Jeff Bezos' front row presence at UFC's Sphere spectacle could mean something more [Opinion]
American tech billionaire Jeff Bezos was in attendance for Noche UFC 306 (aka Riyadh Season Noche UFC), which went down at the Sphere in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.A., on Sept. 14, 2024. Bezos' front-row appearance at the UFC event could be a sign of the Albuquerque-born entrepreneur potentially eyeing grand business goals with the world's premier MMA organization.
Noche UFC 306 was the first major combat sports event held at the Sphere. The Mexican Independence Day-themed show paid tribute to Mexico and its revered combat culture. Fight game legends like boxing icon Roy Jones Jr., UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones, and even non-combat sports celebrities like Gordon Ramsay flocked to the event.
Regardless, Jeff Bezos' appearance stood out, particularly given the timing. MMA journalist Damon Martin notably drew attention to the same. Bezos and his soon-to-be-wife Lauren Sanchez were seated front row at UFC 306.
In a tweet, Martin suggested that Bezos' Amazon could be one of the top bidders for the UFC's broadcasting rights come 2025. He further indicated that the UFC previously almost signed a deal with Amazon, but ultimately chose its current broadcast partner, ESPN.
Check out Damon Martin's tweet below:
Dana White's remarks and the future of UFC broadcasts heading into 2025
Earlier this year, the $76 billion NBA deal set sports fans abuzz. The basketball league's broadcasting rights were divided among various top networks, effective from the 2025-2026 season to the 2035-2036 season. Annually, it'll fetch the NBA $2.6 billion from Disney, $2.5 billion from NBC, and $1.8 billion from Amazon.
UFC CEO Dana White spoke to CNBC and drew parallels between the UFC and NBA. He alluded to the UFC's successful partnership with the Disney-owned ESPN, with whom the organization signed a $1.5-billion broadcast deal in 2018 and later inked a two-year extension too.
However, White acknowledged that akin to the NBA's $76-billion deal, the UFC could sign agreements with multiple broadcast partners and have its content split among more than one network. The 55-year-old said:
"We could end up like the NBA and the NFL, where we end up on multiple channels instead of just one."
Watch White's interview below:
The UFC and the WWE come under the TKO Group Holdings umbrella. TKO president Mark Shapiro has time and again praised ESPN as a broadcast partner. That said, Shapiro signaled that the UFC could sign with another broadcast partner if offered a better deal.
Jeff Bezos stepped down as Amazon CEO in 2021 but is still one of its largest individual majority shareholders and has significant sway in the company. An exceptional entrepreneur, Bezos may see a link-up with the UFC as a golden opportunity. He's also an MMA fan, joining other billionaires like Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg who've also become MMA aficionados.
Ergo, the UFC has no shortage of high bidders as its broadcast deal with ESPN nears its end in 2025. The most likely possibility, given the longstanding UFC-ESPN relationship, is that they could ink another broadcasting deal with ESPN in 2025 despite some head-butting.
Nevertheless, like the NBA, the UFC could sign deals with other networks as well. This would mean that its content would be split up and broadcast on different networks based on the amounts they pay. It'll expose the UFC and MMA to a broader range of audiences and surely prove beneficial in the long run.