WME-IMG, the new owner of UFC, is continuing to downsize the company according to Ariel Helwani of MMAFighting.com. This week, the UFC offices in Las Vegas and Asia saw staff reductions and today the Canadian staff was reduced. Among the major execs let go was Tom Wright, UFC Executive Vice President and General Manager for Operations in Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
It’s not too surprising that WME-IMG is reducing staff. For one, the purchase of the UFC property was expensive, $4B all in. Also, WME-IMG undoubtedly has execs in mind that it wants to install to help grow the business, standard operating procedure. Plus, there is bound to be overlap in terms of WME-IMG execs and those at UFC. The acquisition of the UFC into the WME-IMG portfolio means changing business practices to reflect the new parent company.
