The UFC was officially sold to an ownership group led by WME-IMG for about $4 billion, the largest acquisition in the history of the sports industry. According to the latest rumors, the sale of the UFC has bumped the WWE's worth to an estimated $3.4 billion.
WME-IMG is owned by private equity firms including Silver Lake, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and MSD Capital, owned by Michael Dell. The sale was made just after the promotion's biggest event ever at UFC 200 on July 9 in Las Vegas, The New York Times reported.
UFC President Dana White will remain in his position and he retains his stake in the company. Flash Entertainment that is owned by the government of Abu Dhabi in UAE, will also remain as minority owners.
According to The Wrap, Wells Fargo estimates that the sale of the UFC increased the overall value of the WWE. They think that the WWE is now worth approximately $3.4 billion.
"Although we view this as an interesting exercise in determining the potential value of WWE - in our opinion, Chairman Vince McMahon is NOT selling the company anytime soon," Wells Fargo wrote in their report.
Vince McMahon founded Titan Sports in 1979 and bought the WWE from his father in 1982. His main goal was to make the WWE the leading wrestling promotion in the United States. McMahon's aggressive approach led to the end of the wrestling territory system.
With the help of Hulk Hogan, the WWE rose in popularity in the late 1980s until the start of the Monday Night Wars when Ted Turner and WCW almost beat McMahon in the early 1990s. The rise of the "Attitude Era" eventually led to the WWE buying out the competition in 2001.
It should be noted that the UFC and WWE are different from each other. The UFC is a real sport while WWE is a brand of sports entertainment. Mixed martial arts fighters and WWE superstars are athletes but the results in professional wrestling are predetermined.
Nonetheless, the WWE is the biggest wrestling promotion in the world. McMahon is currently worth $1.2 billion and the WWE Network can be considered as a successful risk. Many people still hate the WWE because they cannot appreciate an art form that is called professional wrestling.
Check out the video below to know how the WWE became a billion dollar company.