In 2001, UFC co-founder Campbell McLaren made the difficult decision to sell the company for $2 million — a price tag that seems minuscule given that the MMA promotion just sold for a staggering $4 billion.
Of course, the UFC was very different back then. More spectacle than sport, MMA was on the brink of extinction before Zuffa LLC — the company headed by the Fertitta brothers and Dana White — purchased the name and gradually reinvented the brand.
Fast-forward 15 years, and McLaren was among the bidders looking to acquire the UFC once Lorenzo Fertitta made it known that the MMA leader was on the market. Though his proposed price tag fell short, McLaren remains a busy man in the fight game, putting his full attention on building up burgeoning Hispanic MMA franchise Combate Americas.
Earlier this week, I caught up with Campbell to talk about the UFC sale, what it means for Lorenzo and Dana, and how he thinks it impacts the greater mixed martial arts landscape.
You were part of a group that submitted a $2.8 billion bid for the UFC. Are you surprised at the group led by
I’m not surprised that the figure was that high. I think Lorenzo Fertitta wanted to sell the company for a number that represented what it could be in the coming years with Europe and Asia coming on. If a company like KKR bought it for $4 billion, that means they think it’s worth $8 billion — those guys are very sharp.
What I was surprised by was in February when I heard Lorenzo wanted to sell. To a great extent, (WME-IMG) has bought MMA. The UFC is such a clear leader in MMA it’s as if you bought soccer or football or baseball. You’re not buying one team; you’re buying a sport.
*I’m thrilled too because Combate Americas’ valuation goes up. I’ve literally been flooded by offers to invest more in Combate Americas. So, I would say I’m not surprised by the number, but very happy with the number.
*Combate Americas debuted on Fight Pass, the UFC's digital streaming service, in April.
Do you have preexisting relationships with anyone in the WME-IMG ownership group?
I do know (Co-CEO) Ari Emanuel. He’s a very smart guy who obviously has a lot of show business experience. I have a tremendous respect for him. But combat sports is obviously a very different thing, so Ari will have a learning curve to deal with.
One thing I find interesting is that Dana White is going to speak for Donald Trump at the Republican Convention, and Ari’s brother Rahm was actually President Obama’s Chief of Staff. That should lead to some interesting discussions (laughs).
What are the biggest changes you see on the horizon with this new ownership group, both internally and with partner organizations like Combate Americas?
I don’t have a crystal ball, but I look at this and think: The UFC is going to continue to be driven to be a world-class sport. It’s probably going to become — and I don’t mean this in a bad way — in some sense, very corporate. Decisions are going to made much more for the bottom line, and you’re going to continue to see the sport mature and be presented in a more ... not cookie-cutter, but standardized way.
Fight fans might look at an organization like Combate Americas and see that it offers an alternative to that with guys that are new and hungry for success. A franchise that takes more chances, presents more colorful fighters, maybe going back to the old days a little bit.
Do you think some of the things going on behind the scenes like the Muhammad Ali Act and the class-action lawsuit that’s being brought against the UFC helped prompt the sale?
I don’t think those things influenced Lorenzo. I think the sale was more in his not so secret desire to own an NFL team.
The Ali Act was never used against anyone in boxing. Why would it be used against anyone in MMA? The lawsuit that’s pending … I don’t think that’s going anywhere. After all, isn’t Bellator owned by
What about the fact that the UFC’s star power is at an all-time high? Over the past year or so, fighters like Conor McGregor and Ronda Rousey really seem to have elevated the sport. Could that have influenced their decision to sell?
The sport has clearly come into a new era. I think the sport is very star driven now, but back when I ran the UFC in the old days, Royce Gracie helped drive it, Ken Shamrock helped drive it … it’s always been star driven. MMA has a certain appeal to hardcore fans that’s always been there, but these stars come in — Conor and Ronda being good examples — and they drive interest to a whole new group of fans. Look at women in the sport … not just participating, but really becoming top ticket-sellers. That’s a whole new market that’s just arrived for the sport.
Again, I want to emphasize that I don’t think Lorenzo got out because he didn’t think things would be even better in the future. I think he wants to be part of the NFL.
Dana’s new deal is structured so he now holds a 9% stake in the UFC’s profits over the next five years. What do you see happening with him down the line? Does he stay on long-term or is this a transitionary period?
Number one: Who’s the real star of the UFC? Is it Ronda, is it Conor, or is it Dana? You know, I would have to say that it’s Dana. No one sits on the fence with him — you either love him, or you don’t. He’s been the face, the heart and soul, of the UFC. He understands fighters and he understands fans — and fans so associate Dana with the UFC, I can’t imagine him not being with it in the future.
Where do you see Dana and the new ownership groups really making those profits, though? What are the big markets that are going to open up over the course of his contract?
China is obviously a very big market, but you’ve also got to look elsewhere. The UFC has done very well in the UK, Canada and Australia, but it really has a great deal of room to grow in non-English speaking countries. France and Germany, for example, are huge territories in Europe. You’ve got literally all of Asia. So Europe and Asia are wide open for the UFC. I think that’s a big reason KKR comes in for $4 billion, probably thinking it’s an $8 billion company.
We’re actually about to announce (Combate Americas’) international expansion into Mexico, another region the UFC is just starting to move into. So we’re really going to be going head-to-head with the UFC in Mexico. It’s going to be interesting to see how we do in the next year going up against the mighty UFC.
Does that at all impact your current Fight Pass deal, and relationship with the UFC moving forward?
Both Lorenzo and Dana have been very supportive of Combate Americas, and I don’t think that’s going to change. Lorenzo has even admitted a number of the times that the UFC hasn’t been very good at drawing U.S. Hispanic fans, and there are a lot of reasons for that.
Is it going to affect our relationship? Look, they’re a $4 billion company. Our valuation right now is around $40 million. So you’re looking at a big difference. I’m not going to worry them too much. I think we’re going to be bringing new fans to the sport without taking anything away from the UFC.
