UFC And WWE Form Sports Entertainment Company Worth $17.3 Billion

Mixed Martial Art franchise UFC and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) owners will work together to start a new $17.3 billion sports entertainment company.

Endeavor Group Holdings, the business that owns the UFC, will control 51% of the publicly traded firm, while current WWE shareholders will possess 49%.

Ari Emanuel, CEO of Endeavor, will be in charge of the business.

Dana White and Vince McMahon will continue to serve as the executive chairman and president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship and WWE respectively.

After accusations of wrongdoing, McMahon retired last year. In January, he rejoined the WWE board and hinted that the business might be for sale.

Despite its seemingly declining fame worldwide, WWE still has a sizable, varied fan base that includes people of all ages and socioeconomic backgrounds.

The company is a social media behemoth with more than 16 billion social media video views in the fourth quarter of 2022. It has almost 94 million YouTube subscribers and more than 20 million TikTok subscribers.

Five of its female wrestlers are among the top 15 female athletes in the world on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, with former UFC fighter Ronda Rousey heading the group with 36.1 million followers.

“This is a rare opportunity to create global live sports and entertainment pureplay built for where the industry is headed,” the CEO of Endeavor said.

“For decades, Vince and his team have demonstrated an incredible track record of innovation and shareholder value creation, and we are confident that Endeavor can deliver significant additional value for shareholders by bringing UFC and WWE together.”