TKO Merges Important WWE & UFC Teams Into Single Unit

In the months following the merger of WWE and UFC into TKO, the conglomerate continues to consolidate, announcing today that the previously separate live event divisions will merge. The news came via press release, with the combined division being dubbed the TKO Live Events Strategy Team.

Executive Peter Dropick, who led UFC's live event division, will head the combined group. The press release stated that Dropick will be working closely with executives throughout WWE, UFC, and TKO, including Paul "Triple H" Levesque, Dana White, Nick Khan, and more. Dropick has worked within UFC for almost 20 years, and he'll now become TKO's Executive Vice President of Event Development and Operations.

In addition to citing the creation of "operational efficiencies," the move is being done to allow both WWE and UFC to strategize together to increase the opportunity for beneficial site fees, which have become a key part of WWE's business. These fees see local governments pay to bring WWE and UFC events to their city, with major events bringing in significant revenue for the wrestling and MMA promotions.

Since the TKO merger became official last October, WWE has changed in some significant ways. Perhaps most notably, Vince McMahon resigned from both WWE and TKO — seemingly once and for all — earlier this year, days after a civil lawsuit was filed accusing McMahon of rape and sex trafficking. In his wake, Levesque and Khan have solidified themselves as the creative and business leaders of WWE, respectively.

Last month's WWE WrestleMania 40 did significant business for the company, drawing the largest-ever viewership for the event and a record-breaking gate with more than 145,000 attendees across the two nights. At the same time, UFC continues to grow, with the press release touting the success of last month's UFC 300, featuring 20,067 fans and a gate of $16.5 million.