WWE and the UFC To Merge Into a $21B+ Company

Most people worldwide know that the WWE is the leading wrestling federation and home to the sport’s biggest stars. The same applies to the UFC, but the latter focuses on MMA. They are impressive on their own, but what we’re about to see will blow our minds.

Thanks to Nostrabet.com, we know that WWE and the UFC are about to merge into a new $21B+ company. Needless to say, this merger means that we will see one of the biggest entertainment companies in the business. “No one expected that the WWE and the UFC would merge together because they were among the biggest competitors. However, this is definitely a smart move because they will have little to no competition”, said Kristiyan from NB.

Many of you are probably eager to learn more about this merger and what is to come, so we’re about to go through everything. Keep in mind this is an ongoing story, so there might be some changes in the future.

The merger – what’s next?

There were rumours about this merger for several months. Still, the speculations were over once the companies decided to announce it. We are yet to find out more about the new company’s name. However, rumours have it that Vince McMahon will be the executive chairman.

With that said, the parent company of the UFC is rumoured to have a 51% stake, meaning WWE will only have 49%. The new entertainment powerhouse will likely use TKO as its New York Stock Exchange symbol.

Vince McMahon seemed pretty excited about the future following his recent statement. He said that the two organizations have more than 1B fans worldwide combined. Interestingly, the evaluation of both companies shows that WWE is valued at around $9.3B, whereas Endeavor (the company behind the UFC) is around $12B).

Even though no one knows when the official deal will take place, it will likely be seen in the next couple of months. As for the future, considering the names that are coming together, we can expect to see tons of new things. After all, these 2 are among the world’s biggest entertainment companies.

Betting opportunities

The fact that the WWE and the UFC will form a new company is good news for online gambling. Nowadays, more and more bettors are interested in wagering on combat sports because of the markets and odds. Even though the UFC is more popular than the WWE for betting, both have their share of loyal fans.

With the introduction of the new conglomerate, we can expect some of the leading sports betting websites to provide us with even more options. We can only imagine the hype behind what is to come, meaning that betting companies won’t want to miss out on it.

Besides the new betting options and markets we’ll have access to, some companies may also provide higher odds. We also expect to see loads of bonuses, especially within the first couple of weeks of the merger. Bookies love to provide different sorts of short-term offers that will allow people to get better odds or things, such as cashback.

Having said that, betting brands will compete against one another, meaning that some of them may decide to offer things like no deposit bonuses. Experienced MMA and WWE bettors know that the latter is rare.

WWE, in the last couple of years

It’s safe to say that the last few years haven’t been easy for Vince McMahon’s empire. Following all of the problems during the COVID-19 pandemic, the WWE was dragged into a controversy because reports showed that the company used its resources to pay sexually harassed people.

Needless to say, this didn’t positively affect WWE’s reputation, which is why Mr. McMahon decided to retire in July. Fortunately for the fans, Vince decided to come back, and as WWE said this January, the brand hired people who had to help sell it.

As you can imagine, some of the world’s biggest companies were interested in this move, including Walt Disney and even Saudi Arabia’s fund, one of the owners of Newcastle United.

The decision to sell the WWE wasn’t easy because the McMahon family has been in control for over 70 years. However, the company believes this is the right business decision, so it will be interesting to see what will happen.

The good news for WWE is that the controversy didn’t affect its fanbase. In fact, Wrestle Mania which took place just a few days ago brought the company more than $21.6M. This broke the previous record.

UFC

The world’s leading MMA organization is undoubtedly among the biggest companies in its niche. With the likes of Khabib Nurmagomedov, Conor McGregor, and many other world-class athletes, even people who aren’t big fans of combat sports started watching it.

Although most people know that Dana White is the main person behind this industry giant, this isn’t exactly true. In fact, Endeavor has a large stake in the UFC following the deal from 2016. It seems like this move was successful because, in 2021, the company decided to take full ownership.

Speaking of the devil, Endeavor started its existence in 1995. Since then, it has grown to become one of the world’s leading entertainment companies. Following its first couple of years of growth, the brand eventually merged with the William Morris Agency. This made it an even bigger “player” in its industry.

Conclusion

It will be exciting to see what will happen after two of the biggest combat sports companies come together. WWE and the UFC have their share of loyal fans, but we expect them to gain even more followers in the next couple of years.