WWE and UFC join forces for major never-before-seen broadcast event as fans beg ‘WrestleMania next’

WWE and UFC have joined forces for a mega never-before-seen broadcast event.

The news was announced last night and sent wrestling and MMA fans into a spin.

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WWE and UFC’s TKO Group Holdings partnership confirmed that NXT Battleground will emanate from the UFC APEX in Las Vegas on Sunday 9 June.

It will be the first-ever WWE event to be hosted at the state-of-the-art, 130,000-square foot event and production complex.

The Apex was built to host live events as well as studio shows and can hold around 1,000 fans.

It is the home to UFC Fight Night events as well as Dana White’s Contender Series.

WWE Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative Shawn Michaels said: “We are always exploring new frontiers to showcase NXT and we are excited to bring Battleground to this world-class event and production facility in partnership with UFC.”

Fans also reacted with excitement over the announcement, with one even asking that they make it “WrestleMania next” – despite the limited capacity.

Another said: “Going to be a different look in the Apex. Interested to see how a WWE show will look in there.”

“This is amazing,” said another. “Can’t wait to watch the show! This collaboration is one of the best business decisions!”

A fourth wrote: “First of many events held in collaboration with UFC to come, I’m sure.”

A fifth said: “This is wild!”

While a sixth added: “This will be so interesting to watch.”

WWE legend Triple H, the current chief content officer and head of creative for WWE, also took to X after the news.

He wrote: “The state-of-the-art UFC Apex has been home to so many incredible events… and for the first time ever, on June 9, @WWE becomes part of that.

“Huge thanks to @ufc and @danawhite for their partnership in bringing #NXTBattleground to Vegas.”

TKO Group Holdings was created by Endeavor as part of a merger between WWE and Zuffa, the parent company of UFC.

Following the merger last September, both of them now operate as divisions under the banner of TKO.

Former WWE boss Vince McMahon has sold over $700m of TKO shares with Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel taking up that role in the new company.

Mark Shapiro is the president and chief operating officer while Nick Khan became WWE president after the merger with White serving as CEO of the UFC.

The UFC Apex officially opened on June 18 2019 but really came to prominence the following year.

The Nevada venue became the home of UFC during the Covid pandemic as all US-based UFC events were held there behind closed doors.

The Apex still continues to host select Fight Night events in front of a limited crowd.

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