In recent times, WWE is often heard along with UFC and soon the two giant companies will go through a merger. Meanwhile, the parent company of both of them, Endeavor has faced a backlash after Saudi Arabia’s new deal.
The Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund recently took to a huge decision to invest a whopping $100 million into the PFL which is an MMA upstart league. As a result of this, shares of WWE and UFC’s parent company, Endeavor faced a major drop in value. The shares of Endeavor dropped by $2.26 a share or 9% in value. On the other hand, WWE shares dropped by $13.50 or 12% in value.
$WWE and $EDR shares are falling hard today, the day after Saudi Arabia reportedly invested $100 million in the PFL, which could compete more strongly with UFC. pic.twitter.com/7OsuFDX5q4
— Brandon Thurston (@BrandonThurston) August 31, 2023
The Saudi Arabia PFL deal has been reported to give rise to two new initiatives. One is to establish the “Super Fight” PPV division of the company. Another is to launch a PFL league for the North African region and the Middle East region.
Moreover, the investment will help attract new talents to the company. The growth of MMA in Saudi Arabia will also be aided by the deal. Saudi Arabia might also host several PFL PPV events in the future.
How does Saudi Arabia’s PFL deal harm the UFC?
Reportedly, the UFC is currently the leading MMA promotion. On the other hand, PFL is a new organization that is trying to establish itself in the MMA industry. Thus, PFL might feature some potential competition or present certain challenges for the UFC moving forward.
Saudi Arabia’s PFL deal might harm UFC by attracting many top-level fighters. They might decide to leave the Dana White-led promotion to sign with PFL. The new company might offer better financial incentives with the help of Saudi Arabia. This, in turn, will lead to a drain of talent from the UFC’s roster.
PFL CEO Donn Davis feels his promotion compares favorably to the UFC.
📰 https://t.co/pJJMb8PylB pic.twitter.com/1Hm7C00SqR
— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) September 5, 2023
As per reports, the UFC is still the dominant force. It has established itself for several years and has several highly talented fighters on its roster. Apart from that, the Dana White-led promotion has something that PFL might not have right now, and that is its loyal fans. However, it remains to be seen what awaits in the future for PFL and UFC.
