The Axe Files

[Blake “Axe” Avignon @bobby_s_axelrod]

Multiple company and industry sources inform me the @Netflix layoffs aren’t finished, with Live Sports & Events, Scripted and Unscripted also being looked at.

Peter Rice takes over Oct. 26 with essentially the entire content operation under him. The indication is that some executives will have the opportunity to meet with Rice before final decisions are made.

Add the near-$300M #Narnia bet, returning shows losing viewers, slowing engagement growth and cuts already hitting film and TV.

Netflix clearly isn’t done restructuring.

[Blake “Axe” Avignon @bobby_s_axelrod]

.@ClubWWE is another Mark Shapiro playbook being recycled by @TKOGrp.

He pulled a similar stunt at @SixFlags in the 2000s, chasing families with deeper pockets while pushing away the loyal fans who made those parks what they were. Attendance struggled, the company went bankrupt, and Shapiro was gone soon after.

Now he’s bringing that same thinking to @WWE. Charging fans $99 a year for perks and access to a community they spent decades building themselves.

@AriEmanuel, you’d think Shapiro would’ve learned something from Six Flags.

[Blake “Axe” Avignon @bobby_s_axelrod]

So .@danawhite publicly lied, and he’s going to look like a f*cking idiot in front of everybody. #FuryJoshua #Boxing #UK

[Blake “Axe” Avignon @bobby_s_axelrod]

.@danawhite’s name on the #FuryJoshua announcement didn’t come out of nowhere.

Sources claim TKO negotiated and delivered a multi-fight deal between @ringmagazine and @netflix. @Tyson_Fury headlined their April 11 card, @Zuffa_Boxing’s @ConorNigel fought in the co-main, and White was out front promoting it.

That relationship helps explain why Netflix named him alongside The Ring. It doesn’t answer how he can promote the fight when @anthonyjoshua’s side says his contract bars it.

[Blake “Axe” Avignon @bobby_s_axelrod]

UPDATE: @anthonyjoshua’s camp is pushing back on the idea that #FuryJoshua is falling apart.

Sources close to AJ tell @TheAthletic they still expect the fight to happen and are not planning to pull out.

@Tyson_Fury says the fight is in jeopardy. AJ’s side is saying they still intend to fight, while the dispute over @danawhite or @Zuffa_Boxing’s involvement remains unresolved.

So the question remains: if AJ is still in, why is Dana White’s involvement important enough to put the entire fight at risk?

More from @SarahShepSport and @AliRampling ⬇️

[Blake “Axe” Avignon @bobby_s_axelrod]

.@maxkellerman going out of his way to say @danawhite is helping @Turki_alalshikh in a “personal capacity, not as a promoter” is very interesting.

That distinction sounds almost tailor-made for the contractual dispute with @anthonyjoshua & @EddieHearn.

#FuryJoshua

[Blake “Axe” Avignon @bobby_s_axelrod]

There’s nothing cryptic about this. Turki seemingly never expected Eddie Hearn to seriously pursue a breach-of-contract claim because the assumption was simple: why bite the hand that feeds you?

But that only works if the money never runs out.

There isn’t an endless war chest available to keep buying loyalty or smoothing over every dispute. At some point, contracts matter more than relationships.

#JoshuaFury

[Blake “Axe” Avignon @bobby_s_axelrod]

At this point, this drama isn’t really about promoting or producing #FuryJoshua. It’s about public perception and who gets credit for making it happen. @danawhite talks like he personally negotiated and delivered the deal, when his role appears much more public-facing.

@Turki_alalshikh/@Sela: Primary funding partner
Nick Khan/@TKOGrp: Media rights + co-production
@netflix: Co-production + distribution
Dana White: Public face / brand ambassador

That’s really the issue. Dana is presenting himself as the architect of the fight when he was one part of a much bigger structure.

[Blake “Axe” Avignon @bobby_s_axelrod]

A failed boxing manager who was running from mafia debts, carried bags for Mayweather, then got lucky meeting the Fertittas at a friend’s wedding. After building and cashing out on the @UFC off the @UltimateFighter and @TheNotoriousMMA lottery tickets, @danawhite seems to have lost his love for the business.

Now he operates like a zombie employee who only comes alive after clocking out to gamble and hang around influencers.

[Blake “Axe” Avignon @bobby_s_axelrod]

@UFC is an incredibly profitable combat-sports business. That does not make it a $50B sports league. But here’s why @danawhite is completely WRONG about the it being worth $50B:

Unlike the @NFL, @NBA, @MLB, @NHL, @MLS or @F1, UFC has no franchise ecosystem, no institutional youth pipeline, no team equity and no recurring expansion model.

You cannot franchise prizefighting. There are no “UFC teams” accumulating equity, selling for billions, generating local rights or paying expansion fees. The entire asset is the promotion itself.

Its product is almost entirely dependent on individual fighters staying healthy, becoming stars and choosing to remain under contract.

There’s no union today, which helps margins, but also creates enormous long-term labor risk if fighter revenue share ever gets materially reset.

And finally, UFC still hasn’t replicated the star-making formula it stumbled into with McGregor. That makes Zuffa selling to @Endeavor when it did look increasingly opportunistic. https://t.co/dXiNhClZJ5

[Blake “Axe” Avignon @bobby_s_axelrod]

Dana White teaching us about Dana White Privilege 👀🤣

[Blake “Axe” Avignon @bobby_s_axelrod]

.@Tyson_Fury admitting @danawhite was barred from his original #FuryJoshua contract backs up what @EddieHearn has said all along. Sources familiar tell me White brought Fury to #UFCWhiteHouse, gave him the red carpet treatment, and Fury later removed the restriction from his side. He then started pushing for White to promote the fight. AJ’s side never agreed to that change.

[Blake “Axe” Avignon @bobby_s_axelrod]

Fury-Joshua was supposed to be done.

Instead, a #boxing fight years in the making has turned into a battle over contracts, money, Madison Square Garden and who actually holds the leverage.

How did we get here? #FuryJoshua
https://t.co/wD4Vlzln5x

[Blake “Axe” Avignon @bobby_s_axelrod]

The bigger issue holding up Fury-Joshua remains money owed by SELA, multiple sources confirm.

@TKOGrp could’ve already put a deposit down to secure MSG for Nov. 20, but AJ’s existing deal calls for the UK. The outstanding @Sela payments give @EddieHearn leverage as the sides continue to negotiate new terms for a New York venue.

Without that issue, this likely would’ve been wrapped up already. #FuryJoshua

[Blake “Axe” Avignon @bobby_s_axelrod]

The reported $60M+ @ESPN offer didn’t just set @PatMcAfeeShow’s price. It changed the entire negotiation.

After speaking with multiple sources across sports media, here’s how ESPN, @Netflix, @TKOGrp, @AriEmanuel, Mark Shapiro and David Ellison all became part of the same story.

https://t.co/EnQfR4E4E6

[Blake “Axe” Avignon @bobby_s_axelrod]

BREAKING: Multiple sources tell me Dakota Ditcheva (@dakotadofficial)’s current @PFLMMA contract is a two-fight deal worth $1M per fight.

The agreement puts Ditcheva alongside Usman Nurmagomedov (@Usmannmgdv) as the highest-paid athletes in the PFL, with both earning $1M per fight.

The expectation is that Ditcheva will first compete against Denise Kielholtz at #PFLNewYork on July 31 before potentially leveraging the final fight of her current deal in pursuit of a move to the @UFC.

Those familiar with the situation also believe Ditcheva could ultimately accept a 50-60% pay cut to sign with the UFC, similar to the path taken by Kayla Harrison (@KaylaH).

[Blake “Axe” Avignon @bobby_s_axelrod]

I see you, and your biggest flaw is right in front of you.

You act like you’re some closer-type agent, but you keep rummaging around the little leagues of combat sports because this is your ceiling. You don’t have the talent or negotiating skills to operate where agents in the NBA, MLB, and NFL do.

Those agents can challenge leagues and teams because their clients have options. You would never cross the UFC because you need them more than they need you.

So keep flexing. You’ll never be a power broker. You’re wearing a dog collar and bragging about who’s holding the leash.

[Blake “Axe” Avignon @bobby_s_axelrod]

For the record, I never reported TNA was actively for sale or that Anthem was seeking a buyer. I reported a price floor exists if a sale were to happen. Those are two different statements. Read the actual report.

The most revealing part of the PWInsider denial isn’t what they said. It’s how they said it. Anthem sources didn’t say “there’s no number”. They said the $30M - $50M range is “undervaluing” TNA (🤣).

As for “no track record”: the debt documentation is public record. CION’s earnings call. Portman Ridge SEC filings.

And since we’re on the subject of track records: Carlos Silva gets credited for landing TNA on AMC. CAA was already negotiating a TV deal before Silva was running things. The WWE partnership was already built before he took over. He didn’t build either one. He inherited them. There’s a difference between a manager and a leader. Silva has never been the latter.

[Blake “Axe” Avignon @bobby_s_axelrod]

.@TripleH it’s hard to “just have fun” when fans are mortgaging their houses to attend a @WWE PLE.

When you’re asking people to spend that kind of money, they’re not going to kick back and relax. They’re going to scrutinize every second of it. The @Troydan vlogs prove that. Fans are documenting every dollar spent at these events because the price tag demands accountability.

That’s the @TKOGrp (Mark Shapiro) problem. You’ve priced the product like a luxury experience but want fans to consume it like it’s still the Attitude Era.

You don’t get to charge 2024 prices and ask for 2002 vibes.

[Blake “Axe” Avignon @bobby_s_axelrod]

Additionally: Multiple @WWE sources indicate the toxic debt on Anthem’s books is the primary reason WWE isn’t viewed as a buyer for TNA. WWE already has the TV reach, audience, and talent pipeline TNA would offer. Taking on that debt, plus a TV deal with AMC that WWE wouldn’t fully control, makes an acquisition far less attractive than simply poaching talent or licensing the library outright.