeavor Group Holdings has produced, CEO Ari Emanuel has come to the UFC’s defense. The media and entertainment conglomerate attributes much of its recent progress to the acquisition of the UFC roughly five years ago. The UFC was sold to Endeavor for a hefty $4 billion price tag. Despite […]

Continue Reading Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel Defends Current UFC Fighter Pay Structure at MMA News.

In light of the financial success Endeavor Group Holdings has produced, CEO Ari Emanuel has come to the UFC’s defense.

The media and entertainment conglomerate attributes much of its recent progress to the acquisition of the UFC roughly five years ago. The UFC was sold to Endeavor for a hefty $4 billion price tag. Despite continued challenges brought on by a global pandemic, the entertainment entity went public for $24 per share at the end of April. By mid-August, following the latest quarterly earnings report, the company boasted about its thriving economic power.

Due to athletes suing the UFC, the company was forced to release details about their respective pay structure. It was revealed that the combat sports company is paying roughly 16%-18% of revenue to its athletes. However, most sporting companies are sharing revenue at a much higher clip in the range of nearly 50% in 2021.

After drawing attention to Conor McGregor making the #1-spot on the Forbes’ list of the world’s highest-paid athletes, CEO Emanuel defended the pay structure in an appearance at the Goldman-Sachs Communacopia conference.

“They just did a recent study of top-paying athletes. The number one athlete was a UFC fighter,” Emanuel said during the conference. Ari Emanuel said. “They’re making money on fight kits, paid marketing opportunities we’re creating for them with our sponsors, revenue for NFTs, and we’re investing money in a performance institute to rehabilitate them, [focus on their] diet, etc,”

Many have argued that McGregor’s wealth is a byproduct of his business ventures outside of the Octagon. Ari Emanuel insists the playing field has never been more ripe with opportunity. The Endeavor CEO is convinced that the UFC’s earnings next year will ascend to even greater heights as a growing number of streaming services continue their onslaught on the North American market.

What do you make of Ari Emanuel defending the UFC fighter pay structure?

Continue Reading Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel Defends Current UFC Fighter Pay Structure at MMA News.

Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel Refers To Zhang Weili As ‘Li Na’

Ari EmanuelThe UFC went public on Thursday, which, unfortunately for Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel, led to a very public slip-up. The UFC owner was discussing the company’s decision to go public and the hugely successful UFC 261 event. The card was co-headlined by the UFC’s first Chinese champion, Zhang Weili. However, Emanuel didn’t appear to know […]

Ari Emanuel

The UFC went public on Thursday, which, unfortunately for Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel, led to a very public slip-up.

The UFC owner was discussing the company’s decision to go public and the hugely successful UFC 261 event. The card was co-headlined by the UFC’s first Chinese champion, Zhang Weili. However, Emanuel didn’t appear to know who she was (H/T MiddleEasy).

“Well, here’s what I would say to you, even during the pandemic—we didn’t have live audiences, we didn’t have commercial PPVs—we beat our EBITA [earnings before interest, taxes, and amortization] number by 10 percent,” Emanuel told CNBC.

“Now with the re-opening, you just saw we had live audiences for the first time. In Houston, we’re going to have a live audience. In July we’re having another live audience. Our direct-to-consumer business on Fight Pass is up 40 percent. Our commercial numbers and marketing numbers are up. China is going to be bigger than ever.

“Actually, because of the fight—even though our Chinese champion lost, Li Na—there was over a billion video views out of China.”

If you’re wondering who Li Na is, don’t worry, you’re not alone. There is not – nor has there ever been – a Li Na on the UFC roster. However, it’s possible that Emanuel did confuse Zhang with Liang Na, though how he could mix up a headliner and champion with someone who fought in the very first fight on the card is anyone’s guess.

The one thing Emanuel did get right is that the Chinese champion did in fact lose her title at UFC 261. Coming off a ‘Fight-of-the-Year’ favourite against Joanna Jedrzejczyk, Zhang was felled by a Rose Namajunas headkick early in the first round.

Immediately after the loss, Zhang expressed interest in a rematch against Namajunas, something that seemed to peak the interest of Dana White. Whether that fight actually comes to fruition remains to be seen. If Emanuel will know who Zhang is by then is an entirely other question.

Do you think Ari Emanuel knows who Zhang Weili is?