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Ultimate Fighting Championship

"UFC" redirects here. For other uses, see UFC (disambiguation).

UFC Holdings, LLC
UFC
Company typeSubsidiary
Industry
FoundedNovember 12, 1993 (1993-11-12)
Founders
Headquarters
Las Vegas, Nevada
,
United States
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Products
  • Home video
  • Live events
  • Merchandise
  • Publishing
  • Streaming network service
  • TV
ServicesLicensing
RevenueIncrease US$1.3 billion (2023)
Increase US$142.9 million (2023)
Increase US$387 million (2022)
Total assetsIncrease US$1.1 billion (2022)
Total equityIncrease US$7 billion (2022)
Number of employees
~400 (2016)
ParentTKO Group Holdings[3][a]
DivisionsUFC Apex
UFC Fight Pass
UFC Performance Institute
Websitewww.ufc.com Edit this at Wikidata

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings.[5][6][7][8] It is the largest MMA promotion in the world as of 2023.[9] It produces events worldwide that showcase 11 weight divisions (eight men's and three women's) and abides by the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts.[10] As of 2024, it had held over 700 events. Dana White has been its president since 2001 and CEO since 2023. Under White's stewardship, it has grown into a global multi-billion-dollar enterprise.[11]

The UFC was founded by businessman Art Davie and Brazilian martial artist Rorion Gracie,[12] and the first event was held in 1993 at McNichols Sports Arena in Denver, Colorado.[13] The purpose of the UFC's early competitions was to identify the most effective martial art in a contest with minimal rules and no weight classes between competitors of different fighting disciplines. In subsequent events, more rigorous rules were created and fighters began adopting effective techniques from more than one discipline, which indirectly helped create a separate style of fighting known as present-day mixed martial arts.

The UFC was initially owned by the Semaphore Entertainment Group (SEG) until it had financial issues and it was sold to the brothers Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta in 2001, who formed the company Zuffa to operate the UFC, and placed Dana White as the president of the company.[11][14] In 2016, UFC's parent company, Zuffa, was sold to a group led by Endeavor, then known as William Morris Endeavor (WME–IMG), including Silver Lake Partners, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and MSD Capital[15] for US$4.025 billion.[16] In 2021, Endeavor bought out Zuffa's other owners at a valuation of $1.7 billion.[8] The organization had 578 fighters contracted as of January 2023.[17]

With a TV deal and expansion in Australia, Asia, Europe,[18][19][20] and new markets within the United States, the UFC has achieved greater mainstream media coverage. It earned US$609 million in 2015,[21] and its next domestic media rights agreement with ESPN was valued at $1.5 billion over a five-year term.[22]

In April 2023, Endeavor Group Holdings announced that UFC would merge with the wrestling promotion WWE to form TKO Group Holdings, a new public company majority-owned by Endeavor, with Vince McMahon serving as an executive chairman of the new entity and White remaining as UFC president. The merger was completed on September 12, 2023.[23]

  1. ^ Meltzer, Dave (April 8, 2009). "UFC 6: Wild West". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved December 31, 2011.
  2. ^ "UFC Creator Bwb Meyrowitz Announces New MMAPromotion". MMAjunkie.com. January 29, 2009. Archived from the original on July 10, 2012. Retrieved December 31, 2011.
  3. ^ "AMENDMENT NO. 2 TO FORM S-4 REGISTRATION STATEMENT". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. August 10, 2023. p. 1. Retrieved September 12, 2023. ...with WWE surviving the merger as a direct, wholly owned subsidiary of [TKO Group Holdings]
  4. ^ "SCHEDULE 14C INFORMATION". NASDAQ. August 22, 2023. p. 248. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  5. ^ "UFC, WWE ring bell on new TKO parent company: Merger official". MMA Junkie. September 12, 2023. Retrieved September 12, 2023.
  6. ^ "WME-IMG Renames Parent Company as Endeavor". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on October 18, 2021. Retrieved April 19, 2018.
  7. ^ Kroll, Justin (October 9, 2017). "WME-IMG Renames Holding Company Endeavor". Variety. Archived from the original on October 18, 2021. Retrieved April 19, 2018.
  8. ^ a b Damon Martin (March 31, 2021). "Endeavor closes deal for 100 percent controlling interest over UFC ahead of planned IPO, Elon Musk joins board of directors". MMA Fighting. Archived from the original on March 31, 2021. Retrieved July 22, 2021.
  9. ^ Gift, Paul (March 16, 2022). "UFC Posts Best Financial Year In Company History". Forbes. Retrieved April 16, 2023.
  10. ^ "Learn UFC Rules". Ultimate Fighting Championship. Retrieved September 23, 2010.
  11. ^ a b Boice, Danny. "Boxer To Entrepreneur: How Dana White Became The Champ Of Mixed Martial Arts". Forbes. Archived from the original on October 18, 2021. Retrieved May 12, 2017.
  12. ^ "Royce Gracie's Legacy, BJJ's Relevance on the Decline in Modern MMA". Bleacher Report. April 27, 2012. Archived from the original on October 18, 2021. Retrieved November 19, 2012.
  13. ^ Stefano, Dan (June 25, 2009). "Former UFC champ helps promote Pittsburgh event". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Archived from the original on July 1, 2009. Retrieved June 27, 2009.
  14. ^ "UFC sold to WME-IMG in unprecedented deal". ESPN.com. July 11, 2016. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
  15. ^ de la Merced, Michael (July 11, 2016). "U.F.C. Sells Itself for $4 Billion". The New York Times. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
  16. ^ Rooney, Kyle (September 30, 2016). "UFC sold to WME-IMG". HNHH. Archived from the original on October 18, 2021. Retrieved October 1, 2016.
  17. ^ How Many UFC Fighters are There in 2023?
  18. ^ "Australia tapped an annual UFC destination". MMAjunkie.com. February 20, 2010. Archived from the original on February 23, 2010. Retrieved September 23, 2010.
  19. ^ "Dana White on UFC in Abu Dhabi, Afghanistan and GSP vs. Silva". MMA Fighting. April 8, 2010. Archived from the original on October 18, 2021. Retrieved September 23, 2010.
  20. ^ Stupp, Dann (August 29, 2010). "UFC officials announce Asian operations, NBA exec Mark Fischer named head". MMAjunkie.com. Archived from the original on September 4, 2010. Retrieved September 23, 2010.
  21. ^ "What investor documents tell us about the UFC's past – and its future". MMAjunkie. October 31, 2016. Archived from the original on November 1, 2016. Retrieved May 25, 2018.
  22. ^ Mullin, Benjamin (March 18, 2019). "ESPN, UFC Reach Exclusive Pay-Per-View Deal". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Archived from the original on October 18, 2021. Retrieved April 30, 2020.
  23. ^ Sherman, Alex; Calia, Mike. "WWE agrees to merge with UFC to create a new company run by Ari Emanuel and Vince McMahon". CNBC.


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