WWE and UFC are set to merge. Following WWE’s sale to Endeavor earlier this week, Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel revealed that the parent company plans to merge their two combat sporting giants into one publicly traded unit, utilizing the ticker symbol “TKO.” With news of this sale still being so fresh, there has been no word on when this WWE and UFC merger will take effect, but early signs indicate that it will be more of a synergetic pairing rather than a true combination of each respective company’s assets.
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UFC President Dana White weighed in on the imminent merger, confirming speculation about the interconnectivity.
“There won’t really be any type of crossover,” White told AP News.
White emphasized that the reason for the lack of crossover lies in how WWE and UFC execute their competitions.
“If you look at the WWE, they have an entertainment value and they have these guys that are incredible athletes that go in there and do their thing. It’s well known that it’s scripted,” White continued. “When you look at the UFC, this is as real as it gets. That’s our tagline. You have these guys that are incredible athletes that have to be well-rounded and well-versed in all these different aspects of martial arts. Then you have the entertainment side of it too, but it’s real fighting, it’s real. There are no predetermined outcomes in the UFC.”
That said, White does see the value in bringing the two entertainment powerhouses under the same roof.
“You have the power of the fanbase of WWE. You have the power of the fanbase of UFC. You have the power of the viral,” White added. “We can reach all these people in so many different ways. There is a lot more resources now. WWE has a lot more resources. It’s a phone call away now. All they have to do is pick up the phone now and say, ‘Hey, how did this happen? I need this. I need this contact. How did you do this?’ You all work together to make sure that everybody wins. We’ve been together on the same weekend many times. Come out of a UFC event, you have Monday Night Raw. Who knows. These are all things that can be figured out on the business side.”
Stay tuned to ComicBook.com for updates on WWE’s sale to Endeavor.
