Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fans are used to a little professional wrestling news on their mixed martial arts (MMA) sites on WrestleMania weekends, but this is something else entirely. On Sunday afternoon, CNBC reported that a deal was close to being reached that would see UFC parent company, Endeavor, buy World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).
According to this report, UFC and WWE would become part of a new publicly-traded company, with Endeavor owning 51 percent and WWE shareholders holding 49 percent. Endeavor CEO, Ari Emanuel, would remain overall chief executive, while WWE head honcho, Vince McMahon, would serve as executive chairman.
Interestingly enough, that would technically place him above UFC President, Dana White, in the new company’s org chart.
It’s a wild change, and word is the deal could be officially announced as soon as Monday. The Internet is already buzzing from the news, and a variety of important figures in both MMA and pro wrestling are already weighing in.
“Congrats to the UFC, now worth a cool Proper $12bn,” Conor McGregor wrote on Twitter regarding the deal. “Wow! Endeavor bout to scoop the WWE now also. Incredible. What a powerhouse!”
Take a look at other thoughts from across the Twitterverse:
Congrats to the @ufc now worth a cool Proper $12bn. Wow! Endeavor bout to scoop the @WWE now also. Incredible. What a powerhouse!
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) April 2, 2023
UFC and WWE under one umbrella? Very interesting. One note: this deal would value the UFC at “more than $12 billion.” Not bad given Endeavor paid $4bn for the UFC seven years ago. https://t.co/8QeYrTo0v9
— Simon Head (@simonhead) April 2, 2023
UFC + WWE makes too much sense. Great path to increasing fighter pay.
— Jake Paul (@jakepaul) April 2, 2023
Per CNBC, Endeavor, the parent company of UFC, is nearing a deal to buy WWE with a deal to be announced as early as TOMORROW. UFC and WWE are expected to form a new publicly traded company. Vince McMahon would remain as Executive Chairman. Holy shit.
— Jason Solomon (@solomonster) April 2, 2023
Vince McMahon couldn’t have made out better in the deal if it goes through as reported, second highest ranking officer for both WWE and UFC behind Ari Emanuel, gets huge payoff, keeps stock with the idea WWE/UFC combined company will become even stronger in the stock market.
— Dave Meltzer (@davemeltzerWON) April 2, 2023
When WWE CEO Nick Khan said there was robust interest this week …. He was slow playing it.
— Alex Sherman (@sherman4949) April 2, 2023
If it goes anything like the UFC sale at the start and for a few years, there’s going to be a lot of cost cutting going on in WWE. I don’t know if it’s going to be a plus for talent contracts, and this may make AEW more viable when it comes to big contracts.
— Ryan Frederick (@ryanjfrederick) April 2, 2023
NEWS: Endeavor is finalizing a deal to buy WWE, per @CNBC.
The deal values WWE at about $9.3 billion — and would combine UFC and WWE into one publicly traded company. pic.twitter.com/LdnoyuflvX
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) April 2, 2023
BREAKING: Endeavor is finalizing a deal to buy WWE, according to @sherman4949.
Endeavor will then combine WWE and the UFC into one publicly traded company.
Shares of WWE are up 33% this year, and the deal gives WWE an enterprise value of more than $9 billion. pic.twitter.com/kjSt3v9qtf
— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) April 2, 2023
This weekend there was buzz that a non-Saudi entity was leading the pack to finalize a potential sale with WWE. If correct, Endeavor would own WWE and UFC https://t.co/sMCuqliaZg
— Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com (@SeanRossSapp) April 2, 2023
UFC has fought incredibly hard to prevent fighters from being paid fairly. They have benched and outright fired some of their biggest stars over issues involving pay. WWE not only being under the same umbrella but a part of the same company probably won’t behave much differently.
— Adam Lash (@newfoundmass) April 2, 2023
Some personal thoughts on WWE possibly being sold to Endeavor:
1) There is a lot of synergy between UFC and WWE, so you’ll probably be seeing a lot of departments being combined.
2) There were a lot of layoffs after Endeavor bought the UFC.
3) Endeavor buying UFC paid off…
— Raj Giri (@TheRajGiri) April 2, 2023
WWE being bought by the UFC after Shane McMahon begged his dad to buy the UFC back in 2000 when it was struggling is like some Blockbuster / Netflix shit https://t.co/m6t99tbKx4
— ᶜᵃˢᵗᵉʳ ˢʰᵉˡˡ (@castergunx) April 2, 2023
Keep it locked to MMAmania.com for more news about this massive sale and what it could mean for both UFC and WWE.