LONDON: Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) president Dana White has asserted that the leading mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion’s valuation stands at $7 billion following its mega 5-year global television rights deal with ESPN in May that is itself worth $1.5 billion.
Many investor reports from reputed companies such as Moody’s have corroborated this claim as 2017-18 was the most prosperous financial year ever for UFC with revenues touching the $700 million mark. To top it all, this signifies that UFC has nearly doubled its price tag in a short span of two years. Back in August 2016, the William Morris-owned Endeavor Group had acquired the UFC brand for $4.025 billion despite the deal courting controversy due to perceived uncertainties.
“When you think about it we haven’t even scratched the surface yet of how big this thing can be.
“We just did a TV deal with ESPN for $1.5 billion for five years. Now the company is worth $7 billion.
“Obviously this ESPN deal is going to be massive for us, expose us to millions of people just here in the US that haven’t been exposed to the UFC,” White said.
“We’re going to continue to go into markets we haven’t been, we’re going to continue to find the best talent in the world. I love to find up-and-coming talent. I love to find the next guy or girl. Continue to build the sport. That’s it. That’s my focus. It’s not rocket science, it’s nothing crazy. Just continue to do what we do and get bigger and bigger.”
White made his comments in a recent interview to American business and self-help guru Tony Robbins as a part of his ‘Business Mastery’ series.
The ESPN deal, which will begin from January 1 2019, is expected to boost the sluggish TV ratings of the brand. This has made White optimistic about its future. Its fight nights continue to attract high gate receipts and attendances, which is all set to increase with the return of superstar Conor McGregor in October after two years.
Tickets for his Las Vegas bout were reportedly sold out online within just 3 minutes of the sale announcement, proving to be the second-biggest money spinning bout in the history of the competition.
