Fighters Only

Issue 146

October 2016

The UFC sale opens doors for a new Las Vegas stadium that would be the new home for the biggest fights.

Peering into a crystal ball back in 2010, I wrote in this column that by 2020 we might see new extravagances that would color the UFC as a fight organization. One of those projections was a ‘ZuffaDome’ – a dedicated arena on the Las Vegas Strip, which would house UFC events every month.

With the sale of the UFC for a reported $4 billion, and with Lorenzo Fertitta having sold his portion of the 81% family share, I maintain there is more chance than ever we will see that ZuffaDome on the Las Vegas strip. Indeed, it looks increasingly likely that Fertitta, a great white shark in the world of business, could well be the site owner.

When the sale of the UFC was announced, WME-IMG, in a prepared statement said that “upon closing, Lorenzo Fertitta will step down from day-to-day operations, but Frank Fertitta III and Lorenzo Fertitta will both retain a passive minority interest in the organization.” That seems significant. Gone from day-to-day operations, but arguably still a key partner in significant events moving forward. You can’t buy his experience.

Darren Oved, head of litigation at NY-based law firm, Oved & Oved, LLP, explained to me recently the terms of the acquisition are complex and the structure could “allow certain existing stakeholders, such as the Fertitta brothers, Dana White and the Abu Dhabi government to maintain a minority, non-controlling stake in the new business.” That stake could be the ZuffaDome – as I’ve dubbed it.

The new T-Mobile Arena is owned by MGM Properties, and while state-of-the-art, has flaws. Like no major media center on the ground floor. The UFC 200 post-fight press conference was held inside a tent constructed in the parking lot. Improvements could be made, but a specially-designed fight venue would have different specifications. And it would be a clear fit if an arena were built specifically for fight events and owned by the Fertittas.

There are rumors the Fertittas are also interested in bringing an NFL franchise to Las Vegas, there’s no reason the family business couldn’t continue with a casino and growing sports empire. In conversation with octogenarian journalist Jerry Izenberg in recent weeks, a man who has covered every one of the 50 Super Bowl events, his belief was that it makes absolute sense for an NFL team to be in Sin City.

It may be the Fertittas are planning to build a sports site on, or off the Strip, which could house a fight arena, an NFL playing field, or both.

There is an instinctive sense, from this position, that the involvement of Lorenzo in the UFC has not ended. While the new owners will inevitably place major officers that they select in leading positions as we move forward – Lawrence Epstein is the current COO and a key player – new appointments brought in are unlikely to possess the nous Fertitta garnered in his 15 years working alongside Dana White.

I’m just surmising here, but keeping Fertitta involved may already be a part of the WME-IMG strategy going forward. There is so much at stake with corporate ownership now taking over what is a unique business that Fertitta was implicit in creating, right from nuts-and-bolts decisions to the inked contracts in the boardroom. Fertitta has built up, in almost every sense, a knowledge base on fight sports that is also almost as irreplaceable as White’s.

Instinct suggests we haven’t seen the last of Lorenzo Fertitta in the UFC. Watch out for that ZuffaDome.