A group of celebrities have bought a stake in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
A stake in the UFC was sold by WME-IMG, which is now the majority owner. The deals of the investment weren’t revealed, but most of the celebrities were represented by WME-IMG. Celebrity investors were selected by Ari Emanuel, co-CEO of WME-IMG, because they always asked for tickets.
Here is a list of the celebrities that now own a stake in the UFC, as collected from ESPN.
- Conan O’Brien
- Ben Affleck
- Tom Brady
- Robert Kraft
- Mark Wahlberg
- Adam Levine
- Cam Newton
- Serena Williams
- Venus Williams
- Maria Sharapova
- The Weeknd
- Anthony Kiedis
- Flea
- Li Na
- Guy Fieri
- Calvin Harris
- LL Cool J
- Michael Bay
- Trey Parker
- Tyler Perry
- Jimmy Kimmel
- Rob Dyrdek
- Sylvester Stallone
Emanuel hopes that this investment from celebrities means that UFC has gone from being a niche interest to mainstream. He also wants to expand the organization’s digital subscription service with more programming, reports The Wall Street Journal.
It’s also possible that the increased interest in UFC could mean more acting careers for UFC fighters. Ronda Rousey, one of the UFC’s former champions, has started an acting career and showed up in Furious 7. She is represented by WME-IMG, Fox Sports notes.
“Expanding our ownership group to include this caliber of talent and entrepreneurs is a strong indicator of UFC’s fast-growing global presence,” Dana White, President of the UFC, told ESPN. “Our new investors bring an incredible depth of knowledge and experience to help us continue to elevate this brand and capitalize on its entertainment and sports crossover appeal.”
