What's the TKO flywheel that powers UFC & WWE?

The MMA Draw Podcast

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What's the TKO flywheel that powers UFC & WWE?

TKO may be a curse word for a growing amount of fans but do they know what it is?

Zach Arnold and Nate Wilcox

May 21, 2026

∙ Paid

Why is TKO concentrating so much power, not only in the fight industry but general sports business as well?

We wanted to answer that question on this week’s edition of The MMA Draw podcast.

Building off of our TKO Top 10 Power Players in 2026 podcast, this week’s podcast is all about the mechanics and financing that powers the TKO multi-monopoly machine behind UFC & WWE.

We earlier identified who is behind TKO. Now we want to identify the parts of the flywheel that act as multipliers to feed this financial monster.

Here’s a short preview of what is covered on this week’s podcast:

What are the different components of TKO? (e.g., WME Group, IMG, OnLocation, Everpass, etc.)
Who are the key financiers that cycle capital in and out of TKO and help refinance debt? We take a special look at the role of Goldman Sachs, Redbird Capital, and Silver Lake.
How TKO utilizes conflicts of interest to sideline the competition and be on all sides at the negotiating table
How one monopoly feeds other monopolies and concentrates ownership wealth. A prime example of this is Egon Durban’s rapid expansion as minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders football. The news of Ari Emanuel & Mark Shapiro getting ownership slivers of the Raiders broke after our podcast recording.

Disgruntled fans of both UFC & WWE have a right to complain. They should also understand that they are guinea pigs for the Kings of Hollywood who want to redirect combat sports cash into more lucrative and prestigious ventures like the NFL. It’s a lot easier to sell NFL ownership at a cocktail party in the Hamptons than to hype yourself up as a combat sports carnival barker.