The jokes and memes started even before the deal for Endeavor to acquire WWE and merge it with UFC was officially announced. Conor McGregor tweeting himself holding MMA and pro wrestling titles. People setting the opening of UFC broadcasts to the old Raw theme.
In reality, WWE and UFC are going to be run as separate enterprises under the same general umbrella, with important figures — namely WWE’s Vince McMahon and Nick Khan and UFC’s Dana White — staying in their own lanes. But that doesn’t mean they won’t look to do any business together.
Khan shed some light on what those might be in an interview with Axios, mentioning that WWE and UFC could look to integrate their streaming efforts. A new deal of that type wouldn’t happen for several years, as UFC and ESPN have an agreement that runs until 2025, and WWE is married to Peacock for streaming until 2026.
The companies also use very different models for their consumers, with UFC adhering to a more traditional pay-per-view framework for its numbered cards. Its lower profile events are offered for free as part of ESPN+ subscriptions.
That contrasts with WWE, which was promoting its premium live events as part of the value of subscriptions to WWE Network well before it entered its current arrangement with Peacock. Khan noted that Peacock parent company NBCUniversal has been a “tremendous” partner.
Beyond that, it’s likely too early to say exactly where WWE and UFC will find synergies. Khan was noncommittal on the subject of layoffs or staff reductions, which are unfortunate parts of many mergers. And while no one should be dreaming of joint WWE/UFC cards any time soon, he did add that “if there are fun things to do, we’re going to figure it out.”
In other words, maybe don’t delete those memes and just hold onto them for a bit.