UFC's $2M to $5B Journey
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A story about how The Ultimate Fighter reality show saved the UFC and transformed it from a struggling business into a multi-billion dollar success.
"When they bought UFC for $2 million, they pretty much just got the cage - probably a $20,000 piece of equipment - and the name. They loved that name, but they didn't really get anything else.
They had to pour in about $65 million and it failed repeatedly. By year 6, they convinced Spike TV to air 'The Ultimate Fighter.' There was this fight with Forrest Griffin and another fighter. I remember watching that fight as a kid - these guys were going at it. It was the first time we thought 'wow, they're athletes.' They weren't thugs or meatheads - these were athletes who were fighting.
The show was different because they showed them living in a house - it was like a reality show. You got to know the guys, see their backstory, see them lying in their bed looking at pictures of their family before training sessions, thinking 'this is who I'm doing it for.' People got emotionally invested.
Right when that episode aired, their ratings went up and boom - they just saved the whole company from that one fight. They eventually sold the company for $4-5 billion."
Shaan Puri
Host of MFM
Shaan Puri is the Chairman and Co-Founder of The Milk Road. He previously worked at Twitch as a Senior Director of Product, Mobile Gaming, and Emerging Markets. He also attended Duke University.