First ‘TKO Takeover Presented by VeChain’
to Feature Three Dynamic Live Sports and Entertainment Experiences Over Five Days
PROFESSIONAL BULL RIDERS on Thursday, April 24
UFC FIGHT NIGHT on Saturday, April 26
WWE Raw on Monday, April 28
Kansas City, Mo., Feb. 26, 2025 – TKO Group Holdings, Inc.
(NYSE: TKO) today announced that UFC, the
world’s premier mixed martial arts organization, WWE, a global leader in sports entertainment, and PBR
(Professional Bull Riders), the world’s premier bull riding
organization, will take over the T-Mobile Center for a series of major events from April
24- 28.
Beginning with PBR on Thursday, April 24, continuing with UFC FIGHT NIGHT on Saturday, April 26,
and culminating with WWE's flagship weekly program Raw on Monday, April 28,
fans will have the opportunity to experience the non-stop action from each of these thrilling sports and
entertainment properties.
Through an agreement facilitated by the Kansas City Sports Commission, T-Mobile
Center in Downtown Kansas City will become the first venue to host a TKO Takeover
Presented by VeChain, showcasing consecutive PBR,
UFC, and WWE events over a single weekend in the same city.
VeChain, a global leader in blockchain solutions, has been UFC’s
Official Blockchain Partner since 2022 and has now
expanded its commitment to become the inaugural presenting partner of the first ‘TKO
Takeover’ to feature UFC, WWE, and PBR.
“Kansas City has collectively hosted dozens of UFC, WWE, and PBR events over
the years, and it has become a top destination for each of these respective promotions,” said
Peter Dropick, Executive Vice President, Event Development and Operations for TKO. “This is a unique opportunity to showcase these three premier
properties in one city at the same time for the benefit of fans and visitors to the area. We thank the
Kansas City Sports Commission and the management at T-Mobile Center for making this
possible.”
“Kansas City has a great history of hosting world-class events, and we are
thrilled to continue that tradition by partnering with three of the biggest brands in the sports and
entertainment world,” said Kathy Nelson, President and CEO of the Kansas City
Sports Commission and Visit KC. “These events will
generate significant economic impact for our hotels and local businesses, as well as shine a spotlight
on Kansas City through broadcast programming and social media.”
“Our longstanding relationship with UFC, WWE and PBR has resulted in some of
T-Mobile Center’s most memorable events,” said Jay Cooper, General Manager,
T-Mobile Center. “The three together in one action-packed
week will be an exciting opportunity for our guests to experience the very best in sports. We are
honored that TKO chose T-Mobile Center as the first location for this world-class event
package.”
An exclusive all-in-one ticket bundle comprising all three of these thrilling events
will go on sale starting Monday, March 3 at 10 a.m. CST on AXS.com
VIP Experience packages will also be available soon via On Location. These exclusive
packages offer premium seating, VIP access to events, all-inclusive hospitality, meet-and- greets with
athletes, and more. For additional information, please visit onlocationexp.com to view package details.
Additional details about UFC athletes, WWE Superstars, and PBR bull riders scheduled
to participate in their respective events in Kansas City will be announced in coming weeks.
UFC and WWE are part of TKO, a premium sports and entertainment company. TKO is in
the process of acquiring PBR and On Location.
For more information about the first TKO Takeover Presented by
VeChain, please visit pbr.com/tkotakeover.
Collectively, UFC, WWE, and PBR have brought more than 60 events to Kansas City over
the past 20 years, with each organization having its own storied history in the city.
For PBR, the Kansas City Outlaws, 2024 regular season champions in the PBR Teams
league, which was formed in 2022, compete in an annual homestand at T-Mobile Center. In partnership with
The Cordish Companies, PBR also operates the PBR Big Sky Bar in the Power & Light district.
Among the more notable UFC athletes who have competed in Kansas City include a group
highlighted by former featherweight champion Max Holloway, former flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson,
former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker, and former women’s strawweight champion Rose
Namajunas.
WWE’s rich history of events in Kansas City includes hosting
Money in The Bank in 2010, as well as two
Raw and SmackDown
events annually. Several of the biggest names in WWE have
competed in Kansas City, including WWE Legend John Cena and the current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody
Rhodes.
# # #
About UFC®
UFC® is the world’s premier mixed martial arts organization (MMA), with
more than 700 million fans and approximately 290 million social media followers. The organization
produces more than 40 live events annually in some of the most prestigious arenas around the world while
broadcasting to over 975 million households across more than 170 countries. UFC’s athlete roster
features the world’s best MMA athletes representing more than 80 countries. The
organization’s digital offerings include UFC FIGHT PASS®, one of the world’s leading
streaming services for combat sports. UFC is part of TKO Group Holdings (NYSE: TKO) and is headquartered
in Las Vegas, Nevada. For more information, visit UFC.com and follow UFC at Facebook.com/UFC and @UFC on
X, Snapchat, Instagram, and TikTok: @UFC.
About WWE
WWE® is an integrated media organization and the global leader in sports
entertainment. The company consists of a portfolio of businesses that create and deliver original
content 52 weeks a year to a global audience. WWE is committed to family-friendly entertainment on its
television programming, premium live events, digital media, and publishing platforms. WWE’s TV-PG
programming can be seen in more than 1 billion households worldwide in more than 20 languages through
world-class distribution partners including NBCUniversal, The CW, Sony India and Netflix. In the United
States, NBCUniversal’s streaming service, Peacock, is the exclusive home to all premium live
events, a variety of original programming and a massive video-on-demand library. Netflix is the
exclusive home for WWE programming around the world, other than select international markets. WWE is
part of TKO Group Holdings (NYSE: TKO). Additional information on
WWE can be found at wwe.com and corporate.wwe.com.
About PBR (Professional Bull Riders)
PBR is the world’s premier bull riding organization. More than 800 bull riders
compete in more than 200 events annually across the televised PBR Unleash The Beast tour (UTB), which
features the top bull riders in the world; the PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour (PWVT); the PBR
Touring Pro Division (TPD); and the PBR’s international circuits in Australia, Brazil, and Canada.
In 2022, the organization launched PBR Teams—10 teams of the world’s best bull riders
competing for a new championship—as well as the PBR Challenger Series with more than 60 annual
events nationwide. PBR events are broadcast on CBS Television Network and Paramount+. PBR is a
subsidiary of Endeavor, a global sports and entertainment company. For more information, visit PBR.com, or follow on
Facebook at Facebook.com/PBR, X at
X.com/PBR, Instagram at Instagram.com/PBR and
YouTube at YouTube.com/PBR.
About TKO
TKO Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: TKO) is a premium sports and entertainment company
that comprises UFC, the world’s premier mixed martial arts organization, and WWE, an integrated
media organization and the global leader in sports entertainment. Together, our organizations reach more
than 1 billion households in approximately 210 countries and territories, and we organize more than 300
live events year-round, attracting more than two million fans. TKO is majority owned by Endeavor Group
Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: EDR), a global sports and entertainment company.
About VeChain
Founded in 2015, VeChain built a world-leading enterprise smart contract platform,
VeChainThor, helping deliver blockchain adoption apps to hundreds of enterprise partners. Building on
this expertise, VeChain, would go on to launch the VeBetter ecosystem — a sustainability app
platform that uses tokenization and incentives to engage and reward users and businesses, driving a new
frontier for mainstream adoption of blockchain technology. Visit vechain.org — or vebetter.com to
explore.
Media Contacts:
PBR: Andrew Giangola - andrew.giangola@img.com
UFC: Chris Costello - ccostello@ufc.com
WWE: Gregory Domino - Greg.Domino@wwe.com