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Monday, Jan 22, 2001

Nevada Company Acquires Rights Toultimate Fighting Championshiptm


UFC Press Release:



January 15, 2001

Press Release:
For more information, please contact:
Dana White, Zuffa, LLC – (702) 221-4780
Carol Klenfner, Semaphore Entertainment Group – (212) 292-5367



NEVADA COMPANY ACQUIRES RIGHTS TO
ULTIMATE FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIPTM

Semaphore Entertainment Group Sells
Popular Mixed Martial Arts Event



LAS VEGAS, NV – Zuffa, LLC (Zuffa), a newly formed limited liability company based in Nevada has acquired the assets of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFCTM), the world’s premier mixed martial arts event. The principals of Zuffa announced today the purchase of the UFC on January 10th from the New York based Semaphore Entertainment Group (SEG Sports Corp.) headed by Mr. Robert B Meyrowitz. SEG created and was the sole producer and promoter of the UFC since 1993, successfully holding over thirty live events for pay-per-view broadcast.

Zuffa is owned by Mr. Lorenzo Fertitta, his brother, Mr. Frank Fertitta, III and their brother-in-law, Mr. Blake Sartini. Mr. Dana White, a former boxing and mixed martial arts management company owner, has been appointed President of the UFC. Lorenzo Fertitta is a former vice chairman of the Nevada Athletic Commission, the regulatory body that oversees boxing and other athletic events in the State of Nevada. Zuffa and the purchase of the UFC are in no way affiliated with any other business interests of the principals.

The action-packed UFC has become a phenomenon since its introduction seven years ago and has generated a huge and loyal fan base during its evolution to the professional and most popular mixed martial arts competition in the world. The next event, UFC XXX: Battle on the Boardwalk, will take place on February 23rd at the world famous Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City.

Known for its distinctive OctagonTM fighting arena, the UFC features matches between professional competitors of which all possess the highest degree of training and experience in the various martial arts disciplines. In the array of competitors that step into the Octagon, many are Olympic medal winners, NCAA title holders and martial arts champions in both the national and international levels.

The UFC holds events in arenas both nationally and internationally. The UFC can be viewed live on pay-per-view in North America, Latin America, Canada and Japan. It is broadcast in over 51 countries via time delay. As of December 2000, the UFC is also in videogame format and available in SEGA Dreamcast, Playstation and Game Boy versions. The UFC videogame won the Best Fight Game award at the 2000 video game convention.

posted by Full Contact Fighter @ 8:00 pm
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