Are you very excited to know the answer to your question ‘Who Owns UFC?’. Let’s see the answer with its history.
Introduction to MMA
The world of combat sport and fighting has evolved so much ever since its inception. Earlier, it was viewed as a niche sport, unable to climb up through the hierarchy of sports in terms of viewership, popularity, and money. The reason being it was too extreme for the masses. It may still sound very extreme and unwatchable to certain audiences, but that shouldn’t take away from the fact that it has been topping the lists of most-watched sports for the past couple of years.
The prominent name in this world of combat sport is MMA, which stands for Mixed Martial Arts. It’s usually fought in a cage, with people surrounding the fighters. It’s a typical no holds barred extreme fight sport, which includes kickboxing, boxing, and various martial arts. Renowned fighters from all across the world come together to fight under one roof, usually under UFC. With many countries across the globe recognizing MMA and creating governing bodies to regulate, promote and conduct events, this is just the beginning.
What is UFC?
The word MMA is synonymous with UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship). UFC is the biggest player when it comes to MMA events and promotions. It is the most successful MMA promotion company in the world. Their roster is star-studded, as it includes some of the biggest names from all around the globe. Some of the big names include Khabib Nurmagomedov, Conor McGregor, Israel Adesanya, and many more. UFC is a premier fighting event with a large enthusiastic audience built over the years. As of now, UFC has conducted over 500 events throughout the world, using the PPV (Pay Per View) model. They’re successful in bringing together all the world’s big names to promote and fight in their events.
UFC has made a name for itself as the most recognizable brand and also a billion-dollar company. With huge personalities both inside and outside the ring promoting the sport, making it a household name across the world. It went from a mere $2 million investment to a $4 billion sports giant in the last 2 decades. People invest their time and money watching and betting on the UFC matches, expecting a thrilling and unexpecting result which is always the case.
Wonder who owns such a prestigious and most sought-after multi-billion dollar company? We have explained just that in this article.
Who Owns UFC?
UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) is owned by Endeavor Group Holdings ( formerly known as WME-IMG), which is owned and controlled primarily by Silver Lake (Investment Company), KKR, and MSD Capital. They acquired Zuffa, which was UFC’s parent company for a whopping $4.025 billion in 2016. Making it the highest sale in sports history, even beating the NBA. In 2021, Endeavour became the sole owner of UFC after buying out the other stakeholders which held 49.9% of the company. The current valuation of UFC is said to be between $7-10 billion. Making it the most expensive sports company ever.
There is no single owner of UFC, as Endeavour who owns UFC is a large group of stakeholders and chairmen.
History Of UFC
In the early 90s, American business executive Art Davie was intrigued by the videos about fights in various martial arts produced by the Gracie family, who are a renowned Brazilian martial arts family. He proposed a deal with John Milius, a filmmaker, and Rorion Gracie, of the Gracie Family to create a mixed martial arts tournament. Davie made the business plan and with the help of close to 30 investors, put together the initial funds required for the set-up and development for the War of the Worlds (WOW).
In May of 1993, Ultimate Fighting Championship was formed with the help of WOW. SEG (Sephamore Entertainment Group) was the only partner as other channels rejected the offer. In November of the same year, UFC-1 was produced as a live pay-per-view event, conducted at the McNichols Sports Arena in Denver, Colorado. It was an 8-man single elimination match with basically no rules, with the winner getting over $50,000. The winner was Royce Gracie who belonged to the Gracie family in Brazil. With more than 7,000 attendees, which was half the size of the arena, it is considered to be a stepping stone and often called “The Beginning” of UFC. This was the start of the boom of Mixed Martial Arts.
Mainstream Acceptance And Change In Ownership
In 2001, after a few years of mediocrity as a result of little to no publicity and poor management, SEG was on the edge of bankruptcy. Fertitta brothers, who back then were big names in the gambling and casino industry, bought out SEG for $2 million with the help of their friend Dana White, who also worked there. Thus creating Zuffa LLC, which became the parent company of the UFC. Dana was made the company’s president. This change was the rebirth of UFC and MMA. In Feb 2004, Couture vs. Liddell shot the sales up, doubling it from 150,000 to 410,000 pay-per-view buyers. With an attendance of more than 11,000 people at the venue, this was the eruption of PPV. This channeled UFC into mainstream success, making it one of the most-watched sports. With minor changes in the rules, allowing women fighters, partnerships with various brands, and multiple sponsorships from sports companies made UFC a household name.
After a few years of controversy and lawsuits, Zuffa was sold to then WME-IMG ( now Endeavour), in 2016, who are current owners, changing the way the events are promoted and revolutionized the PPV events. Very popular matches like Mayweather vs. Pacquiao and McGregor vs. Diaz raked in millions of dollars while promoting both UFC and MMA. In early 2019, Endeavour went public and in early 2021, bought out the remaining owners of Zuffa for an astonishing $1.7 billion, gaining full ownership over UFC.
Key People Of UFC
The success and legacy of UFC don’t solely lie in the hands of one single person, it was a collaborative effort even though it went through many changes and owners throughout the years. The credit belongs to various personalities; both fighters and promoters or businessmen outside the sport. Here are a few of the many people responsible for the giant that UFC is today.
Art Davie
Art Davie was one of the co-founders of UFC. A devout sports and martial arts fan, Davie wanted to establish a sports franchise that brought together fighters from different disciplines to fight against each other, a very unusual thing back then. With the help of investors and the Gracie family, he was able to start Ultimate Fighter, which today became what it is. A powerhouse in sports entertainment.
Davie is a prominent and respected UFC figure, without him there wouldn’t be UFC and MMA would still be an obscure niche sport.
Gracie Family
The inspiration behind Art Davie’s ambitious UFC was the mixed martial arts videos produced by the Gracie Family, who are a prominent figure in martial arts, with more than four generations and 80 years of being in the combat sports field, practicing Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Mixed Martial Arts along with their own Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. Rorion Gracie was one of the partners of the Ultimate Fighter along with Art Davie. Royce Gracie won the first-ever UFC 8 man elimination tournament.
The Gracie family has always been known as a powerhouse in producing and promoting talent.
Fertitta Brothers
Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta, who were casino operators, acquired UFC from SEG in 2001 after it was nearly bankrupt, buying it under the parent company Zuffa. They managed to convert the $2 million spent on acquiring UFC into a $4 billion enterprise, eventually selling it off to WME-IMG. The brothers set an example of successful business leadership and sports evolution. Under their reign, the world saw the rise of Pay-Per-View events, with multiple matches averaging over 300,000 concurrent viewers. This climb in business, popularity, and boom of UFC was successful.
Dana White
Although somewhat of a controversial figure, Dana is often called the face of UFC. He is the president of UFC since 2001 when SEG was acquired by Zuffa. He convinced his childhood friends, the Fertitta brothers to acquire UFC. Dana is known for his bold and problematic personality, which the audience tunes in for. Various changes have been made in his reign. Inclusion of women fighters, sponsorships, and brand deals, along with inviting big celebrities to promote the matches.
He was known to bring relative unknown fighters into UFC, giving them the chance that they deserve for their talent. Currently, Dana is looking into the untapped potential markets of India, Africa, and China for the expansion of UFC.
Conclusion And Legacy Of UFC
The unexpected rise of UFC came with its ups and downs. Starting as a niche sport, to achieving mainstream success. It is enjoyed by the masses, as it speaks a universal language of fighting, which doesn’t need words to comprehend. The unison of culture and popularity has made UFC what it is today. It has undoubtedly become a big part of today’s culture, which has roots in thrill, hedonism, and sports.
