Dana White denies UFC sale report: ‘Story is overblown’
UFC president Dana White appears during a media availability for UFC 200 at Madison Square Garden on April 27, 2016 in New York City. Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images/AFP
UFC president Dana White refuted a report on ESPN that the mixed martial arts outfit is up on sale.
White blasted ESPN sports business analyst Darren Rovell, who wrote that the UFC owners are in “advanced” talks to sell the biggest MMA organization.
“The UFC is not for sale,” White told the Las Vegas Review-Journal on Tuesday evening (Wednesday in Manila). “The ESPN story is overblown. Darren Rovell is not a fan of facts. His facts could not be further off.”
READ: Fertitta brothers in heavy discussions to sell UFC—report
Rovell named at least four bidders interested in taking up ownership in the UFC.
“At least four bidders are believed to have submitted bids for the organization, including WME/IMG, China Media Capital, The Blackstone Group and Dalian Wanda Group. The winning bid, should things proceed, is expected to be for a valuation between $3.5 billion and $4 billion, multiple sources with knowledge of the negotiations told ESPN.com,” he wrote.
The UFC is coming off a banner year in 2015 headlined by two of the hottest draws in the sport in Conor McGregor and Ronda Rousey.
Rousey’s stunning knockout loss to Holly Holm last November set a UFC attendance record at Etihad Stadium in Melbourne, Australia while McGregor’s jaw-dropping KO victory over Jose Aldo a month later earned over $10 million in ticket sales, which marked as the second-highest in gate receipts, as per Rovell.
