Zuffa | UFC Betting Sites - The Best MMA Online Bookies

Anthony Joshua Responds To UFC Mega-Contract Reports

Heavyweight boxing champion Anthony Joshua cemented his star status after knocking out Wladimir Klitschko last year, and now he’s become a hot commodity on the combat sports circuit in a more all-encompassing sense. So much so that the UFC has reportedly offered Joshua $500 million contract to sign with ZUFFA Boxing, a subsidiary that was […]

The post Anthony Joshua Responds To UFC Mega-Contract Reports appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

So much so that the UFC has reportedly offered Joshua $500 million contract to sign with ZUFFA Boxing, a subsidiary that was created amidst Mayweather vs. McGregor over the summer.

Joshua responded to the offer during a conference call with the press yesterday and said he was “all ears” in considering the UFC’s contract:

“If it’s good business, it makes sense. I’m not in the business and I’m sure Eddie (Hearn) isn’t in it to say, ‘Oh, Dana White, we’re not interested in working with you,’ when we don’t know what’s on the table. We’ll listen and a hundred percent, if it makes sense, we’re all ears, man. So I’m happy that Dana’s coming into the game. Hopefully, he can add some excitement, and we can progress forward and make some good money and make some good fights.”

Joshua is widely considered the best heavyweight in the world right now, and a high-profile super fight against WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder hangs in the balance should Joshua get through Joseph Parker on March 31.

UFC President Dana White actually began his career managing boxers and even sponsored Floyd Mayweather before buying the UFC with childhood pals the Fertitta brothers.

White’s love of boxing reared its head once again when he agreed to let his lightweight champion take on Mayweather in a boxing match that has apparently stoked the flames for White’s passion for boxing.

UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic has expressed his desire to fight Joshua in some way or another, and a deal between the UFC and the boxing champ could bring that idea closer to reality.

Do you see Joshua signing with the UFC? Is this attempt indicative of the UFC’s desire to expand into boxing?

The post Anthony Joshua Responds To UFC Mega-Contract Reports appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

It’s Official: The UFC Has Been Sold For $4 Billion to WME-IMG

For the past couple months now, rumors have been circulating that the UFC was being auctioned off to the highest bidder, with the estimated price being somewhere in the $4 BILLION range. Considering that the UFC was only worth about $2 million when it was purchased by Zuffa back in 2000, that figure was quite an accomplishment in and of itself to say the very least.

Of course, following those rumors came the UFC’s typical form of rebuttal — having Dana White bully and straight up lie to members of the MMA media on Twitter (or what he would likely define as “good journalism“). But following the UFC’s landmark UFC 200 event on Saturday night, reports once again began circling that the UFC had in fact been sold to an investment group led by WME-IMG for the staggering price of $4 billion.

Details after the jump.

The post It’s Official: The UFC Has Been Sold For $4 Billion to WME-IMG appeared first on Cagepotato.

Details after the jump.

According to a press release sent out this morning, it appears that these reports have finally been confirmed. After finalizing the paperwork on Saturday, the UFC has been sold from Zuffa to WME-IMG, Silver Lake, KKR and MSD capital. This makes for the biggest sale of a franchise in the history of sports – The Los Angeles Dodgers was bought out of bankruptcy for $2.1 billion in 2012 — and a huge changing of the guard for the biggest promotion in the game.

But what does this mean for the head-honchos? Well, TMZ Sports is indicating that Lorenzo Fertitta will be stepping down as CEO while WME-IMG head Ari Emanuel will “wield a lot of power over the organization.” The Fertittas will however retain a small minority stake in the company.

Unfortunately for the litany of MMA media outlets hoping that new owners could mean a fresh new start, well…

Dana White (@danawhite) on future involvement: Same. President, owner, working my ass off. Just doing it without my best friend and partner.

— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) July 11, 2016

Damn, Damn, DAMN!!!!

We’ll keep you updated on this story as it develops, Nation.

The post It’s Official: The UFC Has Been Sold For $4 Billion to WME-IMG appeared first on Cagepotato.

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

The post 12 People In MMA Who Outraged Dana White appeared first on LowKick MMA.

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.

The post 12 People In MMA Who Outraged Dana White appeared first on LowKick MMA.

Game Changer (?): The UFC Has Apparently Been Sold For 4.2 BILLION DOLLARS

(Well thank God this isn’t having a noticeable effect on DW yet.) There are a couple reasons that we haven’t been reporting on the alleged sale of the UFC, which has been making the rounds here in the MMA blogosphere for the past week or so. For starters, most of these reports have been little more […]

The post Game Changer (?): The UFC Has Apparently Been Sold For 4.2 BILLION DOLLARS appeared first on Cagepotato.

(Well thank God this isn’t having a noticeable effect on DW yet.)

There are a couple reasons that we haven’t been reporting on the alleged sale of the UFC, which has been making the rounds here in the MMA blogosphere for the past week or so. For starters, most of these reports have been little more than hearsay and conjecture, and not to take some journalistic high ground here, but any article that begins with “UFC Sold to blah blah blah” and ends with “But nothing is finalized yet” is some amateur hour clickbait bullshit that even we are not prepared to publish. Of course, there’s also the fact that the UFC has been threatening legal action against anyone who *was* reporting on the story, which is a headache that we really didn’t feel like dealing with.

Today, however, it seems like this thing is actually going through, so head after the jump for all the details.

As first unveiled by Jeremy Botter of FloCombat, it appears that (emphasis on “appears”) 100% the UFC has in fact been sold to a massive investment group led by the William Morris Endeavor-IMG agency for something in the neighborhood of 4.2 GODDAMN BILLION DOLLARS.

Our sources said that the basics of the deal was finalized during a dinner meeting in Hollywood last Sunday between Lorenzo Fertitta, Ari Emanuel—the CEO of WME-IMG and one of the most powerful men in entertainment—and other UFC and WME-IMG executives…

… the Fertitta Brothers would leave the UFC to focus on the expansion of their Las Vegas casino empire. White, who owns approximately 8.89% of the company, was said to be cashing out to the tune of $320 million US dollars. But our sources also said that the new ownership group would grant White a new ownership stake in order to entice him to continue in his role as president and promoter.

And just like that, CagePotato’s last chance at getting credentialed just flew out the f*cking window. As for Fertitta, it’s looking like his replacement as CEO has been boiled down to a few options, the most notable being former executive of the Manchester City Football Club Gary Cook. Emanuel — who it bears mentioning was the inspiration for Ari Gold on Entourage and is probably a real swell guy – is also being considered for the role.

Though no announcement has been made by the UFC at this point (we reached out to White for comment and were strangled through the phone), reports are indicating that the sale will be finalized in the coming days and be announced during the UFC’s International Fight Week in July. We’ll keep you updated as information is made available.

The post Game Changer (?): The UFC Has Apparently Been Sold For 4.2 BILLION DOLLARS appeared first on Cagepotato.

Tito Ortiz: It’s A Girlfriend-Boyfriend Relationship, Dana White Is The Girlfriend

There’s been a lot of talk recently about the UFC being up for sale. Multiple credible sources reported that the promotion was up for grabs at a hefty price tag of four billion US dollars, but UFC president Dana White shot down the reports soon after. Yet still news continues to emerge about a potential

The post Tito Ortiz: It’s A Girlfriend-Boyfriend Relationship, Dana White Is The Girlfriend appeared first on LowKick MMA.

So what would happen if the UFC sold? Potentially with the Muhammad Ali act being pushed through congress towards MMA as a sport, the days of the Zuffa brand ball-and-chaining their fighters is going to be coming to an end very soon. Maybe right now would be the best and most profitable time for the Fertittas to exit as UFC owners, but what would the impact be on the promotion as a whole?

Former UFC light-heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz shared his opinion on the UFC being for sale, and the probably accurate assumption that Dana White would probably retire if the company changed hands. As per MMAFighting.com:

Last week in an interview with RJ Clifford and Steve Cofield on SiriusXM Rush Fight Club, Ortiz spoke about the possibility of a UFC sale:

“I think the promotion would completely fail. I think it would crash and burn, that’s my opinion. I think Dana does a great job with the promotion. Sometimes we don’t agree on the same things but that’s just between me and him. Like I say, it’s a girlfriend-boyfriend type of relationship, him being the girlfriend of course.”

“Dana does a great job with what he does and that’s why the company is worth four billion dollars. Lorenzo [Fertitta] has stepped in and is doing an amazing job – from stepping down from Station Casinos – for what he does now. And giving the opportunity to Cris, I’m very thankful for that. But at the end of the day this is a business to them and if they’re able to sell it off for four billion, do what’s needed. I gave my heart and soul, blood, sweat, and tears to the company. I’ve gone on with my business and that’s the way it is.”

It’s no secret that White and Ortiz don’t see eye-to-eye, and they came close to having a boxing match once, before ‘The Huntington Beach Bad Boy’ no-showed. The former champion once famously wore a shirt bearing the slogan ‘Dana is my bitch,’ and was later dumped by the promotion in a rather sour ending.

“I think if the Chinese company didn’t bring Dana in it would crash and burn. It would be a lost cause but I guess it’s up to Dana to make those decisions.”

“This is the last fight on my contract, it’s the last fight that I want to compete. I’m 41 years old. I was supposed to be retired and done with this business at 40. Nineteen years I think is good enough for me. So let’s go out with a bang. Let’s go out with one of the biggest names in the world of mixed martial arts.

“Royce Gracie is here, he’s competing. He just stopped Ken Shamrock super quick. I think that would be a fun fight. I got caught with a submission by a black belt, Liam McGeary. Royce Gracie’s a black belt. Can he catch me? That’s a question. We’re both old pioneers of the sport, legends of the sport. I think the names would sell. Let’s give the fans something exciting.”

The post Tito Ortiz: It’s A Girlfriend-Boyfriend Relationship, Dana White Is The Girlfriend appeared first on LowKick MMA.

The Question: Should Zuffa Cancel Depleted UFC 186 Card?

UFC 186, the latest in a string of utterly cursed fight cards, took another hit on Tuesday morning when a New Jersey judge granted an injunction to Bellator that will prevent Quinton “Rampage” Jackson from fighting against Fabio Maldonado in the co-main event, as reported by Fox Sports’ Damon Martin. A card that once featured […]

Tag: Zuffa