Nick Khan doesn’t see WWE and UFC going head-to-head in 2024 and beyond.
WWE President Nick Khan was a recent guest on The Bill Simmons Podcast. When asked how decisions will be made between the two companies, Khan said they will ultimately be made by their respective companies. However, Khan said some decisions like pay-per-view and premium live event schedules will be planned out together.
“I think WWE decisions, ultimately made by WWE. UFC decisions by UFC,” Nick Khan said. “Ari’s the CEO, Ari Emanuel. Vince is the chairman of the board. So, I don’t see decisions hurting one company that helps the other. I’ll give you an example. We’re going through the 2024 UFC pay-per-view calendar and WWE premium live event calendar.
“As you know, we call our events premium live events because there’s no upcharge in the United States on them. But in essence, they’re what the pay-per-views were. So WWE’s position is hey WrestleMania is our Super Bowl. These are the dates that we have scheduled. We prefer obviously the UFC not go up against that. UFC says yeah, of course, we’re not going to go up against that.
“And then we say, what dates are important to you? Where are you going from? Ideally, what we like, especially in my opinion, if you look at the international expansion of WWE’s premium live events. Look at the UFC’s already expansion, even the show this past Saturday night from Australia, you could see a lot of events that hey, WWE is going at 3 PM eastern from an international location, UFC’s going at eight or nine eastern domestically or the opposite of that.
“So we like that too because you have two gates, you have two separate merchandises. In theory, if you can get a government subsidy for the international show or the domestic show, you have subsidies, and then boom, both events are right there. But by planning it in advance, I don’t believe that we will trip over each other in any way.”
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What do you make of Nick Khan’s comments? Would you enjoy a full day of WWE and UFC events? Let us know your thoughts by sounding off in the comments section below.
If you use any of these quotes, please credit The Bill Simmons Podcast with a link to this article for the transcription.
