Who Owns The Ufc

Mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is one of the largest and most successful sports organizations in the world. Since it’s inception in 1993, UFC has grown to be the leading MMA organization and the most prominent martial arts organization in North America. With an estimated 300 million global viewers, UFC is the largest pay-per-view event provider in the world.

The current owners of the UFC are brothers Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta, who acquired its parent company Zuffa LLC in 2000 for $2 million. At the time, mixed martial arts was a fledgling enterprise. The Fertitta brothers saw tremendous potential in the sport, and took a gamble that would pay off big time.

Before the Fertitta’s involvement, most UFC events were restricted to specific states because of their classifications as “no holds barred” combat. The Fertittas lobbied hard to have the sport recognized, and eventually their efforts paid off as MMA gained mainstream acceptance and eventually federally regulated rules.

As the sport grew, the Fertittas sunk more money and resources into the UFC. They hired influential entertainers and sports figures to help promote the sport and launched the reality-TV series The Ultimate Fighter, which propelled UFC into the mainstream audience.

In 2016, the Fertittas sold the UFC to WME|IMG and a consortium of investors, including Silver Lake Partners, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, and MSD Capital, for an estimated $4.2 billion. The sale made UFC one of the most valuable sports properties in the world.

The new owners of UFC maintain the same goals laid out by the Fertittas: expand the sport’s reach and add to the millions of people that follow the sport. With more fights being televised, an ever-expanding series of digital resources, and more lucrative sponsorship deals, UFC is certainly poised to become an even bigger global phenomenon than it already is.