First major UFC financials reveal staggering revenue following WWE merger

The first major financial disclosure for TKO Group Holdings to the Securities and Exchange Commission has revealed detailed information about the UFC’s revenue for 2022 and 2023.

TKO officially filed paperwork with the SEC ahead of the third-quarter TKO earnings call on Nov. 7. The new breakdown features financials for both the UFC and World Wrestling Entertainment.

Prior to the merger with WWE, the UFC was housed under the Endeavor umbrella, and while the promotion made up the majority of the company’s sports holdings, there was still split revenue with other organizations like Professional Bull Riders.

Now, the UFC’s sole financial information has been revealed with a deeper dive into revenue through the second quarter of 2023.

During the first two quarters of 2023, the UFC produced $611.9 million in revenue across media rights and content, live events, sponsorship and consumer product licensing. Media rights and content, which is largely based upon a deal with ESPN, paid out the largest revenue with $224.1 million in the first quarter and then $211.7 million in the second quarter.

Live events accounted for $63.8 million, while sponsorships were at 54.2 million for the first half of 2023. Finally, consumer product licensing produced 18.1 million in revenue.

According to the SEC filing, the UFC saw an 18 percent increase between the first quarter in 2023 and the same time during 2022. The second quarter was up 14 percent year over year between 2023 and 2022.

As far as 2022 financials go, the UFC produced $1.14 billion in revenue, which according to a past financial filing from Endeavor was up 20 percent from the same time in 2021.

Since Endeavor purchased the UFC for just over $4 billion, the MMA promotion has remained the biggest revenue driver for the now-publicly traded company. That changed slightly after Endeavor closed a deal to acquire a majority stake in WWE before merging the professional wrestling outfit with UFC.

The combined company — now known as TKO Group Holdings — was valued at over $21 billion.

Based on the financial records disclosed on Wednesday, WWE is also enjoying good year, with $707.9 million in revenue produced for the first two quarters of 2023. WWE dropped 11 percent in revenue for the first quarter in 2023 compared to 2022, but then it rebounded with a 25 percent increase year over year in the second quarter.

It’s expected that the UFC will continue to report record revenues, especially after inking a new multi-year deal – reportedly worth over $100 million – to make Bud Light the official beer of the promotion. Add to that, the UFC will start negotiating terms on a new broadcast rights deal in 2024, which could end up being one of the most lucrative contracts in sports.