TKO Group Holdings, the company behind the merger of WWE and UFC is now planning to get into boxing and Jiu-Jitsu as well, covering almost every major combat sport in the world. UFC president Dana White believes the company is going to become a bigger conglomerate and bring all combat sports under its umbrella by next year.
In an interview with Sports Business Journal, the UFC CEO spoke about TKO’s big plans for 2025 and said that he was also getting involved in grappling and Jiu-Jitsu. The UFC boss had previously announced his interest in being involved in boxing as well.
“I’m in talks with boxing right now…..We’re literally launching a reality show…TKO umbrella will have everything combat sports under it by the end of ’25.”
With boxing, White has often claimed that the sport has been hurting for some time, with gimmicky artists like Jake Paul and other celebrity matches drawing more eyes than some world champions.
It is the sport White first fell in love with and even wanted to go pro in, so he has claimed he wants to look to resuscitate it and bring back its glory days.
White has been rather bullish in trying to push this narrative about the sport but has also found himself being given a reality check for boxing legends like Oscar De La Hoya.
You realize you will have to pay boxers real money if you want to be in our sport, right?
White’s idea of uniformity in the sport might sound like a bright idea but given the money most UFC fighters make, this might be a tall order.
But that hasn’t stopped the UFC CEO from being further invested in the sport.
White on Netflix getting into boxing
White has been pushing for Netflix to get into live events because of its massive global base. Last weekend was a testament to this as a reported 60 million people tuned in to watch the fight fight Mike Tyson and Jake Paul.
White believes this was only a test for the streaming platform, which has already brought the media rights for WWE and has plans to start streaming the NFL.
“They needed to do that they knew Mike Tyson was going to bring in big numbers. And this was a good test for them before they start airing the NFL.”
So, what do you think? Is White bringing all sports under one umbrella a good idea? Or does that sound awfully like a monopoly?
