UFC, Onnit, Brendan Schaub and Tito Ortiz among those who received COVID-19 relief loans

The COVID-19 pandemic has devastated the world economy. A recent study by the University of Southern California found that the U.S. loss of gross domestic product in the U.S. could range between two and a minimum of $ 3.2 billion to as high as $ 4.8 billion. The study also found that job losses could range from 14.7 percent to 23.8 percent and affect 36.5 million U.S. employees. The U.S. government has assisted businesses in need through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which was signed into law on March 27, 2020.

The U.S. Government Small Business Administration (SBA) has offered businesses two types of relief due to the COVID-19 pandemic via the CARES Act. These two types of relief were the Economic Disaster Loan (EIDL) and the Salary Protection Program (PPP).

The EIDL is a low interest loan with a rate of 3.75 percent APR or 2.75 percent APR for non-profit businesses. Businesses that receive an EIDL loan have 30 years to repay the loan. (Click here for more details on the EIDL loan program.)

The SBA has granted enterprises PPP funds as an incentive to keep workers on the payroll during the COVID-19 pandemic. These loans are forgivable (they do not have to be repaid) if ‘according to the SBA’ all the criteria for retaining employees are met and funds are used for qualifying expenses. (Click here for more information on PPP.)

The COVID-19 pandemic has hit the MMA world from top to bottom. Almost every MMA promotion has changed its business practices and health and safety programs. Gymnasiums of every size also experienced the effects of the pandemic and had to adapt to new requirements and procedures. There has also been a very real human cost to the pandemic in the MMA world, as Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov is one of the sports that is the most respected figure, having died of COVID-19 complications.

Many businesses affiliated with MMA have sought government assistance to stay in businesses through the CARES Act. Bloody Elbow used several tracking databases to investigate these businesses and compiled a list of loans and the dates and amounts each business received through the CARES Act through the EIDL and PPP programs.

Below is a list of businesses, sorted by the amount the SBA provided to them. This is an ongoing project and not a complete list. As Bloody Elbow discovers additional information, we will update our list.