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Conor McGregor is already setting the stage for a career in sports entertainment once his UFC days are done.
On Sunday, just before the second night of WWE’s annual extravaganza WrestleMania was scheduled to get underway, reports emerged revealing that Endeavor Group Holdings, the parent company of the UFC, had negotiated a deal to acquire Vince McMahon’s professional wrestling empire, merging it with the Las Vegas-based fight promotion into a new publicly traded company valued at more than $21 billion.
Acknowledging the news, Conor McGregor posted a picture of himself holding both the UFC and WWE championships.
The image quickly prompted a response from former ECW owner turned WWE manager Paul Heyman who called the Irish superstar nothing more than a Roman Reigns “wannabe.” Conor McGregor didn’t take kindly to the comment and snapped back on Twitter. “Careful Grandpa. I’ll show up and break your jaw in 3 places,” McGregor responded.
Endeavor’s Merger of WWE and the UFC Could Open the Door for Mega-Stars Like Conor McGregor to Crossover
On Monday morning, reports of the purchase were confirmed with Endeavor CEO Ari Amanuel commenting on the merger.
“This is a rare opportunity to create a global live sports and entertainment pureplay built for where the industry is headed,” Emanuel said in a news release.
In 1982, Vince McMahon purchased the promotion from his father Vincent J. McMahon for $1 million. Just a few short years later, McMahon turned the WWE (then WWF) into a global juggernaut responsible for housing some of the biggest names in sports entertainment history over the last 40+ years including Hulk Hogan, ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin, The Rock, and John Cena.
“Together, we will be a $21+ billion live sports and entertainment powerhouse with a collective fanbase of more than a billion people and an exciting growth opportunity,” McMahon said. “The new company will be well-positioned to maximize the value of our combined media rights, enhance sponsorship monetization, develop new forms of content, and pursue other strategic mergers and acquisitions to further bolster our strong stable of brands. I, along with the current WWE management team, look forward to working closely with Ari and the Endeavor and UFC teams to take the businesses to the next level.”
On the business side of things, not much will change with Vince McMahon still acting as the executive chairman of the WWE while Dana White will continue to operate as the love-him-or-hate-him president of the UFC.
With the two organizations now under one banner, would you like to see mega-stars such as Conor McGregor crossover into the world of sports entertainment?
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