UFC’s Revenues Grow With Rebel Brand Fueled By White, McGregor, Jones Reunion In Las Vegas This Week; Jones Wins Heavyweight Title Saturday
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By Cassandra Cousineau, LVSportsBiz.com UFC/MMA Writer
He’s seated in front of his camera crew at UFC’s Apex facility production room and Dana White is in his element.
Flip the lights, and the sound, and the UFC bossman was ready to go. It’s been a month almost to the day since the world’s most recognized fight show ringmaster made two major live announcements concerning massive UFC fight cards.
It’s been two months since White confirmed he wouldn’t be stepping away or even receiving any punitive action from UFC’s parent company, Endeavor, after his New Year’s Eve altercation with his wife. Soon after, any groundswell of public outcry for punitive action quickly dissipated. No other head of any other sports league could walk away unpunished.
Such is the currency and way of life a rebel fight show brand. That currency extends beyond White.
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This weekend in Las Vegas, UFC’s big three are back.
Former UFC bad boy Conor McGregor has signed on as a coach for this season’s The Ultimate Fighter show opposite Michael Chandler.
The two will also meet as opponents in the UFC cage at a location and date to be determined.
Then, there’s the return of UFC 285 headliner, Jon Jones who meets Frenchman Ciryl Gane Saturday at T-Mobile Arena Saturday after a three-year layoff.
White, McGregor, and Jones are UFCs most bankable names. They are the most recognizable rebels of the Las Vegas-based promotion.
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When you run a business built on a foundation of pounding an opponent into submission, the level of expectations for model behavior differs from other pro sports. Jones’ run ins with the law and the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency didn’t get him booted off the roster. Nor did McGregor’s dolly throwing into a bus window carrying a group of fighters.
Like McGregor and Jones, White apologized, and then proceeded full steam ahead with a business-as-usual approach.
For the most part, it’s worked. In this forum, UFC can afford to run up its credit line with public goodwill where other big league sports operations absolutely can’t.
UFC continues to be a force behind Endeavor’s earnings reports. Tonight’s UFC 285 is the first domestic card of the year for Ultimate Fighting Championship. It comes at a time when the UFC saw a 9 percent gain in revenue to $301.4 million for Endeavor.
Saturday’s gate for UFC 285: $12.15 million, the fourth highest gate in UFC history and the highest gate ever for a UFC heavyweight fight.
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In 2022, the promotion secured its 21st consecutive event sellout (that’s a total of 29 since the MMA franchise returned to live audiences since the COVID-19 shutdown).
The fighting organization notched record sponsorship sales through partnerships with Crypto.com, DraftKings, and streaming partner ESPN. It also renewed 10 international media rights deals (which Endeavor said more than doubled average annual values).
UFC’s Big Three have set the tone for 2023. McGregor is filming a remake of the popular film Roadhouse in between UFC weigh-ins. Jones has signed a new eight-fight deal worth seven figures. He also said he’s a man with a new more religious perspective, even taking time to pray after this week’s press conference.
UFC is not just a Bad Boy operation, though, because the rebel brand persona is juxtaposed against UFCs commitment to charitable causes.
The MMA promotion has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars annually to various organizations. This week, the promotion partnered with Aniah’s Heart, a non-profit that provides resources and help for families searching for missing loved ones and teaches families self-defense and awareness training.
The impetus for the charity was the kidnapping and subsequent murder of 19-year-old Aniah Blanchard. Aniah was the step-daughter of current UFC heavyweight, and Jon Jones training partner, Walt Harris.
“Right after everything happened, Dana called Walt directly and asked what he could do. That’s the kind of guy he is. Generous, and compassionate on a moment’s notice,” said Aniah’s mother, Angela Harris. UFC donated $10,000 to Girls Empowerment Middle School after Harris and other UFC fighters facilitated a training session at the UFC Fit gym in Las Vegas.
Unlike the NBA, or other sports leagues, UFC doesn’t consciously rely on the biggest names on the roster as a marketing strategy. When LVSportsBiz.com asked White what he attributed the organization’s success to, especially when it was without its superstars last year, White said, ”That’s what we always do. That’s what we’ve always done. If you really look at it in the last five or six years, Conor’s probably fought four or five times. So, obviously it’s great to have superstars. Why did we have 29 consecutive sellouts this year? We went through COVID.”
For the record, Jones defeated Ciryl Gane tonight to win the UFC heavyweight title via a guillotine in the first round.
