UFC gets Bigger !!

[Brule]

UFC eliminates another competitor. Story below:

http://www.sportsnet.ca/mma/2011/03/12/zuffa_ufc_strikeforce/

[GeneChing]

I'm curious to see what will happen with women in MMA now.

[Syn7]

nothing will change really... strikeforce will still run as usual with scott coker at the head still... all contracts will be honored... paul daley will still have a job, and the women will keep going... at least thats what white is saying... all beef with m-1, showtime, daley and women mma wont be a big deal... white wont be dealing with these things... coker runs it all as he was before... all zuffa will do is help them grow from behind the scenes...

no unification bouts, no co-promotions...

[Zenshiite]

I just hope Zuffa doesn't move Strikeforce in the nu-metal direction that UFC has been going for some time. I hate that crap.

Strikeforce seems like a sporting event when you watch it, UFC seems like WWE.

[Brule]

nothing will change really... strikeforce will still run as usual with scott coker at the head still... all contracts will be honored... paul daley will still have a job, and the women will keep going... at least thats what white is saying... all beef with m-1, showtime, daley and women mma wont be a big deal... white wont be dealing with these things... coker runs it all as he was before... all zuffa will do is help them grow from behind the scenes...

no unification bouts, no co-promotions...

From what i understand, that's how it will be for the next two years. After that, who knows.

[GeneChing]

Always go to the source...:rolleyes:

Zuffa: Strikeforce-UFC bouts will happen if fans want
05:02 PM
By Sergio Non, USA TODAY

Now that Zuffa owns both brands, Strikeforce fighters might face their Ultimate Fighting Championship counterparts, after all.

"I wouldn't say no to anything," UFC President Dana White says. "What we want to do is put on the best fights the fans want to see. ... It's just a matter of when."

http://i.usatoday.net/communitymanager/_photos/fighting-stances/2011/03/14/whitecokerfertittax-wide-community.jpg
From left: Dana White, president, Ultimate Fighting Championship; Scott Coker, Strikeforce CEO; Lorenzo Fertitta UFC co-owner

Zuffa, parent company of UFC, on Saturday announced a deal to buy Strikeforce. White, UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta and Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker spoke to reporters on Monday about the deal. Excerpts from the conference call:

Sergio Non, USA TODAY: Scott, I'm wondering, why do this deal now?

Coker: As you know, this is a historical day for the sport of mixed martial arts. This is something that we thought long and hard about.

SVSE (Silicon Valley Sports and Entertainment) have been great partners. I think that they wanted to get back to their hockey business and expansion sports business, which is their core business. So we had a long conversation and we decided to start looking at the different offers, and that's when we started talking to Lorenzo.

I think that they had a really good time in this business. But like I said, they wanted to get back to their core business. I wanted to continue in the mixed martial arts industry. That's where the two linked up awhile back.

Non: Dana, I know you said that for now, it's business as usual, but your past acquisitions were all folded into UFC. Is the long-term goal to eventually fold Strikeforce into UFC?

White: No. Right now, what we're looking to do is run these Strikeforce shows on Showtime. Like I said in the interview, business as usual.

Non: How about down the road, say, once the Showtime contract runs out?

White: (chuckles) Who knows? Anything's possible, and I never would say never to anything. But right here, right now, Strikeforce will continue to run their shows on Showtime.

Neil Davidson, Canadian Press: How many fighters are under contract to Strikeforce right now?

Coker: I believe the number is around 140 contracts.

Davidson: Dana, you basically own the dominant shows in North America. Is competition taking a hit here?

White: There's always going to be competition. There's tons of shows that happen every weekend, all over the world. There's always going to be competition.

What we're doing is, we continue to expand and grow the sport and grow this business. I've said it a million times and I'll say it a million more, we need more fighters. As we continue to do all the shows that we're doing here in the United States, we start pushing into new markets, we need more guys. We need more fighters.

So this isn't a thing about competition. It's about growing the sport. It's a good day for the fans. Great day for the fans.

Davidson: And what about the fighters?

White: Great day for them too. All these guys that fight for Strikeforce now work for the biggest mixed martial arts organization in the world. Nothing wrong with that.

Fertitta: It's really a positive for the fighters too. Working for a company like Zuffa, they're dealing with a company that has vast financial resources. So from the standpoint of them continuing on and their contracts being honored, it's good for them to be with a good, healthy company.

Davidson: If I'm an elite fighter, do I have any other options than to fight for you?

Fertitta: Sure. There's plenty of promoters all around. There's more promoters here in the U.S. and in Canada. Obviously in Europe and in Asia.

Painting this picture that there's not options is just entirely untrue. There's literally thousands of promotions that go on all around the world, so there's plenty of options for everybody.

Franklin McNeil, ESPN: Does this deal open the door for UFC to appear on Showtime or CBS in the near future?

Fertitta: We're really in the early stages here, literally. We haven't had a chance to sit down and meet with the Showtime guys yet, as far as what the future holds. As we have right now, there's a contract in place where Strikeforce is going to deliver 16 fights to Showtime. If they want to do something beyond that, we'll sit down and talk.

McNeil: But it's something you're interested in?

Fertitta: We talk to different networks all the time, as you guys know. We've always had the ability under our contract with Viacom and Spike to do shows on network TV -- and on subscription, which Showtime and HBO fall into -- but so far we have not been able to do a deal with any of those networks that makes sense for us from a financial standpoint, from a business standpoint.

We're certainly willing to sit down and continue to talk about that going forward, but as of yet, we haven't been able to figure that out.

McNeil: I know Strikeforce is being operated as a separate entity, but will we see the Octagon now being used in Strikeforce?

Fertitta: No, we'll continue to use the hexagon -- is that correct? -- that is currently there. The one change that we're going to implement as promoters of this show is going to be the unified rules that we use in the UFC.

McNeil: Is it possible MMA fans could see a superfight with a guy like a (Strikeforce lightweight champion) Gilbert Melendez and a guy like (UFC lightweight champion) Frankie Edgar?

White: I wouldn't count anything out. I wouldn't say no to anything. Listen, at the end of the day, what we want to do is put on the best fights the fans want to see. That's our job.

Fertitta: If there's an interest and the fans want to see it, as Dana says, that's what we do.

Dave Meltzer, Yahoo Sports: You just mentioned something about unified rules. Does that mean elbows on the ground are now going to be legal for Strikeforce shows?

Fertitta: Correct.

Meltzer: How long is the Showtime contract for?

Fertitta: My understanding is it extends to 2014.

Meltzer: Are you going to be having input into the announcers on the Strikeforce shows, or is that a Showtime decision?

Fertitta: To make it real clear, Showtime controls the production, which includes the announcers; it includes how the show is broadcast; all those different things.

I'm sure that we'll give our input, and whether or not they take our input and implement it or not is entirely up to them.

Meltzer: Are there plans in the works of a lot more shows toward the latter part of this year, whether it's in foreign countries or a new deal or something like that that you're working on?

White: It depends on how fast things keep expanding as we go into these different countries and work on different deals that we're working on. Who knows? Again, this thing is expanding. It's growing every day. We'll see what happens.

Fertitta: We certainly don't have it figured out, but one of the things that Dana had alluded to, one of the things that we believe strongly, is that there is a lot more demand in Europe and in Asia, places like Australia, where we go there once a year or twice a year. We're not fulfilling what the demand is.

The U.K. is a perfect example. Going to London one time a year, we're kind of shortchanging that market. To be able to have Strikeforce -- more fighters, more options -- we're working on the ability there to have a stronger presence in a meaningful way, up to eight, nine, 10 times a year.

White: And working on ways -- you just talked about all those markets -- to cultivate those markets and get talent from there too.
continued next post

[GeneChing]

continued from previous


Joe Ferraro, Sportsnet.ca: There was talk of a Strikeforce event perhaps happening in Ontario or at least in Canada. Is that something you're hoping to do in the future, not just have events in Canada, but globally?

Coker: Like everybody said earlier, we put this thing together in a relatively short fashion, and we still have a lot of planning to do.

There was dialogue with an arena and a casino up there. But I think we'll continue having that dialogue.

We'll probably have a gameplan and have something mapped out in the next couple of weeks, as far as where we go and what cities we're going to hit, and how often. Give us a couple of weeks and we'll have some type of announcement.

Ferraro: Paul Daley doesn't appear happy with the deal with Strikeforce, but Josh Barnett -- another supposed Dana White enemy -- has come out and says he'd be more than willing to working with Dana White if he can continue fighting. What are your comments on some of these guys here?

White: This is one of those weird situations where we go in and do this deal with Strikeforce, and (chuckles) there's a lot of people on that side of the fence that aren't big fans of mine. But we can still do business.

Scott Coker's the guy who's going to be running the day to day and doing everything. They're never going to have to deal with me. So it's not a big deal.

Any of the other guys, they can deal with Lorenzo. If you don't like me, it doesn't mean we can't do business. Me and Tito did business for years.

Fertitta: I think at the end of the day, it's important for, obviously, everybody to stay professional in what they're doing. These guys are professional athletes. They have signed contracts.

We're going to live up to our obligations and honor our obligations. I think it's important for them to live up (to) and honor their obligations as well.

Brett Okamoto, ESPN.com: Do you think expectations (of Strikeforce-UFC fights) are going to be somewhat hard to manage? Fans immediately are going to be thinking, "Why aren't these guys fighting one another if Zuffa owns both?"

White: I think it's exciting. I think that Scott's got some interesting stuff coming up. As time goes on, we'll see how everything shakes out. I just think there's going to be more interest in the fight. We'll see what happens.

Fertitta: There's some unfinished business over at Strikeforce too. There's a lot of great match-ups coming up and some great shows that are on the calendar. Obviously we've got to see how that plays out over there.

Beau Dure, USA TODAY: Whenever leagues in U.S. sports history, they face some sort of legal action. Are you worried at this point that you might control so much of the market that you might up open yourself up for possible suits?

Fertitta: Obviously we wouldn't have done the transaction if we felt that we were. I think at the end of the day, as I mentioned before, there's literally thousands of promotions, thousands of options for fighters. It just so happens that with the groundwork that we've put in place over the last 10, 11 years, we happen to be the most successful.

There's literally no barrier to entry. Anybody that wants to get into the business, they can go file for a promoter's license and put up some capital, go sign fighters and go get a television contract. There's plenty of options there too.

It's a wide open market for anybody that wants to get involved.

Mike Chiappetta, MMA Fighting: There was some disappointment about the April show and the heavyweight tournament fights not going down. Getting this deal with Zuffa done, did that affect the show at all in not being able to put it together? Was that a big factor in that happening?

Coker: No. That was a decision that was made way before this thing was inked, so it had nothing to do with it. It had more to do with trying to find the right location for the heavyweight tournament and once we found Dallas as the venue, we notified the fighters and they were all OK with it.

Bob Emanuel, Scripps-Howard News Service: Dana, what are your thoughts on the women's division now?

White: The same as they were before. That's Scott's deal, not mine.

Emanuel: With Strikeforce, with the heavyweight tournament and everything, now that Zuffa is involved, do you think there's a possibility of having the final of that on a pay-per-view type of event?

White: Yeah. I think so.

Jeff Wagenheim, SI.com: When Strikeforce has had one of their big, live events on Showtime, we often have seen UFC put some appealing taped fights on Spike that night. ... I'm wondering if fans are still going to get to see the old pay-per-view events on basic cable.

White: Absolutely, yes. ... I won't counterprogram Scott's stuff anymore.

Coker: Thank you.

Fertitta: At the end of the day, everybody talks about counterprogramming, (but) Spike likes having UFC content on Saturday nights. We pull great numbers for them. We're delivering product that they want.

Mike Straka, Fighting Words (HDNet): Does Scott have an equity stake in Zuffa now?

Fertitta: He does not.

Straka: Scott, do you consider this a positive development for you and for Strikeforce?

Coker: When you think about the history of mixed martial arts and where it's come from and where it's gone, I'm really proud of the accomplishments that we have made over the last two years. Showtime's been great partners.

But this is something that's going on now. It's real. I think the fans are going to get to see the fights, eventually, that they want to see. And I think that it's going to be good for mixed martial arts.

Dave Deibert, Postmedia News: With the library that comes along with the purchase, how much closer does this put you guys (to) -- I don't know if it makes any difference or not, whether it's an On Demand channel -- some kind of Zuffa/UFC channel that's been bandied about for a little while?

Fertitta: There's really nothing to report on that front. We do have a vast library. Tons of fights. Tons of content. We have distribution on VOD (Video on demand) on most of the major cable and satellite services.

We're going to use the Strikeforce library as we have used the Pride library, obviously the UFC library, WEC library. Fans are going to be able to see the great fights that happened in Strikeforce.

What happens down the road, I don't know. That's a very complicated long-term strategy that we're trying to put in place.

White: And as technology continues to grow, our content is perfect for all this new technology. We have the largest mixed martial arts library in the world. We will continue to cut it up and create great programming with all the different brands that we own.

Fertitta: We have nearly 4,000-plus fights in our library now with the addition of Strikeforce. A lot of good stuff in there.

Rafa Hernandez, ElOctagano.com: Given that UFC recently has been a trailblazer in the Hispanic market in the U.S., is that something that Strikeforce might be interested in looking at soon?

Coker: I would say absolutely. Just to be honest, when I look at the offices here and all their staff and the support and all the resources, I think we're going to be able to fast-track in a lot of different areas and really blow Strikeforce up with the resources that Zuffa will put behind it.

I think going after the Hispanic community will definitely be something that could happen, especially because we have some Hispanic champions like Nick Diaz and Gilbert Melendez. So I think that could definitely happen.more next post

[GeneChing]

continued from previous

Damon Martin, MMAWeekly.com: What are your thoughts on a fighters' union, with everything going on with the NFL and what we've seen in Wisconsin over the last couple of weeks?

White: That's up to the fighters, if the fighters got together and wanted to do a fighters' union.

The problem with that in the fight business is, this really isn't a team sport. I don't think you're going to see some of the guys who are making the big, big money wanting to kick some of their money down to these guys that might never make it or might never be.

But that's isn't up to us. That's up to them.

Martin: With the deals as they expire, even if someone re-signs with Strikeforce, will you look at those deals as far as exclusivity? A lot of Strikeforce deals allow their guys to fight in other organizations -- like Alistair Overeem can fight in K-1. Will you guys look at those contracts going forward?

White: Like we've said a million times on this call, it's business as usual. ... That's Scott Coker's deal.

Coker: Alistair Overeem's deal, and a lot of these other fighter deals, even though they're allowed to fight in Japan, we've always had booking priority and had to have approval. It wasn't just a free reign of a contract. That won't change.

I don't know if there's going to be a K-1, but with Alistair and the other fighters, they've always had to have approval, regardless.

Dann Stupp, MMAjunkie.com: We had heard another group or two may have been talking to Strikeforce about a purchase. Was this partly a defensive move?

Fertitta: As we were doing this deal, I hadn't heard that they were talking to anybody else. That was kind of news to me when people were talking on the phone today. But no, it wasn't prompted by that, in any way.

Stupp: When did your guys' first serious discussions start taking place?

Fertitta: Some time in the mid-part of December, I think. Obviously we kind of went through the holidays and lost some time there, stayed in touch, and ended up getting the deal done last Friday.

Stupp: Even before then, had you guys ever talked internally about purchasing Strikeforce, or did the right situation just pop up?

Fertitta: It wasn't really a big subject over here at the UFC.

As Dana said many times, these guys have built a great brand. It's a good-looking product on TV. We started thinking about it a little bit more and just thought that it just made sense to have Strikeforce in the family here.

One of the things that Scott alluded to as well is that we have a tremendous amount of resources here. We have offices here in Vegas, Toronto, London, Beijing, and we've got distribution in nearly 150 countries and territories.

Now the ability for Scott to be able to leverage all those resources, whether it be PR, new media, marketing, everything that we do here, we think will help accelerate the growth that Strikeforce was already on.

Dave Meltzer, Yahoo Sports: Now of all sudden there's two (champions) in every weight class. How do you reconcile the idea of having world champions and not having it be like boxing, where fans don't know who the champions are and the championships themselves don't mean a whole hell of a lot?

White: That hasn't changed from Saturday to today. Those guys were champions on Saturday; they are today.

We said at the beginning of this call: Will these guys never face each other? No. Our job is to make sure the fans get the fights that they want to see. It's just a matter of when. We'll see what happens.

[GeneChing]

I don't currently follow any UFC fighter tweets. Does anyone here? Are they of interest?

UFC Fighters To Get Bonuses for Tweeting (http://mashable.com/2011/05/12/ufc-bonuses-tweeting/)
2 hours ago by Stan Schroeder 5

The Ultimate Fighting Championship, the world’s largest mixed martial arts (MMA) organization, is going to award fighters with monetary bonuses for using Twitter, the head of UFC announced at the UFC Fighter Summit in Las Vegas.

UFC and Strikeforce (another MMA promotion company, owned by the UFC) have a unique plan on how to do that. Starting June 1, they will divide their fighters into four categories based on their Twitter follower count. Then, after every three months, three fighters from each category will get a $5,000 bonus based on how many followers they’ve gained, the biggest percentage of new followers gained and the most creative tweets, judged by UFC head Dana White.

This is an interesting and innovative approach to social media, uncommon in mainstream sports, where players are often reprimanded for tweeting. The UFC’s approach allows the big stars who already have a large Twitter following have the same chance of getting a bonus as the up-and-comers.

UFC fighters and the MMA community are very lively on Twitter. Feuds between fighters — common in the sport — are fueled by comments on Twitter, and tweets from fighters and trainers are often a source for news about upcoming fights.

On the other hand, young, new fighters often earn a couple of thousand dollars per fight (and in MMA, every fight has the potential to cause injuries that could keep a fighter out of the octagon for weeks or months). Now fighters will also be able to use their wit and creativity to make a living.

[GeneChing]

It's just a rumor and I've already heard counter rumors.


http://cdn.inquisitr.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/UFC.jpg

MAY 13, 2016
UFC RUMORS: WHO WILL BUY ULTIMATE FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP? (http://www.inquisitr.com/3091392/ufc-rumors-who-will-buy-ultimate-fighting-championship/#utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+google%2FyDYq+%28The+Inquisit r+-+News%29)
JACK WINDHAM

ESPN is reporting that Ultimate Fighting Championship, the largest mixed martial arts company in the world may be for sale. UFC president Dana White denies these reports, and head of public relations Dave Sholler has stated that, since they are a privately owned company, they do not talk publicly about their business dealings. This, of course, only serves to stir the pot. In the past, Dana White and UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertita have both said that, for the right price, the company could be for sale.

In 2012, White and the Fertita brothers sold a ten percent stake of the company to Sheikh Tahnoon Bin Zayed Al Nahyan of the United Arab Emirates. Tahnoon, an avid MMA fan turned jiu-jitsu black belt, traveled to the U.S. in the 1990’s to study BJJ and went on to start the Abu Dhabi Combat Championships. ADCC invited famous elite level fighters to his palace to compete in grappling tournaments. Tahnoon’s investment also led to the UFC’s first and only fight card in the Arab world, the UFC 112. That pay-per-view was headlined by then Light-Heavyweight Champ Anderson Silva and Demian Maia.

http://cdn.inquisitr.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Dana-White-1-670x388.jpg
Dana White [Photo by Brad Barket/Getty Images]

According to reports, there are four potential buyers who might be paying up to $4 billion for UFC. The company was initially purchased in 2002 for $2 million and lost $40 million in its first year under the helm of Dana White, Lorenzo Fertita, and Frank Fertita.
Two of the four companies are Chinese conglomerates with little to no history of doing business in the United States, the home base of the UFC. Additionally, the sport of modern mixed martial arts, although very popular in the western world, is not even a fledgling sport in China. The UFC has held one fight card in Macau, but that is not considered mainland China.

China, where all television is overseen by the government, has not been able to educate its people on UFC enough to make it even a niche sport. Nor have its fighters from traditional martial arts like Kung Fu and Sanda/Sanshou progressed to be considered elite or competent enough to contend with fighters from the western world.

http://cdn.inquisitr.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Lorenzo-Fertita-670x388.jpg
Lorenzo Fertita [Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images]

It seems that Dana White and the Fertita brothers themselves are not educated enough in the ways of Chinese business. White himself is likely far too brash an American for the tastes of the Chinese.
Shane McMahon, son of WWE founder and CEO Vince McMahon, was trying to make inroads in China in 2010 when, after leaving the WWE, he tried to bring on-demand pay per view to China. Were it not for Shane McMahon returning to professional wrestling after a seven-year hiatus recently, White would be smart to bring McMahon in as a cultural liaison to China and potential buyers.

It will be interesting to see if the UFC brand can survive under the ownership of anyone other than Dana White and the Fertita brothers. A foreign company that may not have the western business acumen to work with current partners such as Reebok and Fox Sports might not be able to make it work.

http://cdn.inquisitr.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Conor-McGregor-3-670x388.jpg
Conor McGregor [Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images]

Interestingly enough, Sheikh Tahnoon Bin Zayed Al Nahyan has not been named as a potential buyer of UFC, even though he owns a small stake in the company already. If anyone can afford the promotion, it would be him.
For now, this is all speculation. UFC’s heads are still denying any rumors. Until the rumored sale is finalized, Ultimate Fighting Championship will continue to be run by the trio of men who pulled MMA out of obscurity and turned it into a multi-billion dollar sports empire.

[Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images]

[GeneChing]

Hold the phone...Wanda (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?69324-Wanda-amp-AMC)? :eek:


Sources: Two groups post bids in $4.1 billion range to buy UFC (http://espn.go.com/mma/story/_/id/16258572/bidding-buy-ufc-drawing-closer-conclusion)
Jun 17, 2016
Darren Rovell ESPN Senior Writer

Bidding to buy the UFC is drawing closer to an end, sources told ESPN on Thursday.

The two bidding groups -- WME-IMG in conjunction with Dalian Wanda Group, and China Media Capital -- had similar bids in the $4.1 billion range, sources said.

Sources said that both bidding groups are still trying to completely finance the buyout, which would be for the entire company. Which company ultimately wins out might depend on the details of that financing. Sources say WME co-chair Ari Emanuel has been asking well-heeled investors to chip in between $25 million and $50 million.

One of those investors that said yes, according to sources, was the Kraft Group, which owns the New England Patriots and the New England Revolution. A Kraft Group spokesman declined comment.

The WME-IMG bid with Dalian is also said to include China's Tencent Holdings, one of the 10 largest internet companies in the world and ESPN's official digital partner in the region. State-backed investment firm China Media Capital has been bankrolling many projects, including a five-year broadcast-rights deal with China's top-tier soccer league worth $1.3 billion.

Reached Thursday, UFC president Dana White said he had no comment.

Last month, ESPN reported that the entire UFC organization was actively up for sale and that bids were in the $3.5 billion to $4 billion range.

At the time, White denied that Zuffa, which bought the UFC for $2 million in 2001, was in an active bidding process.

Sources say that although White denied details of the sale publicly, the UFC forced partners to sign more extensive confidentiality agreements after the leak.

Zuffa, a company set up by brothers Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta, owns about 80 percent of the venture, and Abu Dhabi's Flash Entertainment bought a 10 percent piece for an undisclosed sum in 2010. White, who is expected to be asked to stay in some capacity should a sale go through, also has a share.

While the UFC has developed into quite a business, with a rights deal on the horizon that could very well double to more than $200 million a year beginning in 2019, the business is volatile. The UFC has kept its financial cards close to its vest, but Lorenzo Fertitta told CNN that the business grossed about $600 million last year.

The UFC is undoubtedly coming off its best year thanks to the emergence of Conor McGregor and Ronda Rousey, but the return of Rousey -- who is represented by WME-IMG -- is uncertain, and both fighters are facing the prospect of their second losses in as many bouts. With both out for UFC 200, the brand was forced to make a big move to ensure that the event had some shine. It worked with Brock Lesnar to set up his one-off return to the Octagon despite his WWE contract.

Dalian Wanda has recently invested in more sports properties. Last year, it bought a 20 percent stake in soccer superpower Atletico Madrid for $48 million. In March, the company became a top-tier FIFA sponsor through 2030.

[GeneChing]

I copied the post above across two other threads. Now I gotta copy this one too. :mad:


JUN 21, 2016 @ 03:17 PM 6,236 VIEWS The Little Black Book of Billionaire Secrets
Despite Reports, Billionaire Fertitta Brothers' UFC Isn't Being Sold, Company Insists (http://www.forbes.com/sites/noahkirsch/2016/06/21/despite-reports-billionaire-fertitta-brothers-ufc-isnt-being-sold-company-insists/#bff76ee345ca)
Noah Kirsch , CONTRIBUTOR
I write about the 1% that sits on top of the world.

Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.

http://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/9765333caf82483fb16824dfdaa69d02/960x0.jpg?fit=scale
UFC owners, from left, Frank Fertitta III, Dana White and Lorenzo Fertitta. (AP Photo/Eric Jamison)

The Ultimate Fighting Championship isn’t going anywhere– at least not for now.

Yesterday, the reported sale of the mixed martial arts promoter made waves across the MMA online community. The deal, reportedly led by two Chinese billionaire-helmed investment groups, was rumored to be worth $4.2 billion dollars.

Those accounts now appear to be untrue.

“[The] report indicating that the UFC has been sold is false. We’ve communicated that to our staff members via an internal memo,” a spokeswoman for the UFC told this reporter.

Speculations about a potential deal have been circulating for months. In May, UFC President Dana White denied that the organization was in “advanced” talks to be purchased, telling the Las Vegas Review-Journal that “The UFC [was] not for sale.” At the time, the bidders involved in the negotiations were reported to be WME/IMG, The Blackstone Group, and two Chinese investors, billionaire Wang Jianlin’s Dalian Wanda Group and China Media Capital. Dalian Wanda, along with another Chinese conglomerate, Tencent Holdings (headed by billionaire Ma Huateng, known as Pony Ma) was said to lead Monday’s purported sale.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship is wholly owned by Zuffa, a company founded by billionaire brothers Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta. The casino magnates purchased the UFC, then on the verge of bankruptcy, for $2 million in 2001. Since then, mixed martial arts has become one of the fastest growing sectors in professional sports, and the promoter’s fights are now broadcast to over 1 billion homes in 149 different countries.

That growth has not come without a cost. As FORBES wrote last week, Zuffa holds $475 million in debt obligations, which both Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s have rated “non-investment grade”–otherwise known as junk bonds. Those liabilities prompted the initial speculation that Zuffa, which is principally owned by the Fertitta brothers, alongside minority stakeholders Dana White and Flash Entertainment, was willing to sell.

For now, the UFC, which took in an estimated $600 million in 2015 revenue, is staying put. The rumors, however, are certain to persist.

[GeneChing]

...but it elicited some discussion.


ONE CEO doesn't think potential sale means a UFC expansion to China (http://www.mmafighting.com/2016/6/25/12010028/one-ceo-doesnt-think-potential-sale-means-a-ufc-expansion-to-china)
By Marc Raimondi  @marc_raimondi on Jun 25, 2016, 6:00p 23

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Suhaimi Abdullah/Getty Images

Even if a Chinese company is involved in the prospective purchase of the UFC, it doesn't necessarily mean you'll be seeing more UFC events in China, according to ONE Championship CEO Victor Cui.

Cui isn't sure a Chinese investment firm owning a piece of the UFC is an indication that the UFC will attempt to expand more in Asia, he told MMA Fighting in a recent interview.

"For Chinese companies, why they're investing in other properties is because they're really excited about expanding outside of Asia," Cui said. "That's the goal. So they're buying properties so they can expand out of Asia. They're not buying anything to help their business in China. They don't care about that. They already have China. They don't need any help from foreign companies to dominate China."

ESPN reported last week that there are two high bidders for the UFC with the price tag in the range of $4.1 billion. Both investment groups are said to have Chinese companies at the forefront.

One is reportedly led by WME in conjunction with Chinese company Dalian Wanda. That group also has representation from Tencent Holdings, a large internet company and ESPN's digital partner in China, per ESPN.com. The other group is led by China Media Capital.

FloCombat.com reported this week the group led by WME and Wanda was the high bidder and the UFC had accepted a bid of $4.2 billion. The UFC has denied that and sent an internal memo to employees that the report was inaccurate.

Cui's ONE Championship, founded in 2011, is Asia's top MMA promotion. ONE has run three events in China, beginning in June 2015. It just announced another one for July 2 in Hefei, China, headlined by former featherweight champion Narantungalag Jadambaa taking on Eric Kelly.

Expanding to China has been difficult for both the UFC and ONE. The UFC has only been able to run a show in Macau, which is governed separately from mainland China. ONE has also had planned events for China cancelled.

Cui said the issue for ONE is that it is trying to run 20 events per year in China, not just one at a time.

"We're still only 4 ½ years old," he said. "ONE is really young. UFC has had an office in Asia for 10 years or something like that. They've been here a lot longer than us and they've had an office in China for several years. For us, we're just going to continue to focus on what we're doing and what we're good at and delivering what I think is the essence of the values of martial arts to our fans."

The UFC actually opened an Asian office in 2010 in Beijing. Most of the employees from that office moved to Singapore last year, though the Beijing office remains. Singapore is, coincidentally, the home base of ONE Championship.

While China is a focus for ONE, it isn't the only focus. ONE's base is in Southeast Asia. The promotion holds shows in Singapore, the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia at least twice per year. Recently, ONE has made inroads in places like Thailand, Myanmar and Cambodia, too.

"We're holding our events in multiple countries," Cui said. "It's not like I'm doing 20 events in Singapore. We're going to different countries, different governments, different religions, different cultures, different languages, different backgrounds, etc."

The UFC has not had an event in Asia this year. Last year, the promotion visited Japan and made its debut in the Philippines and South Korea.

Though there seems to be heavy Chinese company backing for groups attempting to purchase the UFC, Cui does not seem concerned that means the MMA leader will be elbowing into ONE's Asian turf. Things seem to be going well for his group anyway. ONE chairman Chatri Sityodtong said recently that ONE would have a valuation of $1 billion in 12 to 18 months.

"I don't know what else [the UFC is] gonna change or how quickly they're going to be able to change it," Cui said. "I don't know what their plans are. I can only look at how we've grown and what we've done. I know we've got the best talent. We have all the top fighters in Asia. If you're an Asian top fighter in any martial art, you're already with ONE Championship. All the top athletes are locked down with us. We have fantastic sponsors and partners. That's what we're going to continue to focus on."

[GeneChing]

Investors Pay $4 Billion for Mixed-Martial Arts Group UFC (http://www.wsj.com/articles/ufc-sells-for-approximately-4-billion-to-talent-agency-wme-img-1468238282)
President Dana White will stay on to run the mixed-martial-arts promotion

https://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/BN-OV715_ufc071_P_20160711072717.jpg
Brock Lesnar punches Mark Hunt during the UFC event Saturday. On Monday, the mixed martial-arts organization said it was sold to a group led by Hollywood talent agency WME-IMG. PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES
By ANNE STEELE
Updated July 11, 2016 11:09 a.m. ET

Mixed martial-arts organization UFC has been sold to a group led by Hollywood talent agency WME-IMG.

A person familiar with the matter said the deal’s price tag is about $4 billion. The companies didn’t disclose the deal’s financial details.

Lorenzo Fertitta, UFC’s chairman and chief executive, will step down, but he and Frank Fertitta III will both retain “a passive minority interest” in the organization, WME-IMG said. UFC President Dana White will remain in his role.

The Fertitta brothers and Mr. White, a high-school friend, bought the martial-arts fighting operation for $2 million when it was struggling in 2001. UFC was founded in 1993 and has grown in popularity, particularly with millennials. It produces about 40 live events each year.

Silver Lake, which owns WME/IMG, and KKR are joining as investors along with the investment firm of billionaire Michael Dell, founder of his eponymous computer company.

UFC started as the Ultimate Fighting Championship, staging violent fights that were banned or unregulated in many areas.

With Mr. White as the promotional face and Lorenzo Fertitta as its chairman, the Las Vegas-based UFC was kept afloat by the Fertittas’ casino fortune while the sport once labeled by John McCain as “human ****fighting” gradually gained widespread acceptance and popularity.

The UFC used cable television and the internet to get its product in front of young fans, and they also sought legitimacy by welcoming regulation by athletic commissions. New York finally lifted its ban on MMA earlier this year, putting the sport in all 50 states.

After helping Chuck Liddell, Randy Couture and Tito Ortiz become stars who straddled the line between sports and entertainment, the promotion now boasts a stable of elite athletes with mainstream fame, including Conor McGregor, Brock Lesnar and Ronda Rousey, who is represented by WME.

The UFC also recently began construction in Las Vegas on a 180,000-square-foot, campus-style corporate headquarters that also will house training and rehabilitation facilities for its fighters.

The UFC appears regularly on Fox under its seven-year broadcast deal, which ends in 2018. The next contract is expected to be extraordinarily lucrative.

On Saturday night, UFC staged its landmark UFC 200 show in its hometown. The event drew 18,202 fans to T-Mobile Arena and took in $10.8 million in ticket sales, both Nevada records for the company.

—The Associated Press contributed to this article.

Meet the new boss
Same as the old boss

[GeneChing]

I almost never see MMA in the sports section.

Here's a good overview on the new bosses.


Meet the new owners who paid $4 billion to buy the UFC (http://www.foxsports.com/nfl/story/nfl-quarterbacks-most-underrated-tyrod-taylor-andy-dalton-kirk-cousins-071216)
The UFC has officially been sold to WME-IMG for a whopping $4 billion, but who are the people behind this mega-deal and who will be running the promotion now?
By Damon Martin @DamonMartin
Jul 11, 2016 at 5:20p ET

It was announced on Monday that the Ultimate Fighting Championship had been sold for a whopping $4 billion to a group led by WME-IMG.

UFC co-owners Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta will be stepping away from the organization after the sale with UFC president Dana White still sticking around in the same role he currently holds within the promotion.

There are still plenty of questions to ask about the future of the UFC now that there are new owners in place for the first time in 15 years, but who are the people behind the sale?

Let's take a look at some of the key players that put together the funds to plop down $4 billion to buy the UFC.

WME-IMG

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Ari Emanuel, Alibaba founder Jack Ma, and talent agent Patrick Whitesell
ROBYN BECK

William Morris Endeavor-International Marketing Group is a huge conglomerate that merged in 2013 after WME purchased IMG for a reported $2.4 billion price tag. WME already boasted an incredibly powerful slate of clients as a talent agency representing movies, television, music and more. Some of the clients represented by WME include Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Oprah Winfrey, Dwayne Johnson, Justin Timberlake, Drake and Rihanna.

IMG is an international sports, events and talent management agency based out of New York. IMG hosts a number of big sporting events and also heads up the PBR -- Professional Bull Riders.

Since merging, WME-IMG have worked on a ton of crossover promotions combining the talent agency's impressive roster of talent with events and sports programming.

ARI EMANUEL and PATRICK WHITESELL

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Ari Emanuel
Jason LaVeris

One of the names you'll hear the most during this UFC sale is Ari Emanuel, who is the co-CEO behind WME-IMG.

Emanuel is already well known within the UFC after helping to orchestrate the television deal that landed the promotion with FOX in 2011. He also had a hand in helping fighters like Jon Jones negotiate deals with brands such as Gatorade and Nike in the past.

Emanuel is a veteran agent, who started his career with Creative Artists Agency (CAA) as well as ICM Partners before founding his own company called Endeavor. Eventually in 2009, Emanuel along with co-CEO Patrick Whitesell led an initiative to merge the company with the William Morris Agency to create one of the largest talent agencies in the world.

Emanuel may best be known as the inspiration behind the character Ari Gold in the HBO series "Entourage". Famously the Ari Gold character was originally based on another agent, but after "Entourage" creator Doug Ellin met with Emanuel, he changed his mind about the creative process. Emanuel also made a push for Jeremy Piven to play the character when casting was being done for the show and he represents Mark Wahlberg, who the show was loosely based on when first created.

Emanuel is also the brother of Rahm Emanuel, who is the current mayor of Chicago and former chief of staff to President Barack Obama.

Patrick Whitesell is a former agent who worked with United Talent Agency and also served as the head of talent at Creative Artists Agency for six years. Whitesell eventually teamed up with Emanueal as a co-CEO after the merger between William Morris and Endeavor in 2009.

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Patrick Whitesell (L) and actor Jake Gyllenhaal
Stefanie Keenan

Whitesell's client list also includes a slew of "A" list celebrities including Ryan Reynolds, Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal.

Both Emanuel and Whitesell are known for being fierce negotiators and extremely passionate when doing business for their clients. WME-IMG already represents former women's bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey.

SILVER LAKE PARTNERS

Silver Lake is a private equity firm with investments in technology and many technology based industries. Silver Lake has invested in companies such as Dell, Go Daddy, and of course WME-IMG. Silver Lake reportedly purchased a 31-percent stake in WME as part of their investment portfolio with the company.

Silver Lake was a key partner in William Morris Endeavor merging and purchasing IMG in 2013 and remain financial partners with the agency now as well.

The Silicon Valley based firm famously purchased a controlling stake in Skype for a reported $1.9 billion before selling it to Microsoft two years later for $8.5 billion.

EGON DURBAN

A third name to associate alongside Emanuel and Whitesell is Egon Durban, who is a managing partner and managing director at Silver Lake. He also sits on the board of directors for WME-IMG.

If a major decision is being made at WME-IMG, Emanuel, Whitesell and Durban are the people making the call.

Before joining Silver Lake, Durban worked at Morgan Stanley's investment banking division while heading up investment opportunities in the technology industry.

KKR - KOHLBERG KRAVIS ROBERTS

A strategic investor in the UFC purchase, KKR is a multinational private equity firm that specializes in leveraged buyouts. Founded in 1976 by Jerome Kohlberg, Henry Kravis and George Roberts, KKR has been a part of some massive purchases over the years including a buyout of RJR Nabisco.

KKR has also made significant investments in industries such as health care, retail, energy and natural resources.

MSD CAPITAL

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Michael S. Dell
Drew Angerer

The company responsible for the investments involving Michael S. Dell, who is best known as the creator behind Dell Inc and Dell computers.

Dell is listed by Forbes as the 35st richest person in the world with a network around $19.8 billion.

MSD Capital has teamed up with Silver Lake previous in a sale to purchase EMC, a company specializing in cloud computing, information security and data storage. They also teamed up to acquire Dell Computers, a company Michael Dell started with $1,000 when he was still a teenager 30 years ago.

[GeneChing]

Working professionally as a martial artist for most of my life now, I'm acutely aware of the business side of martial arts. But UFC, that's out of my league. ;)


https://sports-images.vice.com/images/articles/meta/2016/07/11/does-the-ufcs-sale-have-a-sports-business-parallel-1468258072.jpeg
July 11, 2016
Phil Terrigno
DOES THE UFC'S SALE HAVE A SPORTS BUSINESS PARALLEL? (https://sports.vice.com/en_us/article/does-the-ufcs-sale-have-a-sports-business-parallel)
During the summer of 2015, a Chinese conglomerate purchased the Ironman triathlon series from Providence Equity Partners LLC for roughly $650 million.

The Ironman races, which grew under Providence and saw further expansion after the deal, developed from a strong brand into an owner and operator of competitive races around the world.

That deal is the most recent parallel in the sports business landscape to the sale of the UFC, which was finalized for a reported $4 billion Monday after being hotly discussed in recent months.

ESPN reported that the deal is the most expensive transaction for an organization in sports history.

"Leagues typically formed around teams," Robert Boland, Executive-in-Residence of Ohio University's Department of Sports Administration, said. "It's only in the very modern context where an entire kind of administrative unit or governing unit in sports has been deemed to be a piece of property that could be transacted."

The UFC, which functions as part sports league for mixed martial arts and part promotions and events company for its own fights, notified its fighters of the sale via email Monday.

The email, which did not disclose a dollar amount, explained that talent giant WMG-IMG bought the UFC along with Silver Lake Partners, KKR, MSD Capital, L.P. and MSD Partners, L.P. as strategic investors."

"Ironman is certainly the best known circuit of triathlons," Boland said. "But it's not the only. It has the best intellectual property. The UFC has the best intellectual property (among fight organizers). It has very reputable distribution, it has some stars."

The significant difference between the UFC's sale and the Ironman deal is the amount of money involved.

By comparison, the Los Angeles Clippers—one of 30 NBA franchises—sold for $2 billion in 2014 to ex-Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.

"I can't think of anything this big changing hands like that (in sports)," Director of Marist College's Center for Sports Communication Keith Strudler said. "It's almost like you'd see in the corporate world where an investment group comes over and buys out the entire organization. If nothing else, it certainly reinforces the idea that these things are truly businesses."

A similar deal nearly took place in early 2005 when Bain Capital and a sports consultancy group made a pitch to buy the struggling league.

At that time, the NHL was in the midst of a season-long lockout before a $3.5 billion offer was made to purchase all 30 teams.

"By buying out all 30 teams and combining them into a modified single entity, they argued, they could streamline operations, boost TV revenue, and negotiate down player salaries from a position of absolute strength," a 2012 Bloomberg article detailing the attempted purchase said.

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Photo by Mike Stobe/Zuffa LLC

On a smaller scale in 1999, former NBA star Isiah Thomas purchased the Continental Basketball Association for $10 million.

In early 2016, Activision Blizzard acquired the assets of Major League Gaming, an E-Sports organizer, for roughly $46 million.

"It's hard to sell a league like that when you have a bunch of different team owners," Strudler said. "It's rare that you see the entire organization own everything, athletes on down."

In an interview with The Los Angeles Times last week, UFC President Dana White and owner Lorenzo Fertitta spoke about the rumored sale.

"What's happening—this is standard," Fertitta told the L.A. Times. "Any company, this size and magnitude, you don't talk about things you're working on in strategical terms. So, there's nothing to report."

During that July 5 interview, White relayed an anecdote from a recent trip to Bangor, Maine, to the L.A. Times, saying "'[P]eople are yelling at me, 'Congratulations.' I'm looking at my family, saying, 'Most of the free world thinks me and the Fertittas don't own the UFC anymore.' It's unbelievable. We own the UFC. We did not sell the UFC. We own it."

Among the groups rumored in recent months to be involved in a potential sale was China's Dalian Wanda group—which also purchased the Ironman series—signaling a possible desire to expand the sport's presence in China.

"You can't go 24 hours without seeing a Chinese company investing in some sports property," Joe Favorito, a professor in Columbia University's graduate sports management program, said. "Everyday something happens. Whether it's a soccer team in Italy, or an E-Sports company. You're going to continue to see it and you're probably going to see it at some point in the United States depending on how the tax laws work out."

A constant through the media reports chronicling the then-potential sale was that White would remain the face of the UFC and involved in daily operations.

White told the Dan Patrick Show in May that "the day we decide to sell, I probably don't want to do this anymore," but Monday's email to UFC fighters said that White will continue in his role and will retain a minority ownership interest.

"If you google the UFC, the first name that comes up is Dana White," Favorito said. "He's been the face of the organization since the Fertittas came in, probably a little bit before. I think they've done a great job of building the storylines of some of the athletes over time. Randy Couture comes and goes. Even to some extent Ronda Rousey will come and go. George St. Pierre comes and goes. The one consistent face of the UFC over the years has been Dana White."

The UFC was purchased by Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta, operating as Zuffa LLC, for $2 million in 2001. The UFC's email to its fighters said that upon the closing of the deal, Lorenzo Fertitta will be stepping down as chairman and CEO. But, it also said that Frank and Lorenzo will retain a minority ownership interest.

"We haven't had the catastrophic moment for UFC," Strudler said. "Where someone dies on national TV and everyone's watching. We haven't had the deep investigation of why this person gets promoted. From the ownership perspective, it's a great time to cash out. They've built something from nothing. There is potentially more downside than upside."

@philterrigno

[GeneChing]

Tom Brady, Williams sisters among 23 celebrity investors in UFC (http://www.si.com/mma/2016/09/30/ufc-investors-wme-img-tom-brady-serena-venus-williams)
Friday September 30th, 2016

Nearly two dozen celebrities, including New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, along with tennis stars Serena and Venus Williams and Maria Sharapova are some of the new investors in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, WME-IMG announced.

WME-IMG is the majority owner of the UFC since buying the property for $4 billion in July.

Other celebrity investors include actors Ben Affleck, Mark Wahlberg, and Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton.

None of the celebrity investments were disclosed in the announcement, but some of the investors are clients of WME-IMG.

Ari Emanuel, co-chief executive of WME-IMG, says the UFC is no longer a niche sport.

"They would always ask for tickets,” Emanuel said to the Wall Street Journal. “I think it’s a mainstream sport now."

According to the Journal, the talent agency wants to add more programming on the UFC’s digital subscription service, and wants to see more UFC fighters appear in other forms of entertainment, such as movies.

The next UFC pay-per-view is UFC 204, which will take place Oct. 8 in Manchester, England.

- Scooby Axson

“I think it’s a mainstream sport now." I beg to differ. It'll be a mainstream sport when it is regularly covered in the newspaper sports sections like Football, Baseball, Golf, Tennis, et.al.

[Jimbo]

“I think it’s a mainstream sport now." I beg to differ. It'll be a mainstream sport when it is regularly covered in the newspaper sports sections like Football, Baseball, Golf, Tennis, et.al.

Agree 100%.

Most of the time, MMA is barely covered in my local newspaper's sports section unless Ronda Rousey fights. Even then, it's usually on the third page. MMA promotions and fans love to tout it as the fastest-growing sport in the world. Maybe, maybe not. It's certainly the fastest-growing thing in the MA world. But it will NEVER come close to equaling the popularity of football, baseball, basketball ... even golf, tennis, etc., as in-demand among American sports buffs. It's certainly supplanting (or already has supplanted) boxing, for the most part. But boxing's popularity had already been steadily slipping for decades, anyway. MMA is still seen as somewhat of a novelty in the sports world.

[Cataphract]

MMA may not be mainstream, but it is extremely marketable. It is more of a youth subculture thing like surfing, skateboarding and such. There is an overlap with hipsters.

[SoCo KungFu]

Is the newspaper itself even "mainstream" anymore? That's a rather strange standard. Basketball and Tennis are the only 2 from this list that are worthy on the world stage. I mention this, because that is where MMA is likely to grow, which I think is evident in the amount of events they have been holding outside the US (and while this itself has become more common lately, its not new; there's always been the Brazilian presence and "subsports" like wrestling, BJJ and Judo have widespread following in the middle east, etc. and UFC has long sought to capitalize on this).

Globally, soccer and basketball both have over 200 national programs. There's really nothing else that comes close to those two. American football is barely a blip on the radar. Baseball tracks better, and that is trounced by cricket (although that too is a skewed argument due to its localized popularity in India).

[SoCo KungFu]

MMA may not be mainstream, but it is extremely marketable. It is more of a youth subculture thing like surfing, skateboarding and such. There is an overlap with hipsters.

This doesn't even make sense. MMA's appeal, in part, is that it is a professional outlet for a number of sports that until now had none. Unless you were competitive for an Olympic run, you had zero options if you were involved with wrestling or judo. Hipsters don't tend to gravitate towards sweaty gym rooms.

[Cataphract]

This doesn't even make sense. MMA's appeal, in part, is that it is a professional outlet for a number of sports that until now had none. Unless you were competitive for an Olympic run, you had zero options if you were involved with wrestling or judo. Hipsters don't tend to gravitate towards sweaty gym rooms.

I wrote there is an overlap, not that they are identical. I'm sure MMA and CrossFit had a big influence on what twenty somethings consider stylish today. It may be different in the States, but most MMAists I've actually met in person are young professionals, students, junior bankers. Of course I don't know any professional MMA fighters.

[GeneChing]

Where will this go, I wonder? :rolleyes:


OCT 15, 2016 @ 10:19 PM
The Little Black Book of Billionaire Secrets
Report: UFC Will Lose More Big Names As WME-IMG Looks To 'Bring In Their Own People' (http://www.forbes.com/sites/mattconnolly/2016/10/15/report-ufc-will-lose-more-big-name-as-wme-img-looks-to-bring-in-their-own-people/#1cbe73f658d6)
Matt Connolly, CONTRIBUTOR
I cover the business of sports with an MMA focus.

Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.

http://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/525010152/960x0.jpg?fit=scale
Will Dana White be the last man standing from the UFC’s Zuffa era? (Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images)

When the UFC was sold for $4 billion back in July, the most prominent organizational shift was Chairman and CEO Lorenzo Fertitta resigning his post. In the last two months, two more well-known UFC executives — long-tenured matchmaker Joe Silva and leading PR man Dave Sholler — also announced that they would part ways with their longtime employer.

Whether or not WME-IMG requested the removal of Silva and Sholler is unclear, but it would be naïve to suggest that the new ownership group did not play some role in the duo’s departure. And according to MMA Fighting’s Dave Meltzer, this is just the beginning.

“Joe Silva and Dave Sholler are the big names to go so far, but they won’t be the last,” Meltzer said on Oct. 13’s episode of Wrestling Observer Radio (subscription required). “WME-IMG want to bring in their own people. I’ve been told that by January it will be a very, very different company.”

It’s worth noting that Sean Shelby, Silva’s matchmaking sidekick since the WEC merger in 2010, was recently promoted into his mentor’s role. And taking Shelby’s job was former Legacy FC boss Mick Maynard, who also has no known ties to WME-IMG.

Even so, these whispers reportedly have UFC employees concerned over job security — and justifiably so given that communication on potential new ownership has been a little misleading in the past.

“A lot of people behind the scenes are worried about their future or looking elsewhere,” Meltzer said.

[GeneChing]

OCT 5, 2017 @ 10:55 AM
Inside The New $14 Million UFC Performance Institute Revolutionizing MMA Training (https://www.forbes.com/sites/kristidosh/2017/10/05/inside-the-new-14-million-ufc-performance-institute-revolutionizing-mma-training/#4986df444743)

Kristi Dosh , CONTRIBUTOR
I cover the biz of college sports, facilities, licensing and travel.
Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.

https://blogs-images.forbes.com/kristidosh/files/2017/09/IMAG8829-1200x900.jpg?width=960
Kristi Dosh
Inside the lobby of the UFC Performance Institute

This year the UFC took a major step toward unifying its operations with the opening of its new 15-acre, 184,000-square foot campus in Las Vegas. The crown jewel of the campus is the UFC Performance Institute, a $14 million, 30,000-square foot facility that serves as the world's first Mixed Martial Arts multi-disciplinary research, innovation and performance center.

Already, the UFC estimates 30% of its current athletes have visited the facility, including Conor McGregor who used it as a training base leading up to his boxing match with Floyd Mayweather. The doors are open to all UFC athletes at no cost to the athlete.

The facility is on par -- or better -- than any facility I've toured in intercollegiate athletics. There's no barber shop or miniature golf, but there are nap pods and plenty of other bells and whistles.

https://blogs-images.forbes.com/kristidosh/files/2017/09/IMAG8868-1200x900.jpg?width=960
Kristi Dosh
Nap pods in the athlete lounge at the UFC Performance Institute.

The nap pods help athletes relax with soothing music and allow for a 23-minute nap, waking them with vibrations and sounds that become increasingly louder. The remainder of the athlete lounge is furnished with comfy places to sit and watch television or play a video game.

The rest of the facility is all business, staffed with experts in strength and conditioning, nutrition and physical therapy. Every nook and cranny is filled with something meant to enhance the athlete experience and provide world-class performance optimization.

My tour began at the "Performance Inspired Fueling Station," where athletes can grab items like protein shakes, yogurt, fruit and supplements from UFC partner Performance Inspired. Free of charge, of course, like everything else in the facility.

https://blogs-images.forbes.com/kristidosh/files/2017/09/IMAG8832-1200x900.jpg?width=960
Kristi Dosh
The "Performance Inspired Fueling Station" inside the UFC Performance Institute

The focus on nutrition and healthy weight cutting is evident in this new project. Clint Wattenberg was hired as the Director of Nutrition, a former wrestling student athlete and coach at Cornell who last served as the Coordinator of Sports Nutrition for the Big Red. In addition to the education and hands-on assistance provided at the facility itself, the UFC also offers remote consultations with its athletes on nutrition and weight cutting.

Next stop on my tour was a therapy room with two impressive pieces of technology: a NovoTHOR whole-body laser light therapy pod and a Cryosense chamber that can deliver both cryotherapy and heat therapy in a single unit.

https://blogs-images.forbes.com/kristidosh/files/2017/09/IMAG8834-1200x900.jpg?width=960
UFC Performance Institute Kristi Dosh
The NovoTHOR whole-body laser light therapy pod

The adjacent room houses a Hydroworx pool complete with underwater treadmill and both hot and cold plunge tubs. The Hydroworx pool is monitored by a video camera that can project an athlete's movement underwater on the TV screen ahead on the wall. There are also sauna and steam rooms available for use.

https://blogs-images.forbes.com/kristidosh/files/2017/09/UFC-Performance-Institute-1200x400.jpg?width=960
UFC Performance Institute Kristi Dosh
Hydroworx pool and hot and cold plunges

The emphasis on healthy weight cutting is evident throughout the facility and the conversations I had with my tour guides, vice president of operations James Kimball, vice president of performance Duncan French and Hall of Fame Forrest Griffin, who serves as the vice president of athlete development.

I was introduced to the DEXA machine, a $100,000 piece of technology that's essentially a next-level x-ray machine that picks up lean and fat tissue in addition to bone. Combined with a metabolic cart that helps determine an athlete's caloric expenditure, staff can advise an athlete on the most safe and effective ways to cut weight and the time needed to do so.

https://blogs-images.forbes.com/kristidosh/files/2017/09/IMAG8843-1200x900.jpg?width=960
Kristi Dosh
The DEXA machine

The performance center has a dedicated physical therapist and offers a variety of options including dry needling, cupping and Pilates. UFC athletes who want to come rehab at the facility are able to do so with no expense other than travel and lodging, and the UFC has negotiated discounted lodging and shuttle services to ease that burden.

"They need to have some skin in the game," says Griffin. "All you have to do is get here and put yourself up for the night."

Griffin came to life when we entered the physical therapy space and the adjacent strength and conditioning portion of the facility. That's because he was an integral part of the development of the performance center, able to give feedback from the athlete's point of view.

"I had a physical therapist, a strength coach, you name it. But I didn't have anyone managing that load," Griffin said. "In the evenings my strength coach wouldn't necessarily appreciate that I'd already had a hard workout."

In contrast, the lean staff here means there are no barriers in communication. He believes this will allow all of the athletes -- particularly those rehabbing an injury -- to reduce the wear and tear on their bodies.

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UFC Performance Institute Kristi Dosh
Impact wall and indoor track

Inside the strength and conditioning space is the usual assortment of treadmills, power cages, dumbbells, medicine balls and more. A few things stand out, however. There are bilateral force plates in front of each power cage and video cameras set up at each station, recording every repetition.

"Nothing goes unmeasured here," said French.

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UFC Performance Institute Kristi Dosh
Strength and conditioning space within the UFC Performance Institute

And on the opposite side of the room is a hypoxic chamber, used extensively by Conor McGregor in his preparations for the Mayweather fight. The chamber is able to simulate elevation up to 22,000 feet, which reduces oxygen levels to 50%. This allows athletes to train for an event in any locale.

On the other side of the garage doors at the far end of the strength and conditioning space is an expansive outdoor space that includes an outdoor track and community space, including areas to grill and lounge.

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UFC Performance Institute Kristi Dosh
Boxing ring and bags on the second floor of the UFC Performance Institute

The second floor of the facility houses a full-size Octagon, full-size boxing ring, bag and mat training area, a tiered-seating media center with capacity for 65 people and a 100-person multi-purpose meeting space.

"We aren't just a physical training center, we provide educational summits and messaging around media training, life skills, social media and more," said Kimball.

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UFC Performance Institute Kristi Dosh
The practice octagon inside the UFC Performance Institute

A tour through the facility reveals no expense was spared. Impressive when you consider all that's included at no cost to the athletes themselves.

"This is not meant to be a revenue generator. It never will be," said Kimball. "It's operating in the red and was designed to do so."

French adds that the facility is far more than strength and conditioning or physical therapy, there's a focus on research and on developing new standards for optimum athletic performance.

"We want to position ourselves as a global leader in human performance right alongside the NFL and the English Premier League."

The UFC would like to see the performance center become a hub where athletes from a variety of disciplines can cross-train. With the NHL staking its claim in Las Vegas this fall, and the possibility of an NFL team following suit in the near future, it might not take long for the UFC to realize that goal.

Kristi A. Dosh, Esq. is a sports business analyst, publicist, recovering attorney and author of "Saturday Millionaires: How Winning Football Builds Winning Colleges." Twitter: @SportsBizMiss

Very impressive.

[GeneChing]

Aug 20, 2018, 11:53am
ONE Championship And The UFC Represent Global Duopoly In Martial Arts (https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianmazique/2018/08/20/one-championship-and-ufc-represent-global-duopoly-in-martial-arts/#cc534b043d45)
Brian Mazique
Contributor
Games

The Ultimate Fighting Championship is unquestionably the king of mixed martial arts in the western world, but ONE Championship is perhaps even more dominant in the east.

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Chatri Sityodtong and Dana White CREDIT: PHOTO BY BRANDON MAGNUS/ZUFFA LLC/ZUFFA LLC VIA GETTY IMAGES AND ONE CHAMPIONSHIP

With their meteoric rise to prominence over the past seven years, ONE has seemingly pressed all the right buttons in establishing itself as a viable rival to its Western counterpart. In Asia, ONE is the largest martial arts organization. One of the promotion's missions has been to unite the continent's 4 billion people on the shoulders of the many country's connections to the various disciplines.

“In the same way that Starbucks offers many flavors of coffee and tea, we offer all martial arts,” said ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong.

“We have earned that reputation over the last couple of years, and so instead of mixed martial arts, as a fight fan and as a martial arts lover, you now get to see all forms of martial arts for the very first time in history. So you will see matches of, you know, Muay Thai versus Tae Kwon Do, or Tae Kwon Do versus Kung Fu, and the list goes on and on.”

According to Sityodtong, who was born in Thailand but is part Thai and Japanese, this makes ONE Championship the world’s largest martial arts organization.

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YANGON, MYANMAR - JUNE 30: Aung La N Sang celebrates his historic title win, claiming the ONE Middleweight World Championship during ONE Championship Light Of A Nation at the Thuwunna Indoor Stadium on June 30, 2017 in Yangon, Myanmar. (Photo by Dux Carvajal/ONE Championship/Getty Images)

While the UFC has taken a more in-your-face approach in its rise to prominence, with president and face of the organization Dana White serving as the perfect microcosm for the American mixed martial arts community, Sityodtong has taken a different route.

“Every region in the world had a sport that represented it," said Sityodtong. "In Asia, there was nothing. I thought to myself, there had to be a way to highlight each of the martial arts that originated from the variety of Asian cultures, and ONE Championship was it. The term MMA has a negative connotation in Asia, in the sense that it’s all about bloodsport, profanity, people who throw stuff at press conferences. That works in America, but not in Asia."

Sityodtong has gone on record multiple times, including a direct one-on-one conversation with me, saying that he would not sign Conor McGregor if he were a free agent. Sityodtong feels strongly that McGregor's persona is a poor fit for the culture and identity he has crafted for ONE.

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YANGON, MYANMAR - NOVEMBER 03: Aung La N Sang prepares to face Alain Ngalani in an Open Weight Super Bout during ONE Championship: Hero's Dream at the Thuwunna Indoor Stadium on November 03, 2017 in Yangon, Myanmar. (Photo by Dux Carvajal/ONE Championship/Getty Images)

“MMA is kind of an Americanized version of what martial arts is. Real, true, authentic martial arts has to do more with values and how it impacts the human soul. It’s about the way of the warrior, about integrity, humility, honor, respect, courage, discipline, and compassion. It’s about the true values of martial arts which is extremely significant here in Asia.”

The ONE Championship way appears to be a personal preference for Sityodtong, but it is also a calculated approach that originated from paying close attention to what resonates with Asian people. The proof is in the numbers, reach, regional reviews and the immeasurable responses from crowds at their events on hand to cheer on the fighters who have been given the platform to become icons in their countries.

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SINGAPORE - MAY 26: Angela Lee celebrates her submission win against Istela Nunes at ONE Championship: Dynasty of Heroes at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on May 26, 2017, in Singapore (Photo by Dux Carvajal/ONE Championship/Getty Images)

Angela Lee of Singapore, Aung La N Sang of Myanmar and Eduard Folayang of the Philippines are to their countries what McGregor is to Ireland, and even bigger than Daniel Cormier, TJ Dillashaw and Rose Namajunas in the United States.

“We’re absolutely packing stadiums. We are filling thousand-seater arenas with passionate martial arts fans. We have the support of local governments, most importantly, the support of our fans. We have the most fantastic sponsors and partners on board that believe in what we’re doing, that believe in our vision,” Sityodtong concluded.

ONE Championship has been able to launch and reignite careers by focusing on the personal stories of the fighters. Spotlighting their backgrounds, personal and professional struggles and their overall journey. Recently, ESPN ran a piece on former NBA MVP Derrick Rose's immense popularity in China.

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GUANGZHOU, CHINA - AUGUST 21: (CHINA OUT) Derrick Rose, Chicago Bulls point guard, takes a selfie with fans on August 21, 2015, in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province of China. (Photo by VCG/VCG via Getty Images)

While Rose was born and raised in Chicago and has never competed in Asia professionally, the people of China are drawn to his perseverance and desire to play, despite suffering the multitude of injuries that have slowed what looked to be a Hall-of-Fame career. In the United States, his country of origin, he has largely been reduced to the subject of memes and unfortunate gifs.

It is this contrast in the view of professional athletes that Sityodtong and ONE Championship have honed in on. They worked used these values to rebuild the careers of fighters like Aung La and heavyweight champion Brandon Vera.

With business flourishing, ONE Championship has ramped up its lineup of live events. The promotion is scheduled to produce 24 live shows in 2018 and 36 in 2019. The UFC is scheduled to deliver 47 live events in 2018, but some may argue that less is more when it comes to combat sports events.

The fewer shows, the more each one feels like an event. Though that's purely a matter of fan or media preference.

ONE may not be emulating its global competition, but it is definitely aware of its presence. By establishing new divisions of its property like the ONE Super Series (kickboxing) and Rich Franklin's ONE Warrior Series, it has produced layers that can compete, or perhaps surpass Glory Kickboxing, Bellator Kickboxing and the UFC's Ultimate Fighter and Tuesday Night Contender Series.

ONE signed Giorgio Petrosyan and Yodcherry Sityodtong to bolster its kickboxing venture while ONE Warrior is designed to focus on the rising martial arts talent in Asia. It is in its second season and airs on affiliate networks and the ONE Championship official YouTube channel.

Franklin is a former UFC middleweight champion turned ONE Championship ambassador and Vice President who hosts the show along with Jonathan Fong. The duo travels across Asia searching for talent and experiencing local cultures.

The athletes compete in professional bouts with the chance of earning a contract that can exceed $100,000 US currency. It's like a mixture of traditional reality television, White's Lookin for a Fight, Tuesday Night Contender, Ultimate Fighter and the American singing competition, The Voice. Franklin does a lot of teaching and coaching of the prospects, which is part of his background. In the role, he's more than a talent scout. It's almost partly like a mentorship and it's a pretty unique presentation overall.

The UFC holds a firm grip on the attention of Western MMA fans, and the organization is prospering, but ONE is holding down its region of the globe equally. Fans can only wonder and/or hope that one day we might actually see a cross-promoted event between the two organization's top champions.

That's a fantasy, but fans of both brands can dream.

THREADS
ONE Championship (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?71006-ONE-Championship)
UFC gets Bigger !! (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?59993-UFC-gets-Bigger-!!)