December 5, 2024 02:10 AM

Celebrities Are The New Investors of UFC: Find Out Who!

Celebrity investors are now venturing out to different field with Beyoncé reportedly going into Tech businesses. Meanwhile, some celebrities opt for a much sporty field which is the mixed martial arts.

The Wall Street Journal reports, less than three months of UFC being acquired by a Hollywood talent agency numerous a-list stars have shown interest in investing to the growth of this sport.

The site added that 23 celebrities including Adam Levine, Tom Brady, Adam Levine, Mark Wahlberg and Serena Williams, to name a few, are some of the well-known investors of the league, said UFC and its new majority share holder WME-IMG.

What these famous people can contribute is promoting the brand to penetrate more market and reach more viewers since its acquisition last July by WME-IMG and other investor worth $4 billion.

The Hollywood talent agency bought the franchise from Fertitta brothers and most of the investors are signed to the firm, as reported by MMA Fighting.

"I think it's a mainstream sport now," Ari Emmanuel, co-chief executive of WME-IMG said. Adding that he reached out to celebrities who he knows are fans of the sport, WSJ published.

The celebrity investors who recently bought shares includes the talk show host named Jimmy Kimmel and film director Tyler Perry.

Initially, mixed martial arts was niche sport that started from backyard brawls until it gained its popularity to the mainstream market.

The news site said, November 12 will be the first fight hosted by UFC in New York since it's legalization six months ago. Furthermore, another introduction of WME-IMG to the business is digital subscription service where people can view more than just fights.

WME-IMG, the new owner of UFC, wants their fighters to transition into other modes of entertainment as well. Some fighters have already penetrated the film industry such as Ronda Rousey, Anderson Silva, Randy Couture and Gina Carano.

Tags
UFC, Ronda rousey, Jimmy Kimmel, Ben affleck
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