In 2016, Ari Emmanuel and the rest of WME-IMG acquired the UFC for a total of $4 billion. It is a transaction that former owners Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta wanted, even before the deal was finalized.
In a recent interview with the Short Story Long podcast, UFC president Dana White explained how they came up with the decision to sell the company to WME-IMG, despite other higher bidders.
“The scariest part during the sale was everybody that came in that was making offers to buy the UFC, the one stipulation was that I had to stay. So then I’m like holy sh-t,” White said (transcript by MMA Fighting).