All the controversy and denials are about to come to an end, as the Ultimate Fighting Championship is expected to announce its sale on Monday.
MMAWeekly.com on Sunday night confirmed the news, which was first reported by the New York Times.
According to the initial report, the UFC “sold itself to WME-IMG for about $4 billion, according to people with direct knowledge of the matter. Backing the deal are the private equity heavyweights Silver Lake, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, and the investment firm of the billionaire Michael S. Dell.”
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There have been rumors of a UFC sale for years, but those rumors became much more substantial recently, with reports that there were multiple competing offers in the neighborhood of the $4 billion amount.
UFC president Dana White later confirmed the news to ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, who tweeted that, in a text conversation, White characterized the sale as “very” bittersweet.
White is close friends with Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta, who purchased the UFC in 2000 for $2 million. The Fertitta brothers will be exiting the picture after the sale, while White will remain.
“Same. President, owner, working my ass off. Just doing it without my best friend and partner,” White said in explaining his role with the new ownership to Okamoto. He also said that fans should be excited for the sale, as he believes the deal will take the sport to the “next level.”
Stay tuned to MMAWeekly.com as the story develops.
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