What is TKO? UFC and WWE confirm multi-billion pound merger that could change combat sports forever

WWE and UFC are two of the biggest sports entertainment industries on the planet, and they are about to get even larger.

This is because the two brands have merged together in a staggering deal worth £17.3billion.

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Of course, UFC is mixed martial arts’ leading promotion and WWE is the largest professional wrestling brand, but this collaboration has the potential to change everything as we know it about both.

The resultant company, TKO, began trading on the New York Stock Exchange this week but what does it mean for both brands? marvelbet369.com investigates...

What is TKO?

The merger was officially announced in April 2023 but things took another step forward earlier this month when the group began trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

The new company consists of the Ultimate Fighting Championship on one side, which has become the biggest mixed martial arts business in history.

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And on the other, there is World Wrestling Entertainment, which has built itself into the largest sports entertainment group in the world.

UFC's operating company, Endeavor, have now bought a 51 per cent controlling stake in WWE.

In a announcing the union, TKO said: "TKO brings together UFC, the world's premier mixed martial arts organisation, and WWE, an integrated media organisation and the recognised global leader in sports entertainment, to create a new premium sports and entertainment company serving more than one billion young and diverse fans, reaching viewers in 180 countries, and producing more than 350 annual live events."

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Who is involved?

As you would expect, all of the big players within both groups have been heavily involved in sorting this deal.

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Ari Emanuel, Endeavor's CEO, is the new CEO of TKO.

WWE co-founder Vince McMahon will be the group's executive chairman.

Dana White, UFC's president, will become UFC's CEO and Nick Khan will remain WWE's president.

Will UFC and WWE athletes cross over?

This is certainly something that you would think could and would happen.

But there are no plans for any such events to occur with current competitors in either brand.

However, we have seen former UFC and WWE stars switch once their careers in that respective competition were over, with Brock Lesnar, Ronda Rousey and CM Punk among the stars to have appeared for both companies.

So that is likely to continue, and in theory, it will be easier for UFC fighters to join WWE and vice versa.

Conor McGregor has teased he would want to join WWE at some point, so that could be one to keep an eye on.

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Will anything change?

There has been nothing official from UFC about any possible changes to the format or anything like that.

But WWE's Chief Content Officer, legendary wrestler Triple H, confirmed there would be no changes on their side.

Speaking after Wrestlemania in April 2023, he said: "I am here to assure you: We ain’t going nowhere. The same WWE that you love, the superstars, the action, the drama, all of it – we are going nowhere."

This will reassure fans of both who are likely to watch UFC or wrestling for very different reasons.

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What does this merger mean for fans?

Well, TKO hope that this merger will lead to UFC fans watching WWE more and vice versa.

UFC's senior executive vice-president and COO Lawrence Epstein confirmed those intentions to .

He said: "Where we want to get is, where every UFC fan is a WWE fan and every WWE fan is a UFC fan."

It's a clear plan and intention that should see both brands explode.

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However, it's early days for TKO and plenty of things are still up in the air.

But one thing's for certain, combat sports and entertainment are never going to be the same again.