LOS ANGELES (AP) – UFC President Dana White says the mixed martial arts promotional company has been sold for approximately $4 billion to a group of investors led by Hollywood talent agency WME-IMG.
White confirmed the sale in text messages to The Associated Press on Sunday night.
White will stay on to run the UFC, which has grown from a money-losing promotional company in a minor sport into a global entertainment brand. UFC owners Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta kept only a minority interest in the company.
The Fertitta brothers and White purchased the promotion for $2 million in 2000, and the brothers’ casino fortune kept it afloat while MMA gained widespread acceptance and increasing popularity.
The New York Times first reported the completion of the long-rumored deal.