Rags to Riches

With UFC 100 coming up the Spike network has a special called 'UFC's 100 Greatest Fights'. Watching it, I realize how far mixed martial arts has come from it's beginning as a side show with no weight divisions or gloves into a legitimate sport with some of the greatest athletes the world of athletics has seen.

Owning my own business, I look at the UFC a little differently. What really fascinates me is how the UFC went from near bankruptcy in 2004 to what it is today. How close was the UFC to just closing shop? Owner Lorenzo Fertitta called Dana White, president of the UFC, in 2004 and said "I can't do this anymore. I am blowing all my money."
He told White to get out on the street and and see how much he could get if they sold it. White was able to raise about $6 million, the bad news being that they were $38 million in the hole. Lorenzo and his brother Frank decided at the last minute not to sell, to figure out how to make it work instead.

Dana White has always said that one of the best moves in turning everything around was getting the Ultimate Fighter series on Spike TV. It was a huge gamble. The first season cost them $10 million with no guarantee that it would even work but before the show aired the company started building some momentum. Tickets where starting to sell and pay-per-view numbers showed some improvement, not to the point where they were making money, but enough to know that something was changing.

When The Ultimate Fighter finally aired everything took off, but it had taken $45 million before the business started to sustain itself.

So personally, when I look at the UFC I'd almost rather listen to how White and the Fertitta's brothers were able to dig out of the hole that they got themselves into than focus on who's on the next card.