Earlier this week, Endeavor Group Holdings Inc announced that they will form a new company with UFC and WWE. They valued UFC at $12.1 billion while WWE at $9.3 billion. The shares of the new entity are divided as 51% for the Endeavor Group and 49% for the WWE shareholders.
Ariel Emanuel will be CEO and Vince McMahon will be the executive chairman of the new company. Dana White will continue his role as the UFC President.
In an interview with Associated Press, Dana White commented on UFC and WWE merger. White stated that the merger will help both companies to grow their fan base. White further noted that UFC and WWE crossover won’t be happening.
“You have the power of the fanbase of WWE. You have the power of the fanbase of UFC. You have the power of the viral. I don’t even know what the hell this thing is yet, the viral ability and whatever that fanbase is going to be for Power Slap. We can reach all these people in so many different ways. There is a lot more resources now. WWE has a lot more resources. It’s a phone call away now. All they have to do is pick up the phone now and say, ‘Hey, how did this happen? I need this. I need this contact. How did you do this?’ You all work together to make sure that everybody wins. We’ve been together on the same weekend many times. Come out of a UFC event, you have Monday Night Raw. Who knows. These are all things that can be figured out on the business side.
The difference between UFC and WWE is, if you look at the WWE, they have an entertainment value, and they have these guys that are incredible athletes that go in there and do their thing. It’s well known that it’s scripted. When you look at the UFC, this is as real as it gets. That’s our tagline. You have these guys that are incredible athletes that have to be well-rounded and well-versed in all these different aspects of martial arts. Then you have the entertainment side of it too, but it’s real fighting, it’s real. There are no predetermined outcomes in the UFC. There won’t really be any type of crossover.”
H/T PWMania.com
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