With every major business acquisition comes change. That change is affecting the Ultimate Fighting Championship on Tuesday.
According to multiple sources, the UFC is laying off a significant number of their employees. Those sources estimated approximately 60-80 employees would be fired.
A UFC official confirmed to MMAFighting.com that layoffs were in fact taking place but stopped short at revealing more. "It was less than 15 percent of our workforce," the official stated.
Prior to the layoffs, the UFC employed approximately 350 people.
This turnover comes a little over three months after it was announced that WME-IMG was purchasing the UFC for $4 billion. That sale was officially completed in August.
Not only will the UFC's Las Vegas headquarters be affected, the organization's international departments in Asia, Brazil, Latin America and Canada have already experienced layoffs in the last day or so, as well.
According to sources, high-ranking executives have also been relieved of their duties, however, the UFC declined to confirm specifics.
Those same sources have described morale at the UFC's Las Vegas office as "very bad," as rumors of the cuts have been swirling for a while. One source equates the mood to that of a "morgue."
We'll update this story with more information should it become available.