Fertitta's UFC Gamble
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A story about how the UFC was purchased for $2M and turned into a multi-billion dollar business through persistence and a breakthrough reality TV show.
"The Fertitta brothers bought UFC for $2 million when it was going bankrupt. Dana White, who's the president of UFC, convinced his childhood friends - the Fertitta brothers who owned Red Rock Casino in Vegas - to buy it.
When they bought it, they pretty much just got the cage, which was probably a $20,000 piece of equipment, and the name UFC. They loved that name, but they didn't really get anything else.
They had to pour in about $65 million more as it failed repeatedly. By year 6, they convinced Spike TV to air 'The Ultimate Fighter.' There was this big 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' - not thugs or meatheads, but actual athletes who are fighting.
Right when that episode aired, their ratings went up and boom - they just saved the whole company from that one fight. They ended up selling UFC 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.