Who owns the UFC? Where is the big money going?

Some curiously timed media leaks on Ari Emanuel raise big questions.

Leave it to a goofy phone video blogger to raise awareness on an issue that many of us have been trying to make to Americans for several years now:

Ari Emanuel owns UFC.

Wow, we’re really breaking some news here. You might even think you are an elitist snob for knowing this deep, dark secret that only a handful of Wall Street investors supposedly understand.

Despite my mix of sarcasm and frustration, it has been revelatory to discover that a supermajority of people in MMA fandom have no idea who owns UFC and what the big money behind UFC is doing with the cash they spend on consuming the product.

This explains a hell of a lot as to why so many people don’t react to major behind-the-scenes developments regarding UFC, WWE, and the rest of the fight business.

If the general population smartened up about what Ari Emanuel and his billionaire public/private conglomeration crew have been up to, they wouldn’t put up with at least half of the decisions being made right now on matchmaking, production, talent recruitment, and creative vision for the big money main events.

Most people spend about as much time thinking about who owns UFC or WWE as they do thinking about who owns the brands of toilet paper they wipe their ass with. The difference is that some of you are probably spending more to watch the current fight product than your budget for sanitary needs.

Those $7,800 cage-side tickets for UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden aren’t going to pay for themselves.

Want to know why prices for UFC & WWE tickets are so expensive in Mark Shapiro’s “experience economy?” Being a UFC fan is getting more and more costly because investors want their money. They want higher margins to justify paying a premium for expensive TKO stock. Premium is Mr. Shapiro’s favorite word and you’re certainly paying for it.

Ready to spend $15,000 to go to Wrestlemania in Las Vegas?

Right now, most people don’t understand who owns UFC and why they are making the decisions to price so many fans out. If more fans understood who was in charge, they wouldn’t be so passive.

The irony in all of this is a previous generation of Americans knew all about Ari Emanuel, thanks to his client Mark Wahlberg’s HBO show Entourage. It was a big hit from 2004 to 2011, which by today’s UFC fan standards is apparently a lifetime ago.

If you had told UFC fans in 2011 that Ari Emanuel would be in charge of UFC, people would have lost their minds. In 2024, a majority of fans have no idea who he is or what he represents, or why he’s soaking us for so much cash.

But there are recent media leaks and financial reports indicating some major shake-ups involving Mr. Emanuel and TKO that will no doubt impact how much cash is coming out of your wallet and what kinds of fights you’re going to see moving forward.

2025 is going to be a hell of a year for both UFC & WWE and if you want to see it unfold, be prepared to pay… and pay some more.