It’s looking increasingly likely that the UFC will be sold very soon.
Reports began surfacing last month that the world’s largest MMA promotion was on the cusp of being sold to a Chinese venture capital firm.
At that time, it was in the advanced talks stage, but according to ESPN, it has moved past that as two bids have reportedly been tabled.
The report claims that the UFC has received two bids in the range of $4.1 billion and a sale is imminent. The two high bidders are WME-IMG (in conjunction with Dalian Wanda Group) and China Media Capital.
Strong rumours that the UFC will be sold very soon https://t.co/oJ5gjwOIQf
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) March 17, 2016
Currently, both bidders are trying to completely finance the buyout for the entire company.
ESPN are reporting that one of the potential investors for WME-IMG is the Kraft Group, which owns the New England Patriots. Dana White, a Boston native, has been spotted numerous times at Patriots games.
China Media Capital were pegged as early front-runners in the race to buy the UFC. They have been expanding into the sports industry and last year, along with another Chinese investment group, Citic Capital, bought a 13 percent stake of British soccer team Manchester City for a reported $400 million.
