When Luke Thomas appeared on Pablo Torre Finds Out to discuss the state of affairs with UFC, we came to a painful realization at The MMA Draw.
A significant amount of sports fans have little clue about how TKO business works, let alone who the key decision makers and strategists are.
A significant amount of media members also: a) don’t know, b) are compromised, or c) in absolute fear or awestruck by the Kings of Hollywood. We saw this on display Wednesday in the US Senate when Nick Khan testified on the Muhammad Ali American Boxing Revival Act.
In response, Nate Wilcox & Zach Arnold went to work. In the name of public service, this week’s MMA Draw podcast is a survival guide for fans, fighters, attorneys, and media personalities who want to know all about TKO.
While there are hundreds of potential names in the TKO orbit that could have been profiled, The MMA Draw settled on a Top 10 list of key financiers and decision makers that you need to know all about.
Ari Emanuel — CEO of Endeavor and the driving force behind TKO, overseeing the combined business of UFC and WWE. The King of Hollywood and top Hollywood financier for Democrats.
Mark Shapiro — President and COO of TKO, responsible for the company’s day-to-day operations and strategic growth.
Egon Durban — Co-CEO of Silver Lake, the Private Equity firm that is TKO’s largest shareholder and key financial backer. Owns 7.5% of the Las Vegas Raiders.
Nick Khan — President of WWE, managing the business side of WWE within TKO, including media rights and partnerships, also Zuffa Boxing. Formerly of CAA.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson — Global superstar and TKO board member who helps shape brand direction and major promotional initiatives.
Paul “Triple H” Levesque — WWE’s Chief Content Officer, overseeing creative direction for WWE programming under TKO. Vince McMahon’s son-in-law.
Dana White — President of UFC, brand ambassador for the MMA promotion that forms one half of TKO’s core business.
Lawrence Epstein — Senior UFC executive handling regulatory affairs and government relations. The Godfather of legal and strategy for UFC and Zuffa Boxing.
Turki Alalshikh — Chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority and a powerful partner driving major combat sports events tied to TKO properties.
Khaldoon Al Mubarak — Top leader in the United Arab Emirates. CEO of Sovereign Wealth Fund Mubadala, which is closely aligned to Silver Lake, TKO, and Ari Emanuel.
This week’s 90-minute podcast is an in-depth feature on the backgrounds of these TKO Top 10 power players, what they currently do, and key questions about their futures in the fight business moving forward.
Once you digest our scouting report on the TKO Top 10 power players, it will change the way you view media coverage on TKO moving forward.
No more excuses for talking heads who generate big bucks by giving you only 10% or 20% of the TKO story. Smoke out those engaged in modified limited hangouts.
The time for media games is over. You deserve to learn who is making money off of you as a fight fan and how they are manipulating the global political & financial system.
You can check out The MMA Draw Podcast on Substack via the following feeds:
The dossier on TKO’s Top 10 Power Players
Once you learn all the names, watch how carefully these individuals navigate the lame duck era of Trump’s 2.0 White House after the 2026 US mid-term elections in November.
For example…
Ari Emanuel: CEO of Endeavor, Svengali of TKO, co-founder of MARI
The former Hollywood agent for US President Donald J. Trump, Vince McMahon (WWE business), and Lorenzo & Frank Fertitta (UFC business). Ari Emanuel had access to important media and customer data when Vince McMahon launched the WWE Network streaming platform.
Ari Emanuel leveraged Endeavor (via Silver Lake) to acquire UFC in 2016 for $4 billion. The King of Hollywood was riding high after Entourage and the popularity of the Ari Gold TV character. Two years after returning a $400 million investment from the Saudi’s Public Investment Fund, Ari nearly lost his Endeavor empire after COVID hit. Luckily, he had a very rich Gulf ally as a backstop.
According to a famous 2021 New Yorker profile, Frank & Lorenzo Fertitta set Ari Emanuel up with the UAE’s top New York attorney named Marty Edelman. Mr. Edelman connected Ari to Khaldoon Al Mubarak of Mubadala, and the rest is history.
Ari Emanuel made a conscious decision to turn UFC into a government contractor and political mercenary. He deployed Dana White as a critical political asset to be close to former client Donald Trump. Nevada was a key battleground state in US elections, and thus UFC’s political value could be exploited in a very transactional manner. Even in 2026, a majority of political and sports talking heads will not state the obvious facts that Ari Emanuel manipulates the political and cultural landscape. Donald Trump opened the door for Ari Emanuel to maximize his political leverage in America without having to run for elected office.
Ari Emanuel shut down Hollywood financing for Joe Biden in 2024 — bragged about it to Tina Brown — and reportedly permanently damaged Jeffrey Katzenberg’s standing in Hollywood Democratic fundraising. Ari is friendly with multiple 2028 US Presidential Democrat candidates, including Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and former Chicago Mayor & President Obama Chief-of-Staff (and brother) Rahm Emanuel.
To learn about the rest of our Top 10 TKO Power Players, please check out this week’s podcast. Enjoy the show.
Nate Wilcox is Editor-in-Chief of The MMA Draw. He founded BloodyElbow.com in 2007 and sold it in 2024.
Zach Arnold is a lead opinion writer for The MMA Draw on Substack. His archives can be read at FightOpinion.com.
