The UFC may have some new owners.
Jeremy Botter of FloCombat reports that Zuffa LLC will sell UFC to a consortium totaling $4.2 billion. There had been reports and rumors of a deal taking place in recent months with UFC’s Dana White responding that if “somebody shows up with $4 billion, we can talk.” Rumors heated up when ESPN reported a few days ago that two bids were considered to buy UFC.
As far as who is involved in the impending ownership, the winning bid was the result of a combination of four companies. Companies include Hollywood talent agency WME-IMG, Chinese company conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group, Chinese internet and mobile company Tenecent Holdings and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and The Kraft Group.
The consortium already has plans to bring in a new CEO to run the top MMA organization. Former head of Manchester City Garry Cook is reportedly going to run the company due to his experience in international business.
The biggest winner of this deal may be White himself. White owns 9% of Zuffa so White could be looking at a $400 million payday. Also, the reported deal includes that White stays on with the UFC in his current role and be given new shares in this new ownership group. Many other UFC heads will also continue in their roles. So while it appears there will be different owners, there may hardly be any changes when it comes to the fan perspective.
