Attorney Michael de Broglio on: South Africa, Law, Politics, Attorneys, Sport, Photography, Technology, Gadgets, Media, Crime, Road Accidents Fund,
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I was impressed to hear about the sale of UFC. In fact, when I first heard the words UFC I had no idea that it stood for Ultimate Fighting Championship. That is the mixed martial arts sport, where they fight in cages, and the owners of the sport, because most sports that you see are actually businesses, although we often don’t realise that, recently sold it for $4 billion. It is the richest sale in the history of professional sports, because whole sports are not invariably bought and sold, it is normally just the teams. A number of basket ball teams have been sold in the $2 billion range, but that is just of course one team.
The founders and owners of the UFC have done particularly well. It was founded in 1993 and casino operators bought it for just $2 million in 2001. By selling it for $4 billion in 2016 they have made a 72% per year annual return! That is fantastic in a day and age when inflation is below 2% in the US and it just shows you how big a sport can become if properly promoted, once it gets onto TV and sponsors are found. There is a lot of money to be made in sports, and it is time all of us stop looking at each sporting franchise as just a team that you support or don’t support, and start appreciating that in fact each and every one of them is in reality a business, and have their ups and downs and if the business is well managed, it can be sold for a huge profit by the team owner. As the teams and the owners make more money invariably the players and participants also get paid more.
Posted by Michael de Broglio on Friday 05-Aug-16
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Comments
Suzanne said:
on Tuesday 16-Aug-16 12:36 PM
I like sports in general - but this is something I don't really know or support. I do have a friend who is involved in MMA and thoroughly enjoys participating and watching same. I also never knew how much something like this could be worth, very interesting!
Johann said:
on Wednesday 10-Aug-16 09:39 AM
UFC did so well to transform the bloodied cage brawls to a real sport. The monopoly they created in the process made them a huge profit later on. The sport of boxing was a major casualty in the process.
Angelique Jurgens said:
on Wednesday 10-Aug-16 08:39 AM
It's a crazy sport but I really didn't think it would be bought for that much. They making big money off guys (some girls) that get paid to sustain numerous head injuries over the years!! But the business opportunities in EFC fighting is endless, they always able to sell anything in that business - t-shirts, ticket sales, food sales, gyms etc. Obviously people are entertained by it and it will continue to be a booming business.
Jessica M said:
on Wednesday 10-Aug-16 08:12 AM
My brother LOVES UFC, he actually has like a billion videos of the fights, he showed me a few, however for me it's a bit worrying to watch how some of those people get hurt wow it's a very rough sport. My brother also does the sport he loves it and I personally wouldn't chose it as a sport for my sons.
Angelique P said:
on Monday 08-Aug-16 10:48 AM
This is an interesting sport.
I have friends that love to watch it on Television.
I know this is a big sport and well known.
There are lots of people watching and supporting this sport.
I think it will be fun to go watch it life.
Alexis said:
on Monday 08-Aug-16 09:04 AM
This is not a 'sport' I would sit down ad watch. Although it is raw talent - if you can call it that, to enjoy such violence is not my thing.Considering the nature of sport, i am not suprised that a person or the sport makes so much money. You are putting yourself at risk.I honestly find it pointless
Daniella said:
on Monday 08-Aug-16 08:58 AM
That's really quite interesting , when i think of sports i usually think of the players and the teams , never have i thought of it being a business.
I learnt something new today.
Brenda van den Bergh said:
on Monday 08-Aug-16 08:55 AM
After reading Liesl's comment regarding this sport, i actually feel quite dumbfounded regarding this sport. I never really shown interest in fighting, but i can imagine how much skill it takes to win a fight. I really did think it was all about throwing punches and trying to get our opponent down in a K.O situation. But there is obviously much more to it, and i take my hat off to anyone who has the discipline to make and maintain the weight required to participate in fights of this nature.
I think i should become more educated in this particular sport, as it does sound quite interesting.
Chanika said:
on Friday 05-Aug-16 04:54 PM
The owners must be so happy in making that initial risky investments, clearly it's paid off.
Jolene said:
on Friday 05-Aug-16 04:53 PM
It is interesting to see how much UFC sold for. I enjoy watching EFC, we know a few EFC fighters and it does take a lot of hard work and dedication to be a successful fighter. @Liesl, wow I did not know that, well done.
Melissa P said:
on Friday 05-Aug-16 04:51 PM
I'm usually a big fan of any type of sport, but I must say that I'm not a big fan of UFC/MMA/EFC. I've heard that it has a very big fan base. It's surely a very profitable sport to be in. I'm not a big supporter of sports inflicting more harm than good.
Tamzyn said:
on Friday 05-Aug-16 04:51 PM
I I didn't know this was such a big generator of profit. The owners obviously have a good eye of where to make profits
Joyce said:
on Friday 05-Aug-16 04:42 PM
the owners bought it for just $2 million and 15 years later they getting $4 billion out of it , sport can be a real business.
Catherine said:
on Friday 05-Aug-16 04:30 PM
I watch wrestling but I have never known there is a sport called CFC. I know football clubs have a monetary value but it never occurred to me most sports are very lucrative businesses. It's true learning never ends.
Prishani said:
on Friday 05-Aug-16 04:30 PM
I have no doubt that this sport is extremely thrilling for spectators and those that follow the sport, I must say I am not a fan, but I have no doubt that with such a huge fan base the profits are admirable, I haven't really considered it as a business, but if one looks at it from that point of view I suppose it really does qualify as a business!
Zanell said:
on Friday 05-Aug-16 04:15 PM
I don't enjoy watching cage fighting or any sort of fighting, I don't think I would ever go and watch a UFC show. Just the other day I watched video with two female UFC fighters (could be mistaken), and the one girl literally punched the other girls ear and it tore off halfway. Just don't understand why people put themselves through this and how others can find this entertaining.
Sinead said:
on Friday 05-Aug-16 03:29 PM
My sister and I actually wanted to go to Carnival City for some fight a few weeks ago. It's not the kind of sport I enjoy watching though. I know there's MMA, UFC, EFC but I've only ever seen a White Collar Boxing event. That's a lot milder than the others as far as I'm aware
Jessica Apfel said:
on Friday 05-Aug-16 12:03 PM
UFC is quite barbaric and it astounds me how it manages t generate such a large profit - however that remains my opinion. None the less, sport and in particular sport betting is extremely lucrative!
latoya said:
on Friday 05-Aug-16 11:30 AM
I enjoy watching cage fights,Its does however reall involve lots of bussiness so i am not surprized about the high amount made!
Lucretia said:
on Friday 05-Aug-16 09:31 AM
I am not a huge fan of cage fighting although it does seem to have a lot of followers. The though of watching if from a business point of view has never entered my mind when watching sports. I watch for the enjoyment of the sport.
Bianca said:
on Friday 05-Aug-16 09:22 AM
The success of this sport is a surprise to me, I had no idea there was so much money to be made in UFC! For me, it seems quite similar to wrestling and I honestly have not been a fan since my early teenage years. If I'm not mistaken they had a few competitions in South Africa a while back, I can only imagine what the ticket prices were like?
Nina said:
on Friday 05-Aug-16 09:14 AM
Quite an interesting article. It is amazing how much money goes into sport. I think it is great if you have a sport talent that you can use to make a living, although obviously it takes extremely hard work to reach that point.
charlotte said:
on Friday 05-Aug-16 09:13 AM
Surely a very profitable business to be in! I never knew something like this existed, as I am not a very big fan of wrestling and fighting sports. Just goes to show how big the sporting world is out there.....
Mathilda said:
on Friday 05-Aug-16 09:00 AM
I actually went and watched UFC ones at Carnival City it was huge, so many people came to support their favoured fighter..
I did not enjoy it that much its a little bit pointless for me lol
But just with that event I saw how "popular" it is, so it does not surprise me that they sold it for such a high amount
Lourien said:
on Friday 05-Aug-16 08:56 AM
Interesting to see how much UFC sold for, this is a sport which can be seen as a business, their main focus point and their main targets are to be the best and to win. The top performers and players will earn more and the more supporters they have the greater their earnings will be for the them as a "team or players ". This is a sport which I actually do not enjoy at all as I find that the pain is always self inflicted and its a dangerous sport. We probably need all these different sports to have a variety for all the different people and what they prefer and yes sport is also seen as a business which generates huge amounts of income, but I did not expect such a high rate of return on UFC.
Helen said:
on Friday 05-Aug-16 08:11 AM
I believe that lots of American fans does support this kind of sport and of course this kind of sport will not be so successful without fan's support. It was interesting to find out that this sport can make so much money. I think that UFC fighters as well walking out from the cage with full pockets of cash.
Clare said:
on Friday 05-Aug-16 08:02 AM
I enjoy the UFC I find it much better the wrestling, I am actually amazed on how much one can make by being part of this sport and also to own the sport.
Sarah said:
on Friday 05-Aug-16 08:01 AM
This sport is very entertaining for most people so I can believe they will make a huge profit off it.
david said:
on Friday 05-Aug-16 07:27 AM
had no idea this 'sport' was so huge.
what an incredible profit some people made.
Johannesburg based attorney specializing in personal injury matters including Road Accident Fund claims and medical negligence matters. My interests include golf, reading and the internet and the way it is constantly developing. I have a passion for life and a desire for less stress!
