Updated 10.25

THE UFC HAS been sold for $4 billion with an announcement confirming the deal expected later today, according to US media reports.

Zuffa LLC, the UFC parent company controlled by brothers Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta, completed the eye-watering deal over the weekend and sold the world’s biggest mixed martial arts promotion to a business consortium.

The group includes talent agency William Morris Endeavor, International Management Group, global investment firm KKR and private equity group MSD.

The sale represents an astronomical profit for the Fertittas who bought the struggling franchise for just $2 million back in 2001 and built it into a global superpower.

It is understood that Lorenzo Fertitta will step down as company CEO following the sale, though both brothers are set to remain as minority investors.

UFC president Dana White, who continued to deny reports of a possible sale as recently as this week, will remain in his role.

“I am honoured to have fought under the Fertitta regime!” featherweight champion Conor McGregor wrote this morning.

“To have been mentored by these great people on this great business is a true honour!”

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