Despite repeated denials from Dana White, rumors of the UFC being sold are heating up by the day. On Wednesday, Ariel Helwani reported that the UFC brass was close to securing a $4 billion deal for the UFC, and today that intel has been verified by another reputable source.
According to The Score, the two leading bidders for the UFC are currently the Dalian Wanda Group out of China and Willam Morris Endeavors. One of the investors for William Morris Endeavors, who will be throwing in $25-50 million, is none other than Patriots owner Bob Kraft.
Yes, Bob Kraft can potentially be surrounded by Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, Conor McGregor and Ronda Rousey. Weird. I wonder if Jon Jones is salty his potential new owner traded away his brother, Chandler Jones, to Arizona this last off-season?
Now that more details are out, the main question regarding the sale is about the transfer of power from White and his crew to that of the winning bidder. Despite the general dissatisfaction surrounding how the UFC handles fighter pay and media, they know how to run a fight promotion. There’s a reason why everyone else has gone out of business while they’ve thrived. So will Dana and the rest ride off into the sunset once everything clears escrow? Probably not.
https://mobile.twitter.com/jeremybotter/status/743503803111006208
Of course, fighters are anxious to hear any solid news.
I asked Donald Cerrone about rumors of potential UFC sale. His answer: "Hopefully Dana redoes my contract before he leaves."
— Mike Bohn (@MikeBohn) June 16, 2016
(Via The Score)