Yahoo Sports UFC Sale is Final as Notice Goes Out to Fighters
The Ultimate Fighting Championship is now officially in the hands of WME | IMG co-CEO's Ari Emanual and Patrick Whitesell.
UFC officials confirmed to MMAWeekly.com that the company switched hands last Wednesday, which was the last day on the job for UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta. Dana White signed a five-year deal to remain as president of the company under the new ownership.
TRENDING > UFC 202 Fighter Salaries: McGregor and Diaz Account for $5 Million of $6.1 Million Payroll
In a recent interview with Multichannel News, White expressed his excitement for what WME | IMG brings to the table in regards to continuing the global expansion of the UFC brand.
“This is what they do. If you look at Frank, Lorenzo and I, when we got involved in this business we weren’t television or sports guys. We’ve never done any of that stuff. The thing about us is we were huge fight fans and we knew exactly what we wanted. We knew the product we wanted, we knew what we wanted it to look like, and we knew we wanted to put on the best fights that you could possibly put on,” said White.
“[WME co-CEOs] Ari Emanuel and Patrick Whitesell are media guys. This is what they do. This is what they are good at. This is what they drive to work and do every day. So I think this brings so much to the table. Then, if you look at the [IMG] side, with production in other countries and everything else, once we get this thing dialed in, it’s gonna be awesome. I am excited for this next phase.”
Emanuel and Whitesell sent the following email to fighters on Friday:
Our team’s been honored to represent UFC and work with a number of you on the entertainment side for the past few years. We’ve had a front row seat as both a partner and as a fan to witness your dedication to this sport and UFC’s remarkable work in growing MMA’s popularity and elevating the organization on a global scale.
We couldn’t be more excited for what the future holds for UFC and for all of you. As UFC’s new operating partner, we will be working with Dana and the UFC team to amplify the work that’s already been done by mobilizing all of the sports and entertainment assets we have available to us in our international network.
We look forward to working with you and welcome any ideas and feedback as we begin this new chapter together.
Ari Emanuel & Patrick Whitesell
Co-CEOs, WME | IMG
