Tag: UFC Sale

Ronda Rousey Likely To Remain With WME-IMG After UFC Purchase

With this morning’s (Mon., July 11, 2016) breaking news that the UFC had been purchased for a record $4 billion, countless unknowns arose regarding the direction of the world’s biggest MMA promotion. Apparently a question regarding former women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey won’t be one of them, however. When the UFC was bought by William Morris Endeavor

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With this morning’s (Mon., July 11, 2016) breaking news that the UFC had been purchased for a record $4 billion, countless unknowns arose regarding the direction of the world’s biggest MMA promotion.

Apparently a question regarding former women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey won’t be one of them, however.

When the UFC was bought by William Morris Endeavor and their investors – a group called WME-IMG – a peculiar situation arose given that Rousey is represented by the WME-IMG talent agency. It may have seemed that created a stark conflict of interest involving her fighting, but Rousey will reportedly stay with the group because WME-IMG never negotiated her actual fights with the UFC.

ESPN’s Darren Rovell was the first to clarify the details:

Rousey famously made a whirlwind run to the lofty position of the UFC’s (and MMA’s overall, for that matter) biggest-ever crossover star from 2013-2015, defending her title a record six straight times with all coming by way of finish.

But that hype train came crashing to a halt at last year’s UFC 193, where Rousey lost to now-former champion Holly Holm via brutal head kick following a one-sided striking display from “The Preacher’s Daughter,” who boasted an extensive striking resume as a former champion boxer.

Rousey has since gone into a self-imposed seclusion of sorts, appearing rarely in public as her fighting future remains highly unknown. After recently undergoing a minor arthroscopic procedure on her knee, Dana White has hinted that Rousey may not return to the octagon until 2017.

He also stated that “Rowdy” will fight the champion, who is now Amanda Nunes after she beat Miesha Tate, who beat Holm at UFC 196, in the main event of UFC 200. If and when she does, her status with WME-IMG won’t be an issue.

Now it’s just a matter of getting arguably the new company’s biggest star to find her passion for fighting again.

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Dana White Reacts To UFC Sale

Rumors regarding the potential sale of the world’s largest mixed martial arts promotion have been swirling for months now with UFC President Dana White constantly denying the reports. Today (July 11, 2016), however, the official announcement has come, as the UFC has indeed been sold for $4 billion dollars to an investment group led by

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Rumors regarding the potential sale of the world’s largest mixed martial arts promotion have been swirling for months now with UFC President Dana White constantly denying the reports. Today (July 11, 2016), however, the official announcement has come, as the UFC has indeed been sold for $4 billion dollars to an investment group led by WME-IMG.

While CEO Lorenzo Fertitta will be taking a step down from his day to day responsibilities, White will be staying on in his role as President. Check out what the UFC boss had to say about the sale below:

 “Exact opposite,” White told ESPN in regards to fans being worried about the changing of the guard. “Sport is going to the next level.”

“No other sport compares to UFC,” White said in today’s release (Via MMAMania). “Our goal has always been to put on the biggest and the best fights for our fans, and to make this the biggest sport in the world. I’m looking forward to working with WME | IMG to continue to take this sport to the next level.”

The UFC has built the sport of mixed martial arts into a main stream attraction throughout its 23 year history, and much of the credit for doing so should be handed to White and the Fertitta brothers. As far as immediate changes to the promotion, it’s currently unclear what plans the new owners have in mind.

Stay tuned to LowKickMMA as more news unfolds on this breaking story.

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Lorenzo Fertitta & Dana White On Recent Sale Rumors: We Own The UFC

Over the last month or so, multiple reports have surfaced indicating that the UFC had indeed been sold for a record setting $4.2 billion dollars. The reports claimed that a bid had been accepted and that an announcement was likely to come around the time of this weekend’s (Sat., July 9, 2016) blockbuster UFC 200

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Over the last month or so, multiple reports have surfaced indicating that the UFC had indeed been sold for a record setting $4.2 billion dollars. The reports claimed that a bid had been accepted and that an announcement was likely to come around the time of this weekend’s (Sat., July 9, 2016) blockbuster UFC 200 from the brand new T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Throughout the midst of these rumors, there has yet to be official confirmation from the promotion, and it looks as if the UFC brass is sticking to its guns in terms of denying the reports.

UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta recently spoke to the LA Times on the situation, saying that there’s simply nothing to report and that his love for the sport of mixed martial arts remains intact:

“If we bring on an investor or something happens, we’ll let everyone know. I’ve never been more bullish on the business. I still have massive love for the sport. I never said I was walking away. What’s happening — this is standard. Any company, this size and magnitude, you don’t talk about things you’re working on in strategical terms. So there’s nothing to report.”

Piggy backing off of what Fertitta had to say, UFC President Dana White added that the rumors are ‘unbelievable’. White also confirmed that he and the Fertitta brothers still own the world’s largest mixed martial arts promotion:

“I’m in Bangor, Maine [recently], and people are yelling at me, ‘Congratulations!’ I’m looking at my family, saying, ‘Most of the free world thinks me and the Fertittas don’t own the UFC anymore.’ It’s unbelievable. We own the UFC. We did not sell the UFC. We own it.”

We have seen the UFC brass say one thing and do another on multiple occasions, but as of now it seems as if they will remain in ownership of the UFC – or so they say. Do you see the company selling in the near future?

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12 People In MMA Who Outraged Dana White

With rumors of a UFC sale abound and the prospect of longtime UFC President Dana White actually stepping down from his position actually possible, there may not be a better time than now to look back and reflect on all of the game-changing, evolving, and impactful changes White has made upon the UFC and the

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With rumors of a UFC sale abound and the prospect of longtime UFC President Dana White actually stepping down from his position actually possible, there may not be a better time than now to look back and reflect on all of the game-changing, evolving, and impactful changes White has made upon the UFC and the sport of MMA as a whole.

However, this article is not the place to do that.

No, despite all of the absolutely positive and furthering changes, implementations, and improvements White has made during his nearly 20-year tenure with the UFC, he’s built up quite the long list of people in the sport that have angered him quite a bit.

For better or worse, some were right, some were wrong, and some of those people were able to mend the fence with the most powerful man in MMA. Others still remain on the boss man’s proverbial naughty list, and they may indeed never recover.

It’s been a wild ride for White, and it may or may not be close to being over. Let’s take a look back at the people in MMA that angered Dana White the most.

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Coach: Conor McGregor May Seek Equity If UFC Sells

Throughout the duration of his monumental meteoric rise to the top of the sport, reigning UFC featherweight champion the “Notorious” Conor McGregor has established himself as the promotion’s biggest draw. Aside from serving as the face of the company, the brash Irishman has repeatedly stated that he’s on his way to being ‘neck and neck’

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Throughout the duration of his monumental meteoric rise to the top of the sport, reigning UFC featherweight champion the “Notorious” Conor McGregor has established himself as the promotion’s biggest draw. Aside from serving as the face of the company, the brash Irishman has repeatedly stated that he’s on his way to being ‘neck and neck’ with the UFC brass in terms of the promotional hierarchy.

While McGregor may seem outlandish at times, he truly believes in his star power and it shows within his words and his actions. With that being said, it’s an interesting time for the Dublin native given the constantly swirling rumors of a potential sale of the UFC.

According to his long-time coach John Kavanagh, McGregor may even request a stake in the company if it were indeed to sell (Via Sunday Business Post):

“John Kavanagh, the coach of Irish mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor, has said he expects that the sport’s breakout athlete would ask for a stake in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) if it was sold.”

“With rumours circulating of a $4.2 billion UFC sale, Kavanagh raised the prospect of McGregor seeking equity from any new owner.”

“Conor will have thought of this and I am sure, when he is sitting down with his new overlords, he will have that conversation,” Kavanagh said.”

McGregor is coming off of the first loss of his Octagon career after being submitted by Nate Diaz in the main event of March 5’s UFC 196, although his name value hasn’t diminished. In fact, the Irishman’s upcoming rematch with Diaz at August 20’s UFC 202 is expected to do massive numbers in terms of pay-per-view sales.

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In The Midst Of UFC Sale Rumors, Lorzeno Fertitta Has A New Job

Well, the rumors regarding the potential sale of the UFC, the world’s largest mixed martial arts promotion, may have just became a bit more interesting. Flocombat’s Jeremy Botter had previously reported that the deal was done, although a report from TMZ yesterday (June 22, 2016) said that the deal was ‘not even close’. Despite the

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Well, the rumors regarding the potential sale of the UFC, the world’s largest mixed martial arts promotion, may have just became a bit more interesting. Flocombat’s Jeremy Botter had previously reported that the deal was done, although a report from TMZ yesterday (June 22, 2016) said that the deal was ‘not even close’.

Despite the whirlwind of rumors and massive speculation, it appears as if UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta is looking to get out of the MMA industry. Fertitta, along with his brother Frank, has long been an owner of casinos, and he recently took a position as the Vice President of Red Rock.

Check out the details of the lengthy and lucrative deal below (Via PR Newswire):

Lorenzo Fertitta, chairman and chief executive officer of Zuffa since June 2008,[ii] entered into a five-year new employment agreement with Red Rock, with an annual salary of $500,000, in connection with the latter’s IPO in April. [iii] He is currently a Vice President of Red Rock, according to an SC13D filing by the company on May 12, in addition being a member of its board of directors.[iv] Also, Stations Casinos and Fertitta Entertainment agreed in October, 2015, to help Fertitta Entertainment employees move money they have in Zuffa 401(k)’s out of that plan and into a new one.[v]

Bleacher Report’s Mike Chiappetta also touched on the situation via his official Twitter account, saying that Fertitta stepped down from his position from Stations Casino in 2008 because it was tough to manage his UFC duties ‘part-time’:

Could Fertitta have more time on his hands these days because he recently sold his multi-billion dollar promotion?

Only time will tell.

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