A recent declaration showed that the UFC, like an MMA fighter on a winning night, takes home two paychecks for its trips to Singapore: The promotion has made money from ticket sales when in the country and has received millions in the past from the city – state tourism board.
The UFC received a government subsidy of $4.28 million Singapore dollars – equivalent to approximately $3.2 million US dollars – to host an event in Singapore, according to a document recently obtained by POST Wrestling.
Annual financial report presented a little over a year ago by Zuffa Singapore Pte. Ltd., a subsidiary of TKO Group Holdings, revealed that they have been approved for a grant by the Singapore Tourism Board “for the project known as UFC Singapore Fight Week.”
The UFC came to Singapore in June 2022 for UFC 275, with a light heavyweight title fight between Jiri Prochazka and Glover Teixeira in the main event. Since then, the UFC has returned once, hosting “Fight Night” last August with Max Holloway and The Korean Zombie as headliners. Both events were sponsored by Singapore Tourism’s ‘Passion Made Possible’ brand.
It’s unclear whether the grant paid for the 2022 UFC event, or what followed, or potentially both. POST Wrestling has reached out to TKO Group Holdings for clarification, but has not heard back. A request for comment was also sent to the Singapore Tourism Board.
In addition to the more than three million dollars the UFC earned from the grant in 2022, the company reported $2 million Singapore dollars (approximately $1.5 million USD) in ticket sales for its pay-per-view event that year year.
The newly obtained document provides another accurate figure to illustrate how much the UFC makes from site fees.
Along with fellow TKO-owned company WWE, the UFC has made a big deal about paying governments to visit venues in recent years.
Last year TKO said Mark Shapiro that they received “approximately $25 million” in the past to stage fight cards in Abu Dhabi. He also stated that they will earn $20 million to host a map in Saudi Arabia later this year.
The UFC has even tried to extract site fees from places they are already known to travel to. News broke last week that the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority will pay the host $250,000 “International Wrestling Week” this June. For more than a decade, the UFC’s “International Fight Week” has been held exclusively in Vegas.
Governments and their tourism boards pay venue fees for events to help increase the relevance of the location they represent. Broadcasts will often specifically mention the advantages of a location, from remarkable natural or architectural views to even a booming financial situation, in the hope of painting the area in a flattering light.
Site fees have become an important part of the UFC’s business model amid a huge shift in how the promotion has planned its schedule. The UFC was a well-traveled brand prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, visiting 15 different countries and 20 different US cities in 2019.
But the top MMA brand has become much more selective about where it visits in recent years: Instead of spending money promoting events in different locations each week, the promotion has chosen to host some of its cards at their UFC APEX studio location in Las Vegas. UFC APEX has been used for five events in 2024 so far, with four more scheduled at the venue later this year.
A significant number of non-studio shows have taken place in venues that are willing to pay a fee to get UFC products there, whether it’s an international city or a US venue
Lately, WWE has also focused on getting site fees for special events. The promotion has been known to visit Saudi Arabia for multiple premium live events since inking a deal with the Ministry of Sports in 2018. In February, WWE was paid $16 million to host Elimination Chamber in Perth, Australia.
The Singapore Tourism Board has invested in MMA before. The governing body has provided sponsorship for ONE Championship in the past as well as older UFC cards.
