News of the deal was first shared by FiveOuncesOfPain.com this past Friday, though initial reports suggested Sheik Tahnoon Bin Zayed Al Nahyan of Abu Dhabi had personally invested in Zuffa.
Instead, the deal grants a minority share of Zuffa to Flash.
“Flash is an independent live events and entertainment organization based in the United Arab Emirates,” UFC president Dana White stated in an official release. "Its sole shareholder is the government of Abu Dhabi.
“We got to know these guys discussing an event in Abu Dhabi. This led to the investment conversation. After conducting in-depth due diligence, they saw the tremendous global potential of the UFC brand. The guys who run this company are young, hip, aggressive visionaries. They are big thinkers.”
While not yet officially announced by the promotion, the UFC is expected to host UFC 112 in Abu Dhabi on Apr. 10.
Ten Percent of UFC Sold To Abu Dhabi’s Flash Entertainment
- MMA Junkie corrects some of the details on the recent sale of a portion of the UFC to Abu Dhabi interests.
So Five Ounces of Pain was wrong when they said the sale was to Sheik Tahnoon, instead the sale was to an entertainment group completely owned by the Abu Dhabi government. This is a major difference but still likely benefits Zuffa with a very significant boost in the amount of money available.
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