SUMMARY
- UFC is an MMA promotion based in Las Vegas, USA, with several hundreds of employees.
- It is currently owned by TKO Group Holdings.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an MMA promotion based in Las Vegas, USA. It is one of the most prominent combat sports promotions in the world. UFC is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings. UFC is a global company that hosts events worldwide.
The MMA promotion was founded by American businessman Art Davie and Brazilian MMA fighter Rorion Gracie in the early 1990s. The first event held by the company was in 1993 at the McNichols Sports Arena in Denver, Colorado.
Over 30 years later, some major changes have taken place at the UFC. It has changed rules, owners, and several heads of departments.
The Semaphore Entertainment Group (SEG) initially owned the UFC until 2001. It was sold to brothers Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta. They formed Zuffa to manage the UFC and Dana White was appointed as the company’s president.
In 2016, Zuffa, the UFC’s parent company, was acquired by a group led by Endeavor (formerly William Morris Endeavor or WME–IMG) along with other partners for $4.025 billion. In 2021, Endeavor acquired the remaining ownership of Zuffa for $1.7 billion.
Further, in April 2023, UFC merged with WWE under the name of TKO Group Holdings – a new company majority-owned by Endeavor.
Who are the directors of several different departments in the UFC?
Several key people run the UFC. According to LinkedIn, UFC has approximately 500 employees. Further, they have almost 2000 associated members.
Two of the most important people at the company are Ari Emanuel – CEO of TKO – and Dana White – CEO and President of UFC.
Here is a list of heads of departments in the UFC acquired from the company’s LinkedIn account:
- Tony Barboza – Director of Event Operations
- Jim S. – Director of Equipments
- Tom Wright – Director of Operations
- Romain Fomin – Director of Sport Science
- Heather Linden – Senior Director of Physical Therapy
- Charles Stull – Director, Performance Nutrition at UFCPI
- Brian Smith – Sr. Director, Corporate Communications and Social Responsibility
- Travis Santypal – Technical Operations Director
- Aziz Bawany – Director of Digital Product
- Mark Pierzchala – Director, Retail and Business Development
- Chris Brown Cornell – Director of Camera Department
- Lenee (Randle) Breckenridge – Director of Public Relations