UFC
Meryl Streep’s Comments About Mixed Martial Arts Motivated Conor McGregor to Prove Her Wrong in ‘Road House’
At the New York City premiere of Doug Liman’s remake of Road House on Tuesday, Conor McGregor shared with The Hollywood Reporter how Meryl Streep’s negative comments about mixed martial arts made him want to prove himself even more while starring in the film. While accepting the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the 2017 Golden […]
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Fighters Win Key Ruling Clearing Way For Legal Bout With TKO Group’s UFC
A legal showdown between Ultimate Fighting Championship and more than 1,200 fighters suing for wage suppression is headed to trial. A federal judge, in an order issued on Thursday, turned down a bid to dismiss the lawsuit accusing UFC of engaging in an illegal scheme to build and maintain a monopoly by systematically eliminating competition […]
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How to Watch UFC 296 Livestream Online
It’s fight night! UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards is set to defend his belt against American Colby Covington during the main card title match at UFC 296 tonight, Saturday, Dec. 16. If you’re looking for a way to watch the big fight, UFC 296 is livestreaming on ESPN+ as a pay-per-view event. The event is […]
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Paramount Sells Bellator MMA Promotion to Saudi-Backed PFL
Paramount has cut a deal to sell off its Bellator mixed martial arts promotion. The company is selling a majority stake in Bellator to the Professional Fighters League (PFL), an upstart MMA promotion that was created to take on the UFC, which is the dominant player in the space. Terms of the deal were not […]
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Wall Street Plays Ball: Sports Leagues in Demand for Investors
One hundred years ago, in August 1923, the Green Bay Packers football club was formed in a public stock sale. The Packers sold 1,000 shares at $5 apiece, raising $5,000 (about $90,000 today, adjusted for inflation). The team has held five stock sales since then, in 1935, 1950, 1997, 2011 and 2021, but despite raising […]
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Endeavor Closes UFC, WWE Merger, Creating Powerhouse Firm TKO Group
Endeavor Group Holdings’ mixed martial arts promotion UFC and the sports entertainment powerhouse WWE are now officially a tag team, closing a mega-combination that they had unveiled in early April. “We’re ready to fire out of the gate,” says Mark Shapiro, Endeavor’s president and COO, who will hold the same title at the combined company, TKO Group. With […]
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WWE Touts Nearly 90M U.S. Fans as CEO Says “It’s Time to Monetize” With New TV Deals
Sports entertainment powerhouse WWE, which is planning to merge with Endeavor’s UFC, has been touting positive TV ratings trends and strong ticket sales for its live events. Now, a new data point shows that the number of Americans aged 8 and over who are identifying as WWE fans has also continued to grow. In 2022, […]
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Endeavor to Launch Quarterly Dividend Amid Heightened Dealmaking
Endeavor plans to launch a quarterly dividend, a sign of confidence in its business as it continued to embark on a number of dealmaking moves. The company, which owns UFC and WME, reported first quarter revenues of $1.6 billion and net income of $36.3 million. The owned sports division (including UFC and PBR) delivered particularly […]
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Conor McGregor Doubles Down on Comeback Plan in First Footage for Netflix’s ‘McGregor Forever’
Ultimate Fighting Championship standout Conor McGregor refuses to be down for the count in the first look at Netflix’s upcoming docuseries McGregor Forever. The streamer announced Tuesday that the four-part unscripted series focusing on the former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion’s comeback efforts will launch May 17. Preview footage for the project that hails from […]
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UFC+WWE: A Combustible Combo, With a Fighting Chance at Becoming a Powerhouse
UFC president Dana White celebrated the landmark $21 billion deal to merge his mixed martial arts promotion with the WWE by sitting ringside (Octagonside?) with a trio of WWE hall of famers at UFC 287, which was held at the Kaseya Center in Miami on April 8. White was the center of attention, thanks in no small […]
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WWE-UFC: How Wall Street Views the Deal So Far
Mixed martial arts powerhouse UFC and sports entertainment giant WWE are betting that they are even stronger together. So executives from UFC owner Endeavor and WWE, fresh off WrestleMania 39 weekend in Los Angeles, stepped into the spotlight to unveil a merger to form a global live sports and entertainment titan, 51 percent controlled by […]
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Endeavor President Says UFC-WWE Merger Will Bolster Its Representation Business
The $21 billion merger of the WWE and UFC will create a sports and entertainment powerhouse, but the companies do not expect to rest on their laurels, Endeavor president and COO Mark Shapiro says. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter on Monday after the deal was formally unveiled, Shapiro (who will serve as president and COO […]
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