In the summer of 2016, WME-IMG purchased the UFC for what at the time seemed like an astronomical $4 billion, but in a new interview, UFC President Dana White has suggested that the promotion’s upcoming broadcast deal with ESPN has lifted the value of the company even higher than ever.
“When you think about it we haven’t even scratched the surface yet of how big this thing can be,” White told Tony Robbins in an interview. “We just did a TV deal with ESPN for $1.5 billion for five years. Now the company is worth $7 billion.”
With ESPN now on-board White says he believes the UFC will now reach a whole new audience in the U.S.
“Obviously this ESPN deal is going to be massive for us, expose us to millions of people just here in the U.S. that haven’t been exposed to the UFC. We’re going to continue to go into markets we haven’t been, we’re going to continue to find the best talent in the world.”
As for what he’s going to do now that the TV deal has been struck, White indicates that finding future stars will be a big part of his job.
“I love to find up-and-coming talent. I love to find the next guy or girl. Continue to build the sport. That’s it. That’s my focus. It’s not rocket science, it’s nothing crazy. Just continue to do what we do and get bigger and bigger.”
