Since its inception in 1993, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) has gone from strength to strength and is rightly considered the biggest mixed-marital arts competition in the world. Not only has it made stars out of Connor McGregor and Ronda Rousey, but it’s become a money-making machine thanks to some huge sponsorship and television deals.
After being sold to the William Morris Endeavor-International Management Group in 2016 for $5.73 billion, it was revealed a number of celebrity investors were sought out to help fund the takeover. For the paltry sum of AU$355,000 (US$250,000), 23 high profile celebs got their hands on a number of UFC shares. Turns out this was a pretty smart move, with UFC President Dana White declaring last year the company was worth almost AU$10 billion.
“Expanding our ownership group to include this caliber of talent and entrepreneurs is a strong indicator of UFC’s fast-growing global presence,” UFC President Dana White said in a statement. “Our new investors bring an incredible depth of knowledge and experience to help us continue to elevate this brand and capitalize on its entertainment and sports crossover appeal.”
The list of celebrities who own stock in the company are all UFC fans and includes the likes of actor Ben Affleck, music artist The Weeknd and tennis player Serena Williams.
Check out the full list of artists and athletes below and be sure to check out the latest update on the Australian-New Zealand undisputed middleweight fight between Robert Whittaker and Israel Adesanya set to take place at UFC 243 in Sydney.
- Ben Affleck
- Michael Bay
- Tom Brady
- Rob Dyrdek
- Guy Fieri
- Flea
- Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye
- Calvin Harris
- Anthony Kiedis
- Jimmy Kimmel
- Robert Kraft
- Adam Levine
- Li Na
- LL Cool J
- Cam Newton
- Conan O’Brien
- Trey Parker
- Tyler Perry
- Maria Sharapova
- Sylvester Stallone
- Mark Wahlberg
- Serena Williams
- Venus Williams
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