Dana White Discusses CM Punk’s UFC Future; Major Entertainment & Sports Figures Join UFC Ownership Group

TMZ Sports caught up with UFC President Dana White yesterday and they spoke a bit about CM Punk potentially returning to UFC. White had the following to say:

I’ve gotta talk to him. He called me the night of the fight. He was on his way home and I told him to go spend some time with his wife and live like a normal person for a little while. Then we’ll get on the phone and talk about what’s next for him.

In related news, UFC has released the following press release touting several entertainment and sports figures joining the UFC ownership group:

PROMINENT ENTERTAINMENT, SPORTS FIGURES TO JOIN UFC® OWNERSHIP GROUP

Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye, Adam Levine, Anthony Kiedis, Ben Affleck, Calvin Harris, Cam Newton, Conan O’Brien, Flea, Guy Fieri, Jimmy Kimmel, Li Na, LL COOL J, Maria Sharapova, Mark Wahlberg, Michael Bay, Rob Dyrdek, Robert Kraft, Serena Williams, Sylvester Stallone, Tom Brady, Trey Parker, Tyler Perry, Venus Williams
among new investors following WME | IMG’s UFC acquisition

Las Vegas, NV (September 30, 2016) – Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye, Adam Levine, Anthony Kiedis, Ben Affleck, Calvin Harris, Cam Newton, Conan O’Brien, Flea, Guy Fieri, Jimmy Kimmel, Li Na, LL COOL J, Maria Sharapova, Mark Wahlberg, Michael Bay, Rob Dyrdek, Robert Kraft, Serena Williams, Sylvester Stallone, Tom Brady, Trey Parker, Tyler Perry and Venus Williams are the latest to join UFC’s ownership group. In July 2016, global entertainment and sports leader WME | IMG – joined by Silver Lake Partners, KKR, MSD Capital, L.P. and MSD Partners, L.P. – announced it would acquire UFC®, the world’s premier professional mixed martial arts (MMA) organization.

“Expanding our ownership group to include this caliber of talent and entrepreneurs is a strong indicator of UFC’s fast-growing global presence,” UFC President Dana White said. “Our new investors bring an incredible depth of knowledge and experience to help us continue to elevate this brand and capitalize on its entertainment and sports crossover appeal.”

Founded in 1993, UFC is one of the largest and fastest growing global sports brands. The organization produces more than 40 live events annually and is the largest Pay-Per-View event provider in the world, broadcast in over 156 countries and territories to more than 1.1 billion television households in 29 languages. UFC continues to capitalize on digital platforms via its wholly owned subscription over-the-top service, UFC FIGHT PASS®, which delivers exclusive live events, thousands of fights on-demand and original content to fans around the globe.