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Media UFC took out loans to pay owners hundreds of millions

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The UFC antitrust suit has been in motion for more than eight years, and three of those were spent waiting for class certification. The plaintiffs finally achieved that in early August with the honorable Judge Boulware also issuing his written opinion which was strongly worded with pointed references to the stranglehold the company has on MMA.

The community has been abuzz about what will happen next and what Boulware’s comments mean. One of the lead attorneys for the plaintiffs — the person who in fact came up with the idea for this lawsuit — Rob Maysey, stopped by the Hey Not the Face! Podcast to answer some of those questions and fielded plenty of others ranging from how predatory managers impede progress to the Herculean task of trying to get the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act applied to MMA

Debunking UFC’s appeal: Owners had massive payouts
According to reports from Jason Cruz and Paul Gift, longtime hosts of Bloody Elbow’s Show Money podcast, the UFC filed an appeal with the the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on August 23, 2023.

The MMA promotion cited that the ruling could “unleash a new breed of antitrust class actions” that pose “drastic and unprecedented consequences” and “put courts in the role of effectively setting compensation” for workers. They argue that the $1.6B in damages (which would be trebled up to $4.8B) the plaintiffs are seeking is excessive, noting the figures far exceed the $235 million net income the UFC made during the class period.

According to Maysey, the defendants don’t have a solid stance here because they put themselves in that position.
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Continued...

https://bloodyelbow.com/2023/08/30/rob-maysey-ufc-loans-pay-owners-big/
 
Arty said:
Can you sum up this? Is UFC in debt?
Click to expand...

Yes, to the tune of billions. WME purchased them with loans, then couldn't afford the interest-only payments and had to get a loan to pay for the first loan. Then when their credit was about to be downgraded below investor class, they got a third loan to pay for the previous two.
 
Only Here for Attachments said:
Yes, to the tune of billions. WME purchased them with loans, then couldn't afford the interest-only payments and had to get a loan to pay for the first loan. Then when their credit was about to be downgraded below investor class, they got a third loan to pay for the previous two.
Click to expand...
It’s just like the USA government lol
 
Only Here for Attachments said:
Yes, to the tune of billions. WME purchased them with loans, then couldn't afford the interest-only payments and had to get a loan to pay for the first loan. Then when their credit was about to be downgraded below investor class, they got a third loan to pay for the previous two.
Click to expand...
Bank knocks on Dana's door demanding loan repayment:

giphy.gif


Next month:

giphy.gif

Turd time's the charm:

giphy.gif
 
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Basically the Fertittas took hundreds of millions from loans they took out as dividiends that the UFC is now using to say "We didn't make that much money!!" during the class action lawsuit

Only Here for Attachments said:
Yes, to the tune of billions. WME purchased them with loans, then couldn't afford the interest-only payments and had to get a loan to pay for the first loan. Then when their credit was about to be downgraded below investor class, they got a third loan to pay for the previous two.
Click to expand...
This is also true, but not what the article is about

John Nash reported on this four years ago with citations discovering through the course of his deep dive into the documentation the UFC sale and antitrust suit provided that UFC owners received large payments financed mostly through loans.

“It is worth noting that in addition to whatever distributions the owners were paid from the promotion’s profits, they also received large payments that were mostly financed through loans. $199 million of the original $300 million, 2007 loan was earmarked as a dividend payment to Zuffa’s owners.

“Another $305 million in distributions was paid out in 2009, according to Dana White’s deposition. During that year, Zuffa had taken out another $100 million loan of which $70 million was reportedly going to be used to pay the owners. The Fertittas and White also sold 10% of Zuffa to Flash Entertainment that year for an undisclosed amount.”

The UFC is claiming that over the period covered by the class action lawsuit they only generated X amount of profit, but large amounts of their outgoings were to finance loans they used to pay themselves

Basically the Fertittas were geniuses, Dana's the douche left holding the can & WME are marks
 
m249viking said:
It’s just like the USA government lol
Click to expand...
That's how the elite roll, the government is the same they all operate like that
Uncertainly Principled said:
Basically the Fertittas took hundreds of millions from loans they took out as dividiends that the UFC is now using to say "We didn't make that much money!!" during the class action lawsuit


This is also true, but not what the article is about

John Nash reported on this four years ago with citations discovering through the course of his deep dive into the documentation the UFC sale and antitrust suit provided that UFC owners received large payments financed mostly through loans.

“It is worth noting that in addition to whatever distributions the owners were paid from the promotion’s profits, they also received large payments that were mostly financed through loans. $199 million of the original $300 million, 2007 loan was earmarked as a dividend payment to Zuffa’s owners.

“Another $305 million in distributions was paid out in 2009, according to Dana White’s deposition. During that year, Zuffa had taken out another $100 million loan of which $70 million was reportedly going to be used to pay the owners. The Fertittas and White also sold 10% of Zuffa to Flash Entertainment that year for an undisclosed amount.”

The UFC is claiming that over the period covered by the class action lawsuit they only generated X amount of profit, but large amounts of their outgoings were to finance loans they used to pay themselves

Basically the Fertittas were geniuses, Dana's the douche left holding the can & WME are marks
Click to expand...
At the end they all come out on top financially by a wide and unfair margin over the fighters


But yea, the ufc pays its self first, assuring brand dominance
 
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Uncertainly Principled said:
Basically the Fertittas took hundreds of millions from loans they took out as dividiends that the UFC is now using to say "We didn't make that much money!!" during the class action lawsuit


This is also true, but not what the article is about

John Nash reported on this four years ago with citations discovering through the course of his deep dive into the documentation the UFC sale and antitrust suit provided that UFC owners received large payments financed mostly through loans.

“It is worth noting that in addition to whatever distributions the owners were paid from the promotion’s profits, they also received large payments that were mostly financed through loans. $199 million of the original $300 million, 2007 loan was earmarked as a dividend payment to Zuffa’s owners.

“Another $305 million in distributions was paid out in 2009, according to Dana White’s deposition. During that year, Zuffa had taken out another $100 million loan of which $70 million was reportedly going to be used to pay the owners. The Fertittas and White also sold 10% of Zuffa to Flash Entertainment that year for an undisclosed amount.”

The UFC is claiming that over the period covered by the class action lawsuit they only generated X amount of profit, but large amounts of their outgoings were to finance loans they used to pay themselves

Basically the Fertittas were geniuses, Dana's the douche left holding the can & WME are marks
Click to expand...
Ah.

We knew about these loans back in the 00's.

I thought this thread was about new loans.

Thanks for the clarification, cliffs.
 
Owners golden parachute out, WME shareholders get the bags. What is legal isn't always right. These rich assholes have 10+ lawyers finding ways out, while stockholders get shafted. The system is a scam. Oh well fuck WME, because they were already hosed with debt for their other stuff and milking the UFC to cover that debt. UFC would be a better org if a financially healthy entity owned it, probably would be the fastest route to better fighter pay if WME had to sell it.
 
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