UFC Hit With Layoffs

Earlier this week, UFC president Dana White bragged that the promotion had not laid off a single employee. Today, the owners of the UFC said the UFC will experience layoffs.

“I have over 350 employees who work for me. Multi-billion-dollar companies are laying off all their employees right now. We haven’t laid off one person at the UFC,” White said during an Instagram Live interview with UFC welterweight champion Kamura Usman.” And every fighter that fights for me will fight three times this year. Our schedule will go on. Everybody’s gonna get paid, and we will figure this out, and we will be the first sport back on. And, uh, (expletive) that (expletive). Everything will go on.”

Today, Endeavor, who owns the UFC, laid off about 250 employees. According to Variety, most of those layoffs hit people who could not perform their duties from home.

According to Variety, “The majority of staff cuts have hit IMG Academy, a sports education facility, and support staff at businesses including talent agency WME and UFC. The cuts affect facilities workers and mailroom employees who cannot fulfill their duties from home, said one insider.”

Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel wrote to employees, “We will be implementing a number of additional measures beginning this week and through April that will affect compensation and some jobs across the company. The effects on each business will vary, and you will receive more specifics from your respective leaders, to the extent any of these decisions may impact you. As part of this, Patrick (Whitesell) and I will not be taking a salary for the remainder of 2020.”

The UFC has had to postpone three fight cards. The promotion is doing everything in its power to stage the April 18 pay-per-view card. That event, UFC 249, is headlined by a bout between lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and former interim champ Tony Ferguson.

Earlier this week White told Kevin Iole that the promotion was 99 percent sure it had a location for the card, but White did not announce the location.