WWE and UFC to Merge Forces in Vegas Event – Report

Posted on: March 28, 2024, 06:49h. 

Last updated on: March 29, 2024, 11:14h.

Corey Levitan Read More
Expertise: Commercial Gaming, Entertainment, Expert Insight, Las Vegas.

One of the martial arts UFC mixes in may be … professional wrestling.

UFC CEO Dana White, TKO Exec Chair Vince McMahon, TKO + Endeavor CEO Ariel Emanuel, and TKO + Endeavor President and COO Mark Shapiro pose outside the New York Stock Exchange
UFC CEO Dana White, TKO Exec Chair Vince McMahon, TKO + Endeavor CEO Ariel Emanuel, and TKO + Endeavor President and COO Mark Shapiro pose outside the New York Stock Exchange after the merger of the UFC and WWE closed on Sept. 12, 2023. (Image: Getty)

Ever since the WWE and the UFC completed their merger into TKO Group Holdings last September, the two sports entertainment giants have mulled possibilities for crossing over. Reportedly, these include combining their events into a single weekend at a single destination.

If new reports are to be believed, the first step in that direction will happen in Vegas on June 9. That’s when WWE’s “NXT Battleground” event will be moved to the UFC Apex events and production center near the South Point Hotel & Casino.

The event is still officially in the books for May 26 in Savannah Ga. However, the change has been reported by reliable MMA social-media news sources @PWInsider and @WrestleVotes, the latter of which specified the UFC Apex.

Carmelo Hayes successfully defended his championship against Bron Breakker in last year’s “WWE NXT Battleground” in Savannah, Ga. (Image: WWE)

While WWE hasn’t yet confirmed the change, there is already speculation about what’s behind it.

Small World

While WWE is used to its main events selling out big arenas, the audience for its developmental brand is smaller.

Savannah’s Enmarket Arena holds 10K people. Yet, according to The Wrestling Observer newsletter, barely 2,000 tickets have sold so far for this year’s “NXT Battleground.”

A suspected additional, or alternative, reason may be the competition for tickets with an All Elite Wrestling (AEW) event also happening on May 26.

That’s when AEW will hold its “Double or Nothing” event at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Vegas. “NXT Battleground” and “Double or Nothing” already went head-to-head against each other last year on May 28.

According to SEScoops.com, WWE is also considering relocating “NXT Deadline” to the UFC Apex.

There’s no word on what will happen if more than 1,000 of the wrestling fans who bought tickets for Savannah still want tickets for Vegas.