UFC, WWE eye growth after newly merged company valued at $21B

The UFC and WWE, companies that had humble beginnings only to develop into global powerhouses, have formally merged into one company in a deal that values the new entity at a staggering $21 billion, Endeavor confirmed Monday.

The UFC wasn't able to get on cable television and sold for a paltry $2 million in 2001 when a group led by Dana White and casino moguls Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta rescued it from potential collapse. As part of the deal confirmed Monday by Endeavor CEO, the UFC is itself now valued at $12.3 billion, more than $4 billion more than Forbes estimates is the worth of the most valuable NFL team, the Dallas Cowboys.

The deal values the WWE at $9 billion, also ahead of the $8 billion Forbes estimates the Cowboys are worth. The WWE was a regional promotion operating in the Northeast when Vince McMahon bought the company from his father, Vincent J. McMahon, and in 1984 took it global.

WWE CEO Nick Khan marveled at the scope of the deal and the ability of the new company to continue its explosive growth.

"The [NBA's] Phoenix Suns went for $4 billion," Khan told Yahoo Sports on Monday. "There are rumors that the [NFL's Washington] Commanders are going to go for $7 billion. There was an article that Sportico put out last year that the valuation of the NHL, the entire league, which is what, 32 teams, was $32 billion. That was for 32 teams. You're talking about two combined enterprises here at $21 billion plus. We like our shot. We like our chances."

UFC president Dana White put out a statement raving about the deal and what it would enable him to do.

He praised McMahon, who will be executive chairman of the yet-to-be-named new company, and said there is "no limit" to the company's potential.

“This company has been on fire for the last seven years and now that we will be adding WWE to the portfolio, I am excited to take this to another level," White said. "Vince is a savage in the wrestling space, Ari is a beast at what he does, and then add what we at UFC bring to the table and there is no limit to what this company can accomplish in the next few years.”

White, though, in a short interview with Yahoo Sports took great pride in the growth of the UFC. He had a vision in 2000 before buying the company with the Fertitta brothers that the UFC would be the next big thing on the sporting landscape and had the potential to surpass soccer as the top sport in the world.

Few others shared his vision and when the UFC went $40 million into debt just three years into his run as the company's president, it seemed only a matter of time before it went under. The Fertitta brothers ordered White to look into a sale.

But after selling for $4 billion in 2016 and seeing its valuation triple in not quite seven years, White was glowing on Monday after the deal was confirmed.

"I’m extremely proud of what me and my team at the UFC have built," White told Yahoo Sports. "I still love growing the sport and the brand. To be a part of a massive deal like this is just another incredible milestone on this amazing journey."

Khan said Endeavor's reach will enable the WWE to improve its licensing deals in other countries. The WWE, he said, is in 170 countries, but operates out of offices in Stamford, Connecticut, and Los Angeles.

Endeavor has 35 offices around the world and they have the expertise to deal with country-specific media rights issues, he told Yahoo Sports.

"Our international media rights significantly lag where they should be," Khan told Yahoo Sports. "For example, we're the second most popular sport in India, a distant No. 2 to cricket but No. 2 nonetheless. Our media rights there should be much more significant. The issue we've had is we're on the ground in Stamford and Los Angeles and with Endeavor being on the ground in 35 countries, rather than me trying to figure out, 'OK, who's the best buyer in Paraguay?' you have people [with Endeavor] who actually know that and have the relationships about who can be trusted and what the best platform is. We think that's one of many areas we're going to see financial improvement."