Report: UFC Sells 10 Percent Stake to Abu Dhabi Company

UFC majority owner Lorenzo Fertitta confirmed on Monday the sale of a 10 percent stake in the fight promotion to the Middle Eastern entertainment company Flash Entertainment.

Fertitta, who owned 90 percent of the Las Vegas-based Zuffa LLC. -- the UFC’s parent company -- with his brother Frank prior to the deal, told the Las Vegas Review Journal that the sale would assist the industrious fight promotion in its plans for international expansion. UFC President Dana White owned the company’s remaining 10 percent and runs its day-to-day operations. Fertitta would not disclose financial terms of the deal or the company’s new ownership split to the Las Vegas newspaper. However, the Associated Press reported Monday that Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta's 45-percent stakes were reduced to 40.5, while White's 10 percent went to 9 percent.

“We’ve had a lot of growth over the last five years in the United States and Canada,” Fertitta told the Review Journal. “One of our initiatives has been to grow this global brand around the world. What they will allow us to do is grow a lot faster in places like the Middle East as well as places like Southeast Asia and China and throughout that region.”

According to the Review Journal article, Flash Entertainment is a subsidiary owned by Abu Dhabi, the lucrative-destination capital of the United Arab Emirates and home to the country’s royal family.

FiveOuncesofPain.com reported last week that Sheik Tahnoon Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, of the Abu Dhabi royal family, had purchased 10 percent of the UFC following months of negotiations. Tahnoon, the longtime benefactor to the Abu Dhabi World Submission Grappling Championships, is also a Renzo Gracie jiu-jitsu black belt.

Though not officially announced, UFC President Dana White divulged plans in December for an April 10 event in the opulent city. Former welterweight champion Matt Hughes is slated to take on Gracie, while middleweight titleholder Anderson Silva has been rumored to be defending his crown against Vitor Belfort in the promotion’s first Middle Eastern effort.

Fertitta and his brother Frank also own the Station Casinos chain in Las Vegas, which caters to the local clientele. The Wall Street Journal reported on Dec. 16 that Boyd Gaming Corporation had made a bid to purchase the 18-casino conglomerate’s parent company, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in July 2009 under $5.7 billion of debt. Boyd was reported to have offered $2.45 billion in its second bid for the company. Boyd had previously offered $950 million for a portion of the company in March 2009, said the report.

The Fertittas purchased the UFC and all its assets from Semaphore Entertainment Group for $2 million in January 2001. Zuffa also owns World Exteme Cagefighting, a second fight promotion that concentrates on the lighter weight divisions.

The Review Journal reported that Zuffa has accrued a $450 million debt, which includes a $25 million note due in 2012 and a $425 million loan due in 2015, citing a November report from Moody’s Investors Service. However, the report also indicated that Zuffa should be able to make its debt payments based on its current revenue stream.

This item was updated at 2:24 a.m. ET to include information from an Associated Press report.