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Earlier today, Endeavor, the parent company of the UFC, announced its acquisition of WWE as it look to merge the two organizations to form a new company.
The deal sees Endeavor purchase a 51% controlling stake in the WWE, with the remaining 49% continuing to be held by investors and stakeholders. Endeavor valued the WWE at $9.3 billion, meaning their purchase likely exceeded $4.5 billion to get the deal over the line.
With the fine details still to be ironed out, many fans of both organizations have been wondering what the roles of Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel and WWE executive chairman Vince McMahon will be in the new company.
Per CNBC, Emmanuel is set to serve as the chief executive of both Endeavor and the new company, while Vince McMahon will become the executive chairman of the new organization, a position he also holds in WWE.
Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com also confirmed that Emanuel will have no control over WWE's creative decisions.
The new sports entity is also set to feature 11 members of the board, including current Endeavor president and COO Mark Shapiro, who will once again retain their roles within the new company. WWE CEO Nick Khan is also expected to be a member of the board.
UFC president Dana White reacts to Endeavor's purchase of WWE
UFC president Dana White is excited about the future following news of Endeavor and the WWE merging to form a new global sports entity.
White has long been an admirer of the professional wrestling company as well as Vince McMahon, who he believes is one of the best in the business.
Reacting to the news on Twitter, the 53-year-old stated that it's the beginning of an exciting new era in MMA and professional wrestling:
"This company has been on fire for the last seven years and now that we will be adding WWE to the portfolio, I am excited to take this to another level. Vince is a savage in the wrestling space, Ari is a beast at what he does, and then we add whast we at UFC bring to the table and there is no limit to what this company can accomplish in the next few years."
