Conor McGregor, UFC fighters react to $4 billion sale
The UFC announced Monday morning that it had sold itself for a whopping $4 billion to a new group of owners, including WME-IMG, ushering in an entirely new era for the biggest promotion in the sport of mixed martial arts.
The announcement comes fresh off a busy weekend for the promotion, where it held three events in three days, culminating with a record-breaking event at UFC 200.
There has been plenty of early speculation on how the business will change now that longtime owners, Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta, will no longer be involved in day-to-day operations. Much of that guesswork is being done by the fighters themselves, who will have new bosses for the first time in 15 years.
Take a look at how fighters from across the UFC landscape reacted to the historic sale.
Looking forward to the new future of my company @UFC #ufc201
— Justin (@ScogginsFlow) July 11, 2016
???
I first started with the @UFC back in 2010 and today it sold. It's crazy how time flys. pic.twitter.com/3YWKcrUCTR
— Chris Camozzi (@ChrisCamozzi) 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
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
Got a new boss, @ufc new PR machine, here comes #bigcountry pushed to a new level. https://t.co/HLYuXDQb1x
— Roy Nelson (@roynelsonmma) July 11, 2016
So I asked UFC brass after the sale, does that mean we all get paid more??? and they said... https://t.co/vaRoSPz35X
— Big Ben Rothwell (@RothwellFighter) July 11, 2016
Im excited to see the global expansion by the new @ufc team! Big things coming! Hopefully a few new #wmma weight classes too! I'm ready
— Cris Cyborg (@criscyborg) July 11, 2016
