Lorenzo Fertitta Sees Business Parallels Between UFC and Skateboarding League

His goal is to elevate the sport to new heights.

Author:
Justin Barrasso
Publish date:
Apr 28, 2023

Lorenzo Fertitta helped steer the UFC from a broken property into a billionaire-dollar entity.

The former CEO, who led the sale of the UFC to Endeavor in 2016, is now seeking to follow that same blueprint and build a new global sports commodity in the skateboarding realm. More specifically, he plans to do so with Street League Skateboarding.

“Me and Dana [White], when we saw the opportunity with the UFC, we were really excited,” says Fertitta. “It’s really hard to find something in sports that has the potential to be relevant from a global perspective. When we took over in 2001, with essentially a broken piece of IP, and by 2016—and now beyond that—built it into a diamond.

The Thrill One Sports & Entertainment group, which Fertitta co-owns with Dana White, acquired Street League Skateboarding. Its next event, which takes place at Wintrust Arena in Chicago, streams for free Saturday on Rumble.

“As we look at the opportunity going forward, it’s using a lot of the same playbook we used to create the UFC,” says Fertitta. “That’s creating a better product, making it more consumer-friendly, and bringing the product back into arenas. That also includes better distribution and doing a better job promoting the upcoming events using a lot of the same tactics we used to promote with fights in the UFC.”

While it is an entirely different sport, many of the same principles that transformed the UFC into a global sports brand are also being applied in SLS. This includes Fertitta and his team revising the SLS format, creating matches that are reminiscent of trademark moves from his UFC playbook.

“We’re creating a bracket so skaters are skating head-to-head to qualify to get into the championship round, which will happen later in the day on Saturday,” says Fertitta. “That allows us to promote some rivalries and give fans the matchups they want to see.”

Fertitta’s goal is to elevate the sport to new heights. With a vision based on experience, a real strength for Fertitta is that he can reflect on past successes—and lessons learned through rough patches—while embarking on a whole new journey with a different sport.

“We saw what [co-founder] Rob Dyrdek originally put together with the SLS league, and it provided an opportunity to start a sporting competition at the highest level,” says Fertitta. “Skate culture is a real thing. The impact skate, surf and snow have had on youth is undeniable. There are 85 million skaters around the world at this point, so it’s a massive market from a participation standpoint.”

As Fertitta and his team begin promoting the SLS brand, the focus will be centered on enhancing the experience from a live-event standpoint and creating new sponsorship opportunities. That will be considerably easier than it once was in the UFC; though it seems like ancient history, selling the UFC product to sponsors once represented a herculean task.

“We always point to The Ultimate Fighter 1 finale with Stephan Bonnar and Forrest Griffin [in April 2005],” says Fertitta. “We believed in the product, and that was the night when we knew that we were on the verge of breaking out. It’s one of the greatest fights of all time, it aired live free-to-air on Spike TV, and it launched us into the next realm. The early days of the UFC, it was a lot different trying to sell two people fighting in the Octagon. It’s a lot easier now on the skate side. We’re creating a product here that advertisers and sponsors are going to really like.”

No different than the UFC, or even the NBA during its global expansion when it highlighted personalities like Earvin “Magic” Johnson, Larry Bird and Michael Jordan, a factor that will determine the success level for the SLS is whether its stars are able to connect with viewers.

“A lot of the younger demo isn’t interested in the traditional stick-and-ball sports,” says Fertitta. “Historically, they’ve been harder to find, but we feel like we’re getting them through SLS, especially as we grow the property. We have the athletes to do it.

“Rayssa Leal, who has 7.5 million followers on social media around the world, reminds me of Ronda Rousey, who broke through and really drove the sport. Our ability to appeal to young men and young women could be very powerful. Letícia Bufoni is a known personality in the skate world with over six million followers. Nyjah Huston is a cultural phenomenon in the skate world.”

Huston is a 13-time X Games gold medalist. Only 28, he went pro at the prodigious age of 11, becoming the youngest to ever compete in the X Games. He is excited to see the sport extend its reach on Rumble.

“I think it’s cool Street League is getting more eyes on the contest,” says Huston. “Even if you don’t know every trick we’re doing, it’s still a very exciting contest to watch. Every skater is so different with different tricks and a different style. You’ll find a vibe you like. We’re going to do our best to bring it to the next level.”

Tomorrow’s event is especially significant for Huston, as it marks his return from an ACL tear sustained last August.

“It’s taken a lot of work, so I’m stoked to come back,” says Huston, who tore his ACL while street skating for a Nike video. “I’m not expecting to win or anything like that, but I want to cruise around with my bros and get my legs back into the move of things. I’m not going back to 100 percent back until I’m doing that, but it’s going really well. This is a good course for me to come back and get back in the groove of things.

“I was feeling invincible, so this was a reality check. I’m still working on getting that full confidence back, especially when you’re skating on massive 20-stair handrails.”

Street skateboarding is also an Olympic event, and SLS played a role in the last qualifiers. That again is a possibility for the next Olympic games in Paris, which would be a great resource as they pursue a brighter spotlight for the sport.

“SLS was the qualifying event to be able to qualify to the Olympics,” says Fertitta. “In the Olympics, it performed exceptionally well from a television standpoint, so there is a lot of room for us to keep growing.”

Extremely optimistic about the future of SLS, Fertitta hopes that fight fans will also embrace his new endeavor.

“There has always been a strong tie-in between the jiujitsu culture and surf-skate,” says Fertitta. “We’ll be able to draw some of the fight fans that come from that background into watching the championship tour. This is a product that is going to appeal to both males and females in the younger generation.”

Aljamain Sterling believes the Knicks are a real contender for the NBA title

If it takes a champion to know one, then the New York Knicks are in a good place.

Long Island–raised Aljamain Sterling is the reigning UFC bantamweight champion. After years of disappointing finishes, he is optimistic the Knicks are a legitimate pick to win this year’s title.

“It’s their spirit, their fight to compete,” says Sterling. “It feels real.”

The Knicks needed only five games to dispatch the higher-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers in the opening round. Equally impressive were two road wins and two emphatic victories at home at Madison Square Garden. Since the Miami Heat upset the No. 1 seed Milwaukee Bucks, the Knicks will enjoy home court to start the next round.

Sterling defends his bantamweight title next week against Henry Cejudo in UFC 288. Once that fight concludes, he hopes to enjoy the Knicks’ playoff run.

“It’s one thing to say you want to win a championship, but they’re playing like it,” says Sterling. “They’re playing more determined than ever.”

Could Bellator be the next stop for Luke Rockhold?

Would Luke Rockhold make sense for Bellator?

Rockhold, who headlines BKFC against Mike Perry tomorrow night on pay-per-view, is still a draw. But that doesn’t necessarily mean is a right fit for Bellator.

Bellator CEO Scott Coker and Rockhold engaged in productive talks before he took the BKFC deal. There is no doubt he would make an intriguing opponent for middleweight champion Johnny Eblen.

Eblen’s next opponent will be the winner of the Gegard Mousasi–Fabian Edwards bout in May. After that, Rockhold could make sense. He would provide a spotlight for Eblen, though it would be a significant risk.

At 38, and with a lot of mileage throughout his career, Rockhold is a long way removed from his prime back when he was UFC middleweight champion. Retirement has been a talking point for several years, and he lost his last three bouts in the UFC. Putting him into a title fight would not help Eblen’s claim to be the best middleweight in the world, and it could be a disaster for Bellator if Rockhold beat Eblen.

Rockhold would make a great gatekeeper for the division in Bellator, but he and Coker would need to come to an agreement on the price, which they were unable to do during their last discussions. But Rockhold’s future is dependent on a strong showing tomorrow at BKFC. If he knocks out Perry, his options will immediately widen.

The Pick ’Em Section:

UFC Fight Night bantamweight bout: Song Yadong vs. Ricky Simón

Pick: Song Yadong

UFC Fight Night middleweight bout: Michal Oleksiejczuk vs. Caio Borralho

Pick: Caio Borralho

UFC Fight Night middleweight bout: Rodolfo Vieira vs. Cody Brundage

Pick: Rodolfo Vieira

UFC Fight Night featherweight bout: Fernando Padilla vs. Julian Erosa

Pick: Julian Erosa

UFC Fight Night heavyweight bout: Marcos Rogério de Lima vs. Waldo Cortes-Acosta

Pick: Waldo Cortes-Acosta

UFC Fight Night welterweight bout: Trey Waters vs. Joshua Quinlan