Las Vegas-- You know that old saying ‘put your money where your mouth is.’ Well, for UFC majority owner Lorenzo Fertitta, that really has never been a problem—for two reasons, actually.
One, he has more money than your local government--as Fertitta is not only majority owner of the UFC along with his brother Frank—but they also happen to be the owners of the Las Vegas based Station Casino empire.
And two, he kind of likes to prove people wrong. He’s the kind of crazy that it takes to dump $70 million into a sport and put yourself in financial stress, all because you believe in the product (history of the UFC).
So Saturday night, at the MGM Grand during a celebration for boxing legend Muhammad Ali’s 70th birthday, an auction and celebrity Gala was held for the cure of Alzheimer’s and other brain diseases.
A who’s who list of sports notables were on hand, including Fertitta’s long-time nemesis, the ardent detractor of the UFC, and legendary boxing promoter Bob Arum. The geriatric Arum once likened all MMA fans to 'skinhead homosexuals.'
Stay classy, Bob.
So it’s no surprise that last night at the auction, when a bid for Muhammad Ali’s fight-worn gloves against Floyd Patterson reached a fever pitch of over $700,000, Mr. Fertitta said he would up the bid, but he would only do so on one condition.
That condition was this; Bob Arum had to publicly say he ‘loved the UFC.’
Leave it to a charitable cause to bring enemies together, and in a very entertaining move according to our friend over at Yahoo Sports, Kevin Iole, Arum exclaimed, "Anything for charity: I love the UFC!"
So with his bags of money, (Oh, come on, you can picture it, can’t you? Walking up to the podium all Scrooge McDuck style?) Fertitta made good on his promise. Not only did he increase the bid, he ended up purchasing the pieces of fight sport history for a reportedly whopping 1.1 million dollars.
Fertitta is a long-time self professed boxing fanatic. It’s the major reason he believed so much in the UFC when he purchased the fledgling company back in the early millennium, and turned it into a billion dollar business in less than a decade. The man knows his fight sports.
So it’s no surprise that Fertitta would want these amazing pieces of history from the greatest fighter of all-time.
But what really makes this story so special is the ‘style’ it was done with.
It takes a certain kind of guy to make a spectacle at an event celebrating the greatest ‘spectacle’ the sporting world has ever seen. So it was with a glowing heart that, I’m sure, Ali watched on as Arum and Fertitta had their moment. After all, it was for such a great cause—a cause that is also so near and dear to Ali, as he infamously suffers from the brain disorder, Parkinson’s disease.
In an age of David Stern’s and Bud Selig’s, Fertitta’s gesture really had some alien charm to it. Not only did he get in a nice jab on his arch nemesis, in Arum, but he did so all in the name of charity.
He didn’t overtly put himself in the spotlight. He didn’t do it by being loud, aggressive, and filled with braggadocio. And he seemingly did it with as little ego as possible, given the situation. Nope, Lorenzo Fertitta just did a nice thing with a little bit of style and a smile.
Okay, a lot of style.
Future generations, take note. You won’t be seeing this stuff in your freshman literature class.
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