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Because the UFC continues to report document revenues quarter after quarter, executives for TKO Group Holdings – the merged firm combining UFC and WWE – aren’t sweating potential competitors coming from rival organizations like PFL.
On Tuesday throughout the company dad and mom’ first earnings name, TKO CEO Ari Emanuel and TKO President and COO Mark Shapiro addressed the latest $100 million funding from Saudi Arabia into the PFL. The deal was a part of continued growth for SRJ Sports activities Investments — a brand new wing of the Saudi Arabia Public Funding Fund — because the group plans to convey increasingly main occasions to the Center Jap nation.
To not be outdone by that deal, the UFC just lately inked a profitable new extension to proceed bringing one pay-per-view and as much as three Struggle Evening occasions to Abu Dhabi, additionally asserting a partnership to convey the first-ever UFC occasion to Saudi Arabia in March 2024.
“Competitors’s not new for the UFC or the WWE,” Emanuel stated throughout the name. “MMA might be the quickest rising sport and we’re inspired by the curiosity. Rising tides elevate all boats, in my view. We don’t see it as a zero sum recreation. Not solely do we’ve competitors with different MMA or wrestling organizations — soccer, faculty soccer, there’s loads of competitors on the market.
“On the UFC, we’ve a robust and secure fighter [roster], over 600 whole. I feel the UFC is the place fighters wish to come and wish to be and as I stated in my ready remarks, we be ok with the way forward for our relationship with Saudi [Arabia]. As one instance, we just lately introduced that we might convey UFC Struggle Evening to Riyadh in March 2024, a transparent indication that Saudi may be very excessive [on UFC] and has intentions to develop this relationship with UFC. That’s sort of our feeling about it.”
Shapiro added the corporate by no means noticed any challenge with PFL asecuring a broadcast deal to air occasions on ESPN, which additionally serves as the printed associate to the UFC.
The identical goes for the funding from Saudi Arabia, as a result of finally Shapiro is aware of that the UFC stays the highest vacation spot for the perfect fighters on the planet – and that’s not going to vary.
“The funding that SRJ made in PFL, we glance to our benefit,” Shapiro stated. “We have now no challenge with Bellator, PFL, identify your league. Competitors is nice.
“Not solely do we’ve over 600 fighters, we’ve the premiere fighters. Finally you’re attempting to get to the UFC, which is akin to the XFL attempting to finally get their gamers into the NFL. That’s what we’re. These are pipeline and feeder properties. Actually, we’re supportive of [PFL] being on ESPN. PFL’s been on ESPN. We have been completely supportive of that deal and the Saudi expertise ought to show out properly for us.”
So far as the PFL doubtlessly slicing into the UFC’s enterprise, Shapiro didn’t appear overly involved whereas addressing the upstart promotion that was cast out of the items of World Collection of Preventing in 2017.
“When it first got here out [that Saudi Arabia was investing in PFL] it was loads of what’s happening?” Shapiro stated. “They’re coming after us. They’re going to take fighters. They’re going to extend fighter pay. UFC’s in hassle. Rapidly on the heels of that, we announce our deal [with Saudi Arabia].
“Good for them. Saudi Arabia is being very aggressive in bringing occasions to the Kingdom. They’re in discussions for the WTA finals in tennis, they’re wanting clearly at motor sports activities. There’s rumors a couple of potential funding in F1. Every kind of stuff which are on the market proper now.”
The aggressive investments from Saudi Arabia in varied sports activities properties will doubtless solely improve within the coming years, and that nearly definitely consists of extra fight sports activities.
“All we all know is they need extra MMA, which is nice for us,” Shapiro stated. “The extra they’ve, the extra it’s actually going to simply function an appetizer to what would be the meal, which is UFC.”
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