Report of UFC sale overblown, officials say

A Tuesday report that the Ultimate Fighting Championship owners are in “advanced talks” to sell the Las Vegas-based company is overblown, sources close to the situation told The Times.

There may come a time in coming years when UFC majority owners Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta, along with their close friend and minority owner Dana White, the UFC president, part ways with the company they purchased in 2001 for $2 million, but that time is not believed to be at hand.

ESPN.com reported four companies, including WME/IMG, China Media Capital, the Blackstone Group and Dalian Wanda Group, have submitted bids with a valuation between $3.5 billion and $4 billion.

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“As a private company, we don’t discuss speculation or rumors related to our business,” UFC spokesman Dave Sholler said in a prepared statement.

Interest in the UFC doesn’t translate to a pending sale, one official told The Times, noting how past intense interest from the Abu Dhabi government led to a deal in which the country’s Flash Entertainment purchased a reported 10-percent stake in 2010.

ESPN noted the value of UFC will rise when a new TV deal in 2019 is negotiated. ESPN reported the new TV deal could inject “$250 million in annual revenue to the bottom line, investors were advised.”

The report also detailed, “The leader in the bid to buy the biggest mixed martial arts business in the world is said to be Chinese-based conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group, sources said. Its chairman, Wang Jianlin, is the richest man in China, worth nearly $35 billion, according to Forbes Magazine.

“The company has slowly been getting into sports. Last year, Wanda bought a 20% stake in soccer superpower Atletico Madrid for a reported $48 million. In March, amid the FIFA scandal, the company agreed to sign on as a FIFA partner, the highest level of sponsorship, through 2030.”

The UFC is braced for a lucrative next few months, including Saturday’s UFC 198 at a massive facility in Brazil, followed by a June 4 two-championship-fights UFC 199 card at the Forum and UFC 200 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on July 9.

After that, the company will mark the returns of its two most popular fighters, featherweight champion Conor McGregor and former women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey.

Follow Lance Pugmire on Twitter @latimespugmire