Tag: Zuffa LLC

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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UFC Reportedly In Talks To Sell Company

A report has surfaced from ESPN’s Darren Rovell this evening (Tues., May 10, 2016) the UFC’s parent company Zuffa, LLC is in talks to sell the company according to sources close to the situation. According to the report, multiple bidders have made offers in regards to purchasing the promotion including WME/IMG, China Media Capital, The Blackstone

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A report has surfaced from ESPN’s Darren Rovell this evening (Tues., May 10, 2016) the UFC’s parent company Zuffa, LLC is in talks to sell the company according to sources close to the situation.

According to the report, multiple bidders have made offers in regards to purchasing the promotion including WME/IMG, China Media Capital, The Blackstone Group and Dalian Wanda Group with the Dalian Wanda Group appearing as the leader at the moment.

The Chinese-based organization is owned by the richest man in China, Wang Jianlin, and has recently began to make a slow and steady entry into the booming sports industry.

In recent memory, it seems as if the idea of the UFC being sold has become an increasingly popular one, although now possibly reaching a new height.

Dave Sholler, Vice President of Public Relations for the UFC, commented on the reality of the situation, although adding relatively no insight:

“As a private company, we don’t discuss speculation or rumors related to our business,” said Sholler.

The UFC is indeed a private organization under parent company Zuffa, LLC. Brothers Lorenzo and Frank Fertita own upwards of eighty percent of the company while UFC President Dana White as well as the Abu Dhabi government have stakes as well.

Given the private nature of the organization, financial records aren’t normally released, although it is well-known that the UFC is coming off of one of its best years to date in 2015, and has seemed to keep that trend going in the first half of 2016 on the coat tails of pay-per-view (PPV) superstar and reigning featherweight champion Conor McGregor.

With that being said, one would have to think that a deal to sell the world’s largest mixed martial arts promotion would be a monumental one to say the least.

How do you see this situation playing out?

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