Our view is that it is likely that Endeavor (ticker: EDR), CEO Ari Emanuel will remove Dana White from his post as President of the UFC (UFC is owned by Endeavor), after video emerged of White striking his wife while on vacation.
If White was Endeavor’s CEO, he would have stepped down at the Board’s request by now. White is not an Endeavor named executive. However, he is the public face of the UFC – Endeavor’s crown jewel asset (EDR acquired the UFC in 2016).
UFC represents the majority of Revenue and EBITDA within Endeavor’s “Owned Sports” segment. Owned Sports represented 33% of EDR’s Total Revenue and 65% of EDR’s Total EBITDA in the September Quarter.
If White is to be removed as UFC President, UFC Chief Operating Officer Lawrence Epstein would be the most likely candidate to replace White.
It is rumored that UFC competitor Bellator MMA is for sale by its parent company Paramount Global (ticker: PARA). If Endeavor was to pull off an acquisition of Bellator, it would be easy to imagine Bellator CEO Scott Coker running the combined UFC, Bellator promotion under the Endeavor umbrella.
Our guess is that if White is to be removed news will come this week.