2/28/24: UFC Records $1.3 Billion In 2023 Revenue
Also: Three changes hit this weekend's UFC card
Welcome to the Wednesday edition of the Knockdown Daily. We’re back with another busy issue for you today. We have a financial story for you, an update on the changes for this weekend’s UFC card (as promised), title fights set for a CFFC card, a homecoming in OKTAGON, plus much more. Let’s begin.
UFC Records $1.3 Billion In Revenue For 2023
Increases in sponsorship and live event cash helped UFC put up big financial numbers in 2023.
The top MMA promotion saw a 13 percent increase in revenue last year, raking in $1.3 billion in total revenue (adjusted EBITDA of $755 million). The latest financial details were shared in the recent quarterly earnings report filed by TKO Group Holdings, the company that represents UFC and WWE on the stock market.
Of the $1.3 billion, $282 million ($142 million adjusted EBITDA) came in the final quarter of 2023.
Money from live events and sponsorships were major drivers in the rising revenue for the promotion. While UFC continues to receive a huge chunk of its revenue from its massive media rights deal with ESPN — which earned them $870 million in 2023 alone — big increases were seen in other sectors.
Live event revenue shot up 34 percent compared to 2022, with $168 million coming from that sector. A press release sent out by TKO made note that these gains are not just through ticket sales, but also site fees. UFC, along with WWE, have received large chunks of cash in the past by bringing their events to cities or countries that hope to attract tourists.
TKO COO Mark Shapiro said last December that UFC receives roughly $25 million for their annual cards in Abu Dhabi. UFC is also expected to receive $20 million for an event in Saudi Arabia this year.
UFC recorded an 18 percent increase in sponsorship revenue, bringing in $196 million. The fourth major revenue factor for the UFC, “Consumer Products,” recorded $57 million in revenue last year as well.
While the “Media Rights & Content” section wasn’t a massive highlight of TKO’s latest quarterly earnings report, it will become a big discussion around the business soon. UFC’s lucrative deal with ESPN is expected to end in 2025, and the promotion is slowly approaching the final months before a new broadcasting partnership will be unveiled.
Many believe that an antitrust lawsuit filed against the UFC — which seeks up to $1.6 billion in damages — could become a larger concern for the business in the future. As of right now, TKO doesn’t seem bothered.
Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel shut down the lawsuit becoming a worry for the business when asked about it during the quarterly earnings conference call. “We believe strongly that the facts and the law are on our side,” he said.
TKO Group Holdings has been under scrutiny in recent months following a lawsuit filed by a former WWE staffer who alleged she suffered “physical and emotional abuse, sexual assault and trafficking” by Vince McMahon and John Laurinaitis while working for WWE. The story, while it is easily the biggest in wrestling at the moment, seemingly has not caused great stress on the company’s business. McMahon was only mentioned briefly during the earnings call, with Emanuel saying that he doesn’t know what the former WWE boss will do with the just over 20 million shares he currently holds in TKO.
The WWE side of TKO’s business brought in $382 million from 2023. Overall, when accounting for both UFC and WWE’s revenue, TKO Group Holdings reported $1.6 billion in revenue for 2023 ($809 million EBITDA). The company’s revenue expectation for 2024 was set at a range from $2.5 to $2.6 billion.
Saturday’s UFC ‘Fight Night’ Card Receives Numerous Changes
As expected, a few alterations have hit this weekend’s UFC “Fight Night” card. The Las Vegas, Nevada, USA lineup is up to 11 fights in total after the card gained two matchups and lost another.
Vinicius Oliveira Receives New Opponent For UFC Debut
Former UAE Warriors Bantamweight Champion Vinicius Oliveira has been given a new opponent for Saturday’s UFC card, keeping him on track to make his promotional debut this weekend.
Oliveira is now expected to face Benardo Sopaj, per an announcement made by the promotion this week. Sopaj is joining the UFC roster after earning a pair of wins on the Swedish regional scene last year. He has fought as a pro since 2016 and has attained 11 wins at just the age of 23.
Oliveira entered the UFC roster last year with a win on “Dana White’s Contender Series.” He made quick work of Victor Madrigal on that show, putting him away in the first round with strikes. Oliveira told MMA Fighting last week that initial opponent Yanis Ghemmouri had withdrawn from their fight. Ghemmouri was looking to return after losing his UFC debut to William Gomis last September.
Ludovit Klein Booked To Face Short-Notice Opponent AJ Cunningham
Ludovit Klein also has a change in opponent for this weekend. While he was previously expected to face fellow experienced lightweight Joel Alvarez, he’s now being lined up to meet UFC newcomer AJ Cunningham.
Cunningham appeared on the 2023 season of “Dana White’s Contender Series,” but didn’t receive a contract after losing Steven Nguyen. He has gotten back into the win column since then on the regional scene, handing Justice Lamparez his 12th loss through 20 pro fights. Cunningham has won four of his last five, including appearances in Fury FC and LFA.
Klein will be a tough matchup for Cunningham since he has been on a roll for the past few years. He has won three fights since 2022, with his last performance being a decision over Ignacio Bahamondes. In 2023 he also went the distance against Jai Herbert for a majority decision result.
A statement by UFC this week said that Alvarez withdrew from the fight due to visa issues.
Rosas Jr., Turcios Re-Booking Not In The Cards
A bantamweight fight between Raul Rosas Jr. and Ricky Turcios has been removed from yet another UFC lineup. The rising 135-pound talents were initially expected to collide last weekend on a UFC card in Mexico City, Mexico. However, just minutes before their fight, news broke that illness forced Rosas Jr. out of the fight.
That night, UFC announced that the prospects would face off a week later at the promotion’s March 2nd show. But a day later, Turcios claimed that he never signed a contract for the bout’s rescheduling.
A UFC official has confirmed that the bout will in fact not happen this weekend, per Danny Segura and Ken Hathaway of MMA Junkie. It’s unclear at the moment if the bout will be booked on any future lineup, or if the fighters will go their separate ways now.
Here’s an updated look at this weekend’s UFC card:
Main Card (4:00PM EST / 1:00PM PST) (ESPN+)
Bout 11: Jairzinho Rozenstruick (13-5) vs. Shamil Gaziev (12-0) (Heavyweight)
Bout 10: Vitor Petrino (10-0) vs. Tyson Pedro (10-4) (Light Heavyweight)
Bout 9: Alex Perez (24-7) vs. Muhammad Mokaev (10-0) (Flyweight)
Bout 8: Umar Nurmagomedov (16-0) vs. Bekzat Almakhan (17-1) (Bantamweight)
Bout 7: Matt Schnell (16-7) vs. Steve Erceg (11-1) (Flyweight)
Preliminary Card (1:00PM EST / 11:00AM PST) (ESPN+)
Bout 6: Eryk Anders (15-8) vs. Jamie Pickett (13-10) (Middleweight)
Bout 5: Ludovit Klein (20-4-1) vs. AJ Cunningham (11-3) (Lightweight)
Bout 4: Javid Basharat (14-0) vs. Aiemann Zahabi (10-2) (Bantamweight)
Bout 3: Christian Leroy Duncan (9-1) vs. Claudio Ribeiro (11-4) (Middleweight)
Bout 2: Vinicius Oliveira (19-3) vs. Benardo Sopaj (11-2) (Bantamweight)
Bout 1: Loik Radzhabov (17-5-1) vs. Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady (15-3) (Lightweight)
CFFC Announces Four Title Fights For April 12th Card
U.S. regional promotion CFFC has announced four title fights for their return to Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA for April 12th. Titles will be on the line at heavyweight, light heavyweight, lightweight, and featherweight when CFFC 131 takes place at the Hard Rock Casino & Hotel.
The top bout of the night will see light heavyweight champ Luke Fernandez attempt to defend his title for the first time against Will Dicke. Fernandez captured his belt late last year, stopping Peter New with strikes in the second round. The victory was his third pro win and came after a six-fight undefeated run as an amateur.
Dicke will be the most experienced opponent that Fernandez has faced to date. He has fought since 2009 and is on the hunt for his 20th victory. Dicke has been on a streak of finishes since 2019, stringing together six wins in recent years. He appeared just earlier this month, submitting “Dana White’s Contender Series” alum Al Matavao.
The co-main event will see Morquez Forest and Robert Varricchio fight for a vacant interim belt at lightweight. The winner of the fight could potentially unify titles with Robert Watley, who has held the regular lightweight title since July 2023.
Both Forest and Varricchio have built up their records in CFFC. Forest debuted just last April and has already scored four wins as a pro. Varricchio joined the CFFC roster in 2022 after previously scoring two wins. He earned a pair of first-round finishes last year, beating Sean Felton and Brandon Evans.
Heavyweight champ Greg Velasco will look for another win when he fights Bailey Schoenfelder. Velasco earned his CFFC belt back in 2022, beating Kevin Sears via decision. He defended his title for the first time last year, stopping Ronald Coleman.
Velasco is returning to CFFC after losing to now-UFC fighter Shamil Gaziev on the “Contender Series” last fall. A win in April would make him just the second-ever CFFC heavyweight champ to defend their belt more than once (the only one currently is Azunna Anyanwu, who defended his title three times from 2016 to 2019).
Schoenfelder is joining CFFC with a record of four wins. He has fought on South Dakota cards in both LFA and Bellator since 2021, finishing all four of his opponents. April will be a big step up for him, as Velasco will be his first opponent with four or more pro fights.
In the fourth title bout, Anthony Dilemme and Frank Wells will compete for an interim title at featherweight. The current featherweight champ is Jose Perez, who defended his title for the first time last September.
Dilemme has earned four wins in CFFC since entering the promotion in 2022. His last couple of wins have come against fighters with negative records, making Wells a bigger challenge than other recent fights.
Wells will be taking his second crack at a CFFC belt. He unsuccessfully earned a vacant title in 2022, losing to Perez. A victory in April could set up a rematch between the two sometime down the line.
Stuttgart’s Christian Jungwirth To Headline Homecoming Card At OKTAGON 55
Christian Jungwirth will have his hometown crowd’s support when he headlines an OKTAGON card next month.
Jungwirth has been booked to face Robert Pukac in the main event of OKTAGON 55 on March 23rd. The card will take place in Jungwirth’s home city of Stuttgart, Germany, at the Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle.
Jungwirth has fought on numerous OKTAGON cards in Germany, including trips to Munich, Frankfurt, and Oberhausen. However, next month will be the first time that he will compete in Stuttgart since joining the promotion.
The event will give Jungwirth a chance to snap a two-fight skid. While the 37-year-old picked up a pair of victories to start 2023, he ended the year with back-to-back losses. His last fight saw him get submitted in the first round by John Palaiologos.
Pukac will also try to get back to his winning ways. He has been highly unsuccessful in OKTAGON, winning just four of his 11 fights in the promotion.
A total of 11 bouts are booked for OKTAGON 55 at the moment. A rundown of all the new matchups can be found in today’s notes section below.
Notes On: UFC, ONE Championship, KSW, Cage Warriors, OKTAGON & CFFC
UFC
A pair of big developments took place in recent days regarding the antitrust lawsuit against the UFC, Le et al v. Zuffa, LLC. On Tuesday, a court filing stated that both parties have entered into a “private mediation.” The Nevada district court has ordered the parties to file a “joint status report” by as late as March 11th.
A report from Bloody Elbow last week detailed a list of prominent MMA fighters and managers who will testify for UFC. The list includes Michael Bisping, Donald Cerrone, Michael Chandler, Chael Sonnen, and Miesha Tate. Managers Ali Abdelaziz, Jason House, and Josh Jones, along with American Top Team gym owner Dan Lambert and LFA President Ed Soares are also expected to testify. We highly recommend you read Bloody Elbow’s breakdown of the list.
UFC’s May 11th card might end up at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Missouri, USA, per a report from Damon Martin of MMA Fighting. If official, it will be the promotion’s first event in St. Louis in more than six years. Their last visit to the city was in early 2018 for a “Fight Night” card headlined by Jeremy Stephens and Choi Doo-ho.
ONE Championship
Shooto Japan Atomweight Champion Chihiro Sawada (6-0-1) will return to ONE Championship at their March 8th card from Bangkok, Thailand, taking on promotional vet Jihin Radzuan (9-3). Sawada won her ONE debut last year on their “Friday Fights” series, submitting Sanaz Fayazmanesh. The 26-year-old has since earned wins in Shooto and Combate Global as well. Radzuan, who will be making her 12th appearance in the promotion, is coming off an armbar win over Jenelyn Olsim from last year.
ONE Championship does not have a “Friday Fights” card scheduled for this weekend in Thailand. The promotion is presumably taking a week off from the series, as ONE 166 will take place in the usual timeslot of the program.
KSW
Three more fights have joined KSW 92, which will take place on March 16th from Gorzow, Poland.
In a matchup of undefeated bantamweight talents, Kamil Szkaradek (5-0) and Miljan Zdravkovic (7-0) will compete. Szkaradek has earned three wins since making his KSW debut in late 2022. Zdravkovic scored a big win in his debut for the promotion last year, stopping Mariusz Joniak in the first round.
In hopes of having a better campaign in KSW the second time around, Tomasz Jakubiec (12-4) will fight Wojchiech Janusz (13-8). Jakubiec was in KSW from 2020 to 2021 but took back-to-back finish losses. He’s back in the promotion after a pair of regional wins, including a 15-second victory last year. Janusz is also returning to KSW, having recorded two wins and a loss in Poland recently.
Damian Mieczkowski (2-0) will receive a major step-up in competition, meeting David Hosek (10-5-1) at middleweight. Mieczkowski made his pro debut in 2022 with a second-round stoppage win. He then won his first KSW fight last year, going the distance against Borys Dzikowski for a decision nod. He will now face Hosek, a 16-fight vet who will be trying to bounce back from a first-round submission loss that he took late last year.
Cage Warriors
A pair of experienced welterweights have signed on for a fight at Cage Warriors 167 on March 15th. Former Cage Warriors Welterweight Champion Stefano Paterno (16-4-1) will return to the promotion for a fight against Scottie Stockman (10-3), per an announcement made recently. Paterno has earned three wins over the past year, including a submission victory against Ion Surdu at OKTAGON 51 a couple of months back. This upcoming booking will be his first Cage Warriors appearance in over five years, coming back after appearances in Bellator and regional Italian promotion Venator FC. Stockman had a lengthy seven-fight winning streak broken in his last appearance.
Two more fights have joined Cage Warriors 169, which is scheduled for March 30th in London, England.
Jawany Scott (3-1) is booked to face fellow Cage Warriors newcomer Jean Matos (2-0). Scott has put together three wins since his 2022 debut, including appearances in Ares FC and Brave CF. Matos is coming over after a pair of wins in Brazil.
Rhi-Rhi Hudson (0-0) will make her pro debut in a strawweight bout against Indy Briar (0-4). Hudson is turning pro after scoring three amateur wins. She has been trying to debut since late last year when two different Cage Warriors bouts fell through for her. Briar will be trying to avoid suffering a fifth loss in her rookie year as a pro.
OKTAGON
Along with the main event for OKTAGON 55, 10 more bouts are joining the card. We previously wrote about a light heavyweight pairing between Alexander Poppeck (16-5) and Jeremy Kimball (19-10), plus a welterweight fight between Mate Kertesz (14-7) and Niklas Stolze (13-6). Here’s what is new:
Undefeated lightweight Arijan Topallaj (6-0-1) will return against Karol Rysavy (13-6). Topallaj won his OKTAGON debut last November, submitting Roman Paulus in the second round with an anaconda choke. He is undefeated since his 2021 debut. Rysavy, a 15-fight OKTAGON vet, is coming off a quick finish win over Henrqieu Madureira from late last year.
Jamie Cordero (4-2) is scheduled to fight Dominic Schober (13-11) at middleweight. Cordero suffered his second pro loss last year, getting finished by Marek Mazuch. Schober’s last pro fight saw him get stopped in just 10 seconds.
Undefeated German heavyweight Sebastian Herzberg (4-0) will face the more experienced Ruben Wolf (12-12). Herzberg has put together four wins since his 2018 pro debut, with three victories via finish. Wolf lost his OKTAGON debut last year to Jeremy Kimball.
Looking for his fifth OKTAGON win, Jorick Montagnac (5-2) will face Sebastian Heil (7-2). Montagnac bounced back from his first promotional loss last year with a decision nod over Steve MacDonald. Heil returned to MMA for the first time since 2017 last year, winning on a regional German card.
Lucia Szabova (6-0) will try to extend her flawless pro record as a bantamweight when she fights Roza Gumienna (5-3). Szabova’s entire career has been in OKTAGON since 2019. Gumienna picked up her first OKTAGON win last year, beating Lucia Krajcovic.
Down at strawweight, Karolina Wojcik (11-4) will make her OKTAGON debut against Jacinta Austin (5-2). Wojcik is coming over to the promotion after unsuccessfully challenging for an Invicta FC belt twice. She has also earned wins on “Dana White’s Contender Series” and in KSW. Austin is also returning after a title fight loss, getting submitted by OKTAGON strawweight champ Katharina Dalisda last year.
Lukas Cruz (10-3) will return to OKTAGON for a fight against Jakub Bahnik (9-4). Cruz won his first OKTAGON fight early last year by beating Tayo Odunjo but has since returned to the regional scene to earn a win and a loss. Bahnik’s sole 2023 fight ended in 25 seconds due to an accidental groin shot.
Ion Taburceanu (6-2) will return to OKTAGON for a fight against Zdenek Polivka (9-7). Taburceanu fought in April of last year on OKTAGON 42, losing to Vlasto Cepo. He competed on a GLORY Kickboxing card later that year, getting stopped in under two minutes by Levi Rigters. Polivka snapped a two-fight skid late last year, beating veteran Lee Chadwick on scorecards.
Coming off an OKTAGON debut from last year, Nikolaos Serbezis (8-3) will fight Michael Deigo-Scheck (10-5). Serbezis joined the promotion following a trio of wins on the German regional circuit, submitting Ivan Klevets with an armbar. He’ll now meet Diego-Scheck, who won his last fight in just 27 seconds.
CFFC
Along with the four title fights booked for CFFC 131, two undercard bouts were announced for the show recently as well.
Armando Gjetja (8-4) will try for a second time to earn a CFFC win when he faces Kaecy Raddon (4-1) at lightweight. Gjetja had a six-fight winning streak broken when he stepped into the CFFC cage and challenged for a title late last year, getting submitted by Robert Watley. Raddon is returning after a year outside of the cage. He scored a submission win in his last appearance.
CFFC vet Eric Nolan (4-3) will return against R’Mandel Cameron (7-5). Nolan, who has spent his entire pro career inside CFFC, dropped a split decision to Alonzo Turner late last year. Cameron returned to MMA after numerous years outside of the cage just last month to beat Kerry Lattimer, a fighter who has won less than one-third of his pro bouts.