Tag: UFC Sale

Dana White Says UFC Turned Down Offer For $5 Billion Last Year

When the UFC was sold to WME-IMG for $4.2 billion last year, the transaction set a record for being the most lucrative in sports history. That number, however, could’ve been higher according to UFC President Dana White. In a recent interview with FOX Sports, White said that the promotion actually received an offer for $5

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When the UFC was sold to WME-IMG for $4.2 billion last year, the transaction set a record for being the most lucrative in sports history. That number, however, could’ve been higher according to UFC President Dana White.

In a recent interview with FOX Sports, White said that the promotion actually received an offer for $5 billion, but he ultimately felt as if Ari Emanuel, the co-CEO of WME-IMG, had a stronger vision for the future of the UFC:

“I was never in this for the money ever,” White said. “When we bought this thing, we bought it for $2 million and then we were upside down and everything else. For me it’s always taking it to the next level. Let me be honest with you, when we were doing this deal there were two groups that came in for more money than Ari [Emanuel]. There was one [offer] for $5 billion. Ari is one of these guys, he’s got huge balls, he’s very smart, and he has laid out a really great plan for the sport. The vision that Ari has for it right now, I am on board and I love it.”

After experiencing a somewhat lackluster start to 2017, WME-IMG has received a bit of criticism for the direction in which they seem to be taking the world’s largest mixed martial arts promotion. White, however, remains on board with the talent agency’s plans.

Do you expect WME-IMG to indeed take the UFC to new levels in the future?

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Georges St-Pierre & Bjorn Rebney Reveal MMA Fighter’s Association

News arrived earlier this week (Mon., Nov. 28, 2016) that an ‘industry re-defining’ announcement was coming today from a group of prominent MMA figureheads including former UFC welterweight champ Georges St-Pierre and Bellator founder and former CEO Bjorn Rebney. The group, which also included former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez, former bantamweight champ TJ Dillashaw,

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News arrived earlier this week (Mon., Nov. 28, 2016) that an ‘industry re-defining’ announcement was coming today from a group of prominent MMA figureheads including former UFC welterweight champ Georges St-Pierre and Bellator founder and former CEO Bjorn Rebney.

The group, which also included former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez, former bantamweight champ TJ Dillashaw, fan favorite welterweight Donald Cerrone, and middleweight Tim Kennedy, revealed this afternoon that they had taken the steps to finally form a long-awaited fighters’ union for MMA competitors. The association will be called the official Mixed Martial Arts Athletes Association.

The brand-new MMAAA just tweeted this photo of the flagship members online:

St-Pierre has long been at odds with the UFC, stemming from the very moment he vacated his long-held welterweight title in the aftermath of his highly controversial split decision win over Johny Hendricks at 2013’s UFC 167. The superstar supposedly had his belt taken from his locker room while he showered before UFC President Dana White downplayed his decision to take some time off, saying a champion fighter simply couldn’t do that.

But that paled in comparison to the roadblocks St-Pierre ran into when he attempted to make something of a comeback earlier this year. He revealed the UFC’s new owners, talent giant WME-IMG, had taken a previous deal he had with prior owner Lorenzo Fertitta off the table, and then failed to offer him a suitable bout in a timeframe laid out by his attorney, making him a free agent in his own mind. The UFC insists St-Pierre remains under contract and they expect him to fulfill the obligations of his previous deal.

St-Pierre joined up with Rebney, the Bellator founder who was often at odds with White, Cerrone, who recently said he would be willing to head up a union, Dillashaw, who, like Kennedy, has recently been a staunch opponent of UFC fighter pay and treatment. Interestingly enough, Velasquez has never been viewed as discontented nor spoke out against the current system, but it must be heavily noted that each fighter involved in the announcement is a client of Creative Agents Agency (CAA), WME-IMG’s direct competitor.

Still, a fighter’s union where combatants are finally able to collectively bargain for better pay, benefits, and overall treatment is long overdue for the UFC and MMA overall, so the announcement comes as a breath of fresh air for a disgruntled fighter base that is finally realizing their worth after the company they work for as ‘independent contractors’ was sold for a staggering $4.2 billion.

That alone would have marked a new era for the growing sport, but this news makes it certain that revolutionary times are here for MMA. Let’s hope that leads to the athletes who put their lives on the line receiving better compensation and care.

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New UFC Owners Plan Massive Layoffs For Staff

The UFC’s new owners are already cleaning house in a big way. According to a report from MMAJunkie.com, talent group WME-IMG, who purchased the world’s biggest MMA promotion for a record-setting $4.2 billion in July, will lay off ‘under 15 percent’ of the company’s current staff, which adds up to somewhere in the neighborhood of

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The UFC’s new owners are already cleaning house in a big way.

According to a report from MMAJunkie.com, talent group WME-IMG, who purchased the world’s biggest MMA promotion for a record-setting $4.2 billion in July, will lay off ‘under 15 percent’ of the company’s current staff, which adds up to somewhere in the neighborhood of 400 employees.

The figures came from a source who chose to remain anonymous considering the announcement had not been made official yet. The firings will be made in the areas of sponsorships, licensing, public relations and production, but MMA Junkie noted that WME-IMG does not plan to reduce the UFC’s already-crowded event schedule.

If indeed announced, the move will come amidst an incredible amount of heat on the UFC’s new owners, as only yesterday, legendary former welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre revealed he had terminated his UFC contract after WME-IMG had rescinded a previous offer from original owner Lorenzo Fertitta, and then failed to give him a viable fight in a timeline laid out by St-Pierre’s attorney. The promotion insists St-Pierre is still under contract and will remain that way until fulfilling his obligations.

That could certainly mean the UFC’s new ownership is off to a rocky start in the sport, as cutting corners and costs in a current climate where fighter pay and treatment is quickly becoming the most oft-discussed topic in MMA may not be the best course of action. Interim featherweight champion Jose Aldo recently asked for his release from the promotion, and longtime prominent UFC employees such as Joe Silva, Dave Sholler, and Giovanni Decker have all exited the fray quickly.

New ownership reportedly claimed that they would be at a great financial risk to “re-introduce” St-Pierre to the new UFC audience, a laughable prospect even if the fanbase has changed dramatically in the three years he has been away from fighting.

A fighters union has often been talked about and could be coming soon, and it’s also a driving force to hear huge names like St-Pierre and Aldo talk about fighter pay so openly and forcefully. But that doesn’t appear to be deterring WME-IMG from taking a cutthroat approach to cleaning house if this report proves true.

Interesting – and divisive – times are coming for the sport of MMA.

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Georges St-Pierre Terminates UFC Contract, Becomes Free Agent

Through the majority of 2016, legendary former UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre has hinted at his long-awaited return to the Octagon as the three-year anniversary of him vacating the 170-pound belt following his highly controversial split decision win over Johny Hendricks in the main event of UFC 167 draws near. ‘Rush’ has often hinted he

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Through the majority of 2016, legendary former UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre has hinted at his long-awaited return to the Octagon as the three-year anniversary of him vacating the 170-pound belt following his highly controversial split decision win over Johny Hendricks in the main event of UFC 167 draws near.

‘Rush’ has often hinted he would come back to Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, but contract holdups seemingly put the deal on the backburner. He was also rumored to be returning to make his comeback at December 10’s UFC 206 in Toronto, yet UFC President Dana White repeatedly proclaimed he didn’t have the fire to compete with the best any longer.

But today (Mon., October 17, 2016) GSP returned to The MMA Hour to reveal his plans had taken an unexpected turn down a new road:

“Well, right now I’m a free agent. You heard it right, I’m a free agent. My lawyer terminated the contract with the UFC.”

St-Pierre detailed the timeline of events that lead to his decision, with the oft-rumored disagreements with previous UFC owner Lorenzo Fertitta playing a part in the proceedings:

“Well, what happened is, last February, I told Lorenzo that I wanted to fight again. We had a meeting in Las Vegas, and I came with my agent and I told him that I wanted to fight again, and since February my team was in negotiations with Lorenzo’s. Many name were offered at different dates – UFC 200, New York – but we felt the best date was the Toronto date, so that’s one of the main reason I entered the USADA testing, you know to have my four months prior testing. We had up and down; it’s not always been as good. All negotiations are, it doesn’t end up in only an hour.”

The fight game has certainly changed in his absence, but St-Pierre detailed a scene where the UFC told him they would have to take great financial risk to re-introduce him, something that doesn’t seem exactly accurate given his still-vast fanbase and track record in the Octagon. Still, an agreement neared, that is, until talent group WME-IMG bought the UFC for a record-setting $4.2 billon and things soon changed:

“We had some agreements, some disagreements, you know, and I remember even at some time UFC told us that they would take a huge financial risk to have me back and they would need to spend a lot of money to re-introduce me to the new audience. So just to tell you what mindset they were and what mindset we were, and what we asked for, trust me, is really reasonable. So the negotiations, we were making compromise on both side, I think we were close to an agreement at some point toward the end until big news arrived, and the news was that the UFC would got sold. New owners, and we were told that everything was put on ice until the new owners take charge.”

The UFC legend then dove into the back-and-forth battle between his team and the new UFC owners, with precious little revelant information reportedly being divulged on their part as White spoke down about him in the headlines:

“So we waited for weeks without any news from the new owners. Finally the news comes, and we were told Lorenzo’s offer was off the table. It was like a shock to us, because we felt like we were making progress; we’re almost there. And when they told us that, I got angry. I talked to my advisor and I hired the best lawyer in the business – his name is James Quinn. And James Quinn gave them a legal deadline, because I already have a contract with the UFC, it’s a 2011 contract. He gave them a deadline to give me a fight because I wanted to fight.

“Even during that deadline, we didn’t have any news – no emails and I was always waiting for phone calls, and I hear during that time Dana was saying to the media that I didn’t wanna fight, that I didn’t have it in me so I know it’s probably a strategy on his part, but I didn’t have any news until the last day of the deadline very late at night, believe it or not. And we received four letters saying they were supposed to schedule us a fight. That’s what we were waiting for, but I received a letter saying, ‘Oh, if if I would be interested in fighting Robbie Lawler sometime.’ And I knew that Robbie Lawler pulled off of New York card, because of, I don’t know the reason but I saw the interview and he said he needed a long break. So the next day my lawyer said, ‘You’re a free agent. You’re free.’ So that’s how it happened.”

Then, with the MMA community struggling to gather their collective breath, St-Pierre summed up the current financial climate in fighting with one simple yet powerful quote:

“Most fighters are starving, which is good for the UFC. If your employees are starving, they are easier to control.”

St-Pierre was briefly linked to a super fight with featherweight champion Conor McGregor, an obviously massive bout where he reportedly asked for $10 million to participate in. The UFC was rumored to have balked at the prospect, even though the bout certainly had the potential to be the biggest MMA fight of all time.

But with the new UFC owners allegedly thinking him to be an afterthought rather than a bankable draw at this stage, the greatest 170-pound talent in MMA history could legitimately be headed for the UFC’s only semblance of competition in Bellator, where his good friend and protege Rory MacDonald recently departed to after his UFC contract had run out.

That’s probably not something you expected to hear, and it would no doubt be the biggest catalyst for change in the current heated MMA climate where the UFCs treatment and compensation of fighters is one of the most discussed topics in the sport.

Do you agree with GSP’s decision to leave the UFC?

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Six Reasons The UFC’s New Owners Are Walking Into A Hornet’s Nest

A few months ago, it was confirmed that the UFC had been sold for a record-setting $4.2 billion to a group of investors led by talent agency WME-IMG. Obviously, based on the price at which the company was sold, the UFC is a very lucrative promotion, and the new owners would potentially be reaping the

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A few months ago, it was confirmed that the UFC had been sold for a record-setting $4.2 billion to a group of investors led by talent agency WME-IMG. Obviously, based on the price at which the company was sold, the UFC is a very lucrative promotion, and the new owners would potentially be reaping the benefits for years to come.

However, it could also be argued that the Fertitta brothers, the previous owners of the UFC, escaped at the right time. In other words, WME-IMG may have purchased the promotion with a laundry list of problems they may not have been fully aware of. Let’s take a look at six reasons why the new owners are walking into a hornet’s nest:

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A Potential Fighters’ Union

In recent years, fighter treatment and fighter pay have become growing issues within the UFC. Given that fighters are technically ‘independent contractors’, however, they don’t have much say in these areas, and the UFC has been able to hold a death grip and express its power in a system that seems to benefit the promotion much more than the fighters.

That could change if a fighters union were to come to fruition, however, and the talks of such a union forming have increased in recent memory. In fact, just this past August longtime baseball agent Jeff Borris announced that he would be attempting to unionize fighters through the creation of the Professional Fighters Association.

If Borris can indeed spearhead this idea, the UFC may be forced to change the tactics that have made it such a lucrative promotion for years. If fighters were represented correctly and unionized, they would likely demand better pay and better conditions.

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Former Legacy FC Owner Mick Maynard Replaces Joe Silva

The UFC has already found a replacement for retiring UFC matchmaker Joe Silva. Weeks after news broke that Silva was leaving following the UFC’s $4 billion sale to investment/talent group WME-IMG, the promotion officially announced on UFC.com that former Legacy Fighting Championship president and owner Mick Maynard has been hired as Vice President of Talent Relations. UFC

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The UFC has already found a replacement for retiring UFC matchmaker Joe Silva.

Weeks after news broke that Silva was leaving following the UFC’s $4 billion sale to investment/talent group WME-IMG, the promotion officially announced on UFC.com that former Legacy Fighting Championship president and owner Mick Maynard has been hired as Vice President of Talent Relations.

UFC President Dana White, who stayed on his official capacity with the new owners, showed respect to Silva and his contributions to the promotion while expressing his excitement at moving forward into the future with Maynard and longtime matchmaker Sean Shelby, who has been promoted to Senior Vice President of Talent Relations:

“Joe Silva’s contributions to the UFC over the last 20 years were huge, and he played a big role in helping make the sport as big as it is today,” UFC President Dana White said. “He left his mark on this sport and I wish him nothing but success in retirement.

“I’m excited to have Mick on board working alongside Sean,” White added. “Mick has become one of the most respected people in the fight game and he’s done a great job in finding and developing talent. Sean has been a tremendous asset to the UFC for a long time, and I look forward to working with Sean and Mick in the years to come.”

As stated in the press release, Maynard has been promoting MMA since 2006, and the Texas-based Legacy FC can be accredited for launching the UFC career of stars like Holly Holm and Sage Northcutt. The promotion recently combined with Resurrection Fighting Alliance (RFA) to form Legacy Fighting Alliance, opening up a path for Maynard to take over as UFC matchmaker while simultaneously creating a sort of MMA minor league for the UFC.

Maynard voiced his plan to continue providing MMA fans with the exciting UFC contests they have come to expect from the world’s foremost MMA promotion:

“This is an incredible opportunity for me and I’m looking forward to delivering the action-packed, exciting fights that UFC fans have come to expect.”

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