Zitat: Dear Athletes

We are writing to personally advise you of a change to UFC. Renowned entertainment, sports and fashion giant WME | IMG has entered into agreement to acquire UFC. Silver Lake Partners, KKR, MSD Capital, L.P. and MSD Partners, L.P. will join WME | IMG as new strategic investors. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions.

From the moment Zuffa, LLC purchased UFC over 15 years ago, you, the athletes, have always been the central focus of the promotion. That will not change. WME | IMG, who has been involved with UFC for many years, is focused on the continued global expansion of mixed martial arts and committed to further promotion you on the global stage.

Upon closing of the deal, Lorenzo Fertitta will be stepping down as Chairman and CEO of the organization, however Lorenzo and Frank will retain a minority ownership interest in the business. UFC President Dana White will continue in his role and will also retain a minority ownership interest.

The organization’s leadership, a team of great executives hand-picked to help lead the business, will remain in place to carry on their work and continue to lead the team of dedicated employees who promote your careers as mixed martial arts athletes.

You remain a very important part of the highly driven, dedicated and motivated organization that will continue to deliver world-class experiences and opportunities for you as athletes and for the greatest fans in the world.

Thank you,

The Zuffa executive team

Zitat:“This is what they do. If you look at Frank, Lorenzo and I, when we got involved in this business we weren’t television or sports guys. We’ve never done any of that stuff. The thing about us is we were huge fight fans and we knew exactly what we wanted. We knew the product we wanted, we knew what we wanted it to look like, and we knew we wanted to put on the best fights that you could possibly put on.

WME co-CEOs Ari Emanuel and Patrick Whitesell are media guys. This is what they do. This is what they are good at. This is what they drive to work and do every day. So I think this brings so much to the table. Then, if you look at the IMG side, with production in other countries and everything else, once we get this thing dialed in, it’s gonna be awesome. I am excited for this next phase.”

Zitat:Our team’s been honored to represent UFC and work with a number of you on the entertainment side for the past few years. We’ve had a front row seat as both a partner and as a fan to witness your dedication to this sport and UFC’s remarkable work in growing MMA’s popularity and elevating the organization on a global scale.

We couldn’t be more excited for what the future holds for UFC and for all of you. As UFC’s new operating partner, we will be working with Dana and the UFC team to amplify the work that’s already been done by mobilizing all of the sports and entertainment assets we have available to us in our international network.

We look forward to working with you and welcome any ideas and feedback as we begin this new chapter together.

Ari Emanuel & Patrick Whitesell
Co-CEOs, WME | IMG