Saudi Arabia, already pumping money into boxing, may start league with TKO

NEW YORK – In the days after Donald Trump was re-elected US President, one of his most high-profile stops was at an Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) event at New York City’s Madison Square Garden.

His appearance in the front row was notable. But few in attendance for the fights would have recognised the man sitting on the President-elect’s right.

Yasir al-Rumayyan, the governor of Saudi Arabia’s vast sovereign wealth vehicle, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), watched the action from ringside and is getting even closer to being part of the action.

A company owned by the fund is close to creating a boxing league with TKO, the owner of Ultimate Fighting Championship. A deal for what would be a new competition, featuring up-and-coming boxers tied exclusively to the league, could be announced within weeks, according to three people familiar with the matter.

TKO said in a statement on Jan 8 that it had “nothing to announce” but that it “would evaluate any unique and compelling opportunity that could fit well in our portfolio of businesses and create incremental value for our shareholders”.

The wealth fund, whose assets are an estimated US$930 billion (S$1.27 trillion), did not comment.

The potential investment in TKO follows a Saudi Arabian effort in June to create a multibillion-dollar boxing league that would aim to unite the world’s best boxers, who for decades have been divided by rival promoters and fighting for titles controlled by an alphabet soup of sanctioning bodies.

That effort had proved complicated and expensive, even for Saudi Arabia, which for the past half decade has disbursed billions to become a player across some of the world’s biggest sports.

The investment in the new league will be made by Sela, a subsidiary of the PIF. TKO will be a managing partner. In return, TKO has been offered an equity stake and a share of the revenue, according to the people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Saudi Arabia has backed some of the biggest and richest boxing bouts in history in recent years. It has played host to major title fights, most recently a face-off between Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury, which ended with Usyk as the first undisputed heavyweight champion in more than a generation. 

Should the deal be completed, TKO will earn management fees of close to US$30 million a year.

Saudi Arabia is expected to pay significantly more in hosting fees to the league than any other country, according to details of the plan reviewed by The New York Times. Two fights there will bring in more than US$40 million in fees. Other bouts are planned for the United States and Europe.

TKO has also been talking with other parties, including other Arab nations, about the boxing league, according to one of the people familiar with the matter. NYTIMES