Add as a preferred source on Google Eric Bischoff revealed on a recent episode of 83 Weeks that he once had the chance to buy the UFC for around $2.5 million, but ultimately passed on the offer.
The former WCW President said he got the call on a Friday night while he was having a beer with his wife. At the time, the UFC was still nowhere near the global phenomenon it would become years later.
“You go back to the very beginning of the UFC because I remember it distinctly. I remember getting a phone call one Friday night when I was out having a beer with my wife and the guy that owned or was in top management, I can’t remember his name right now, called me and said, ‘Hey, do you do you would you like to buy the UFC for 2.5 million?’”
Bischoff explained that he did have interest in the brand, but he did not see a real path to fixing the company’s business problems. During that period, the UFC was facing heavy political pushback in the United States, with John McCain leading public criticism of the sport, which was described as “human cockfighting” and was banned in several states.
“Now, at that time, UFC was they couldn’t get into venues. There was states trying to outlaw them. John McCain was, you know, pressuring, you know, trying to keep the milk, whatever. It was a big mess. And the business side of it was a mess.”
Not long after that, Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta bought the UFC for $2 million in 2001 and kept Dana White as a central figure in the operation. In 2016, the promotion was sold to a group led by WME-IMG for around $4 billion.
Bischoff said he has deep admiration for what White and the Fertittas built, especially because they stayed committed to the project despite major early losses.
“But if you look at what Dana White did, the Fertittas coming in, they lost over $350 million on UFC before they made their first nickel. That’s a commitment, a big commitment.”
The UFC now operates under the same corporate umbrella as WWE through TKO Group Holdings, which was officially formed in September 2023, with Dana White as UFC CEO and Nick Khan serving as WWE President.