TKO Group Holdings, the mother or father firm of the UFC and WWE, is going through hypothesis as a challenger to Ticketmaster’s management of ticket gross sales for dwell occasions. Stay Nation’s current antitrust settlement opens the door to opponents like StubHub and SeatGeek. These platforms are trending amid modifications out there.
Cost change ticketing guidelines
Stay Nation has settled an antitrust lawsuit filed with the U.S. Division of Justice in 2024. The settlement, which should be authorized by the court docket, features a $280 million fee to the states that filed the lawsuit. Ticketmaster wants to permit rivals like SeatGeek to promote tickets by elements of its platform.
Venues will acquire the choice to make use of opponents corresponding to StubHub and SeatGeek for ticket gross sales. The unique settlement with Ticketmaster is restricted to 4 years. The utmost service cost is 15% of the ticket value.
Stay Nation manages greater than 460 venues, and Ticketmaster holds roughly 80% of major ticketing. The settlement eliminates Ticketmaster’s unique use requirement for artists reserving Stay Nation venues.
TKO’s place at dwell occasions
TKO was created by the merger of UFC and WWE in 2023. Now we have created a dwell occasions technique staff to handle scheduling, ticketing and fan experiences throughout each manufacturers. WWE’s dwell occasion income reached $82.5 million within the third quarter of 2025, up from $51.1 million a yr in the past.
Ticket costs for WWE’s North American tv occasions have practically doubled for the reason that merger, with common costs rising in 2025, in keeping with Pollstar information. Ticket distribution elevated to 11,500 tickets for every RAW and SmackDown present. TKO is reporting robust demand. WWE Chairman Nick Khan mentioned there are plans to extend costs if capability stays excessive. Tickets for the European tour have gone on sale forward of the 2026 Royal Rumble in Saudi Arabia.
Ticketmaster, StubHub, SeatGeek
StubHub lists resale tickets for UFC occasions corresponding to Struggle Evening: Evolev vs. Murphy on March 21, 2026 on the O2 Area. Costs begin from £320 for prime seats. SeatGeek is listed as a direct beneficiary within the settlement phrases. Options like DealScore evaluate costs and entice customers searching for choices apart from Ticketmaster. Whereas Ticketmaster stays the first supply of official gross sales for UFC and WWE, the secondary market is benefiting from excessive demand. TKO occasions fill arenas and promote resale on StubHub and SeatGeek.
The settlement impacts all dwell occasions, together with TKO’s greater than 300 WWE exhibits and 40 to 45 UFC playing cards yearly. Venues corresponding to T-Cell Area have prolonged their contracts with TKO till 2030. TKO is pursuing a $1 billion partnership that features ticket gross sales.
The Stay Nation settlement permits venues like T-Cell Area, which hosts greater than 40 playing cards a yr, to change their gross sales methodology to SeatGeek or StubHub with no full lock-in settlement, permitting UFC occasions beneath TKO to immediately compete with Ticketmaster’s dominance. For the reason that 2023 merger, WWE’s value has doubled and TKO’s dwell income has set information, spurring speak of an inner platform or rival to get extra from its 300-plus exhibits a yr, particularly with Saudi enlargement and a European tour that drives secondary markets.
