On April 3, WWE announced they had entered into a transaction agreement with Endeavor that would see UFC and WWE merge by the end of 2023 to form a new publicly traded company.
Ariel Helwani has ties to both companies as a prominent UFC reporter who has had public battles with UFC President Dana White. More recently, he was featured on WWE television hyping fans in Montreal for WWE Elimination Chamber. He was also represented by Nick Khan, who is the President of UFC.
"[Nick Khan] has long been a combat sports fan. I think he may have even talked to you about it. I mean, his first entry into this world of representation was the likes of Manny Pacquiao and Freddie Roach. He's long been a huge boxing fan, MMA fan, obviously pro wrestling fan as well. By the way, having Nick Khan and having Ari Emanuel... arguably two of the most influential agents of the last decade plus together at the negotiation table. Then you add a Dana White, you add a Vince McMahon. The characters here, the personalities here… Very much larger than life. Those two guys though, in particular... Ari and Nick, I think a lot of people in the business would say two of the very best at what they do in terms of negotiation, and now they are together," Helwani said on Recode Media with Peter Kafka.
Fans can find Dana White's comments on the merger by clicking here.
Fans can find Vince McMahon and Ari Emanuel's comments on the sale by clicking here.
