Shane McMahon of the WWE Once Unsuccessfully Attempted to purchase UFC Before Dana White Took Over the MMA Promotion.
Shane McMahon, son of the recently retired CEO of WWE, Vince McMahon, once tried to purchase the UFC back in 2004. At the time, the UFC was in dire straits and was looking for a miracle to stay above ground.
Naturally, the brand had many takers since MMA fights had made quite a stir during the 80s and 90s. However, Shane McMahon was outbid by current UFC president Dana White.
McMahon’s attempted acquisition and its key details were brought to light by Bruce Prichard. Prichard is the Executive Director of Raw and SmackDown. He was known in the WWE to fans by the name ‘Brother Love’.
He revealed that Shane McMahon wanted to branch out into shoot fighting banking on his family’s success with the WWE brand.
Prichard revealed these details on the Something to Wrestle With podcast.
He said –
“So, I know that Shane was definitely interested in buying the UFC. And during that time, we had meetings with Meyrowitz and Campbell McLaren. They weren’t asking for a lot, but it was more than Vince was willing to pay at the time.”
Prichard also mentioned that he was not sure if the McMahons would have actually been able to handle the company. He praised Dana White for the work he did with the fast-dying brand and bringing it to the level at which it is today.
Have the WWE and UFC Ever joined Up?
Despite the seeming disdain that Dana White has for the WWE, the two companies have swapped select members of their active roster. While there has been no official event where the two companies have collaborated, individual stars like Brock Lesnar and CM Punk have come over to the octagon.
Meanwhile, several UFC stars like Rhonda Rousey, Cain Velasquez, and now Daniel Cormier have made it to the WWE ring in various capacities. DC’s upcoming foray into the WWE is only as a referee. However, he has also said, “you never know what will happen”. So, there might be chances of future collaborations in the future.
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