Zuffa LLC, the primary owners of the UFC, are in advanced to sell the Las Vegas based fight promotion.

ESPN’s Darren Rovel reported the news Tuesday afternoon following on initial report from Bleacher Reports Jonathan Snowden back in March.

According to the reports, the four major players for majority ownership are WME/IMG, China Media Capital, The Blackstone Group and Dalian Wanda Group. The winning bid is expected to ranged between $3.5 billion and $4 billion.

The current front runner is believed to be the Chinese-based Dalian Wanda Group. Its chairman, Wang Jianlin, is the richest man in China, worth nearly $34.8 billion, according to Forbes Magazine.

Lorenzo and Franker Fertitta, primary owners of Zuffa LLC, initially purchased the UFC back in 2001 for a mere $2 million. Flash forward to 2016 and the promotion is now making a reported $600 million in revenue.

The MMA corner will continue to monitor the situation and keep readers updated as it unfolds.

About The Author

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José began his career as a mixed martial arts journalist while still enrolled at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communications at Arizona State University. Since graduating in May 2013, he has attended dozens of high profile UFC fight cards as a credentialed member of the media, providing live cage side coverage through his articles and videos. His work has appeared on UFC.com, ArizonaSports.com and AZCentral. He is also currently one of the main contributors on Power MMA Show at Arizona Sports 98.7 FM, one of the first all MMA radio shows on a major radio station.