There were rumors around the combat sports world that former WWE chairman Vince McMahon had a chance to buy the UFC early in the 21st century. Dana White has confirmed the rumor in a recent appearance on Big Boy TV.
White claimed, “Vince McMahon, from what I hear, his son Shane wanted to buy the UFC. Vince had the opportunity to buy it. And Vince said, ‘Yeah. No. We’re not gonna buy it.’ Vince could have bought this thing and just put it on the shelf. Or Vince could have bought it and let his son [run it].”
Back in the 1990s and 2000s, UFC was still developing and creating a fanbase. However, they were on the brink of a financial collapse. Dana White, in collaboration with Lorenzo Fertitta, bought the UFC for $2 million. At the time of the merger, UFC was valued at $12.1 billion.
Meanwhile, WWE, one of the biggest names in its industry, did make an acquisition in 2001 and it was of longtime pro wrestling competitor WCW. On the other hand, another competitor of WWE, ECW, went out of business. Eventually, WWE bought ECW’s IP and video library.
At the time, and still, UFC is not a direct competitor of the WWE, however, if McMahon listened to his son and purchased it, combat sports and pro wrestling would never have run the paths it has in the present.
WWE and UFC have undergone a merger and operate as divisions under the banner of TKO
As destiny had it, WWE and UFC finally did come under the same banner on September 12, 2023. Endeavor Group Holdings, Inc., which acquired a majority interest in UFC in 2016, bought majority ownership in WWE and merged both promotions under the banner TKO Group Holdings, Inc.
The WWE & UFC Merger is Complete:
Back in April, we got the news the WWE & UFC were seeking a merger. Well, the time has come…
This week, the new fighting and entertainment powerhouse began trading. The newly-combined company goes under the name ‘TKO Group Holdings’ – clever -… pic.twitter.com/OJwlbGmQuY
— Black Swan Street (@BlackSwanStreet) September 17, 2023
The merger is the first time WWE is not majorly owned by the McMahon family. Ari Emmanuel, CEO of Endeavor, and Vince McMahon are the founders of TKO. McMahon serves as executive chairman of the new entity with Emmanuel serving as the CEO of TKO. On the other hand, White also had a change in post. After being President of the UFC for years, he is now CEO of the UFC.
Since the beginning of this year, it was known that WWE was looking to be sold. Endeavor was always one of the contenders. By April, it was almost confirmed that Endeavor was going to buy majority shares of WWE and by September it had been completed.