Zuffa 2004-2006 financials

[FrankieNYC]

According to an audit (supplied by John Nash) UFC was not in as bad of shape prior to TUF as they claim

They lost only $650k in 2004

But what a killer profit year 2006 was
They made roughly $42 on every $100, that is an incredible margin & set the tone for profit > pay

 

[FrankieNYC]

To put it into perspective


View: https://twitter.com/davemeltzerWON/status/997575565514235905


When you wonder why they received $4b, that shows how they set up a structure to be an ATM even on lesser years.

UFC in 2006 was a better business (profitability) than any year in WWF/E history

 

[Wild]

Any company would take a 42% gross margin all day long. Bet their overhead was roughly 18-22%, so approximately 20% net profit. Not exactly the dire straights thaf Tiny Swole and Egg Whites tried to convince everyone of.

 

[FrankieNYC]

Any company would take a 42% gross margin all day long. Bet their overhead was roughly 18-22%, so approximately 20% net profit. Not exactly the dire straights thaf Tiny Swole and Egg Whites tried to convince everyone of.

That includes overhead

They made $75m profit off of almost $180 gross

That is what shocked me

 

[SongExotic2]

That includes overhead

They made $75m profit off of almost $180 gross

That is what shocked me

Is it possible they sensationalized the notion that bonnar vs Forrest saved the UFC?

What were the numbers before Tito vs ken 57 , the one they said stopped them folding the company also

 

[Wild]

That includes overhead

They made $75m profit off of almost $180 gross

That is what shocked me

Huge profit margin. They ran the business lean back then. Probably even more so now.

 

[FrankieNYC]

Is it possible they sensationalized the notion that bonnar vs Forrest saved the UFC?

What were the numbers before Tito vs ken 57 , the one they said stopped them folding the company also

Nobody knows numbers prior to 2004 (I think that was 2002)

But obviously the big turnaround was TUF & that fight because 2005 TUF premiered
But they made it seem like they were losing a lot more than that prior to TUF
I get it, because it is a great story/narrative

 

[SongExotic2]

Nobody knows numbers prior to 2004 (I think that was 2002)

But obviously the big turnaround was TUF & that fight because 2005 TUF premiered
But they made it seem like they were losing a lot more than that prior to TUF
I get it, because it is a great story/narrative

Yea I've watched a bunch of shit / shows etc that alluded to the fact that lots of people switched to spike during that fight and it saved the UFC.

 

[FrankieNYC]

Huge profit margin. They ran the business lean back then. Probably even more so now.

I would guess that 2006 showed they could bank off of minimal outlay & just ran with it.
Any business that looked at the filings (before submitting a closed bid) saw the value in the business metrics already in place & that is why the company seemed to be sold at an insane price.

truth be told, if Fertitta's didn't spend like Don's, they could have made a lot more money per year

 

[FrankieNYC]

Yea I've watched a bunch of shit / shows etc that alluded to the fact that lots of people switched to spike during that fight and it saved the UFC.

It stemmed from a similar convo between Rogan & Big John on the podcast
They made insane claims about UFC losing money in 2004 & Nash & Meltzer started publicly discussing it

 

[SongExotic2]

I would guess that 2006 showed they could bank off of minimal outlay & just ran with it.
Any business that looked at the filings (before submitting a closed bid) saw the value in the business metrics already in place & that is why the company seemed to be sold at an insane price.

truth be told, if Fertitta's didn't spend like Don's, they could have made a lot more money per year

Please explain the last sentence there. I don't think the fritatas spent UFC money did they?

 

[SongExotic2]

It stemmed from a similar convo between Rogan & Big John on the podcast
They made insane claims about UFC losing money in 2004 & Nash & Meltzer started publicly discussing it

Who is this meltzer cunt? I always hear about him when I read about wwe. And when MMA logic makes threads he quotes his estimates etc. How does meltzer get these paperview numbers and all that other jazz?

 

[FrankieNYC]

Please explain the last sentence there. I don't think the fritatas spent UFC money did they?

Hiring friends, private jets everywhere, elaborate hotels on trips.
Along with that you know they gave themselves huge expenses accounts.

Ari might go to 3 shows a year (as an ex) & I bet he does WME business when he goes to NYC as well.

 

[FrankieNYC]

Who is this meltzer cunt? I always hear about him when I read about wwe. And when MMA logic makes threads he quotes his estimates etc. How does meltzer get these paperview numbers and all that other jazz?

He is the best insider there is as far as financials & the only reason we know exactly how badly UFC pays fighters & their PPV numbers
He reported on MMA prior to UFC & was even an MMA judge in the 90's

Good journalist have insiders everywhere
His weekly newsletter is like the WSJ for MMA & wrestling with business info from around the globe (gates, etc.)

 

[SongExotic2]

He is the best insider there is as far as financials & the only reason we know exactly how badly UFC pays fighters & their PPV numbers
He reported on MMA prior to UFC & was even an MMA judge in the 90's

Good journalist have insiders everywhere
His weekly newsletter is like the WSJ for MMA & wrestling with business info from around the globe (gates, etc.)

So does he make money doing this?

 

[FrankieNYC]

So does he make money doing this?

A rumored 20k pay $10-11 a month for his website/newsletter
He has staff, partner, etc
But do the math & that is a $2m gross business

 

[SongExotic2]

A rumored 20k pay $10-11 a month for his website/newsletter
He has staff, partner, etc
But do the math & that is a $2m gross business

I'm. No good at math. But I belebel you. I don't know why 19.9k people don't just let the other 0.01 buy it and tell them what he said but shit. There's a lot of things I don't know

 

[FrankieNYC]

I'm. No good at math. But I belebel you. I don't know why 19.9k people don't just let the other 0.01 buy it and tell them what he said but shit. There's a lot of things I don't know

Ha

This is more about his wrestling coverage, but you can get an idea
Wrestling Reporter Dave Meltzer Tries to Keep It Real

Sports illustrated main guy said he was the best journalist in sports.

He catches a lot of shit bc wrestling fans are idiots, but if you want to read an interesting article - check it out

Him & John Nash are the best at financial reporting with MMA
Meltzers PPV info came from years of researching how badly Vince would lie about the WWE PPV numbers.
When WWE went public it showed Meltzer's numbers were either exact or within 10&

Another good reporter is John Ourand from SBJ.

I learned a shitload from all three, but mostly Dave who I have a lot of back/forth with.

 

[FrankieNYC]

But back to 2004 Zuffa/UFC

They exaggerated how bad they were doing & it worked
Fighters believed them & it made the Griffin/Bonner legend grow

 

[FrankieNYC]

If anybody wants a sample of Meltzer's newsletter, PM me your email (I'll get it to you by Saturday morning)
This week was about 30k words
A lot of wrestling, but a lot of MMA stuff as well.

 

[Clappin'Daddys]

I would guess that 2006 showed they could bank off of minimal outlay & just ran with it.
Any business that looked at the filings (before submitting a closed bid) saw the value in the business metrics already in place & that is why the company seemed to be sold at an insane price.

truth be told, if Fertitta's didn't spend like Don's, they could have made a lot more money per year

Nothing better than than to eat on the company’s dime though.. why touch your money when someone else could pay the bill?

 

[FrankieNYC]

Nothing better than than to eat on the company’s dime though.. why touch your money when someone else could pay the bill?

Well it cost them in the end anyway
But it is the very Italian thing to do
It is all about appearance
Trust me I know

When people used to ask, why Lorenzo did the "undisclosed bonuses", I explained that he had that already budgeted, but it made him & Dana look like don's by going "here you go, an extra X-AMOUNT & keep it between us"

It is all about appearance/projection & perception.

that is why we heard "Lorenzo/Dana took care of me"

 

[Wild]

But back to 2004 Zuffa/UFC

They exaggerated how bad they were doing & it worked
Fighters believed them & it made the Griffin/Bonner legend grow

Shocked they would lie to fans and fighters.

 

[aghof]

Well it cost them in the end anyway
But it is the very Italian thing to do
It is all about appearance
Trust me I know

When people used to ask, why Lorenzo did the "undisclosed bonuses", I explained that he had that already budgeted, but it made him & Dana look like don's by going "here you go, an extra X-AMOUNT & keep it between us"

It is all about appearance/projection & perception.

that is why we heard "Lorenzo/Dana took care of me"

exactly... plus it gave them a ready-made answer when people began to dig into the low percentage of revenue paid to the fighters: "They're not counting the backstage bonuses!" -as if that would have boosted the numbers up close to the percentages unionized athletes in the NFL, NBA, etc. get.

 

[aghof]

(oops, double post!)