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The biggest mixed martial arts promotion in the world, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is owned by Endeavor Group. Endeavor holds a 50.1% stake in the mixed martial arts promotion. The UFC is the company's biggest income generator.
According to a report by wayofmartialarts.com, the rest of the promotion's 49.9% stakes are split between Silver Lake Partners, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and MSD Capital.
The promotion's president Dana White is also known to hold an undisclosed percentage of the company's stakes. White used to have 9% under previous ownership before Endeavor took over the company in 2016.
Endeavor reportedly shelled out upwards of $4 billion to acquire the mixed martial arts promotion. The company took over the mixed martial arts organization by buying out the promotion's parent company Zuffa from the Fertitta Brothers.
The premier MMA promotion is expected to have doubled in value in recent years. Apart from holding fight events, the UFC also produces reality series like The Ultimate Fighter (TUF).
Watch a video stating the promotion's current value below:
In 2013 the promotion also launched a subscription-based streaming service called UFC Fight Pass, which gives fans access to pay-per-view prelim fights as well as all the promotion's originals.
When was the UFC founded and who were the original owners?
The Ultimate Fighting Championship first began on 12 November 1993 under the ownership of War of The Worlds (WOW) promotions. Brazilian jiu jitsu grandmaster Rorion Gracie, entrepreneurs Art Davies, John Milius, Bob Meyrowitz and David Isaacs were the first owners of the company.
The tournament saw fighters from different disciplines battling it out against each other to be crowned the winner. Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner Royce Gracie was the winner of the first tournament.
Watch a few memorable moments from the first UFC event below:
Starting with humble beginnings in 1993, the first Ultimate Fighting Championship event was unable to sell half the seats at the McNichols Sports Arena in Colorado. However, the organization has since developed itself into being the most successful MMA promotion in history.
Even during the Covid-19 ridden 2021, the promotion recorded another revenue landmark. The promotion registered a total of $5.1 billion in revenue for 2021, which exceeded the annual guidance by 46%.
In a 2011 interview, Rorion Gracie stated that he was not surprised by the immense success of the promotion:
"You know it never suprised me it got that big, because when I got to the United States in 1978 with the objective of establishing jiu-jitsu here I was very confident that the techniques were so proficient, so good that the world would not let them go by unnoticed. So it doesn't surprise me a bit that eventually everybody embraced the concept [concept of MMA] as a I hope it would."
Watch the full interview below:
