UFC is an uber-famous industry, and the promotion has been in the limelight for more than two decades. The value of the sport has increased exponentially thanks to Dana White and Co. Now the thing is, since Saudi Arabia entered the world of combat sports, the royal advisor Turki Alalshikh has made it a point to bring the best fighters to compete in his country. The UFC head honcho and his childhood friends, Lorenzo Fertitta, and his older brother, Frank Fertitta, had bought UFC for $2 million in 2001.

Now the valuation has increased exponentially, which might put UFC at stake because Saudi is in the game. Despite UFC’s incredible demand and money value, Joe Rogan has a major fear regarding the promotion.

Joe Rogan thinks Saudi Arabia can buy UFC

Rogan, speaking on the latest episode of ‘JRE Fight Companion’ with Bryan Callen, Brendan Schaub, and Brian Simpson that UFC could easily be bought by Saudi Arabia. He claimed, “Let me tell you this Saudi Arabia could come to the UFC and go, ‘We will buy you for $200 billion’ And then all of a sudden the UFC is Saudi Arabia.” Even Simpson chimed in, saying, “Well, that’s what Dana was saying to Shannon about fighter pay he was like, ‘These guys got so much money they don’t care if they lose money.’ He’s like I care if I lose money.”

UFC has already shaken hands with Saudi Arabia and the fight night became a massive success. Thousands of UFC fans came to witness the action inside the Octagon. It also seems like Dana White is listening to Alalshikh when it comes to his $11.3 billion worth business. The Royal Advisor wants the next fight night to set up women’s fights as well. This would mark the first women’s fight in the Middle Eastern Nation.

Since entering the world of high-level combat sports events, Saudi Arabia has risen as a country to bring the best boxers and fighters together for the world to see them complete. They might even change boxing forever because the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund has concluded that the Riyadh season’s inclusion of the fighters is beneficial for their financial gain. UFC is also a hot topic because the promotion always matches up the best versus the best. And now Saudi Arabia is discussing with multiple boxing stakeholders to create a league of their own. This could be worth $4 to 5 billion dollars. 

Meanwhile, it is also clear that Dana White would do anything to save his promotion since he worked very hard to bring it from $2 million to $11.3 billion.

Dana White’s acquisition of UFC

The UFC head honcho had started the journey with his best friends Fertitta brothers. He recently stated in an interview that starting the company was challenging, but fun at the same time. White loves UFC and this is exactly what he wanted to do. He revealed, “Lorenzo Fertitta, owner of Station Casinos, which was the fourth-largest gaming company in the country. We knew we always wanted to do something in the fight business, and I was managing Chuck Liddell and found out UFC was in trouble and probably gonna go out of business.”

“So I called him up and said, ‘Hey, I think these guys are in trouble, and we should buy it.’ So, in 2001, we bought the UFC for $2 million,” the CEO added. After buying the UFC from SEO in 2001, the trio had struggled to pull an audience and pay-per-view events. By 2004, the UFC was averaging 40,000 pay-per-view buys, which led them to lose a lot of money. They bought the promotion for $2 million and invested almost $44 million into it, however, there was less profit.

Despite all the scary movements, the bad fortune of the UFC changed with the introduction of the Ultimate Fighter. By 2016, UFC had become a famous industry and now everyone knows how lucrative and amazing the promotion is. Do you think Joe Rogan’s fears are true? Drop your views in the comments below.