The Ultimate Fighting Championship or UFC has been sold for approximately $4 billion to a group of private equity firms led by a Hollywood talent agency WME-IMG.
UFC President Dana White confirmed the sale to the Associated Press on Sunday night.
White will stay on with a smaller ownership stake and continue to be the face of the popular mixed-martial arts league. However, Las Vegas casino owners Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta, who bought UFC for $2 million in 2000, are selling most of their stake in the company.
Adam Hill covers mixed-martial arts for the Las Vegas Review-Journal. He told KNPR's State of Nevada that a sale had been rumored for several months.
Talent agency WME-IMG has some of the biggest players in Hollywood on its roster. Hill said it is probably those connections that is behind the deal. The TV rights to UFC fights end next year, Hill said.
"William Morris has a lot of connections in Hollywood," he said, "They have a lot of people in the TV world. They must know what that TV deal might be worth going forward."
Hill also said WME-IMG has in roads into Asia, which he called an "untapped market." So far, UFC is big in Canada, Brazil and Europe but has yet to have a major deal for TV in any Asian markets.
"I think part of this deal is that WME-IMG believe that they really have the connections to really make UFC grow in Asia," he said.
Hill doesn't believe the average fan will see any difference in their favorite fighting league.
"For the average fan... you tune in and see fights and that's what they're going to keep doing," he said.
But for those who follow the sport closely, Hill wonders who will provide the business balance to Dana White's legendary passionate style of promoting the sport.
Adam Hill, sports reporter, Las Vegas Review-Journal