After weeks of rumors, the UFC announced Monday morning that a sale worth an estimated $4.2 billion had officially gone through, transferring majority ownership from the Fertitta owned Zuffa LLC to a consortium led by Ari Emanuel’s WME-IMG talent agency. Leading up to the sale, UFC president Dana White denied there were any truth to the rumors, right up until an email sent to fighters confirmed it was a done deal.
Now fighters are reacting, and their positions seem split between excitement and frustration with the current pay structure of the company. Here’s some of the most interesting tweets from fighters and UFC staff.
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— danawhite (@danawhite) July 11, 2016
I am honoured to have fought under the Fertitta regime! To have been mentored by these great people on this great business is a true honour!
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) July 11, 2016
I wonder what comes next…
— Dan Hardy (@danhardymma) July 11, 2016
UFC worth as much as Star Wars. Pretty damn crazy.
— Josh Samman (@JoshSamman) July 11, 2016
Congrats @DanaWhite & @LorenzoFertitta nice investment.
— Tito Ortiz (with the blue check) (@titoortiz) July 11, 2016
"Meet the new boss, same as the old boss." :) #UFCSale https://t.co/nPw4rAObIt
— The Mane Event™ (@EliasTheodorou) July 11, 2016
4 bil… I was probably worth more and so was everyone else right?
— Al Iaquinta🗽 (@ALIAQUINTA) July 11, 2016
Perfect time to change the revenue split to ➡️ 46% / 54% split to be equal to the other major sports.💰💰💰 #WeAllNeedToEat
— Jeremy Stephens (@LiLHeathenMMA) July 11, 2016
Deadly can't wait to see what % I'll get out of that 4 billion no more work for me going in to tell the boss to fuck himself
— Neil 2 Tap Seery (@NeilSeeryMMA) July 11, 2016
Congrats on the great investment years ago @danawhite @lorenzofertitta Looking forward to seeing the @ufc grow even more!
— Joe Ellenberger (@JoeEllenberger) July 11, 2016
talk of UFC sale for real and your fucking golfing… SMH Hugs
— Big Ben Rothwell (@RothwellFighter) July 11, 2016
Meanwhile, those who were first to report the news were almost too busy covering what’s happening to say ‘I told you so.’ Almost.
We had 5 independent sources on our May 11 report of UFC in advanced talks of sale. We refused to be bullied into not publishing.
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) July 11, 2016
The Fertitta brothers return on their investment in UFC over a 16 year time frame is 142,700%, factoring for inflation.
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) July 11, 2016
https://twitter.com/jeremybotter/status/752354933127712768
https://twitter.com/jeremybotter/status/752359359099772928
Asked Dana White (@danawhite) if sale of the UFC is bittersweet. Response: VERY.
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) July 11, 2016
Meanwhile, some fighters are just doing their own thang, oblivious to it all…
This pretty much sums up my night at the Dead concert ✌🏼️🇺🇸 @gratefuldead @deadandcompany @johnmayer #gratefuldead pic.twitter.com/vo7OYih9Ej
— Clay Guida (@clayguida) July 11, 2016