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Endeavor, the UFC’s parent company, has revealed the record revenues generated by the MMA leader throughout 2022.
With UFC and mixed martial arts still in its relative infancy, the sport is developing at a rapid rate. That trend has been consistently reflected in the growth of the UFC, the majority stake of which was acquired by Endeavor (formerly known as WME-IMG) in 2016 for $4 billion.
And in 2022, the first year since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic that has been largely free of restrictions for the promotion, the UFC has broken records with its revenue.
Image: NYSE
UFC Leads The Way For Endeavor
During an earnings report call earlier this week, Endeavor broke down its revenue for the fourth quarter of 2022 and the year as a whole.
The UFC once again topped the list for the company’s sports properties, which also includes Professional Bull Riders. For the final quarter of last year, $301.4 million was generated, marking a nine percent increase from the same period in 2021.
For the entire year, the UFC aided in $1.3 billion total revenue brought in by Endeavor’s sporting ventures. That figure marks a mammoth 20 percent rise from the previous year, with an additional $224.1 million generated.
“Both organizations recorded record revenue last year,” Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel said. “All 21 UFC events with live audiences sold out, continuing a 29 event sell out streak since returning from the pandemic. UFC posted its best sponsorship year ever in 2022, unlocking new categories and inventory to reach a fan base that grew double digits over 2021 in the U.S.
“It also continues to be an industry leader in digital engagement. UFC’s social media accounts now have over 220 million followers combined. TikTok followers alone grew 55 percent year over year,” Emanuel added.
The promotion continued to hold events at the Apex facility in Las Vegas throughout 2021, during which UFC 261 marked the promotion’s first arena-held event in the United States since pre-COVID.
With that, taking many UFC Fight Nights back on the road in 2022 was labeled as a major contributor towards the increased revenue by Chief Financial Officer Jason Lublin, in addition to the ongoing streak of sellouts and new sponsorship deals.
“UFC set 11 arena records for highest-grossing events, including four of the highest grossing Fight Nights in the U.S. and the two highest grossing Fight Nights in UFC history, both at London’s O2 Arena,” Lublin said.
“UFC also had its highest sponsorship sales in the company’s history.. We added several new sponsors to our roster like V-Chain, New Amsterdam Vodka, and Project Rock. We also introduced new categories like the official commercial truck, the official law firm, and the official ready-to-drink partners of the UFC.”
While the UFC is expected to stage the same number of events in 2023, the promotion is slated to further expand its return overseas and travel for UFC Fight Night cards. With that, the records could continue to be broken come the end of the year.
But while that’s music to the ears of the UFC higher-ups and Endeavor executives, it serves as another weapon with which fighters and pundits can attack with regarding the polarizing fighter pay debate.
The discussion has picked up pace in recent times, with the likes of former heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou and YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul looking to highlight the perceived issues with remuneration and freedom granted to UFC athletes.
Fighters are ripped off with Sponsorship. It’s a huge source of revenue for us but the company keeps exploiting that for their own benefit.— Francis Ngannou (@francis_ngannou) August 17, 2022
In addition to “The Predator” criticizing sponsorship rules, which prohibit fighters from wearing brands on Octagon uniform, Paul has announced his plans to create a fighters’ union, having long spoken out against Dana White and his promotion.
That included regarding the situation of Sarah Alpar, with “The Problem Child” donating to a GoFundMe page she created in order to fund her camp having seen MMA News’ coverage on the fighter’s financial plight.
With many fighters on the lowest brackets of pay in the UFC struggling to fund training camps, healthcare, and necessary purchases for a career in the Octagon, the MMA leader has come under heavy scrutiny for the percentage of its revenue that ends up in fighters’ pockets.
While NFL, NBA and NHL players make between 48-50 percent of total revenue, the UFC’s number has historically sat at around 20 percent.
Where do you sit on the fighter pay debate?
Also Read: Jon Jones Sides With The UFC In Fighter Pay Debate: “In Life You Get What You Earn”
Quotes h/t MMA Fighting.
Endeavor, the UFC’s parent company, has revealed the record revenues generated by the MMA leader throughout 2022.
With UFC and mixed martial arts still in its relative infancy, the sport is developing at a rapid rate. That trend has been consistently reflected in the growth of the UFC, the majority stake of which was acquired by Endeavor (formerly known as WME-IMG) in 2016 for $4 billion.
And in 2022, the first year since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic that has been largely free of restrictions for the promotion, the UFC has broken records with its revenue.
Image: NYSE
UFC Leads The Way For Endeavor
During an earnings report call earlier this week, Endeavor broke down its revenue for the fourth quarter of 2022 and the year as a whole.
The UFC once again topped the list for the company’s sports properties, which also includes Professional Bull Riders. For the final quarter of last year, $301.4 million was generated, marking a nine percent increase from the same period in 2021.
For the entire year, the UFC aided in $1.3 billion total revenue brought in by Endeavor’s sporting ventures. That figure marks a mammoth 20 percent rise from the previous year, with an additional $224.1 million generated.
“Both organizations recorded record revenue last year,” Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel said. “All 21 UFC events with live audiences sold out, continuing a 29 event sell out streak since returning from the pandemic. UFC posted its best sponsorship year ever in 2022, unlocking new categories and inventory to reach a fan base that grew double digits over 2021 in the U.S.
“It also continues to be an industry leader in digital engagement. UFC’s social media accounts now have over 220 million followers combined. TikTok followers alone grew 55 percent year over year,” Emanuel added.
The promotion continued to hold events at the Apex facility in Las Vegas throughout 2021, during which UFC 261 marked the promotion’s first arena-held event in the United States since pre-COVID.
With that, taking many UFC Fight Nights back on the road in 2022 was labeled as a major contributor towards the increased revenue by Chief Financial Officer Jason Lublin, in addition to the ongoing streak of sellouts and new sponsorship deals.
“UFC set 11 arena records for highest-grossing events, including four of the highest grossing Fight Nights in the U.S. and the two highest grossing Fight Nights in UFC history, both at London’s O2 Arena,” Lublin said.
“UFC also had its highest sponsorship sales in the company’s history.. We added several new sponsors to our roster like V-Chain, New Amsterdam Vodka, and Project Rock. We also introduced new categories like the official commercial truck, the official law firm, and the official ready-to-drink partners of the UFC.”
While the UFC is expected to stage the same number of events in 2023, the promotion is slated to further expand its return overseas and travel for UFC Fight Night cards. With that, the records could continue to be broken come the end of the year.
But while that’s music to the ears of the UFC higher-ups and Endeavor executives, it serves as another weapon with which fighters and pundits can attack with regarding the polarizing fighter pay debate.
The discussion has picked up pace in recent times, with the likes of former heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou and YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul looking to highlight the perceived issues with remuneration and freedom granted to UFC athletes.
Fighters are ripped off with Sponsorship. It’s a huge source of revenue for us but the company keeps exploiting that for their own benefit.
— Francis Ngannou (@francis_ngannou) August 17, 2022[/quote]
In addition to “The Predator” criticizing sponsorship rules, which prohibit fighters from wearing brands on Octagon uniform, Paul has announced his plans to create a fighters’ union, having long spoken out against Dana White and his promotion.
That included regarding the situation of Sarah Alpar, with “The Problem Child” donating to a GoFundMe page she created in order to fund her camp having seen MMA News’ coverage on the fighter’s financial plight.
With many fighters on the lowest brackets of pay in the UFC struggling to fund training camps, healthcare, and necessary purchases for a career in the Octagon, the MMA leader has come under heavy scrutiny for the percentage of its revenue that ends up in fighters’ pockets.
While NFL, NBA and NHL players make between 48-50 percent of total revenue, the UFC’s number has historically sat at around 20 percent.
Where do you sit on the fighter pay debate?
Also Read: Jon Jones Sides With The UFC In Fighter Pay Debate: “In Life You Get What You Earn”
Quotes h/t MMA Fighting.
Click here to view the article.
With UFC and mixed martial arts still in its relative infancy, the sport is developing at a rapid rate. That trend has been consistently reflected in the growth of the UFC, the majority stake of which was acquired by Endeavor (formerly known as WME-IMG) in 2016 for $4 billion.
And in 2022, the first year since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic that has been largely free of restrictions for the promotion, the UFC has broken records with its revenue.
Image: NYSE
UFC Leads The Way For Endeavor
During an earnings report call earlier this week, Endeavor broke down its revenue for the fourth quarter of 2022 and the year as a whole.
The UFC once again topped the list for the company’s sports properties, which also includes Professional Bull Riders. For the final quarter of last year, $301.4 million was generated, marking a nine percent increase from the same period in 2021.
For the entire year, the UFC aided in $1.3 billion total revenue brought in by Endeavor’s sporting ventures. That figure marks a mammoth 20 percent rise from the previous year, with an additional $224.1 million generated.
“Both organizations recorded record revenue last year,” Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel said. “All 21 UFC events with live audiences sold out, continuing a 29 event sell out streak since returning from the pandemic. UFC posted its best sponsorship year ever in 2022, unlocking new categories and inventory to reach a fan base that grew double digits over 2021 in the U.S.
“It also continues to be an industry leader in digital engagement. UFC’s social media accounts now have over 220 million followers combined. TikTok followers alone grew 55 percent year over year,” Emanuel added.
The promotion continued to hold events at the Apex facility in Las Vegas throughout 2021, during which UFC 261 marked the promotion’s first arena-held event in the United States since pre-COVID.
With that, taking many UFC Fight Nights back on the road in 2022 was labeled as a major contributor towards the increased revenue by Chief Financial Officer Jason Lublin, in addition to the ongoing streak of sellouts and new sponsorship deals.
“UFC set 11 arena records for highest-grossing events, including four of the highest grossing Fight Nights in the U.S. and the two highest grossing Fight Nights in UFC history, both at London’s O2 Arena,” Lublin said.
“UFC also had its highest sponsorship sales in the company’s history.. We added several new sponsors to our roster like V-Chain, New Amsterdam Vodka, and Project Rock. We also introduced new categories like the official commercial truck, the official law firm, and the official ready-to-drink partners of the UFC.”
While the UFC is expected to stage the same number of events in 2023, the promotion is slated to further expand its return overseas and travel for UFC Fight Night cards. With that, the records could continue to be broken come the end of the year.
But while that’s music to the ears of the UFC higher-ups and Endeavor executives, it serves as another weapon with which fighters and pundits can attack with regarding the polarizing fighter pay debate.
The discussion has picked up pace in recent times, with the likes of former heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou and YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul looking to highlight the perceived issues with remuneration and freedom granted to UFC athletes.
Fighters are ripped off with Sponsorship. It’s a huge source of revenue for us but the company keeps exploiting that for their own benefit.— Francis Ngannou (@francis_ngannou) August 17, 2022
In addition to “The Predator” criticizing sponsorship rules, which prohibit fighters from wearing brands on Octagon uniform, Paul has announced his plans to create a fighters’ union, having long spoken out against Dana White and his promotion.
That included regarding the situation of Sarah Alpar, with “The Problem Child” donating to a GoFundMe page she created in order to fund her camp having seen MMA News’ coverage on the fighter’s financial plight.
With many fighters on the lowest brackets of pay in the UFC struggling to fund training camps, healthcare, and necessary purchases for a career in the Octagon, the MMA leader has come under heavy scrutiny for the percentage of its revenue that ends up in fighters’ pockets.
While NFL, NBA and NHL players make between 48-50 percent of total revenue, the UFC’s number has historically sat at around 20 percent.
Where do you sit on the fighter pay debate?
Also Read: Jon Jones Sides With The UFC In Fighter Pay Debate: “In Life You Get What You Earn”
Quotes h/t MMA Fighting.
Endeavor, the UFC’s parent company, has revealed the record revenues generated by the MMA leader throughout 2022.
With UFC and mixed martial arts still in its relative infancy, the sport is developing at a rapid rate. That trend has been consistently reflected in the growth of the UFC, the majority stake of which was acquired by Endeavor (formerly known as WME-IMG) in 2016 for $4 billion.
And in 2022, the first year since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic that has been largely free of restrictions for the promotion, the UFC has broken records with its revenue.
UFC Leads The Way For Endeavor
During an earnings report call earlier this week, Endeavor broke down its revenue for the fourth quarter of 2022 and the year as a whole.
The UFC once again topped the list for the company’s sports properties, which also includes Professional Bull Riders. For the final quarter of last year, $301.4 million was generated, marking a nine percent increase from the same period in 2021.
For the entire year, the UFC aided in $1.3 billion total revenue brought in by Endeavor’s sporting ventures. That figure marks a mammoth 20 percent rise from the previous year, with an additional $224.1 million generated.
“Both organizations recorded record revenue last year,” Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel said. “All 21 UFC events with live audiences sold out, continuing a 29 event sell out streak since returning from the pandemic. UFC posted its best sponsorship year ever in 2022, unlocking new categories and inventory to reach a fan base that grew double digits over 2021 in the U.S.
“It also continues to be an industry leader in digital engagement. UFC’s social media accounts now have over 220 million followers combined. TikTok followers alone grew 55 percent year over year,” Emanuel added.
The promotion continued to hold events at the Apex facility in Las Vegas throughout 2021, during which UFC 261 marked the promotion’s first arena-held event in the United States since pre-COVID.
With that, taking many UFC Fight Nights back on the road in 2022 was labeled as a major contributor towards the increased revenue by Chief Financial Officer Jason Lublin, in addition to the ongoing streak of sellouts and new sponsorship deals.
“UFC set 11 arena records for highest-grossing events, including four of the highest grossing Fight Nights in the U.S. and the two highest grossing Fight Nights in UFC history, both at London’s O2 Arena,” Lublin said.
“UFC also had its highest sponsorship sales in the company’s history.. We added several new sponsors to our roster like V-Chain, New Amsterdam Vodka, and Project Rock. We also introduced new categories like the official commercial truck, the official law firm, and the official ready-to-drink partners of the UFC.”
While the UFC is expected to stage the same number of events in 2023, the promotion is slated to further expand its return overseas and travel for UFC Fight Night cards. With that, the records could continue to be broken come the end of the year.
But while that’s music to the ears of the UFC higher-ups and Endeavor executives, it serves as another weapon with which fighters and pundits can attack with regarding the polarizing fighter pay debate.
The discussion has picked up pace in recent times, with the likes of former heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou and YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul looking to highlight the perceived issues with remuneration and freedom granted to UFC athletes.
Fighters are ripped off with Sponsorship. It’s a huge source of revenue for us but the company keeps exploiting that for their own benefit.
— Francis Ngannou (@francis_ngannou) August 17, 2022[/quote]
In addition to “The Predator” criticizing sponsorship rules, which prohibit fighters from wearing brands on Octagon uniform, Paul has announced his plans to create a fighters’ union, having long spoken out against Dana White and his promotion.
That included regarding the situation of Sarah Alpar, with “The Problem Child” donating to a GoFundMe page she created in order to fund her camp having seen MMA News’ coverage on the fighter’s financial plight.
With many fighters on the lowest brackets of pay in the UFC struggling to fund training camps, healthcare, and necessary purchases for a career in the Octagon, the MMA leader has come under heavy scrutiny for the percentage of its revenue that ends up in fighters’ pockets.
While NFL, NBA and NHL players make between 48-50 percent of total revenue, the UFC’s number has historically sat at around 20 percent.
Where do you sit on the fighter pay debate?
Also Read: Jon Jones Sides With The UFC In Fighter Pay Debate: “In Life You Get What You Earn”
Quotes h/t MMA Fighting.
Click here to view the article.
