How would you like to buy a media company that was about to go bankrupt, offer your first show on pay-per-view, and have the show go over its time frame and the viewers couldn't see the ending? That's the kind of start that the Fertitta brothers had when they purchased the Ultimate Fighting Championship in 2001.
UFC President Dana White acknowledged, "It was a very bad start, it took us a long time to rebuild."
What a difference a few years make. Now the privately held company has a strong partnership with cable network's Spike TV and is starting to make money.
They had to tone down a little over the years so it didn't just look like a street fight. They got rid of head butting and other things that kept it from a wider audience and advertisers.
This isn't anything like the fake wrestling though. The contact is real with the kicks and punches. They are real athletes who train year-round to be ready for their battles. The atmosphere at the fights has the feel of a good boxing match.
What is impressive is that UFC is attracting strong audiences through its pay-per-view venue, catering to the young male demographic that has been overall abandoning television viewing.
Advertisers like Burger King, the U.S. Army and Taco Bell are getting on board, among others.
The UFC is attempting to legalize the sport in every state and is looking to the European market by opening up a London office this October.
They are starting to take themselves seriously and act like their running a business through hiring Marc Ratner, executive director of the Nevada Athletic Commission, and John Mulkey, a formerlly a managing director at Wachovia Securities and Bear Stearns Co
Of course the hiring of Ratner is to add credibility to the UFC, which has been fighting an uphill battle to prove that it's a real sport that's safe to participate in and with serious athletes involved.
While having invested millions into the UFC, the Fertitta brothers haven't received a return on their investment yet. Dana White adds, "We saw this thing as a diamond in the rough, we haven't scratched the surface of this thing yet."
One thing the Fertittas aren't known to be, and that is "fools." They have invested in one of Wall Streets darlings in the Las Vegas-based Station Casinos Inc., and they've made a fortune. It seems they are just a few moves and years from repeating the same here.
Even now the show averages 2.2 million viewers in its third season.
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