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Legendary tennis player Venus Williams owns a small share of the UFC. The opportunity arose after WME-IMG purchased the MMA organization in 2016, with the media conglomerate offering shares to some of its high-profile clients.
Williams was one of those high-profile clients that invested. Her sister, Serena Williams, also invested in the company. Other big-name celebrities to pick up shares include Ben Affleck, Adam Levine, and Conan O'Brien.
In 2021, media conglomerate Endeavor Group Holdings went public on the stock exchange. This means that it is no longer just high-profile clients that get to invest in the company. The general public is also free to invest in the MMA organization.
The UFC has grown bigger each year, with reported earnings of over $1 billion in the first quarter of 2022. This means that early investors like the Williams sisters are likely to make a large profit on their initial shares from 2016.
In 2021, Endeavor raised the required funds and bought the remaining shares in the MMA organization and now owns 100% of the business.
Who founded the UFC?
The original founders of the Ultimate Fighting Championship were Art Davie and martial artist Rorion Gracie. The duo started the organization in 1993 and held their first event in the same year.
The two no longer have control of the company after the recent sale to Endeavor gave the media conglomerate 100% control of the UFC.
However, the main aim of the UFC was never to become a massive company like it is today. The concept of the organization was to find out which martial arts was the most effective in combat. Many of the early events had small crowds but gained interest via pay-per-view due to the violent nature of the fights.
Watch the first-ever Ultimate Fighting Championship fight here:
The first-ever event was marketed to have "no rules, no judges and no time limits" which helped create hype for the historic fights. The legendary Royce Gracie won the entire event, beating Gerard Gordeau via submission in the final.
Venus Williams and Father Richard recall one match that 7-time Grand Slam champion "should have won"
