Khan Family Reportedly Showed Interest In Acquiring Bellator MMA

The recent merger of WWE and UFC has brought the worlds of MMA and professional wrestling much closer than ever. Strangely, those two companies pairing up wasn't the only union of its kind that was recently on the table.

According to the latest "MMA Hour," AEW President Tony Khan and his father — noted business magnate Shad Khan — were at one point interested in purchasing Bellator MMA. As it stands, Bellator is currently owned by Paramount Global, the company recently formed by the 2019 merger of CBS and Viacom.

There is no word on when the Khans' interest surfaced, or whether their interest persists, especially in light of the WWE-UFC merger. Before UFC parent company Endeavor and WWE announced their merger during WrestleMania weekend, there had been rumors early on that the Khans could be players in the possible sale of WWE. Shad Khan is a co-owner of AEW, in addition to owning the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars and Fulham FC of the Premier League.

Bellator and AEW have more connections than meets the eye. The MMA promotion was home to Jake Hager's MMA career before he joined AEW in October 2019. Also Bellator's Dillon Danis recently called out AEW World Champion MJF on social media, promising to "rearrange" the young champion's face.