UFC co-Owner Lorenzo Fertitta last week declined comment about the promotion reportedly being sold for more than $4B, but he did say that there is "no current plan to be involved in bringing" the Raiders to Las Vegas, at least "on an ownership level," according to Adam Hill of the LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL. Fertitta: "I would never say never. We're certainly not involved at this point." Hill noted the biggest obstacle to NFL ownership would be Fertitta's "stake in Station Casinos." Fertitta: "Having an ownership or association in casinos, especially where you’re taking sports bets, has not been allowed. That’s a major stumbling block for me at this point" (LAS VEGAS REVIEW JOURNAL, 7/3).
SENSE OF SATISFACTION: Fertitta conceded that UFC being attached to a $4B figure "brings a sense of satisfaction." Fertitta: "What it is you can look at it when somebody is reporting that, whether it’s true or not true, it’s fulfilling to know that we built something that most importantly is sustainable. ... It’s arrived, and it’s not going anywhere." Ahead of UFC 200 this week, Fertitta largely credits UFC 100 in '09 for "helping spur the UFC’s growth around the world, and perhaps just as important, as the impetus for a deal with Fox that put the organization on network TV." Fertitta: "UFC 100 was really one of those eye-opening moments that helped lead us to be able to secure a deal like that." Fertitta credits many of the "investments the company has made, in capital and people, for the continued success." Fertitta: "It’s always hard to pinpoint any specific things as far as why you continue to see growth, but I think the biggest thing is from an organizational standpoint, we have put in a lot of what I’ll call infrastructure. A lot of key hires" (LAS VEGAS REVIEW JOURNAL, 7/3).
