Conor McGregor appeared ready for a WWE run on Sunday as reports emerged the company was about to be sold to the parent organization of UFC, Endeavor Group Holdings – he was already involved in a social media spat with Paul Heyman
McGregor posted a photo of himself holding both UFC and WWE Championship belts and then responded to a taunt from Heyman, who wrote that the Irishman is a Roman Reigns "wannabe."
"Careful Grandpa. I’ll show up and break your jaw in 3 places," McGregor responded.
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McGregor had long been rumored to be a target of WWE – in a similar fashion as Ronda Rousey when she jumped from the world of mixed martial arts to professional wrestling. But McGregor chose to stay in combat sports, continuing his career in UFC and boxing Floyd Mayweather Jr. a few years ago.
On Monday morning, Endeavor officially announced a deal to acquire WWE and merge it with UFC to create a new publicly traded company.
Endeavor will hold a 51% controlling interest in the new company while WWE shareholders will have a 49% stake. The deal values UFC at $12.1 billion and WWE at $9.3 billion. The announcement comes hours after WWE hosted WrestleMania 39 in Inglewood, California.
"This is a rare opportunity to create a global live sports and entertainment pureplay built for where the industry is headed," Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel said in a news release.
Vince McMahon added, "Together, we will be a $21+ billion live sports and entertainment powerhouse with a collective fanbase of more than a billion people and an exciting growth opportunity. The new company will be well positioned to maximize the value of our combined media rights, enhance sponsorship monetization, develop new forms of content and pursue other strategic mergers and acquisitions to further bolster our strong stable of brands. I, along with the current WWE management team, look forward to working closely with Ari and the Endeavor and UFC teams to take the businesses to the next level."
Emanuel will become the new CEO of the company and continue his role as CEO of Endeavor. McMahon, who bought WWE from his father in 1982 will be the executive chairman of the board. Mark Shapiro will be the chief operating officer of the new company and Endeavor. Nick Khan will serve as the president of WWE, and Dana White will continue as president of UFC.
