The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is increasingly treating “site fees” as a primary factor when selecting host cities, states, or countries for its events. Azerbaijan stands out as a recent example of a location willing to invest significantly to bring a fight card to its territory.

A site fee is essentially a financial contribution made by a local government or entity to the UFC in exchange for hosting an event. The UFC has recently secured substantial fees, such as the agreement to hold events in Saudi Arabia, building upon prior long-term partnerships with cities like Abu Dhabi.

While the precise amount paid for the upcoming June 21st event in Baku, Azerbaijan, was not disclosed, Mark Shapiro, president and chief operating officer of TKO Group Holdings (the parent company of UFC and WWE), confirmed that the relatively small nation bordering Georgia bore a considerable expense to secure the event.

Shapiro commented on the strategy: “We’re looking under every stone… When you’re doing Royal Rumble in Indianapolis for two days for a meaningful site fee, when you’re going to New Jersey this summer for SummerSlam and they’re paying us $7 million. Meaningful opportunities here. Perth, Australia, where we’re committed to doing multiple events over the next two years… Then of course in June, we’re going for multi-millions to Baku, Azerbaijan. So these aren’t just run-of-the-mill, around-the-corner Kansas City.”

This conversation followed remarks about the recent “TKO takeover” in Kansas City, Missouri, where the UFC held an event on the same weekend as WWE and Professional Bull Riders, all entities under the TKO umbrella. Since the merger forming TKO, executives like Shapiro have explored opportunities to host multiple events in the same city to increase local government interest and justify higher site fees.

Shapiro indicated that while the Kansas City model might serve as a “template” for future coordinated events, the paramount consideration remains financial gain. He explicitly stated, “make no mistake about it, we are driven by the financial return… site fees are what is the priority driver.”

He provided another example: WWE`s recent WrestleMania 41 event in Las Vegas. Shapiro noted a significant site fee and in-kind contributions from the city. He added that an economic impact study for the event is concluding, estimating that WrestleMania 41 generated an impressive $320 million for Las Vegas.

The focus on site fees is so significant that Shapiro mentioned TKO has assembled an entire team dedicated solely to this revenue stream. This suggests that Azerbaijan is unlikely to be the last surprising location willing to pay a premium to host a major TKO event.

Shapiro explained the dedicated effort: “We’ve got an entire team dedicated, not just on the government relations side, because you need to have these relationships… But boots on the ground in these different cities to uncover who wants to pay to play.”

‘Pay to Play’: UFC Maximizes Site Fees, Earning ‘Multi-Millions’ for First Azerbaijan Event