The Ultimate Fighting Championship, the world’s largest mixed martial arts organization, generates over a billion dollars in revenue annually for parent company Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the only profitable MMA organization in the world; the rest are loss leaders. This exhibition of cost-effective business acumen is chronicled by longtime video game writer Michael Thomsen in his recent book, Cage Kings: How an Unlikely Group of Moguls, Champions, & Hustlers Transformed the UFC into a $10 Billion Industry.
Thomsen chronicles the UFC from its humble beginnings in 1993, when figures such as Bob Meyrowitz, Art Davie, and Rorion Gracie launched a no-time-limits, few-holds-barred fighting tournament that quickly gained national notoriety and surprising pay-per-view success. Early on, national efforts led by late Arizona Sen. John McCain sought to limit its reach, which thrust it into financial uncertainty. The beleaguered UFC was sold in 2001 to the Fertitta brothers, casino magnates who transformed the company, under the stewardship of their high school friend Dana White, into the industry leader it is today.
Read Full Article »