Dana White is excited for the future of the UFC and its parent company following the purchase of sports entertainment giant WWE.
The promotion’s parent company, Endeavor Group Holdings, confirmed its acquisition of the pro wrestling juggernaut on Monday morning after the news initially broke just hours before WWE presented night two of its annual sports entertainment spectacle, WrestleMania. Following Monday’s formal announcement, UFC president Dana White shared his excitement on Instagram and lauded Vince McMahon’s “savage” persona as a billionaire businessman.
“This company has been on fire for the last seven years and now that we will be adding WWE to the portfolio, I Vam excited to take this to another level,” White said. “Vince is a savage in the wrestling space, Ari is a beast at what he does, and then add what we at UFC bring to the table and there is no limit to what this company can accomplish in the next few years.”
In 2016, Endeavor purchased the Las Vegas-based fight promotion for a reported $4 billion. Since then, the promotion has repeatedly increased earnings year over year. Of course, some of that can be explained by the fact that UFC pay-per-view events have gone from $59.99 to $79.99 since 2019, a move that has drawn the ire of combat sports fans, but clearly has not stopped them from shelling out their hard-earned money on a monthly basis.
Vince McMahon Comments on Merger with Dana White and the UFC
With Endeavor’s ownership of both the UFC and WWE, the two entities will form a brand new publicly traded company with an estimated value eclipsing $21 billion. Vince McMahon, the man behind the WWE’s meteoric rise over the last 40+ years, commented on the sale.
“Together, we will be a $21+ billion live sports and entertainment powerhouse with a collective fanbase of more than a billion people and an exciting growth opportunity,” McMahon said. “The new company will be well-positioned to maximize the value of our combined media rights, enhance sponsorship monetization, develop new forms of content, and pursue other strategic mergers and acquisitions to further bolster our strong stable of brands. I, along with the current WWE management team, look forward to working closely with Ari and the Endeavor and UFC teams to take the businesses to the next level.”
McMahon purchased WWE (then known as WWWF) for $1 million in 1982. Three years later, he would introduce the world to WrestleMania, an annual event featuring the biggest names in the industry. From there, professional wrestling began to explode on a global scale with names like Hulk Hogan, Roddy Piper, ‘Macho Man’ Randy Savage, and The Ultimate Warrior leading the charge. In the years since, the promotion has gone on to build some of the biggest stars in all of the entertainment, including Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson and John Cena.
On the business side of things, little will change as Vince McMahon is slated to maintain his position as the executive chairman of WWE while Dana White will continue his run as the president of the UFC.
Transcription by Endeavorco.com
