Saudi Increases Ties With The UFC; But TKO Announces A Loss
Saudi Arabia is continuing its relationship with the UFC, with further fights planned for 2024-25.
The UFC will hold its first-ever card in Saudi Arabia on June 22 from the Kingdom Arena. Khamzat Chimaev will take on Robert Whittaker in a middleweight title eliminator in the main event. The winner will put themselves in a position to target a fight with the current champion, Dricus Du Plessis. The deal also means the Saudis will sponsor UFC 306, which will take place at The Sphere in Las Vegas in September.
This will be the first combat sports event to take place at the arena. MMA fans can expect a big clash on Mexican Independence Day. Last year’s UFC Noche event threw up a thrilling fight between Valentina Shevchenko and Alexa Grasso. The partnership also means a Power Slap event in Riyadh later down the line.
Saudi And The UFC
“This agreement is a continuation of Riyadh Season’s aims to host and partner with prominent and international events of mass interest. It also enhances our efforts for Riyadh Season to produce diverse content in order to engage and attract an even wider audience with different interests from around the world. UFC is the most prominent mixed martial arts organization in the world and their platform of global fans is unrivaled,” Turki Alalshikh said
However, TKO Group Holdings Inc. has recorded a net loss of $249.5 million for the first quarter of this year. According to the Securities and Exchange Commission, TKO suffered the loss due to their $335 million settlement over two class-action lawsuits. The lawsuits were issued by former UFC fighters, claiming that antitrust laws were breached.
The suit was filed in 2014, claiming that the UFC controlled how much fighters could earn by creating a monopoly. Around 1200 fighters came together to form the case, ‘Le et al. vs Zuffa.’ Another case was issued in 2021 by Kajan Johnson and C.B. Dollaway. TKO would end up settling to avoid a trial.
“On March 13, 2024, TKO reached an agreement to settle all claims asserted in both class action lawsuits ([Cung] Le and [Kajan] Johnson) for an aggregate amount of $335 million payable by the Company and its subsidiaries in installments over an agreed-upon period of time. The terms will be memorialized in a long form agreement and then submitted to the court for approval. The Company anticipates that the settlement amount will be deductible for tax purposes,” TKO Group Holdings said
TKO’s Loss
Despite this being the case, TKO’s revenue did increase by two percent from the previous year. The revenue went up from $306.7 million to $313 million from last year’s quarter. This was likely due to the success of UFC 300, which produced the third-highest gate ever at around $16.5 million. TKO also confirmed that WWE reached an agreement with Netflix to air Monday Night Raw. It is a $5 billion deal that will last for ten years, starting next year, all leading to a successful period.
“TKO is off to a strong start in 2024 with multiple record-setting live events, new brand partnerships, and media rights deals for WWE Raw. With our momentum in the first quarter and solid financial results, we have raised our full year 2024 guidance.
“We also reached an agreement to settle all claims asserted in both UFC antitrust lawsuits. These positive developments, along with the strength in our underlying businesses, give us more conviction than ever in the combination of UFC and WWE, and in TKO’s ability to deliver sustainable long-term value for shareholders,” TKO CEO Ari Emanuel stated
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