Rumors have been swirling for weeks and weeks as to whether or not the UFC was being bought or sold….well…SOLD to the highest bidder for a cool $4.2 Billion. Not bad considering it was bought for $2Million back in 2001.
Lorenzo Feritta and his brother Frank will soon be swimming in it. Not that Lorenzo isn’t already (Forbes lists his net work at close to $2B already). It looks like the pair have agreed to that magic number and sold the popular UFC brand to…the winning bidder of a sealed “auction” managed by Goldman Sachs….really?? Geez.
Who is it you ask? Nothing 100% confirmed. From what we hear though, the highest bidder had been a conglomerate comprised of WME-IMG, Dalian Wanda, Kraft Group (yes, Robert “New England Patriots” Kraft), and Tencent Holdings with the majority of the dough rolling in from China.
What does this mean for the sport? Who knows. Let’s hope it continues to grow though. It’s amazing what the Ferittas managed to pull off over the past decade and a half. Be on the lookout for final details.
Maybe we’ll get to see that Mayweather/McGregor fight after all. Maybe Ronda Rousey will reemerge to fight again…
Patience grasshopper.
Am told a winning bid of 4.2 billion was accepted by Zuffa. Lead was WME- IMG/Dalian Wanda/Kraft Group/Tencent Holdings.
— Jeremy Botter (@jeremybotter) June 20, 2016
