Several sources close to the situation are claiming that longtime matchmaker of the UFC, Joe Silva, has informed the UFC of his intention to leave the company once the sale of the UFC is official.
Silva’s departure will reportedly come right after the sale of the UFC to a group being lead by WME-IMG becomes official.
It is to be believed that Silva will profit from this deal due to him being a company executive. As the report goes on to say the decision is financially driven and that he holds no ill will towards the new ownership.
Back in 2013, Silva did an interview where he spoke about “the stresses and emotional toll of the complex job.”
According to the source, with the money Silva is expected to make as a result of the sale, he (Silva) plans to spend more time with his family.
Silva has been with the UFC since 1995. He was part of the sale from SEG in 2001 when Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta purchased the then struggling organization.
End of an Era
It is expected that Sean Shelby will take over as the primary matchmaker for all of the UFC. Shelby has been in charge of matchmaking for the men’s featherweight, bantamweight and flyweight divisions. He also set matches for the women’s strawweight and women’s bantamweight divisions.
Shelby has been with the UFC since 2010, where he came over upon the merging of World Extreme Cagefighting into the UFC.
There has been no formal announcement from Silva, UFC President Dana White or the company itself.
