John Dodson is a BKFC champion

John Dodson has been making magic happen of late. “The Magician” won the inaugural BKFC flyweight title on Friday night, stopping JR Ridge by TKO inside of a round at BKFC 48. That’s his third win in three outings in the bare-knuckle realm; the former UFC title challenger is also on a three-fight win streak in MMA.

John Dodson is a cheat code in BKFC pic.twitter.com/fzJUw4tb75

— The Octagon Obsessed (@octagonobsessed) August 12, 2023

What’s next for Dodson? Good question. He recently made his RIZIN FF debut and now has two wins in the Japanese promotion. At 38, he doesn’t have a ton of time left in combat sports, especially at flyweight, but The Ultimate Fighter 14 winner is having a heck of a late-career resurgence.

Musk Claims Zuck Fight to Happen in Roman Colosseum, Zuck Refutes Claim, Wants to Work with UFC or ONE Championship

Now for your weekly update on the dreadful Elon Musk vs. Mark Zuckerberg fight proposal. This past week, Musk took to Twitter, or X, or whatever he intends to call it, to claim the fight would stream on the platform and take place in the Roman Colosseum. The Tesla and Space X CEO even claimed to have spoken to the Italian government about the proposal. Dana White and the UFC, said Musk, will not be involved.

Not so fast. Zuckerberg, Meta’s head honcho and founder of Facebook, says he would only do the fight if the UFC or a similar promotion like ONE Championship were involved.

“I love this sport and I’ve been ready to fight since the day Elon challenged me. If he ever agrees on an actual date, you’ll hear it from me. Until then, please assume anything he says has not been agreed on,” Zuckerberg wrote on Threads, his latest social media platform.

“Not holding my breath for Elon, but I’ll share details on my next fight when I’m ready. When I do compete, I want to do it in a way that puts a spotlight on the elite athletes at the top of the game. You do that by working with professional orgs like the UFC or ONE to pull this off and create a great card.”

Frank Mir wants to wrap up career with two fights in UFL

Former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir isn’t done fighting just yet. Speaking to MMA Fighting recently, Mir revealed that he plans on taking two more fights under the United Fight League (UFL) banner, a promotion he’s currently working with.

“Obviously, I’m in the twilight of my career,” Mir told MMA Fighting. “Now I’m starting to shift over in how I train and how I move. I realized training three times a day is over for me. I have other responsibilities that I have to address but training once a day is still good and then I go lift weights to keep myself healthy and sane. Because mentally I wouldn’t be able to cope with life if I didn’t have training and martial arts as an outlet. It’s my religion.

“So I want to do possibly two more fights and I want to do it for the UFL, to fight for us.”

Ideally, the heavyweight legend wants to share a card with daughter Bella for his final bow.

“I want to fight one just to get back into it before I do a last fight with Bella. Hopefully I can fight sometime from December to February time period is what I’m looking for to come back as far as a first fight to knock the rust off me and then hopefully this summer [2024] come out sharp and fight on the same card as Bella.”

UFL 3 went down on Saturday in Mesa, AZ. The promotion made a splash when it announced it was providing health insurance for its fighters.

Fighter destroys leg at ACA 161

Not for the feint of heart.

Grigoriy Ponomarev rolled over his own leg at ACA 161, breaking it and possibly damaging his ligaments and tibial plateau. Whatever the outcome, this is a very nasty injury.

Oh my god. Horrific broken leg at ACA. One of the worst I've ever seen

— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) August 11, 2023

UFC Donating $1 million to relief effort in Maui

Devastating wildfires on the Hawaiian island of Maui have led the UFC to donate $1 million to the relief effort, UFC President Dana White announced on Saturday.

In addition, the promotion is selling a UFC Hawaii t-shirt that will see 100% of the proceeds donated to support relief efforts as well.

Great move by the promotion. Upwards of 80 people were killed in the recent sudden, unexpected wildfires, with victims jumping into the ocean to escape oppressive smoke and flames.

We are donating $1M to support Hawaii relief efforts plus 100 percent of proceeds from the shirt. Help support by clicking the link to order now. Mahalo

Donate now: https://t.co/6wM2WpyUtr pic.twitter.com/7ZBLaVxQ1o

— danawhite (@danawhite) August 12, 2023

McKinney Reacts to UFC Vegas 78 Win

It was back to the win column on Saturday for Terrance “T.Wrecks” McKinney, snapping a two-fight skid with a first-round stoppage of Mike Breeden. Here’s his reaction.

I wanna thank everyone that’s supported me through the whole journey. This has been a roller coaster for me and I’m still learning and evolving in all parts of my life. Thank you for your support I appreciate everything 🙏🏾

— Terrance McKinney (@twrecks155) August 12, 2023

The post Sunday MMA Quick Hits: Dodson Captures BKFC Gold, UFC Supporting Hawaiian Relief Efforts appeared first on Cageside Press.

Elon Musk says cage fight with Mark Zuckerberg to stream on Twitter X

Elon Musk continues to push a potential mixed martial arts bout with Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg, despite how much we wish he wouldn’t. The fight, which is highly unlikely to ever happen and even less likely to be any good, has been talked about for weeks now. Fuelled in part by Zuckerberg competing in jiu-jitsu, and Musk, who heads up Tesla, Space X, The Boring Company, and now Twitter, never shutting up about it.

The latest update: Musk claims the event will stream on X with the proceeds going to charity.

Zuck v Musk fight will be live-streamed on 𝕏.

All proceeds will go to charity for veterans.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 6, 2023

The only way this becomes even mildly entertaining is if Zuck turns out to be an imposter, WWE style, then someone runs in and cracks Musk with a chair. And even that might not be enough to get us to tune in.

Nate Diaz willing to fight Jake or Logan Paul

The Diaz brothers have never been ones to turn down fights. So after Nate Diaz dropped a decision against Jake Paul on Saturday, brother Nick is willing to step up and fight for the family’s honor.

Nick Diaz wants into the ring following his brother's fight against Jake Paul. #PaulDiaz pic.twitter.com/Jt9O4Mfd2k

— Cageside Press (@Cagesidepress) August 6, 2023

“I’m a lot better than both of these guys that are out there. I’d love to entertain the idea of moving on in on whoever they’ve got for me. So if they want to do Round 2 [versus Jake], if [Nate] ain’t going to do it, I’ll take it. [Jake’s] got an older brother too, so don’t forget about the one and only.”

So there you have it. Nick Diaz is down to face either Jake Paul or Logan Paul. Yay?

For everyone other than Jake Paul, this is a terrible idea. Logan is under contract to the WWE, and if your name isn’t Brock Lesnar, you probably aren’t moonlighting in combat sports. As for Jake, he’s built his business model off beating aging, undersized mixed martial artists in a boxing ring. That includes Ben Askren (welterweight, off hip surgery and best known as a wrestler), Tyron Woodley (welterweight, best known as a wrestler with some power), Anderson Silva (a middleweight who can actually box, but was 47), and Nate Diaz (best known as a lightweight turned welterweight). Not one of them come close to Paul’s actual size, and all are handicapped in boxing, where they’re unable to use their full skill set.

So let’s add Nick Diaz, who looked wildly out of place in his last fight opposite Robbie Lawler?

Nate Diaz wants Paul rematch, in any sport

Well, maybe not badminton. But Nate Diaz is down to rematch Jake Paul in MMA or boxing, it seems.

“Right now we’re going to go home and we’re going to talk about it, and we’re going to figure out whether we want to do MMA or boxing, and then we’ll see what they want to do,” Diaz said (h/t MMA Fighting) following Saturday’s boxing match, which saw Paul win a decision. “They said they wanted to do the PFL thing, and I think that if we want to do that, we’re going to have to co-promote and do Real Fight vs. PFL, and I’m with that. But my goal is to get a rematch in any art.”

“We’re going to see what happens with him, see if he really wants to do that,” Diaz added. “If not, I’ll be back in this hunting him down too. Either way is fine with me.”

The post Sunday MMA Quick Hits: Nick Diaz Wants Logan or Jake Paul, Nate Open to Rematch in Boxing or MMA appeared first on Cageside Press.

Is it BJJ or Pro Wrestling?

Remember the time when a jiu-jitsu competitor powerbombed his opponent through a table? No, Pepperidge Farms doesn’t remember, because Pepperidge Farms has nothing to do with BJJ. But we remember, thanks to the Twitter user below.

Pretty sure this isn’t a legal type of defense in most BJJ tournaments, but what is even more wild is, the victim here gets up and walks back to the mat like nothing happened.

Per a report by MMA Fighting, the competition in question was the July 1 Jiu Jitsu World League event.

Some dude at a BJJ competition powerbombed his opponent through the announce table lmao pic.twitter.com/vKhpAdLCJQ

— MixingMartialArts (@RyanAWagMMA) July 3, 2023

Elon Musk trains with GSP

Elon Musk has become something of an attention seeker since taking over Twitter, and the pointless “Musk vs. Zuck” fight that should never happen between himself and rival Mark Zuckerberg has become an easy way for the Tesla and Space X chief to stay in the spotlight. For something other than Twitter’s tedious push to bilk users of $8 a month, anyway.

With Dana White hawking t-shirts for the fight no one asked for and “MMA Twitter” lining up to take sides, Musk got some training in with none other than Georges St-Pierre recently. The verdict? Musk says he needs more training.

Musk and Zuck probably need to figure out the whole weight class issue as well, given most commissions these days don’t go for openweight. Possible options: fight in Japan, where openweight still flies, or compete in an exhibition bout, which would amount to a sparring match.

Or better yet, don’t do this at all.

Really fun! The obvious conclusion is that I need a *lot* more training.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 3, 2023

Chito Vera believes Sean O’Malley “Shouldn’t Be a Problem” for Aljamain Sterling

“If you see accolades and who fought who, the fight shouldn’t be a problem for Sterling.”

So says Marlon “Chito” Vera, who appeared on The MMA Hour (h/t MMA Fighting) this past week to discuss, among other things, Sean O’Malley’s upcoming shot at bantamweight gold against Aljamain Sterling.

In short, Vera seems to think that O’Malley’s resume doesn’t pass muster. For a more detailed explanation, well, read on.

“O’Malley can say whatever the f*ck he wants to say – the two guys that have been in the top-five that beat him, me was one and I beat him – I put him out,” Vera said. “Pedro Munhoz, been around, and he’s a top-five caliber guy – [O’Malley] poked him in the eye, and it was a no-contest, and he didn’t show anything. You get opportunity to fight somebody like that, you try to go and smoke him.

“The B-level competition, yeah, he put all of them out. Almeida was washed a lot of times. He wasn’t washed up – he was super washed up. Eddie Wineland, respect to the guy, he’s a legend, but I mean he got killed, what, four more times or three more times. Then the green-haired kid [Kris Moutinho] couldn’t wanna fight the UFC.”

Cris Lencioni takes first steps in ongoing recoveryy

Bellator vet Cris Lencioni’s tragic near-fatal medical emergency last month has left the fighter with apparent brain damage, and a massive amount of physiotherapy waits ahead of him.

This past week, the fighter took his first steps since going into cardiac arrest during a training session.

Cris Lencioni took his first steps on Sunday since being hospitalized and suffering brain damage as the result of the heart attack on June 8.

The latest on Lencioni from @MMAFightingSM 📰 https://t.co/TyeGcNEByL pic.twitter.com/fx39QPvwla

— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) July 4, 2023

You can help with Lencioni’s recovery by pitching in via GoFundMe. Or alternately pick up one of this Lencioni tees, with proceeds also going to the recovery effort.

Did Conor McGregor just reveal his return date?

Conor McGregor is known to be an active tweeter during big UFC events, and that was certainly the case with UFC 290. McGregor had plenty to say, but the most interesting part might be his response to a fan asking for his return date.

One word: December.

Of course, it was a tweet and delete, but here’s a screenshot:

That would make sense, given Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic was just announced for UFC 295 in November. That card will take place in New York City, with December’s UFC 296 going down at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Of course, a December date would require McGregor to receive an exemption from the six-month testing period required by USADA for fighters returning to the testing pool, which McGregor withdrew from while healing the leg he broke in a fight with Dustin Poirier in 2021.

An exemption, however, is within the UFC’s power to grant. And it is the UFC, not USADA, who has final say in the matter.

Respect

Dan Hooker and Jalin Turner had an all-out war at UFC 290, but still managed to take a selfie, all smiles, in the hospital afterwards.

Hespec pic.twitter.com/h4U3TLj2rK

— Dan Hangman Hooker (@danthehangman) July 9, 2023

The post Sunday MMA Quick Hits: McGregor Reveals Return Date? Plus Musk Trains with GSP appeared first on Cageside Press.

A member of the UFC Hall of Fame himself, GSP is years removed from his final fight, which saw him claim middleweight gold in 2017. But he has remained in the gym, in the spotlight, and will return in a grappling contest at the UFC Fight Pass Invitational later this year.

In the meantime, the Canadian great shed some light on what training with Elon Musk recently was like.

“He’s very strong, much stronger than the average man. And he’s very tough,” St-Pierre told media outlets including Cageside Press on the red carpet on Thursday, ahead of the Hall of Fame induction ceremony. “Elon, when he puts his mind and energy into something, he’s almost unstoppable.”

The always diplomatic St-Pierre wasn’t about to comment on whether he would join Threads, a new Twitter-like app that has sparked a rivalry between Musk, Twitter’s new owner, and Facebook/Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg, who appears to be looking to submit Elon in the social media game.

“I’m not part of that trash talk thing and I don’t want to be part of it,” GSP said. “I let Elon know that if he needs me, I will be there to help him if he needs.”

The trash talk between Musk and Zuckerberg online has led to talk of an actual fight, with Dana White already selling t-shirts for a bout that will probably (and should definitely) never happen.

Speaking of trash talk, St-Pierre told Cageside Press just why he never engaged in it throughout his storied career.

“I think you need to be authentic, and you don’t need to trash talk if it’s not your personality,” St-Pierre stated. “You have to realize that English is not my first language. If you go back more than a decade ago, my English was not the best. It’s still not great, but it got better over the years.”

“I choose my battles carefully. I know if I go into a trash talk contest with someone who speaks perfect English, I’m going to lose. Also because I’m just not good at it. So I decided to focus my energy on the most important thing, what I do in the octagon.”

You can see more of Georges St-Pierre at this year’s UFC Hall of Fame ceremony above.

The post Georges St-Pierre Says He’s Not Part of Twitter/Threads Trash Talk, but Will Be There for Elon Musk appeared first on Cageside Press.

Justin Tafa wants his win bonus

Justin Tafa’s night was cut short at UFC Jacksonville when Austen Lane inadvertently poked him in the eye, rendering him unable to continue.

Following what was ruled a No Contest, Tafa went online to petition for his win bonus. You can’t blame him, really. That eye poke was downright nasty.

I deserve my Win bonus that’s a DQ man pic.twitter.com/CMNdW0ZUtL

— Justin Tafa (@justin_tafa) June 24, 2023

Sadibou Sy wheel kick launches Shane Mitchell into next week

There was a very good one-two punch to close out PFL 6 in Atlanta, Georgia on Friday.

In the co-main event, Sadibou Sy kicked it off with an insanely accurate and devastating wheel kick that KO’d Shane Mitchell in a heartbeat. Thankfully Mitchell was okay, which makes us feel a lot less guilty about watching this highlight on repeat.

This finish followed by OAM stopping Anthony Romero in the main event was a fantastic end to the night.

Rockhold says he’d “f*cking kill” Pereira on the ground

Yes, we already did this story, but what’s a quicker hit than this? Our crew was in the house for Karate Combat 40 this weekend, where Luke Rockhold had a little something to say about how he matches up with Alex Pereira.

Do note that he said “on the ground.”

Jon Anik is one of the best guys in the sport

UFC play-by-play man Jon Anik isn’t just a great guy on the mic but a great guy period. He probably doesn’t get enough credit for things like this: giving some love to Chepe Mariscal, who was overlooked in the bonus department following UFC Jacksonville. So kudos to Jon for doing his thing and being a positive force in the sport.

How about this Chepe Mariscal cat?! That is a hugely memorable UFC debut. He was totally unfazed by all the bright lights that come with a first UFC fight week. I even like the wiffle now, although I think he should get a skin fade. 💈 #CHEPE 🤫

— Jon Anik (@Jon_Anik) June 25, 2023

Dana White still teasing Musk vs. Zuck

We just downright refused to give any airtime (or page space, more accurately) to talk of a fight between Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk this past week. Sure, it would have been some easy clicks, but know what? It’s a stupid idea, which has almost zero chance of happening, and if it were to happen, it would be atrocious. Thought CM Punk vs. Mike Jackson was bad? Zuck vs. Musk is likely to make that look like a Fight of the Year contender.

But it’s Sunday, and you know what that means — we catch up on all the stories we didn’t get to during the week. Rarely is that intentional, but more an issue of time and manpower. Not the case here. But hey, Dana White likes keeping in the news cycle, and this is him doing just that. No faulting him there, it’s his job. But there’s as much chance of White actually promoting this fight as there is of the Fiji Mermaid being legit, and not just a dead money with a fish tail sewn on its posterior.

pic.twitter.com/gzZbJOP9hm

— danawhite (@danawhite) June 25, 2023

One last (and hopefully it will be the last) comment on this: if Musk and Zuck really want to throw down in the battle of the billionaires, they should do it behind closed doors. Make it a gym challenge. Make sure barely anyone is there. Whatever happens, the rumors of what transpired will become legend, and will wind up more entertaining than anything that could happen in a fight between two spoiled rich kids.

Tony Khan denies Bellator MMA rumors

No, AEW owner Tony Khan, nor his father (who owns the Jacksonville Jaguars) are not in talks to purchase Bellator MMA, nor have they ever been.

After Ariel Helwani made the claim recently, Khan rejected the rumors ahead of a star-studded Canadian tour set to kick off this Sunday with AEW Forbidden Door in Toronto.

“I was surprised to see that report. I haven’t had any conversations with them about that,” Tony Khan said (h/t WrestleZone) during a media scrum for Forbidden Door. “So I don’t know what that was about. My father hasn’t had any conversations with them either. I don’t even know, honestly, who owns the promotion. Is Scott Coker, the owner, the President? I’m not sure.

“I’m familiar with Bellator. I’m familiar with MMA and have never worked professionally in this space other than having some stars from UFC appear at times in AEW. But I saw that report, and yeah, there’s really nothing to that. I’m not sure where that rumor got started. But obviously, it’s an interesting time in the MMA business, just as it’s a very interesting time in the pro wrestling business with a lot of things happening and with the success of AEW and our international expansion.”

Later, Khan threw a little shade at Helwani, who has appeared on-camera for rival WWE in the past.

“But I honestly have never had any talks, and my father has never had any talks about buying Bellator, so I was surprised to see that. I was at the show I was backstage yesterday; somebody sent me that. Was that something Ariel Helwani reported? Well, it would not be the first inaccurate thing Ariel Helwani has reported that is completely inaccurate, but that’s Ariel Helwani for you.”

The post Sunday MMA Quick Hits: White Teases Musk vs. Zuck, Khan Denies Bellator Talks appeared first on Cageside Press.

If You Ain’t Cheating You Ain’t Trying

Putting aside the fact that our mothers would curse us for using “ain’t” in any sort of published article, this Tim Elliott story is something we didn’t get to, and we really should have.

Elliott was accused of grabbing the gloves of opponent Tagir Ulanbekov at UFC 272, and instead of denying what was blatantly caught on camera, Elliott owned it.

“At the end of the day, if Tagir would’ve beat me, nobody would’ve said sh*t about the glove grab, nobody would’ve said anything about the cheating. The only reason why people are upset about the glove grab sh*t is because they lost,” he told MMA Fighting recently. “His team lost and it just makes them look bad. They wouldn’t have said anything about anything had they won, so it’s just one of those things.”

“If you’ve ever been in a fight — and maybe I’m different — I’m trying to win, man. It’s the referee’s job to step in there if I’m doing something wrong. He was telling me all kinds of sh*t, he told me to let go of the glove and I let go of the glove. But for me, it’s not that big of a deal. I’m in there fist fighting. People are going on and on about the morality of the sport and the warrior spirit and all of that bullsh*t, but I don’t f*cking care. I’m not a martial artist — I’m a fighter and this is my job. I’m trying to make money at this job, and that’s what I did [at UFC 272].”

Paging Scott Coker: Elon Musk vs. Vladimir Putin is the Freakshow Fight We Deserve

After Elon Musk took to Twitter to challenge Vladimir Putin to a fight with the fate of Ukraine in the balance, the social media network was quick to alert Dana White.

They picked the wrong promoter.

I hereby challenge
Владимир Путин
to single combat

Stakes are Україна

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 14, 2022

This is exactly the sort of fight Scott Coker should be in charge of. After all, he gave us Kimbo Slice vs. Ken Shamrock, not to mention Rampage Jackson vs. Fedor Emelianenko. Plus, thanks to his working relationship with Fedor, he has an in with Putin.

Not sure how this fight would go down. Putin allegedly has a background in Judo, but he’s also nearly two full decades older than Musk. With luck, Musk would just run him over with a Tesla.

Oh, and this sort of challenge essentially makes light of the thousands of deaths Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has caused, but that goes without saying.

Dana White Not Entirely Opposed to Jake Paul Fighting in UFC

Well, file this under “things we thought we’d never hear until hell froze over.” In fact, someone do a quick temperature check in the underworld, please.

Appearing on Logan Paul’s podcast, UFC President White suggested that he wasn’t entirely opposed to Jake Paul fighting in the UFC at some point.

“I’m never completely closed off to anything,” White told the podcast. “I used to say that about things, but I don’t say that anymore, because you never know. You never know what could happen.”

Okay, so it’s a far cry from “I’d love to see Jake Paul in the octagon,” but it’s still more than we expected.

Jake Paul Responds to White’s Weight Class Comments

On that very same podcast appearance, White noted that the idea of Paul fighting Conor McGregor was out of the question, due to the size difference. Paul has competed as a boxer at cruiserweight, generally weighing in just north of 190 pounds. McGregor is best known as a featherweight and lightweight in MMA (145 and 155 pounds, respectively), with a couple of welterweight fights (170 pounds) against fellow lightweights who opted to forgo a weight cut.

“He shouldn’t even be fighting Conor McGregor,” White said. “These guys are f*cking huge. He’s huge, his brother is huge. What’s your brother, 6-foot-1, 210 [pounds]? Conor McGregor is 145, 155 pounds.”

“There’s weight classes for a reason,” White later added. Even Logan Paul admitted his brother couldn’t make 170.

Jake had his own take.

“Dana White is begging for [Nate] Diaz and Conor to fight for a third time,” Paul responded on social media. “They have fought at 170 pounds in both their fights. I will fight Conor at 175 pounds, no problem. Stop making excuses p*ssy.”

Ari Emmanuel Defends UFC Fighter Pay, Claims It’s Up 600%

Speaking of Paul, he was name-dropped on a recent Endeavor (parent company of UFC) earnings call.

Brandon Ross of Lightshed Partners brought up the subject.

“UFC fighter comp and benefits have become a real hot topic of conversation lately. I know that’s been elevated by Jake Paul,” Ross said on the call. “I was just wondering if you could give your perspective on why the overall split have ended up where they are and what your outlook is there, whether we should expect relative share that fighters are getting of that revenue pool to go up in time or stay kind of where it is.”

Emmanuel, after checking with Endeavor CFO Jason Lublin, claimed “We’ve increased fighter pay… …Six hundred percent since 2005. So — and we’re investing in the business with Performance Institute, food, recovery. So we have done— and now participation in Dapper Labs and NFTs in the kits. So we think we’ve done very, very well.”

“And as the revenue for the business increases has only benefited that business, and we’ve grown and the sport has grown and fighter pay has grown too, as I said, how much it’s gone up since 2005.”

That would be great and all if not for the reality that an entry level fighter in the UFC makes $12,000 to show and another $12,000 to win, so if they fight twice in their first year and lose both fights, they’re stuck with $24,000 and lose a huge chunk of that to taxes, gym fees, travel expenses, and other costs.

Not to mention, Endeavor bought just over a 50% stake in the UFC in 2016 for 4.3 billion USD, then later purchased the company outright. It hasn’t been in control of the UFC since 2005, so no, Endeavor has not raised fighter pay 600% since then. An interesting question is how much fighter pay has gone up in the Endeavor era, and whether that has been top heavy, going to be biggest stars, while the rest of the promotion fights — almost literally — for scraps.

The post Sunday MMA Quick Hits: Dana White Not “Completely Closed Off” to Jake Paul in UFC appeared first on Cageside Press.

Previously, Endeavor had a 50.1% stake of the UFC’s common equity. But per an SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) filing Wednesday, that will change. As of February 16, 2021, Endeavor entered into a Transaction Agreement other UFC holders that will see the company “directly or indirectly acquire equity interests in UFC Parent,” which will result in Endeavor “directly or indirectly owning 100% of the equity interests of UFC Parent (the “UFC Buyout”).”

Should the deal not go through, however, the existing ownership structure is expected to remain in place.

Back in 2016, when Endeavor purchased the promotion, it partnered up with a number of private equity firms including Silverlake Holdings to pay the $4 billion price tag.

Wednesday’s SEC filing, which mentions the UFC no fewer than 400 times, notes that the promotion had a record year for Pay-per-View sales in 2020. Perhaps surprisingly, given the shift of content to ESPN+ in the United States, Fight Pass subscriptions were up over 40%.

Endeavor previously attempted to go public in 2019, but shelved the idea after a number of factors made the move virtually impossible. The Entertainment company, originally known for talent representation, was at the time embroiled in a dispute with Hollywood screenwriters.

A report by the New York Post previously suggested Endeavor was looking to go public sometime next month. That report broke news of Endeavor’s plan to scoop up full control of the UFC, noting that it was seen as the “crown jewel” of the company’s IPO.

“Buying out the remainder of UFC makes for a better investment,” an industry source told the paper. “The complexity of Endeavor’s business is still there, but the UFC is the crown jewel.”

As to Elon Musk’s involvement, Endeavor pointed to the Tesla, Space X, and The Boring Company chief’s vast experience in the business realm. “Mr. Musk is currently a director nominee and will become a member of our board of directors at or prior to the pricing of this offering. Mr. Musk was selected to serve on our board of directors because of his professional background and experience running a public company, his previously held senior executive-level positions, his service on other public company boards and his experience starting, growing and integrating businesses.”

The post Elon Musk Set to Join Board of Directors as UFC Parent Company Endeavor Takes Another Stab at IPO appeared first on Cageside Press.