After weeks of denying reports of an imminent sale, the UFC confirmed them to 8 News Sunday night.
Zuffa, LLC, the company formed by local brothers Lorenzo Ferttita and Frank Ferttita III to purchase the UFC for $2 million 15 years ago, sold the mixed martial arts promotion to an investment group for $4 billion.
The new ownership is a partnership between William Morris Endeavor, International Management Group and private equity firm MSD. The Ferttitas will continue to hold a small share of the company, as will longtime partner UFC President Dana White.
White is expected to stay in his current role, while Lorenzo Ferttita will continue working as chairman for up to two months during a transitional period.