Lorenzo Joseph Fertitta and his older brother Frank Fertitta III made a name for themselves in Nevada's casino and hotel industry. The brothers worked for and inherited Station Casinos from their father, Frank Fertitta Jr., who began his career in the casino business in 1960 as a bellman at Tropicana Hotel and Casino. Fertitta Jr. later helped create the Casino, which was later renamed Bingo Palace, then Palace Station, and finally Station Casinos.
The Fertitta brothers also attended boxing matches with their father and developed a passion for the sport. Lorenzo first studied business at the University of San Diego and later graduated with a Master's in Business Administration from New York University. The brothers sought to create their own companies apart from their father's, starting with a pay phone rental business, which they later expanded to leasing poker machines to bars and eventually buying bars to place these machines.
In the early 1990s, the duo began buying up real estate properties where they would build future casinos. Fertitta's interest in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) began in 1995 through a reunion at a wedding with an old friend from Bishop Gorman High School, Dana White. White primarily managed boxers but also had some MMA fighters as clients.
Fertitta became a member of the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) in November 1996 and attended his first MMA event, UFC 21: Return of the Champions (1999),at the invitation of Robert B. Meyrowitz. Meyrowitz wanted MMA to become legal in Nevada, and Fertitta later took private Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu lessons from John Lewis, a veteran fighter and fellow Las Vegas resident.
In 2000, Fertitta left the NSAC to become President of Station Casinos, but he soon began conversations with Meyrowitz about selling Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Meyrowitz agreed to sell, and the Fertitta brothers became equal majority owners of Zuffa LLC, with Lorenzo taking the positions of Chairman and CEO.
On January 9, 2001, Zuffa bought UFC for $2 million, and Frank Fertitta III took a lesser role in UFC operations to focus on running the family's casinos and hotels. The Fertitta brothers proposed a television program called The Ultimate Fighter (2005) to different networks, which declined, but Spike TV accepted their $10 million offer to buy airtime for the show.
The concept of The Ultimate Fighter (2005) was that two well-known fighters would coach rival teams of fighters competing to win a UFC contract and the title of Ultimate Fighter. The show was a ratings success for Spike TV, and during the live The Ultimate Fighter (2005),a light-heavyweight fight between Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar drew many viewers.
In March 2011, Zuffa purchased UFC's rival and number two promotion, Strikeforce (2006),and the Fertitta brothers and White made a deal with Fox Broadcasting reportedly worth $700 million for a period of seven years to air UFC events. In 2013, UFC launched its paid subscription service Fight Pass, allowing subscribers access to the UFC's entire video library and live Pay-Per-View events.
In 2014, UFC made a deal with Reebok to design and become the exclusive provider of fighter clothing during competition and certain promotional appearances. Fighters would earn money through the Reebok deal based on the amount of fights they had in their professional careers. In 2015, Fertitta told CNN that 2015 was UFC's biggest revenue-generating year with $600 million.
In December 2015, Fertitta and Frank Fertitta filed papers to sell Fertitta Entertainment to Station Casinos for $460 million. The brothers would reportedly receive $113 million from the sale, $159 million would go to their children, and the remaining $188 million would go to company executives.
